This week, DC Comics announced that the current run of Green Arrow would be ending at issue #75. We are currently up to issue #71.

I would be absolutely gutted by the cancellation of Green Arrow were it not for the persistent rumour of a Green Arrow/Black Canary book. Without any undue bias (I have pretty much every book with GA in the title from the 1970s onwards, and a fair chunk of his other appearances), Ollie (that's Oliver Queen aka Green Arrow for the uninitiated) has served as an integral part of the DCU for the last few years. They have spent considerable time integrating him into all of the major events - not least of which was Identity Crisis - and he has always seemed like an important character. Furthermore, he was the first character chosen to appear in the extended roster of the 'Justice League Unlimited' series; made a major appearance on Smallville and now has his own mobile/online animated series. I suspect that DC are planning a big relaunch of the character this year, especially given that a 'Year One' book is on the cards. All indications point to a massive relaunch.

That said, as a long time collector, I was looking forward to another 'issue 100'.

I think I would just like to complain regardless.

Turns out that I've won a copy of Ghost Rider for the PS2. Right here on Gamespot!

The competition required that I "Name three things you CAN'T do while your head is on fire"

To which I replied:

1. Drink pure gasoline
2. Whisper 'sweet nothings' in your loved one's ear
3. Engage in rational conversation with squirrels inside your left leg

For my randomness, I have been rewarded with Ghost Rider for PS2, plus double in-season tickets to see the movie. I've already seen the film, but the game will be worth a few spins, despite GameSpot's 4.0 review!

All I need now is additional cookie work...

Well, that was an interesting week. After conducting several tours this week for new students, an exhausted little DiscoJoy found the brand new (and literally brand new as in 'came out yesterday') Final Fantasy XII that was retailing for $99 AU for a mere $47.99 AU (or $38 US). Stunned to say the least, I quickly added this to my shopping basket (along with some classic titles in the form of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds and Burnout 3). To top things off, today - a day off, no less - yielded gourmet cupcakes and completing God of War, which I purchased a month ago. All I need now is a cookie. Oh look, what's that in the cupboard?

They say you are what you eat.

Since becoming a vegetarian in 1999 (although 'becoming' sounds like it was a metamorphosis of some kind), many of the products I have consumed could be described as 'not meats'. Indeed, the line I enjoy the most was - until recently - using these very monikers ('Not Chicken'; 'Not Bacon', 'Not Sausages'). Recently, they took the name of the meat product out entirely, calling them 'Soy Rashers' and 'Soy Fillets'. Same product, different name.

Now, people tend to still think of these as 'not meats'. Some have even suggested that they are fake meat, or 'not real'. So if you are what you eat, and they aren't real, then am I not real either?

Consider my own mind just blown.

We watched a few over the weekend (including Rocky V; L'Advventura and American Graffiti), but I'll talk a bit about the two most recent.

Clerks II (Viewed 11 February 2007): Despite being a Kevin Smith fan for years, I had been avoiding this one for some reason. I didn't get around to seeing it at the cinemas; didn't pre-order it from the States and nor did I pick it up from the DVD stores when it came out. It took the film to be dropped from overnight rental to 3-night rental for me to finally investigate it. I was more than pleasantly surprised: I was joyful.

While many feel that Jersey Girl was the bum note in the Smith canon; I've always thought of it as the one film that tried to do something different and break away from the Askewniverse (as it is know). It was actually Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, the alleged swansong to the characters, that I always saw as being out of place, with its lack of wit and charm and far too many 'bodily humour gags'. I think the reason I was avoiding this sequel was Smith's complete rejection of his allegedly heartfelt ode to his daughter and a complete reversal of his steps away from safe territory as soon as it failed. However, what makes Clerks II a worthwhile film is that it gets back to basics in more ways that one.

Returning to the type of witty single-location dialogue-based motif that characterised his debut film, we see what happens to the slacker 10 years on. Despite the usual diatribes on various sexual practices, not to mention allusions to inter-species erotica, this is quite possibly Smith's most mature film to date (with the exception of Chasing Amy, which shall forever remain his masterpiece). The film has HEART, something often missing from other films in this genre, and this is strengthened by the fact that we've come to grow and love these characters in various forms over the last 10 years (in cameos; comic books; animated series and short films). Without giving too much away, Randall's plea to Dante at the end of the film is touching and heartfelt, and it almost had me blubbering. He spoke for every single audience member who is in or around 30, and feels that life may have slowly been passing them by for the last 10 years or so were it not for the few constants that have kept us anchored and content: friends. It is rare that I laugh out loud and almost cry in the same film any more, and I salute you Mr. Smith for bringing me back into the Askewinverse fold.

Rating: A


Inferal Affairs (Viewed 11 February 2007): The original Hong Kong version of The Departed, a huge contender for Oscars this year, is virtually identical to the remake (or should I say, vice versa). In many ways, the non-linear storytelling and shorter running time make this slightly superior to Scorsese's effort, and the similarities almost taint the remake in some ways. However, both stand up as excellent films, as the Scorsese remake seemed to be more about the characters, all of whom were painted so richly by a fine group of actors. This is not to detract from Andy Lau and Tony Leung, both of whom give completely believable transformations in this film. While I don't think this needed to be remade, it is always interesting to see how the West reinterprets foreign drama.

Rating: A

What is is about buses that causes people to act strangely? Choosing to walk to the interchange this morning, I trundled up to the unusually crowded stop thinking a bus must be late or missing. This was confirmed when I got on the bus, one that I had only been waiting about 10 minutes for.

As I got on, a...largish...woman remarked to the driver "I just want to let you know that I've been waiting for 20 minutes for this bus, and I'm late for work". Despite the fact that she seems to be unaware that bus drivers do not share a psychic link with other drivers - especially those that don't turn up - she seemed to be missing several obvious pieces of irony, or at least near-irony.

- Despite being an 'express' bus, the trip would take her at least 15 to 40 minutes depending on where she was alighting. If she had only been waiting 20 minutes, chances are she would have been late anyway. Catch an earlier bus, lady.

- Her complaining was only making us later. All of us. My pointing this out to her seemed to fall on deaf ears. I had an MP3 player in, so chances are my ears were deaf as well.

What is it about buses that makes people act strangely? When they pull up, there is a free-for-all-death-match as though the bus is going to either forget them or hand out prizes to the first onboard. I'd like to imagine that the prize is some kind of limitless right to complain at every minor bus transgression.

The elderly are the worst for this (both the death matching and the complaining). Heaven help you if you think simply because you have been waiting for a while and you were there first that this somehow entitles you to a place on the bus. The Old Battle Axes are coming through, and quite often they are armed with canes and frames. Surely they are old enough to know that there is no prize for first on the bus? Or is there an age you reach and you think 'Bugger it, I'm old and I'm coming through'.

In order to save time and space, I'd also like to include the following in the group of people on buses that I am currently less than pleased with:

- People who develop colds, and rather than seeing a doctor, use public transport.

- Mobile phone owners who assume the bus provides a cone of silence. Typical conversation snippet: "Yes, yes, Friday night was SOOOO big. I can't believe it's herpes after all!

- Obnoxious music players: Smoking I'm fine with. Resampled and crappy Top 40 music is damaging to my health.

- People that think the back seat of the bus gives them sufficient protection to shout racist and sexist taunts at fellow passengers.

- People who think that the bus also provides some kind of vacuum that allows the rest of us to ignore the sights, sounds and smells of various bodily functions.

- People who sit on the edge of a seat, despite the space next to them being clearly unoccupied. Are imaginary friends on the rise

- Blokes who refuse to sit next to each other, for fear of fellow passengers thinking they are engaged in an illicit love affair, and consequently take up three to four seats.

It isn't just passengers either. Could drivers please actually make the stops when I ring the bell please? Or perhaps open the back door when I want to get out? Is that too much to ask? And can the dodgy English driver with the bad comb-over (yes! We do notice!) please just drive the bus, not talk to each passenger for 40 minutes and remember - and I know this is hard - to actually pull into the stops assigned and follow the route as mapped. Try it. Once. I'm sure we'll like it, even if you don't.

Thus endeth the rant. I have a bus to catch.

Went to the shops today, an increasing novelty on a Saturday afternoon given that I have to work fewer weekends these days, and despite going into several games shops and a hi-fi place, I didn't spend a single cent.

Am I slipping in my old age or is responsibility finally catching up on me?

Perhaps it is just this silly cold I can't shake off...

On the plus side, here is a photo of a stapler:

Well, there is just no helping me. A trip to Target, an otherwise completely innocent time-wasting exercise, yielded more gamey goodness. I'm utterly hopeless.

LEGO Star Wars: After playing The Original Trilogy exhaustively on the GameCube, and a fruitless search for a PAL copy of the first game was..well...fruitless, I finally broke down and picked this up for the PS2. Finally being a relative term given that I only bought the machine two days ago. Still, given that I will unlikely emerge into the daylight for the next few months, this is probably a worthwhile purchase.


God of War: It was there. It was cheap. I figured 25,114 GameSpotters can't be wrong. Not the sort of thing that I'd normally buy, but for $25 AU (or approximately US $19), I figured that this was a worthwhile investment with the imminent sequel on the way. If it isn't my cup of tea, I figure I will probably be able to hold it up as an example of why I should never be left alone in the games department of a major retail chain.


Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas: Having been briefly addicted to the original Grand Theft Auto way back in the 1990s, and since then being one step behind the current specs needed to run any of the sequels on a PC, it seemed like the right time and price to finally invest in one of the much-lauded sequels.





Why am I even still typing? I should be playing these right now! Oh, hang about. My gal's using the telly. The new season of 24 is about to start...

No, I didn't go out and buy a Britney record. There are some depths that even I shall not plunge. That said, I do have a fondness for Spandau Ballet and New Romantic bands of the 1980s, so I'm in no position to throw stones.

Only days ago I wrote that I would not spend any more money on games until I finished the ones I owned.

That whole thing kind of went out the window with the purchase of a PS2. Technically, I didn't buy any NEW games for my CURRENT systems.

I need some kind of help.

...no new games until I finish the ones I have.

Or something cool comes out.

Either way, I need to save. Disney Hotels of the world, here I come!