Fierce_LiNk

I've listened to Fear Inoculum a lot since its release and Invincible surely has to go down as one of the best tracks that they've done. The album is brilliant.

I thought United looked very good against Brighton. Fred had his best game in a United shirt. James has been a revelation this season. I think the key difference has been having Martial back. We look so much better with Martial through the middle and being flanked by James and Rashford. I also saw the game between Liverpool and City. Got to admit that there were a few decisions that went against City today that could have easily have gone the other way. But, Liverpool's side just looks so good. The full backs basically play like additional midfielders and the entire team's movement was too difficult for City to manage. Fabinho has been outstanding this season and is just a great talent to watch. Has to be one of the best around in his position, at the moment. The other player who has impressed me in this position is Leicester's Ndidi.

South Africa really dictated this game. Can't say that they didn't deserve it, so well done to them. Unfortunately, too many penalties given away and no real way through that South African defence. That Kolbe try made the victory even better for them, but it's the type of moment that England were just not able to create in this game. I don't want to say that England didn't really get going, but I think it's an accurate statement to make.

I'm very disappointed to hear that. If it's someone's job to review games, they should review the whole thing after finishing it. Imagine if somebody went to see the new Star Wars film and left after 10 minutes saying it was great and we should all watch it. I find that very cheeky and quite deceptive. It just smacks of someone taking a shortcut and not wanting to do their job properly. I don't tend to read/watch reviews anyway. I'm much more of a fan of previews where they talk about some elements of the game or how it works, or just going off internet impressions. Forums seem to still be the best way to get impressions of games, tv shows or films. For music, as the typical album length is somewhere between 40-70 minutes, you can as easily Spotify it or YouTube it yourself and form your own opinion that way, as it's quick to do.

Sorry, I think I've missed something here. Why did Sony have to ask for the game to be finished by the reviewer before the reviewer writes the review? Is it commonplace for reviewers to...write reviews without finishing games? If you're going to write a review on a game, it should be an absolute given that you finish the game before doing so. (I'm strictly talking about games that contain a story element, not multiplayer only games as that's a whole different situation). As for this game, I had very little interest in it before the reviews came out and I'm not brave enough to whack £40 down on a game that I'm quite sure is going to do it for me. It was very divisive when it was revealed, then after each trailer, and then now. It looks like an unusual concept and there are going to be bits that put people off or the opposite. For me, it all hinges on whether the story is gripping and if the journey along the way is worthwhile, which is subjective and I may have to decide for myself if/when I ever get around to playing it.

3 is horrific, but it's redeemed by all of the memes and some of its quotable lines. That balcony scene is brilliant, because it's so terrible and so damn quotable. I often throw in the "So love has blinded you?!" line with a serious face around the house, haha. "I am the Senate!" Oh god...my sides. Although, saying that, the "I HATE THEM!" and "I don't like sand" lines by Anakin in episode 2 are also pretty amazing. It's too easy to take the piss out of these films when they're on ITV2 or something. They're no longer films. 3 often gets overrated by fans, because it's still a bad film, just not quite as bad as 1 and 2 for me. The romance scenes in 2 and 3 are awful, but I think the final scene between Obi-Wan and Anakin is better than anything that 2 has to offer. I still think we're tricked into "liking" three because we get to see Anakin fall to the Dark Side and become Darth Vader, but it's still an awful film. The set pieces in both films are just so long. Even that final fight between Anakin and Obi-Wan goes on for too long that it just becomes boring. Episode 1's threeway with Darth Maul was fantastic and easily the best action scene in any of the prequel films. I felt nothing watching that entire last third of Episode 2. Just battles for the sake of flashiness. The flaws that you have listed run throughout all of the prequel trilogy. Above all, the scriptwork is abysmal, and it's just terrible storytelling. The problems begin in Episode 1 and never really get fixed in any of the films. It's a clear case of where the writers focused too much on plot, rather than driving the characters. They completely miss that the reason we love films like The Empire Strikes Back is because of the way that characters like Leia, Han, Yoda and Luke are written. I'm always in favour of the stories serving the characters and reflecting their journey, rather than stories being strictly all about plot. Anakin, especially, is so poorly written that he becomes flat. There's just no depth to his character. Also...Yoda. I miss the fun Yoda that we had in Episodes 5 and 6. Easily my favourite part of Episode 8 when he turns up.

Episode 2 is hideous. There's no heart to anything in the film. At least there is some degree of spirit in Episode 1. Episode 2 is comfortably the worst Star Wars film in every department. It look tacky in too many places, the script is gross and there's no reason to root for any of the main characters. It's that horrible film in a series that only serves to move a few pieces so that the arc can be completed. You can't skip straight from Episode 1 to 3 because it wouldn't make too much sense, so you are forced to watch Ep2.

The past three or so years have been rubbish, but the memes have been absolutely top tier. That was amazing.

I've been trying to find the tabled motions for a People's Vote by both Labour and the Lib Dems, but am not having much success. Do you have any links which show how many voted for and against each motion? I've found the results of Dame Margaret Beckett's confirmatory public vote, which was held in March. https://commonsvotes.digiminster.com/Divisions/Details/661#ayes It got defeated, with 27 Labour members voting for the other side, which swung that vote.

This is pretty shit, in my opinion. All of the other parties are playing Johnson's game and are just doing what he wants. He has "a deal" that apparently has the numbers to go through, so he should be focusing on that. The bigger issue is that he stuck too hard to his October 31st deadline and wasn't willing to budge from that. The extension given by the EU until the end of January is flexible, meaning the UK could leave at any time before that. So, there is plenty of time for Johnson to get his deal through. The truth of the matter is that he tried to railroad his own deal through without it being properly scrutinised. Now that the house didn't agree to be railroaded into putting it through without properly looking at it, he has effectively done that childish thing of picking up his football and going home. I'm annoyed at both Labour and the Lib Dems for not doing much more sooner to make a serious attempt at a second referendum/final say. More so Labour, because the Lib Dems actually made the right kind of noises in this area, but the backing wasn't there. Due to the other parties refusing to work together, the Conservatives are going to get their own way. What Johnson wants to happen is for the Conservatives to win more seats so that he can get his deal through with as little scrutiny as possible. This is partly about that, and also about the Conservatives consolidating their power. He will go to the polls stating that he has a "credible Brexit deal" and will look to pick up seats on the back of that. We are now in the position where any deal will seemingly do, even if this is very arguably worse than the one that May had. As much as Labour will try to bring the argument onto other things (rightfully so), this is going to be very much a single-issue election, or at least that is the picture that the Conservatives are going to paint.

It was a very underwhelming game, especially after the game that we had yesterday. I thought both sides were too cautious and there was so little bravery on the field. Both sides were not really willing to take chances or at least work the passes to get into good positions. So much kicking. It's a disappointing end for Wales. But, well done to South Africa for making it to the final. If England perform against South Africa like they did in the first half yesterday, they'll win by a good margin.

It's very scrappy. The only two quality moments of the game have resulted in the tries, so at least the second half has been a bit better. Both teams seem a bit reluctant to pass the ball, or at least pass it quickly. I thought that was evident when Wales were working the phases, just before they scored their try. A few quick passes out wide would've been better than what they were going for.

Woke up and turned the tv on in time to catch the anthems. I call that timing! My fellow Welsh friend in work has got a real problem with Moriarty and his tackling. "He should be sent off every game, really". Hope that's not the case today. He was our hero last week!

I've tried to do my best with following all of the games, due to the timings of the games. We managed to put the England vs. USA game on in our Sports Hall at work for the kids to watch, which was fantastic. Brilliant atmosphere. Mammoth performance from Itoje today, especially in the first half. I originally thought that New Zealand may have a bit too much, but England's passing game (first half especially) was too good. I thought seeing those two tries being ruled out might come back to haunt the side, but luckily that proved to not be the case. Tomorrow's game will be a close one. I'm part English and part Welsh, so I would love an England/Wales final! Hats off to Japan for running a tournament like this and for doing it during such difficult circumstances. It says a lot about their culture and their country. Brilliant Rugby side, too. Gutted they didn't manage to make it through for another round, but what a run that they were on. Some great performances along the way and to do it against such personal adversity. Remarkable.

Unfortunately, that's not us! We are both on the sofa in wet and windy Bournemouth. Haven't moved off the sofa after watching the Rugby earlier today!