A Visit To The Dollhouse

Let me start by saying I am a big fan of Joss Whedon. The man has an inherent ability to create characters that are instantly likeable and forever memorable, something i can only dream to achieve but will constantly aspire to. Buffy was a good show with, as i've already stated, memorable characters. I had my issues with it, namely the overdose of teen drama in it but the good always outweighed the bad. Angel, which is by far my favourite, brought new and old characters into a new setting, dropped the teen drama (but not the drama) and took everything good about Buffy and built on it. And when Spike came along, it only got better. It was just a shame it was cancelled so soon after he joined. And Firefly rates as the only science fiction show i have watched an entire season of and enjoyed! So without any hesitation when Whedons new show, Dollhouse, started up I tuned in to see what he had in store.

On the surface the premise seems good, People imprinted with memories in top secret underground base used to fulfill fantasies both sexual and mundane. Sounds quite basic but with Whedon you know your only scratching the surface. The first couple of episodes laid the groundwork but are very slow and unfortunately, at times, boring. I will admit, I watched the first 6 episodes and gave up, but a lot of people said that episode 6 was the beginning of the evolution of the show into something greater. Now, at the time I was quite busy and didnt have time to check out the rest but made it a point to do it eventually. Well eventually was today, I decided since I had nothing else on today and since I was avoiding all contact with the GAA madness I'd sit down and finish out the series. And i'm happy to report I was not disappointed.

As the episodes progressed I found myself caring more and more about the characters, even if they took on a different personality every episode. Props to Whedon and his writing team for managing to do that! Now its not all good. The actors are good, at times excellent. Tahmoh Penniket, who plays Agent Ballard is worth a mention for playing the role of obsessed and suffering man on the edge to a tee. You can see in his eyes that hes chasing something he realises he may never find. But of special note is Harry Lennix, a fine character actor and great casting for the role of Echo's (Eliza Dushku, who i will get to) handler. He manages to be simultaneously sympathetic and unfeeling. Fran Kranz is the token nerd that controls all the imprints, and also provides the comic relief to great effect. Olivia Williams is the big boss lady that everybody fears but also manages to feel warm and motherly at the same time. There are other "dolls" but none are really worth mentioning as they were severely underused, a problem i hope will be rectified next season. And then there was Eliza Dushku of Buffy fame and an occasional jaunt on Angel. She plays the main doll Echo, and her past self, Caroline albeit briefly and in flashback form. For a leading lady she is the weakest link in the show, even among the unrecognisable and briefly seen actors that make up the rest of the dolls. I noticed from the start that even when she was playing the part of the blank doll, she still retained some of the personality of the last person she was imprinted with. And on the other side, when she is imprinted theres still a sense of emptiness in her. Dont get me wrong, when shes good shes good, and shes no doubt easy on the eye, but if I picked up on it, and I'm no critic / acting savant then the real critics will too.

But this is minor, there are a few flaws but this is the case in every film or tv show that has ever existed yet we still remember and love them. I have a feeling that Dollhouse will be a mix of cult hit and mainstream favourite, a line Mr.Whedon is used to treading.

For those who havent already, I reccomend a trip to the Dollhouse.

Prototype - Allowing Adults To Play In The Sandbox

So i bit the bullet the other day and picked up Prototype for Xbox 360, i will admit i wasn't overly excited at the prospect of another open world game, as the last few, GTA IV included haven't really done anything for me. My enthusiasm for games has wained in recent years, this is probably due to studying the development of games for 4 years, or maybe i'm just getting older, who knows, but there are still a few (Bioshock and Mass Effect are at the top) that remind me that games are still up there with movies as a storytelling medium.

However, every once in a while, you dont want a game where you have to fight rats for 12 hours before the fun starts, or you dont want a great story that sucks you inn, sometimes, you just want to have FUN!

And that brings me back to Prototype (or [Prototype] as its actually named). Here, fun is the name of the game. You are Alex Mercer, who did something for a living, i'm not sure what, i dont think it was explained and even if it was i probably skipped the scene to get back to the fun. You wake up in a morgue and seem to have some special powers. What do you do? Well you obviously run away and start causing mayhem left, right and center!

Unlike GTA where most of your travelling is done vis car, motorcycle or in some cases, planes and helicopters, in Prototype you use your good old fashioned legs to get around. And not just on the ground either! Oh no, that would be too mundane for a gravelly voiced super being in a leather jacket and hoody! You run along and up buildings, jump from roof to roof and glide across New Yorks skyline. This is fun in and of itself but it doesnt end there.

Thanks to a huge array of upgrades, you can unleash 7 shades of chaos in the city. From claw hands, to hammer fists, to a sword and a whip that grows out of your arm, you can slice, dice, mash and slash everything and anything all the while collecting orbs to go towards your next weapon of destruction! I haven't even started the missions yet, not even sure i will because theres too much fun to be had elsewhere!

I cant really justify any o this in text though so let me just say, go buy it, or at the very least rent it.

Prototype, making it fun for adults to play in the sandbox again

Awesome!

I had to put this here because it is unbelievably cool - this is the latest book i've picked up and am about to start reading!

If you need convincing the first line of the book is: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains."

Nuff said!

Chapter 6 - Draft

The paintings hanging on the wall gave an insightful look into the life of David Hayes. Kara eyed the paintings and could sense a pattern throughout. Each painting seemed to convey a different emotion. This led her to assume David was quite emotionally unstable.

His apartment had been cordoned off by the Boston P.D and people had started to gather in the halls trying to get an idea of what was going on. The typical older ladies in bathrobes talking amongst themselves, younger couples with looks of fake worry. Kara had arrived earlier than expected so Jonah had not gotten there yet. She glanced around the apartment, the run down furniture and rusted chairs giving the impression that David Hayes was definitely living the life of a struggling artist.

The officers were interviewing the people in the hallway when Jonah appeared behind them and made his way into the apartment. Kara couldnt quite put her finger on it but she definitely saw pain behind his eyes, something that had happened many years ago that stuck with him, but also drove him to continue on. "Did you find anything else useful at the gallery?" she inquired. "Nothing noteworthy, it seems pretty cut and dry, his fingerprints are on the shard of glass, his footprints are in the bloodstains, hes our guy!" Jonah replied. He looked around the room noticing the paintings. "We have an angry boy here!" . "It would seem so. Did he say anything before you left?" "Nothing, he seems to be still in shock. They were getting ready to transfer him to central holding when I was leaving" Jonah replied. "Soemthing doesnt feel right about this to me Jonah. I mean how many killers do you know that stuck around at the crime scene after commiting the murders?"

Jonah started to resopond but was drowned ouot by a woman screaming at one of the officers in the hall. "I want to know whats going on right now!" she excalimed. Kara brushed past the officers at the door to find out what was going on. "May we help you ma'am?" . "Who are you?" the woman enquired. "Agent Kara McCluskey FBI, we're investigating a murder" Kara replied. "Murder?! Has David been murdered?" . "Please come inside and i'll explain everything" . The woman had begun to cry by this point and walked past the other people in the hall and under the yellow tape into the apartment. "This is my partner, Jonah Sheperd" Kara said, motioning Jonah to come over. "What is going on? Has David been murdered?" the woman repeated, this time in a higher pitch, indicitive of a woman on the verge of hysterics.

"Ma'am, David is fine, however, we currently have him in custody as the prime suspect in a murder." "Murder? David? That can't be, David would never murder anyone!" the woman exclaimed. "May I ask you what your relationship was to Mr. Hayes?" Jonah enquired. "I'm his sister, Sarah." the woman replied. " I come over every couple of weeks to see how hes doing and help him out with money if he needs it. My brother hasnt exactly been living the high life lately." . "Was your brother a violent or angry person Ms. Hayes?" Kara asked. "Not at all." Sarah replied "Hes had it rough lately, but hes not an outwardly violent person, if anything, he tends to compartmentalise a lot of things rather than deal with them constructively."

"Was he on any medication like anti-depressants, uppers, downers?" Jonah asked. "No, David was a recovering alocoholic, pills would have only made things worse for him." "Was he seeing a therapist or councillor?" . "He did briefly after he went sober, but he didnt find it helpful so he left. I know what your trying to do here you know, i know your trying to find something in his background that would make him a likely suspect so you can just pin it all on him. My brother was a good man who was down on his luck and only had his painting to keep him going." . "Ma'am, we're not disputing that, we're just trying to build a profile on your brother, its standard procedure in all murder cases." Kara replied. "I want to see my brother, where is he being held?" Sarah demanded. "Hes being held at central holding downtown but you wont be able to see him for at least another hour until hes processed." Kara replied. I'll wait there for him, will that be all you need from me?" . "I'm going there myself, i'll take you." Kara replied. "Ok lets go then." . "Who is my brother accused of murdering?" . "Her name is Catherine Middleton, she owns Middleton Art Gallery" . "What?! Thats not possible!" Sarah exclaimed vehemently. "Why?" replied Kara. "Well, because agent McCluskey, my brother was having an affair with Mrs. Middleton for the past few months!".

Back To Work And The State Of Affairs

Monday afternoon...a very bleak time sure..but i cant keep the smile from my face!

There seems to be a wave of happiness washing over me today...dont ask me why..i dont care..im riding said wave until i fall off the board!

Ok..enough with the surfing analogies..im thinking this blog should be a good place to start posting short stories that enter my head when i get bored...and thats a lot so there will be a lot of them in time!

Keep an eye out.

I've always wondered...if im here and your there..and Istanbul is the capital of Turkey..then who the hell is Starr Jones??

Profoundness Through Experience

Life is like a trip down a long stretch of road. The things that happen to us in our life however minor are like the landmarks on that road whereas some events are like towns along the road. Some will be just fleeting but every now and then, we will pass one that will be less than fleeting and will stick with us forever.

I think what i'm trying to say is that life is made up of experiences great and small and while some experiences / people will be instantly forgettable, for some people, they will always remember them.

I know I will.

Friday Musings

Havent updated this in ages..figured it was about time.

Nothing much has changed really.

I know after such a long delay between posts i should have something incredibly interesting to say but the truth is nothing much has changed. Those that know me know that i'm still writing my book, and those that don't i just told you.

Its a slow and steady race with a lot of content going straight into what i've come to call the "not even worthy of Stephen King pile".

The problem with being a "part time" writer is that all the other stuff gets in your way. Work takes up at least twelve hours of each day, what with travelling to and from and actually being in work. If i don't get my eight hours i get cranky so that leaves 4 hours in the day. Subtract the necessary time for showers, food, relaxation and socialising and your left with very little, theres always the weekends and i find i do get quite a bit done when im not doing anything else but again, most if not all of it ends up in the Stephen pile!

Not too long ago i had 14 and a half chapters, i know have 5. Some people say that this is a tribute to my perfectionism while others say my standards are way too high, especially given that i'm a first time writer. I don't necessarily agree with either. When i sit down to write i look at what i'm writing from the perspective of being a reader and what i would consider fresh and edge of your seat and whether by the end of a chapter i would really want to read on. the minute i sense i don't want to know whats happening next is the minute i throw that piece out.

On a side note, i'm off to New York tomorrow for 7 days, its gonna be great. I have a full list of things that need to be seen and done and we're going to a Rangers game (they're a hockey team for those that dont know!). Flying out tomorrow at half ten (hopefully anyway, if the weather gets bad again tonight, i may be delayed or even cancelled!).

Lets see, what else is new. I moved back to dublin for my new job. Living in Rathfarnham again. Started off in a house with two girls but the landlady was the weirdest thing this side of the shannon and one of the girls was so anal retentive she made my skin crawl so i got out of there as quick as was possible.

Living up behind Marley Park now with a guy I went to college with. Good guy, bit on the quiet side though. But all is good.

Have taken up Tae-Kwon-Do recently and am loving it. Job is ok, i wish i was back in Microsoft or had a classroom full of students i could teach English too but you have to start somewhere i guess. Reviews are coming up but i've been kicking ass the last 2 weeks so i dont foresee a problem there at all.

It'll be nice to get out of here for a week though!

There's obviously other stuff going on but i've never been one to pour all my personal stuff into a blog so it'll have to stay generic for now!

Signing off..and you know the rules when im gone! No bitches after 11!

Oh and Obama is the dude!

Last College Blog

Scary Stuff,

My last possible college blog entry.
Its 7:10 A.M and I'mjust finishing up my last run through of all my notes before I head into what I feel will be a disaster of epic proportions. But on the bright side, come 12:30 it'll all be over one way or the other :)

On the whole I can't really sum up my 4 years doing this course, mainly because I don't want to, better to forget i think.

I am basicaly praying that I well enough this morning t get the pass so I dont have to come back to Carlow to repeat in August. I feel the motivation would not be there for me to do it right.

If i keep going I'll probably just start spouting rndom crap so I'm gonna stop now.

12:30 and its Vodka for me!

Christmas

So Christmas is two weeks from tomorrow and its pretty clear from the way people are acting.

I was in the Fairgreen shopping centre in carlow and had to collect a christmas present for my sister that i had put aside a few days earlier.

So I walk in and the place is mobbed. Now I wasn't what you would call surprised by this given that its so close to christmas but that is not the point of this story.

Now the shop i was collecting the present in had a queue going out the door. I didn't really want to stand in a queue for a half an hour but it was now or never really. So I stood there and ten minutes went by, and the line was moving very very slowly.

Just then, this guy comes in and barges his way up to the front and starts yelling at the cashier for something he had bought that didn't work.

Now I have two problems with this.

1) It just isn't fair to the girl behind the counter that this guy was shouting at her. Its not like it was her fault that the thing was broken.

and


2) All the people in the line, including me, had been waiting somewhat patiently to get service and this guy barges up ahead and while hes shouting away none of us will get served.

Now this isn't something that happens only at christmas but it is something that boils my blood. Christmas for me has always been a time for happiness and people being nice. Now I can handle people bumping into you in a crowd and not saying excuse me. Thats fine, their in a hurry but what this guy had done was unacceptable.

I left it for 5 minutes and he was still going at this girls throat. I was getting to the point where I was gonna go up to this guy and stop him but a guy that was up ahead of me beat me to it. He walked up to the guy and grabbed him by the shoulder and gave him a good talking to. The guy was giving it back to him but in the end he just walked out with the thing he had brought into the shop ( i think it was an iPod). After the applause for the guy that had stepped up was over, the line started moving again and within 25 minutes i had what i came in for.

I can never understand why people won't just calm down at christmas. But it did give me some perspective on christmas shopping.

Next year, all shopping will be done online and everything will be delivered to me. Merry christmas to all and to all a good night.

Announcement

Watch this space for the first two chapters of my in progress book, and maybe some of my songs, if I ever get one 100 percent completed. They seem to be all at around 75 at the moment.

College

So I've been quite frustrated with college lately. Mainly because I've been a bit lacking in motivation to actually do anything but also because our course is hideously unorganised.

To be fair, they are trying this year and a lot of the course material is interesting even for me who really isn't overly interested by any of it.

This week I actually surprised myself, I sat down and actually did some work and got quite a bit done at the same time. And the biggest shock came when we did a practical assessment in Mobile Games on Friday morning. It was nine in the morning and I was barely awake, I couldnt even get a cup of tea because the line at starbucks was too long.

So i went in and sat down as I always do. Now I had done no preperation the night before and have very little knowledge of Java so I was, for all intents and purposes, screwed! But, to my surprise I managed to complete the second question in full which was worth 60 percent and part of question 1 which was worth 40 percent. So i walk away with very little effort having 6 -7 percent out of 10 towards my final grade. Hurray for me!

Next week, which is our final week before our Christmas holidays, sees a written test in Online Gaming Tech on wednesday and a fairly complex assignment due in AI on friday so its gonna be a long week.

And on that note I will end the blog because, well I cant think of anything else to say at the moment.