Ugh, Do I Have To Give A Title?

It’s late. I’m cold. I want to crawl into my bed. But I haven’t blogged in a while, so I guess I’ll do that now.

Hello.

How is everyone? Good? I hope so. Sorry I haven’t been updating this blog as much as I’d have liked to, but it sorta slipped out of my mind the last few weeks. Things have been a little …stress-filled lately. This is mostly due to the awesome job I have working with an awesome lecturer from my college to, I guess, repair and rebuild and awesome php web application. I use the word awesome loosely here. As fun and interesting as it is to write code for web related things, it’s not very awesome to only have 2 weeks to learn a whole new programming language (php), and then find out the application is built in a completely different way to what I learned. For those of who don’t get the technical specifics of this, think of it as learning how to drive an automatic car, only to find out you have a manual.

Anyway, enough about my woes, lets talk about the other good stuff thats going on! As most of you know, my web comic, the Legend of Dave, has recently begun what I’m calling “Volume One”. This involves a whole new look for the website, an improved quality to the comics visuals, and something resembling an actual plot. Yes you heard me (read me?) right! The Legend of Dave does have a proper over all story. It just y’know… takes time to get there.

In other news, I haven’t had much free time to other things, but what I have been doing is this: Watching lots of tv shows! It started with Mad Men (an excellent, awesome show), which I quickly got through 3 seasons of. Currently I’m watching Robot Chicken season 1 – 3, then up next I’ll have Curb Your Enthusiasm and Arrested Development. Why do I want to catch up on all these shows? Because! Apparently they’re all very good, so I thought why not?

In amongst my tv viewing has been some reading. I’ve read Halo: Contact Harvest (Yes, I know) and it actually turned out to be a very good book. I would actually recommend it. Anyway, then I read Awkward Situations For Men by Danny Wallace, a truly hilarious book filled with situations we’ve all found ourselves in. His writing style (being very naive and curious) is very funny, and the chapters are only about 3 pages each so you get through the book pretty quick. I have a few other books I have left to read but I’m not sure which one I’ll start next. Not to worry though, because while I decide I have COMICS to keep me going!

Yes! Comics. Over the last few months I’ve really developed a taste for comic books. It started with Atomic Robo and Scott Pilgrim, but now it’s blossomed into Fables, Umbrella Academy, The Losers, Invincible, Chew, and anything related to the Ultimate Marvel Universe. It sounds very geeky, but I do write my own web comic, so I like to consider it research. Needless to say these comics (the ones I read, not the crappy ones everyone else reads!) have decent writing and often great art. If your considering picking up any of them, I’d highly recommend Atomic Robo. Especially if you get your hands on an episode the features Dr. Dinosaur!

Before I go, I should also probably mention my other favourite pasttime: Games. Having finished Red Dead Redemption (amazing game) just before starting work, I haven’t been able to play all that much. But while I was in Belfast (did I not mention that? Yeah it was about 2 weeks ago now) I picked up a copy of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. I hadn’t realised it had come out, but I got at a steal (£24! That’s cheap… right?) I’ve played a little of it and it seems like a decent enough game. Only time will tell though.

Anyway, now I must go. I really should get some sleep, and my fingers hurt from typing.

Till next time.

Blargh – The Video Edition!

Want to be linked to a load of cool videos?
Then this is the right place for you!

Over the last week and a few days, I’ve discovered quite a few, pretty awesome videos. So I thought I’d take note of a few of the links and share them with you, my adoring and beautiful fans! But fear not, this will not be a big list of links (well, ok some of it will be). I will talk about some of my favourite ones. So let’s get started!

Connect 4 Million – This video has a special place in my heart. It’s just so awesome! “It’s the game of strategy that takes centuries to play!” And yes… it is LOST related.

Time Lapse video of Eyjafjallajokull Volcano – pretty cool video. Get to see the plumbs of ashe going up in the sky, and time lapse stuff is always awesome.

Dark Knight/Toy Story 2 trailer – Ok so someone went and took the audio from the Dark Knight film, and put it over some Toy Story 2 clips, all carefully edited together, and made this awesome fake trailer. It’s kinda scary how good it is…

Helicopter Blade Video – Ever wanted to see what a helicopter’s blades would look like if the camera’s shutter speed matched its frequency? Understand anything from that question? Either way, this video looks pretty cool. It’s like the helicopter is just floating around.

Running Wilde Preview Clip – A clip from a pilot for an American show, with the awesomely funny Will Arnett and Peter Serafinowicz.

The Secret Mission of the Terminator – This is actually a real cool video! Plus, it’s a Hobo-Robo!

Ironing Man – Ahaha, yeah ok lame joke name, but this fake trailer is pretty funny. And awesome.

Google Chrome Speed Tests – This is actually a really awesome video. Its a series of tests that show how fast Chrome is. They compare it to speeding potatoes, sound waves, and lightning. Lightning!

Love & Theft – This is a really weird animation. Just cartoons morphing into each other based on the music, but still gets an “awesome” from me.

LOST Series Finale Promo – ABC (company that makes LOST) held a competition for fans to create a TV promo for the last episode of LOST. This is the winning video, and my god it is amazing! It’s so dramatic, and the voice over thing, with the blue writing, Awesome!

Sizzle Alert: LOST with Sarah Silverman – So this is like a fake version of one of those E! shows. Basically Sarah Silverman makes some fart jokes with the 2 main writers of Lost. It’s pretty funny.

Barrack Obama on Chat Roulette – Pretty funny. Worth watching.

GINK – The new social networking site. A funny video about facebook, twitter, etc. with funny words. I just love the quotes “A lot of people say I like facebook! But what facebook doesn’t allow you to do is connect with friends.” “Some of you may be wondering, whats the difference between a Blork and Glork? Simple, we haven’t mention Blorks yet.”

Ok so that’s a lot of videos there. Hopefully you’ve watched all of them and can now look back at the good times we shared. But that’s it from me now. Don’t worry, we’ll talk again soon.

Till next time.

Daybreak

Ah the summer.
Late nights. Late mornings.
No work. All play.
Ah, the freedom… what will I do with it all?

Well, hopefully, I’ll be able to keep myself busy. Most importantly I’ll be working on The Legend of Dave. I have some big plans for it (I think I’ve used that phrase many times before but this time its for reels!) and I need to get working on it. Not to mention the fact that I need to come up with a better way of creating it. Macs are great, but I prefer using a Windows machine for comic stuff. Speaking of which, this weekend celebrates 6 months of Legend of Dave goodness! Expect a few surprises come Monday (which I’ll need to start working on).

In other news, I may or may not have a job for the summer. That all depends on how well John Dempsey (One half of the infamous detective Demptayne) is able to work his magic and score me a project. If not, I’ll have to think of something else to do. Making a game perhaps. Ooo or I could offer lessons! Yeah, sure why not? So, any takers? Wanna learn some code?

While you’re think it over, please enjoy these photos of a cute kitten!

So anyway, as some of you can see (i.e. those of you who have been tot his blog before) can see I’ve changed the whole “theme” of it. I felt my blog needed freshening up. It’s nice, right? The theme is called Bueno, made by WordPress themselves. One cool thing about the theme (and WordPress in general) is that I’m able to stick my twitter feed at the side here.

Incidentally, here’s some pictures from a certain Tom Hank’s twitter. Don’t know why I’m linking them, just thought I would. I especially like the box one. Just looks nice.

Oh, I should really mention this: Canabalt! It’s a really awesome (and highly addictive) little game. Basically there’s only one button, and all that does is make you jump, but oddly enough its really entertaining. If you have an iPod Touch you should see about buying the App version. It’s €2.79 (I think) but totally worth it. The music can get a bit annoying after a while though. If only this was the soundtrack.

Since we’re on the topic of weird videos on the interweb, here’s a few more oddities.

Wow this really is a link filled entry, isn’t it? I think I should go before I do anymore damage. To everybody who reads this blog: Have a good summer. To everyone who doesn’t: Read my blog, the have a good summer.

Alright, I’m out of here. Oh, but before I leave, Futurama is coming back! and here’s another picture.

Till next time.

You Had So Much… Exploding To Do!

I have some good news and some bad news.
Good news is there’s no bad news.
Bad news is there’s only really horrible news!

Following is a recount of a terrible happenings. If you wish to ignore it, skip the next 5 paragraphs or so.

Friday afternoon, I’m sitting at home doing some study when I think to myself “I know, I’ll play some Mass Effect 2″. So I switch on my laptop, throw in the disc, and begin playing. I decided to start a new game, so I had the option to customise my character’s appearance. I spent about 20 min making a nice, cool looking character for myself. Ready to play, I clicked continue. And then it happened.

I sat back on my chair, waiting for the game to load the next screen, when I reached out to grab my phone to check the time. As I picked my phone up, it slightly nudged my laptop. In one deafening “Peww!” the screen suddenly went white, then all was gone. My laptop had involuntarily switched itself off. I clicked the on button, but no response. “Stay calm,” I thought. “This has happened before.” I quickly flipped my laptop, unscrewed the back, and removed the RAM, then replaced it again. I started up my laptop again, and after about 5 seconds, “PEWW!” it was out.

Several hours later, after several attempts at trying to switch on my laptop to see what I could recover, I finally decided to give up. The laptop wasn’t even coming on anymore. It was gone. Lost to the abyss. (And the worst part is, I still have an unsatisfied urge to play Mass Effect 2!)

With an out of date warranty and a heap of scrambled files, I began to go through my hard drives and see what files I was missing. Luckily, I had done a back-up (of sorts) a few days ago. I wasn’t missing much, except for a few videos, and a few Legend of Dave things I had been working on. Nothing I couldn’t replace easily. However, as it turns out, that was the least of my problems.

Now without a windows powered machine, all my windows compatible things are sitting idly, wondering what has happened to their long time companion. Most important of which, is my scanner. Without it, effectively, there could be no more Legend of Dave. Well, at least not any more decent Legend of Dave.

Stop skipping paragraphs… Now!

As a result of my laptop’s untimely demise, Legend of Dave production has come to a stand still. I can hear you all screaming “But you have a Mac, Gordon. Use that to make Legend of Dave!” and I would, but there’s a few problems with that. For one, my scanner refuses to install on my Mac unless I upgrade to OS X Snow Leopard (which will cost about €30 I think). And secondly, my exams begin in a few days, so I don’t have the time to be sorting all this out.

But fret not, you  fretting-type crowd you, for I have a plan. Originally, I was only going to produce one comic within the next 2 weeks, due to exams. I am still going to follow that plan. I’ll spend Monday either looking at new laptops or procuring Snow Leopard, then hopefully have a comic out sometime soon. If all else fails, I have something is reserve that I can throw at you to keep your Legend of Dave thirst in check.

So there you have it. I’ll probably make another post sometime during the week (or weekend… or next week…) updating you on the situation. Till then, please pray for my laptop. May it find it’s way to Silicon Heaven, where all calculators go.

Day 432 + 7

“Ok Iceland we get it, you have a volcano. Now turn it off!”

So today was a bit of a void. I got up early (8.30 is early!) and got myself to College. I knew my first class was practically cancelled, but I was gonna use the time to study. That didn’t happen. Then I found out my other class was cancelled because the teacher was stuck in New York. Her flight can’t leave because a certain volcano in a certain icey country is still spewing ash everywhere! Damn you Eyjafjallajokull!

So distraught by this news that I was unable to study when I got home. Instead I watched 3 episodes of Battlestar Galactica. But today wasn’t a total waste. I did get some study done. And I wrote up some script plans for the Legend of Dave. Speaking of which, I’ve decided a few changes need to be made with the comic. Don’t worry, their mostly cosmetic; y’know stuff like sproosing up the website, refining the style a little bit, and making more of a presense on the interweb. THe honeymoon period is coming to an end and I need to start thinking about this comic in the long run.

Anyway, I’m rambling again. Some of you already know this but I’m on twitter. And not only does it let me tweet, it also lets me follow. Sometimes people link to some good articles or funny pics. Here’ a few of the things tht have been popping up as I’ve been writing this: difference between the android and iphone, an article about Joss Whedon directing the Avengers, lego geth, and a picture of a chicken curry (closed the window by accident, not that it was too interesting).

Anyway, I believe that’s enough for today. My Mac’s battery is about to die and the charger is on the other side of the room.

Till next time.

Day 432

So I was told I needed to write a new blog entry.
So here I am… doing just that.

It’s been awhile hasn’t it? Almost 6 months I think. What have I been doing with myself in all that time? Well, to be perfectly honest, not a lot. But that’s not the answer you’re looking for! So I guess I’ll try to think up some things to write about.

As you can probably surmise from the title to this entry, I started this blog 432 days ago. Thats roughly a tear and 2 months. That’s pretty awesome now that I think about it. I mean, ok, so I’ve left most of those days blank, and what I did write was utter nonsense, but hey, can’t argue with results right? If only I had some results….

Oh, due to increased curiosity I finally got around to watching Battlestar Galactica! It’s pretty damn awesome. I’m only 2 seasons in so far, but its just amazing! I love all the little details (religion, cursing, sports, etc) and I really like the idea of the whole Humanity travelling through space in a little convoy of ships thing. I really recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen it, and really likes sci-fi stuff. Especially if you’re fan of Firefly.

The web comic is coming along fine. It’s up to episode 26 now, and chugging along quite nicely. I realised the other day that roughly this time next month it’ll have been on the web for 6 months. So as a little celebratory thing I’m gonna release a few goodies for all my peeps… sorry I mean “for all my fans”. I’m sure I have some fans… I mean, i know someone’s reading it! Anyway, some people already know what some of those goodies are (does a certain game for a certain CA ring any bells) but I’m also working on a wallpaper and stuffs.

I was actually working on my web comic today. I was coming up with some future plot lines and stuff. See, when I started, I had a general vague over view of what the story was, but I didn’t really fill in too many details. Now that I’m stating to get my feet and I have a good work flow going with the comic, I’m starting to think more about the story and what I want to try to do with it. I’ll talk more about it in later posts when I have more details written up in my head.

I think that’s everything for now. Oh, there was one more thing. I saw this video on the web just now and I though it was hilarious. Here’s a link to the article where I saw the video

I recommend watching the video on the left first, to get the full effect of funnyness.

Anyway, till next time.

The Modern Warfare 2 Veteran Challenge, Part 4

Ok so I’ve basically given up now
…sorry!

Since I received a very awesome early Christmas present (a PSP) I’ve decided to abandon the rest of this challenge. I’m sorry, but to be honest, I wouldn’t have been able to complete it in time anyway. I’m only 65% of the way through. Hopefully this won’t mean I’ll forget about the game entirely as I do hope to someday play through those Spec Ops.

So yeah, sorry, but I’m done with this challenge. Have a happy Christmas though

Till next time.

The Modern Warfare 2 Veteran Challenge, Part 3

You’d think I’d have pictures or something to go along with this
but I don’t!

Warning: There are some spoilers pretty much straight away so careful!

So today saw me finally complete the campaign. And let me tell you, it wasn’t as much of a bitch as I thought it would be. I especially liked that mission where I’m in the plane junkyard. It was pretty cool. Only bad thing about the whole experience was I couldn’t help but feel like the bad guy in all this. Or at least, one of the bad guys. I mean, sure our General was trying to kill off my whole squad, but the only reason he’s doing that is because we purposely set off a nuke! Which I’d like to add was aimed at our own country so, yano, WTF?

Anyway, one weird thing about the ending was you went through a sort of museum dedicated to the war and one of the exihibits was of the Russian airport massacre. It wasn’t like a memorial to those lost, it was more of a diorama with the terrorists shooting people. Bit odd to have in a museum.

Anyway, enough babbling! The game has given me a headache so I’m off to rest. All I have left to do is the Spec Ops missions, and then one or two little rewards in the campaign. You know the type: Kill this main people this way, or kill 7 chickens in 10 seconds!

Oh, and just so you know I’m currently 61% done. I’m going at a good steady pace.

Till next time.

The Modern Warfare 2 Veteran Challenge, Part 2

It’s day 2 and half of this epic challenge,
and I’m almost finished the campaign

Warning: There are some spoilers pretty much straight away so careful!

Ok, so I’m now 40% finished, which means I’m probably going to make my dead line… well hopefully. Apparently the Spec Ops missions are a lot harder than the campaign. Speaking of the campaign, this story is just, well, I can only describe it as “ughh”! Basically the story is that some Russian terrorist massacred a Russian airport and then made it look like the Americans did it. Then, an all out war begins between Russia and the U.S. Meanwhile, a super secret task force team is trying to track down the Russian terrorist to prove he did it.

But it’s the itty bitty details in between that are really bad. For example, all of this has happened in the space of 6 days. Now, I don’t know a lot about politics but something tells me there would have been a little more dialogue, and mybe one of the other countries would be interfering! And then there’s the occasional plot hole. At one point we break into some prison in Russia to capture a prisoner to use as bait. When we find the prisoner, he turns out to be one of our own soldiers, and the whole plot line is then just dropped right there and then.

Anyway, I’m rambling. The game is going… well. Its getting a tad repetitive, and eh, annoying. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is but the gameplay just get frustrating, in the sense of it leaves some to be desired. I guess what I’m trying to say is, it’s not really living up to the “Best Game Ever” hype. But it does have a few spectacular scenes, I’ll give it that. When you’re in a war torn Washington that looks more suited to the Fallout universe, it’s quite a sight to see. And it has the odd surprise twist, which aren’t as surprising when you think about it.

Anyway, that’s my “filling you guys in for today” bit, so I’ll be off.

Till next time

The Modern Warfare 2 Veteran Challenge, Part 1

Yep, that’s what I’m calling this little quest of mine,
The Modern Warfare 2 Veteran Challenge, of MWVC for short!

Warning: There are some spoilers about 3 paragraphs down so watch out!

So, I started Modern Warfare 2 last night. It’s my first time playing it, and I haven’t played any of the sequels. So you can imagine how challenging it is to play the game on Veteran mode first! Why you ask? Well, I explained it all in the last post, but I don’t think I made it all too clear exactly what I’m trying to do so let me explain again. I have challenged myself to do the following before Midnight on Christmas Eve:

Get 100% trophies in Modern Warfare 2 (PS3)

Yep… and like I said, I’ve already started. I have various reasons for it, but that’s neither here nor there. The next few posts I make here will be a chronicle of my epic journey to this game’s end! I intend to make a post after every play session, to let you know how I’m getting on, what I think of the game and its story. So lets see where I am so far!

I’ve gotten through, I think, about 5 levels. I just finished a mission called “Hornet’s Nest”. It’s been difficult, obviously. Some parts have been fine and I’ve gotten through them in one go, but other parts are just a nightmare. There was one bit where I literally died every 2 seconds! But it really forces me to actually hunker down (hunker?) and take my time; play it like my life really does lie in the balance.

As for the story though, its not exactly thrilling. In fact sometimes its hard to know what’s going on! Apparently I’m switching between 4 or 5 different characters each mission, which can make it confusing when someone calls out your name when you think your another guy. I think because of this, the whole “they kill the main character in the 3rd level” business wasn’t as shocking as its being made out to be. Yeah, I wasn’t expecting it, but I only had the character for 2 missions and the mission before this one I was some other guy, so I didn’t really care.

Anyway, I’m only 18% done so I got a long ways to go.

Till next time.