Altered Spaces

How to hack your Wii

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:02:29 GMT

If you'd like to run homemade (aka homebrew) games and applications on your Wii, here's a quick and dirty guide:

What you need

A copy of Zelda Twilight Princess for Wii (rent or borrow it if you don't own it).
An SD memory card for your Wii.

What to do

Start Zelda and create a saved game, then quit out of the game.
From the main Wii channel screen go to to the Wii system menu and browse to the Wii System Memory section to view a list of saved games
Delete your Zelda saved game
Connect your SD card to your PC
Format the SD card as FAT (rather than FAT32 etc.)
Download the following files:
1. http://hbc.hackmii.com/dist/twilight-hack-v0.1-beta1.zip
2. http://hbc.hackmii.com/dist/the_homebrew_channel-beta_8.tar.gz
Unzip the files you've just downloaded
Copy the following unzipped files to the following locations on the SD card:
1. Copy the boot.elf file to the root of the SD card
2. Copy the private folder to the root of the SD card
Create a new folder on the SD card called apps (for later use).
Power down the Wii, insert the SD card and restart the Wii
From the main Wii channel screen go to the Wii system menu and browse to the Wii SD card section to view the contents of the SD card.
Copy the correct hacked version of the Zelda saved game file for your region (European version is marked EUR) into the Wii system memory.
Start Zelda and load the saved game.
Walk forward and talk to the man in front of you at the start of the game (screen will now go black).
Follow all the subsequent onscreen prompts (at your own risk) until the Wii reboots.
You should now have the Homebrew channel installed on the main Wii channel menu.

For more information regarding the homebrew channel, please refer to this link:

http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Main_Page

Note: Although I have witnessed no problems with this hack, I cannot 100% guarantee it won't damage your Wii in some way. It's bloody good though!

Any console gamers in here?

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:30:25 GMT

If there are any gamers out there who fancy duking it out with me online on either the Wii or the XBOX 360, leave your friend code or gamertag in a comment to this post and I'll make sure I add you to my respective console's friends list (if I don't run out of space first).

Wii Friend's Code: 4802 6220 0852 8446

XBOX 360 Gamertag: wideawakewesley

I've only just got an XBOX 360 so bear with me while I increase my games collection, but if anyone has Mario Kart for the Wii, I'm always up for some blue shell action!

A Story of Road Rage

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:22:27 GMT

Yesterday when pulling out of the car park at work, I failed to notice a car approaching from my right. Fortunately he was far enough away from me that he didn't even have to slam on his brakes to compensate for me, just slow down, but as I drove past him he called me a "f**king w**ker", to which I replied, "sorry", but I doubt he heard. Anyway, me being me I wasn't happy leaving it at that, so I wrote this guy a note and left it under the wiper blade of his car (he works in the building next to us). The note read something like this:

Dear Sir,

I unreservedly apologise for pulling out in front of you when exiting Power House at 1pm today. I was totally at fault and acknowledge that this angered you. I would like to offer to buy you a drink as recompense for my mistake on condition that you apologise for calling me a "f**king w**ker".

Sincerely,

W. Williams

My e-mail address

p.s. I'm not taking the p*ss

I wasn't expecting a reply, but last night I received the following e-mail...

Hi Wesley.

Many thanks for taking the time to write a note apologising for the incident earlier. Your apology is accepted and in addition I would like to apologise to you for my language. Please understand that no stress was caused, I get enough of that at work, I was just venting my frustrating at the situation.

I am not a violent person and I used to dash about when I was younger. I take things a little steadier these days.

That seems to be a nasty spot and I am sure someone will have a bump there sooner or later. Take care.

Unfortunately I am away from work until 30/06/08 but a drink at a later date to apologise face to face would be good.

Contact me if you like on <e-mail address> or my home email although I don't use it daily.

Road rage helps no-one and none of us are perfect drivers, so the next time someone makes a mistake on the road that doesn't cause you or your car any harm, consider for a moment all the mistakes you've made on the road and calm down. You never know, the next person you call a f**king w**ker might not be as polite as I am.

New version of Windows Live Writer

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:24:25 GMT

If you're blogging from a Windows platform and you're not using Windows Live Writer, Mr. T has some wise words for you...

"I ain't gettin' on no plane, Hannibal."

Actually, I think this one is more appropriate

"I pity the fool!"

Anyway, there's a new version out, more info can be found here:

http://www.liveside.net/blogs/main/archive/2008/06/02/windows-live-writer-ctp-released.aspx

Improv Everywhere - Milton Keynes (UK)

Thu, 22 May 2008 10:47:10 GMT

Not sure how many of you are aware of Improv Everywhere, but I'm trying to start a group here in Milton Keynes.

Improv Everywhere can best be described as a group of random people who want to get together to cause scenes of chaos and joy in public places.

Sounds weird I know, here are a few examples of what we do:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tGxuO1F3f74

For more information on Improv Everywhere see the FAQ:

http://www.improveverywhere.com/faq/

To join the fun in Milton Keynes, sign up here (it's all free):

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=13252283844

Nintendo WiiWare launched in the UK today

Tue, 20 May 2008 09:03:41 GMT

Nintendo have launched their WiiWare service in Europe today. WiiWare is available via the shopping channel and is a method of buying and downloading games similar to the virtual console. However, this service is for new games only. Games can be bought with Wii Points (and points can be bought in the shopping channel or in retail stores, £7 = 1000 Wii Points) and games cost anywhere between 500 and 1500 Wii Points.

You can also buy WiiWare (and Virtual Console) games as gifts for people on your Wii Contacts list, as one of my friends did today (as a birthday present).

http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/news/2007/surprise_your_wii_friends_with_the_gift_of_gaming_6678.html

The two most anticipated WiiWare games released today are LostWinds and Dr. Mario. The latter even features online play against people on your Wii Contacts list and only one of you needs to own the game as you can send a "demo" version to them so they can play against you.

http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/news/2008/preview_wiiwares_first_batch_of_games_8400.html

Also, when buying licensed Nintendo products, you get a registration card in the game box that contains a scratch panel. Underneath is a code that will give you a number of Stars on the Nintendo website. Those Stars can be traded for Wii Points, which in turn can be spent on WiiWare (or Virtual Console) games. The process is a bit convoluted, but it works.

http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/club_nintendo/product_registration.jsp

https://wiipointscard.nintendo-europe.com/php/index.php?lang=en_GB

How to link your IM, Facebook & Twitter

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 11:06:13 GMT

I've never been a fan of Twitter, I always felt it had very limited uses (and still do). However, when I became aware of ways to link things like Twitter with my Windows Live (MSN) Messenger status message and my Facebook status message then the whole thing because a much more interesting proposition.

So right now, I can write a new twitter message which in turn is picked up by the add-in to my messenger client and my facebook application which in turn updates my Facebook status message. So instead of two status messages, I now have one and I'm also twittering. My life just got a marginally easier!

Although I haven't investigated any further, I believe the same effect can be achieved with Yahoo Messenger, but to do what I've done with Windows Live Messenger, you just need the following:

http://kunal.kundaje.net/twessenger/

and

http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2231777543&ref=s

Now I just need to feed this into my blog and be very careful about what I put in my status message from now on.

BBC iPlayer now on Nintendo Wii

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:53:52 GMT

Original source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/latest/

Last month we made BBC iPlayer available on Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch devices, the first of many mobile platforms that we hope to support.

The theme for this month's iPlayer release is "iPlayer in the living room"- i.e. watching BBC on-demand programmes on your big-screen television set.

Today, most people watch iPlayer programmes on their computer. That's great - you can watch your favourite BBC programmes curled up in bed with your notebook PC, or on your study desk while you check your email, or (if you downloaded our programmes) on the plane or away abroad on holiday.

But have you tried hooking up your computer to your TV set?

iPlayer programmes, particularly downloaded programmes, look great on a TV. The video quality is usually even better when iPlayer programmes are played back on a TV than on your computer screen. Most newish computers, particularly notebook computers, have an S-video output, which, with a suitable S-video to SCART cable, can connect to most modern TV sets. If you have an LCD or plasma TV, chances are that it will have a VGA input which will give even better picture quality when connected to the VGA output of your notebook PC.

If you have a Nintendo Wii, it's already connected to your TV, and now you can play BBC iPlayer programmes directly on your Wii.

On your Wii, you'll first need to install the Internet Channel, which costs 500 Wii points, or approx. £3.50 (unfortunately there's no alternative to having to buy the Wii Internet Channel for iPlayer web site access at this time - but later we hope to be able to get iPlayer on Wii without this purchase being needed). After you've installed the Internet Channel, browse to www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer, find your favourite programme, and hit Play. The programme should play immediately.

For a smooth playback experience on Wii you'll need an internet connection that can give you 1Mbps or better. If you're experiencing buffering issues, try turning off any P2P or other downloads that are running on other computers around your home.

iPlayer on Wii is still in beta, and over the coming weeks we'll tweak the video encoding rates and playback window size to get the best possible video quality.

Wes says, "This is great news. The majority of the public won't have a PC connected to their TV, but they may well have a Wii, which means they instantly get access to all of the BBC's content via the internet and through iPlayer. I'm sure this will become a very popular way for people to catch up on shows they've missed in future. Well done to the beeb!"

I'd love you to sponsor me in a space hopper race!

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 14:19:06 GMT

Tomorrow, myself and three other colleagues will be mounting their Sport Relief branded Space Hoppers in search of glory against other businesses. The event takes place in Milton Keynes shopping centre in the UK, but the charity supports vulnerable people across the globe. For more information please read this:

http://www.sportrelief.com/cash-in-action

If that sounds like a worthy cause worth contributing too, please sponsor us here:

http://www.mysportrelief.com/TeamPage.aspx?teamID=34300

Whether it be £1 or $1, it would be greatly appreciated and I absolutely promise to provide pictures and video to brighten your day!

HD DVD is canned, Blu Ray is now the only HD format

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:08:57 GMT

On the 19th February 2008, Toshiba announced that they're no longer going to manufacture HD DVD players, effectively ending the HD format war between themselves and Sony (makes of Blu Ray players). What does that mean for the consumer?

If you own a HD DVD player, it's now effectively worthless. After 2008, don't expect to see any future movie releases in that format.
If you don't own a HD DVD player or a Blu Ray player, there is now only one choice, Blu Ray.
If you already own a Blu Ray player, lucky you, you backed the right horse, buy a lottery ticket right now!

If anyone wants any advice on what Blu Ray player to buy, apparently the PS3 contains the best Blu Ray player on the market, it's also fully upgradeable and costs little more than a standard Blu Ray player.

The best thing you'll read today

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:31:27 GMT

It's Monday, which automatically means I'm grumpy, so to lighten my mood and everyone else's, please enjoy the awesomeness of the London Branch of Anonymous vs The Cult of Scientology London Division...

anonymous vs scientology

And the picture of the day award goes to...

I would have quite honestly paid to be there, especially after reading about it, but I had more important work to do as a god parent at a Christening for a "real" religion.

Liverpool FC Supporters Union

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:49:07 GMT

"Sons of Shankly"

You may or may not have heard of us. But here's a little bit about who we are. To do exactly as it says on the tin. A Union for all Liverpool Supporters. A voice that represents us all. A platform for us all to stand together and fight for what we believe in.

It is early days, and more details of how the organisation will grow will appear over the next few weeks and months. But the catalyst for our formation.....

We want Tom Hicks and George Gillett out of our club - why?

THEY LIED & HAVE JEOPARDISED OUR CLUB FOR THEIR PERSONAL GAIN

They promised that all loans would be would be secured against their own personal assets.

THEY LIED

They have taken out a loan of £350m. £105m has been secured against the club and £245m against Kop Holdings – which owns 100% of Liverpool Football Club and has only one source of revenue: The Club.
So, regardless of the smoke and mirrors, Liverpool Football Club has to pay all of the interest on all of the £350m.
The interest payments alone for this debt will be around £30m each year. All of which will be payable by Liverpool FC – more than enough to wipe out the club's operating profit.
Gillett and Hicks have only taken out this new loan over an 18 month contract. This is very unusual for a deal of this size; three years is the usual minimum term. Wall Street analysts believe that this is because they had difficulty in getting the banks to lend them the money. Which raises questions about:

THE STADIUM

£60m of that loan has been earmarked for starting construction of the new ground.
There is no funding yet in place to complete the stadium, nor has planning permission been granted for a 71,000 capacity. Existing consent is for 60,000, with any increase depending upon improvements to transport and car parking. With no underground car park, the new plans have less car parking than the original 60,000 design!
If they can't borrow again in 18 months then they cannot complete the stadium. How can they pledge now that the stadium will be built? In the same way they pledged it would be well on its way to completion twelve months ago – by misleading us.
So do they actually intend to complete the building of the new stadium?
Should Hicks & Gillett get the loan to actually build the new ground, the additional interest payments will be £25m per year.
This will leave Liverpool Football Club to shoulder annual payments of £55m in interest alone. Which begs the question:

WHERE WILL THE FUNDS COME FROM FOR TRANSFERS?

When they took over, Hicks & Gillett promised to back the manager in the transfer market.
From the two transfer windows Hicks and Gillett have owned the club for, Benitez has spent £48.5m on players, and recouped £33.5m in player sales. A net spend of £15m. This is the up-to-date figure that includes the purchase of Skrtel and the sale of Sissoko.
The club brought in around £30m from the run to the Champions League Final last season alone. On top of this there is the increased TV money the club's has received.
Where is the money Gillett and Hicks have backed the manager with? They've lied to us, they've manipulated the press, and some people have believed the spin. We won't.
In reality, after all the talk about money and Snoogy Doogy, the manager has spent £15m in the last two transfer windows. How is that backing him in the transfer market?

It is about time the real picture was painted for all Liverpool fans out there. They promised to respect the club's heritage, history and traditions.

THEY HAVE LIED AND LIED.

They asked to be judged on what their actions. Well they have failed to make a start or produce the funding on the stadium, the major reason why David Moores looked for investment, they have failed to back the manager in the transfer market, They have not put one single cent of their own money into this club and they have undermined the traditions of the football club and the office of manager.

They have, however, managed to create huge debt for LFC to pay off without any end product.
How, exactly, is the football club in a better position now than it was twelve months ago under David Moores?

After the Sunderland game, we staged a 15 minutes stay behind protest at the end of the game. We intend to do the same again.

During the protest, Steve McManaman commented on Setanta that the Americans had backed the manager in the transfer market, secured their new loan bringing money into the club, and we should all forget about it and move on. We don't blame McManaman, a fair number of good Reds have been won over by their spin, so why shouldn't a blue?

So it's time to spread the message and get the real goings on from within Anfield to a wider audience. It's about time the truth was exposed. Hicks and Gillett have to be forced out of Anfield before they wreak more havoc.

Keep a look out for www.sonsofshankly.com which will be going live in the next few days. We'll be handing out flyers at the match with details of any future events.We'll announce any future meetings on our website, everyone invited, all opinions welcomed.

Please send this announcement on to everyone you know. And keep an eye on our website for further updates and how to get involved.

The next meeting is scheduled for The Olympia at 12pm on Saturday 16th February – before the Barnsley game.

The Olympia
99 West Derby Road
Liverpool
L6 2AF

Everybody welcome - See you all there.

"Liverpool Football Club, Is In The Wrong Hands"

"The socialism I believe in is everyone working for each other, everyone having a share of the rewards.
It's the way I see football, the way I see life"

Liverpool FC Supporters Union

"Sons of Shankly"

Nintendo Wii release schedule for 2008 (Q1)

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:29:10 GMT

Super Smash Bros Brawl has been delayed in the UK and will not be release until Q3 (July) at the earliest.

January 2008

PDC World Championship Darts 2008 (Oxygen Games), 11th January 2008
Wii Chess (Nintendo), 18th January 2008
Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Capcom / Nintendo), 18th January 2008
Donkey Kong Jet Race (Nintendo), 25th January 2008
Hamster Heroes (Data Design Interactive)
Kawasaki Jet Ski (Data Design Interactive)
Kidz Sports: International Football (Data Design Interactive)
Urban Extreme (Data Design Interactive)
NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (SEGA)
Ghost Squad (SEGA)
Last Ninja (System 3)

February 2008

Battalion Wars 2 (Nintendo), 15th February 2008
No More Heroes (Rising Star Games), 29th February 2008
Call For Heroes: Pompolic Wars (Data Design Interactive)
EARACHE Extreme Metal Racing (Data Design Interactive)
Bleach (SEGA)
Kawasaki Snow Mobiles (Data Design Interactive)
London Taxi: Rush Hour (Data Design Interactive)
Pool Party (SouthPeak Games)
Destroy All Humans 3: Big Willy Unleashed (THQ)
Spongebob: Atlantis Squarepantis (THQ)

March 2008

ATV Thunder Ridge Riders & Monster Trucks (ZOO Digital Publishing), 7th March 2008
The Wizard of Oz (ZOO Digital Publishing), 7th March 2008
Naruto Wii (tentative title) (TOMY/Nintendo), 28th March 2008
Bomberman Land Wii (Rising Star Games)
SEGA Superstars Tennis (SEGA)
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (SEGA)
MX vs ATV Untamed (THQ)

Q1 but no firm date

Worms: A Space Oddity (THQ), Q1 2008
PES 2008 (Konami), Q1

Wes says, "The delay of Super Smash Bros Brawl is a real disappointment for the gamers gamer in the UK. Fortunately for Nintendo, the majority of their customers won't have the first clue about the game, so they won't even notice the delay. However, the rest of the release schedule for those first three months is reasonably promising. Zack & Wiki is by far the stand out title, with Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, Worms, Battalion Wars 2, NiGHTS, No More Heroes and Ghost Squad providing strong backup. Outside of those titles, there's definitely a few others that could prove worthy purchases if they manage to hold to these release dates. So while I'm incredibly disappointed in the Smash Bros delay, this list of titles, plus the slew of titles released in the last couple of months should keep everyone busy."

The Politics Show States Hillsborough caused by Ticketless fans

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 11:40:01 GMT

Not content with lying about Hillsborough on Eastenders, the BBC is now spewing it's lies on The Politics Show. Here's the link to the programme in question:

BBC-The_Politics_Show

The following is a letter highlighting the lies/issues with the content of the program...

Dear BBC,

As somebody who has been campaigning for over three years to see the introduction of safe standing within our football stadiums, I was pleased that a programme as prestigious as The Politics Show gave the issue coverage yesterday.

I was, however, deeply disappointed about two comments made within the programme. The first one implied that the installation of fences in our grounds was a direct result of Heysel. This is not the case; may I refer you to a book entitled In Red Army General by Tony O'Neill in which it is very clear that the main reason for the fences going up in the late Seventies was domestic football hooliganism. The Heysel tragedy was in 1985 something a quick look on the BBC's own website would have confirmed!

Secondly, it was stated that Hillsborough was as a result of supporters arriving late at the ground. Again, even a cursory check would establish that there were countless contributory factors to the disaster; some had built up over the years (for example, the Safety Certifcate was ten years old, and the club ignored police advice to reduce capacity) and many actions on the day were far more contributory than "fans arriving late".

It suits the agendas of many to continue to distort facts and peddle myths about the Hillsborough tragedy; indeed, part of our campaign concentrates on ensuring that Hillsborough is not used as even partial reason not to introduce modern, safe standing areas in this country or have a proper, informed debate on the issue, something that we've hitherto being denied.

For the BBC to glibly portray as a main contributory cause of a disaster in which 96 football fans lost their lives because some arrived late is disgraceful and unfortunately serves to perpetuate mistruths about the day.

I hope that you return to this topic on the Politics Show and give the story the justice it deserves.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards
Amanda Jacks
www.standupsitdown.co.uk

Kop will give its backing to Rafa Benitez

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 11:50:15 GMT

LIVERPOOL FC fans are expected to make a mass show of support for their beleaguered manager Rafael Benitez at tomorrow’s crucial Champions League game at Anfield.

Is the fate of the manager continues to hang in the balance after a public falling-out with the club’s American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, supporters’ groups and fans’ websites have pledged to stand by Mr Benitez.

This will take the form of pro-Benitez flags and banners being waved at tomorrow’s game against Porto, which Liverpool must win if they are to progress in the UEFA competition.

Independent Liverpool FC website Red and White Kop is calling on fans to stage a show of support for Mr Benitez outside the Sandon pub, in Oakfield Road, before the start of tomorrow night’s game, and to sing and chant his name during the match.

icLiverpool - Kop will give its backing to Rafa Benitez

http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=200326.0

http://www.paultomkins.com/blog.html

Wes says, "If the board of Liverpool FC decide to sack Rafa Benitez it'll go down as one of the worst decisions ever made by a football club. Removing the man responsible for bringing the club it's greatest success since the "glory days" would be suicide. So if you live in or near Liverpool, I urge you to go to the The Sandon pub at 6:30pm on Wednesday evening, prior to the Porto match, where an official support demo will be held. Also, if you're going to the match, learn your Rafa Benitez songs in advance, you're going to need them!"

The crusade for The Fun (TM) and spooky scrabble

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 09:40:35 GMT

A couple of weeks ago, I started a crusade to bring The Fun (TM) back to my office. Ever since we were acquired by a massive company two years ago, the amount of fun we've had has been in steady decline. The company we now work for won't even finance a Christmas meal for us, nevermind anything more extravagant like a party!

Anyway, as Children in Need was fast approaching I decided that would be the best place to start, so we had a School Theme day, complete with dressing up, tuck shop, school dinners and games. Suffice to say it all went really well and although we didn't raise Earth shattering amounts of money, I'm still proud of what we achieved and how many people took part and enjoyed themselves. The next organised event will probably be a self-funded Christmas meal and hopefully that will keep the ball rolling until the New Year.

So where does spooky scrabble come into all this?

Well, a several months ago, my wife spotted a scrabble advert in the window of a shop and it was so cool that I just had to take a picture. However, I'd forgotten all about it until the other day, when I was transferring pictures off my wife's old phone onto her new one. Here's the picture in question and considering my current crusade at work, it's just a little spooky.

Move over iTunes, Zune is here!

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:07:44 GMT

Original Source: Mike Torres

Ok, I take back every disparaging thing I ever said about the clunky old Zune device and buggy player software. The new software (oddly named just Zune - not Zune Player) is without a doubt the most aesthetically appealing client application I've used in a long time. Maybe ever; although Windows Vista's Media Center has to be up there. They just got so many little things right. I mean LOOK at the thing:

See that huge transparent image of Chris Brown behind the tracks? The player has those kind of touches everywhere, even for the most obscure artists. Along with subtle animations that make the thing feel "alive", six great artistic themes, the coolest type-down search I've seen yet, and a super-simple sync model with the Zune device.

I don't know if I'm going to use this all the time for playing music as it's still missing some of the basics like mini-mode, smart playlists, advanced metadata, and visualizations. But I do love looking at it. I'm holding out for the Zune 80 and it looks like it's not in stock anywhere yet, so it will be a few more weeks before I can really put things through their paces. But according to the reviews I've been reading, the Zune under-promised and over-delivered overall this time with a lot of people saying they prefer it to the iPod classic and nano. Personally, I'm just looking forward to watching Smallville (for free Apple!) and listening to TWiT on the Connector bus in the morning.

If you haven't tried it, download it at www.zune.net. Not only is it beautiful to look at, it's also light years easier to use than it was before. It makes iTunes look complicated. I dig. If the Zune Pass is really this easy to use, I may never buy music again.

Wes says, "I've never been a big fan of iTunes, preferring to use Windows Media Player instead, but I have to say I'm very impressed with this new Zune software (and no you don't need a Zune to use it). Download it and give it a try yourselves."

Beowulf - A must see 3D thrill ride!

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:12:09 GMT

It's been a long long time since I wrote a movie review of any kind on my Space, but I feel compelled to tonight, because I've just seen Beowulf and it was one of the best cinematic experiences of my life!

I should start by saying it's not the best movie I've ever seen, but it is probably going to be one of the most enjoyable experiences you'll have had watching a film for a long time (as long as you watch it at the cinema). I have no idea what's planned for the DVD release, but at the cinema it's in 3D and because it's in 3D you're not going to see a pirated version until it hits DVD because without the funky glasses below, the film is a blurry unwatchable mess.

Anyway, about the movie. Well it's based on an old folktale (think Lord Of The Rings style), it's all rendered in the most realistic CGI you'll see (this year at least), it features the vocal talents of amongst others, Ray Winstone and Angelina Jolie. The plot is tight and is held together with a nice script and some excellent action sequences. The 3D isn't overdone and really takes the movie to another level. It's not played as a gimmick and you'll get a sense of depth in this movie that is unsurpassed. The sound quality in the film is also top notch, with a nice accompanying score.

The only downside to the movie is that you often wonder if it would have been better to have been filmed with real actors, rather than CGI representations, as there are plenty of times where the CGI is just not quite up to scratch. However, on the flipside, there are times where the CGI is so good you have to pinch yourself. It's a bit of a mixed bag and I'm guessing budget and rendering time had something to do with how much could be of the highest detail.

The film has been released as a 12A in the UK and I have to say that some of the lines in the script are quite blatantly sexual and quite possibly at a level you wouldn't be happy with your 12 year old hearing, so it's probably got the correct rating and as a parent you should certainly want to be aware of that. It also features a reasonable amount of nakedness, both male and female (naked 3D CGI Angelina Jolie!), and I swear this will probably be the first time many people get excited looking at CGI nakedness.

As a guy, it's almost worth seeing for the Angelina Jolie segment, but throw in great action, 3D funkyness and an all round polished finish to all aspects of the movie and it becomes a must see for guys and girls of all ages.

Rating: 4/5

Summary: An unmissable 3D cinematic thrill ride.

Liverpool FC, Rafa, Rotation and the Media

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:01:45 GMT

This season, has seen Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez come under immense criticism for his decision to rotate his starting eleven based on his own person tactical assessment of both the current opposition and the condition of his players. The reason of this criticism seems to be that the majority of the British media believe that you win league titles by playing the same eleven players for 42 matches, that the tactics of your opposition should not factor into your team selection and that when they do, it should be the players that cost the least that are left out of the most games.

So it came as quite a shock when Rafa named only his second ever unchanged starting eleven against Fulham. In all probability, he did so because he had nothing to lose. If Liverpool lost (or drew), his rotation methods would be justified and if they won, he'd just be happy that they did. In the end, he got the best of both worlds, as Liverpool won, but only because of the substitutions, as his starting eleven proved reasonably ineffective. Surprisingly most of the media have acknowledged this fact and have taken a slight nibble out their hats, however, only a Premier League title is going to make them eat them all.

The only downside, is that Torres scored the vital goal, which means that the next time Rafa chooses to leave him on the bench (which he will) and Liverpool fail to win (which they might), the media will once again get out the torches and pitchforks. At least for now, Gareth Southgate and Steve McClaren's plights might manage to divert the flaming red gaze of the media, if only for a month or so.

The most depressing thing I've seen today

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 14:45:05 GMT

Officials of Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo with the bodies of four mountain gorillas illegally slaughtered.
Photo: Reuters

http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/gorilla-slaughter-sparks-campaign/2007/11/05/1194117949077.html