The South Downs National Park

The South Downs has been granted a National Park status, the first in England since New Forest, and the ninth overall. Plans for it to be designated a National Park has been laid down since 1947, but it is only today that the status has been granted, albeit unofficially. Personally as a person who has enjoyed my times walking and cycling up the South Downs, I can't think of a better location for a new National Park in Britain.

The South Downs National Park is blessed with great scenenary and trails. From the rolling chalk uplands to the river valleys of Seven Sisters, you will find it difficult to find something you do not like.

Sony Walkman 16GB NWZ-S739 for £99.99

It is now actually cheaper than the NWZ-S639. For those who does not know, the NWZ-S739 is like the S639, but comes in a brushed metal case and includes a pair of Active Noise Cancelling in-ear headphones. They sound great, runs off an intuitive UI, has great battery life, works with BBC iPlayer content and is MTP/UMS compatible - meaning no proprietary software needed to load music into. Not too shabby if you ask me, especially for those who did not take advantage of the S639 offers a couple of months back.

Total Wipeout is totally rubbish

Today was the first time I watch an episode of BBC Takeshi's Castle rip-off Total Wipeout. You would think that something ripping off the Japanese obstacle course classic series would be funny, but it isn't even close. The show was unfunny, takes itself too seriously and the cringe worthy 'witty' lines quipped by the idiot contestants made it barely watchable. Richard Hammond's commentary was also unnaturally dreadful. He sounded boring, which I am not surprised considering the shit editing.

Rubbish.

Camera Obscura tour dates

Glaswegian twee band Camera Obscura has announced their North America tour dates in support of their new album, My Maudlin Career, due out 20th April. These dates are in addition to the already announced European tour. I have already heard parts of My Maudlin Career and I can honestly say that this is one of their best work yet.

Europe

16th April - Paris, La Maroquinerie
21st April - Newcastle, Academy 2
22nd April - Manchester, Club Adademy
23rd April - London, Shepherd's Bush Empire
24th April - Leamington Spa, The Assembly
25th April - Sheffield, The Leadmill
26th April - Glasgow, The Barrowlands
29th April - Belfast, The Stiff Kitten
30th April - Dublin, Andrew's Lane Theatre

Americas

27th May Nashville, TN, Mercy Lounge
28th May - Newport, KY, Southgate House
29th May - Chicago, IL, Metro
30th May - Minneapolis, MN, Cedar Cultural Center
1st June - Denver, CO, Bluebird
2nd June - Salt Lake City, UT, Urban Lounge
4th June - Portland, OR, Wonder Ballroom
5th June - Vancouver, BC, Commodore
6th June - Seattle, WA, Showbox
8th June - San Francisco, CA, The Fillmore
9th June - Pomona, CA, Glasshouse
11th June - Los Angeles, CA, Henry Fonda Theatre
13th June - Mexico City, Mexico, Lunario
15th June - Austin, TX, Antones
16th June - Dallas, TX, The Loft
18th June - Birmingham, AL, Bottletree
19th June - Atlanta, GA, Variety Playhouse
20th June - Carrboro, NC, Cat’s Cradle
21st June - Washington, DC, 9:30 Club
22nd June - Philadelphia, PA, T L A
24th June - New York, NY, Webster Hall
25th June - Boston, MA, Somerville Theatre
26th June - Montreal, QUE, La Tulipe
27th June - Toronto, ON, Lee’s Palace
29th June - Columbus, OH, Wexner Center Ohio State University
30th June - Pittsburgh, PA, Mr. Smalls

Debaptism

Now Mr Hunt has become the pioneer in a rejuvenated campaign for a way of cancelling baptisms given to children too young to decide for themselves whether they wanted this formal initiation into Christianity. (BBC News)

This piece of news irks me as much as loony religious people. Really, how can you counter or undo something that never happened? This debaptism thing is equally as stupid and futile as baptism. By promoting such a waste of time, they are actually accepting that baptism meant squat - which it does not. These National Secular Society people are now borderline loony, almost a caricature of their religious fundamentalist enemies. The fact that they are selling a ritual to cleanse oneself of a sin (religion) is nothing more than ironic considering that is the whole basis of the faith they think they are opposing.

Jesus fucking Christ, get a grip.

Battlestar Galactica: Daybreak part two (spoilers)

I'll be lying if I said I haven't shed a tear. Such is the greatness of the Battlestar Galactica (2004) franchise and its profound effects it has on me. Sure, it is just television, but boy was it great television. Nothing comes close to BSG.

Like the previous episode (the first part of "Daybreak"), the finale is intertwined with flashbacks of main characters. Not an awful decision I have to admit, but I did have my doubts about the air time. Some previous plot holes were plugged, and it is nice seeing Tory getting her comeuppance. The CGIs were actually underwhelming actually. I do hope they fix those in the DVD or Blu-Ray release - especially those old school Centurions.



Best part of the finale? Too many to list. It had that good feel ending, where everyone finally settled down (even Helo!) but also some emotional moments. The scene where Adama realises that Roslin was dead was just heart wrenching to watch. It would be daylight robbery if Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnel does not win any awards for this finale. Oh, and Cavil going "frak", then blasting his head off was also memorable.

I do have a little beef with the way it ended. I do not buy Apollo's reasoning that the only way of ending the cycle of violence is through the total abandonment of technology. To me that is just too cheesy and unrealistic. First they had no proof that Cavil's forces were totally wiped out, and second, no matter how sincere people are, they would not just abandon their comfort (at least forever).

Still, I love the finale, and I love BSG even more. It wasn't the greatest ending (nothing will ever come close to beating Six Feet Under's finale), but at least it tied up some loose ends, even if it took some pretty uneven writing to do so.

8/10

Adama chastised the UN regarding 'race'

Too frakking right.

So say we all.

This is what you get when you buy budget re-release

Now be a good lad and buy the proper release with its nice unspoiled cover-art before they sell out.