Wii

I want one. I've enjoyed the ole 360 but I totally get what Nintendo are saying - the whole thing is becoming much too hard core and, not to put too fine a point on it, expensive. For the amount I spent on the XBOX 360 console and the various games I could (almost) have had an entry level mac book. And that's just nuts.

Plus I have to admit that beyond the fps & adventure game genre (Prey, Gears of War, Tomb Raider) and the odd driving game (PGR) the whole game thing is starting to leave me a bit cold - there's just no way I'd step up to the PS3 just for more of the same. Re-invening the whole user interface thing sounds fantastic - just what I need to re-invigorate my inner game geek. And it's Ninetendo so everything's going to be just that little bit quirky. I used to love Mario Karts. And Zelda, even though I was always a bit shite at it. Having said that I also loved Final Fantasy VII on the PS1, but somehow I don't really feel the urge to return there . . . maybe it's the online bit - never really got into WoW enough to justify the cost. Maybe I should return.

I have a feeling that after the hard core game kids have slaked their shopping thirst the Wii is going to kick the PS3 from here to upside your head and back again, at least in terms of return on ¥ invested even if not in total figures. it just seems like really good timing - forget the $$$ processor arms race and get back to having fun. And let's face it - at half the cost but double the cool it's going to be everyone's platform du choix. IMHO.

Another year closer to the grave

All things being equal and ignoring such possibilities as being run over by a bus on the way home here are 10 things that :-

A) I'll definitely do this year

1 Get falling down drunk
2 Feel guilty about not ringing my parents
3 Eat a dinner costing over £100
4 Look at internet porn
5 Fantasize about having a job that requires walking through snowy forests at dusk instead of sitting at a desk slowly irradiating myself
6 Have a conversation with my flatmate on the topic of Donna vs Jackie
7 Visualize jumping into the void at work and have to force myself to step away from the edge to get rid of the sudden compulsion
8 Fall over skiing
9 Get turned down
10 My FUCKING TAX RETURN!!!!!

2) I might do this year

1 Confess all to the one I love . . .
2 Seek counseling
3 Buy a flat
4 Get a new job
5 Start learning Japanese
6 Visit Argentina
7 Write some slash fiction
8 Go to the gym
9 Sleep with someone because I'm drunk
10 Create a shitty piece of modern sculpture from broken electrical appliances

3) I definitely won't do this year

1 Shop at Iceland
2 Clean up my act
3 Vote Conservative
4 See Tony Blair & New Labour get what they so richly deserve
5 Ditto George W Bush & the GOP
6 Sort out the rodent problem once and for all
7 Write a scientific paper
8 Climb a mountain in Antarctica
9 Believe that my boss knows better than I do about anything
10 Make any sense of any of it.

New Year Exhaustion

My New Years dinner was, I think, a bit excessive. I certainly didn't want to eat much of it, but that's fairly common. I was basically completely knackered the whole evening, and kept wondering how long people were going to stay for.

it's a shame because normally there's nothing I like more than staying up till 5am setting the world to rights. No one else was really up for it either, except Jules and she really had to take The Riggmeister General home who was a bit pissed ;-)

At least someone was.

I basically spent the whole day running around shopping and cleaning and then spent the whole evening slaving over the stove. But the end result was fairly impressive.

That horror menu in full :-

Hors D'Oeuvres
(marinated artichokes & olives)
-
Oysters
-
Fruits de Mare (Lobster, Alaskan King Crab, Giant Prawns)
-
Roast Lamb stuffed with Crab with a White Wine Gravy
Jerusalem Artichokes with Scallops & Razor Clams
Lettuce & Watercress Salad
-
Tarte Abricot with Fresh Fruit
(Apple, Nectarine, Cherries & Miniature Tangerines)
-
Cheese & Coffee