Hey everyone!
OK, I won't do this spiel before every post, but I feel this needs a little introductory context. Basically, after seeing the first Pirates movie many years ago, I sat down at my computer and.... well. Writing happened. And then writing continued to happen. And everything kinda snowballed, and now writing is continuing to happen. It's quite scary when you look back on it and think... what happened there?
But yeah, what is this? This is... a book, I guess. It's not finished yet, but if I put it up chapter by chapter it'll give me an inscentive to get things done faster. It's supposed to be called "Souls of the Zodiac", but I'm feeling less and less happy with that title as I go along. So here is the start, the prologue. Enjoy, and stay tuned for more!
These are the souls of the Zodiac, thought the shadow of a man, as he glided like a wraith down the shadow of a tunnel. A tunnel which was illuminated at one end by a rapidly-shrinking pinprick of sunlight, and, at the other, by the icy, blue glow of untamed and deadly spells. These are the souls of an entire race. A muster of a thousand thousand warriors. These are the souls of an army. Mortas’ army.
The shadow of the man shuddered at the mention of that name. Mortas had been – and still was, to some extent – the Emperor of Desthalyn, the Creator of its people, the Conqueror of Hell, and, amongst a dozen more titles, the God of Death. Many folk of the present day believed that Mortas was a myth, either powerless or dead. But this could not be further from the truth.
At the end of the Deth War, exactly six thousand years ago, Mortas had been imprisoned in a cage that – legend says – is unbreakable, by an unknown power, under undocumented circumstances. But Mortas was still there. Nobody knew precisely where ‘there’ was, but there could be no doubting that Mortas was there. Very real, very powerful, and very much alive.
The man remembered, many years ago, when he was a mere student of his ways, asking his master ‘Is there a way to free him?’ His master had looked him in the eye with the chilling, lifeless, blue orbs of his eyes, and told him that there was a way to achieve the impossible. That answer had been what had driven the man ever since. It was why he was here now. Here, at the very same place that Mortas’ army had been sealed within, six thousand years ago. And still they waited, for the bringer of the key to both their and Mortas’ prison. His master had told him that those keys would be two, each different, and that the Army must be awoken before the god can return. He had made this one himself, but the other was beyond the crafting skill of any mortal. Appropriately enough, he had called the first key the ‘Harbinger’, as it was like a herald, an introduction to the main event. But, nonetheless, it would be useful. Even a god cannot conquer the world without his army. The second key, as anyone learned in these matters would know, went by the name of the “Chr—” No, fool! The words lanced through his head, every syllable like a slamming door. Do not speak the names of power within such a holy place!
And speaking of keys... The man’s thoughts trailed off as he stared, perplexed, at the obstacle before him. It was a black stone wall, engraved with a glowing ‘M’ rune. It was a door, no doubts about that. Though no keyhole, lock, or opening mechanism showed itself, instinct told the man it was a door. The first gate had been relatively easy to open, only a simple password-spell guarding it. The room in which the man was now could, in essence, be a very large porch. The ‘treasure’ lay behind the second gate. Alas, Thought the man, A gate nigh impossible to open. The man sighed and sniffed the air around the gate, just to be certain.
Sure enough, the spells within the stone were unknown to him, and would probably only disperse when he returned with full access to all the ingredients. Ingredients for the Reawakening. Breathing out another heavy sigh, he turned away from the gate, and began to retrace his steps. As he walked he mused, These are the souls of an army, the souls of a race, the souls of one million. These are the souls of the Zodiac...
And they shall march again.
See ya 'round!
James
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
Back To The Old Blogging Board
Hey everyone.
I owe you an apology. I'm sorry I haven't updated this blog since..... 28th November. To be honest, there's just been so much amazing stuff going on with my life at the moment, I don't have the time or the energy to talk about everything I want to. There's the review of the decade I missed out on, the look forward to next year, the brilliant movies and television I've seen, Christmas, the Oxford interview... and so much other stuff. It would not be humanly possible to cover everything. So, instead, I'm gonna have to make some cuts.
There, I said it. Cuts. It's not that hard, is it? Don't see why the government has a problem. Although admittedly they are dealing with real people's real lives.
Anyway, yeah, I'm essentially going to cut back to two things - One, actual people-watching. Anecdotes about interesting people on the streets. But that does mean I'll be on the look out now that I'm not getting bogged down with other stuff. Secondly, as some of you may know, I've been in the proces of writing a book for about four years now, and I've recently hit the two-thirds-ish marker. So yeah, I feel ready to start getting that out there now.
I guess what it all comes down to is being creative within the confines of reality. I mean, I won't stop enthusing about all the amazing films, music etc. but I realise now that the trick to this blogging is to write about something quite specific, otherwise it spirals out of control and you aren't able to cover all the many things you've branched out into. So this blog now deals mainly in real people and the real thoughts that they bring up. And I'll start by revealing my real name. I've thought about this and I've decided that as long as its just my first name, I'm safe from internet fraud and paedophilia. Besides, there are millions of people in the world with the same name as me.
So I'll see 'ya round.
James
I owe you an apology. I'm sorry I haven't updated this blog since..... 28th November. To be honest, there's just been so much amazing stuff going on with my life at the moment, I don't have the time or the energy to talk about everything I want to. There's the review of the decade I missed out on, the look forward to next year, the brilliant movies and television I've seen, Christmas, the Oxford interview... and so much other stuff. It would not be humanly possible to cover everything. So, instead, I'm gonna have to make some cuts.
There, I said it. Cuts. It's not that hard, is it? Don't see why the government has a problem. Although admittedly they are dealing with real people's real lives.
Anyway, yeah, I'm essentially going to cut back to two things - One, actual people-watching. Anecdotes about interesting people on the streets. But that does mean I'll be on the look out now that I'm not getting bogged down with other stuff. Secondly, as some of you may know, I've been in the proces of writing a book for about four years now, and I've recently hit the two-thirds-ish marker. So yeah, I feel ready to start getting that out there now.
I guess what it all comes down to is being creative within the confines of reality. I mean, I won't stop enthusing about all the amazing films, music etc. but I realise now that the trick to this blogging is to write about something quite specific, otherwise it spirals out of control and you aren't able to cover all the many things you've branched out into. So this blog now deals mainly in real people and the real thoughts that they bring up. And I'll start by revealing my real name. I've thought about this and I've decided that as long as its just my first name, I'm safe from internet fraud and paedophilia. Besides, there are millions of people in the world with the same name as me.
So I'll see 'ya round.
James
Saturday, 28 November 2009
The Day The Earth DIDN'T Stay Still...
Hey everyone!
Well, well, well. Today I went on a small excursion to my local cinema. What I really wanted to see was New Moon, mainly because I'm fed up of people going on about it and thought that after I went to see it, it would stop being cool, as usually happens. Alas, the showings were at really awkawrd times, and the only other good thing showing was 2012, so I went for that instead. And actually, it was a good decision. This film will amaze you. Fact.
Plot-wise, I'll admit it was pretty rubbish. Dubious science aside, half the characters seemed to exist just to feel sorry for themselves, and the other half were too stuck up and arrogant to care about the ordinary people. On top of this, I got the impression that throughout the movie essentially every disaster movie for the past ten years had been plagiarised - There were elements of Knowing, elements of Titanic, Day After Tomorrow, Sky Captain, not to mention plenty of Biblical references. The two things that stand out to me were, firstly, the fact that two people, of dubious experience, could fly a completely un-prepped Antonov (that's the largest aeroplane in the world, for those not in the know) off a rapidly shortening runway and get it all the way from America to China without any mishaps until the last minute. I mean, come on! Forget neutrino particles, or whatever, it's little things like that which ruin it for me. The other thing was the fact that the whole make-or-break relies on the lead character pulling some guy's leg out from between too giant cogs. You'd have thought they'd have had a backup system or something.
Despite this, the movie left me with an impression of brilliance, and that brilliance was due, for the most part, to the incredible graphics employed throughout the movie. Ultimately, that is the movie's Unique Selling Point - the fact that it depicts the end of the world in greater detain and realism than ever before. And it delivers, easily! There isn't a building left standing by the end of it. The Yellowstone volcano was breathtaking, but that was only the start! Admittedly, it was a little more sinister in my opinion because one of my few real fears is... well, inevitability. Like, when you know something really bad is going to happen, but can't stop it. So that bit with the aircraft carrier was a bit distressting, and likewise the many bottomless pit of doom incidents. That's what makes this movie so great though - it ramps up the fear factor to make the end seem ever more victorious. That guy must be gutted about his leg, though.
Those who know me well will have recognised that I'm a sucker for inspiring epic-ness, and 2012 delivered this both in the single 2-hour-ish dose and also through a lasting impression - I've just downloaded the credits song - Time For Miracles by Adam Lambert, which has some awesome chords and has got be thinking, as many things do these days. Quite what'll become of this inspiration remains to be seen - I've got far too much schoolwork to be doing to spend time projects that are actually fun and creative, clearly! But until life clears up a little,
See ya 'round!
Jack
Well, well, well. Today I went on a small excursion to my local cinema. What I really wanted to see was New Moon, mainly because I'm fed up of people going on about it and thought that after I went to see it, it would stop being cool, as usually happens. Alas, the showings were at really awkawrd times, and the only other good thing showing was 2012, so I went for that instead. And actually, it was a good decision. This film will amaze you. Fact.
Plot-wise, I'll admit it was pretty rubbish. Dubious science aside, half the characters seemed to exist just to feel sorry for themselves, and the other half were too stuck up and arrogant to care about the ordinary people. On top of this, I got the impression that throughout the movie essentially every disaster movie for the past ten years had been plagiarised - There were elements of Knowing, elements of Titanic, Day After Tomorrow, Sky Captain, not to mention plenty of Biblical references. The two things that stand out to me were, firstly, the fact that two people, of dubious experience, could fly a completely un-prepped Antonov (that's the largest aeroplane in the world, for those not in the know) off a rapidly shortening runway and get it all the way from America to China without any mishaps until the last minute. I mean, come on! Forget neutrino particles, or whatever, it's little things like that which ruin it for me. The other thing was the fact that the whole make-or-break relies on the lead character pulling some guy's leg out from between too giant cogs. You'd have thought they'd have had a backup system or something.
Despite this, the movie left me with an impression of brilliance, and that brilliance was due, for the most part, to the incredible graphics employed throughout the movie. Ultimately, that is the movie's Unique Selling Point - the fact that it depicts the end of the world in greater detain and realism than ever before. And it delivers, easily! There isn't a building left standing by the end of it. The Yellowstone volcano was breathtaking, but that was only the start! Admittedly, it was a little more sinister in my opinion because one of my few real fears is... well, inevitability. Like, when you know something really bad is going to happen, but can't stop it. So that bit with the aircraft carrier was a bit distressting, and likewise the many bottomless pit of doom incidents. That's what makes this movie so great though - it ramps up the fear factor to make the end seem ever more victorious. That guy must be gutted about his leg, though.
Those who know me well will have recognised that I'm a sucker for inspiring epic-ness, and 2012 delivered this both in the single 2-hour-ish dose and also through a lasting impression - I've just downloaded the credits song - Time For Miracles by Adam Lambert, which has some awesome chords and has got be thinking, as many things do these days. Quite what'll become of this inspiration remains to be seen - I've got far too much schoolwork to be doing to spend time projects that are actually fun and creative, clearly! But until life clears up a little,
See ya 'round!
Jack
Sunday, 22 November 2009
Rogue 4, Standing By...
HEY! Surprise!
Anyway, I'm in a particular good mood today because of some very exciting developments in the world of the Rogue Traders! That'll have to wait, though, because I've recently gotten my mitts on Empire At War. As Star Wars games go, it's.... pretty definitive. It captures perfectly the whole spirit of the original Star Wars movies, something I think is quite important. Now that the "real" Star Wars movies are over (At least until someone does a remake - "The Star Wars", anyone?), it's an increasing worry that all the next generation will remember is Jedi, battle droids and Obi-Wan with a wooden beard. Gone, in general, are the days of chasing TIE Fighters down the Death Star trench, unless it's in LEGO. Gone are the days when faceless drones would provoke humorous responses without an air of desparation. Gone are the days when Boba Fett stalked his quarry through the smoky chambers of Jabba's Palace. the Star Wars ethos was practically obliterated with just two words: Clone Wars.
But there is a glimmer of hope. A few years ago, Empire At War blasted onto computer screens. It's esentially a strategy game; you command the Rebel Alliance or the evil but cool Empire (No wishy-washy Separatists here) and attempt to conquer the galaxy, through the medium of map-based, land-based AND space-based RTS. And it is all done in real-time as well, even the Galactic Map sections. Where this game differs from others of its type, however, is in the ingenious little button known as the "BattleCam." Essentially, when war is in full swing, the player can switch to BattleCam and watch the fight unfold before his/her eyes in cinematics which put him/her right in the thick of the battle - Just like in a Star Wars movie!
And there's more. Whilst there are echoes of the Clone Wars in here (Geonosis crops up; The clone Assault Cruisers still have a presence), the game is at heart a return to the 'golden years' of Star Wars videogames. Back in the days of Rogue Squadron and X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter. Wow, those were good times. Sometimes it is easy to forget the older Star Wars movies - After all, our generation was one whose final impression of the universe was Anakin being burnt to a crisp and Padme giving birth in a hospital run by faceless CGI spacemen. But then things like this turn up, and remind you that, while episodes I-III may have been good movies (more or less), they weren't really Star Wars. So I guess what I'm saying is, more than being a good game, which it is, Empire At War could get by purely as a nostalgia tour for those who saw the last three first.
Anyway, in other news... I know you're bored of me going down this road, so I'll keep schtum about it afterwards, but let me first make a reccomendation. If you've taken my former advice and listened to any music by Frank Turner, (A) Good on ya, and (B) Now I suggest you try Ben Folds. Genre-wise, he's a little different, mainly piano ballads and such but with a bit of rock in there as well, but thematically the two are quite similar, both clearly students of the Larkin school. In terms of albums... Rockin' The Suburbs is probably the best, because of its variety and its memorable tunes. So yeah, there's that.
But now the moment you've all been waiting for... The Rogue Traders are back!! Yes, Today (or yesterday) the video for their latest song, "Love Is A War" went live. In this blogger's humble opinion, I have yet to like Mindi, the new singer, as much as I liked Nathalie, purely because her voice is so squeaky! She's like a mouse! To be fair, with only one song to go on, I can't really judge, so I'll wait and see when the rest of the album comes out. Other than that, awesome as usual! The Rogues are definitely back on form. Not necessarily better than Voodoo Child, but definitely better than most of the other stuff in the charts currently. If they release over here, I'll definitely download it ASAP!
Speaking of which... They've also finally released Better In The Dark (that's the third album) on the UK iTunes! Wahey!! Needless to say, I downloaded it the moment I saw it, and after one listen, I'm impressed. It doesn't quite have the same variety or originality as Here Come The Drums, but it is definitely a disc choca-block with party anthems! So yeah, download that too.
I think that's all I need to talk about today, so until next time, think of me on your way to the disco...
...on your way to the disco!
Jack
Anyway, I'm in a particular good mood today because of some very exciting developments in the world of the Rogue Traders! That'll have to wait, though, because I've recently gotten my mitts on Empire At War. As Star Wars games go, it's.... pretty definitive. It captures perfectly the whole spirit of the original Star Wars movies, something I think is quite important. Now that the "real" Star Wars movies are over (At least until someone does a remake - "The Star Wars", anyone?), it's an increasing worry that all the next generation will remember is Jedi, battle droids and Obi-Wan with a wooden beard. Gone, in general, are the days of chasing TIE Fighters down the Death Star trench, unless it's in LEGO. Gone are the days when faceless drones would provoke humorous responses without an air of desparation. Gone are the days when Boba Fett stalked his quarry through the smoky chambers of Jabba's Palace. the Star Wars ethos was practically obliterated with just two words: Clone Wars.
But there is a glimmer of hope. A few years ago, Empire At War blasted onto computer screens. It's esentially a strategy game; you command the Rebel Alliance or the evil but cool Empire (No wishy-washy Separatists here) and attempt to conquer the galaxy, through the medium of map-based, land-based AND space-based RTS. And it is all done in real-time as well, even the Galactic Map sections. Where this game differs from others of its type, however, is in the ingenious little button known as the "BattleCam." Essentially, when war is in full swing, the player can switch to BattleCam and watch the fight unfold before his/her eyes in cinematics which put him/her right in the thick of the battle - Just like in a Star Wars movie!
And there's more. Whilst there are echoes of the Clone Wars in here (Geonosis crops up; The clone Assault Cruisers still have a presence), the game is at heart a return to the 'golden years' of Star Wars videogames. Back in the days of Rogue Squadron and X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter. Wow, those were good times. Sometimes it is easy to forget the older Star Wars movies - After all, our generation was one whose final impression of the universe was Anakin being burnt to a crisp and Padme giving birth in a hospital run by faceless CGI spacemen. But then things like this turn up, and remind you that, while episodes I-III may have been good movies (more or less), they weren't really Star Wars. So I guess what I'm saying is, more than being a good game, which it is, Empire At War could get by purely as a nostalgia tour for those who saw the last three first.
Anyway, in other news... I know you're bored of me going down this road, so I'll keep schtum about it afterwards, but let me first make a reccomendation. If you've taken my former advice and listened to any music by Frank Turner, (A) Good on ya, and (B) Now I suggest you try Ben Folds. Genre-wise, he's a little different, mainly piano ballads and such but with a bit of rock in there as well, but thematically the two are quite similar, both clearly students of the Larkin school. In terms of albums... Rockin' The Suburbs is probably the best, because of its variety and its memorable tunes. So yeah, there's that.
But now the moment you've all been waiting for... The Rogue Traders are back!! Yes, Today (or yesterday) the video for their latest song, "Love Is A War" went live. In this blogger's humble opinion, I have yet to like Mindi, the new singer, as much as I liked Nathalie, purely because her voice is so squeaky! She's like a mouse! To be fair, with only one song to go on, I can't really judge, so I'll wait and see when the rest of the album comes out. Other than that, awesome as usual! The Rogues are definitely back on form. Not necessarily better than Voodoo Child, but definitely better than most of the other stuff in the charts currently. If they release over here, I'll definitely download it ASAP!
Speaking of which... They've also finally released Better In The Dark (that's the third album) on the UK iTunes! Wahey!! Needless to say, I downloaded it the moment I saw it, and after one listen, I'm impressed. It doesn't quite have the same variety or originality as Here Come The Drums, but it is definitely a disc choca-block with party anthems! So yeah, download that too.
I think that's all I need to talk about today, so until next time, think of me on your way to the disco...
...on your way to the disco!
Jack
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Fighting the Vampires
Hey everyone.
The thing that's bugging me most at the moment is Twilight. Yes, I know, I've extolled its virtues many times before, but after much thought I am sure of one thing: Every guy in the world must hate the Twilight films. Think about it. Back in 2007, it was perfectly acceptable to be normal. To be imperfect. To be human. I mean, there was Daniel Craig for the dads to aspire to, but Harry and Ron never had a fan-girl following, did they??
And then Twilight comes along. Suddenly being average is not okay. Suddenly the female gender starts to compare everyone they see to the supposed demigods Rob Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. Even Mike Newton looked quite handsome. Suddenly you have to be an Edward Cullen clone just to have any chance of getting a girl to notice you. And those who know me will know that I'm the least Cullen-est of potential Cullens. I mean, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's not a problem. Maybe out there in the real world every man is the very image of perfection, and when you leave school all your faults just evaporate and you become another generic model.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the books and I could see why the film was good... sort of... but you can't deny that the romantic livelihoods of the male gender collectively went into a tailspin the moment Pattinson stepped onscreen. Any slim chance I may have had of getting someone to love me has officially been obliterated for the next ten years or so. I know girls have had the same issue for many, many more years, and I don't want to seem insensitive. On the contrary, I'm only just realising how extreme the pressure is. It's like, everywhere I go, Pattinson's cold eyes are staring back at me, saying "I am the best. You are nothing. Just try and be like me."
So yeah, I guess what I'm saying is: Body image has become a guy problem too.
And I hate Vampires.
Jack
The thing that's bugging me most at the moment is Twilight. Yes, I know, I've extolled its virtues many times before, but after much thought I am sure of one thing: Every guy in the world must hate the Twilight films. Think about it. Back in 2007, it was perfectly acceptable to be normal. To be imperfect. To be human. I mean, there was Daniel Craig for the dads to aspire to, but Harry and Ron never had a fan-girl following, did they??
And then Twilight comes along. Suddenly being average is not okay. Suddenly the female gender starts to compare everyone they see to the supposed demigods Rob Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. Even Mike Newton looked quite handsome. Suddenly you have to be an Edward Cullen clone just to have any chance of getting a girl to notice you. And those who know me will know that I'm the least Cullen-est of potential Cullens. I mean, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's not a problem. Maybe out there in the real world every man is the very image of perfection, and when you leave school all your faults just evaporate and you become another generic model.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the books and I could see why the film was good... sort of... but you can't deny that the romantic livelihoods of the male gender collectively went into a tailspin the moment Pattinson stepped onscreen. Any slim chance I may have had of getting someone to love me has officially been obliterated for the next ten years or so. I know girls have had the same issue for many, many more years, and I don't want to seem insensitive. On the contrary, I'm only just realising how extreme the pressure is. It's like, everywhere I go, Pattinson's cold eyes are staring back at me, saying "I am the best. You are nothing. Just try and be like me."
So yeah, I guess what I'm saying is: Body image has become a guy problem too.
And I hate Vampires.
Jack
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