World of Warcraft

So, I bought World of Warcraft last week. I don't think I've done a single thing with my free time since except play the damn thing. It's really very well done - I did want to be able to play with my Australian Friends, but alas my authentication key won't work on the servers they play on, and so I am (mostly) All Alone in a Brave New World.

Nonetheless, I have managed to make some progress. Exploring this vast and beautifully rendered 3D world is very exhilarating - and the gameplay is perfectly balanced. You're never at a loss for something to do. I've played perhaps 40 hours over the last week, and I don't think I've seen any more than perhaps 10% of the game world judging by the map. Even those bits I have explored, I haven't explored fully. It's truly immense.

It's a very worthwhile gaming experience - and although I begrudge having to pay upfront for a game and also pay per month (£8), in real terms of the amount of entertainment I'm getting for my money and regular outlay, the cost is trivial. I'd spend £8 going to a movie and only get a couple of hours of entertainment out of it.

Currently I'm a level 24 druid - I play on Argent Dawn (the EU server) as Drakkos. Feel free to give me a shout if you see me around.

Baffling Search Strings #1124

This one is fantastic... 'hegemony sitcoms'. It just instantly conjures up a brilliant premise for a comedy set in the United Nations. We could just take the general formulaic 'churn by numbers' style of many American comedies and mix together a zany cast picked from the most appropriate Comedy Stable Archetypes. It could be like Friends with politics.

The United States would be Joey. Dim and willing to hop into bed with any dubious right-wing dictatorship. Fiercely loyal to its friends, but you can't help but think that most of its actions stem from the fact it's a little bit slow-witted.

The United Kingdom would be Monica - so concerned about appearance and the perception of being on the winning side that it continually lies to itself about its influence. Everything in the UK suites is shiny and spotless... who would like a spot of tea before we kiss America's ass as part of the Great Game we are still powerful enough to play?

France is Ross - full of itself and irritatingly nasal. Probably very intelligent, albeit about the dullest areas, and probably in the scheme of things, a little bit higher-class than its colleagues - but still someone with a punchable personality that you can't bear to be around.

North Korea could be Pheobe - kooky and crazy, with an estimated six nuclear devices.

Chandler is Israel - always ready with a handy quip about why it's okay to slaughter Palestinians by the lorryload. Palestine is Rachel - unwilling to accept any role that involves taking responsibility for its own part in the middle east crisis.

Together, these six crazy characters flesh out the ambassadorship of the Comedy United Nations... and when they are in a room together, HILARITY ENSUES.

I was so enthused about this idea that I started to type up a pilot - but then I realised there already is a comedy that plays out every day in the United Nations. It's called 'diplomacy'.

Carnivale Closing Its Tents

Jesus... bad news about the best show on television. I honestly don't know what the hell is wrong with TV executives... it's like there's a pre-promotion tradition of beating them around the head.

I suppose I just have to mark it up as another in a long list of excellent shows that were killed before their time (Futurama, Firefly, et al) and before they had a chance to explore the promise that they displayed (Dark Angel, for example).

I suppose this year has actually been pretty good for television on both sides of the Atlantic - Lost and Veronica Mars are both excellent freshman shows. The new Doctor Who is great in all sorts of ways, and Family Guy makes a welcome return to our screens. The loss of Carnivale tho' is a major blow.

I guess it's time to start collecting personal effects for my own HBO Executive voodoo doll.

Baffling Search Strings #1123

A new search string: 'can semen be used as a lotion'. I feel sorry for these poor souls who search for answers and end up getting this blog for a reward. I feel that I'm letting people down by not answering these questions, and so I'm going to!

What kind of lotion are we talking about here? As a baseline, I'll use 'skin lotion'. There is an urban legend that suggests a Mexican porn star sells a semen based skin lotion, but alas it is not true. Studies suggest that it does not make a very good moisturiser, as is documented on this reputable web site.

I hope this has answered your question, Mystery Surfer. Please feel free to cum again.

Election 2005

All in all, a good night. Labour's majority has been pruned to a much more manageable level, the Conservatives[1] have managed to show themselves strong enough to act as a genuine opposition party, and the Liberal Democrats made some gains in seats and voter share. Add to that we'll soon get rid of Tony Blair, and that Michael Howard has stepped down, and it's Good News All Round.

I had hoped the Lib Dems would do better than they did, but they still picked up almost a dozen seats (putting the Liberals in the best position they've been in since 1926). A few Lib Dem seats fell to tory challenges, which is a little disconcerting... but overall, they received a major swing from Labour. Even those labour MPs who came through with large majorities found that their overall proportion of the vote had plummeted... in many cases as much as 6%, and in a few 9% or more. The only one that I saw that managed a strong showing was Gordon Brown.

We should see the end of Tony Blair in a year or so - he's now an electoral liability, and whilst a labour win was inevitable this year, the next election isn't going to be so easy to call. Early polls showed that labour would have had as much as a 12% lead if Gordon Brown had been their figurehead, compared to Tony Blair's 6%. Gordon Brown obviously can't just inherit the leadership, but he's shown himself to be a very acceptable face to the electorate, as well as someone with a sterling reputation for competence.

Charles Kennedy hails the result as the real beginning of third party politics in Britain. It's still far from that - the Lib Dem vote (about 23% of all votes) still isn't reflected fairly in the number of seats they received (a little over 9%). Proportional representation would bring the Lib Dems into startling focus (with PR, they'd get around 148 seats). It would be nice to see PR in Britain, although it would need a major shakeup of our system. With PR, labour would have only about 227 seats (as compared with the 355 (at time of writing) they have). Ah well. Maybe some day.

Anyway, a good result all around.

[1] A democracy needs a strong opposition, even if it has to come from a shower of bastards like the tories.