The FINAL Weekly Quote

Yes it is!

I think it's time to call it a day with The Place That Is. Over the past few weeks I've been struggling to come up with stuff to write and to justify this blog's place on the bloggosphere. I've had the odd bust of inspiration here and there, which I'm proud of, but of late I've found there just isn't anything to write about.

I'm not really a tell-all kind of guy I don't feel the need to Tweet away my life's minutae or go on at length about my opinions on matters of importance, as many bloggers are skilled at doing. But rather this was just a place for me to hang out and post a few thoughts here and there. But increasingly I've been posting for the sake of keeping the blog going, rather than enjoying it - as Joss Whedon said, there's a point when it stops being rescussitation and turns into necrophilia...

...of course he was talking about the excellent TV show firefly which he did manage to resurrect as the movie Serenity and is still ongoing as a comic book series. Anyway, this blog didn't quite seem worthy of those efforts.

I think I might have a few loose ends to tie off before I close down completely, but for now...

"Jack Firebrace lay forty-five feet underground with several hundred thousand tons of France above his face. He could hear the wooden wheezing of the feed that pumped air through the tunnel. Most of it was exhausted by the time it reached him." - Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks

Weekly Quote - W/E 25/09/10

"Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident." - Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres

Splinter Cell World Tour, part 6

As I continue my imaginary world tour we've actually completed the first game with a large chunk of the action taking place in Myanmar and Georgia. They were great locations to play in, and I'm sure fantastic ones to visit. Pandora Tomorrow, the second game gives a wealth of settings to visit, which adds to the fun.

I do like the world travel side of the early Splinter Cell games, the latter ones, including the superb Conviction have excellent levels to play through, but largely take place on Sam's home turf. But not to worry, there's another video game series that features a lot of roaming around so the imaginary world tour will continue!!

Dili
Country: East Timor
Area: 14,874 km2 (East Timor)
Population: 150,000
Language: Tetum



Sam undertakes a mission in Dili, East Timor in response to a terrorist attack on the U.S. Embassy there. The mission is rife with opportunities for Sam to show off his split-jumping, pipe-shimmying and shadow lurking as he gets closer to the threat and his target. Being an Embassy, this adds to the stealth action as Sam is restricted from using lethal force or leaving any sign of his presence.

Dili is the capital, an independent country in the Indonesian archipelago, half of the landmass of the island it occupies is taken up by West Timor, an Indonesian province. It was once a province of Portugal and carries that influence to this day, with Portugese being a primary language spoken. It was also occupied by Indonesia, but became an independant state in 1999.

However the violence has resulted in a large portion of Dili's buildings being severely damaged or destroyed. But a few significant buildings from the Portugese era remain, such as the Portugese Governor's office, which now houses the Prime Minister and also statues such as the Cristo Rei of Dili which is a major tourist attraction (pictured below)












It looks a fascinating place and like all the other locations it has the appeal of being a far away place. The appeal of Splinter Cell for me is that it doesn't rely on set-pieces in America (though it has some great ones) or show 'the world' with a few shots of Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower - it really takes you around the world. I'll finish off with something I've neglected - putting Dili on the world map.










More content soon.

Word of the post: Reconsider –verb (used with object)

1

to consider again, esp. with a view to change of decision or action: to reconsider a refusal.

Late Weekly Quote

sorry about the lack of content, I blame the summer holiday which, while bringing more free time, also brings a lack of structure which interrupted by blogging schedule.

"Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle." - Catch 22, Joseph Heller

Weekly Quote - W/E 31/7/10

"I'm tired of saying, 'how wonderful you are! To fool men who haven't got one half the sense I've got, and I'm tired of pretending I don't know anything so men can tell me things and feel important while they're doing it." - Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell

Funnier at the time...

On a trip to the Manchester Science Museum a friend and I came across this, an occurrence which is probably quite common, but at the time seemed hilarious.














A man polishing a bin - hah!!! What next people cleaning toilets?!!

Also funny is this weird piece of architecture.














OK so it ain't the leaning tower of Pisa, but the Manchester Hilton still looks like a precariously balanced child's Lego brick construction to me.

And soon after this I ran out of battery so I have nothing really to show you of the Museum, but it is well worth a look.

Word of the post: Welcome –verb (used with object)

3

to greet the arrival of (a person, guests, etc.) with pleasure or kindly courtesy.

4.

to receive or accept with pleasure; regard as pleasant or good: to welcome a change.

Weekly Quote Late Double

falling behind again...

"Harry dived. Defore the dragon knew what he had done, or where he had disappeared to, he was speeding towards the ground as fast as he could go...he had taken his hands off the firebolt - he had seized the golden egg." - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling

"It was now too late and too far to go back and I went on. And the mist had all solemnly risen now and the world lay spread before me." - Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

back on track now.

Birthday Music

It's been ages since my birthday, but I thought I'd share with you some of the music I got for my birthday because I've bought a few other CDs since and I'd like to post about them too. I',m not going to bother 'reviewing them - I'm simply going to share what I got, and let you listen for yourselves.

G-Sides: Gorillaz








Gorillaz have quickly migrated to favourite band status and with the gift of this album they equaled the top spot for 'most albums owned' with 4 albums by the same artist. Buying G-Sides (an album of B-Sides for their first release) was something I'd always planned on getting around to so it was a great gift.

This is 'Ghost Train' - my favourite track on the album.




Through the Windowpane - Guillemots









I was aware of the band, but didn't know a lot about them so this gift was an attempt to broaden my horizons I think. It took me a while to get into them, but one song in particular stuck in my head and captured my interest, which is how I think music should work.

This is 'Made Up Love Song #43'



More soon.

Word of the post: Unwillingly –adjective

1. not willing; reluctant; loath; averse: an unwilling partner in the crime.

2. opposed; offering resistance; stubborn or obstinate; refractory: an unwilling captive

weekly Quote - W/E 03/07/10

"Somewhere out there is the origin of all the dust, all the death, the sin, the misery, the destructiveness in the world. Human being's can't see anything without wanting to destroy it, Lyra. That's original sin. And I'm going to destroy it. Death is going to die." - His Dark Materials, Phillip Pullman

Maybe you don't understand how this works...

I don't really follow the football, not when there's E3 and Glastonbury to more fully occupy the TV. But I did stay behind with some guys from work to watch the England game - the one they won, not the most recent one!!!

One of the teacher related a great conversation they'd had with a pupil

Teacher: What's the score now?

Pupil: 1-0 to England!

Teacher: Great! Who scored?

Pupil: Err....England?!!!


Guess it was kinda obvious really!!! Oh and Defoe scored the goal (I think) if you're wondering.

Word of the post: Verbal –adjective

1 of or pertaining to words: verbal ability.

2. consisting of or in the form of words: verbal imagery.

3. expressed in spoken words; oral rather than written: verbal communication; verbal agreement.

Weekly Quote - W/E 26/6/10

"In those days spirits were brave, the stakes were high, men were real men, women were real women, and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri." - The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Douglas Adams

Systems

I thought I might share with you some of my systems for web posting in various formats. Most of us like to put things on our blog, Facebook pages and computers. I got bored with waiting around with the same picture or words so I took to regularly updating by web output and this has slowly turned into a rigid system which I now stick to rigidly.

Monday





Facebook status update: Unless there's something tremendously interesting going on in my life I stick to my game of posting up song lyrics as updates.









Blogga's Wall: My newest venture; on Blogga the Hutt I now post up a picture every week showing what I'm up to. My reviews and updates are rarely on time and reviewing everything I did would be tedious so it's a quick way of showing what's new - be it movies, games or as we see this week: comics.

Wednesday





Facebook status update. Continuing the system. I work through an album song by song, picking any song line that fits with the 'is' status line of the original Facebook bar, the results when taken out of context are often amusing. I'm currently working through a Led Zeppelin album and am on 'Immigrant Song' currently.

Friday




Facebook status update: Yes, that's three a week, the Monday, Weds + Fri system works quite well and is used by more prolific bloggers like XKCD and Penny Arcade, ones who have real content to add!!

Saturday







Weekly Quote: You should be familiar with this, I try and get 'em in once a week, mostly I succeed. I've used a variety of sources but for a while I've been using quotes from novels listed in the 'Big Read' survey done by the BBC a while back.
















Wallpaper: I like to keep my desktop looking fresh so I change my wallpaper every week. Again I use a variety of sources, I'm currently using a nice set of Mass Effect 2 wallpapers e-mailed to me by a friend.

And that's it - interesting or a sign of madness - maybe you can tell?

Word of the post: Questionable –adjective

1

of doubtful propriety, honesty, morality, respectability, etc.: questionable activities; in questionable taste.

2.

open to question or dispute; doubtful or uncertain: a statement of questionable accuracy.

Weekly Quote Double - W/E 19/6/10

"I am no bird and no net ensnares me. I am a free human being with an independent will." - Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte

I saw the Leonardo DiCaprio movie recently, this has always stuck in my head

"Talk not to me, for I'll not speak a word.
Do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee." - Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare

Nowhere near as funny but...

I've been getting into XKCD recently and I was bored and stuck for ideas on what to post so...











and I'm aware that it may not be funny at all, but a boy can dream right?

Word of the post: –Manoeuvre noun

1 a planned and regulated movement or evolution of troops, warships, etc.

Weekly Quote - W/E 05/05/10

"I don't think it will be any good trying to go back through the wardrobe door... you won't get into Narnia again by that route... yes, of course you'll get back to Narnia again some day... but don't go trying to use the same route twice. Indeed, don't try to get there at all. It'll happen when you're not looking for it." - The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis

Somewhat unfortunate...

From the inside cover, of 'The Pacific' - the book that accompanies the new Series. I don't have the exact words so I'm paraphrasing, but I don't think any meaning is lost.

'This is the tale of those men who fought on to the closing days of the war. Standing together they continued to the end, though there was a heavy price to pay, a price paid by all...


£20.

*wince*

Weekly Quote - W/E 29/5/10

"I hate to think I've got to grow up and be Miss March and wear long gowns...it's bad enough to be a girl, anyway, when I like boy's games and work and manners!" - Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

Some Trips Out

I haven't used my camera in a while. I keep forgetting to take it out, perhaps I'm subconsciously used to having a massive delay before the flash goes off and so not being able to capture the action I'd like. Still I've managed to take some reasonably decent photos with it so maybe I should be more forgiving.

I can't quite remember where I took this but I love these plants, they're fantastically weird, I think they could pass for the next Doctor Who villain or something.











Near where I live there is a farm park, which hosts a fairly impressive collection of animals these days including peacocks...










Highland cattle...










And the advantage to being local is you can walk around the perimeter and sometimes be greeted by the odd curious Ostrich!










The place also hosts what is quite possible the creepiest fairground ride ever!










That's it for now - I'll dig some more stuff out of the random cupboard soon.

Word of the post: Yardstick –noun

1.a stick a yard long, commonly marked with subdivisions, used for measuring.

2.any standard of measurement or judgment: Test scores are not the only yardstick of academic achievement.

Some Weekly Quotes I missed

Sorry about the delay, lots of extra work, which is great, but keeping me away from the computer a bit too much!!

Ooh - one of my favourites! This book's vivid description of life in totalitarian rule was so captivating I was ill by the end of the book!!

"The horrible thing about the teo minutes hate was not that one was oblidged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in." - Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell

And another favourite!!

"One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them." - The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R.Tolkien

Thanks for your patience, I'll try and knock up some more content soon.

Splinter Cell World Tour, part 5

I've nabbed the demo for the fifth game and I'm hoping to get my hands on the full version soon. In the meantime let's have a look at where Fisher heads next in his first mission.

Myanmar
Country: Myanmar aka Burma
Area: 676,578 km2
Population: 50,020,000
Language: Burmese




After infiltrating the CIA headquarters and investigating a corrupt software manufacturer based also in Langley, Sam's trail takes him to the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar. This is an even tougher assignment than Langley as discovery could cause an international incident, so Sam must remain completely undetected throughout.

I know little about Myanmar other than that it is 'near China' so I'll have a quick dig to find out what might appeal to a novice tourist on his way over there. Seemingly one of the most interesting things to see over there are the massive Buddhist temples seen above, with the lush jungle surrounding it fit for exploring. There are also plenty of beaches as a third of the perimeter is an uninterrupted coastline all the way down.

Myanmar is also a hotbed of controversy with human rights abuses causing strains with the Western States. The country is very deprived, and with tensions with the regime diminishing foreign investment it means that there are signs of the lack of development around, such as the Sakura Tower, depicted below, which is almost empty due to lack of investment. Despite these controversies and difficulties it still looks to be a lush and diverse nation and well worth a visit.












Word of the post: Far-fetched–adjective

improbable; not naturally pertinent; being only remotely connected; forced; strained: