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Google+

20/7/2011

0 Comments

 
Yes, I’m still alive. I was away for a week and blah blah blah…

So Google+ has been around for under a month, and by now I’m sure most of you know about it. It’s basically a social network that’s almost exactly like Facebook, with some minor differences. These are as follows, from what I’ve seen:
• It’s not run by Mark Zuckerberg, but by Google (I’ll have to double check that).
• Circles and more control over the share of information. In other words, you can post photos of that godless party but keep them to your friends without scarring your Google+ using parents.
• It hasn’t pissed me off (yet).

Facebook has angered myself (and many others) to the verge of embracing a similar, reliable competitor with open arms. It keeps changing and ignoring the cries of its users, its Chat is in the later stages of dementia, and in ten years or so I’m pretty sure the small print of its terms will have me by the balls (something slightly resembling the HUMANCENTiPAD episode of South Park). Still, when I joined Facebook I hated MySpace (remember that, kids?). I don’t want the déjà vu of leaving the abusive household of one social network to make a love nest with the other, only to walk into door knobs too many times and realise my mistake.

Anyway, I got an account a few days ago, and I’ll just have to see what happens when it picks up and everyone joins it (which will likely happen, it is Google after all). It’s still invite only, so if you really want an account and have no other lines, hit me with your e-mail.
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RIP Walter Breuning (1896–2011)

15/4/2011

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If you don’t follow this blog at all, you probably won’t grasp the significance of this post. This is an obituary (yes, an obituary) I knew one day I had to write, but wished it otherwise.

I’ve made several posts about this remarkable man, with good reason. Walter Breuning was the world’s oldest man from 18th July 2009 until yesterday. His predecessor, Henry Allingham, I took some interest in, where my peculiar interest in longevity sparked.

Breuning was born a long time ago, and his passing leaves even fewer comrades from his era – the nineteenth century. Beyond the bragging right of living in three centuries (and thirteen decades), his mental and physical health was robust and he was largely his own man. He maintained his own diet, exercise, and was not on medication. That alone is nice to know, it really is. A human is capable of living 114 years with a great quality of life.

There was more to him than that.

When you live throughout the whole of the 20th century (and a little extra), you learn a few things. This man personally coped with the ‘dark ages’ of the 1900s, the Great Depression, and losing your wife back in the 1950s. His personal philosophy is focused on helping people, and despite his circumstances he had no fear of death. I’m not reiterating third-party news reports that pick out the numbers and key words, I’m telling you what I’ve learned from his videos.

At the end of March he was hospitalised. When I found this out I obviously thought that it may be the end. I thought he would pull through, from the  information given. His passing was not so much a shock. It’s sad, definitely. But I’m consoled by him probably knowing too that his time had come, and that he was ready to embrace it. This sadness stems from losing a piece of history, and above all, a great man.
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“We’re all going to die. Some people are scared of dying. Never be afraid to die. Because you’re born to die.”
– Walter Breuning (September 21, 1896 – April 14, 2011)
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Happy birthday, John!

9/10/2010

3 Comments

 
Unless you’ve been on the same boat as me for the last few weeks, you’d have noticed that I’m quite busy. I’m up to my balls in commitments (academic or not) and can’t be bothered to write a post complaining about it. However, it’s not critical, otherwise I would have missed out on an obvious opportunity to post about The Beatles.

John Lennon, if he wasn’t brutally murdered like Bertrand Russell ten years prior, would have probably lived to today, marking the grand age of 70. I’ll be perfectly honest, I’m not too much a fan of post-Beatle John, but still, he was a great musician and fucking funny. I would have liked to see him at 70, and mind you, I’d have liked to see all four make it to 64. And on that regard:
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By the way, I don’t think it’s fair to completely overshadow what would have also been John Entwistle’s 66th birthday, he was quite an epic bassist.

Happy birthday, John!
3 Comments

Postopoly…

21/9/2010

0 Comments

 
Once again, I have a reason to post about what is pretty much the mascot of this site. You know, Walter Breuning.

He reached 114 today, the fifth man to indisputably do so. As that is a milestone in itself, I don’t think I should dedicate a post to the birthday alone, for the sake of not being overkill. However, a few days ago he answered some questions on video from those who asked through the site of his retirement home:
I asked three questions, one of them was sent (at least I believe it’s mine), at 4:23. From that, I’ve disputably contacted someone from the nineteenth century (and crossed the corresponding task off my 100 things list). I think that’s something worth bragging about, even though most don’t see how there’s even a point in mentioning.

Happy birthday, Walter. Please don’t let it be your last.
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Papal post…

19/9/2010

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That eighty-something German head of state and Christian religion is in town. No, not the Queen, the Pope!

I was invited to both visit him and protest against him. I did neither. Why?
• I didn’t visit him because, despite going to a Catholic school and liking the authoritarian side of the Church, I’m not religious. I’m not saying that you should be religious to see him, I just wasn’t bothered myself. There will be more popes in my time. However, shame on those that will be as religious as Jesus for his four day visit, then going back to liberal values like not killing adulterous and the lot.
• I didn’t protest against him because, despite having plans already, I absolutely hate the concept of protesting and protesters (see ‘liking the authoritarian side of the Church’.

There is one important matter that I must drag out of this. Humour. I propose that we all unite in making as much fun out of this as possible, regardless of belief. As I say, ‘we can only get along if we’re a little racist to each other’. Food for thought.
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Oh, and I actually laughed when I heard this.
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He lives!

18/7/2010

0 Comments

 
You wouldn’t have had to be following this blog for that long to know who Walter Breuning is, and if you don’t by now, get off my property. Walter Breuning is the world’s oldest man. Why do I care? Well, four reasons:
1. For the 110th time, I’m weirdly interested in longevity.
2. He’s the world’s oldest man.
3. He was born in the nineteenth century, and not dead.
4. He’s healthy, physically and mentally.

 I bring you here today to introduce a fifth reason. One year ago today I made my 100th post, and that post lamented the death of former title holder Henry Allingham. This means, Breuning’s had the title for a whole year. Think about it, a year as the world’s oldest man, outliving everyone above you and many below you, and continued to not die for a year.

And about him? He’s American, even though that would usually bring someone’s status down, I admire him. He never had children (so no likely great-great-great-granddescendants in his lifetime) and his wife died in 1957, when he was like 60. He never remarried, being sceptical of the merits of second marriages (this sad set of circumstances reminds me of the guy in The Green Mile who lived for a really long age to have everyone he loved die before him – except possibly the mouse). He can sort of walk, have memories from when he was like 3, and is on no prescribed medication. These qualities expand on point 4., as there is justification for him living for another year (alas, supercentenarians tend to randomly die).

I can understand you not appreciate the significance of this state of affairs as I do, but that’s because everyone has different opinions and yours are wrong.
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Don’t die on me! Or I’ll have to make another goddamn post.
0 Comments

My favourite song…

29/6/2010

4 Comments

 
Well, I’ve sold out. I look at my convenient view graph and as today looks bleak in terms of keeping my views above 100 visitors a day, I think it’s time to make a much needed post and spam anyone who has a computer.

For those of you who don’t know, my music taste is unusual for a person of my age. In other words, it’s actually good (the subjectivity alarm has been pressed). It’s predominantly 1960s and decreases in the neighbouring decades. It’s not to be rebellious (or to be rebellious by not being rebellious like every other teenager, that probably doesn’t make sense) as I genuinely like (most) of my songs, mainly because a certain radio station played many of the hits in my youth. The Beatles is obviously a liked band of mine, my favourite even. As you may have guessed, my favourite song is a Beatle song. Now, what might this be? Ringo, drum roll please…

Real Love, that’s the one. As you may have noticed, it was featured in a weekly video in the form of a fake live concert, here. It’s an excellent song by an excellent band, but it might not have made the cut without the background to the song.

It’s a mid ’90s song, which is around thirty years ahead of The Beatles’ writing period. John was shot and killed back in 1980, leaving Paul, Ringo, and George several years before he got cancer. Yoko Ono gave them a couple of John’s old demos that were not released, being Free as a Bird and Real Love, clearly the latter I prefer. Both were evidently put into hits by the remaining three. A shit load of editing for the many takes of Real Love and Real Life were combined to produce a good quality version of the song, and the others put in their vocal and instrumental contributions.

Watching the mock concert, it felt like I was on one of the drugs they took in the later part of their band career, like there was a unity even though John was dead, and it was due to the song itself. Finally, there is a connection to my Get a life… post (you don’t need to read that shit), as the song was the end of the line of Beatles songs and was in my lifeline.

Oh, by the way, this song was not played by BBC Radio 1 as they did not think it was a modern song despite being a new release. Although I can see their point, it was a futile defence as the average buyer of the song was a teenager and the average age of a Radio 1 listener is 33 (when they aim for viewers to be much younger). Consequently, when I come into power, Radio 1 will be replaced by Party propaganda.
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Anthology 2 cover.
4 Comments

GameInfoDaily

29/5/2010

14 Comments

 
Among the garbage on this blog would be a few good posts, generally with a beat of meat on ’em (though such a thing is extremely rare in the early posts). I’ve realised I’ve been getting >100 views for the past ten days or so in a row now (surprise only arises when disregarding the fact that it’s exam time). I think it’s a good thing to recommend this random traffic to a blog that has the equivalent of my best posts as a daily occurrence, ergo GameInfoDaily.

Yes, it’s a friend’s blog so there is a bias in this quasi-advertisement, nevertheless I haven’t been obliged by him to suddenly make this post (procrastination happily gave me the nudge). It’s exactly what it says on the tin, in depth reviews on games, game series, components on gaming (shit, I’ve just lost The Game in doing this). If you’re remotely interested in gaming (i.e. a male) then take a look, and bring with you an integrity to read the many paragraphs that constitute the daily doses.
14 Comments

Everybody Draw Mohammed Day

20/5/2010

9 Comments

 
Did you watch South Park’s 200th episode and its successor? If so, continue reading. If not, watch the two then come back with an understanding of the context.

Basically, the religion of peace is on its time of the month again and has again displayed its title as the motherlord of artistic criticism. To protect the legends that make South Park, the Internet has uptaken a safety in numbers approach to depict the prophet Muhammad in creative ways, ergo Everybody Draw Mohammed Day, ranging from the intentionally offensive to intentionally inoffensive. I’m not a fan of freedom of speech, if I came into power tomorrow there will be a lot quotas on speech but that’s a different story. However, when an ideology comes to take this fundamental human right away from us with the threat of random violence, that’s when I get mad.

Ladies(?) and gentlemen, let me give you exhibit A:
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This is Muhammad, this is my impression, this is suspiciously similar to the 4chan face. Don’t be a pussy, make your own.
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As said, there are limits to free speech.
9 Comments

General election, 2010…

6/5/2010

0 Comments

 
It has recently come to my attention that we live in a country where we get to choose our leader. I find such an idea radical and unsafe, and advise my fellow man to vote against it.

What can we expect? The Dear Leader Gordon Brown coming back to lead the country into what would almost be a single-party state? Market man David Cameron cutting expenditure and the balls off the working man? Filthy liberal Nick Clegg killing every child under the age of two due to a lack of religion that makes him know right from wrong? A hung parliament?

My money’s on a hung parliament, as with most, based on the evidence. Personally I’m neutral (but with bias for the TomRed-Peter Fascist Party), not because I want to be impartial to my readers, but because I believe I’m too ignorant to make a choice. This election does appear to be different from the others, I mean, the liberals might have a sniff of what it’s like to have governmental influence, and it could well be a hung for the first time in about 36 years.

As for my party, fear not the reason why we’re not running. Democracy is an inferior method of attaining power.
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