Mikey C Goes To The Big City
Hey, hey, fans.
Following my move to Leicester I've been at the mercy or their computing system for internet access so that's why I've been unable to update this blog recently. I've now got broadband, though. Hooray!
Today I went for a job interview in London. Going to London on the train while wearing a suit is brilliant; it made me feel like a proper grown-up. I didn't go on the tube because I hate it and since seeing An American Werewolf in London I've been a bit scared of it so I walked the mile or so from St. Pancras to where my interview was. The job seemed pretty good - for a good company with great prospects, but my inept interview style ruined that. Hmm. I'll find out soon.
I'm convinced I saw Stephen Merchant of "Extras" and "The Office" fame walking down Tottenham Court Road after my interview though. He was really tall and lanky so I didn't get a good look at his face but I'm sure it was him. He was making tall BFG-like strides down the street (that's a Roald Dahl reference rather than Doom), content that nobody could see his face because it was so high up.
Posted on: Tuesday, 31st January 2006
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Like a dog returns to it's vomit...
...so Mikey C returns to Leicester
Being in the centre of the country, Leicester acts like an enormous plughole. However hard I try to avoid it, it draws me in. It is inevitable. It is my destiny. Like how it was Luke Skywalker's destiny to return to Tatooine to rescue Han Solo.
Also, I'm bored and miserable so fancy a change of scenary.
Having no job at the moment means that this could well be the second most daft thing I've ever done, so hopefully that means it should be exciting.
Oooh, here's a bit of nostalgia:
Posted on: Sunday, 8th January 2006
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Great computing moments #2
80s computers were fantastic. You got games on tapes and loaded them in, and plugged them into your telly, and they ran out of memory all the time. Computers these days, with their "disks" and "graphics" cannot hold a torch to the true golden age of computing.
Once upon a time in the olden days the BBC decided that the good people of Britain needed educating in the ways of the future - that is they must use computers or die! To save mankind, they created the BBC Computer Literacy Project - a seemingly incredible task which actually amounted to a few special editions of Tomorrow World and more programmes presented by bearded men.
The cream on this electronic cake was the BBC's very special own brand of computer, which they imaginatively called the BBC Micro. Well, it wasn't really the BBC's special brand because it was made by Acorn computers, who at the time were a few geeky PHD students in Cambridge. Legend has it that the BBC turned down their original design, only for them to accept it when the same design was resubmitted with orange keys. Presumably this made it look more computery.
Anyway, the BBC was a great success, probably because freaky bearded men kept plugging it on the telly, and because schools bought them. In fact, it was such a success that there was a shortage and people were forced to buy something else, like a dog or some real friends.
Along with the ZX Spectrum, we have the BBC to thank for the British computer games industry (although they've all been bought by Electronic Arts) with such quality games like Elite, Repton and loads of versions of Frogger. Most games were rubbish, though, but because you'd just spent an hour loading it (or, if you were feeling masochistic, typing it in) you forced yourself to enjoy it.
Acorn then released the Electron, which was essentially a rubbish version of the BBC with less memory. They later released the Acorn Archimedes which was supposedly really good, but nobody bought them because everyone was into Apple Macs and that. The age of the BBC Micro was over. The benevolent bearded overlords at the BBC, content they had done their jobs, returned to their planet.
BBC Microfacts:
- The man who wrote BBC BASIC is now a woman. So is the man who did the music for Tron. Coincidence?
- Don't try and use one now; they're rubbish
- The best game ever for the BBC was Chuckie Egg; don't let anyone tell you it was Elite. They are liars.
- The best program anyone can write in BASIC is this:
10 PRINT "MIKE RULEZ"
20 GOTO 10
Posted on: Saturday, 7th January 2006
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Films You Probably Haven't Seen #1
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Directed by renowned anime director Isao Takahata, Grave of the Fireflies is a heartbreaking tale of two orphans in war-torn Japan, and a poignant reminder of the real human cost of war.
Seita and his younger sister Setsuko are orphaned when their hometown of Kobe is destroyed in a firebombing. Attempting to shield the truth from his sister, Seita explains that their mother is in hospital and that they must go and live with a distant and unsympathetic Aunt in a nearby town.
Feeling unwelcome, the pair soon move out and take up residence in a disused bomb shelter where they soon come to realise that they cannot survive with the widespread famine and apparent indifference.
The film, like other Studio Ghibli animations, is incredibly detailed and beautifully drawn. Takahata, who himself witnessed the firebombings as a child, adapted the screenplay from the semi-autobiographical novel by Akiyuki Nosaka.
Read a review
Why haven't I seen it? They never show Japanese cartoons on the telly
Why should I see it? Because it's brilliant and it will make you cry.
Posted on: Sunday, 1st January 2006
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