Currently playing with...
From time to time I pick up something and can't put it down. Here are a few of the things keeping me off the streets and out of trouble, as well as keeping me awake at night...
Playing: Minecraft
I made the mistake of looking at Minecraft after reading a thread on SomethingAwful about it and thinking it was only a few quid and just how bad could this addition actually be? My friend and I went eventually to bed at around four o'clock the next morning cursing Notch, but it was far too late by then...
Currently kitting out an underwater dome, but problems with pictures are preventing me from fully realising my dream.
Reading: DPRK & 1Q84
The Kindle has been gathering dust for a few months since I've acquired a stack of dead-tree format reading material about the DPRK - the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or North Korea for short). In no particular order:
- Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick
- The Aquariums of Pyongyang by Kang Chol-Hwan
- The Dark Tourist by Dom Joly
- Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader by Bradley K. Martin
- Pyongyang by Guy Delisle
- The Cleanest Race by B.R. Meyers
These were interespersed with other non-DPRK books, such as Aron Ralston's 127 Hours and Bob Zmuda's bio on Andy Kaufman which I'd wanted to read for some time. I'm still contemplating a trip to the DPRK.
Currently I am ploughing my way through Haruki Murakami's 1Q84 after I picked up the complete set on eBay for a few pounds. The style isn't great and the story seems a bit cheesy in parts, but it's an easy read and I'm quite interested in seeing where things end up. Will let you know how that goes.
Watching: SBS Running Man
Since UKTV is dominated by mindless talent and reality shows I've been casting around for something interesting to watch from other shores. SBS have put together a brilliant show in the form of Running Man - a simple game/variety piece made all the more awesome by the interaction of the contestants who are all famous in their own right and some of whom have worked together for years.
In early episodes, each show took place at a given landmark and the contestants, divided into team, would have to compete against each other to win. Losers would have to pay a forfeit in the form of dressing in hotpants and going to a local shop, or dressing in drag and helping customers in a shopping mall. The actual punishment varies and is really only to have an end to the show - the main focus is the interaction, rule-bending and laughs that occur as the presenters try to trip each other up and win.
You can find episodes on YouTube (Ep 1: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10) but they're low quality, split into chunks and full of ads. Much better is to register at isubs-squad.com (who sub the episodes) and get the
links to the 720P subbed AVIs.
Listening: Dub FX and Billy ze Kick
My following of music styles ground to a halt around the turn of the millennium and I haven't really moved on much since then, so pretty much everything since 2000-something has completely passed me by and I don't have a clue what the kids are talking about these days.
For the last year or so I've been a big fan of Dub FX and I'm patiently awaiting the release of Dub Mafia's first albumn after seem them live on the Dub FX tour. More recently I've been listening to the three (soon four!) Billy ze Kick albumns I've picked up over the years. If you ever completed MDK on the PC then you've probably seen the BZK video for Non Non Rien N'a Changé, but go check out Mangez Moi for pure trippy-ness. I don't understand a word of the lyrics, which makes it perfectly relaxing.