I remember trying Watchdogs too, and one of the Far Cry games, and thinking, 'I don't have time for all this pointless busywork'. The freedom of Elite was a breath of fresh air after that.

I am also old and joyless, and I did go off games for quite a bit - I think I got about 20 minutes into one of the last Assassin's Creed games before getting bored and switching off - but I came around recently. First, it was the quiet pleasures of space trucking in Elite:Dangerous, then the other week I finally…

Where's the full paragraph on Esther Rantzen? In the Ireland of the 80's, being allowed to stay up on Sunday night for That's Life was your only access to talking animals. And depressing stories of terminal illness.

They had a repeat run of Brucie's version a while ago on one of the more obscure channels, and I sat with a big grin on my face as my 3 kids screamed advice at the screen.
Their grasp of 80's era teasmade pricing is now second to none.

"Knife goes in, guts come out"

I think it's a Kentucky Fried Chicken/KFC situation. They can't legally call it that any more after they switched to cheaper ingredients. Anyway, I'm off for a cool refreshing glass of MutToN DEW right now. Mmm, sheepy.

You've sold me. Your recommendation was all I needed, thanks. I'll check back in when I come up for air.

Great choice. I've been edging towards pulling my dog-earred copies from the shelf for the last few months. I haven't read them in more than twenty years but so many of those stories are now hard-wired into my brain.
Do yourself a favour (if you haven't read it already) and stay away from The Scarlet Gospels. I'm a…

I'm a couple of hundred pages into Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. I'm enjoying it but there is an awful lot there to chew on. I feel like any moment a plot is going to reveal itself, but then it switches to another character, or goes off on an extended primer on encryption, or some other tangent. As I say, I am…

Love it. The internet's existance is justified for another day. Are we racing towards a thrilling conclusion?

I don't think I recognise this man, but that may be because I keep staring at the picture above and seeing the photoshop commands needed to create a face that small on a head that large.

I feel similarly about Prometheus, but I found I missed the grimy and lived-in feel of Alien. I'm looking forward to a return to the aesthetic of the first movie, ie. shlubby space truckers caught up in a horrifying fight for survival against an unknowable death machine.
And green-screen computers with chunky keyboards…

Gardyloo, my friend. I fear that this lascivious hag is not to be trusted. Please practice vigilance in these coming small hours. I would hate for some harm to befall a treasured chuckaboo as yourself.

I concur. The lazy vocal on the Adele track really grates on me, while Sheryl belts it out like Bassey would have. Plus, it's got lots of Spy Guitars.

Ninja III: The Domination.
It was the best of times/blurst of times.

I took a few ninjutsu classes as a teenager. The only technique I mastered was the one where you get a sore back and the man shouts at you for dropping your stick.

Yes.
[fuzzy bass whomp]
And class is in session.
[piercing scream]

I just want to say that I signed up with disqus specifically to express my gratitude for these continuing posts. Your exploits read like a particularly thrilling chap-book, and long may they continue.