Coca-Cola sponsors other reality TV shows so its not that far fetched. From io9

Keep Calm and Carry On, who now a days hasn’t heard this phrase? When Richard showed me this video I knew I would have to share it with you.

The Story of Keep Calm and Carry On on YouTube.com

I know its a propaganda poster but I have always loved the message (even if now it has been done to death). There is something very comforting about the simple design and phrase that do just make you stop and think. In the current global climate it also feels a bit like sage advice from the past. A sort of, we understand how bad things can get but please, please remember all you can do is to just keep calm and carry on.

Given that the posters intention was to boost morale, which it does even when people change the words, it is no surprise that it has been so popular lately. Unlike the other two, more widely used posters during the war, Keep Calm is timeless. You don’t have to be at war for it to have relevance to your every day. You sort of do for “Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution, Will Bring us to Victory” and “Freedom is in Peril, Defend it With all Your Might”.

The image is now in the public domain so feel free to tweak it to suit your own motivational needs.

Did you see The Hunger Games over the weekend? Even though in reality this ball goes against some key plot points (for example that the male and female tributes are drawn separately) its a cool idea, especially as you can add your own name in.

The REAPING OF District 12 Dont get picked in The Hunger Games – buyer gets to add there name to the ball

How can you be anything but happy watching penguins. Richard showed me this that he found over on io9 but the live stream is for the Discovery Channel. They are just so cute and all I want to do is watch them – hopefully your boss will be ok with the squeals of joy you make while watching these little guys=.

Have a great weekend

The Hunger Games opened today in Australia. Before I even get in to that I would like to acknowledge that according to the poster it opens in the USA March 23 – which means we got it first. People, that just doesn’t happen!! Australia is usually last and sometimes the same time (like with Harry Potter) but rarely earlier than the US.

I haven’t read the book but I want to now. I thought the film was brilliant. From the first moment I was sucked into the story, cheering for Katniss and Peeta and hoping Cato and his gang meet a timely end. If you don’t know the story basically there are 12 districts in a distant future and because of a past rebellion each district must offer one boy and one girl as tributes to play in the Hunger Games (essentially everyone’s worse nightmare of what Big Brother could be). Only one tribute leaves alive. Katniss’ little sister Primrose is selected and Katniss volunteers to take her place. The plot makes a strong social statement about where “entertainment” is headed.

The stand outs of this film were Jennifer Lawrence, Lenny Kravitz and the sound guy.

Jennifer Lawrence! Not only is she unconventionally beautiful but she is an incredible actress. I really think she nailed this part! My heart went out to Katniss again and again and I was so proud of her in the end (if I tell you why I ruin it). I just cannot say enough good things about her performance and the level of subtly she brought to it. You know the joke about Kristen Stewart only having one expression in Twilight? Well there weren’t a lot more in this film but her eyes, her eyes told you everything she was feeling but struggled to say. Brilliant!!!!

Sorry Richard but Lenny Kravitz is hot! I think his appearance in the film is a shout out for mums. Here is this man who was so cool when I was a teenager appearing in this film which sadly is aimed at the oldest among us’ daughters. He does a fantastic job playing the “dad” figure in this film, completely believable that he was impressed by Katniss volunteering to go in her sisters place and wanted her to do well. That scene before she is sent in broke my heart.

Finally the sound guy (scroll down to read who the team was)!  The incredibly clever use of sound in this film made it truly haunting at times. When the children were lining up to find out who the tributes were to be the only sounds were what you would hear in a crowd like that – tears, footsteps, people passing instructions and general nervous chatter – which added a layer of authenticity to the emotions of the characters. Later when there is an explosion the sound rings, just like you would imagine your ears would after hearing that. The way sound is used, I think, makes this film more than just a kids book but something to be taken seriously.

I definitely recommend this film. Check out what MetaCritic has to say too!

We are huge Doctor Who fans so news of a new companion always gets a mention in this house.  25-year-old Jenna-Louise Coleman will join the series midway through after the departure of the Ponds.

Read more on io9 (also where the photo is from).

I copied Amy’s red hair (thanks Karen Gillan) but my favourite companion from the latest iteration of the Doctor has to be Donna Noble! Also a red head Donna was such a loud person but inside so insecure, and she got some of the best story lines.

It remains to be seen what the next season of Doctor Who brings. Personally I can’t wait cause even when its terrible its still so much fun

Spoilers have to be the most frustrating aspect of all media today. The only thing I consider a greater punishment than watching an entire series of “reality” television, is having to do so, knowing that at the end Kelly Sluttenmire cheats on Joey Douchbagerson, thereby rendering any emotional rollercoaster along the way null and void.

The concept has been around as long as stories have, and no doubt on the return of some prehistoric hunting trip, there would be an undignified lout who’d exclaim “You know that woolly mammoth we were hunting? It was struck by lightning!” – much to the chagrin of the other hunters, who were planning on making the mystery of “Why we don’t have to cook our dinner tonight” the main topic of the evening’s entertainment.

In more modern times however, the concept of “spoilers” has a much more prevalent social impact. People can now post information about an episode, book or movie literally seconds after it is first able to be consumed (via official release or leaking). This social faux pas is then compounded a hundred fold by content-hungry websites reposting this information, sometimes (ironically) simply to denounce it for the faux pas that it is.

Spoilers in fact, have become so ingrained in our culture that they even feature as a catchphrase on Doctor Who, as a reason not to reveal future events (ruining a movie being compared to creating a time paradox that would destroy the universe is quite apt, I think).

In general there are rules and etiquette regarding spoilers, and a handy guide has been made just recently, and comedy or no, it’s worth following.

A useful addition to the rules listed in this video is the addition of a “[Spoiler]” tag to any content that may be deemed as such. However, and I can’t stress this enough, this is completely useless if said spoiler is in the title or heading of your post. Nothing short of a pencil to the eye will stop an untrained reader from finishing a sentence even if ‘spoiler’ is at the start of it.

All this came to a head recently when playing the video game Mass Effect 3. Now while I would never compare the plot of ME3 to the works of Shakespeare or Herman Melville, there is a story, and it is the reason I play this franchise. The problem with video games, is that they have both a committed and highly vocal internet community, and they often take a decent amount of time to complete, ie more than a movie, but probably less than a full TV series.

[Mass Effect 3 mini spoilers ahead]

People high and low have been making a fuss about the ending. Now I haven’t finished the game yet, so my scope of searching for examples has been purposefully short, but trust me it’s easy to stumble across. So now I know something about the ending is worth making a fuss about. It’s like going to watch The Sixth Sense and finding out that there’s a ‘twist ending’. You’d spend the whole time trying to guess what it is, and very possibly succeeding in doing so, ruining the whole movie for yourself.

[end spoilers]

There has been a communal discussion about key points of the story. Comics, blog posts, donations to charities in the name of changing the story and flame wars fought over whether the masses should control the direction of a franchise or whether it should be left purely to artistic integrity. In the case of video games this is compounded, as plots tend to be more malleable, often with multiple endings and/or additional paid content.

This communal focusing point, a grouping of shared experiences, emotions and opinions is one which I must avoid at all costs in order to preserve some semblance of enjoyment from the game. Luckily the gaming community is much like a cat chasing a cockroach, so while this discussion is desperately important and its core focus today, in a few weeks it will have well and truly moved on.

But not luckily! These waves of communal focus are actually a large part of why I play games in the first place. To see how the story or conceits of a game diffuse into the community and across various mediums is both highly enjoyable and also one of the primary methods of communication within the gaming culture. This culture, like many others dating back to the dawn of man, has its own ‘coded language’ to exclude outsiders and better reflect these shared experiences.

So that’s my dilemma. Am I just unlucky that this wave of shared experience was focused around a spoiler? Perhaps like the College Humor movie indicated, there should be some enforced set rules on how spoilers are handled, however where do you draw the line? What was unacceptable for me, may just be another talking point for someone else, and when you start limiting those, the community withers and dies.

One thing I think we can all agree on though, is that the world would be a far better place if when some malicious individual successfully spoils a plot for you, that you are instantly sent their home address and governmental permit to chemically castrate them.

The weekend has had a distinct chill and when I saw these I wished I was little enough to get them for myself. My nieces and nephew all have winter birthdays so perhaps one will get their own pair.

Teddy Bear Leg Warmers

Ah The Princess Bride. Great quotes, a great movie and now a great drinking game!  The game is based on the Battle of Wits, can be played in three variations and works best with two people.

Watch Princess Bride – Battle of Wits in Comedy  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

 The Battle of Wits

The simplest variation – the core idea is based on the confrontation between Westley and Vizzini.

1. The game has two player roles, the Pourer and the Decider. The Pourer takes a bottle of vodka (or other clear spirits that do not have a distinct smell) and a bottle of water, preferably both chilled a similar amount. Out of view of the Decider, pour one shot of vodka into a shot glass, and one of water into a second shot glass.
2. The Pourer places one shot glass in front of themselves and one in front of the Decider.
3. The Decider then has to choose – drink the shot in front of them, or in front of the Pourer.
4. Any trick or tool may be used to determine the alcohol-free shot – including deception, bribery, flattery, mind games or flashing however, the Decider cannot interact with either shot glasses in any way. This includes lifting, sniffing, touching the liquid or tasting.
5. Once the Decider has selected which shot they want, the Pourer then swaps the shot glasses if need be and the two take their shot. Both sides cannot back out once the Decider has chosen.
6. The shot completed, the victor* may do some sort of victory dance if he/she chooses. Swap roles and start again!

*Of course, the victor could be either party. It all depends on whether you wanted to get the vodka shot or not.

As You Wish

For those who love the film.

1. Set up The Princess Bride to watch in whatever format you have it in (VHS For the Win).
2. Before starting the film, make a list of all the quotes you know from the film. The film’s IMDB quote page can help if you’re stuck.
3. Start watching the movie. If a quote is said from your list then pause the movie and begin the game as instructed in The Duel of Wits variation.
4. When you’ve completing the shot, unpause the film and continue until the next quote is said.
5. New quotes can be added on the fly to the list if both parties agree it is memorable enough.

The Sixth Finger

An additional rule for the tricky or devious. Much like Westley in the original battle of wits, it is of course possible for the Pourer to rig the game filling both glasses with alcohol. The trick with this devious act is for the Pourer to act as though they drank the water, and not let on that they too imbibed alcohol. If suspicious, the Decider can make a challenge after the shot is drunk. If the challenge is incorrect, the Decider must take another shot immediately. If the Decider is correct, they made choose to either:

a) Have the Pourer drink two shots immediately as punishment
or
b) To sit out the next instance of a quote being said. The Pourer must take a single shot when this next quote occurs.

Happy drinking! If you have any ideas or suggestions please let me know in the comments!

I fell in love with Ireland when I was there in 2003. I had always wanted to go to England so when I got up the courage to go I decided I should spend 6 weeks travelling the UK and had to go to Ireland. Ended up spending 2 weeks there and just loved the history and the people. It was a gorgeous land and I would recommend it to anyone.

Keep an eye out for Ireland on my list of potential honeymoon destination.