A hook, a yarn, and I'm alive.
How big to make my granny square?
It matters not, I'm in the zone
Without a care.
Thursday, 21 June 2012
Monday, 11 June 2012
A Pirate's Life [GW2beta]
Some piratical pics from GW2 beta weekend 2. This time round they added a pirate captain town outfit in the in-game store. Even better, donning it replaced your skillset to:
(1) series of cutlass slashes
(2) shouting "yarrr!"
(3) "walking the plank" - you collapse with a big splash
(4) summon a parrot (5 min cooldown)
(5) summon a cannon (30 min cooldown)
Yarr!
Fire!
Guildmate Pirate Co-captains (gender equality rules)
It's Zii & me :)
(1) series of cutlass slashes
(2) shouting "yarrr!"
(3) "walking the plank" - you collapse with a big splash
(4) summon a parrot (5 min cooldown)
(5) summon a cannon (30 min cooldown)
Yarr!
Fire!
Guildmate Pirate Co-captains (gender equality rules)
It's Zii & me :)
Spider Cave [GW2 beta]
This one was near one of the Commune at place of power for skill point areas where I'd just killed a veteran spider thing that guarded it. Felt the place looked gorgeous so decided to take a screeny. I was so long the spider respawned and was close enough to get aggro on me. I thought, I can't be bothered doing that again, so I beggared off. The way out was also full of mobs though, but I bravely ran away, as we thieves do. ;)
Saturday, 2 June 2012
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Mannequin [sonnet]
The world has heard of empty headed girls,
And some have heard of those with empty hearts.
But empty souls, like iridescent pearls,
Can shine though formed of salvaged, gritty parts.
The lifeless moon illuminates the sky,
Recycling incandescence from the sun.
And pallid cloth absorbing gaudy dye
Is bright - at least until the colours run.
A law of nature; vacuums must be filled.
So watch for what's in your locality.
As anyone around who's stronger willed
Will supersede your personality.
Take care with what reflected light you shine,
Thus never place your pearls before the swine.
And some have heard of those with empty hearts.
But empty souls, like iridescent pearls,
Can shine though formed of salvaged, gritty parts.
The lifeless moon illuminates the sky,
Recycling incandescence from the sun.
And pallid cloth absorbing gaudy dye
Is bright - at least until the colours run.
A law of nature; vacuums must be filled.
So watch for what's in your locality.
As anyone around who's stronger willed
Will supersede your personality.
Take care with what reflected light you shine,
Thus never place your pearls before the swine.
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Cats & Dogs (a sonnet)
Cats & Dogs
O stubborn boy. Why must you be so fussy?
Your petting choice so oft leaves you alone.
Instead of trying in vain to feed a pussy,
Experiment and give a dog a bone!
I understand your fear you'll be unable
To satisfy his lust for meaty treats;
He'll jump you while you're at the dinner table,
At night he'll lick your face and mess your sheets.
But is the other option any better?
A creature so unnaturally clean...
A lick, a lick, a lick - but still no wetter.
Is it her fierce disdain that keeps you keen?
Don't think that folk must like just dogs or cats.
Some like them both. And others favour rats.
O stubborn boy. Why must you be so fussy?
Your petting choice so oft leaves you alone.
Instead of trying in vain to feed a pussy,
Experiment and give a dog a bone!
I understand your fear you'll be unable
To satisfy his lust for meaty treats;
He'll jump you while you're at the dinner table,
At night he'll lick your face and mess your sheets.
But is the other option any better?
A creature so unnaturally clean...
A lick, a lick, a lick - but still no wetter.
Is it her fierce disdain that keeps you keen?
Don't think that folk must like just dogs or cats.
Some like them both. And others favour rats.
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Monday, 12 September 2011
To Blog or not to Blog
Just ended up reading my blog again tonight. Been wondering what to do with it for a while. Whether to burn it to ashes so the phoenix of a new blog can rise... That's still an option, but I do like this blog's name - which is a big factor in its chances of survival.
Speaking of the importance of names, I've been an on-and-off member for 5 years of the WoW guild with the coolest name ever. I do really love the people there. I just don't love WoW. It feels a bit like trying to stay with a girl I'm fed up with because I really like her family. Hope I can find some compromise in the future so as to stay in touch properly while avoiding the grind and timesink of WoW.
Anyway, as I say, been reading my blog, and it reminded me of why I used to blog. It's so that there'd be a record of my thoughts and feelings for the future. In hindsight my simplification of my game reviews was a mistake. No one's gonna read this except for me. And maybe my family after I die. And it's good to go back and read what I've written. Especially as I write so well, ma sha Allah!
It reminds me of when I come across a funny piece of writing from my teens, and realise just how good it was. Can i maintain a habit of blogging? I honestly and truly don't know. What I do know is that I hope I can. Not to prove my strength of will. Not to please other people. Not to develop my writing skills. But because I'll enjoy reading these back at various points in my future. Do I care enough for my future self? Only time will tell...
Speaking of the importance of names, I've been an on-and-off member for 5 years of the WoW guild with the coolest name ever. I do really love the people there. I just don't love WoW. It feels a bit like trying to stay with a girl I'm fed up with because I really like her family. Hope I can find some compromise in the future so as to stay in touch properly while avoiding the grind and timesink of WoW.
Anyway, as I say, been reading my blog, and it reminded me of why I used to blog. It's so that there'd be a record of my thoughts and feelings for the future. In hindsight my simplification of my game reviews was a mistake. No one's gonna read this except for me. And maybe my family after I die. And it's good to go back and read what I've written. Especially as I write so well, ma sha Allah!
It reminds me of when I come across a funny piece of writing from my teens, and realise just how good it was. Can i maintain a habit of blogging? I honestly and truly don't know. What I do know is that I hope I can. Not to prove my strength of will. Not to please other people. Not to develop my writing skills. But because I'll enjoy reading these back at various points in my future. Do I care enough for my future self? Only time will tell...
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Valentine's Day
Who told me that Valentine's Day was a good film that I should watch? I know someone did. Will anyone own up?
OK. It's not actually dreadful. It's just tediously formulaic in a "Modern" kinda way. On the plus side, the relentless twists and overly calculated lack of sentimentality mean that the film just about avoids getting too... sentimental. Even then it's a close-run thing though.
To say the film is an Americanised version of Love Actually is so obvious I can't imagine anyone not saying it. Nevertheless, it's also a statement of fact. One that says everything you need to know about what's wrong with it. As well as everything that's not quite wrong.
In fact, it's the not-quite-wrongness that makes the film so frustrating to watch. The film vacillates between moments when I smile wryly, to moments when i want to pull my hair out. With plenty of dull "meh" periods in between.
It's confused. It tries to be both a romance and a smartass comedy. Equally and at the same time. It's a combination that just doesn't work. It is, however, very Modern.
OK. It's not actually dreadful. It's just tediously formulaic in a "Modern" kinda way. On the plus side, the relentless twists and overly calculated lack of sentimentality mean that the film just about avoids getting too... sentimental. Even then it's a close-run thing though.
To say the film is an Americanised version of Love Actually is so obvious I can't imagine anyone not saying it. Nevertheless, it's also a statement of fact. One that says everything you need to know about what's wrong with it. As well as everything that's not quite wrong.
In fact, it's the not-quite-wrongness that makes the film so frustrating to watch. The film vacillates between moments when I smile wryly, to moments when i want to pull my hair out. With plenty of dull "meh" periods in between.
It's confused. It tries to be both a romance and a smartass comedy. Equally and at the same time. It's a combination that just doesn't work. It is, however, very Modern.
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Birthday Poo!
A silly little poem inspired by my recent birthday. The meter's a bit weird, but then so is the content. Tetrameter-tetrameter-trimeter with an A-B-A rhyme scheme. It's probably lyrical. Ha!
Birthday Poo
A birthday poo. A birthday poo.
That's what I'm gonna do today
When I go to the loo.
Behold, on this auspicious day,
My faecal matter's magical.
Three cheers! Hip hip hooray!
It's not a plain or normal turd.
It's gonna make the greatest plop
Your ears have ever heard.
You'll want this special excrement
But after midnight tolls, alas...
It brings your detriment.
So hurry up and grab my cack
Of annivers'ry potency.
But please don't give it back!
Birthday Poo
A birthday poo. A birthday poo.
That's what I'm gonna do today
When I go to the loo.
Behold, on this auspicious day,
My faecal matter's magical.
Three cheers! Hip hip hooray!
It's not a plain or normal turd.
It's gonna make the greatest plop
Your ears have ever heard.
You'll want this special excrement
But after midnight tolls, alas...
It brings your detriment.
So hurry up and grab my cack
Of annivers'ry potency.
But please don't give it back!
Hiatus is over!
Disappeared for quite a while. Guess I should do a quick recap of what was happening over autumn and winter. I think the latter part of Ramadan was typically busy for me, with very little respite. Truthfully though,I'm pretty hazy on what was going on at the end of last year. Although the fiasco with my bike was a big pain. (Problems with a burst tyre where one thing lead to another.) Oh, yeah. I went on holiday to Cyprus last autumn which was amazing. And also bought myself an e-reader (the Amazon Kindle), which got me back into reading. Indeed I discovered the formulaic fun of P.G. Wodehouse.
Nowadays I've taught myself to crochet and have made a whole load of hats. I'll have to take pics of them all and blog them sometime. Had a bit of oddness at work earlier this year. Someone was heavily flirting with me. Too much so. And since I backed off they've been very cold with me. Also, thanks to my birthday my bike has finally been fixed. Plus I used my birthday money to get a new netbook to facilitate writing. Using it now. Let's hope I don't tread on this one like the last!
Nowadays I've taught myself to crochet and have made a whole load of hats. I'll have to take pics of them all and blog them sometime. Had a bit of oddness at work earlier this year. Someone was heavily flirting with me. Too much so. And since I backed off they've been very cold with me. Also, thanks to my birthday my bike has finally been fixed. Plus I used my birthday money to get a new netbook to facilitate writing. Using it now. Let's hope I don't tread on this one like the last!
Sunday, 22 August 2010
Starcraft 2 : Wings of Liberty [Mac/PC]
Play it for:
* RPG elements make this the best and least linear single-player campaign from Blizzard.
* Best plot and characters of a Blizzard game too, and a couple of goosebump moments.
* Revamped Battle.net mode is kinda awesome.
Avoid it for:
* Long load times, and greedy for RAM/processing power.
* RPG elements make this the best and least linear single-player campaign from Blizzard.
* Best plot and characters of a Blizzard game too, and a couple of goosebump moments.
* Revamped Battle.net mode is kinda awesome.
Avoid it for:
* Long load times, and greedy for RAM/processing power.
Monday, 2 August 2010
Sam & Max - Season 2 [Mac/PC]
Play it for:
* bigger & better episodes than season 1.
* puzzles are much more innovative (time paradoxes!) and less frustrating too.
* all ties up into a fantastic finale with tons of great moments!
Avoid it for:
* still buggy as heck.
* bigger & better episodes than season 1.
* puzzles are much more innovative (time paradoxes!) and less frustrating too.
* all ties up into a fantastic finale with tons of great moments!
Avoid it for:
* still buggy as heck.
Tuesday, 27 July 2010
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time [PS3]
Play it for:
* satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
* best weapon system of the three.
* best puzzles of the three.
Avoid it for:
* nothing radically new.
* satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
* best weapon system of the three.
* best puzzles of the three.
Avoid it for:
* nothing radically new.
Secret of Monkey Island HD [PC]
Play it for:
* very witty and silly characters, dialogue, puzzles, and plot.
* some of the best gaming moments ever.
* new graphics, voice acting, and hint options make it better than ever.
* piratey goodness, yarrrr!
Avoid it for:
* if you have an underdeveloped/dull sense of humour.
* very witty and silly characters, dialogue, puzzles, and plot.
* some of the best gaming moments ever.
* new graphics, voice acting, and hint options make it better than ever.
* piratey goodness, yarrrr!
Avoid it for:
* if you have an underdeveloped/dull sense of humour.
Saturday, 17 July 2010
Toki Tori [Mac/PC]
Play it for:
* remorselessly cheerful graphics and music.
* ingenious level design and game mechanics.
* the wonderfully bad Toki Tori rap at the end.
Avoid it for:
* if you are hateful, a moron, or a hateful moron.
* remorselessly cheerful graphics and music.
* ingenious level design and game mechanics.
* the wonderfully bad Toki Tori rap at the end.
Avoid it for:
* if you are hateful, a moron, or a hateful moron.
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Spycatcher [book]
Right. I finished this book about a month ago, but it's taken me a while to get round to the write-up.
This is the book that got banned in the 80's. I picked it up at a charity book stall.
It's actually very interesting. Very detail-heavy though. But if you have a mind that's fascinated by such detail, you'll learn lots and be quite shocked at quite how much gets revealed.
The tone of the book is intriguing too. What starts off like a history lesson, actually builds up in tension as one particular theme gathers overriding importance - namely, the possible presence of a high-up mole in MI5.
This is where the book gets personal. For while Peter Wright is very detached and descriptive in the most part, it's very difficult not to see things through his eyes. It's also where it gets a bit personal for me, because the Director General of MI5 at the time was Roger Hollis, the father of Adrian Hollis, who was my tutor at Oxford Uni. And not only that, Roger Hollis is also the person That Peter Wright clearly is convinced was a spy for the communists.
Reading something so controversial is enthralling enough. But knowing someone who must have been affected by the book's publication makes the speculation, that all the book's readers must go through, much more intimate...
This is the book that got banned in the 80's. I picked it up at a charity book stall.
It's actually very interesting. Very detail-heavy though. But if you have a mind that's fascinated by such detail, you'll learn lots and be quite shocked at quite how much gets revealed.
The tone of the book is intriguing too. What starts off like a history lesson, actually builds up in tension as one particular theme gathers overriding importance - namely, the possible presence of a high-up mole in MI5.
This is where the book gets personal. For while Peter Wright is very detached and descriptive in the most part, it's very difficult not to see things through his eyes. It's also where it gets a bit personal for me, because the Director General of MI5 at the time was Roger Hollis, the father of Adrian Hollis, who was my tutor at Oxford Uni. And not only that, Roger Hollis is also the person That Peter Wright clearly is convinced was a spy for the communists.
Reading something so controversial is enthralling enough. But knowing someone who must have been affected by the book's publication makes the speculation, that all the book's readers must go through, much more intimate...
Age of Zombies [PSN]
Play it for:
* it's actually quite fun.
* post-modern zombie slaughtering.
Avoid it for:
* short and mindless (though that's also a positive!)
* it's actually quite fun.
* post-modern zombie slaughtering.
Avoid it for:
* short and mindless (though that's also a positive!)
Sunday, 20 June 2010
God of War 2 [PS3]
Play it for:
* God of War but better.
* God of War but more awesome.
* God of War but superior.
Avoid it for:
* The occasional sight of bare breasts.
* God of War but better.
* God of War but more awesome.
* God of War but superior.
Avoid it for:
* The occasional sight of bare breasts.
Sunday, 13 June 2010
Indiana Jones & The Fate of Atlantis
Play it for:
* Indy atmosphere & humour.
* Surprisingly decent scholarship on the Atlantis myth.
Avoid it for:
* Somewhat dated gameplay.
* Indy atmosphere & humour.
* Surprisingly decent scholarship on the Atlantis myth.
Avoid it for:
* Somewhat dated gameplay.
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