The Wonders of Xbox Live Marketplace, La Haine and Lazy Journalism Strikes Again

This week's already kicked off in a strange way, and for some reason I feel really unfulfilled. Waiting on an email or call from someone who could very much change your life can do these things to you, though I'm remaining upbeat. Either way, until the aforementioned correspondence is complete, I'm completely without a direction up to the point where I can't really buy anything, my future plans are up in the air and - perhaps worst of all - I don't really have any reason to do anything this week.

Basically, I'm coming in, sitting in front of my computer doing lacklustre things like checking my inbox, watching random shows in snippets on iPlayer and considering the thought of making food. Luckily, I've actually had a pretty eye-opening few days for a few cool reasons too, mostly due to the fact that I'm in love with Xbox Live Marketplace.

The concept of buying games online is still pretty new to me. I mean, I bought Peggle, Outrun 2 and a couple of rubbish little indie games that I often forget about having on there. Then, last week, I realised I had a whopping 1670MSP on my online account - mainly due to investing in Rock Band songs that it won't let me download because it never seems to log in properly to the music store, thus leaving my quest thoroughly redundant and reliant on a console reset. And a lack of songs.

(I've just checked though - Let Forever Be and Seven Nation Army are on there. Going to have to find a way to get them...)

Nonetheless, we were short of a multiplayer title and for 400MSP - about £3.20 - I got myself Worms. Happy days. And then I played this.

My God, I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1 is quite simply one of the greatest games ever. It's essentially a top-down shooter for 60p (80MSP) yet choreographed with some of the greatest music of all time. It's almost Trey Parker and Matt Stone-esque (think Now You're a Man from Orgazmo or the song in the car from BASEketball). The music changes from rock to ambient to techno and the shapes, monsters and everything are there to match the experience.

Anyway, it's four player and you soon realise it's all about points; there are a boatload of weapons to choose from, including lasers, flamethrowers, miniguns and the like - all useful in different ways at different parts of the game (except the laser, which is a bit shit). It's an absolute necessity for gamers, though. If you get 2100MSP from the shop, buy a 1200MSP game (perfect suggestion coming up next), an 800MSP (think Peggle, it's amazing) and this. You'll be living in dream street.

Of course, I had to get something else. After playing the demo and not appreciating just how much effort went into the game, I got hold of Trials HD. It's possibly the most addictive game I've ever played in my life, end of story. If the regular linear scaling of objects, avoidance of explosives and general sandbox of death wasn't enough, the skills games will be.

Basically, it's anything from bike pinball to stopping yourself burning alive to breaking your bones by vaulting off a catwalk onto stepping-stone crates. There are 12 of them and all of them are amazing, and you only use three points of input: accelerate (RT), brake (LT) and position (LS). It's £10 and if it was sitting in shops, it'd sell for about £30 a pop even now - 1200MSP seems like a bargain. Either way, just get it. Get it right now. I just realised there's a fun pack with more levels and another 12 skill games. SCOOOOORE

Okay, that's Xbox Live Marketplace covered: further proof that the PS3 is generally pretty gash and the Wii is just a different console. A different console I don't play as much as I should. I will eventually.

I saw La Haine last night. In between endless restarts on Trials HD with Joe, Liam and Jake, Joe finally persuaded me to watch it. Quite frankly, it's amazing - like a French City of God. I don't want to spoil it so I'll say as little as possible, but considering the winding and somewhat slow storyline, they manage to cram so much into it. Cinematography is unmatched in parts and filming it in black and white served it perfectly. There are also no female characters of real note, which is interesting but something you don't really notice. It's mind-blowing though, particularly the ending. You have to see it to believe it. WATCH IT.

Back to the day job. My friend James sent me over something wonderful today, in the form of an apology put out by The Sun. You know, The Sun that's ditched Labour as if it's able to carry a moral high ground behind the tits of Becky, 23, from Cleethorpes. The same Sun that alleged Liverpool fans molested and stole from the dead and pissed on coppers as they tried to resuscitate the unfortunate souls crushed in the Hillsborough disaster. This apology represents everything wrong in the world today, and I'm only posting it in the vain hope that someone hasn't seen it so they can tell everyone about it.

Link is HERE so you don't miss it, though I'm gonna copy it out underneath for you to peruse.

Oh, and it's also posted under "hygiene", for some reason. Maybe they tried to hide it. QUOTE:

In an article published on The Sun website on January 27 [2005] under the headline 'Gollum joker killed in live rail horror' we incorrectly stated that Julian Brooker, 23, of Brighton, was blown 15ft into the air after accidentally touching a live railway line. His parents have asked us to make clear he was not turned into a fireball, was not obsessed with the number 23 and didn't go drinking on that date every month.

Julian's mother did not say, during or after the inquest, her son often got on all fours creeping around their house pretending to be Gollum.

Also, quotes from a witness should have been attributed to Gemma Costin, not Eva Natasha. We apologise for the distress this has caused Julian's family and friends.

Seriously, HOW THE F*** can you ever come to that conclusion about someone who died tragically on train tracks? And if they have those problems, why would you ever refer to them as QUOTE GOLLUM JOKER UNQUOTE?! Dear God. I've never been quite that lost for words when reading anything online, except when I'm on Daily Rotten.

Finally though, may I forward you to this wonderful little blog called Tabloid Watch. Don't trust the press? You're damn right you don't. As a journalist by trade, it keeps me on my toes in regards to the pitfalls of the job. It's also bloody well written too, and this bloke'll go far (if he hasn't already).

Hopefully I will too. I'm waiting on the aforementioned correspondence though, right?

Take A Break? More Like Take The Mick

A while ago, before I started working, I developed an unhealthy fascination with these so-called 'real life' magazines across the UK. My particular favourite at the time was "PREGNANT AND ON FIRE... BUT WE SURVIVED!", a phrase which I couldn't get enough of at the time. There have been plenty of other bullshit stories of note from that lot since then, though a documentary on Channel 4 about the phenomenon brought it back to my attention. For international viewers / those who pass by the mag section in shops, have a look at this week's batch o' fun:

Real life has never been so good!

*Nah, it's definitely been better, despite the top-left tagline (especially in regards to juxtaposition). Look at those venomous harridans that the fella opted for over his Linda Robson lookalike wife; the top one looks like Paul Whitehouse in drag and the bottom one, to quote Charlie Brooker, looks like a haunted tree.
* Squeezed to death? Is it wrong... to be strong?

My head explodes twice a day, and other stories

* No, your head doesn't explode twice a day. Explosions cause shockwaves and death.You are clearly alive.
* I'm glad the woman in the bottom right can smile about her prostitution to the nation, though she undoubtedly sees it as free advertising in a slow news week.
* Battered by a dildo? Now that is a story. One I'm not reading, though.
* Our threesome with a randy ghost: no. Just no.

This one explains itself

Best headline ever.

That's the best I can find for now; I may be able to find better in the near future.

I'm now 200 articles into my articles archive, which is quite nice; everything I do on there is away from work (though I've written well over 7,000 articles in my job at a news agency). It's now just a case of doing more in the coming weeks for Sound Screen while also improving my coverage of sport over the next few days.

More photos today - I'm sure you'll see a few more in the coming days...

Problem: Work. Solution: Do More Work

I've had such a remarkably productive evening and I really shouldn't've. Basically, I had an awful day at work. I don't really know why, truth be told, though the start of the morning saw my computer fail to connect to the internet, while the empty terminal next to me wouldn't let me log in. After an hour, I finally settled into another desk and hammered away, yet still only did 28 articles. Then again, when you go down by 20 articles but pick up another 60 (and extend your client base to 13, not 11), it's bound to be frustrating in general.

Nonetheless, I came home and I've grafted since, missing my tea and thrashing out a music review (David G Cox - excellent, might I add), replied to a few emails, edited and posted next week's Spotify playlist for Sound Screen (after positive feedback from my own inaugural offering) and all at a reasonable pace. I still ahve a few more things to do, but this week I should be on for my 200th article written in my own time. 200! I've only been writing, in earnest, for about four years, though the roots go back to college (seven years ago, though it feels like 20).

Anyway, I'm perfectly calm now. I've wiped the board clean of any pressing matters and I'm moving forward, and with hope; my conversation on the weekend went remarkably well and I'm hoping for a bit of good news on the weekend. If not, I'll likely be despondent beyond return for a few days... still, I'm positive and I think everything will pay off - I've been grafting so hard for the past 20 months at the very least, so I think I deserve something.

Yesterday, I fell in love. I took a photo of the moment. It's the purchase I'll instantly make on the weekend should the aforementioned situation work out for the good:

I've been working with a D90 up until now, but I've not used functions that this doesn't offer, plus it shoots video in HD. I'll get myself a 50mm lens for close-up shots too; I'll probably argue for a £700 deal with the full shebang above (plus/minus the cashback... small print issue if you look carefully) but with the 50mm lens and a UV filter or two. I'm sure I may be able to secure the bargain.

Now, however, I'm going to get myself to Spar, get a deserved treat and kick back. Pre-17:30 it was a bad day; now it's a very good day. I'm sure the week can only get better. Please let everything work out, miscellaneous gods of all religions.