It seems to be a while in between drinks these days. Either I can't think of much to write about, or I don't have time to research and write about topics. So I'll do an easy topic, stuff I've been reading playing or watching semi-recently. This includes a bit of a resurgence for me in graphic novels (sorry JBul).

Let's start with games. I hadn't played games on a console for a few weeks. I tried to figure out what the deal was, and any time I had an inkling to play a game, I thought about the game I last played and just couldn't be bothered. This is part of my intention to try and finish one game before I start another. In the end I decided that the reason I wasn't playing games was because I was trying to stick to this rule, but just didn't really want to play that game. That game was Mass Effect 2.

I can see that it is good in a sense, but it just really isn't dragging me in the same way the first one did. I'm not sure what the main difference is for me, but it just feels... clumsy for some reason. Oh, well. So I decided to put in Halo 3 : ODST. I loved Halo 3's campaign. After playing this for an hour or so, I felt much the same way as I did about Mass Effect 2. Nothing in particular stood out as bad. I just didn't feel any need to play it.

So the game that has actually held my interest that I've put many hours into, is Picross for the DS. If you like Sudoku or Hashi (Bridges) then this has a similar appeal. You are given a grid of varying sizes, and each row and column has a bunch of numbers. The numbers represent how many consecutive squares are filled in. If there is more than one number for a row or column, there has to be at least one space in the middle. So for example, if you are playing on a 5 by 5 grid and one of the rows has 2 2 next to it, the only way that can work is if the first two squares are filled, the third is empty, and the last two are filled. Once you've completed each row, the filled in squares make up a picture. That might sound complicated, but it's no more complicated than when you played your first Sudoku (actually, probably less so). If you don't have a DS, you can find free ones to do online.

Black Swan
This was a rollercoaster ride of a movie, and quite thought provoking. It got a lot of hype so most people probably know about, if for nothing more than a hot lesbian sex scene. While that is all well and good, the metaphor of the movie itself is stunningly portrayed. While Natalie Portmans character (I've forgotten her name) is the main lead in Swan Lake, a story about a black swan stealing the white swans (her twin) love and causing her to commit suicide, her character is herself tearing herself to pieces, acting out the role of the swans throughout the rest of the movie as well as on stage. It's a startlingly well portrayed story, with brief moments of fantasy that accentuate the theme. A well recommended watch.

Louis Theraux
I saw an advert for a documentary by this chap, called Lous Theraux and the Nazis. He met with Tom Metzner, a previous leader of the KKK and a well-known white supremacist. The documentary approach brings things to light, and while it leans towards being more tolerant, it still leaves a lot up to the viewer to make their own decisions. Especially interesting was when Tom visited a 'friend' to repair his TV (Tom's main job) who happened to be of questionable race (I think it was Peruvian), and Tom claimed to consider him a friend. He tried to retract the statement later when Louis tried to press him about the conflict and inconsistency with his views. A mother who was interviewed said that if her twin daughters, who were 11, had a black boyfriend, they would be disowned and she would never talk to them again. It was confronting stuff.

Perhaps more confronting for most people, was A Place For Paedophiles. I've already talked about paedophiles once before, and this certainly raised issues for and against what should happen to paedophiles who are or should be on the road to recovery. As a quick snapshot, 800 or so people are forceably sent to an institution, and this is after serving their sentence. They have to undergo a program to then actually be released into the population. To date, only 13 have been released. One member has been approved for release, but has been looking for housing for over a year. He has applied for over 1100, and they have all been rejected. When it was advertised in one area that housing was being sought, the property owner received threats, including rattlesnakes on his doorstep, as a warning to not accept his request. That is pretty intense. What I find most interesting is that they have already served their sentence in jail, but may then be held indefinitely for a crime that they could commit. On that basis, why doesn't everyone committed of a crime get a life sentence just in case they were going to do it again? There is a lot more to ponder here, and this is one of those topics that I might revisit. Next on the Louis Theraux checklist which I've recorded but not yet watched is to do with brothels. I expect this to be the least interesting of those I've seen so far, but don't expect it to be dull either.

True Blood Season 4
It's been a while since I watched season 3 of True Blood. Megan and I soaked up this season in about a week. I don't think it's really as strong as the previous seasons, but still good nonetheless. I don't want to raise any spoilers for anyone, so I will keep things vague. As it is a year since the end of the last season, certain shifts in power prove interesting. Some of the character development seemed a bit forced though. I'm guessing that a lot of actors contracts were up, were asking for too much money or just didn't want to do Season 5, because a lot of people die towards the end of this season, but a number of those deaths also set up interesting situations for the next season, like what is going to happen with Sooki's love life (I'm assuming her final act will still mean she will end up in the werewolf's arms though). A number of old characters appeared and seem set to wreak some havoc. Jason's genitals gets him in trouble in a few different ways in this season, but I think what happens between him and Hoight seems like something that legitimately happens to mates and breaks friendships. I must say though, I miss Jason playing a complete imbecile, he is so much more entertaining. I don't know the actors names, but those who played Marni and Lafayette really showed they are great actors in this season.

After borrowing The Authority from someone, I've been feeling like getting back into graphic novels. The only problem is, they are expensive. So, I found out that my library carries a decent selection, which is awesome. So I've been scouring top 100 lists and whatnot, and they seem to have a lot of it.

Venom : Dark Origins
I've always been a Venom fan, so I thought I would start with a Venom tale. While it does cover the 'origin' as far as how Eddie Brock gets to bond with the alien symbiote that is effectively his suit, the first couple of issues (this is a collection of 5 comics) really focus on who Eddie is and what has made him the man he is. Eddie has a jaded view of the world. He wants people to think highly of him, and he is quite deceptive about getting that recognition. He steals a girls pom poms in high school so he can say he found them. He says he lives somwhere he doesn't so he can walk a girl home. Thugs attack them and Spiderman comes to their rescue. The girl who had been knocked down asked Eddie how he managed to beat them all, and he took the credit rather than give it to Spiderman. The art is very exaggerated, and works well. When it comes to the full Venom suit, it is more extreme than I've seen it; it's changed a lot since the last time I read a Venom comic which is from over a decade ago, with massive bulk and a more angular look. The story covers Eddie Brocks fall from grace in the media world, which he blames on Spiderman (I won't go into why). Once him and the suit bond (and this used to be Spidermans suit before he realised it was an alien) they share a common enemy, as the symbiote feels rejected by Spiderman. It's a retelling of the original story (which I haven't read so can't compare) so it ends up the same, with Venom eventually beaten and stored safely by the Fantastic 4 (until he inevtiably escapes at some time in the future of course so Marvel can release a whole bunch more stories). I wouldn't say I was amazed but it was decent.

Thunderbolts : Caged Angels
I'm still getting used to the more recent events in the Marvel Universe. One of the main ones is the Civil War, which I haven't read yet. Basically a Superpower Registration Act gets passed where it becomes law to have your true identity known if you have superpowers, and heroes fall down on both sides of the law. As I understand it, the Thunderbolts after this event are mostly made up of reformed villains who are secretly employed by the government to hunt down those who don't register. Jumping in at this point is a little bit of a trial by fire since I don't know the full details of those events, or the history of this series. Nevertheless, the premise sounds solid. Given that the members are generally reformed villains, they seem to be on the verge of tearing themselves apart at times (and sometimes do). Amongst the team themselves there is a jostling for power and manipulation. Meanwhile, some telepaths have allowed themselves to become captured by the team, and then use their abilities to manipulate them into attacking each other. I also discovered that a character from my old collecting days, Speedball, shows up as Penance in this series. Speedball always seemed really goofy in the New Warriors, and as I understand he accidentally killed a whole bunch of people and has since become Penance. I think this has shown that comics have come a long way in the last decade in making characters more multi-faceted and not so fantastical, with slightly more grounding in reality, and a little gritty.

I'll leave it at that for now, I've read a few more, and not just Marvel, and there are some pretty decent ones, but I don't want to make this too long.

Had any games that you felt you were good but still just couldn't play for one reason or another?

Any graphic novels or trade paper backs that you've read that you love?

JBul, why are comics yucky?