Christmas post for you!

Super cool happy times

I'mma stab you silly. 

That was an odd title. 

As you can see from the post time it is rather early in the morning. 

Mainly because I have just finished editing my latest video. 

And I am glad to say that I now have a workflow which will work (I am pretty sure) for when I am back at Uni and when I want to make videos in my spare time. 

She had boobs this big!

I now have a freeware video converter that converts the file that the Sony Z5 digital recorder records in (.dv) really efficiently. In fact, it's the same one that the university uses. 

I have also decided that I am going to make my principal editing program Adobe Premiere Pro CS6, mainly because it runs on my laptop, and it accepts AVCHD files natively without any conversion.

So yeah, that's the nerdy stuff out of the way! 

I have so many plans for the next year. 

Including the usual stuff that I am doing now such as the pieces to camera and the occasional sketch, I will be uploading music featuring my friends, and the occasional bit of stuff from one or two of the radio shows that I have done, such as the one with tom that I did a while ago. 

There will be so much stuff coming in 2013 that I am looking forward to immensely  and I hope that you guys will continue to read me when we're there! 

Also, here are some rather funny screenshots from the editing of my last video. 

Dude...I am so high...I can't feel my eyes. 

And now, I need sleep. 

Until next time, 

Jamie. 

Right at home

Back at home

So, being back at home after going to University. 

What can I say that I have learnt from my first semester at the University of Westminster? 

Well. 

I can honestly say that I have missed physical exercise from the College. 

Because we didn't have to do sports at college, I was rather unfit when I came to Uni. I have since joined the Muay Thai team, and it is so much fun. 

I am damn sexy, I know. 

For those who don't know, Muay Thai is a combat martial art that originated in Thailand. 

The literal translation is "The Science of Eight Limbs", as you are able to use elbow and knee strikes when fighting in the ring, as well as standard punches and kicks. 

And as such, it is pretty brutal. 

I mean, I have been hit pretty well in the body, in the face, kidneys etc. But I keep going, because it's making me so much more fit and I prefer martial arts to just general sports because I feel as though I am going through a progression of ranks and am getting better and better at a sport that I will find useful if I am in physical danger. And despite how hard it is, I am loving it so much and I'm missing it since I've been at home for a few days. 

Great friends old and new

This is probably the biggest thing that I have to say about University. 

Moving away from home, and literally just living somewhere you have never been before is an experience that changes your outlook on life and the way that you make friends. Well, that's the way that I see it anyway. 

I've met so many awesome people, I can't list them all here. My flatmates are all awesome and amazing people in their own right :). 

Both in terms of just being awesome to talk to, and in just being the best people I could have hoped for to know in my first term of University. 

I sound slightly sad because two of my flatmates are Erasmus students, which means that they are foreign students (from France and Germany) and they will be leaving the country before the next semester. This makes me sad in many ways. :(. But it isn't goodbye, because I am going to see them again, and I am looking forward to it!  For reference, their names are Aline and Tra (pronounced Sha...I know...). 

I'm going to miss you guys so much :(. 

But moving on to my old friends! 

When I came back here, I met up with some friends I had not seen in a long time (just over 3 months) and I had some great times on Monday Night Guildford (out and drinking effectively), although I will say that Casino is quite possibly the most overrated place that I have ever drunk at. £6 for entry, £8.10 for a small bottle of Magners and a shot of tequila. The music was awful, the club was far too crowded, and what's more they weren't allowing people to move downstairs so that they could free up room...Wow. The original plan was to go to Weatherspoons and have drinks there, but because I had a can outside the bar the knobhead security guard wouldn't let me in. So that was annoying. Also, the fact that quite a few people left before we went to Weatherspoons, which was a tad annoying as well. But hey, there's always a few more weeks to catch up. 

I think it's the little things that you miss when you leave home, like thick bread, decent bacon, and a comfy bed. Aside from the obvious things like free food and not having to pay rent. 

Well, that's one semester down. 

Only one to go! But it is a big one...

Until next time, 

Jamie. 

TV is good, and here's why.

Very general and random titles are good aren't they?

I love writing a lot of bollocks as you might have been able to tell. 

If you are liking this blog so far, then stick around because believe me there will be considerable amounts of bollocks being displayed here. 

But yes, onto the meat of this post: TV Series that I have been watching, and my opinions on TV in general and how it has changed since coming here.

Anyway, enough waffle. 

First of all, Avatar: The Last Airbender

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Considered by many to be the best Western Anime, it's an excellent children's TV show but what I like about children's programming is that there are themes, character arcs and developments that are interesting and deep enough for a more mature person to enjoy. 

Don't get it twisted, I thought at first that it was just a kid's TV show and I wasn't expecting the themes to be that engaging. I knew the general premise: kid has badass superpowers, people can control the elements, awesome battles etc. But then they actually made the characters engaging and interesting enough for me to keep watching. I was certainly convinced of Avatar's worth by the end of the first series. 

I highly recommend the series to anyone who wants to get into anime or other such animated series'. It's a gateway show as it were, I'm already feeling moving onto more potent substances such as Full Metal Alchemist and other such do-hickeys. But more on that later. Let's move onto some 'proper' american dramas. 

Oh and by the way, General Iroh is a freaking legend in so many ways. If you want to know why, watch the show. 

The Walking Dead

There are so many different things with zombies in them, I mean christ it's getting silly. Films, games, books, websites, tv shows...the next thing we know they're going to have special events where people pretend to be zombies and get shot at by participating members of the public...wait a second! 

Anyway, The Walking Dead is excellent. It takes the standard story of a zombie apocalypse: "Guy wakes up in hospital to find that the world has gone to utter shite" as seen in 28 Days Later, and then goes on through the motions. What's great about it is the way that the characters interact with one another, because ultimately the most dangerous thing in a zombie apocalypse isn't the zombies themselves, but the other people you're trapped with. Whether that be a black guy trying to pacify his recently zombified wife, or a crazy badass redneck with a crossbow. The relationships between the characters are amazingly written and there are moments when you really enjoy the characters going to town on some zombies (the redneck with the crossbow is particularly efficient at this). 

Unfortunately, this is the only series in this list which isn't available on Netflix, so if you want to just try out the series thus far you'll either have to watch it on a different site or buy a box-set. 

I would highly recommend doing so. 

LOST

I am really bad at getting into TV series when they are, you know, actually on TV. Kind of weird really, but it's probably just because I am rather lazy. But to be fair, when LOST was on the screen I was...10. So you can probably forgive my lack of critical interest.

But anyway, LOST is excellent for a number of reasons. The characterisation and development is excellent, even if everyone does seem to gaze into the middle distance whenever they remember their past in a shot I like to call 'The J.J.Abrams stare'. My favorite character is either Locke or Chris, because they have their moments of badassery (that's a word now), and also their moments of weakness (Chris especially), and this defines a good character. 

The mystery is...ahhh...just so sinister. It makes everything just so amazing. Words cannot do it justice, get netflix and watch it, or get the boxset, it will probably be really cheap now. 

 

Just for a little clarification, the way that I watch TV shows is very gradual, especially with the big dramas. I am currently trying to watch these series at the same time. I am as I type this on Episode 8 of LOST, 3 of Breaking Bad, and I think 6 of The Walking Dead. But I am watching them more, and by the time that I come back to Uni for the second semester I will probably have watched at least all of the first series of these things. 

But onwards we go! 

Breaking Bad

So. A middle age chemistry teacher decides to cook crystal meth. That's the premise. That's not even remotely a spoiler, it's established in the very first episode. The entire plot is about the ineptitude of the two unlikeliest of meth cookers; a middle aged man and an college drop out. He wants to cook meth because he has cancer and doesn't have that much longer to live, but it turns out that he is exceptionally good at it. Being a chemistry professor he has the method and the chemicals, but the situations keep getting in the way. I'm at episode 3, and so far they've already killed a guy and melted the body (through the roof of a house) and locked another guy in the basement for no discernible reason. 

I am looking forward to see just how far they will go, and how much they will screw things up. 

The way that it is filmed is interesting. It feels very isolated, there are a lot of instances where it is just a few people in the shot. It's very tense and in your face. 

As I hinted at previously, there is a bit where a partially melted body goes through the ceiling of a house and it is both hilarious and really dark. 

It's an interesting one. 

Dark humor abounds in this series, I would highly recommend. 

Hope that that was an interesting read, and if anyone wants to comment and suggest a good series or two then let me know!

Cheers, 

Until next time, 

Jamie.

Dem wiggles

The Gadget Show Winter Expo 2012

Blogging, blogging, blogging...

Wow, these blog posts are really coming thick and fast aren't they? 
Yeah it's a bit slow here. So to kill some time me and some mates decided to go to a Gadget Expo!
Specifically the Gadget show's expo at ExCel centre. 
It was an enjoyable and tiring day out, and it was a convention for technology as well as gaming and other such malarkey. 
I would now like to break down the various things that I saw and demoed there and what I think about them. 
Here we go.
By the way, this is going to be a long one...Just saying.

The Windows Surface

First of all, the Windows Surface. This appears to be the next big thing that Microsoft is pushing, and it is a lovely bit of kit. 

The screen is a good size and the Windows 8 UI is lovely and the sliding actually adds something to the user experience. I can really imagine myself using this thing on the go, maybe watching a quick video on the train or perhaps wasting time all night long. 

But, the problem that I have with it is the lack of anything really solid. As a gamer and an editor, I like my computers to have a certain 'feel' about them. Anyone who has used computers for a long time will probably know what I'm talking about. If not, then I'm just talking out of my arse (no surprise there), but the point that I'm getting at is that I don't see myself needing a tablet for the kind of work that I want to do. Maybe if they make a decent editing platform out of it. Maybe. 

Next!

The HTC 8S Windows Smartphone

We were looking around at the phones, when suddenly A WILD SPOKESPERSON APPEARS! He was talking to us about the 8S, and he talked about the differences between Apple and HTC, being that iPhones aren't that customisable in terms of UI, I was interested. And yes, the interface is very nice and the Windows 8 style swiping is very nice and sleak and makes my special parts moist. But what really got me was the Beats Audio intergration. There is a mode on the phone where you can summon forth the holy presence of the great Doctor himself, and turns your music into a live performance. The difference is quite staggering. The only question that I should have asked is...why would you ever want it off? Unless it drains the battery significantly, but that's for testers to find out. 

Having had a look at a review of the 8S, it is essentially an affordable smartphone, and I would say that it has my favor more than the iPhone 4 for a potential next phone for me.

If you want a review done by a proper technical person website magazine type thingy, it's here.

And now we move onto the gaming side of things! 

Halo 4

Well, Halo is back and doubtless that any of you who are reading this who are interested at all in Halo 4 have already picked it up, completed it and tea-bagged each other through the eye sockets by now, but this is my first chance to get a hands on with the beast. 

There are a number of changes to the series, and they are welcome. 

There is a 'killstreak-esque' system akin to Call of Duty, where you are rewarded for performing well by getting to choose an ordnance drop, which will most likely be a weapon. But this weapon does not bind to you, and if you are killed the other person may very well take that weapon and shoot you with it. HUMILIATION. There is also now a sprint button, and the weapons have been changed but ultimately they are still the same mash of military metal and alien silliness. 

What I have always liked about Halo as a series is its ability to not be changed by the current trends in gaming; it doesn't take itself too seriously. Or rather, I can never end up taking it too seriously as a game. Whenever I play, it's just to kill some time or at a LAN party when I'm mucking about with my friends, and because of that I don't take it that seriously. 

Also, I must say that trying to play an FPS with a controller after months of exclusively playing PC has ruined any finesse I once had with console shooters. 

Dead Space 3

Now, I enjoy a good bit of horror. I love me some horror movies and if a game can horrify me then I'm all for it. 

Is Dead Space 3 scary? 

No. 

Is it horrifying? 

Not at all. 

Did the spokesperson patronizingly say that it was scary?

Yes. Yes he did. 

I'm sorry, but after seeing countless videos, lets plays, adverts and other things the Dead Space formula just ins't a surprise anymore. The game has no atmosphere and there has been essentially no evolution in terms of the series' themes i.e. "Them bastards be dead, kill dem with a slicey gun". 

The only thing that seems to have changed is that the necromorphs are hiding on the ceiling pretending to be space cabbages, and being very obvious targets. 

The camera moves around way too much, highlighting the enemies in the room, as if the game is saying "Here is the enemy, kill him because of reasons". Yeah thanks game, I know how this whole thing works. 

The combat is probably the most interesting part of the demo that I played, mainly because it was hectic and you couldn't turn on a dime like a ballet dancer. It was supposed to invoke a sense of panic and confusion and that was the best part of the section that I played. 

Now, admittedly the guy did say that it was an unfinished build of the game, and some of these issues might be addressed until the game is released, but I can already see the failings of Dead Space from here. The monsters aren't scary, they're just the same as any other generic zombie looking human. But to be fair I was playing this in a cramped and loud exhibition hall, so maybe it requires a change in atmosphere. 

Get it? 

Because it's in space? 

...

Let's move on. 

F1 Race Stars

It's an odd mashup. 

On a basic level, it appears to be an HD Mario Kart, but there are elements which make it seem like a formula 1 game, such as notifications to let you know what type of corner is coming up, pit stops and different kinds of boost surface. 

It's ultimately not something that I am interested in, but it was enjoyable and I wouldn't say no to it at a party. 

The only reason that I am even mentioning this is because I managed to get onto stage and took part in a competition against some other people for prizes. 

Currently on sale on eBay!

Short and to the point, I won. 

The first win was a fluke on my part I will admit, but the second win was a bit more decisive. But hey the runners up got some freebies anyway so it's not a big deal. 

And what did I get for winning? 

NBA2K13 that's what. 

Overall, a nice fun, frantic and kid friendly racing game. 

Onward! 

This free Borderlands 2 Concept Art Book

It was free. 

And it's nice. 

The WiiU

So here it is, the big one. The one which I was probably subconsciously looking forward to the most. The demo that I got was...disappointing. 

Well, the first game that I got to play was Darksiders II. The graphics looked impressive, about on par with the PS3 and Xbox, and the framerate was more or less solid, and the inventory system with the additional screen was interesting and a great use of the hardware. 

Because I'm used to PC, I found the controller large and somewhat clunky to use but it was comfortable to hold and nothing was too far away. 

But the demo really sold it short, the section that I played was really dull, mostly platforming and I killed one enemy in that time. The spokesperson just looked bored at the whole thing, offering to help once. 

Now that's not the console's fault so I can't actually give it a proper look at or an actual opinion on it because I haven't had enough time with it. But my very very first impressions are actually positive. 

Now, let's look at a first party title rather than a port. 

Epic Mickey 2...it controls horribly...just...awfully. 

I can't stand how floaty the camera feels and the movement is so imprecise, especially when I was trying to jump onto a platform. The aiming was a pain in the arse, and there seemed to be a bit of lag, but it was more like the framerate was really really slow. Like it was playing at 20fps rather than 60 or even 30. But hey, Epic Mickey 2 isn't aimed at me and maybe the target audience can look past these annoyances, the little shits. 

But ultimately, the WiiU isn't made for me. I doubt that I would ever actually buy one, not unless the hardware becomes infinitely more powerful and gets some genuinely interesting games.

Phew...

Glad that that's over. 

This was fun, and it was a lot of fun going to the convention and getting feel for the entire thing. 

I need to go to more conventions, but that's for another time. 

I need sleep now. 

See you guys later! 

Jamie.

My Problems with the 'new' Youtube Layout

So, as you might have noticed YouTube likes to make changes to its UI every once in a while. 
And hey, I'm not about to go out on a limb and say that YouTube has always been perfect, or that no website should ever evolve EVER, I mean I study the whole idea behind social evolution in terms of technology and media as a goddamn module. 
But there are a few problems that I have with YouTube's UI and the new mechanics behind it, or rather the way that it has always worked which I have recently learnt about. 

1. Video Recommendations
Now, because Google feel like showing off I suppose, the first time that you log into YouTube it will have a list of videos that the site has recommended to you based on your viewing history. Now, this is a neat idea in principle because people like what is familiar to what they have seen. 
But it seems way too sensitive. And by that I mean it will recommend anything based on your most recent viewing of a video, not by what type of video you have watched. Admittedly, this would be considerably harder to do, but it leads to the situation where you accidentally clicked on a link to a Justin Beiber video and it will essentially say "HEY, YOU LIKE JUSTIN BEIBER? HERE'S HIS ENTIRE DISCOGRAPHY. DO YOU LIKE US NOW? LOOK AT HOW CLEVER WE ARE". 
Now, I would't mind the recommendation feature if it was optional and not turned on as soon as you sign in, but because it is I'm not too happy about it. It's a minor annoyance but it is still...well an annoyance. 

2. Finding your subscriptions. 
A similar issue, but this time to do with the amount of time it actually takes to find your subscriptions. You have to click twice to get to them. And I know that sounds like the biggest first world problem ever...
"OH MY GOD I HAVE TO CLICK A MOUSE TWICE TO WATCH AN INFINITE AMOUNT OF CONTENT, MY LIFE FUCKING SUCKS!". 
But considering the fact that you had the choice beforehand to see your subs from your default home page, it is just a bit annoying, but once again not the end of the world. 

3. Seeing new videos. 
The way that YouTube works, and the way that Google works, is that it will take the search term that you have entered be it "Cat playing piano" or "Penguin does back-flip into a vat of marmalade" and find the video or page with the most views relating to those keywords. This is a bit of problem if you're looking for a specific video, especially if it's a video with a common name; such as "Insane COD 360 no-scope". 
But that's not a huge problem, like I said it's the way that Google and YouTube have worked for a while, and the ones with the most hits are likely to be of a higher quality...right?
However, there is a problem with finding new videos and channels that you are not subscribed to. The only way to do it is to either search for yourself (not likely to be productive) or rely on videos that your subscriptions have liked, commented or favorited. This sounds good in concept, but it means that there are a huge amount of videos that you are not actually watching, and if you're anything like me, and you watch a wide variety of videos, then just getting a like or a comment on one video from some random guy that you don't know or respect isn't really helping. 
A content creator may be a comedian, but he may enjoy watching videos about early eastern pottery or how nutella is made. It creates a sort of oligarchy in YouTube, where the people who have a lot of views keep getting views and maybe if your channel gets noticed by one of these giants they might deem to throw down a chicken bone of a potential of partnership. 
Bitter? Me? 
This is probably the biggest problem with YouTube, but I don't see a way that it could be better, but hey I might just be bitter because I have been trying to get partnered for quite some time now and I just haven't got anywhere. 
But hey, let's see what happens. 

Hope that was interesting to mull over whilst I work on the next video, 
Until next time, 
Jamie.