Danska: Shadow Master

I used to hate shooters. Was very bad at them and dreaded playing them in those gaming sessions I sometimes have with my friends. This was until a few weeks? Months? A short time ago, anyway, when I went to PC Arena (small place in town, 20 computers, LAN + many games) when I played Unreal Tournemant 2004. Loved it! Frantic as anything, crawling spider mines, wierd green goo guns...brilliant! So fast, too! I decided then and there that I had to find the time to play a few more shooters. I borrowed my friend's copy of Timesplitters 2 and played that for a bit, enjoying it immensely. It didn't really compare with Timesplitters: Future Perfect (will be abbreviated to TS3), but fun it was! I have a friend who's a complete Xbox fanatic. He loves everything Microsoft and probably hero-worships Bill Gates. Having spoken with him lots, I must agree that the 360 at least is an excellent console and, now that its past some initial problems, has managed to do the majority of things right. Now, this friend is predominantly into Halo, as well as other games like Call of Duty, Bioshock and Gears of War. He's despairing somewhat at my choice of Timesplitters as an introduction to the FPS (First Person Shooter) genre. Well too bad! I picked up TS3 a few days ago, and have yet to regret it. It's manic, mad and insane. Yeah, I know. Mad and insane basically mean the same thing, but I thought it was a point worth mentioning twice. It is a bit strange running around as a monkey or a dinosaur or an undead priest with a shotgun, flare guns, a harpoon gun or whatever else. But that's why I love it! Anyone who's met me would struggle to describe me as sane, so a bit of wierdness is right down my street. I've no idea what the game's story is. I think it involved travelling through various time periods fighting alien things (as well as zombies and who knows what else). I've spent all my time in the Arcade. This suits me fine! There are so many different modes. There's the standard Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag Bag. Then there's Shrink, where I believe your size is dependant on your position, Virus where you're set on fire when you respawn (or if you touch someone who's on fire) and Monkey Assisstant! Whoever's in last place gets a horde of monkeys who go around shooting everyone - mostly (or maybe exclusively) the person in first place. What's not to like!? Like most of the games I play, it's best played with other people. Being a Gamecube player, this is hardly surprising with titles like Super Smash Bros. Melee and Mario Kart at the forefront. Making a sudden dash for the opponent's bag while your friends attempt to cover you is great fun - and then the desperate flight back to your own base when your friends have been shot is the height of franticness (is that a word? Must check). Brilliant! It's worth it simply for the sheer range of weapons and characters. Shotguns, rockets, machine guns, pistols, plasma rifles, electrotools, injectors (causes people's heads to explode), baseball bats...such variety! My favourites have to be firstly the SPB - a powerful machine gun that really can rip through opponents - Tactical 12 Gauge - a powerful shotgun that's incredibly fun to behead people with - and the K-SMG (x2) - two sub-machine guns that reload very quickly! The carnage these weapons can inflict is simply beautiful. I detest rockets, though. Can't shoot them for the life of me, and I just get shot when trying to use heatseakers. No, running around decapitating people in video games does not inspire me to be violent in real life. If anything, it does the opposite! Great stress relief, and incredibly useful to have if I'm angry or annoyed. I simply do not understand the people who say violent video games inspire people to be violent in real life. Anyone with even the vaguest notion of the differences between a virtual world and real life shouldn't have a problem there, and if they do...oh dear. I hardly think that's the video game's fault. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some monkeys to shoot.

I have Lewa Newva! Not entirely sure what inspired me to get him, but have him I do and I'm actually glad! I don't really think of him as Lewa. I may make up an alternate personality/identity for him at some point and fit him into something somewhere, but what matters is the set. From my perspective, having bought very very few sets in the last two years, he has plenty of new pieces! The new-style joints, the feet, the blade, the mask, the blue visor, the eyes, the Matoran connection piece...awesomeness! Oh yeah, not forgetting the jets. But best of all, the Midak Skyblaster! It is fantastic! I've only tried it once, but...WOW! The za...sorry, Midaks are extremely satisfying to put in, clicking nicely into place. I wasn't expecting it at first, and daren't put too much pressure on lest I break it. Lol! Foolishness indeed! Out of all the launchers I've encountered, it's the easiest and most satisfying of them all to fire. The pressure required to launch them really makes it fun, and they fire equivilantly fast and far to reward the effort. I was quite shocked when it bounced noisily off my study door. Really was not expecting it to reach that! I'm soooooo tempted to replace some of Lewa's grey with dark green. A pity I don't have enough dark green pieces. Anyway, that's all I have to say today! Nothing but general praising of the midak skyblasters. A far cry (still need to play that game) away from my normal, painfully long entry type. I'm sure I'll manage to ressurect it by my next entry, so don't worry.

But wait, this entry could be about...real life!? No way! Yes, it is true. I am actually posting something about real life, having not to my knowledge done so since restarting this blog. I attend a Sixth Form college and am in my second (and final) year there. I study computing, english language, philosophy (who would have guessed?) and critical thinking. The latter's a slightly odd one as it's not offered until Year 13 (second year). It's only offered as an AS for most people (2 years, 2 qualifications - AS and A2, which combine to make a full A level) but I opted to do an accelerated course and am doing the full A level in one year. Thankfully there's 1/3rd fewer modules than in other subjects and less than half the number of lessons (only a third of the lessons at AS), so it's hardly strenuous. Also, no coursework OR homework! Me likes! But why oh why must the tradition of parents evening be continued!? It really doesn't achieve anything. The teachers have nothing of any particular use or interest to say, parents ask annoying questions and then delight in pointing out exactly what I should be doing to make everything go right. I'm sure it's a conspiracy! Still, it wasn't too bad. My computing teacher says I need to work more and not play so many internet games (she may have a point there...), one of my english teachers thinks I'm doing well and thinks the coursework I handed in was very good. Strange, as I thought it was terrible, but oh well. My other english teacher agrees with my computing teacher and thinks I need to do more work - well, ok, some work - but my philosophy teachers love me (does my previous blog entry show you why?). This year's bad enough without parents evening. I have too much coursework by far, university application stuff to sort out, just finished exams with another (huge) set to come may/june time and I'm finding computing especially quite difficult. I'll also be shocked if I managed to pass my english editorial writing paper. But there's no corrolation between that and the amount of work I do, surely? That would be a ridiculous idea... Gargh. There, then, is a brief insight into the academic (and least exciting) part of my life. I will leave it there, as I've posted enough huge entries for the time being. Do you know that my last entry almost reached 2000 words? I've written essays shorter than that!

Ok. I'm not about to launch into a full-scale introduction to philosophy. That would take far too long and most likely bore you all to tears. Instead I'm going to have a go at writing about contemporary morality - a fraction of philosophy - and what I think of it. Before I start, I wish to make one thing clear: this is all opinion! I could be wrong, I could be right, I could be a giant octopus living off the coast of what I believe to be Turkey (but that's a lesson for another time ). These are just some ideas that have been floating around in my mind, and now they're floating around in a blog. Make of them what you wish. Morality is interpreted differently all across the world, and all across time. Take two nations, two ages or simply two communities and I doubt they will agree on what is right and wrong. Infact no, take two individuals and you'll find differences in belief. Why? Is killing not wrong? Do not all people agree that you should not steal, that emnity and hatred and wrong while compassion and kindness good? The short answer is no, they do not. But of course, anyone with an inquisitive mind will find such an answer highly unsatisfactory as it explains absolutely nothing. why is there disagreement? Why are some things right and others wrong? Why does it even matter? It is questions like this that make philosophy what it is. First, I am going to explore the question of "what is morality?" So then, what is it? The difference between right and wrong? Certainly. But what does that mean? For me, morality exists on two levels. There is social morality and individual morality. It's not hard to grasp the difference between them. Social morality is the prevailant morality present in a society or culture, that dictates how a person may act within the society and provides the ground rules of right and wrong. Mostly, this is what constitutes as law. Certainly law is, to my knowledge, bound by morality and often works to safeguard something to prevent wrongs from occuring. I don't know much about law, though. Some aspects may not be incorperated by law but simply accepted. I don't think it can be denied that some sort of morality does exist on a social scale, however. Now this exists in every society. Circumstances in each of these places are different, the environment is different and the people are different. This means different ideas about morality will emerge. For example, the prevailant belief in much of the western world is that freedom and democracy are paramount. Certainly this seems to be the case, and I'm sure most people in such societies could argue that other forms of government tend to do more harm than good. But is that always true? Democracy works well for us, but that doesn't mean it will work for everyone does it? This is getting a bit political, so I'm going to stop that train of thought there. Look out for the word relativity though. That should cue some sort of explanation to why I said what I did. So, social morality exists to ensure society runs smoothly. It protects individuals and the whole, providing ways in which people can live without causing harm to each other (or to protect social values). It is designed to be universally accepted and adhered to, because to do otherwise would cause effects for individuals or society that are deemed to be wrong. This, at least, is my understanding of it. Social morality is a necessity if people wish to live together. So what of personal morality? Well, this is likely to be shaped by the prevailant social morality of the time. This does not mean it will be identical to what is in place socially, and disagreements do happen, but there will almost certainly be influences (whether obvious or not). Personal morality is what you yourself feel to be right or wrong. This can be guided by society, by friends, by religion or any manner of other things. It is predominantly yours, and it is unlikely anyone else will share exactly the same beliefs as you. Now, which is more important? Social or personal morality? Various figures have argued for both, although whichever they advocate they tend to speak of it as if it were morality as a whole. Utilitarianism, which says what is important is the "greatest happiness for the greatest number", very definitely deals with things on a social scale. Immanuel Kant on the other hand talks more about individuals, using his "Catagorical Imperative" as the guiding force behind our actions. I would say both are very important. Social morality is needed in order to maintain some coherance and stability within society, but if we lose the notion of personal morality or personal beliefs we become little more than drones without individual concepts, ideas or indeed much individuality. I would say it is imperative that people do not break the social "code of conduct" and ensure their actions stay within the boundries of what is or is not allowed, for if people as a whole were to act otherwise the stability of society would shatter. But then, personal morality and thoughts are also vital because without it, we are not individuals. But what if your personal morality conflicts with social morality? As appears so often in philosophical writings, this shall be furnished with an analogy. Let us assume you live in a society where, for some reason or another, it is considered to be highly immoral to go outside on sundays, perhaps for religious reasons (note: this is purely hypothetical. I'm not inserting any existing religion or society here). Now you think this is a pretty silly idea, perhaps not sharing the same belief system as other members of the community. You really want to go outside on a particular sunday, may even have a brilliant reason for wanting to, but doing so would lose you considerable respect with almost everyone you know and some would even find this act insulting. Do you go outside as you wish, or stay inside as society expects? Using the same analogy, let us say this act is actually illegal. Would this change your actions? Differences in personal or social beliefs occur all the time. I'm now talking about two societies or two people who disagree. In terms of personal disagreements - this happens all the time in everyday life. Usually, its very trivial and easily solved. But what on earth do you do when you and someone else have highly polarised views about something important? Who's right? What do you do? When this happens on a social level, things are even worse. Different societies often have very different ideas about morality, and sadly this often leads to conflict. So often, societies or people will be convinced they're right and so, of course, the other party simply must be wrong. Why? It all comes down to relativity. It is perfectly possible that certain morals and ideas work perfectly well for a certain society. The western world values democracy, most places regard the death penalty as wrong and corporal punishment equally so. This works. But what happens when countries are found which do not find these ideas to be wrong? Of course, most people would say "but it's so cruel! They can't be right!" Well yes, I agree. That's true in our society. But in the other society, it does work. I know, there are hundreds of reasons why we're right, why they're wrong and so on and so on...but I've no doubt many reasons could be found on the other side, too. That was a somewhat extreme example, I admit. I'm not advocating either course of action through it, merely trying to suggest that neither can be considered definitely right or definitely wrong, whatever your personal views on it. This I would say is true for most differences - both right under the right circumstances and in their respective places. Elsewhere, it's another story. Social context, I think, is very important to morality. It is perhaps best to act in accordance with the principles laid down by society, however in the eventuality that a person passionately disagrees with these principles, it is up to them whether they choose to act with or against these. If they can't decide on the act, then the consequences may be taken into account regarding both the individual and the influence their action has elsewhere. What will their action mean to others, and what will the consequences for them be? I say society takes preference because otherwise, actions may cause social disquiet or even harm in more extreme cases. This is not to say people should not act on their own consciences, but that they should consider what the consequences of their actions will be. Now, why should we be moral? I've attempted to answer the what and how questions, but not really the why. The way I see it, we are social creatures. It is therefore important that we are able to live together. This means there must be some set of rules by which this is made possible without causing undue harm to each other (for no life is more important than another - or is it? My own arguments could be used against me. I'll let you think on that yourselves). Because we are all individuals, morals shall of course be interpreted and so differences of opinion shall arise. This gives us the freedom to guide ourselves in life, because we cannot always check everything with the rules of society before we act (if we did, 9/10ths of our lives would be wasted checking rules or laws). John Stuart Mill (a Utilitarian and liberalist) certainly understood that these differences drove change, and that without them society would stagnate. I tend to agree with his view, and so it seems important to me that differences are respected and tolerated and, if possible, understood. In conclusion, I would say that difference in inevitable. It is ridiculous to try and bring everyone under a single banner, because there will always be discontent and disagreement, however noble and seemingly perfect that banner is. The most we can do is accept that other moralities, cultures and so on exist side by side with our own cultures, and that we have no more right to impose our beliefs on them than they do on us. It is only in the event that one side threatens the other's way of life that action against them can be legitimately taken. Right! This has to be my longest blog entry ever (which is saying something). All of what I've said is purely my opinion, and I am not claiming to hold any absolute truth here (indeed, I do not believe there is one). If you passionately disagree, that's fine! Infact, that's excellent! You've at least as much chance of being right as I have, after all. I find it a bit worrying that I almost started prescribing ways of thinking or acting near the end, when I find myself disliking philosophers who do that. Hmm, yes. Annoying. All of this was also written without any forethought as to what I was going to write, so it may be a bit garbled. I should also note that it touches on a few sensitive subjects. My intention is not to insult anyone, and if I have done so unknowingly I do apologise. Finally, I will say that I'm only 17 and haven't even finished my Philosophy A level yet. I'll let you work out the implications of that. Oh yes, and congratulations on getting this far!

Well, I am shocked. Possibly more surprised, but saying shocked sounds more shocking and is thusly more appealing to most audiences. Except I've now revealed that so it won't work again... See? I am intelligent! Penguin is pleased. I might have to take that as a challenge! Perhaps I shall write a suitably long entry next time about my TV remote. Would that be fun? Yup, I'm in a slightly weird, happy and excitable mood. Or so my mood tells me. I guess I should believe it, but I can never quite be certain whether it's telling the truth or not... Hmm, perhaps my next entry should be philisophical. Yeeeess, I haven't really said anything about philosophy. It's high time I confused a few people, after all. Heh heh heh. And yes, this entry was purely an excuse to find somewhere to put that banner. I wouldn't want to lose it now, would I? Oh yes, and thanks for

It has been pointed out to me that I have yet to write anything about a subject which holds considerable weight on my life. That is, GAMES! Games are brilliant. A good game can be immensely satisfying, providing many hours of entertainment. Whether you're shooting something, solving a puzzle or commanding an army, the fun is there and each genre has its own merits. One of my favourite genres is that of the RPG. These games tend to be epic in length and if made well, have a deep and twisting storyline that keeps the player engrossed for hours on end. Along the way you discover the answer to many mysteries surrouding the plot, the characters and many other things that drives you on. You watch as your characters become ever more powerful, starting from a simple rookie and progressing to a master warrior who can slay even the toughest of foes with blade and magic. In the space of a few days you develop from a nobody to one of the most powerful people in the entire world because not doing so would make a much less exciting storyline. If the game is suitably good, you may even grow to care about the character(s) in the game. One game that I particularly feel is a prime example of an RPG is Knights of the Old Republic. This is, as you no doubt know, set in the Star Wars universe. It's about 4000 years before the events of Episode I (correct me if I'm wrong) and most definitely proves someone in Episode I wrong when they say there hasn't been a war since the formation of the Republic. They evidently didn't brush up on their history. The Sith are waging an all-out war against the Republic, battering them with seemingly infinite resources and great fleets of ships. This comes shortly after the Mandalorian Wars when the Mandalorians, fierce warriors who live for war, set out to test themselves in battle against the Republic. Two key figures, Jedi obviously, are Revan and Malak. They led the forces against the Mandalorians (in defiance of the Council) and defeated them. But then, something happened and they returned as Sith with an infinite army and the intent to overthrow the republic (but let's face it, does any Sith ever want anything else?). The Republic hold on to one hope: the Jedi Bastila. She has the rare power of Battle Meditation, which inspires allied forces and increases their strength in combat while sapping the will of the enemy. She was part of a strike team who attacked Revan's ship to try and end the Sith incursion. Malak, sensing an opportunity, fired on his Master's ship hoping to kill the Jedi and Revan in one go. The Jedi escaped, leaving Malak as Dark Lord of the Sith. You come in as a soldier on a Republic ship which is under assault from the Sith. Bastila is aboard, naturally, but escapes (as do you). Events then unfold, you recieve Jedi training and are sent on a mission to save the fate of the Galaxy. No I do not want to go into much more detail for fear of spoiling the plot. This game has one of the best storylines I've ever encountered. It lives up to and quite possibly surpasses that of the movies in just about every way. As you venture across worlds like Tatooine and Kashyyyk, you learn more about your party members' histories as they're fleshed out into very 3-dimensional characters. One of my personal favourites is HK-47. He's an assassin droid who refers to all organic life as 'meatbags' and takes an unnerving amount of pleasure in his job. He's a much better companion than C3-PO, that's for sure. "Stupid, frail, non-compartmentalized organic meatbags!" Bet you'd never find C3-PO saying that now, would you? The graphics are incredible. Sure, not the best, but need they be? This game was made 5 years ago after all, yet I still find myself in awe at just how gloriously shiny those Sith trooper's armour is. Mmmmmmmm, shiny. The scenery is a real treat sometimes. From the lushious plains of Dantooine to the barren rocks of Korriban, there's much variety in the locations you visit. Each brings with them their own atmosphere and combined with the music, truly helps you get right into the game. Ah yes, the music. A wonderful score true to the Star Wars legacy. It's a very defining feature of the game, sounds brilliant and is always appropriate. It's never overpowering, but it is always present and gives a real feel to the worlds. The number of quests and sub-quests can seem overwhelming at times, especially when you simply do not know how to solve them! But that's ok, because you can choose not to complete most of them or, with a bit of digging and investigation, can probably find the answer. These quests really enrich the game, giving it far more substance than that of a simple quest. Even more interesting are the events which relate to the histories of your party members. There are a few, and they again add further depth to the game. Minigames! Playing a game within a game! Insanity surely, but they rear their actually quite pleasant head in the world of KOTOR. Swoop racing involves riding a swoop bike along a track littered with obstacles and boost pads, and trying to get the highest time. Not always an easy feat, but I'm proving to be very proficient at it having played through the game a few too many times. Another entertaining (if frustrating) game is the turret control, when you get to blast enemy fighters out of the sky with your ship's gun turret. Great fun, but not so great if they manage to destroy your ship. Thankfully I have tactics which have proven to be quite potent against the rather predictable sith fighters. There's also one more minigame called Pazaak, but to discover more you'll have to play the game yourself. It's fun, of that I can assure you. Needless to say there's a massive plot twist, and the final battle against Malak is very dramatic. After the ordeal you've faced trying to reach him, it would be a terrible shame for it to be anything else. And no! I shall reveal no further details about this either! Ooooooohh yes. I forgot to mention one of the game's most important features! Your actions and decisions affect your alignment. You get to choose throughout the game whether to follow the side of the light and bring order to the galaxy, or become a sith and threaten it with your own darkness. Each alignment, good and evil, presents a different ending. Fortunately for you, your alignment does not effect what force powers you can use. A light side player is allowed to run in and blast everything in sight with force lightning if they so desire. But it's not cost-free. Being opposed to such malpractises, the force point cost for using such powers is greater. The further towards the light you go, the more it will cost. Unsurprisingly, the further towards the dark side you fall the more easily you can use such powers. As you may also have guessed, the same applies to light side powers. There's still a lot I haven't mentioned, because there's such a lot to be mentioned! But I think I'll leave it there. The game is easily one of the best I've played, having a gripping story that sucks you in and makes you strive to uncover the game's mysteries. The musical score and graphics add atmosphere to the game and are in themselves entrancing, adding much to the game's allure. If you have an Xbox or PC (if you don't have a PC, how are you here?) then get this game! Now! You will not be dissapointed. Wow, my second blog entry in two days. What's happening to me!?

It might be something of a mystery to people why I sit around making small, pixelised representations of bionicle sets. On the other hand it might not, I don't know. Nevertheless, for anyone who is curious, here's an explanation of a length that will only be determined once it is written. Perhaps I should start with how I got involved in kits. Some of you may have heard of the Mata-Nuian Builder. This was an emalgamation of various popular kits, drawing heavily from one in particular - the RZ Mega Kit. RZ (Rahi Zaku) was a genius with pixels, and is to my knowledge where the style originated. I can't remember why I started using the MNB or how I found it, but find it I did and once I started writing stories, many uses for it became apparant. See, the style isn't designed for making comics or games or any of the uses to which kits are commonly put these days. They are builders - designed to let you snap the pieces together digitally and create whatever your imagination can conjure up. This is particularly useful if you have an idea for a Toa who is coloured A and B, but the pieces you want only come in colours X and Y (I don't know why those four letters are always used for examples, but why break with tradition?). For a writer, this can be invaluable. I personally designed whole hosts of characters with the kit for epics and the like, not to mention many outside of stories simply out of personal interest. It was quite interesting, seeing the creativety that could be spawned from this. Eventually I started experimenting. Combining masks, editing tools; nothing major. This is where it started, I guess. Still, the idea of creating anything of the sort myself was...harrowing at best. When I came across the MNB I do not know, but one event always sticks in my memory: the release of the MNB 2004. Both RZ and Swert released their own 2004 kits, each with their own merits. I personally opted to use the MNB version, as it came with angled arms (the RZ ones were straight) and by then I was used to the background colour (it was a greenish-blue, darker than the one I use). As a downside, I don't recall Lhikan's mask ever being released in the MNB but I could be wrong. Anyway, yeah. Skipping over the nostalgia, let's get back to the point. I held these kit creators in very high regard, wondering how they ever managed to create such brilliant representations of the sets. It was possibly in 2004 I started creating a few things for myself - mostly masks, actually. I made an entire set of masks which were ok, I guess, and continued playing around with the odd tool. More epics meant more characters, and I was becoming steadily used to the ins and outs of the kits. Once you learn a bit how the style works, things start to fall into place more easily. I had a lot of practise using the kit, and was experimenting more and more. 2005 was quite a big year for me, in terms of kit development. Why? Because I made my first kit. Or was it 2006? Whatever it was, it was related to 2005. Ok ok, I'll get to the point. There was to be no MNB 2005. A great shame, I must admit, but in a way that helped me because I decided to make it myself. I don't think I did too bad a job in some respects. Infact, a lot of the DBB 05 dates back to that point, albeit with a few minor alterations. The heads, tools and arms are mostly from then. As you can see, I was becoming further and further engrossed in the pixel world. It threatened to swallow me up like a great...pixelly...thing...and quite why I said that I do not know. Suffice to say I did say it. ANYWAY, I never released that kit as many parts were not my own and I felt little inclination to do so anyway. And do I use the word anyway too much? Anyway (yes I do), my confidence was growing. Perhaps my biggest breakthrough came when I attempted to create Sidorak and Keetongu. I succeeded, as it happens, but learnt then and there that what I was trying to do was no longer the same. I was starting to develop my own conventions and ideas and noticed that the scale of some pieces simply wasn't right for what I was doing. Yes, I was a pedant even then. The first thing I did that could really count as part of the DBB was to create my own Metru body. The ones in the MNB and RZ Mega Kit were created very, very quickly as the sets were just coming out (maybe before) so weren't as accurate as they might otherwise have been. A bad thing? Not really. They served their purpose, were recognisable and as I said, were released very quickly. I was certainly impressed, but when trying to create the Toa Hagah and realising that the Bohrok plate and the body didn't quite mesh, I went about making my own. Ok, last bit of history now! I started what eventually turned into the DBB in 2006 with, surprisingly, 2006 sets. Did you know that 2006 was infact the first kit I made? Or that I first made the Inika before they even appeared in stores? It does seem strange. Well, I think I was still recycling a few old pieces so I decided to go back to the start, 2001, and make everything myself. Completely from scratch. The results of this are fairly obvious. Ok, this is starting to degenerate into boring ramblings, and I still haven't really explained why I make kits, have I? Just how I got into it. Does that count as why? Maybe. So! Why do I make kits? I guess the only reason is that I enjoy it. The satisfaction I get from seeing a completed project is great, and it can provide an interesting challenge that I do manage to enjoy. It's always fun to see the latest set finished, particularly so when a large project like a Titan comes to fruition. There's always more I can think of to do, so I don't get bored or complacent with it easily. I'm particularly pleased I've come as far as I have. I honestly didn't think I'd be able to sustain it this long, and suspected it might fizzle out a little way in. I'm very glad I was wrong. Well, that's over! Tune in next time for something shorter and more interesting! ...hopefully.

Um, yeah. Just ignore the title. What I mean to say is - I have finished the Shadow Matoran!

Aye, there was far too little explanation at the beginning. Personally I'm not bothered too much by the shadow leech. It occured to me that the Brotherhood know about Takanuva and are perhaps too busy with their master plan to confront him directly (and in light of what happened to their leader, they may not want to). Now if I were in there position, and I had the means to turn not only a Toa, but the Toa of Light himself, into a Toa of shadow and have this being under my command, I'd go for it. Toa are powerful beings, after all, and I imagine the irony of turning their greatest enemy into an ally would appeal mightily to the intelligent members of the Brotherhood. I suspect there is an Order member on Metru Nui at the very least, and that one of his duties is to stop any serious harm coming to Takanuva. Even so, suddenly revealing the existance of the order does seem like something of a big step. When I first heard about the alternate universe, I thought "hey! A universe where Tuyet uses the Nui Stone! Cool!" Then I heard that the Brotherhood and Dark Hunters were freedom fighters. The Brotherhood, yes. I believe they were still 'good' back at that point in time. The Dark Hunters - they would never fight for freedom. For their own survival and interests, yes. They might well masquerade as freedom fighters in order to extend their own influence, but I can never see them protecting Matoran or doing anything that does not serve their own interests without demanding some kind of price. Exterminating Toa and acting as 'noble bounty hunters' is how I'd envision them. The way I see it, Tuyet would try to rally Toa to her cause. She thinks she's in the right and that what she's doing is completely noble - exterminating the Dark Hunters and any threats to the Matoran and bringing order to them. She could probably convince a few, but there would be a vast number who's react much like Lhikan did, the Toa Mata included I'm sure. Unless Tuyet took extermination measures herself, we'd be talking about a Toa civil war. Whatever the result, there simply would not be enough Toa left to form anything like a 'Toa Empire'. Still, it might improve...

Anyone who's payed attention to Bioniclestory.com, the S & T forum or the software forum has probably noticed by now that the first chapter of Dark Mirror - the Takanuva podcast - is up. It's pretty cool, I have to admit, but there are a few things I don't like about it (which may end up sounding like everything. I can be over-critical at times). If you have not heard the biocast and do not want it spoiled, STOP READING NOW! First things first, the shadow leech. I'd like to know how it got to Metru Nui, and why it effects Takanuva's appearance (the Matoran in the Core had to be mutated) although that to me is one of the less important things. Now, the idea of him being able to control both light and shadow is cool, but why oh why would it matter which hand he uses? The light/darkness thing is to do with the character's spirit, not their body, isn't it? If he could control both but only one at once, that would be fine. If he could control both but had a lesser control over each than a Toa of any single element, that would be fine. I don't like the idea that 'this hand uses this power, this hand uses the other'. Nevertheless, the whole light+shadow thing is pretty cool. Ok. Now onto the alternate dimension. Cool idea - Tuyet and Nidhiki betray Lhikan, Tuyet becomes master of the universe, existing organisations have no choice but to fight back. I like that. What I don't like is why suddenly, the Toa decide to back this. From what I've seen, Toa are very noble beings who simply do not stand for injustice, wherever it's coming from. This certainly is true for most Toa in the story, but suddenly the Toa Mata's personalities have changed completely and they've turned evil for no other reason than another Toa decided to. Huh? That really doesn't seem in character. I can't imagine any of them following a totalitarian regime that actively oppresses Matoran, whether it's run by Toa or not. I'd have thought they'd be horrified at the thought. Also, why on earth are the Toa Mata there in the first place? Their task is to awaken Mata Nui if and when he ends up in a coma. Evidently this has not happened, so there's no purpose for them to be out of their canisters. I really dislike alternate universes that suddenly make all the characters we know both exist and be evil simply because it's 'cool'. Half the time the characters we know have no reason to exist, let alone exist in the same time, place and position they do in the 'real' universe. If the universe differs for a specific reason (like Tuyet using the Nui Stone), I would like the events that spring from that difference to be both credible and believable, please. No "oh look, these characters are evil because this character's evil!" because that's just lame and completely unrealistic, especially when the characters who have reportedly turned evil are reknowned for being unwavering heroes of justice. Oh yes, one last thing annoys me: we didn't find out Toa Tuyet's tool!!! I want to know! /End rant. I'd say that came across too critically, wouldn't you? Perhaps something to do with having just had a Critical Thinking exam and generally enjoying any opportunity for a good rant. Anyway, with any luck, the discrepencies I mentioned will be explained/cleared up and I'll be a happy bunny (wait, I'm a bunny now?). Until then, I shall be contemplating this question: If there are 6 biocasts this year, 3 at the start 3 at the end, they're the same length (same length as last year's ones) and they're being released one chapter at a time, that would mean the first ones will take 30 weeks to be over. The second ones would also take 30 weeks. But that means we're 8 weeks over the 'yearly limit', as it were. I mean, we didn't get one in the first week, so if all goes well there's another week to compensate for! I'm hoping it means we'll get a few multi-updates. That would be awesome. 3 weeks is too long a wait for something so short.

It's 2008! High time I wrote a new blog entry, I think. Let us start with Christmas. That happened recently, as I think one or two people might have noticed. Now shocking thought it might sound, it did not escape my attention either. See? I can be observant! Now, about Christmas. As always, this constituted a family event - gathering at my gran's house in a small town on the coast of nowhere. Man it's an exciting place. Anyway, many presents were recieved. I myself enjoyed the pleasure of gaining books 2-5 of the Belgariad series by David Eddings (I have the first one) plus the first book of The Mallorean (also by David Eddings - a sequel series to The Belgariad). Oh, and Nightrise by Anthony Horiwitz, the third in his 'Power of Five' series. Oddly enough, all those series' have 5 books in them. Strange. Anyway, I also recieved Pirates of the Carribean III on DVD, Knights of the Old Republic II for PC (fantastic game), some chocolates and some moneys. Needless to say, this has all kept my quite busy. Particularly KotOR II. New Year was something of a failure, as absolutely nothing happened. Ah well. I've never done much for it in the past anyway. Now the new year has begun, bringing with it the inevitable return to college and the mountanous pile of work I should really have done but have conveniently forgotten about due to Christmas. Oh yes, and exams. They're quite soon, too. But working on my kit's more important, right? Of course, there's no question about KotOR II. That's obviously more important! Oooooh yeah. I now have Photok and Solek. I really like them, although once again feel patronised by the painful simplicity of their construction. Admittedly they're only small sets, so I wouldn't be expecting a highly intricate and complex design, but something that involved even the tiniest glimmer of thought would be appreciated. Despite that, I find them highly playable as their size and relatively excellent poseability is simply perfect. What's more, their masks are great! It's almost as if they've jumped back a few years and grabbed some masks from the Mata/Metru era. Photok's in particular is impressive, actually having some holes and bringing with it a nice, sweeping curve that is so reminiscent of masks such as the Hau or Miru. Solek's makes him look like he's just taken a large mouthful of water and is about to spit it out, but it's still not too bad. Thanks to these guys I've been able to reinforce the work I've done so far on the Av-Matoran, thus bringing the finished 2008 kit one step further to completion. I need to get a couple of shadow Matoran now so I can see what those annoying feet of theirs actually look like. Perhaps Radiak and Gavla - that way I get one with the new feet + tools I have yet to acquire, and can play about with Radiak and his four-leggedness. Here's hoping Woolworths has them! Well that was a long ramble about nothing too important or interesting. I hope I haven't bored you too mu - hey! Stay awake! I'm almost done, honest! And with that said, good morning!

As I must depart for a tiresome family gathering on monday, I have made it my mission to try and complete all 3 Makuta before that date so that I may release them. Progress is going well - I completed Antroz some time ago and posted him in my kit topic (albeit not all that obviously). I am now pleased to announce the completion of the freakish, mostly-legless Vamprah! For one so small, he presented me with the most complex single-character kit I've ever made. Still, I think he came out alright. Just one more to go! With any luck, that won't take me too long.

Weeeell, I've been working on and off on these guys for some time now...and there are only about 10 or so new pieces so I can't claim to have been working super-fast. Thanks for your support. Since you mentioned the Makuta, I may as well throw in the fact that I've nearly finished Antroz! Just the wings and weapons to go, and boy does he look awesome! I think I'm gonna have to buy these guys.

Which question do you want answered first? The second? First? Second? First? Second it is! And the answer is yes! Now to answer the first question. I have been playing a fantastic game known as Knights of the Old Republic II. I've completed the first one numerous times, and after my friend foolishly bought the second having never played the first himself, I decided to suggest a mutually beneficial exchange: I lend him the first, he lends me the second. I completed the game in a week. It's quite long. Does that tell you why I haven't been around much? Alright alright, maybe I was obsessed/addicted for a bit. Well, I'd tend to claim otherwise, but others might not. Anyway, the game is amazing! Considerably darker than the first, sees the return of a disgruntled HK-47 and introduces a fantastic new character: Kreia! Surprisingly enough, I hated her at first and instantly labelled her as a "manipulative old witch-woman." I've now refined my opinion in some ways...and more I shall not say for fear of revealing too much. There's nothing quite like charging into a palace and taking out an entire army single-handed with two silver-bladed lightsabers, is there? I mean, what's not to like? Also, if you're a Jedi Weapons Master you become so proficient at using two weapons you are pretty much granted a bonus, damage-wise, for it! Cyan lightsabers also look amazing - blue but better! And yeah, that was alliteration. Cool, huh? Enough of my ranting. I suppose being told there's a kit update is quite frustrating when you can't see the update anywhere, yes? Then here it be: Danska's Bionicle Builder 2008 version 0.5! Contains the three Nuva and Toa Ignika. But which to do next, Makuta or Matoran...? I believe slaughtering countless sith assassins and civilians shall reveal the answer. Yes...

Yes, I stumbled across them yesterday (hence my being able to make the New Nuva). You're right about my opinions. I am dissapointed with the Nuva, although I love their masks and Lewa's katana rocks. I am very, very very pleased with the evil guys. Absolutely adore them. I seriously cannot wait to get my hands on them. In an odd sort of way, the bodies remind me of the Hordika (in my eyes, not a bad thing) and the complete effect screams 'Bionicle' to me. It's also wonderful to see a function inbuilt into the set again! Sure they're launchers, but they're part of the body and appear to do slightly more than just hit things (ok, splitting apart isn't that much more, but it's not bad). Another great thing about all the sets - you can play with them together! For the first time in ages, sets have some way in which play can be incorperated beyond a single set. In the old days, Toa and Turaga would knock Rahi masks off, Rahi would knock Toa masks off and the functions worked with each other. That's been lacking for quite some time, but it seems to be making a return. The sets do look awesome and very much 'Bionicle'. Hopefully the summer sets will be equally appealing, and the Nuva will be slightly more interesting (I have real trouble imagining Tahu in metru red, or Gali in dark blue...).

As shocking as it may sound, I have actually made some progress in designing the New Nuva next year. Of course, the set designers' almost dogmatic and highly unimaginative approach to Toa sets these days does help as most of the work is done for me, but there were still some new elements I had to design. So, I suppose you want to see them! Well I'll show them to you then. Yes, I will. Really. I'm not joking. I'm actually going to show them to you. Of course now! Look, I'm serious! You don't think I'm lying, do you? Honestly I'm not. Because I have made them! They're just below, look! I promise you'll see them. Here, see? They're right here! Alright, who thought I hadn't really made them? Own up now. Obviously they aren't perfect. I'm certain Lewa's sword is far too big, and at some point I expect the launchers will need a redesign along with Kopaka's mask and Pohatu's spinny...things. Ok, so that's most of the new pieces (tragic that there are so few), but they're good so far. I'll release the kit soon, should people wish for it.

I definitely agree. I remember one day picking up my Jaller Inika, looking at him and thinking "those proportions are hideous!" This was mainly aimed at just how wide the shoulders are and the fact that the arms don't even touch the body when falling straight - that huge gap between arm and body is not normal. Given another weapon and mask, what you've made could probably be sold as a new set. Making a new Toa is that easy, folks! All it needs is the same assortment of pieces used over the last two years, a different mask and weapon and bam! There it is! You could be a Lego set designer.

I should probably make it clear that I do not intend to start ranting about 2006 in general. I intend not to make the slightest comment about the storyline or to particularly critiscise the sets. So what on earth do I plan to talk about? Well the answer is two-fold. Firstly, there are the Piraka torsos. Secondly, the Inika torsos. When I first saw them, I was quite excited by the idea. They took Bionicle in a whole new direction - one that easily allowed poseability. It opened up numerous doorways and was a good step forward. Unfortunately, the set designers appear to have become complacant and refuse to budge from their current position. I'm sure I'm not alone in noticing just how much the torso pieces are cropping up. This screams 'dull' to me in a thousand different ways. Up until that point, almost every canister set had tried to be different. Noteable exceptions are the Nuva and the Kal, and the Kal certainly proved to be a huge mistake. The situation now is also slightly different, as it is not a line that's being cloned but an individual set. The Mahri and the New Nuva do, for the most part, copy previous styles to such an extent that, weapons and masks aside, you could practically build them yourself. Obviously pieces might not exist in those particular colours, but between an old piece in a new colour and a completely new piece I'd say the latter is much more interesting. Now I'm not saying every set should have completely new pieces for everything either. A certain amount of copying from previous sets is inevitable, not least to address the clone issue. But really, does that mean no new pieces can be released? This year there has been precious little that is genuinely new. Not a single new arm or leg piece was made, and next year appears to be following here, and only one set introduced a single new body piece - Kongu Mahri. Unfortunately his proportions and colour scheme were so atrocious (there's only so many metru green and bley sets I can stand) it almost negated this fact entirely. As much as I like humanoid sets, some originality in their construction wouldn't go amiss. I cannot bear building exactly the same set over and over and over again with every purchase, and steadfastly refuse to buy any canister set unless there's something worth buying it for. Infact, this goes for all sets, hence my only purchase this year being Maxilos (maybe I should consider Mantax - only Barraki with an interesting non-stick design). Next year's evil Phantoka sets show promise. I'd need to look more closely, but they appear to have something new in terms of body design. Definitely need to check up on that. I strongly suspect I've missed my own point somewhere along the line, but ah well. The odd rant's always fun, and my opportunities for them are so few!

Ah yes, the Monkey. The infamous Monkey. Arch-rival of the Penguin and occasional partner in his villanous crimes. The problem with the Monkey is he's completely unprectible, which does not make for a reliable partner. The Penguin is often frustrated by the foolery of his partner, and even once resorted to conflict in an attempt to rid himself of the menace once and for all. In the end neither could best the other, and it is from here their rivalry stems. They are forever trying to outdo each other, but have been known to put their differences aside for the purposes of mutal advantage. His name is Manic. I think it should be fairly obvious why. He has a number of powers, which he exploits to the best of his considerable abilities. Firstly and most evidently is his lightsaber. It is impossible to say what he will do with it next, leading many to think his possesion of it is a very bad idea indeed. Sadly no one has yet managed to pry the weapon from him. The Penguin, in an attempt to lessen the destruction caused by a rampaging Manic, bought him a gameboy. Sadly this backfired, as Manic has somehow found a way to harness the powers of whatever characters are in the game being played at the time. No one's quite sure how. Finally he has his hypnosis. This has swayed many unwilling victims to his cause who serve his nefarious purposes as unwitting pawns in his master schemes. Sadly his hypnosis has proven ineffective against the Penguin, although it has managed to calm him on occasion. The only known way to calm the Monkey is by giving him a large watermelon. Why this calms him is a mystery to all, but somehow it works.

Has anyone wondered why I have, of all things, a penguin as a personal photo? No? Thought not. But for the benefit of those non-existant few, I shall explain! It all began with a rather large muffin... As anyone who's seen my kits will know, I've dabbled a bit in pixel art. I don't consider myself a great pixel artist - quite the contrary in fact - I'd say there are a number of people on BZP who have a much better grasp of it than I. This has not, however, stopped me from experimenting. My first major, non-bionicle experimentation was the penguin. Yes, he is annoyed. And he's looking at YOU! Well actually, he's looking sideways. But that's hardly the point, is it? The Penguin here is an unusual creature, for he is no normal penguin! His quiet demeanour hides a deadly rage which can consume entire worlds! Armed with fearsome laser vision and the power of telekinesis, you don't want to get in his way now, do you? See? Deadly! But how can such a dangerous foe be defeated? Join me next time to find out!

Welcome once again to the realm of my blog. This poor thing has been devoid of life for over a year. An unfortunate lapse, if so long a time may be called so, on my part that I now hope to correct at least in part with this entry. I am sure most people are aware of recent spates of 'Bionicle is bad, it used to be great' topics. I want to throw in my two cents penny (I'm British! I refuse to use american currency systems!) on the subject, but I don't particularly want to make a new topic about it. This would firstly be repetitive and tedious, and could easily result in another opportunity for people to say 'argh, it's so bad!' seemingly without thought or reason (if you feel insulted by that then sue me...except don't! Because I don't have much money and it's much harder to sue people over here, so hah! ) Now, what I think would be useful is for me to state exactly what I think has changed. I shall do this by comparing 2001 with 2006/2007, which for me represent clearly the shift in focus. In 2001, everything was mysterious and new. We were introduced to the huge, fascinating and geographically impossible island of Mata Nui, inhabited by strange Bio-mechanical beings (who, for any fan of the slizers before, wouldn't have seemed that odd) and threatened by the dark spirit Makuta. This shadowed being had cast his brother, the Great Spirit Mata Nui, into an eternal slumber and existed as a symbol of evil - forever hidden and shrouded in mystery. His appearence, powers and abilities were unknown, and his greatest strength came from the fear such an entity can create in his enemies. The island itself was lush and beautiful, each region spanning an incredible distance and hiding many mysteries. It was the privilage and joy of every fan to explore this wondrous landscape, uncovering its secrets and learning more about the fantastic world. Enter the Toa. Powerful beings whose coming had been heralded for centuries by the wise Turaga, elders of their villages. Each Toa was equipped to survive and harness their element to maximum efficiency, and seemed as one with the place in which they lived. They were more than just beings of power - they represented their element perfectly, with personalities and appearences flowing straight from them. It was their mission to uncover the powerful Kanohi masks and then to confront the darkness at the heart of Mata Nui - the Makuta himself. The story was one of adventure, mystery and intrigue. Every revalation and solved mystery for the characters was shared by us, and it was these mysteries that drove the story. You could truly emphasize with the plight of the Matoran and the struggle of the Toa as they desperately tried to save their island, because you truly felt it was worth saving. Cut to modern day. Toa are no longer the fabled warriors, each harnessing the full power of their element, but heroes born from the Matoran themselves. Makuta is not a shadow in the darkness, but a powerful entity - part of a brotherhood of equally powerful entities. We are no longer treated to the cinematic exploration of a lush land, but instead are given a barren island or a single city (which we see almost nothing of) and a huge expanse of endless...blue. The Toa burst in to fight very visible enemies, and indeed seem to do nothing else. Every step of their journey is halted by battles and action. Terrible, really. To look at it another way, we have a desperate race against time as the true plight of the Great Spirit is unveiled - he is not just asleep, as we all thought, but dying. Makuta has an entire Brotherhood to back him up, Dark Hunters stalk the shadows and the numbers of Toa are falling drastically. The universe is in peril, and all adventure must be put to the side as a last attempt to save the life of the Great Spirit is made. The island upon which the heroes find themselves is in desperate peril as the villagers struggle to forge even a basic existance. Worse, six powerful and ruthless villains have enslaved the entire population and are determined to take the one thing that can save Mata Nui's life - the Mask of Life - for themselves. They mercilessly dispense with the battle-hardened Toa Nuva, and the fate of the universe now rests in the hands on a rookie team who must find a way to achieve what the Toa Nuva could not. There. That's not so bad, is it? And for those crying for some character development, at least one character this year grows exponentially. Know who I'm talking about? Yup, it's Matoro. I would agree that there is less development (and less room for it) of character, but to say there is none is completely untrue. What is impressive is how such a large range of characters can be given screentime without becoming sidelined or too similar. Every story has its merits. The original style of 2001 was all about adventure and mystery, while the current storyline focuses more on action and combat. Both of these give ample space for character development, and I would say an action can let you know the characters even better. The original stories on the other hand allowed for much more detailed environments and (arguably) a more engrossing storyline. I've no doubt I've presented my points very badly, but what I'm saying is, whether you think the old-style stories are better or not comes down purely to your own preferences. Each story has its advantages and disadvantages, and each has its merits if you'll only look for them. Also, things cannot stay the same forever. By 2003, I honestly feel that all possibilities for the island of Mata Nui had been exhausted. How could they continue the style of 2001/2002 when there was nothing left to explore? It was really a case of "been there, done that...can we move on?" What's more, how could Makuta hide in the shadows forever? A villain you learn nothing about, who does nothing but hide, is a boring villain indeed. He needed to be flushed out sometime. Mysteries can only endure for so long until they're solved, but the best ones have new mysteries to take their place. For example, while we can now identify Makuta and know his abilities, we have no idea what his ultimate plan really is or just how he plans to achieve it. In many ways he is as mysterious as he was in 2001, except now it's his mind we can't see. Speaking for myself, I prefer mystery stories. I enjoy becoming engrossed in a good mystery and take great satisfaction in seeing it uncovered. I also find it very satisfying to see Toa using their intellect to defeat enemies (Bohrok) as well as, or even instead of, their powers. While I agree there's nothing like a nice, big confrontation to decide the fate of the island/world/universe, it's always fun to watch a good plan come to fruition - especially when it encounters problems that must be overcome. This isn't to say I haven't enjoyed more recent, action-based years. I definitely have, and believe them to be a necessary change. I would be very pleased to see more of a mysterious feel returning to Bionicle in the future however. In short, both mystery and action are good, there's nothing worse about today's storyline it's just different, but I like mystery.

Happy (late) Birthday Tortuga! You're getting all grown up now (or so you'd like to think). I see you have a (somewhat) interesting birthday, too. Hope you enjoyed it. (Poor poor Arnie. If only he knew...) You should so buy Maxilos and Spinax (and tell me if you find it in a store). (Much) better than the other Titans. Good luck in your results! I'm sure you'll do fine (well, possibly...maybe...perhaps...who knows). I'm certain you'll do better in them than I will in my AS levels (come out thursday. Eep!). If you turn up to sixth form next year with less than 5 A*s, you DIE! (although I might just kill you anyway for the fun of it...) See you in September!

I thought I needed to post something, so this is just a quick update on what's happening in my life. The answer, in a nutshell, is not much. I've recently bought LEGO Star Wars, which is great fun. I've just spent longer than is healthy saving up to get General Grievous. Who can resist the four lightsabers of doom? Apart from that, I had a Young Leaders meeting (Scouts) on friday, where I did 'Module A'. This is the compulsory module that all people between the ages of 14 and 18 are supposed to do before they're allowed to help out with a Scout group. I've been helping out for 2 and a half years and have only just done the module. Oops! Plato is strange. I'm learning about him in Philosophy, and he seems to think that wise people who spend all their time pondering about the absolute truth are the best people to rule. Well, fair enough, they're wise and stuff (hey, that rhymes!), but they have no idea what the real world is like for anyone who is not them, especially if they spend most of their time pondering greater things that have nothing to do with our reality. So, nice idea Plato, but a bit more thought next time. Next up should be Aristotle, who sounds much more reasonable. I'll just have to wait and see. Tommorow's Wednesday, and therefore Scout day! It'll be my first Scout meeting as a qualified Young Leader! We're supposed to be doing stuff about food safetly (so the usual - don't swallow knives, forks or chopping boards and mixing tomatos and liquorice will result in the offender being hunted down and stabbed). It won't he half as exciting as what's happening in December. We're having a Scaletrix (did I spell that right?) competition and a quiz show! If it works, it should be highly entertaining and just plain silly. What more could a person want? Oh yes, food! Well we have that too! Perfection in a bus!* Well this hasn't been quite as short as I thought it would be to start with, but it isn't exaclty long now, is it? No, not at all. So I shall bid you all farewell and leave you with this final thought: If a monkey falls out of a tree, does it make a mess? *The bus is very important. It wouldn't work properly without it.

On wednesday 25th October, the Young Leaders of the 55th Scout group, codenamed Club 55th, set out on a great adventure. Their mission: to arrive safely at the Cinema with nothing but a map and a compass to guide them. This is their story. The weather was bleak. The sun hid behind an uncaring blanket of clouds, and rain trickled irratically upon the cold ground. And so the journey began. At 9:45, we left the safe comforts of The House and ventured into the unknown realms of the cycle track. Equipped with our map and two packets of Haribo, we set upon our path. Little did we know that the innocent looking compass that we had unwittingly brought with us held a deadly secret! We trekked along the cycle track for at least a mile before coming upon a most peculiar sight. There, before us, completely untended, was...a suitcase! It stood alone on the ground, and we were drawn towards it for this was no ordinary suitcase. Our efforts to move it proved unsuccesful, as were our efforts to discover what lay inside. It was as if the suitcase were fixed to the ground! As we took out our compass, the shadows seemed to darken around us. The suitcase seemed to shiver and pulsate the closer the compass came to it. Suddenly, the realisation dawned: this compass was evil! We hastily packed it away and left the scene of the suitcase as far behind as we could. So perturbed were we that we did not dare speak as we walked sullenly down the long, cold road. It seemed as if the world had become a much darker place. It was not long before the next obstacle presented itself: a dark, dangerous-looking tunnel. All light seemed to falter and vanish around it, and the air inside seemed fearful constricting. We found that we could not go on, and we came to a halt outside the tunnel's gloomy entrance. Chewing slowly on Haribo, we realised that the object we were sat against was not a wall, as we had thought. Instead, a great musical instrument rose before us! It was old and worn, and parts were chipped and broken, but we knew that it was not random chance that had placed it there. With newfound hope we played upon it, and at once our spirits were lifted. Suddenly, we found we had the strength to confront the tunnel. So, with fear in our hearts and a last piece of Haribo, we stepped into the tunnel. It was a hard journey through the darkness. Water dripped in, echoing eerily off the walls. More than once, strangers passed us and we had to hide, fearing that they knew of the compass. More than once we almost faltered, but our resolve stayed true and we finally made it out of the tunnel into the light beyond. Here, our journey on the cycle track came to an end as we left it to join the main road. Here, our path was blocked by roundabouts. With careful deliberation and incredible cunning, we traversed the roundabouts, but found ourselves in more unknown territory. The road was quiet and small, and one wrong turn would find us lost forever! We carefully consulted the map once more, taking absolute care on finding our route. When we were all agreed, we set off once more into the unknown, praying that we had chosen the right path. We were in luck. The path led us straight to the next leg of our journey. Unfortunately, this was not a part we had prepared for because, in front of us lay two fields that boded ill for any who dared cross them without walking boots. Naturally, this included us, but through a great act of heroism and courage, cross them we did! More roads awaited us on the other side, which we traversed easily with our new-found confidence at having safely passed the fields of doom. Before we knew it we had reached a pub, where we sat and ate a delicious meal of chips! Reluctantly, we left the safe confines of the pub and ventured once again into the dangerous lands of the unknown. But this time, we prepared to face it with the greatest weapon known to man: cookies! While cookies were in our possession, we knew that no force would dare oppose us on our quest! So once more we set out upon the journey across roads, grass and bridges. As we came closer to the cinema, the compass became a gradually heavier burden, until it became laborous for any one of us to carry it. But not even this could stop us! We toiled on across a last bridge with steep steps, across a rolling hill and through a narrow, treacherous valley until finally, our destination faced us! As we walked through the doors of the cinema, the weight of the compass vanished! A strange black mist floated from it, never to be seen again. Not only had we arrived safely, we had vanquished the evil that inhabited the compass! With excited anticipation we consulted the list of films, but soon realised, with growing surprise, that there was, nothing at all we wanted to watch. It occurred to us then that we had walked at least eight miles to reach the cinema, only to turn back and go home. What a waste of time! But we did not waste our time! No! Instead, we caught a bus straight to one of our houses, and wiled away the remaining hours playing Super Smash Bros. Melee and other fantastic games on both Gamecube and Playstation 2. Then, the hour arrived when it was time to depart, and we left each other with heavy hearts and fuller stomachs. And so ends the harrowing tale of the expedition! A tale of great courage, nobility and adventure! Remember, as you read this, that I am lucky to be alive to recount the tale!

Ah, you're of that opinion are you, GMan? Fair enough. I'll leave it there as I'm too lazy to say anything more, let alone anything meaningful. Don't worry, I've kept the Eragon part very spoiler-free ToM. I've pretty much omitted everything except the most basic details of the plot, and even they're cut down a lot. With that aside, I had lots of fun ice skating. As usual, I didn't fall over. Unlike last time, I didn't make anyone else fall over (Our class had an ice skating trip before the summer hols, and I managed to make my tutor/history teacher fall over). Balancing can be a pain to start with, but after enough practise (about 6 years, in my case) it becomes second-nature. I now find it easier balancing with skates on the ice than off it! Unfortunately, the skates this time were too narrow, and my right foot hurts. Somewhat inconvenient, as I have the expedition of death tommorow. I'm sure I'll survive somehow...I just need to remember to take my bus pass.