Alan’s Blog

Well, a lot has happened since I last updated. The snowball effect kicked in and I just didn’t know where to start. So, lets get through the bulk of it.

I’ve finished up my 7 year run with IncaGold. It is a relief actually, I’d been wanting out for a while, but wasn’t quite ready to take the plunge. Maybe there is a blog post in there somewhere for sometime later :/. My future is chaotic and unplanned at the moment, and I think I like it. It’s the first time in eons where I actually feel alive rather than just existing. The short term plan is I have a little contract work to do, a few new ventures I’m looking into and there is an independent game studio I’m building which I’ll hopefully talk about more in the coming weeks. Heh, I have things to talk about for the first time in months, and I don’t know what to say. Now that I no longer feel consumed physically and creatively by an environment that strives to milk all it’s resources for everything they’re worth it’s possible there is too much to say but not enough to put into words yet. All right, enough about that

Random stuff I’ve done recently in my favourite bulleted format.

Movies:

• Watched my copy of Christine which I bought well over a year ago and hadn’t seen in something like 10 years. Still holds up very nicely.
• Also watched Braindead after probably more than 10 years. It, however, doesn’t hold up well after all this time. It was hysterically funny though - usually unintentionally
• Finally saw Boiler Room after years of hearing good things. Very entertaining. Probably my least favourite out of the trifecta (Wall Street/Glengarry Glen Ross/Boiler Room) but still very good.
• Cast Away was better than I thought it would be. Enjoyed the non-stereotypical ending.
• Casino Royale was good. I felt it was closer to the Timothy Dalton Bonds (which are my favourites). I loved the grittier bond with less reliance on gadgets to save the day. I could have done without the 9/11 references and aside from a couple of story elements that I felt have repeated too much over the past few bonds, I have no real complaints.
• The Prestige was excellent. Very good performances from all involved. Although the story got a touch predictable about 3/4 the way through, it was still very enjoyable.

Gaming:

• I completed the ’story’ portion of Crackdown. Just trying to max out my stats and grab all the orbs. Really good mindless fun.
• I finally finished Splinter Cell Double Agent (I think it took me about 6 months). I found some of the later levels incredibly hard but otherwise great fun all said and done.
• Worms and TMNT were released on XBLA which I grabbed. Awesome.
• I picked up S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and had a quick go. Seems like it could be fun.
• Looking forward to Oblivion: Shivering Isles later this week.

Other:

Pictures of the coasters I got for my birthday. They were chosen because they look like my Mums two dogs, both in physical appearance, but also in portrayed attitude.

Sassy: Sasha:

End of Line.