GTA V: Delayed

 

Today It was announced that GTA V would be delayed from spring to September

 

noooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Rockstar Stated: "We know this is about four months later than originally planned and we know that this short delay will come as a disappointment to many of you, but, trust us, it will be worth the extra time. GTAV is a massively ambitious and complex game and it simply needs a little more polish to be of the standard we and, more importantly, you require."

 

Still its gonna be one awesome game and here are some reasons why its going to be even more epic than the previous GTA!

 

There are planes to fly again!!!! And planes need space to fly and apparently the worldwide space is bigger than LA Noire, Red Dead Redemption and GTA IV put together!! Now that is gonna be huge! Expect fighter jets, crop sprayers, airline jets and parachutes!

 

 

There are also numerous other ways to travel including cycling, quad biking and look a submarine!

The whole underwater world is accessible to!

 



 

That's just some of the reasons why to get excited! Yet not to much as we have to wait till after Summer!

Yaay

Shameless: News on the final series

So 2013 sees the final ever series of Shameless! Its been on our screens since 2004 and will finish this year in its 11th series! There have already been 125 episodes and the final 14 will wrap up what has been an amazing, revolutionary and iconic British drama created and written by Paul Abbott.

 

Last week filming was completed and numerous photos have appeared online of the "wrap party" and there was a few new and old faces there!

In fact it was confirmed early in January that numerous old cast members will be returning. If you don't want to know who will be returning skip the next paragraph:

 

 

Along with the current cast: Monica, Lip and Carl Gallagher, Kev Ball and Yvonne Karib are said to return for the full 11th series with Fiona Gallagher returning in Episode 14. Some of these characters were seen at the wrap party. A young girl on twitter @JadeKilduff uploaded images of her with numerous cast members, she is possibly to play the child of one of the old returning cast members? There may also be a few other familiar faces in there! Here is me hoping that Debbie Ian and Liam also return along with Mickey!

 

 

The final series will be broadcast in spring and will definitely be an emotional ride for the cast and the loyal fans! Meanwhile the American version has just been renewed for its 4th Season and has just started its 3rd.

Shameless, set on a typical council estate in Manchester, was one of the first shows that pushed the bar with its story lines and controversial issues. The show looked closely at crime and poverty along with other issues such as prostitution, homosexuality and racism. The show contained graphic violence, nudity, scenes of drug taking, sexual references, criminal activity and scenes of a sexual nature. But the way the show was filmed and the types of characters didn't provide a dark and serious drama but a lighter feel with added comedy. The show was shocking, disturbing yet hilarious and occasionally touching. The characters are well loved by fans and have seen them grow with some characters being on the show since they were children.

 

 

 

Shameless has been one epic award winning drama and has had a long run; but once again good things have to end and it is now Shameless' time. Lets hope that it will have a big send off and I am sure that Paul Abbott will see off the show well!

 

Don't forget you can catch up with all 125 previous episodes on 4od and 4od on youtube. Do what I'm doing and rewatching them all before the final series starts! #shamelessrewatch

 

I'll let you all know when more news on the show and the final season comes up!

 

THIS IS OUR ENGLAND NOW

Told ya snow! January's Weather

So about two weeks ago I mentioned the potential phenomena that was "Sudden Stratospheric Warming" and its affecting on cooling the atmosphere over a period of 2 weeks meaning the UK could possibly experience very cold temperatures and significant snowfall. Well it happened and like in 2010, the SSW was followed by cold temperatures and with the amount of wet weather the UK is getting recently we saw a lot of snow as well!

I also mentioned about the possibility of having images similar to 2010 when satellite images showed an almost an entirely white snowy UK, well we got one of them this year to:

 

and here it is, not as spectacular as 2010 and this was already after some melting in the south but still a pretty epic picture!

This was the image from the 26th of January the final dumping of snow which saw a foot fall in some areas of the Pennines. It was also the day before the big thaw and another image shows the following day with little snow left.

Also, note the tiny little spec of green that is in North West England? That's Lancaster the only place with no snow in the North of the UK! 

 

January Weather:

• January was colder than average for the majority of the UK apart from Northern Scotland which saw a warmer than average January.
• It was infact a drier than average January, even with all that snow! But we missed out on the many winter storms which we are seeing this week.
• It was duller than average also.
• Max Temp: 14.5C which was recorded over the last few days
• Min Temp: -13.6C not as serious as the temperatures from the 2010 cold spell.
• Widespread snowfall similar to that of 2010.

So an interesting start to the year, but will it be as wild as the weather seen in 2012? So far it seems possible.

 



Utopia

Whilst I have been ill today I have watched the first two episodes of Channel 4's 6 part drama. It was something that I wanted to watch but missed the first two so not having much to do apart from run to the toilet and have lots of medication, I had time to watch.

And I am so glad I did, as it has been one amazing yet horrifically gory shows!

The show written by Dennis Kelly is a conspiracy thriller following the story of a group of youngsters that have possession of an underground graphic novel named Utopia which is thought to have predicted future events over the past century. There possession of this document is meant they are being hunted by some government body known as "The Network."

The drama is very dark in places, with some gore including numerous torture scenes which are pretty graphic. But the style of the show and pace, revealing things slowly to keep the viewer guessing, all make an engaging and enthralling viewing experience. The use of vibrant colours and camera work is also excellent.

The first two episodes are available on 4od and the third airs tonight at 10pm on 4.

Where is Jessica Hyde?

Utopia: An ideally perfect place, especially in its social, political and moral aspects. The word is used to describe communities that attempt to create an ideal society.

It is the opposite of Dystopia; a community which is undesirable and frightening.

Man Flu

Man Flu; a phrase that refers to the idea that men, when they have a cold, exaggerate and claim they have flu.

However, this week an article in The Telegraph looks at how neuroscientist Dr Amanda Ellison believes that men really do suffer more from colds and coughs than women. Her studies show that men have more temperature receptors in the brain which causes them to experience symptoms more severely.
The area of the brain that has these temperature receptors, used to increase temperature to fight off the bugs, is larger in men than woman and means that they feel rougher.

So why, you say, am I doing a blog on Man Flu?
Well it is because I myself as I write this am in bed nursing a severe illness :(
I have had to take two days off from my job and I believe I don't have man flu but something more serious, such as food poisoning or the dreaded noro virus!
My symptoms: Vomiting, upset stomach, headache, achy joints, severe cough, no voice and a lack of energy!

Poor old me, I hope I feel better soon!!!


 

HS2

So today details were announced for the High Speed Rail Route Phase 2 and the cost a whopping £32Bn!

So the details:

 

The First Phase Route goes from London Euston through Birmingham and the Second Phase goes North of Birmingham splitting; with one route going to Manchester via Manchester Airport and the other through Toton, Sheffield and ending at Leeds.

 

Birmingham to Manchester will have a journey time halved to 41 minutes.

Manchester to London will take 1hr and 8 minutes an hour of the current journey time.

Birmingham to Leeds will be cut from two hours to just 57 minutes.

 

Trains will travel at up to 250mph.

 

So all good for those that travel between these cities, right?

 

The argument:

Predicted economic benefits have been overestimated by the government.

The countryside will be significantly spoilt by the high speed line.

Thought that the North will not benefit from the new link as it will see people travelling to London and not in the opposite direction.

Extremely expensive at £32bn!

The Line is only set to open in 2032!

The journey time between cities is already generally short!

The money could be invested in other areas of the railway.

Critics claim it will only be used by the rich and not benefit the majority of taxpayers who will never use it.

 

My opinion

I think the government should not spend money on this scheme which is reducing journey times for an already relatively short journey. The money should be invested in areas of the railways that need it the most! For example, the train line I use quite often from Clitheroe to Manchester is always busy and overcrowded with commuters travelling to Manchester and shoppers at the weekend. Money should be invested in lines like these that connect the smaller towns to the cities, with more carriages on trains, new and modern trains that don't brake down and don't just look like buses! The train time for a relatively short journey takes 50minutes from my home town to Manchester Centre. If this was reduced with newer, faster and more frequent trains it would economically improve the smaller towns in the North with vital improved links to the city. It would also reduce traffic problems for those that travel by car into the city. There is so much more potential in these lines and on occasions have had many more people on them than I have ever seen on Mainline trains. Improving the journey times and experience of travelling on these lines including improving stations and parking would see them used much more and reduce traffic on our roads. Okay so yes, it will create jobs and we'll get some swanky new trains and stations, and Manchester Airport will probably benefit, but £32bn to reduce such little time off a journey on a route that is relatively reliable at present? This money can be spent on the smaller lines that the majority of people use. I'll still have to use the crappy little trains to get to one of these new lines. These need improving more!

 

The Scheme has been widely criticised by many but will the voice of the taxpayer be heard?

Raving in a Winter Wonderland

So this weekend I visited another city on the other side of the Pennines and once again the snow tried to stop me in my tracks! This time it was to Leeds, for a night out in the city to celebrate the 10 or so mates birthdays that are dotted around January! I left work at 5 on the Friday and the snow had already coated the entire of Lancaster, which doesn't happen very much! I was undecided as to whether to attempt to drive or to get the train. I ruled out taking the A roads cutting across to Leeds and had began to hear reports of problems on the M6, M61 and M62 all roads I was to be travelling on. So I managed to find that there was one train available which was on time from Preston to Leeds and got there with a few minutes to spare. Parked the car and got on the 2 hour train and arrived on time to an extremely snowy Leeds City Centre.

 

After going across the city centre and back after going to the wrong travel lodge I finally was ready to go out! The snow at this point was about an inch or two thick! So a normal night out followed going to bars and clubs such as Tiger Tiger and Oceana (which had beds in it!!) but of course it was really quiet as the snow had stopped many from going out! Many snowball fights and snowmen making occurred in between bars also!

 

It was a really really good night out and made even better that it was snowing and that I managed to make it through all the bad conditions! It was a good job I didn't decide to take the motorway with people getting stuck on the M6 for 8 hours overnight!!!!

 

The snow was so thick and even the busy city centre roads were covered completely!

 

Malcom Kelly: From LOST Star (Waaaaalt) to Pop Star

Well look who it is? It's only the return of Malcolm Kelly!!! This time he's not fighting polar bears on the LOST island however, he's singing in and rapping in a new pop duo!

"MKTO" is the name of which stands for "Misfit Kids and Total Outcasts" and this is there debut single "Thank You"

It's already got over a million views and its available to download in the UK right now!

 

 

Check out their video below and look out for the following LOST Easter Eggs:

• Picture of Vincent
• Comic Book
• Polar Bear ornament
• "Faraday Physics" on the Chalk Board
• Blast Door Map on the Chalk Board
• "Room 23", "Deus Ex Machina", "Sawyer" and "Jack" on the chalk board.
• "XXIII" (23) on the chalk board
• "Smoke Monster" in a can.
• And the main one being Harold Perrineau aka Micheal (Walts Dad) in LOST walking past in the street.

Being a huge LOST fan I loved the video and think its pretty good song, get buying!!!

 

Thank You

 

JJ Abrams from Star Trek to Star Wars

Yes you heard it right! Last night it was revealed that JJ Abrams isto be the new director of Disneys Star Wars, Episode VII. The creator of TV shows LOST and Fringe and director of Cloverfield, Super 8, the Mission Impossible films and the new Star Trek films is reportedly set to direct the next SW episode!

George Lucas is set to have an advising role on the project, but it seems JJ's story telling and directing skills are what have landed him in the position!

Abrams is currently working on Star Trek: Into Darkness which is out later this year, but it seems that JJ is set to be the king of sci-fi after taking over these two major franchises.

It hasn't been confirmed by Disney or JJ Abrams but it is said to be aimed for release in 2015.

JJ is good at making amazing characters that the viewers have a real connection with and will keep to the old Star Wars feel as he has done with Star Trek.

So what are we expecting from the new Star Wars? How much will the latest trilogy be connected to the previous films? Will be seeing old characters, such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo? Surely, Harrison Ford will make a return being the most active actor of them all.

Whatever the outcome I am sure it is going to be one amazing film! Especially, with the amazing work he has done on Star Trek, in pleasing original fans as well as bringing new viewers.

Is JJ gonna Lens Flare all over Star Wars?



Chatroulette me maybe?

Okay soooooo a video has been brought to my attention which is both a little disturbing but damn right hilarious! It is definitely a must watch!!!

Been online since October and has over 2,250,000 views!!!

What do you guys think!!! :)



Build Snowmen to reduce flooding!

As the big freeze begins to ease, the next big worry is flooding from all the melting snow! There has been some significant snowfall over the last week and the melting snowfall along with further rain across the weekend will increase the risk of flooding severely!

 

However, the Environment Agency today came up with some good advice to reduce the risk of flooding which everybody can do and something that is really fun!

They said to build lots of snowmen!

So why build snowmen? Well compacted snow takes longer to melt, so as the snow begins to melt, the large piles of snow and of course snowmen stay around a little longer which means less meltwater entering the catchment!

 

Get building folks!

 

A New ITV image

So 2013 sees a new image for ITV, it has spent millions of pound on its major rebrand with the development taking over a year to be completed. It is linked to the ITVs aim to compete with other broadcasters.

Along with a new logo, the rebrand covers the itv news, the website, all itv channels and the 'Idents.' The idents introduce numerous season-specific designs with video footage featuring real people, capturing moments from everyday life across the UK.  Daily Telegraph

The last logo was introduced back in 2001 and people have got used to the old design and I personally think that its still a fresh and appealing design!

However, the new logo looks less appealing with the majority of the public disliking the new image, stating it looks like a crayon drawing or the outline of a human bottom or that the letters look more like a w and a v. However, the logo brings personalisation with the colours and idents matching the seasons throughout the year and the tone of different programmes and channels. The ITV news has a blue design and itv2 branded with a bright red logo. Another major change is that the main channel itv1 will now just be known as itv.

So still after a few weeks since the launch of the new image the logo and design is still not warming with the audience, is it something that will grow? Or is it truly a very bad design?

In 2008, the BBC were criticised for spending £550,000 on a new logo with viewers complained the swirling red globe left them feeling nauseous and dizzy.

However, the logo is now something that I personally love and like how they change that depending on the time of year and shows that it precedes.

So did itv really need to change their logo? And is it as bad as the London 2012 logo first time everybody saw that?

 

Bastille

Bastille are the latest band to hit the radio waves with their smooth and relaxing sound with an indie kick! They have only recently formed in 2010 and have just been signed by Virgin Records. To me they seem to be a mix of The Vaccines, Mumford and Sons and Two Door Cinema Club which is great as they are some of my favourite bands!

 

They have released numerous singles such as Pompeii, Overjoyed and Bad Blood and have performed at numerous UK Festivals in 2011 and 2012. Their most popular single Flaws along with numerous other songs have been used in TV advertisements. Their dual cover of both Snap!'s Rhythm is a Dancer and Corona's The Rhythm of the Night, was recently used to advertise Dancing on Ice in the run up to its 2013 series. It was also announced recently that they were supporting Two Door Cinema Club on their UK tour

 

Bastille performed for Radio1's Live Lounge this week in a week of Live Lounge Specials celebrating the nominees for the BBC Radio1 sound of 2013. They played their song Pompeii and a cover of Bruno Mars "Locked out of Heaven" with a bit of Rhianna and the XX added in their too. Here it is! It sounds Fantastic!!!!

 

 

One of the best live lounges I have heard and better than the original by miles!

 

Here is their most recent single anyways its Pompeii!

 

Definitely take a look at their other material they are fantastic and they are sure to be around lots in 2013!

 

 

Winter's icy grip on the UK

So the UK is once against grasped in another severe cold spell with significant snowfall across much of the UK. Numerous weather systems have been circulating in the cold air brought down from the Arctic and have been producing considerable quantities of snowfall. Some locations have seen snowfall over a period greater than 24 hours. I myself, spent the weekend in Sheffield and there was a large amount of snow already on the ground. During my stay over 2 nights it snowed more or less non-stop adding to the already deep snow.

Luckily main routes and railways have been generally kept clear after the first band of heavy snow, though many smaller side roads are very treacherous.

Okay, so everyone already knows that but here are some stats from the latest wintry weather:

 

Snowfall Depths 21/01/2013 MetOffice

Northumberland 26cm

Londonderry 18cm

West Yorkshire 17cm

Cumbria 17cm

Lincolnshire 13cm

Somerset 11cm

 

The South West and Wales was worst affected at the start of the weekend, with the midlands and North East worst affected today. Though all of the UK from the Lake District to London have had heavy snowfall and a good inch or so.

The North East and Scotland is set to have snow tonight and tomorrow, followed by a brief respite to snowfall until the end of the week. Though temperatures are to remain very low and the risk of ice becomes significant.

 

Signs of change towards the weekend however with Southerly winds bringing much milder air is on the cards.

 

Though we haven't seen the temperatures as low as previous winters, such as 2009-2010 we have seen a lot of snowfall, in fact the prolonged spells of snowfall have been significantly longer than seen previously in recent years.

However, another year of heavy snowfall making it the 3rd or 4th in a row? Is our winter weather changing, is it getting worse? Another blog shall be posted on that shortly!

 

Here is a picture I got sent from home of my doggy in the snow!

 

Lancaster however has had very little snow, none of which has really stuck! Lucky us :(

Blue Monday?

So today is apparently Blue Monday, the name given to a date in mid January said to be the most depressing day of the year.

The day allegedly falls on the Monday of the last full week of January where the weather, debt, the time since Christmas, failure of New Years Resolutions, low motivational skills and the need to take action are all used in a calculation to find the dullest day! All nonsense of course. I very much doubt that today was blue Monday for many people who had a day off work or school to enjoy the snow and the weather!

I myself had a good blue Monday and haven't felt at all depressed!

 

The man behind the idea is Cliff Arnall, there is some understanding for this day and the usual Monday blues combination with winter blues.

Arnall has also calculated that the date of the happiest day lands around the 20th June.

 

So Have you had a Blue Monday?

Jeremiah: The Snowman that cost 14 pence

Here is an extract from the story that is ... my life.

One cold winters weekend, Adam and his friends visited Sheffield. They had had this weekend planned for some time and were very excited indeed. The reason for the trip was to see another friend, one that they had not seen in a very long time. Though they had not planned that the trip to Sheffield was to be a wintry one, they were very surprised to find that heavy snowfall had brought a thick fluffy blanket of snow across the city! This meant that even more fun was to be had; and even though they were in early adulthood they still found it appropriate to play in the snow. The weekend consisted of drinking games, gingerbread biscuits, films, crazy locals, pubs, arctic monkeys and clubs! Not particularly in that order however. There was great hospitality and they felt very welcome in their friends house. There was a lot of reminiscing of past times at university and many a laugh. However, the fact that there was snow made the weekend even more fantastic.
It felt to Adam and his friends that they had travelled to a magical winter wonderland on the train, from a very un-wintry scene they left behind at Lancaster, and that they could have been in the Alpine Mountains. Sledging was definitely on the cards along with many snowball fights. Some of Adams friends fell off the sledges at times, to much of him and his friends amusement and lots of slipping and sliding added to the humour.
Finally, a snowman just had to be created! The group of friends didn't take long to begin and also realise that the snow was to powdery to make a huge snowman so they built a small one. Adam rolled its lower body and another friend its upper body and another friend its head. Two perfectly symmetrical twigs were found and looked just like the snowman wanted a hug. A smaller twig was used for the nose and two 5 pence pieces were used for eyes and four 1 pence pieces used for its mouth and a bow tie, he even had some grassy green hair! He was the most perfect snowman anyone could ask for and they were excited to see if he came to life during the night. They named the little one, Jeremiah and left little J so they could do more sledging. Whilst there backs were turned a group of younger children attacked Jeremiah in a vicious and unprovoked attack. He was maliciously assaulted, beheaded and disemboweled. The attack was seen by Adam and his friends and they were truly horrified by the seen. Many screams and cries were heard during the brutality and the young children fled the seen taking the snowman's facial features with them.
Since the assault Adam and his friends were scarred for life, but that did not stop them enjoying the rest of the weekend.

RIP Jeremiah 19/01/13 2:26pm - 19/01/13 2:34pm

 

Avicii

So February sees the latest release by Avicii set to hit the clubs throughout the year! Anddd its another great tune! YES I am a fan of Avicii and he has had some great hits, including "Fade Into Darkness" "Silhouettes" and of course "Levels."

Levels was definitely the song of 2011 and was played constantly whilst at UNI making it an amazing UNI anthem! It was the perfect song to rave to in the clubs and have alongside pre drinks and also a great tune to get you in the mood for the weekend!

 

Avicii is the stage name for Tim Bergling and he is from Sweden in 2012 he was ranked number 3 on the top 100 DJs. For a time he went by his real name of Tim Berg and had the hit single "Seek Bromance" which is one huge tune!

 

So here is his latest one: its I" Could be the one to set you free." Okay so it's not going to be as huge as levels but what do you think, is this another great dance hit?

 

 

Never mind being in the field, I was wearing most of it!

Last week I was out in the field alll weeek down in Somerset!

I had a really good time and found it all very interesting. This was my first major field work trip in my new job and saw me hammering in corers to collect Soil Cores! The work was a little more physical than I was expecting as there was there was a lot of heavy equipment to carry around the field and from the vehicles.

We were collecting soil cores from different locations around Somerset looking at different fields, including grassland, arable, Willow and my good friend Miscanthus! Yes the huge crop was back again and this time it was even thicker! It was also more difficult to get through because of the heavy equipment I was carrying.

I was beginning to think I was cursed during this trip however, as everything seemed to go wrong! Whenever I was with the 1m corer named "Trevor" it broke every time! Not my doing like, but it took a while to get it fixed. One of these times I went to find another colleague that was doing the smaller cores and as soon as I arrived there, she lost one of the pins that was used in the instrument and there was no spare!! Luckily I found it after ten minutes of looking through all the leaf litter and mud!

But everything else went well and my curse rubbed off.

Apart from being cold the weather was great and was nice and dry! However, the fields were still muddy and the constant kneeling and sitting and bending over for instruments meant that I was caked in mud! In fact I thought I was wearing more mud from the field than what was in the field!

During this trip we were staying in an old cottage in the village of Horton. It was very old, dating back to 1857 and had been a holiday cottage since 1987! I read through the old guest book from back then and was pretty funny what they had written. The old cottage was pretty spooky, there was many a small doorways and creaky floors. With a huggeee log fire and some really old furniture it was cool but very spooky. The guest book showed that others thought it was spooky stating they had had no paranormal experiences! Luckily neither did I! :)

I also saw no big spiders which had been mentioned in past guests comments.

Overall, I had a great trip, I ended up coming home early to avoid the snow, which was a good thing as it snowed for the entire trip back the night before and the news today showed Somerset with a deep blanket of snow!

I did come out with a few injuries including a big lump on the head from some equipment! And cuts and bruises from the Bramble and Willow. I almost got stampeded on also by some deer that were in the Miscanthus about 4m away. After stopping to shout for a colleague an almighty crash of falling miscanthus saw three deer running through the crop! Didn't half make me jump though!

But yes all in all a great time!

Bring on the next!   

Significant Snow

So a few days ago I posted about Sudden Stratospheric Warming and its relationship with cold weather. Over the last week this theory has been proven correct with cold weather and snow showers but today is the biggy! A weather system from the Atlantic pushes in across much of the UK and collides with this cold air! The weather forecasters have warned us of this heavy snow for some time now and have produced numerous weather warnings.

 

The majority of the UK apart from Northern Scotland and the far South West has a Yellow Warning for heavy snow accumulating to depths of 2-5cm.

Parts of the Midlands and Wales have an Amber Warning for heavy snow accumulating to depths of 5-10cm

Also a severe Red Warning is in force for South East Wales which is expected to see 20-30cm of snow. Red Warnings are rare and are not often seen with snowfall and shows the met office are aware of the severity of the snow.

 

So the weather stated that snow was to begin to fall across Western parts of the UK from around 5am this morning however, travelling back from Somerset myself last night from 5.30pm, for the majority of the 5 and a half hour journey there was heavy snow. It seems the weather forecasters didn't see the first wave of snow before the heavier stuff hits!

But travelling back yesterday showed the scale of the weather system as it was snowing from Somerset all the way up to Lancashire.

The snow however, stopped as getting into Lancaster (as usual) and there is no snow cover.

 

However, the rest of the England and Wales is set to see heavy snow throughout the day matched with strong winds creating blizzards and drifting snow. The sheer amount of snowfall will only be seen after today and it will be interesting to see how much snow fell across the areas worst affected and the extent of the snow!

 

Stay safe in the snow folks!!! (If you have any) 

A Talented Young Brother

My little brother is a cleeeever little boy, he's currently studying at sixth form and planning to go to university to do graphic design! With all this studying comes a lot of coursework and doing media and graphic design he has some cool things to show off.

 

I even starred in one of his videos, lucky me, and this awesome little video, is a stop animation film. Called "The Dream" the video shows a young man (me) falling asleep doing work (my dissertation) and I dream that everything in my room comes to life whilst I sleep! Take a look its cool.

 

 

In fact it's soooo cool that it was featured on the Coldplay website, one of the "hypnofeed" videos annndd was nominated for an award at the Underexposed Film Festival. Which was awesome as I got to go and see myself (and my big nose) on a cinema screeeen!!!

 

Anyways he has his own business http://www.darganmedia.co.uk/ so anyone looking for any graphic designy things check it out!

 

Finally, here his latest video called "Utopia" is based on the theme of Dystopia and filmed in Holland and the UK. Most of his films are art and it's your interpretation that matters.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq87fBGTVTc

 

So, my little brother, clever isn't he?

Sudden Stratospheric Warming and an Icy Britain

January so far has been warmer than average but this week the UK is about to be engulfed in cold icy conditions with snow forecast for many parts of Scotland and England tonight and tomorrow followed by below average temperatures from Monday onwards.

 

However, recently scientists have been looking closely at a relatively new area of science and how abrupt changes in the stratosphere are affecting our weather. Forecasters have been monitoring abrupt increases in temperatures way up in the stratosphere and that it is actually warming which is a possible precursor to cold weather in the UK. This phenomena has been given the name of Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) and in 2009 forecasters saw a similar rise in stratospheric temperatures which was followed by extremely cold temperatures  and most of the UK being covered by snow.

 

However, the science is not strongly supported at current, not all SSW events have led to cold spells and not all cold spells are a result from SSW. The forecasters struggle modelling forecasts when this phenomena occurs and find the atmosphere to be very complicated and variable. Confidence is growing though, that this SSW event is about to cause cooler conditions. Whether it will be as severe as the 2009 and 2010 cold periods it is not sure. Snowfall is predicted over the next few days and cold temperatures are to continue into next week.

 

Whatever happens, monitoring SSWs is very interesting and a new area in scientific investigations and monitoring. Understanding changes in the Stratosphere and their relationships with the atmosphere and our climate, may give a better long term forecasting technique.

 

Will we be seeing scenes like this again?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fringe: An Enemy of Fate

 

Fringe Is one of my favourite TV shows of all time!!!! It started off in 2008 a few years after the start of LOST and with the same producer it was another amazing and inventive show! However, all good things come to an end and FRINGE is running up to its final few episodes!!! *sadface

 

FRINGE was one of those shows that always kept you engaged and the development of the characters and their relationships with each other and the viewer have allowed the producers to make an emotional and strong back story throughout the last few seasons.

 

So yes its another one of those American Sci Fi shows, but this one has been majorly different, unlike Heroes, Flash Forward, Terra Nova and other endless Sci Fi shows that tried to take on LOST like storylines but failed and ended with them being cut short. Fringe was one that continued to engage their audiences across the world!

 

Fringe follows a group of FBI agents that deal with abnormal, paranormal and unexplained occurrences in what is known as the Fringe division. The majority of episodes had its own plot but others included information on the over arching mythology of the show. In recent seasons the show has focused on the back story of the characters,

 

The show has explored, genetic mutations, teleportation, precognition, talking to the dead, cybernetics and most recently parallel universes and alternate timelines. This final season has seen "The Observers" take over the planet and the Fringe gang are part of the resistance!

The show has been very graphic in places and this was the first trailer of what was to be an amazing show:

 

The characters are really what make the show and their relationships and struggles throughout the seasons. Each character has its individual iconic characteristics and Walter Bishop is one of the best characters on TV and this video will tell you why!

 

 

Yes he is the crazy scientist and is an integral role in the show but does come out with some great one liners.

 

The show was so inventive in many different ways and had an episode which involved them all taking drugs so they could extract information but turned the world into an inception type cartoon for a full episode! Recently also a Monty Python type episode was aired.

Fringe has been one of the most amazing shows and as JJ Abrams states in the video below: having such a worldwide and dedicated fan base is fantastic and getting a show to its 100th episode too is something that is special.

 

 Though the show and all its characters will be dearly missed, they have had a great run and the 100th episode marks the final hour of the season finale. Expect many a tears in the finale, entitled "An Enemy of Fate." 

The series will conclude on January 18, 2013 in the USA but in the UK The series finale of FRINGE will air on Saturday 19 January at 1.10am as a simulcast with the US East Coast broadcast. It will also air in the show’s regular slot on Wednesday 23 January at 10pm



Finally I thought I'd leave you with this video of the Fringe Cast at Comic Con 2012 getting emotional talking about their favourite Fringe scenes.

Thank You to the producers and directors and the cast of FRINGE for making one of the best TV shows of recent years.

All good things come to an end.

Help I think my eyes are glued!

Okayyyy so there have been many a dreams over the last week some of which included my dog coming out in the field with me with work and trying to keep her quiet in the hotel and getting lost in crop fields but none of any strange and large quantity. Until last night...

 

So I had a nice lie in this morning but had some crazyyy dreams! It all joined into one but the main story went something similar to this:

So I was on holiday somewhere, nice and warm but there was a wedding... whose I aint sure, but I was all suited up and absolutely roasting! There was a lot of tourists and my little cousin kept playing in the road so I had to grab him and tell him off, but a relative then told me off and said to just let him do what he wants.

Next thing I remember is waking up - in the dream and my eyes being glued together! And not being able to see anything!!!! Running around for help, asking if someone had glued my eyes shut! They soon opened and I was fine...

....another section involved sitting in a café on holiday and got chatting to a few people and then some of my good mates came over and started shouting and stressing at me for making new friends!!! They were really angry and so I ended up arguing and ran down to the beach.

At this beach there was a little river coming down from the town and I just stepped in it and it was boiling hot!!!! However, there was little children playing in the water and they had had there hands and feet sellotaped up so that the water didn't burn them.... very weird yes.

 

The dream continued I think but I cant remember much more.

Yes not one of the most exciting dreams, no zombie apocalypses and no world domination!

 

My top 12 moments of 2012

2012 was a great year and so many amazing things happened in my lifeeee. Here is my top 12 things that I did in 2012 in chronologicalisedish orderings....

 

 

Roses 2012

Around May time at the start of second term Lancaster University hosts one of the largest inter-varsity events outside of America with Lancaster taking on York University in sport events over a weekend! The name of the competition is Roses! I had an integral role this year being a director and camera man for LA1:TV in the swimming pool! Lancaster won...wooo! :) and adding the TVness ness on top of the already amazing weekend it was a great weekend and one I will always remember!

Sicily: Volcanology Field Trip

Over Easter I went to Sicily!!!!! To see Mt Etna and its volcanic activity which was exciting :) Time was spent with great friends during all the field work and the many meals we went out for. Our poor understanding of Italian was hilarious, bum sliding down the side of Mt Etna was also fantastic and very very drunk night out in Catania was a bonus! Though the night sleeping on Gatwick floor was not fun!

 

Grandad and Eileens Wedding

In 2012 my Grandad and the lovely Noona tied the knot in an amazing ceremony and having all the family there was fantastic including the clan from Holland!

 

 

Jubilee Weekend

This weekend was a very patriotic one all the nationwide festivities was amazing and tv coverage and celebrations on nights out. I also went up to Darwen Tower to see the lighting of one of the jubilee beacons aswell as seeing the little brick rocket lit up in red white and blue!

Coldplay

I got to see Coldplay which was one of the best gigs I have ever been too.! They have amazing songs and the atmosphere was electric. The fact the entire audience turned into a disco light too was epic, though my wristband didn't work :( fail.

Grad Ball and Extravs

So the end of Uni arrived and there ensued some very emotional few weeks realising it was all over! But also some of the best nights out ever! Including Grad Ball and Lonnie Extrav!

T in the Park

A very wet weekend in Scotland?! Hass to be T in the Park! And my it was wet with 2ft flood mudwater across the majority of the festival it was a bit bleak but that didn't dampen spirits and the bands and artist we went to see were amazing! Two Door Cinema Club, Snow Patrol and Kasabian definitely were some of the faves.

Tilt Head Here

Holland

Soon after a family holiday in Holland was on the cards and this was amazing! Got to see a new county and see were the new family members live along with a Dutch Theme park and the sights sounds tastes and smells of Amsterdam. Also there was a taste of summer and a pinch of bikes with a seasoning of alcohol!

My 21st

This was not a seasoning of alcohol, more of a huge dollop! This party saw all my family members make lethal cocktails and them pouring wine in all my mates gobs!

I don't think there was a single one of my mates or family that was not hungover!

 

London and the Olympics/Paralympics

So I managed to get tickets for the Olympic Park but not an event but that doesn't mean I couldn't soak up the atmosphere and be there on the momentus occasion! The park was so cool and the atmosphere just out of this world! Got to see some of the sites of London too and also a Circus in picadilly circus and millions of feathers!!!!

Gran Canaria

As we came into winter we jetted off to see the sun! Though it was in short supply there too, a few tropical thundery days so the pools flood, the hotel leak and the beach eroded away. But the sun did come out and met some awesome people and had a merry old time

Christmas

Finally, Christmas! Who doesn't think its one of the best times of the year! It was especially good as I could spend the whole run up to it at home which hasn't happened in a while :)

 

 

All in all a fantastic year!

how about yours...