Web Blues

Convinced I am falling out of love with the internet. It used to be id log on eager to learn something new or thrilled at the prospect of getting involved in a forum debate, but all this is rapidly disappearing. The excitement is flakier than Dodo bones. Seems ive done it all, earned the tee shirt and now after a quick glance at online newspapers and a kickabout on social media, all I want to do is log off again. Probably long overdue.
You see Ive been online since 1999 and the days of the Sega Dreamcast. The Dream Arena was my first taste of chat rooms and message boards, it was the place I heard "LOL" for the first time. It was new, alien, a digital frontier waiting to be explored by hip young cowboys who preferred joysticks over six shooters. I couldn't wait to sign in, to escape the humdrum of real life and get sucked into a kind of virtual playground. That's how most of us saw the internet back then but fast forward almost 15 years to a place where Smartphones and Tablets are everyday devices, and 'LOL' is as commonly used as 'Thank You' and much has changed. I certainly have, and with it my attitude of the great WWW highway.
I just spend 20 minutes staring at the Yahoo screen in a miserable 'limbo', not knowing what to do next. Just sat letting the computer backlight hypnotise me into some kind of pause, a bit like being lost at sea. So tired of it all. I saw it coming a while ago when I noticed I was visiting forums less. Over the years I have made great friends on internet message boards, some really wonderful people who some I regard as part of an extended family (may sound odd to some but its true), but when even they could not inspire me to log on (it wasn't them, it was the internet) I knew there was trouble in paradise. Or trouble on Google.
And like I say, its not a people issue (although certain figures grate), its the internet itself; the endless words, the anonymous
hands hitting the keyboard, pop up adverts, everything dotcom feels flat.

Reel Biz '13

Nice 'tache Leo

Until recently my love for cinema, the silver screen, had almost disappeared (forever I thought.) But thanks to the internet and its 'gubbins', my love has returned (mind you 'love' is a bit strong but hey ho as The Ramones would say.) Here are a few movies that have been blowing my sails (Ooer!) these last few days/weeks, and if you fancy some bloody good action (literally bloody with most) then grab yourself some sofa and beer and 'mow the reel' by pressing PLAY.

Dredd

An orgy of bullets and big guns. Director Pete Travis has gone for a more 'real' vision of Mega-City One and it almost looks like any US city, it certainly isn't the sprawling Mega-City that we're used to with the comics and Stallone film with 50ft high neon ads and busy traffic jams packed with flying cars. Dredd reminds me of Robocop. It has the same futuristic-but-not-quite buzz about it.

Django Unchained

Now while its a great film, its overly flabby and too long. 2 hours 40mins? F**k that sh!t Tarantino, you need to know when to clam that movie mouth. If he cut it to 2 hours and trimmed the fat off it would be my favourite Tarantino movie but as it stands I get fidgety after 120 minutes. Shame too because the characters are wonderful, as are some of the set pieces. And how much has Leonardo DiCaprio matured as an actor? He's come on in leaps and bounds from when he looked like a teenage lesbian in Titanic.


Gangster Squad

Whatever you might think of Sean Penn (and lets face it, the fella comes out with some daft things at times) put it aside and THIS MOVIE! Believe you me, you will not regret it, its f**king brilliant.