Tom Charman

Bit quiet around here, eh? Don’t worry, we’ll get back on top of things soon. There’s plenty of stuff to review, but we’re just busy. There’s a revue being put on by the Leonardian Players so we’re taking a bit of a break. Andy isn’t in it but he’s waiting for us to fill in the gaps in the Battlestar reviews. The idea is that we’re taking turns — the further idea is that Jackson will be one of the “we” in this case. This would make it a crazy 9 reviews for him on ATR which I’m not sure the universe is ready for.

Some quick summaries since I can’t quite review them yet — Children of Men is awesome. The Departed is good but not quite that good. I won’t say any more lest I run out of things to say in any reviews which may or may not get written.

While I’m here, may I voice my concerns over Premier Bracks’ desire for new weapons for police? Clearly what our boys in blue need is more weapons. They’ve been doing such a bang-up job with the ones they’ve got. And in general, I dislike grandstanding over big manly words like “tasers” and “semi-automatic” when you know perfectly well that you don’t get to choose how your funding will be spent.

This is irritating because I’m normally a bit of a labor voter (after Greens of course, my responsibility as a young idealist). But I’m vaguely tempted by Ballieu this time around, in part because he sounds like a library but probably mostly because I just like changing stuff around. It’s lucky I’m not in charge.

… oh, and by the way, the details of the Revue:

The Off-Broadway Lounge

Friday 17th November & Saturday 18th November

8:00pm

TC Woolhouse Theatre
St Leonard’s College
163 South Road East Brighton

Tickets $15 at the door

Argh. Two weeks without the internet! How on earth did I survive? Well, alright, I saw plenty of the internet, but that’s not the point. The point is, it wasn’t on tap at all times. The point is, I couldn’t possibly have been paying much attention to ATR. But this will change.

I don’t know why the notables on the front page stopped turning up. It’s something of a mystery which I’m hoping a fresh install of SimplePie will solve in a “I never quite worked it out” sort of way. They’ll be back soon in a slightly expanded way, with yet another subtle tweaking of the front page. It’s amazing; once you get bored of the shiny factor, sliding review titles suddenly seem massively pointless.

I also don’t know whether Torchwood, the new Who spinoff, will be any good, but early signs are encouraging. SFX Magazine have a little run-down of all the characters which is one of the most encouraging things I’ve seen. Early vibe seems to suggest it’ll be a little like Angel (Whedon’s shows are a major influence according to Russell T. Davies) but with aliens instead of demons, brits instead of yanks, and added swearing.

This encourages my fervent hope that one day, I will see an episode of science fiction telly where something horribly wrong, life-threatening and scary happens, and a character says simply, “Fuck”.

I’ve done it, I’ve caved. Too many people with too many DSes and it all got too much for me.

Look at all the white shiny things. Now all I need is the iPhone and the OTViP which should be out any day never.

Also, I saw the Opera DS Browser which might be coming out soon here, too. In a way, the DS is an investment; if I can browse wireless networks with it, I’m less likely to get seduced by a laptop. Also, BioWare is branching out to the DS, so I’m guaranteed at least one good game in the future.

What impresses me most about the DS though is just the ease of multiplayer. To be able to sit down with one copy of Starfox or Big Brain Academy and play a game with five of your friends, with only a very small waiting period is really amazing. And, Mario is surprisingly addictive. Excuse me.