There is no doubt that the recession has hit almost everybody hard, and right where it hurts as well. The Bank of England has announced plans to inject a further 50 billion pounds into the British economy. Yes, that's right, £50,000,000,000 more is going to be lurking around our economy, simply devaluing the GBP against other currencies, and fuelling inflation, making everything cost just that little bit more. The last estimate of the UK population was at 62,300,000 people, which means, theoretically we will all be around £802.50 better off - but in a country where a small percentage of the population owns a large percentage of the wealth, that simply won't be the case.

This isn't a new concept either, Germany did the same thing at the end of World War I in order to pay for the extraordinary war debts, and this lead to America consistently investing the the broken German economy. In a world where every country seems to have some debt, I simply wonder, what can our economy look forward to?

What really grinds my gears, is stereotyping.

A while back, I had just disembarked from a bus, and was walking home. It was dark, and the street lights barely illuminated the road below. As I strolled down the pavement at a leisurely pace, a man of an older generation was walking toward me. He then proceeded to cross the road (at the other side there was no pavement, just grass), going out of his way to avoid me. Not all Teenagers are out to rape/mug/stab/kill you, infact, the vast minority are. Especially when you live in the middle of nowhere.

The same goes for anything in society today. I see people uneasily edge away from others just due to the color of the skin. Look upon others with disgusted eyes because of the way their sexuality, or the way they dress. That is why Stereotyping really grinds my gears.

Unless you've been living underground the past few days, you will be aware that widespread torrents have swept across the north of Britain. Whilst where I live, Yorkshire, received very little rain, the neighbouring county, Lincolnshire, was wetter than a Seals Gooch. It then struck me that, in general, Yorkshire receives very little of the terrible weather, whilst all the surrounding counties are devastated.

My very reasonable conclusion is that there is some sort of magical barrier protecting Yorkshire.

This story loosely intergrates current events in Syria.

May 17th, 2012

The boy laid there, spread like an eagle along the arid landscape. He couldn't have been any more than seventeen years old. The heat scorched his already tanned skin, as the final droplet of water trickled down Jamal's dry, cracked lips, the empty bottle discarded to one side. The rocks that dug into his back probably hurt, but he had lost feeling long ago. He was simply waiting. He didn't quite know what for, though. Maybe a vision, maybe a sign, maybe just the cold embrace of death. What eventually came was simple darkness.

Was it hours, days, weeks later? Was it just a dream? These were questions to be answered later, but this place was unfamiliar to Jamal. He had awoken on a bed, the matress was hard and worn. Faded blue tiles lined the room, and had fatigue marks in various colors and places. The ground was simple wood, and the door was slightly ajar.A symphony of sounds shimmied through the small gap - within, Jamal could just make out some hushed voices, straining over a crackling television set. Slightly dazed, the boy slowly placed both feet on the hard, wood flooring, and stood up. His head felt as if it was a nail, being hammered into a shelf, and his head was spinning. Stumbling, he made it to the door, and propping himself against the cool tile as a sharp pain shot through his leg like an out of control train. He winced a little, but managed not to make any noise. Peering through the narrow gap between door and doorframe, he could make out two figures - a man and a woman who seemed to be arguing about something. It was time to bite the bullet.

It really grinds my gears when my butter is solid to the point of unspreadability.

I have just woken up, and am looking forward to the almost soothing sound of metal-on-toast as butter is spread along the surface, but I nature denies me this pleasure. It is bad enough that it is freezing cold, and I have just stumbled out of bed (no doubt stubbing my toe on atleast 3 objects on the odyssey out of the dark abyss) - nevermind the fact I now have to do one of five things:

1. Warm the knife up (under hot water)

2. Warm the butter up (microwave)

3. Eat last nights leftovers.

4. Cobble together some kind of alternative breakfast.

5. Go Hungry.

As a post-adolescent male, naturally, i'll just go hungry.

The stage was set, the lineup hope-provoking. Despite the thoroughly average squad, the English flame of hope and glory was not only intact, but a bright beacon stretching hundreds of miles across Europe, from Kiev to London. Despite the horrible continuous mispronunciation of his name by Commentators and ex-footballers alike, Pirlo was always going to be the man to watch - Unfortunately, the England team didn't seem to get the memo. De Rossi opened up the game with a 25 yard sliced half-volley, and for a moment, my whole world stood still. Joe Hart made a courageous dive, as the ball spins just wide of him, and ricochets harmlessly of the woodwork. A few inches to the right, and there would not have been a keeper in the world - not even the fabled Buffon - who could've saved that. From England's stand point, the first half was good. The Italians were yet to find a way through the English defense, and the English were mainly dictating the game. Parker, Gerrard and Milner were the usual workhorses, and Welbeck was a good presence in the final third, winning many of Joe Hart's lumps forward. Rooney was far from the presence everybody had hoped he would be - obviously not match fit, many were left wondering why he was even still on the pitch. Half Time. And thus it began, 45 minutes of Italian domination. It was a constant artillery barrage, and somehow, the English defense stood strong with some particularly crucial blocks from Terry and Johnson. Now, I'm not a huge fan of John Terry, but he really showed his worth this match. Pirlo was happy to sit into a holding midfield role, with two central midfielders preventing Gerrard and Parker from pushing to far onto him, allowing Pirlo to ping balls left, right, and center. The few times that England broke out of their own third, the attack was either stopped in it's tracks by a sloppy pass, or quickly pounced upon by three or four Italians at a time - this was only made possible by the shockingly absent presence of support whilst on the attack. At the 70 minute mark, the tank that is Scott Parker begins showing signs of fatigue. In the dying moments of the game, Italy piled on more pressure, and I wouldn't be surprised if the amount of Heart Attacks in England increased exponentially during this time. Unfortunately, not much can be said about Extra Time, it was essentially a half-hour repeat of the second half. A fantastic ball in from Nocerino intersected with Diamanti's superb run, strikes his head and flies into the roof of the net, but is unluckily ruled offside - It was close, and if I was Italian, I would've felt cheated out of a goal there! With a bit of luck, and some good defending, England survived to see the Penalty shootout. The bottom line is that England forgot how to pass, and Italy forgot how to shoot. Even from a thoroughly average team, the nation expected and deserved better passing than was supplied. Penalties. The scourge of England. Baletolli steps up, powers it into toward the mid-left. Hart dived the right way, but the shot was too powerful to stop. Gerrard for England. Struck hard and low toward the bottom left. 1-1. The pressure is transferred to Montelivo. It rockets just wide of the left post, as England is thrown a lifeline. Rooney steps up, not match-fit, but how is his shot? It's an amazing penalty into the top left corner, Buffon stood no chance. 2-1. Pirlo to take third for Italy. Joe Hart dives left, but the Italian went for a cheeky dink with flair down the middle. 2-2. Ashley Young steps up. Going for power he sends Buffon to the left, but the ball ricochets from the Crossbar, nearly taking it out. Italy are back in it if Nocerino can put this in the back of the net, which he does with ease. 3-2. Ashley Cole steps up for England, with a Nation's hopes and dreams on his shoulders. Will he score his first goal for England? He places it to Buffon's left, and the keeper gathers it with ease. This is it for Italy, if Diamanti can put this away, Italy advance. Wenches are put aside, the remote control perched precariously on the armrest. The nation stands still. England's dreams hang in the balance. He steps up, and does it with ease, sending Joe Hart the wrong way. Italy rightfully advance through to the Semi-Finals. tl;dr: England were playing club football at an international level. In a way, Italy spared us a lot of humiliation, because if we even dared to play like that against Germany in the semi-final, we would have been absolutely decimated. Gerrard, Milner, and Parker were the workhorses of the team, wheras Rooney and Young were ineffective throughout. The back four were solid, and defensively we looked good, but on the attack we completely lost our flair.

E3 Official Trailer Once again, Ubisoft have graced us with a masterpiece of a trailer that inspires a deep sense of epic heroism. Sprinting and Stabbing in classic Assassins Creed fashion, Connor blazes into an the middle of an army using his agility to a maximum advantage, and in this sense is not dissimilar from Ezio in the Assassins Creed Revelations Trailer. This is the first indication that not too much will have changed from previous releases of the Assassins Creed franchise. Frontier Gameplay Trailer I'm glad to see that Ubisoft haven't fallen into the trap of counter-productiveness. To me, the Frontier Gameplay trailer shows that AC3 is building upon solid foundations. The graphics and heads-up display have been noticeably improved, and it is great to see a new variety of attacks, combinations, and weapons available to the player. Ubisoft haven't detracted from the simple things that made the world fall in love with Assassins Creed, and by building on the soul of the franchise, Ubisoft have all but ensured there is no way but up from here.