Tuesday 31 October 2017

Happy Hallowe'en!

  I miss having the motivation for doing stuff on Hallowe'en. The most I bother with now is watching horror movies, but that's not just specifically reserved for this holiday anymore so even that's whatever. I don't have motivation for much at the moment, but I'm going to try and hopefully get a new text game out by next week.

  Not sure on a topic or story line yet, but I'm sure I'll come up with something. I just miss coding, honestly. There was something about how brain deadening it was that was therapeutic. Focusing on the numbers and allowing your mind to go blank for a while is nice, though I'm glad it's just a hobby rather than a full time thing. Don't know if I could stomach it for that long.

  I wonder what the ratio for crappy horror movies vs. decent, watchable horror movies is? I feel like I've seen my fair share of terrible movies, but horror is definitely one of the most prolific genres for bad film making. Probably the most watched, too.

  Anyways, I hope everybody is having a spoopy evening and that everybody is safe and happy. Today has been a long day and I can't wait to get some sleep. God, I'm getting old.

Signed,
Elijah.
Meta Sentience.
31/10/2017

Friday 27 October 2017

Jigsaw: A Homage

  I cannot begin to describe the shivers and chills that danced along my spine when the classic Saw theme began to fade in as I settled down to watch this Hallowe'en's brand new bloodbath. The first trap really set the scene; reminiscent of the Neck Tie trap in Saw V. Five unlucky sinners confined in the dark, waiting until they're forced to atone in this gruesomely clever homage.

  I won't be describing every detail of what happened in this new installment because I want you to be able to read this spoiler free and enjoy the immersion. But I will be going through a few things I noted down while watching, so stop reading here if you want everything to remain a surprise!

  The film's place in the timeline is established early with a ten year mark, which I personally thought was a good choice. Get the initial, 'is it a sequel? Is it a prequel?' misunderstanding out the way so the true fuckery can begin later on. *insert cringey devil emoji here*

  The first trap ends and there's a bit of calm, after that short period the classic Saw/horror movie character trope is introduced; the one who is willing to endanger or even kill in order to escape or complete the games. I like this because it shows the movies are still willing to keep the age old formula. It works even if it shouldn't and the group's dynamic doesn't get old. The one person you're supposed to hate until the true threat is disclosed. They certainly didn't have a leg to stand on.

  Overall I really liked the traps shown. All were new and a couple had me laughing, mostly due to excitement of seeing them, which was a pleasant surprise, and the backstories of every individual were really nicely outlined so there was no confusion.

  A couple nice things were added as a homage to the previous movies, such as a room of Kramer's traps owned or built by an avid super-fan, pig masks strewn among multiple scenes, and the saw, (that I can only assume is supposed to be the one Lawrence Gordon used to amputate his foot in Saw), is placed ceremoniously on an altar. All nods that I both appreciated and reciprocated in respectful admiration.

  Everything about this movie, for me, was perfect. The execution - no pun intended - after such a long gap between the seventh film was extremely well done. The timeline wasn't eviscerated beyond all recognition, and it was fun to narrow your eyes and guess along until the big reveal. The clues were all there and it was really easy to follow and understand, even for people who haven't seen the other volumes in the franchise.

  I'll leave the rest to you guys. I'd love to know what you thought about the film once you see it, so all comments welcome. Once again, thanks for joining me and I'll see you next week.

Signed,
Elijah.
Meta Sentience.
27/10/2017

  

Tuesday 24 October 2017

Entry 1

I'm writing this and then going to sleep. Can't face anybody else today. I smashed my TV and dad's pissed. He knows what happened but as usual he doesn't believe me and thinks I'm making shit up. Reckon he just thinks I'm still fucked up since Ronnie left, but I'm over it. I just wanted them to stop taunting me... and now they have. The screen is cracked and it just flickers when I hold the button. He says he can fix it, but it'll be at the end of the week after mum's birthday, and I'll have to buy a new lamp. Need to write in her card but Lou told me not to.
Maybe it's the colour of the pen he doesn't like.
Tom is still convinced our dev teacher has some skeletons in his closet - more along the lines of bodies under the floorboards, actually, but I'm not so sure. Pretty sure he's just lonely. I relate.
- Adrian

Friday 20 October 2017

A Humorous Title

  Nothing will be coherent in this post. I'm writing it to get something out on here and for no other purpose. Work has exhausted me yet again. A colleague who has a penchant for throwing shit at me hit me in the eye. My face is gross and has broken out with acne again. It's all just a good giggle honestly.

  I have an idea for this blog but I'm not sure how to execute it yet. Need to iron out the wrinkles and figure out what I'm doing. In the meantime, recommending topics would help me out a lot. Galactic Cafe still isn't back up and running and that makes me sad. Davey Wreden's blog posts were an inspiration to this thing I'm doing here and it's a shame I can't plug that and share it with you.

  Hopefully I'll have a proper post for you this coming Tuesday. The weekend should give me time to rest and recuperate what little energy I have. I've been obsessed with Skyrim lately and I found a channel on YouTube called TheScatsbury. He has a great Skyrim glitch series that's had me in stitches. Oh, and Colossal Is Crazy released a new Cuphead rage video on his second channel, Colossal Is Lazy. If you want to see a man broken, that's the place to be.

  So go check that out. Aaaanyways, I'm not going to waste your time with mindless babble. See you guys later.

Signed,
Elijah.
Meta Sentience.
20/10/2017

Tuesday 17 October 2017

Fødseldag

  As a general rule, I can't stand birthdays. Yes, yes I know. 'Oh, poor Meta! Whiny little bitch boy hates the one day of the year where everybody is nice to him!' Shut up, okay? I'm introverted as it is and a birthday means everybody feeling obligated to see and speak to you when they otherwise wouldn't remember you exist.

  I've received an influx of Facebook wall posts from people I don't even speak to. I know that sounds unappreciative, but I don't even know who some of them are. I have over 200 people on my friend list and I speak to about four on the regular. They're not fooling anyone either. I know Mark Zuckerburg whips out his government ID and sends notifications to inform everybody. 

  Do you know what I asked for on my birthday? Hm? Go on, have a guess before you read ahead... a blender. Allow me to repeat myself - a blender. I've gotten to the age when I'm asking for kitchen appliances, and I'm going to take pleasure in eviscerating all the fruit and ice I can find. Will it blend? Let's find out.

  Regardless of that, I had a surprisingly decent day and I suppose that's all anybody could ask for. I'm now going to waste the rest of my night on Skyrim and being the lame old man that doesn't drink on his special day. Have a great rest of the week, everyone, and I'll see you all on Friday.

Signed,
Elijah.
Meta Sentience.
17/10/2017

Friday 13 October 2017

RAP; Rabid, Angry People?

  Somehow I managed to stumble across Elders React to Eminem on YouTube, (yeah, the Fine Brother's are still around, apparently), and the video was actually really surprising. I didn't expect a lot of them to get what rap is really about, or what it means to some people, but I found myself impressed. A lot of the older ladies were the most appreciative of Em's quick, wordy style, and some of the reactees even knew him prior to the video.

  Anybody that knows Eminem, or even one of his songs, is aware of how broad the rapper's vocabulary is - something I've always personally been enamored with. His ability to twist the most obscure and un-rhymeable words is something that takes true raw talent. A talent that most generations will never come close to. I know un-rhymeable isn't a word. They don't call me Slim Shady.

  One of the comments from an aged gentleman was, "why are there so many young, angry rappers?" and... it stunned me. How can there be such a disconnect from one music genre fan to another? What do most artists use music for? Usually it's some kind of escape known as catharsis - the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions. An action most people express through art. That's exactly the reason I think most rappers take to that genre, it's an accepted method of getting out as many repressed feelings as you can within the space of a few bars. For people to disregard it or simply say they don't understand is both fascinating and baffling, and really highlights a generational gap in some cases.

  As much as I personally dislike the Fine Brothers I appreciate their efforts, regardless of how misguided, in introducing people to certain things and encouraging understanding in different and oftentimes opposing generations. Not only that, but it's bloody funny watching OAP's recoil in jaw-dropping fashion at Marshall's loose use of words like nut-sack and faggot. So thank you, Fine Bros, thank you.

Signed,
Elijah.
Meta Sentience.
13/10/2017

Wednesday 11 October 2017

An Apology

  Yesterday was a Tuesday. A dull Tuesday in which not much happened other than Brian and I discovering old kids shows we used to watch before the internet came into being and ruined our innocent, non-corrupt lives forever. Netflix is a treasure, I can tell you that - though after an hour of searching I just shoved The Mule into my PS4 and we watched half of that instead. I fucking love that movie, honestly. It's in my top five. Top ten, maybe? I can't remember. I'm very tired.

  But anyways, this post is to apologize for not remembering to make a post yesterday; Tuesday. The dull Tuesday I mentioned before. You see, we have this commitment, you and I, and I broke that. Shattered it into a million tiny pieces. I hope we can rebuild what we had, what I obliterated with my mindless three hour naps that I could've used to write something... or work on that damn book I started but who knows when that'll ever get finished.

  So yes, I'm sorry. Does that help? Does that fix it? I don't think it does but I don't know what else I can do, just tell me what you want, please! All I ever wanted was to make you happy, to keep you interested and in a state where you use your brain to ponder, but instead you're reading the ramblings of a delirious madman who's just finished off his second packet of non-brand chocolate digestives for the night. Thank god for spellcheck, too, you feel me?

  I will do my utmost to post on time in future. I have not only let myself down, but I've let you down, too. My loyal readers whom I love very much. Make sure you drink enough water and that you get enough sleep. In the meantime, will somebody please remind me to do the same?

EDIT: It is now Thursday, and yesterday was no longer Tuesday. New post tomorrow, I suppose.

Signed,
Elijah.
Meta Sentience.
12/10/2017

Friday 6 October 2017

The Drama Epidemic

  Why do the vast majority of our planet's population seem to think that if you're interested in a bit of drama, you must be a creature constantly craving conflict? (That alliteration was siiick. Four C's in a row, I'm impressed). It isn't necessarily a persistent desire, but it's delightful to be allowed to caper.

  I actually have no idea if it is the majority or not. Should I do some research on that?

  One moment...

  Upon my return, I find only two relevant articles. Huffington Post's 'are you addicted to drama?' and another from Bustle. 'Nine signs someone who says they "hate drama" actually loves it'... do you have nothing better to do with your time, Bustle? As for you, Huffington, I don't need you to tell me that I'm addicted to drama.

  As an example to my aforementioned point, the ongoing beef between content creators on YouTube keeps me entertained to no end. The dynamic of the creators bickering like children in parliament - sorry, politicians - and the audience interaction becomes evermore enthralling as endless parties join in. It's not as important as 'real life' drama, so nobody feels bad partying with everyone else. In fact, it's encouraged to choose a side.

  There are people I consider to be diseased smears among the YouTube-sphere that don't deserve the acclamation nor the adoration. People that lack the talent it takes to write down their own name, but I'd be inclined to admit it might be a little dull without those wretched archetypes around. If nobody enjoyed drama, there'd be no place for podcasts such as Baited! and Hot Wet Soup; both of which talk drama and trending topics on YouTube. People watch Baited! not only for the opinions, but to cackle along with Tommy C while Colossal Is Crazy and Killer Keemstar scream at one another like spoilt children.

  I myself simply find extreme fascination with the online community, and the drama resulting in how different everybody is, and there's nothing wrong with that. That's why we watch commentary channels like Pyrocynical, iDubbbz and H3H3Productions, because it's the easiest way to see what's a hip-happenin' whilst listening to their opinions and enjoying their personalities.

  I suggest checking out every name listed here, minus Keemstar, but hey you didn't hear that from me. Have a great weekend, everyone.

Signed,
Elijah.
Meta Sentience.
06/10/2017

Tuesday 3 October 2017

Learning To Fly: RIP Tom Petty

  As an avid fan of Tom Petty, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers and the Travelling Wilburys, it's no surprise that the death of rock legend Tom Petty has come as quite a shock to myself, and so many others. It feels so soon after losing somebody else up there on my music influences that part of me is once again struggling with this jarring news - meanwhile the other half has been refreshing media sources all night.

  Regardless of era, Petty was an artist that had a part in influencing a large portion of my music taste, as well as being a talented, kind and compassionate human being. Seeing the out-pour of support from artists and fans alike is genuinely comforting, especially in light of current events in Las Vegas.

  I don't plan on outstaying my welcome on this post, but I wanted to dedicate something to somebody that meant a lot to both the musician and music listener in me. Hope to catch you ridin' around in the breeze someday, Tom.

Signed,
Elijah.
Meta Sentience.
03/10/2017