gaggle64

Tomb Raider A brutal but refreshing adventure, taking Lara Croft and finally transforming her into a full-fleshed, well realised character with an equally great supporting cast including women and different ethnicities. It's quite linear but it's so about the narrative you're guiding her through it's impossible to care. The way you see her transition from a dirty lost urchin into a poc-marked and battle scarred Valkyrie by the end really works and the entire game is beautiful even on the relatively modest 360. My one complaint is that the game really isn't very difficult. I played it through on hard and struggled only at one or two different points to push through enemies. I can only assume they fall over as soon as you look at them on easy.

That's what yer' ma said last night.

I just ate an entire chocolate cake before dinner, because I am an adult.

I've decided to just go right ahead and delete my original post. I will not be posting about anything related to my mental health here again. I appreciate it's all coming from a good place and for that I'm grateful but the next person who tries to offer advice had better have at least a medical doctorate.

That is where good wisdom comes from.

That's possibly the healthiest and most sensible approach to online dating I've ever heard or read.

I'm going to assume you meant well by that comment.

Wait, you mean there are actually people who want to meet other people on that thing? I've had some quite pleasant and occasionally quite open conversations with different people only for them to disappear as soon as I type the words "get together for a drink".

I've just learned that Marcia Wallace, the voice of Edna Krabapple in The Simpsons, passed away yesterday Friday 25th. Her character will be permanently retired in the next season out of respect. It's just weird because it's a minor thing and yet on reflection there's a part of me that feels shocked.

Whether I or anyone else accepts it or not is irrelevant. The legal and social systems should be put in place to protect sex workers as best as possible. Ideally of course all sex workers would be people doing it of their own free will. Unfortunately, although there are some that are, there are many who are not - including in Amsterdam. As I mentioned with the Swedish example legalisation is clearly not a cure-all. Hence I will not be partaking myself.

I personally would not partake, both because of my personal social concerns as well as being uncomfortable with the possibility of using a woman being held against her will without my knowledge. As a social liberal my instinct is to push for legalisation and general liberty & social protection for those in the trade. However I have been disheartened to read recent results from Sweden's legalisation drive which has reportedly done little, or possibly even exacerbated, to impact the levels of trafficking & slavery of vulnerable women. I do think at the very least we need to do what they do in places like Amsterdam and provide specific social services and protection services, in-hand with decriminalisation of personally selling sex. It bothers me that we aren't even having the debate of how to deal with a common but difficult problem and that the debate so often veers immediately into sexual morality rather than on providing the best possible protections of all individuals in the sex trade.

That was bracingly honest. Well done. I know! All those art galleries...

"I think you are hot/sexy/smart/wonderful would you like to go to dinner/dancing/canoeing/shut down the US government with me?" (delete as applicable)

Just going to post this because it's still just such a brilliant little piece of film and messaging.

Is there any trick to catching an Emolga on route 10? I'm desperate to catch one and I can't seem to find it. I mean, I don't blame it. It's an electric flying squirrel. The ultimate weapon. It's Emolga, the nuclear bomb and smallpox. Now I know how Team Rocket felt going after Pikachu. Feeling the power done to you and craving it for yourself. The intoxication of desire.

It is, it's just his is directed by Sofia Coppola while yours is by Wes Anderson.

Daaaw, this one made me smile -

I once got so fed up with complaints from different customers that the chilled drinks were either too chilled or not chilled enough I snapped and said, with total deadpan: "I'm very sorry sir, I'm afraid this store is subject to the laws of thermodynamics." "Well, there's no need to be a jobsworth" was his tragically sincere reply. Another time a customer demanded to know why we didn't stock a specific brand of biscuits. I told him it was because all life was suffering. His response was simply "Oh" and then just walked off.

I know all of that, that's what makes me so unbelievably angry about the whole situation. And the book will happen when I'm not expending the bulk of my energies tolerating an endless stream of individuals who use "like" at least twice a sentence. Actual recent example: "Like, you're going to, like, South America? Is that, like, Brazil and stuff?" Maybe I just need to dance it out.

Yup, I'll give it a bash.

Probably my fault actually, I'm currently living out of my phone's 3G+ connection and it seems they have a trained gibbon installing their 4G rollout somewhere. I have had a couple of online battles with strangers, we'll get there eventually. FYI, you're either matched with someone with an equivalent level squad or your 'mons are all pegged up/down at lvl 50.

Kitty! Happy birthday guys!