Raithe

The Steampunk Bible - A fully illustrated compendium tracing the roots and history of the subculture from the founding fathers of Jules Verne & H.G. Wells, to the modern day and the community of craftsmen and artists that continue to spread it... Arrived today and I've been flicking through a few pages here and there.. definitely one for the quirky interest.

No, we're educated that we were like the Roman Empire. We brought good things and bad things. But everybody likes to make cheap shots and only talk about the bad things, and make the case that everyone that wasn't the British Empire were pure and white and totally concerned with goodness on their side...

Nonsense. All my delusions are about Godhood. I mean, if you're going to have delusions, you have to make sure that they're the really satisfying ones.

Well the thing there is that it was actually being kept quiet. They'd managed to get Harry out there and he'd been working on the ground for a bit without anyone realising. The British press were asked to keep quiet about it, which they did. It was thought that if it became known, it would paint a big-ass target on the prince and his unit. It was only when the American press figured it out and started reporting on it that everyone had to write about it. Of course, I always liked that she sued The Sun for breach of copyright, then when she won, had them donate the money to charity. I think people forget that the Royal Family is a lot like the iceberg metaphor. What you see isn't all that there is, or what they're actually doing.

Charles reached the position of commanding a naval vessel that took part in a lot of anti-drug operations. Andrew was flying helicopters during the Falklands war, and the more recent issue, Harry was out in the sandbox, and is due to be headed back soon. William is involved in a lot of search and rescue. So you class none of that as military service? The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attended over 900 events last year. How many people of their age do you know who keep working with that sort of schedule? And that they'll pretty much be doing that till they die. Look at how busy the Queen Mother was right up until the end.

Gee, do people like to paint a generic picture of our Royalty because they don't have any of their own? Fine, taking out the purely figurehead aspect of our Monarchy, the traditions behind it, the tourism and national image/identity.. What does that leave us with, oh, well, there's the international influence/diplomacy aspect we get from them. The way the government can use them for goodwill tours and such.. The way they happen to have lifelong training behind being a certain type of diplomat for the nation.. compared to so many who are just politicians there for a couple of terms of office.. You might not agree with it, but a lot of people still react a certain way when presented with a reigning monarch or their immediate family. Then of course the assorted military service they're all expected to do.. and just because they're royalty doesn't stop them being put in harm's way while they serve. On a more personal level, Charles for onedoes an awful lot of charity work, and puts large chunks of his personal fortune behind those he believes in.. Duty, responsibility, sure those might be dirty words to a lot of people these days but a lot of the royal family put serious consideration into them.

I'm pretty sure in one of the old interviews they make mention that you can't activate everything in a single game... So specific playstyle is encouraged rather then a "i can do everything" approach. But I might just be imagining that...

Wife tries sneaking huband out of jail in a suitcase...

Urf, well the weekend was spend doing mass laundry, cleaning and all post flea-discovery on the cat. Then found a flea on the puppy yesterday, so that was immediate anti-flea shampoo baths for all the animals again. Kind of unfocused today. Trying to figure out what actually needs doing , but I seem to keep sliding thoughts off and dealing with utterly random things that aren't really achieving much. So a fresh cup of tea at lunchtime and see what I can actually gather together of my mind.....

Since its the colonials celebration time, I'm avoiding making too many snarky comments on the subject...

Had one of those slightly annoying nights where the moment I got into bed.. my mind suddenly decided it was totally awake and not at all tired. So pretty much didn't fall asleep until the dawn had started creeping in and the birds were singing outside my window... And after a weekend of cleaning and hoovering and assorted spraying due to the discovery of some fleas on the cat... we've now found a single flea on the puppy. ... I'm hoping it's just one that was trying to flee the cat.

Since The Force Unleashed 2 was going on sale ... I thought wth, I'd see just what it was like. After all, lightsabers and silly force powers, there has to be some fun to be had. At ?7 that translates as about ?1.70 per hour of game play you get. So, eh, not too bad. But yeah, short and way too manyt QTE's.

I re-read his Killing Pablo the other month. He certainly puts a lot of research behind his efforts to tell what happened. Of course, I was utilising it for my research as well.and now the spine is rather bent..

Clive Cusler's Trojan Odyssey. More enjoyable pulp nonsense. Throws up some interesting ideas.. but I think even though its pulp silly, I kind of wish he kept up more..continuity and fallout from big events he's done in earlier books.

And where is the real Wals? I'm detecting a pod-person.. I think it's time we checked up on when the Alien Invasion is due....

I have to admit, I run into people I went to primary, middle or secondary school with, and they're out with their kids.. and I can never quite make up my mind if it makes me feel too damn old.. or as if I've never actually grown up....

Hm, out of curiousity, does the Blu-Ray LOTR extended actually have anything beyond what's shown in the normal extended set? Or is just the same in better picture?

Tron Legacy Soundtrack - Daft Punk goodness..

I thought it was Pixar...

Valhalla Rising by Clive Cussler. Pulpy nonsense, but enjoyable all the same.

Picked up Solar 2 on steam with the sales..and.. it is strangely enthralling in a way I can't quite understand...

There was just something about it that I could not get into. How much more its focused on hack and slash, push the mini's to highlight combat zones.. It just didn't feel as if it was geared to do that much out-of-combat rpg'ing. Maybe if I'd waited until the plethora of books were out rather then just the core books I'd have seen more, but it just didn't feel like the wide variety of options were there. It just gave a vibe more like "WoW at the table" then something to have fun roleplaying with. Maybe I just got spoiled by 3.5's ability to mix classes as you levelled, and picking feats to really tailor a character for more then just combat. >shrugs< It's hard to put a finger down and say "This! This is why I hate it!" but after reading the core books and giving it a little kick around, it just did not gell in a pleasant manner. Beyond the art. Man there was some damned good art in those books.

Since we've been having the whole nuclear / solar discussion.. I thought I'd throw this news report in for the amusement value... Jellyfish shutdown Nuclear Plant

And the BBFC have provided a 15 rating for DE:HR BBFC classification for DE:HR

I find Hitman to be like a really strange adventure game. Especially Blood Money. Which is why I think I enjoy it. give Donuts to FBI An adventure game with multiple solutions.. Well, the donuts was a classic. The explosive bbq was fun for that level as well. Although I usually ignored the clown diguise... The New Orleans level in Blood Money was a little less strange adventure game, but I definitely get where you're coming from... Edit: And on the DE:HR news front, the latest tweet from JB