News and views

I guess it's fair I write a new entry, seeing as it's been a LONG time since I wrote anything. Add this up to a combination of being insanely busy and not really having much of anything to write about and you get the reasons, but after a stern talking too from Aditi, which sounded something like "You don't write anything anymore" I figured now would be a pretty good time to actually sit down and type, seeing as I do have news to talk about. First off, I'm writing this in between helping my brother pack his things and move in with his girlfriend. The weird thing is not having the parents here is actually making the whole thing move a lot faster than normal. Granted, if my mother was here she's be looking at everything we load into the van and saying in a nostalgic voice "Aww, remember this Chris?" and my father would be reminding him of what a big step this is, how he can't come back if it falls through and about how I'm next. You know, really positive things like that. In a strange way though, I'm happy for my brother. He's moving in with a woman he's very happy and settled with and the two of them through combined finances are in a position where they can afford to do it. If there's anything I can be accused of it's just wishing that I was in a situation like that. I'm also in a situation where my girlfriend is half way around the world and I don't know if I'm going to get to see her again, but that's something I don't tend to think about too much, otherwise I may lock myself in my room and become a very miserable person.

In other news, Sad Panda Q&A episode 4 is completed and has been released to fairly positive reviews. I'm happy with it as a whole, though I do think it's a little on the long side so I've suggested a rule that the episodes should run no longer than 10 minutes. I also think there's a little too much of "me" in it which sounds like a contradiction when you read that I edit it, but contrary to popular belief I don't actually like appearing on camera all that much. Still, in a series which one defining goal is to be as over the top and out there as possible I think we've raised the bar pretty high for ourselves. I won't go into to much detail on my thoughts and workings of the episode as I'll be recording a commentary with Panda this week, so a lot of my musings will come out in that talk. I would like to extend a thank you to Aditi at this point for staying with my despite my constant ability to humiliate myself though appearing on camera peeing, in the bathroom, dressed as a killer cricket player with a high squeaky voice and then in bed with someone else while appearing to have a fixation on Anne Hathaway. The silence on the other end of the line after she'd watched the end was too funny to put into words.



After finishing the Panda Q&A I moved onto completing the NEW, yes new, intro for Bad Movie Beatdown. In truth, I was feeling slightly burnt out after completing the Q&A, in doing which I've discovered new found respect for people like Spoony and Doug, but once I started piecing the BMB footage together I was really pleased with how it came together. One thing I'd noticed about the previous track footage is that it was starting to become very grainy, mainly due to the fact that the original render of the piece that I edited together has been the same one I've used since the show started using a title sequence. I still to this day wonder how the title sequence would look if I'd used Mat's original choice. One of the best things about this title sequence is I had all of the anniversary footage available to me, as well as the newer episode of BMB and its allowed me to put together (what I think) is probably the most tightly edited and exciting edition of the opening titles to date. Aside from the titles I've also recorded lines for Smarty and a small cameo for Jon (ChaosD1) which, again, kind of contradicts the whole doesn't like to appear on camera thing.

The UK is also well known for its terrible delay on release dates and this Friday just passed, I finally managed to get my hands on No More Heroes 2. It's a crime that this game didn't sell more than it did, as I adored the first game and love the sequel just as much, being as off the wall and insane as the original. I managed to clock it last night on the mild setting so will have to move up to the higher difficulty when I get a chance to sit down with a few hours to set aside. My brother moving out also means I get his room while mine it gutted which will hopefully mean a better online connection for my X-Box Live. At the moment, for SOME reason, my connection sucks (which makes little sense as I type this though a perfect wifi connection) and my brother who was but a sheet of plastic wall away from me had a stellar connection with no problems. Still, while in his old room, it does mean I'll be able to log into Red Dead for the first time and actually take part in some free roaming matches. Yes, it will mean instant death for me, but anyone who's played me on COD will know I suffer from that quite easily so it'll come as no surprise.

Plans for this week revolve around getting a Cinema Snob video edited together as well as a Spine Breakers Q&A podcast. Coldguy has also invited me on as a guest for the series 1 year anniversary and asked me to take part in a pilot for a new show idea he might be having. Coupled with the eventual editing of Foreign Delicacies episode 4 and the writing and planning for Panda Q&A episode 5 and I've got a busy few weeks ahead of me.