Jav_NE

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Hmmmmm. That was my original thought after seeing this. I liked the book, it wasn't amazing, but it was interesting, but that seemed to get lost in translation. What i liked about the book was how introvert Salander was; she barely ever spoke and she was cold as ice. That worked well in the book because we got alot of insight into her thought processes when she was silent. Obviously that is difficult in film, and so they had to make her speak a bit more, which detracted from her character. She is far more open in the film too, like when Blomkvist asks about her father and she willing tells him what she did - that is ridiculous! That isn't revealed until much later (book 2 or 3, i forget). Plus the love element in the film wasn't believable, and they left aspects of Blomkvists exploits out - he is a bit of an arse really in the book when it comes to love, which would make the ending of the film a bit more understandable, as it is though it didn't really have the same impact (Berger wasn't nearly involved in his life in the film as she should have been). Daniel Craig is a dreadful cast for Blomkvist as well. Nothing like i pictured him - far too surly, cool and... British! I love how all the other actors spoke with a Swedish twang, but Daniel was solidly English throughout. I think he acted the part well, don't get me wrong, he was just badly cast on appearance. Rooney on the other hand did make a good Salander for the most part. It is not her fault they had to adapt her character to make it work on screen, so what she did do was top quality. There were some very good scenes with her. Not sure about the blonde eyebrows though. Overall, i would give it a 6.5, 7 max, purely because i dont think the book translates well to the screen. They did the best they could, and for what its worth, they did a fairly good job. I think if i hadn't read the book though, i would be completely confused. And they changed the ending for some unknown reason (concerning Harriet) which was annoying. Let's hope they improve for the next installment, as that is probably my favourite book of the trilogy. I should really watch the Swedish films as well since they are rated pretty highly.

I used Tumblr as an online diary of our travels really, just to have somewhere where what we did was all documented and kept safe. I never really used it to network or as a daily blurb platform. I imagine it would be quite hard to get people to follow that! Unless you created great, original content and targeted those interested in the fields you wrote about. Sounds like hard work with little reward to me! Congrats to those who have done well though.

Congratulations!!! Only one minor? That's insanely awesome! I had a mock test yesterday and got 10 minors! Still a pass he said, as you are allowed 15 minors i think? But would have liked to have done better. I need to book my real test this week sometime, but it'll be late Febraury i'm guessing that i can get a slot. Scared shitless about the whole thing to be honest!

My thoughts exactly. The only reason SS's story is about the creation of the Master Sword was because of the focus on the new sword control gameplay. It will always be that way with Nintendo - new gameplay ideas will determine the type of style and location setting which in turn then determines the story. They just slot it in as best they can to the 'timeline' at that point! Thats what it seems like to me anyway. Doesn't make much difference to me, i see each game as a new endeavour regardless, so the story could be completely unlinked and unrelated to everything that has ever happened and i'd still be happy so long as it was an awesome game.

Yay for Fi love! I thought she was brilliant to be honest. I didn't use her that much, and that's what was so great. Yeh, she held your hand sometimes and stated the obvious, i dont know why, but it wasn't that often, and so for the most-part you had a choice to use her information on enemies and such. I only really used this on bosses as i liked her percentages and info on them. Loved the ending about her too. Definitely pulled my heart-strings. Only bad thing about her to me was the singing cut-scenes.

I have to admit, i am a sucker for a sexy female heroine. Lara Croft, Jo Dark, Chun Li - it is wrong that they are portrayed as sexual objects, but it is nice all the same to have a pretty sight to look at while playing. It doesn't turn me on or anything, its just nice, and i do tend to pick a girl player if they are hot. Shameless as it is.

There's a definite homophobia to parenting at a young age. It's as if they dont want to be responsibile for turning their child gay, like it would be all their fault and they would have themselves to blame blah blah blah. Like it makes any difference though - i dont think playing with girls toys or pink stuff will turn a boy gay, or likewise the otherway round for girls, it may make them more in touch with their feminine/male side, but as for sexual preference, i dont think it would decide that. I have to admit though, i didn't like pink stuff when i was younger. Maybe because that message was drilled into me that it was for girls, but a few years ago i bought my first pink shirt (well, salmon really, as Ross Gellar would say), and now it's one of my favourites. People now say pink is for men comfortable with their sexuality, or pink is for confident guys. I say whatever, it looks nice is all. All this pink talk reminds me of...

I need some new jeans/casual trousers, so i'll be on the look out for good ones in the sales. I am thinking about an iPhone4/4S - but i think i will wait a little longer. My next big spends will be on driving test/s and, hoping i pass, a cheap car and all the tax/insurance that goes with it. Sigh.

Birmingham... so no! But i wouldn't have thought of pubs having a ping-pong table, so that's useful to know. I wonder if there are any here. I need to sign up to a club or something i imagine, i just dont have the money at the moment so i havn't looked.

The only one i really like is Avril Lavigne. You all know what she looks like so i wont post a picture. I found myself watching Nickelodeon today though and quite fancied a few actresses i saw. Turns out they are only 17!!! I feel the shame......

My favourite present, from my girlfriend... I had one when i was a child and always loved it before it broke. She actually got me a similar one a few years back, but that one has rusted and gone all horrible, so now i have this shiny new one! I love it. I got these games on their release days, but they were technically Christmas presents i couldn't wait for! Blu-Ray goodness... And the award for most bizarre but awesome present, was this self electronic table-tennis bat: It's totally bizarre! But loads of fun. It basically judges the speed you swing, and plays sounds to simulate the bounces on the table and your opponent's return hits. I loved playing ping-pong in china and havnt found anybody who shares my love of it yet in england, so this was a welcome present! Best present from non-family was this... Love it!!! I put hot sauce on everything, so my girlfriend's dad got me this as a joke. Jokes on him, i will use it all! I also got some money and £20 iTunes gift voucher. Can't decide what to spend that on yet.

Just finished!!! Clocked in at about 55 hours. I got everything apart from two heart pieces i need to get the last heart. Ah well, i may try and find them at some point. I suspect one of them is from the digging game. I lost patience with that one. I absolutely loved this game though. I would place it in my fondest of Zeldas with OOT and MM. I couldn't say if it is better or not, as it is a completely new experience. Motion controls are brilliant for a start in my opinion, so that alone makes it uncomparable to the others. I never had a problem with my swings. Only stabs were sometimes iffy, noticeably in the final Ghirahim fight, which was a bit annoying, but it was a rare occurence. Speaking of which, i loved the final battles! Demise was awesome, i really enjoyed the technical aspect of it, having to block right and swing correctly and swiftly at the right time. Brilliance. He wasn't too easy either, i finally had to use my heart potion ++ which i had been carrying around for half the game!!! I thought the other potions were a bit unnecessary. I only bought the heart one once, and the stamina one for Fledge, that was it. I'm glad the upgrading was quite straightforward too. I hate RPGs and upgrading and all that malarcky, so i was worried about that, but it was fine. I quite enjoyed getting better shields and maxing out my items. It definitely gets a 10 from me, and i will probably give the Hero Mode a try some months later. I started it and got a bit frustrated by how slow the games starts with the wing ceremony etc, though it was nice to see all the stuff with Zelda again from the beginning. I thought they cut down on the talking in Hero Mode, but it seems not, so i'll definitely wait a while before i play it again. Favourite areas - the volcano and the desert Favourite boss - pretty much all of them! apart from the Impronised. That was lame, 3 times over lame. Favourite enemies - Stalfos skeletons, especially the bigger ones and the pirate ones. I liked the Lizalfos' too. Basically, i loved using the sword properly and breaking through their defences. Hardest boss - Demise and Koloktos Favourite characters - Zelda, Fi, Groose and Item Check girl! Favourite new items - Beetle, Clawshot Favourite mini-game - Fun Fun Island Worst mini-game - Bomb digging one, urgh Biggest let-down - playing the harp. As others have said, they should have tried to make a way to let you actually play it and learn the songs for real. Least favourite part - collecting the Hero Song. Felt tacked on and i didn't care much for collecting missions, like the tadtones bit. I enjoyed it in the end, but like others have said, i just didn't see the need for it. The thundercloud was also a pain in the ass. It takes ages to fly over there and its just lifeless and horrible. Only the Levias fight and the bug catching game are good moments there. As for the ending, it was nicely done. I just wish we couldv'e had more Link-Zelda stuff. It seems like it was divided in two, Link saying bye to Fi, and Zelda saying bye to Impa. What about Zelda and Link reuniting?! I was expecting a long drawn out scene of them possibly going to kiss, they could at least have hugged! Plus, in the beginning before Zelda drops to the surface, she says she has something she has been meaning to talk with Link about. What was that then?! I presume Link will live with Zelda on the surface and be happy together though, as friends or as more we'll never know.

I never got very far in TP, it bored me. I'm ashamed to say it, but it is the only console Zelda that i havn't completed, and i don't feel any need to go back and try it out. I think it was the tacked-on Wii controls - maybe i should've gone for the Cube version. SS is evidently way better for me as it has kept me going and given me reason to play. It's all in the satisfaction of the controls. My disappointments with SS so far i guess are the lack of change after completing a dungeon. One of the things i really love about OOT is how there is a community in dire need of your help, then when you complete the temple, something changes and they are all happy again. I loved going around post-temple to chat with everybody again and see the changes, not only in the people but in the environment as well. But after you finish a dungeon in SS, nothing really changes in the surrounding area. It feels like there is really no point to what you just did. You just get a piece of heart and move on. That has disappointed me a few times so far. That and the musicical instrument. Surely some button presses or something could have made it feel more like you were playing it? It is a bit lame. And Fi's face when she sings - that always upsets me, but i do generally like Fi, mostly for her voice, i just love it when she pops up and says something like "mahee-madas!" for master. The stats are just a bit of fun.

At Moonwulf:

We have put two up so far. We actually manage to have three in our house most years, this year will be four. Two big ones, one in each front and back living room, a medium one in the hallway, because i love walking down the stairs seeing it shining on Christmas morning, and we have got a little one in our bedroom. Bit disappointed with it actually. It was from Asda with lights already on it, but the lights are crap and you cant move them around. I am quite a perfectionist with trees, the lights must be spread evenly!!! It is also pink, much to my gf 'sdesire, not mine.

I didn't know that, thanks!

I got majorly frustrated playing last night when the answer to my problem was so damn simple!

Any fans of Enter Shikari here? I would post a YouTube vid for you to check out if not but china forbids me so... *grumble grumble* I ask because they are touring at the end of this year and non of my friends like them (for shame!) Tour dates are below: OCTOBER WED 05 NORWICH – UEA THUR 06 OXFORD – 02 ACADEMY FRI 07 MANCHESTER – RITZ SAT 08 LIVERPOOL – 02 ACADEMY MON 10 DUBLIN – ACADEMY TUE 11 BELFAST – MANDELA HALL THUR 13 GLASGOW – BARROWLANDS FRI 14 NEWCASTLE – 02 ACADEMY SAT 15 BIRMINGHAM – 02 ACADEMY SUN 16 SHEFFIELD – 02 ACADEMY TUE 18 BRISTOL – 02 ACADEMY WED 19 LONDON – ELECTRIC BALLROOM THUR 20 LONDON – ELECTRIC BALLROOM SAT 22 PORTSMOUTH – PYRAMIDS MON 24 CARDIFF – COAL EXCHANGE TUE 25 NOTTINGHAM – ROCK CITY I want to go to the birmingham one. Any other brummies on here want to go? I guess i'm asking if i can crash it with you and your cool friends who havn't been carried off to the dark side of popular music *shudder* Sexual favours available on request If you dont know who i am (i dont blame you, i dont post much anymore, and i'm in china teaching at the mo), dont worry, i am not a rapist and have been on N-E for a good decade almost. PM me if interested!

Didn't ask for a room - my home is in birmingham. As for me not being around much anymore, i know that, and i regret it too, i just simply dont have the time anymore lately. Maybe that will change soon, especially over summer. Never presumed to be special either. Don't know where you got that from. Anyways. Bygones.

Wasn't trying to say that actually! haha. Writing chinese is not my forte, but whatever, just a joke. Anyway, what's your problem? I like a band you dont like, big deal. You've been a right arse about it to be honest.

At least you gave them a chance, can't say fairer than that. Turns out i have gotten lucky. Due to the brum date being on a saturday, i have convinced a london mate of mine to come on up to see it. Tickets get! You dont like it? That's a shame, i think it's awesome. Thanks anyway! Wow, i dont think i've ever been so elaborately and unnecessarily offended. Good job... 你他妈的!

It's not just that, it changes the whole dynamic of the ending, which as a result is unpredictable, not for what happens, but why it happens. Yeah, you get the predictable battle, the happy ending blah blah, but it's the reasonings and explanations that make it a great book for me. The last chapter in the book (16 years later or whatever it's called) is however a bunch of fan drivel, i'll agree with your point of view there. I personally thought that was unnecessary, but everything before that i found just as engrossing as any of the other books.