The Galleon.

Portsmouth’s official student newspaper recently changed names from Pugwash News to The Galleon, and the first issue of our newly rebranded iteration is available now.

Consequently, I’m the gaming and technology editor for the paper. If you’d like to make any contributions (any at all) then, by all means, get in touch.

The proposed name change presented us at the paper with an interesting dilemma. It was all done very democratically, with all of the paper’s editors coming together to cast a vote which ended 14-6 in favour or something like that. Some students understandably wanted the decision to be more of a campus-wide vote, giving students the chance to decide whether their paper changes its name or not, and then be given a vote on what that new name should be. Sounds good in theory, doesn’t it?

However, I’d like to defend the manner in which this decision was taken, while pointing out some of the potential problems that true ‘democracy’ presents us with.

We are a young team, first established in 2007, and admittedly the paper has a long way to go before it can consider itself on par with most other university-run publications. One of the things that had the potential of holding us back in the long term was the Pugwash name itself. Regardless of its stated ‘official’ origins, one cannot deny its potential connotations. It sounded light-hearted and potentially immature, giving a false impression of our paper’s high aims and standards. We want to sound professional, we want to be professional, and I don’t personally believe that was the intentions of those who originally established the paper, who may not have seen it as a long term project. Long term is exactly what this current team wishes it to be, so we feel it was the right time to give it a more professional name, layout, and improved writing standards. Regular readers will be familiar with the recent problems that Pugwash News has had, and you could say that this new direction is a way of putting that behind us and making a fresh start.

Consider then, had we opened up this vote to all 22,000 students of the university, who we must after all see as our primary demographic. Will the majority of students understand our strive to give the paper higher standards? Frankly, are the party-loving first years mature enough to take this subject matter seriously? The most likely problem we would have had, though, and I’m being totally honest here, is that a lot of the current generation of students simply wouldn’t have taken any interest. Many of them only read the paper when they or someone they know/team they support are name-checked within its 30-plus pages. They couldn’t care what it’s called precisely because ‘Pugwash News’ sounded less exciting than a night in with a law textbook. Ironically, it’s only when a major change such as this happens that they suddenly start to claim it’s ‘their’ paper.

With this important change, we are telling our student peers that we do care about their paper. The Galleon‘s readership has already shot up higher than Pugwash News ever managed, and that’s after barely five days in circulation around various university buildings. It was democratically decided upon within the team, and if we had believed everyone was as passionnate about it as we were, with the same contextual knowledge of its history, then I’m sure the vote would have been opened up to everyone.

If you are a student, and you do disagree with the change, or think it’s actually pretty good, then I do hope you give us feedback. There are obvious ways to get in touch; you could even use this blog (although it is certainly not officially affiliated with The Galleon). You can’t expect to participate in democracy otherwise. The entire Galleon team encourages its readers to let us know if you’re not happy. Tell us what we can do better!

Until then, enjoy your new paper. For non-Portsmouth students, I would be interested to know how things are different at your university? How old is your campus publication, and has it had similar problems to Pugwash? After all, it may not be long before it’s being challenged by this young upstart known as The Galleon.

Standard 20.5.

It’s seemed to go really fast, hasn’t it? Back in August I posted my master prediction of how I thought the end of season Premier League table would look in what is still, to this day, my most popular entry (mostly because everyone disagreed with what I was saying…hmm).

We are officially half way through the season, and I think it’s safe to say I was right about some things and very, very wrong about others. What I will do now is re-evaluate the situation and make (what should be) a more realistic prediction.

Don’t worry; my original predictions still stand and they’re the ones I want to be held accountable on when we get to May. But these are just to ensure that my self-respect remains intact… At least, some of it does. A little? Okay none, but this is fun to do anyway…

Arsenal – August prediction: 2nd – Nothing like a humbling experience to kick us off, eh? I had boldly suggested Arsenal would mount a title challenge this year, but they have once again crashed and burned. Looking at their current position, they could still acheive a top 4 finish…but no. You won’t get top 4 Arsenal. You won’t get anything. As usual. New prediction: 6th.

Aston Villa – August prediction: 8th – This one was more on the money. Many Villa fans weren’t expecting much with McLeish in charge, fearing even possible relegation, yet they currently find themselves mid-table. Should push on and get a top half finish. New prediction: 9th.

Blackburn Rovers – August prediction: 19th – Won’t waste much time here. Admittedly they are performing better than I expected them to, but with all 3 promoted clubs looking good this season, I can’t see any hope for Blackburn. Prediction: 19th.

Bolton Wanderers – August prediction: 11th – They’ve certainly surprised me. I thought Owen Coyle wouldn’t have let them get into the position they find themselves in now, but they seem to be picking up more points and should be okay. That said, I do wish they would just get relegated already. The look on Phil Gartside’s face would be priceless. New prediction: 16th.

Chelsea – August prediction: 5th – Hmm. Interesting one this. I don’t think they’ve proved me wrong at all. If anything, they owe their current league position to Liverpool and Arsenal not getting their acts together. They should find consistency in the second part of the season though, and make it into the top three. New prediction: 3rd.

Everton – August prediction: 9th – They had a typically shaky start to the season but again, should find their consistency now and finish comfortably mid-table. Those poor, bored fans. New prediction: 11th.

Fulham – August prediction: 14th – I said their early start in Europe would have an effect on them as the season went on and I’m sticking by that. Prediction: 14th.

Liverpool – August prediction: 3rd – Oh Liverpool. You had the potential to finish 3rd this season and secure Champions League football again, but I fear now you’ve let it slip away purely through carelessness. Maybe for good. New prediction: 5th. (I did, however, say they could win a cup this year, and they look a decent bet for that).

Manchester City – August prediction: 6th – Okay, I guess this is worse than the Arsenal one. I’m almost ashamed to say it in the face of such a turnaround but…they’re my champions… (Sniff). New prediction: 1st.

Manchester United – August prediction: 1st – I guess I was right when I said I couldn’t see who would overthrow them. I literally couldn’t, and now, I stand corrected. New prediction: 2nd.

Newcastle – August prediction: 13th – To be fair, I did say they were the hardest team to predict. I knew deep down that there was the potential for a good season, but with Newcastle you just never know. Things can go south very quickly. For this season, they should maintain their current form long enough to secure a top seven finish and possible European spot. Next year, they’ll probably be relegated. New prediction: 7th.

Norwich City – August prediction: 20th – Okay. I admit it. This is worse than the Arsenal and Man City ones. But did anyone really see this coming from Norwich City? They seem to be giving even the top teams some trouble. You’ve been a breath of fresh air Norwich. I promise I’ll be kinder to you next time around. New prediction: 10th.

Q.P.R. – August prediction: 17th – I said Warnock wouldn’t last all season and in that respect I was right. Has Mark Hughes done anything to convince me that it won’t still go right to the wire for Queens Park Rangers? No. You’re going all the way boys. Let me know how it smells. Prediction: 17th.

Stoke City – August prediction: 18th – Another one that I got embarassingly wrong. I’m glad that I did though. Stoke are the Premier League’s most recent underdog story and long may it continue for them. They will tail off as they go further in Europe (which I think they will), but not in the disastrous style that I predicted all those months ago. New prediction: 12th.

Sunderland – August prediction: 7th – Expected a little more from them, but again, I’m not that far off. They’re a consistent team. In danger of becoming a little boring, granted, but you can’t have everything. New prediction: 8th.

Swansea City – August prediction: 12th – Are being overshadowed by Norwich’s success, but Swansea have nonetheless done magnificently this season. As long as they keep concentrating, they shouldn’t be in any trouble of relegation from here on in. New prediction: 15th.

Tottenham Hotspur – August prediction: 4th – They’ve done just as well as I thought they would. Wait, that’s not strictly true; they’ve done even better. Although the recent loss to Man City will probably make them believe they no longer have a chance of the title, they should secure a top 4 spot. Prediction: 4th.

West Bromwich Albion – August prediction: 10th – Roy Hodgson has underachieved with West Brom in my eyes. Their fans will be pleased that there isn’t much danger of relegation, but I think they should be expecting more in future. New prediction: 13th.

Wigan Athletic – August prediction: 15th – Should have seen this one coming. The one season I don’t pick Wigan out for relegation will most likely be the one season they do go down, like a lead balloon. New prediction: 20th.

Wolves – August prediction: 16th – Wolves don’t seem like they’ve done a lot wrong, but the problem is they just don’t have the quality. I think they’ll fight to the last second. In fact, who’s to say they won’t survive and dump Q.P.R. down in their place?

Well, me. That’s who. New prediction: 18th.

The Two P’s.

If you’ve never been a student before then you can’t possibly begin to comprehend what a dark month January is for many of us. January, for the majority of students in my experience, means the month of evil assessments.

It’s been an interesting month for my relatively sane alter-ego, who’s still somehow managing to pass himself off as one of them, despite suffering from the two biggest problems endemic within the student body: procrastination and perfectionism.

We know about the first one all too well. Delaying work (usually work that you actually enjoy) by distracting yourself with other, mundane activities that you can’t seem to find the time to do otherwise. I’m talking about rearranging your DVD collection (in the past I’ve tried ‘favourite to least favourite’, colour co-ordination, grouping together in terms of genre or director, and of course, the famous alphabetical order), tidying your long-neglected room/ study area, making a list of other little chores that you must somehow find the time to occupy yourself with, and one that has recently become my personal Achilles Heel; setting out an emergency work schedule that will enable you to get everything done if you stick to it completely. It doesn’t include breaks, but it’s great knowing that if you become a total machine producing his best work non-stop over ten straight hours, you’ll get all your work done. The only problem is you’ve spent more time admiring it than actually writing, and that should have started one hour ago. No matter, you’ll just sacrifice an extra hour of sleep to cover for it, right? – before realising you’d already sacrificed all available sleep.

More students appear to suffer from that first one than the second (probably because they’re more worried about which pub they’re heading to after the deadline), but unfortunately I’m strange in this respect. I like my work to be the best it can be (in my eyes, which may not necessarily correspond to what is the best work in the eyes of an academic – just to clarify), which has often caused obvious problems. It creates a certain paradox, because perfectionism requires time more than anything else, and time is often precisely what you find you don’t have enough of as a student – in fact, as an anything. I’m sure there are those in other professions, perhaps with ten or twenty more years of experience than myself, who find that there simply is not enough time in the day to complete all of the work that you wish to do. Things spill over. You have to allow for mistakes, give yourself an extended period of time for proofreading, and that’s before we even get started on the many hours of revision for exams, along with the added pressure they bring, especially if you don’t write half as fast as that dude sitting next to you using Roadrunner as a pen while breathing distractingly heavy.

Considering all of that, you can imagine why January has traditionally proved a traumatic and stressful month for all students, not least a perfect procrastinator such as myself. Long have I been trained in the student arts. The strangest thing is, despite all of the tiredness, the physical and mental pain that comes with making your work as good as it can be at the last minute, well, despite all of that, a part of me still kind of likes it. In fact, a part of me loves that adrenaline rush, and I think the rest of you would agree. Maybe sub-consciously, not openly, but you’d still agree. What other reason would there be for the self-harming technique known as procrastination?

However, assessments are not the sole reason January has been interesting. Oh no. They’re secondary compared to what else has been happening.

This month, I had a starring role in a harrowing black and white documentary filmed by a good friend who has taken it upon herself to keep a regular vlog (like a blog, only with a ‘v’) over an indefinite period of time.

It will now forever be known as the month that I got Pride and Prejudice in the Mail (someone clearly just forgot to inform me about it).

The Year in Preview – 2012.

2012 is set to be a bigger year than ever for films and video games. I won’t pretend to know everything about them, but I do at least have a list of the ones I think you should check out, for good and not so good (and therefore good in a funny sort of way) experiences.

P.S. I’m going to try to keep it relevant.

P.P.S. I admit a biased attitude towards Sony’s PS3. What can I say; I take games seriously.

METAL GEAR SOLID RISING – Release date ‘TBA 2012′ (whatever that means) – Typically, MGS has always had certain characteristics that set it apart from others in the industry, certain things that series creator Hideo Kojima does better than anyone else: covert operations, infiltration, bipedal war machines, gene therapy, individual cut-scenes that lasted the length of a feature film. Its tagline has always been ‘Tactical Espionage Action’, and the original game (released in 1998, reviewed on my website) was one of the most important games ever made, showing people that games could (and indeed, should) be taken seriously as an entertainment medium.

New game Rising, on the other hand, is set to disregard all of that stuff in favour of an action-orientated adrenaline rush that does away with stealth and silenced pistols, instead encouraging confrontation and swordplay. I personally have no idea how they’re gong to make it work effectively, but it will nonetheless sell truckloads based on the MGS name alone. Expect edited cut-scenes and increased control of your main character (a major criticism of MGS 4 in particular was that you sometimes watched confrontations rather than had control over them) now that Kojima has stepped down as the game’s creative director, leaving it to a younger generation to develop a game that will probably have more appeal to younger audiences than its predecessors. Won’t be essential, but check back for my review when it’s released for a final opinion. See main protagonist Raiden’s skills as a chef, unafraid to get his hands dirty in the latest trailer.

FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 – Release date 3rd February – The direct sequel to Final Fantasy 13, and before you all start asking “why didn’t they just call it Final Fantasy 14 then?“, let me take a moment to explain for the un-indoctrinated - sorry, uninitiated among you. Each Final Fantasy game is set in a new universe with new characters, new monsters, new shades of grass, a slightly differently named swamp, you get the picture. But on occasion, blood has been known to rush to the heads of developers Square Enix, prompting them to release a sequel based in the same universe as a previous game in the series. They’ve done it before with Final Fantasy 10-2, and the less said about the numerous spin-offs from Final Fantasy 7 the better. Considering 7 and 10 were the two biggest games ever made by the company, though, these decisions were considerably more understandable, in a business sense, than this sequel to Final Fantasy 13, which dramatically split critics back in 2010.

That’s the reason why I’m backing 13-2 to be one of the best games this year. Square came back to this universe precisely because some people were disappointed with it before, rather than with the intention of making a quick buck. The introduction of new, original gameplay elements, including the ability to travel to different time periods and do things that may change events elsewhere in the timeline, make me genuinely excited about this one. Then again, I’m a bit of a science fiction and Final Fantasy geek, so maybe you’ll be needing a second opinion. If not, then join me in the fan club you will.

Check out the typically melodramatic trailer here.

SILENT HILL DOWNPOUR – Release date 13th March – Don’t get me wrong; this will be rubbish. The question is exactly how rubbish? Releasing the game so soon after the re-release of classics such as Silent Hill 2 and 3 in the Silent Hill HD Collection (out this month) should really tell you something about the confidence of Czech developers Vatra Games, who have a total of one game to their name before this one, called Rush’n Attack: Ex-Patriot. Nope, I’ve never heard of it either.

Silent Hill‘s looking more generically American than ever in this latest official trailer: where’s the feeling of isolation and loneliness that we’ve come to expect from earlier games in the series? At what point did someone think it was creatively astute to let the soundtrack turn into something resembling a WWE pay-per-view? Shouldn’t I really be saving these kinds of criticisms for later?

I look forward to drowning you Downpour. Sorry, reviewing you. With a vengeance.

GRAND THEFT AUTO V – Release date TBA – It is with great faith in Rockstar North’s (the GTA developers) discipline and work ethic that I predict this game will be out before the end of 2012. Here’s the thing; I’m not the biggest advocator of the GTA series, and I think Vice City is the only one I’ve actually played right to the end of the story, but as with any GTA release, it will have to be commended for its sheer scale and boundless creativity. Yes, the violent content and vulgarity of the gameplay will put many off, while the open world proves too vast for those who perhaps prefer a more streamlined gaming experience (at times I have fallen into this category), but the GTA series represents one of gaming’s biggest achievements in the face of adversity, and must therefore be celebrated forever.

Sandbox gameplay doesn’t get any more exhilarating than that offered up in the traditional GTA games, and this one will likely be more polished and better than ever. I just place a question mark, and in the grand scheme of things it’s a pretty damn big question mark, over the setting of the game: Los Angeles. Really? Weren’t we just there in GTA: San Andreas (2004; let me know if you want a review before GTA 5‘s release and I’ll see what I can do)? I would like to see Rockstar being a bit more creative in this respect. Despite this, I have no doubt that, providing it makes the cut, this will comfortably be 2012′s game of the year. See the recently released first official trailer.

THE LAST OF US – Release date Q4 2012 – Debut Trailer – Naughty Dog’s next big project is a post-apocalyptic survival horror game set against the backdrop of a world (which probably means America) devastated by a fungal virus that is wiping out the human race. Sounds reasonably cliched at the moment, especially as character descriptions go along the lines of “a survivor and anti-hero” and “a 14 year old girl who is wise beyond her years, but has no memory of the world pre-Apocalypse“, but two things make me look forward to this game.

First, that it’s been given the label ‘survival horror’, a genre that has been hideously neglected and/ or distorted in recent years. So long as it’s not all about shooting hordes of monsters at every turn with your endless machine gun ammo, and more about being alone in a seemingly empty world, waiting in suspense for the next creature to brush past your buttocks without warning, then I’ll be happy that the survival horror genre has returned. This, I think, is something that Naughty Dog will be striving for, and they’re the second reason I’m looking forward to it. You should too. Check out the Jak and Daxter HD Collection, released on 7th February, for a special preview as to why.

PS VITA – Release date 22nd February – In a nutshell, this will be the most impressive piece of hardware of the year, with more power than the PS2 and the creative potential of the PS3. Launch games include Uncharted: Golden Abyss, which looks as impressive as a portable version of Uncharted possibly could (this is a relatively good thing; whether Uncharted is suited to portable play is another matter entirely). People are, of course, getting ready to moan about the price tag, but the day they try developing for a machine such as this one is the day they realise the Sony executives aren’t lying when they claim it is quite a nice little bargain people have got here. I won’t be able to afford it for a few years or so if my recent student days are anythng to go by, but I will, at least, be able to recommend it to you, that one single reader out there who has both the money and the motivation to splash out £230, on something that could easily be mistaken for a loaf of bread with a name like that.

Sony's PS Vita.

THE AVENGERS – Release date 4th May – Trailer 2012 - Ah, we all know about this one by now, right? I’ve been alluding to it myself on this very blog since last summer.

I know it’s Hollywood and I’m not really supposed to be looking forward to things that come out of that profit machine, being all seriously academic about films and stuff, but I will definitely be watching for this one when it comes out. Come rain or shine, I will be writing a much-anticipated review after a rather enthusiastic (some would call it ‘sad’) build-up to it.

My worry about this film – and I’m almost certain it will turn out to be justified – is that Marvel are trying to fit too much into it. Too many characters, too many sub-plots, too much testosterone for the ladies to handle; that kind of thing. So yeah, it will probably turn out to be one of those guilty pleasures that everyone goes to see, but it will, in the end, be awarded rather average review scores. Maybe it’s that part of it I’m looking forward to, more than the actual film.

What can I say? I’m weird like that.

MEN IN BLACK 3 - Release date 25th May – Official Trailer – Time travel seems to be the mainstream trend nowadays. Is modern day reality really that bland?

Apparently Agent J (Will Smith) is preparing to travel back in time “to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind“. I’m not sure about this. A cliched set-up is one thing, but Spielberg is also producing, which probably means explosions and not-at-all-funny one liners that we’ll get bored of while sitting over our popcorn, or in my case, while coming up with an original review for another unoriginal film.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES – Release date 20th July – The third and final part of The Dark Knight trilogy should be the hit of the summer, not least because Chris Nolan (director of Memento) remains at the helm. Big baddie Bane (Tom Hardy), the star of the latest trailer, has a tough act to follow in Heath Ledger’s Joker from this films predecessor, but as long as the movie goes in a different direction rather than try to outshine the previous effort, this should be well worth the horrors of the five Hollywood trailers that you’ll sit through in the half hour before the film starts at your local multiplex. Look out for Catwoman too.

MY DISSERTATION – Release date 31st March – Latest news surrounding this one is that it has changed its primary focus from Japanese video games to Japanese horror. Video games will still appear, mainly in the form of famous survival horror Silent Hill, but it will now discuss the themes of isolation and loneliness found in the recent J-horror movement. Main films will be Ring, Ju-On and Pulse. Brief mention will be given to their respective American remakes and Hollywood’s tendency to generally mess everything up. Will be written in an academic manner by a frustrated writer. Is barely relevant to this entry but just thought I’d bring it up anyway.

And looking ahead to 2013…

UNTITLED STAR TREK SEQUEL – Release date May 2013 – If my nerdy suspicions prove to be grounded on a sense of truth, then this is certainly one to look forward to, Hollywood or no Hollywood. These suspicions are based on the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch (of recent Sherlock fame) has been confirmed to play a villain in the movie, and I challenge all Star Trek fans out there not to come to the same conclusions as me. Just looking at Cumberbatch’s unique features is almost a spoiler in itself, and if he isn’t cast as a certain famous villain from Star Trek mythology then I’ll quit previews for good. Come on guys, you know who I mean…

All’s Fair in Love and War, part 4: The Season Finale.

For those of you who either jumped ship long ago through annoyance at the lack of regular posting (turning up on this one occasion in the blind hope that things will start to get better) ((they will)) (((but I can’t promise anything))), or just arrived now and were thinking of sticking around until you read that last statement giving you understandable second thoughts, let me briefly recap the general origins of the mini-saga known as All’s Fair in Love and War.

The concept was born last May, at a time when I was insisting that I should post once a week. For a while this system was iron clad; pretty much the whole summer I was disciplined enough to post at least once a week, sometimes twice, one time even thrice over the course of about 8 days in August.

On the 19th of May 2011 I arrived home from a rather aggravating day learning how to sell beauty products to passive consumers on a door-to-door basis. I realised I had nothing in particular to write for my blog that week (and no, blogging about my door-to-door activities was certainly not on the agenda. I did, after all, want to enjoy what I was writing). So I got to thinking about what would happen if I just started writing. No story, no concept, no nothing. Didn’t have any idea what would come out of me until it actually did (and we’re not talking toilet breaks here, either).

What I produced was an entertaining little interchange about my relationship with a temperamental yeti, with whom I spent a week in the Himalayan mountains while we hid from an imminent alien invasion, before finding out that said yeti was the villainous perpetrator of said invasion, before finally finding out that it was all a ruse set up by the Norse god of mischief, Loki (who you may be familiar with from the recent Marvel movie revival in Hollywood). Loki is set to return this summer in All’s Fair in Love and War, part 5 to coincide with the release of The Avengers. If the movie doesn’t live up to expectations, then at least the pressure will be off me to do the same, right?

Most people probably thought the saga had finished, as the last instalment was back at the rear end of August. There is still life in this thing yet though, and there will be for as long as I feel it’s relevant. Or until we get to 6.

Now, I must apologise for leading you to think that you were getting the fourth instalment right here. You’re not. Relax, I’m not saying this just to spite you; I’ve decided this ‘short story’ has become interesting enough to be transferred over to my reviewing website. We should all be spending more time on that one anyway, and leading into episode four from that introductory piece just didn’t feel right. So check back in a few days, and what you should also find in the near future is the full story edited together in a coherent manner to make one version that hopefully appears more readable to a mainstream audience.

Until then, then: love, peace, and climate change!

Revelation 20:12.

“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God: and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.“

I can’t say it’s been planned this way, yet here I am, writing this entry in the last six hours of 2011. I would say the year has been a roller coaster, but at least on a roller coaster you have a chance to observe the track beforehand and therefore know what’s coming. Plus, you don’t really have any control over a roller coaster track. If I have learnt anything from this year, it’s that whatever comes your way, you can decide the outcome based on how you react to it. You always have some measure of control if you look at any given situation from a higher floor, and when you mess up, you’ll get a second chance if you want it enough.

Honestly, though, I don’t want to get all serious and retrospective. I prefer dealing with that warm feeling of nostalgia in metaphorical terms, so check back later if you want it, because for right now we’re looking forward.

December has come and gone so fast that I find myself at least two resolutions short of my target of 12 with barely hours to go before I begin implementing them into my day-to-day life. Yet, I’m not disappointed about this. My most important 2012 resolutions have been planned, and I’m going to let more ideas come in during the next few weeks before the final list is complete. You see, essentially, there is no difference between today and tomorrow, aside from the number on the end of a bigger number used to classify our position within the linear timeline of the universe. I’m not putting a deadline on my resolution list; the list will be complete when it is complete. This coming year, I’m not even going to give myself the pressure of revealing each one through this blog. Some I will openly discuss, whereas the success of others will depend precisely on not revealing them to people. Think of this entry as an introduction to my biggest resolutions, rather than an outline of them all.

To recap, I will be continuing my theme of last year by attempting successfully demolishing 12 separate resolutions, some of which will be accumulative, some of which will be one off challenges, and some of which will be somewhere in between.

I have however applied a more serious tone to my resolutions this year, as opposed to the somewhat playful mostly came up with on the spot plot-line that was prevalent throughout those previous twelve months just past.

Two things I’ll be doing a lot more of in 2012 is reading and writing, and my two biggest personal resolutions this year reflect this.

The first will take place in May, when I will read James Clavell’s novel Gai Jin in one sitting, without any breaks for sleep. I can eat, drink, relieve myself in the can, but only if I do it all while reading. For those unfamiliar with Clavell, he became famous for mainly two things: one was writing the screenplay for The Great Escape, the other was his epic Asian saga, a series of six novels based in Japan, Hong Kong, China and Iran. Gai Jin is the third in the series, and spans over 1200 pages in length. We’re not talking baby font here either. This is as epic as grown-up novels get, and I have no doubt it will take me over two full days to read it cover to cover.

I know what you’re thinking. Why put myself through such a thing, unless I’m a fan of self-harming? Well, after I had the initial idea, I thought about that as well. A sense of personal achievement is one reason, but then I started thinking; what if I can also help other people with such a unique achievement? I don’t just want this to be all about me. So I’ve decided to try and use it as a fundraising opportunity for a charity which has yet to be confirmed (although I would like it to be RNIB). This obviously depends on the thoughts of all of you. Would you be prepared to sponsor me for such an event, or do you feel I can push myself even further? Is one 1200 page novel not enough? I’m open to realistic suggestions here.

Every November, writers everywhere choose to put all of their effort into the art of writing a 50,000 word novel. November 2011 was another success for many; unfortunately, I wasn’t one of them. I’ve decided Nanowrimo doesn’t necessarily work for me. The timing is just wrong for people who enjoy getting out while the sun is still up, like myself. At the end of November, I sat there on my sofa, head bowed, legs crossed, deeply pondering my month of unproductivity and came to the conclusion that if Nanowrimo didn’t work for me this year, nor will it next year or the years following that one.

Next year, I will write a novel in a month… In June. This frees me from the pressure of competing with others in the same position. It allows me to still see sunlight after I’m done with my writing for the day. It means I can look out of my window and be cheered up by the bright colours of summer, and privately gloat about having the power to control what month I partake in this challenge while other writers restrict themselves to November. I have dubbed this challenge Penowrimo, meaning Personal Novel Writing Month.

There you have it. Two resolutions which I hope will give you an idea of the direction I’m taking my resolution theme this year. Put it this way: if last year was about instilling discipline, this year is about building on that with challenges of endurance.

Most of all, I want to be able to look back a year from now and be able to say that my ideas made a difference, and affected those around me. I will be held accountable on the claims I have made here; how I act on them will reflect on me as a person. Therefore, I see 2012 as potentially the biggest year of my life. I’ve strapped myself in.

Now it’s time to ride this track.

The 12th Month.

Resolution.

That one word imprinted itself on Graeme’s psychological profile in the closing moments of the year 2010. Its origin mysterious, intentions unclear, the creature would reveal itself to have twelve faces, hidden to all but the soul it had chosen to impart its knowledge upon.

Neglected throughout history by well intentioned individuals who had abused its name, the creature had come for integrity. With respect, it would one day help to uncover past insecurities, oppose conventional rules, and award courage with recognition.

Yet, presently, the creature had only one aim. For it deserved to be more than a word consigned to the back of people’s minds. It had a higher purpose. Shrouded in shadow, that higher purpose could only be seen once one had looked through its many faces to gaze upon the final form; ultimately, the only one that mattered. It was more than a word alright. It was an idea. An idea that longed to spread.

At this interval you should be wondering what’s going on around here. Did you really give up your free time to read this? Aren’t I going to give you something in return for enduring the eyeball sucking potential of my bluey green anti-generic Wordpress blog? Will I ever stop procrastinating and actually get to the bloody point? The answer to all of the above, is yes.

New readers, welcome. You’ve chosen a good first post to enter on. Here and now, I will try to sum up the year using some sort of contextual fashion.

Those who know me (or rather, those who knew me before the beginning of May) should know all about the resolution a month idea that I did, in fact, only come up with in the hour or two before January began. That’s how I remember it anyway. Admittedly I didn’t come up with all 12 in that hour or two, nor did I give much consideration to realism, but I had the basics and, importantly, the rules. First, that each resolution would be accumulative. Second, that I would only reveal each one when it came to the appropriate month for that selected resolution. Third, that I would allow room for manoeuvre.

Everyone remembers my first two, mostly thanks to an interesting loophole (loopholes would soon go on to be the main theme of the year) that I initially didn’t see coming. Number One, January: Do not offend people. Number two, February: No alcohol. You can see potential problems already, can’t you? What if someone buys me alcohol and my outright refusal to drink what they perceive as a personal gift to me offends them? I soon realised that I no longer wanted to compromise on my second resolution, so the solution was simple: I discarded the first. The offense of others was not my burden to bear in the first place, although I did not know this at the time.

It makes me realise now that there should have been a fourth rule from the start: that each resolution should continue on independent of each other’s success or failure. January was written off and, in my mind, the whole idea of the twelve resolutions was under scrutiny before it had really begun.

Number three, March: Learn Japanese. Fascinating month, this was (and, not unlike the previous two, rather unproductive). My conspicuous absence from blogging activities during this time spoke volumes, but the Japanese wasn’t a disaster. I made a start and I still have the evidence to prove that I did so. Once I started writing again, it took a back seat in my mind, where it has been comfortably observing life from since. I’ll be seeing you again next year, Japanese.

Fast forward to May and I planned to start learning how to play the guitar. This was relatively successful but, like the summer in general, is not something I’m going to dwell on. Basically, the following months would, in summary, consist of: pass driving test (cancelled due to lack of funding), no pork (success), and… a bunch of other stuff that I’m currently losing the will to write about as we periodically converse over the internet waves.

I’m the first to admit that I made a few major mistakes with my resolutions this year. Those first three rules I mentioned? The second and third of them were clearly rubbish. If I was serious about this, I should have committed to all of them straight away, revealing them all in one go, allowing little room for compromise, but instead I gave myself space to manipulate the system.

None of this matters, though, because the overall year has been a success. Look at me now; talking sensibly about where I went wrong and admitting my mistakes. Was this or was this not the original intention that I started out with..? To get me to this point, at the end of the year, where I could allow myself to be critical not only of the films and video games that I review, but of me. Essentially, that’s who I did this for: me. Perhaps that was my true mistake.

So, next year, I’m going to mix things up slightly. I have six resolutions so far; three of them are benefitting me personally, three of them will be challenges of endurance for others, and the remaining six will be wildcards picked by someone other than me. Make suggestions and, to prevent me making it easy for myself, I won’t even make the final decision. I shall get a moderator to pick from the suggestions and hold me to them, whether I originally wanted to do them or not. Because when you think about it, we can be awfully biased when choosing our own resolutions. We are biased in our opinions of the things that need improvement. A lot of the time, we don’t even see where we need improvement. I believe I fail to see my potential strengths. Maybe someone else can.

I had, of course, planned to reveal what I’ve come up with so far in this post, but I’ve overrun a bit and I can sense you on your knees, begging me to end your suffering and hit ‘publish’ already. Fine, I’ll do that, but not before I say this post has been split into two parts. The next one will be far more exciting because it will be a preview, and I don’t do many of them. It will be my first Penowrimo post. It will be my first RNIB post. It will be my last post before All’s Fair in Love and War, Part 4. It will therefore be my last sensible post of 2011.

Most importantly, it will build on what was started with this years resolution idea. That’s what it was, then and now, an idea that, once grasped, will flourish into something much bigger.

And the idea’s name…was inspiration.

30 to 1.

I’ll admit I wanted to write a blog entry today, but was really struggling to find a topic to talk about. That was until I stumbled upon this nice little story about the American Samoa national football team.

Playing since 1994, American Samoa’s claim to fame is losing by the biggest margin in footballing history when they were beaten 31-0 by Australia in 2001. Now, I don’t claim to be the biggest football ‘expert’ (unless, of course, I’m predicting the finishing table at the start of the season), nor do I even take the time to watch it at all these days (thus, my lack of predictor knowledge…), but that is one match I would have actively found the time to watch, and be genuinely interested in without having to pretend. It equates to a goal every 3 minutes or so. Even in Fifa 2012 that would be impressive.

You can’t help but let a smile spread across your face when you see that a direct quote from their coach reads as thus; “Maybe we have a chance to do something special here beyond this one game, but let’s enjoy this one right now“. That’s after they had ‘celebrated as if they had won a major championship’.

Now, I was going to continue making fun of American Samoa (let’s be honest, we were only getting started) until I took a moment to look at the latest Fifa World Rankings and saw Northern Ireland’s position on the table: 89th. We’ve fallen below Malawi (87th). We’ve fallen below Trinidad and Tobago (86th). We’ve fallen below… Antigua and Barbuda (83rd)! What happened to the days when we could beat England (2005) and Spain (2006) and Sweden (2007)? When we could realistically expect to put up a fight for World Cup qualification?

Two things happened, that’s what. First, our one goal scorer stopped scoring (Healy). Second, every single decent young player born in Northern Ireland now decide they want to play for the Republic all of a sudden. Heaven knows why. Surely it has nothing to do with the fact that they’re flying high up there in 25th spot? That they’ve just qualified for a major championship? That they’ll probably be heading to Brazil in 2014? Why in the world would anyone want to-

- actually, those are pretty good pulling points right there.

It’ll soon leave Norn Iron in a position where the only players choosing to stay with us are those that either feel sorry for the 3 or 4 squad players we have left, or get homesick easily. Wait; does that even apply in this situation? All they’re doing is crossing an invisible border created by political insecurities and an age-old British lust for power and control of the whole entire world. When they realised they couldn’t have that, they settled for Ireland. Or at least, half of it. Well, okay, a sixth.

And this, my friends, is exactly what happens when I don’t have anything meaningful to talk about.

Ready, Set, Write!

It’s November 2011, which could only mean three things:

First, the release of Uncharted 3.

Second, it’s nearly 2012.

Third, Nanowrimo.

National Novel Writing Month is, you guessed it, November. It provides a good platform for anyone who doesn’t have the time or skill required for novel writing to, indeed, write a novel. I guess I’d probably fall into at least one of those categories, so I decided to give it a go this year.

Now, I’ve never attempted Nanowrimo before, I’ll admit that. That’s my excuse for not being totally clued up on the rules. You see, it’s four days into November and I’ve yet to actually write one word of the aforementioned time-neglected bad novel that I plan to be the pinnacle of my sparkling writing career.

Also, it is advised that you write roughly 1667 words a day in order to get 50,000 by midnight on the 30th. We’ve already established that I’ve pretty much missed that target so, to readdress the balance, I will be writing 2000 words each day. Starting from Thursday.

Yes, not only am I giving away my schedule and being open about my blatant disregard for the carefully constructed rules, I’m also saying I am not even going to start for the best part of another week. How very postmodern of me.

You’ll be able to see the end product on my website, which can be found here for those who’ve not visited before. I’m not promising it’ll be there, I’m just saying if I succeed there is a distinct chance that’s where you’ll find the proof on the 1st of December.

What else is funny? Maybe how I’ve just wasted close to 400 of a potential 2000 word target for today by randomly talking about the process of it on my blog. I’m using words to complain about how there’s not enough time in the day to write more words, when it wouldn’t be the case if I tried writing the right words for once. What’s that? You want a story synopsis for my novel idea? Well in that case…

Washing the News.

Just thought I’d break stereotype by posting twice in as many days, after going a full month without anything.

This is essentially just a news update. I’m back in Portsmouth, at university. Some things have changed for the better, as in I’ve got a job already, and a little position for the university newspaper, known in academic circles (or, ‘the students’) as Pugwash News. I’m the new gaming and technology editor guys!

So I’d like to take the opportunity now, not to thank all those who have made this possible (because honestly, aside from myself, I’m struggling to think of names), but just to say that you can get involved too! I’m currently looking for possible article/reviewing ideas from you, the reader, and actual articles/reviews from anyone who would like to see their name in the paper (I can now make this happen).

Tell me what you would like to read and what you expect, not just from Pugwash, but from my website as well. Your feedback is important to me because, despite the mask carefully designed to cover my insecurities, I’m actually (…whisper it…) quite humble.

Also, it shouldn’t come as any surprise, certainly not at this point, that posts on this blog may become a little less frequent now that I’ve got so many other duties to fill my time with, i.e. a dissertation (which I shall share with you properly in a future post), an editing position in a frequently published newspaper, a part-time job at Game, other random essays to be written and exams to be taken, a novel/screenplay that I really need to put more time and effort into, weekly reviews for the website, and other simple hobbies such as watching films and reading books. I’ll have to fit a potential gym membership/exercise of some sort in there as well, along with church-related activities. So, I was thinking of making this a fortnightly thing, from today. Posts on my main website will now be more frequent than on this blog (…hintity hint hint).

In the near future, my schedule could potentially become even more action packed. National Novel Writing month (a challenge in which you have to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days) starts on the 1st of November, which, come to think of it, is about 12 days from now. I was thinking this may provide me with some kind of motivation to actually write a novel (albeit a very rushed, no doubt very bad one). Thoughts?

Something else I will keep you updated on is my involvement with One World Week (a university run week celebrating different cultures and other exciting stuff) at the end of February. I have been offered the opportunity to blog about events before and during the week. It will be more official (and, dare I say, more interesting) stuff than what we currently have on here, and I will probably be creating a totally new blog specifically for that purpose (I will redirect you, don’t worry).

But none of that stuff really matters. What really matters, right now, is the fact that I’ve posted again, two days after the last one. Ha! The dreaded confidence is returning. Again.