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Sheffield, United Kingdom
I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal......

Tuesday 26 October 2010

I fail! =D

Ok, this is a quick notice.

I haven't blogged for a while yet again. No time to do so therefore it's safe to say that my daily blog will not be continuing but rather I will make it 3 times a week or something like that. This way, I can talk about more stuff that has happened over the time in which I write it. Fair play me thinks! :D

Sorry for being a let down.

3 times a week starts......NOW.

Tward

Friday 22 October 2010

Star date 2010: Captain's log; "Some great news"

Hey guys!

Interesting news to come out of today and an added extract that I cannot believe I forgot to mention yesterday. It's so absurd and ridiculous I didn't since it's brilliant news. Get to it in a minute. This blog, like yesterday's maybe be fairly short, as I'm running short on time but I gotta complete my service to the internet have I not? :D

Starting with............The Hobbit, which finally has it's lead man. Like I said previously and like the internet has been saying for months, Martin Freeman (you will know him from BBC's version of The Office as Tim and Sherlock as Watson or Hitchhiker's Guide To Galaxy) has been cast as Bilbo Baggins in the two part film. As always, a link will be at the end of the paragraph for more on this news but my personal view is that this is splendid casting. A British talent who is very familar with audiences, I believe him to be the perfect successor to Ian Holm from the LOTR trilogy. I can imagine him kicking some ass against Smaug. Oooooo it's gonna be good! Can't say much for the 3D plans New Line Cinema have in store for it but since Peter Jackson has a total budget of $500 million (equal to Avatar), I think he will choose to use it wisely. Interestingly enough, for anyone who fancies a bit of trivia, each LOTR installement was made on a budget just under $100 million; roughly $96 million each. That's an overall budget of about $281 million for all three with a profit of $2.9 billion. With this in mind, upping the ante doesn't even cut it. $250 million on each picture Jackson! Make it count homeboy! Look forward to Christmas 2012 (that is if we're still here! I still want my friggin' hoverboard in 2015 and will be super pissed if I don't! Stupid Mayan prophecy! ¬_¬) The Hobbit finds it's main lead - - - - And a few others....

Right, the bit of news I neglected from you lovely people yesterday. This is big big stuff. Two years ago, Hugh Jackman starred in the Wolverine spin-off, 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'. It was safe to say that it was not fantastic. Neigh. It was plain awful with the exception of Jackman being the actual embodiment of Wolverine. Obviously, the film made a huge profit and the studio attached immediately greenlit the sequel within weeks of the original's box office release. Great speculation has plagued the net since as to who will direct the next vision of Wolverine. I can now tell you that Darren Aronofsky ('Requiem For a Dream, The Wrestler, Black Swan, Pi') has officially signed on to direct. How the hell the studio pulled this off I will never know (I strongly suspect Jackman had a role in this having featured in 'The Fountain' for Aronofsky beforehand) but it does beg one question: will the sequel of a spin-off ACTUALLY BE GOOD?! Aronofsky's track record is nothing short of brilliant; with the exception of 'The Fountain' which achieved a mixed response; all his films have been greeted with a great reception especially 'The Wrestler', Mickey Rourke's redemption piece and his latest production, 'Black Swan'. I for one am pretty excited by this news and happy that this particular production is in the best of hands. His talent for dark drama will serve the franchise well; fantastic news! Here's a little piece to get your excitement going! Darren Aronofsky confirmed for 'Wolverine 2'

That's all folks! See you laters!

Tward

Thursday 21 October 2010

Shockingly; I have very little to say................

.............but by the end of the weekend, I will have all too much to tell you and even more by the end of next week! =D

So, yes, I failed my duties as a blogger. I missed a day. God; forgive me please?! :O
But I was ill so I think I need this one exception.....knew you would understand. =D

A sad thing happened today actually. Many of you may see this a triumph, others will also mourn the loss but as I reached to get my amp for behind my sofa, I ripped my All Time Low poster. This was genuinely gutting. BUT...have no fear! I have two others so I shouldn't be worrying too much! It was a case of my clumsiness and general lack of peripheral vision that caused this incident. Yet, this leads me onto a musical point.

I recently joined a band as the sole guitarist. A 4 piece rock band by the name of the Lost Hybrids (link to be left at the end of the paragraph) who are all great musicians in their own rights. Having never been a part of a band atmosphere, I was initially skeptical about what I could contribute to the sessions but nonetheless very privelaged to be a part of them. Well, since then, we've had a handful of sessions, created at least 3 new songs together (with many more ideas floating around), got two gigs with a possible third in the New Year and things are looking great! As time goes by and we hopefully get more shows (and more tickets to dosh out) then it would be lovely for peeps to come down to whichever venue it may be (Grapes,  Plug etc.) and support us. To give you a sense of what we sound like, we wrote a song that mashes the drumbeats of Massive Attack with the distortion and aggressive of many of Nirvana's back catalogue. Whenever we practise, I impromptuly shout "MASSIVE ATTACK!" to signal it's beginning; I'm thinking of using this at some of the shows too. Just for fun. =D

So, yeah, that was today's news! Very boring stuff but this weekend will be limited also. By time constraints; the joys of manual labour, trips to London, seeing the ol' ball and chain who's back from Uni (THAT I can't wait for guys! :D) but I WILL STILL blog to you!

Anyways, I'm off but see the link below for a look at some of the Lost Hybrid's older songs before I joined (Note: none of the songs on the playlist feature me on the guitar; that's something we're working to correct shortly)

Enjoy,

Tward (Assistant to the Regional Manager; anyone get this?!)

http://www.myspace.com/thelosthybrids

Wednesday 20 October 2010

What a let-down!

Damn it guys! I'm sorry! I missed yesterday's blog. Which is annoying cause I said I never would but if you felt the way I did yesterday, you would understand. I was ILL. Like, really ILL. It sucked too much. I could hardly move, didn't eat or drink anything....Yeah, I was messed up! But I have returned from the ashes and look to continue with this blogging business now!

Monday 18 October 2010

Getting comfortable with frustration (the Axl Rose way)

Hey there! Keeping my promise to my two followers of a blog a day!

So two things in the movie world that caught my attention yesterday evening/this morning. The first item was concerning the Jackass franchise and the much anticipated release of the 3rd installment (which was produced in 3D I might add). This feature seems to have become the staple on which the film has been marketed; making it very clear to the audience that the 3D aspect has played a massive part in the film as opposed to simply being used to generate yet more income (Alice In Wonderland, I'm talking about you. You don't deserve your billion dollars) The remarkable thing is that, whilst understandably cinemas charge a more expensive ticket for a 3D showing; 'Jackass 3D' has managed to muster up a $50 MILLION opening weekend. That's right; $50 million dollars. That's the opening weekend of the original movies combined which represents an incredible for Johnny Knoxville's gang and proves that there is still a huge audience for being, well, plain stupid. I look forward to the November 5th UK release with great anticipation; review soon.

The second AWESOME piece of news comes after much controversy surrounding the studio's involvement and dealings with the greenlighting of the project itself. The film in question is the big screen adaptation of J.R.R Tolkien's 'The Hobbit' and frankly, I'm sure alot of you will have heard about the troubles surrounding the production. First it was due to film at the close of 2009 only to be pushed back until the end of 2010 for a 2011 release date and so on... You get the picture. Originally, director Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Blade II) was attached and was involved deeply within many aspects of the production, especially the location and screenplay. He has since left to much disappointment as fans were expecting a darker take on Tolkien's novel, similar to that of his own fairytale, 'Pan's Labyrinth'. Have no fear though LOTR/Hobbit fans; Mr Jackson has saved the day! YES! Production has FINALLY been confirmed for a 2011 start and the cast is shaping up nicely! Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis are back as Gandalf and Gollum respectively with the main rumour being Martin Freeman is set to play the covertered role of main Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins.
Check out more on this story with this link >> http://www.imdb.com/news/ni4979388/ - It's gonna be HUGE! =D

Now to music. Something that made me laugh. ALOT. I hope you will agree. Reports suggest that Justin Bieber is under investigation for the alleged assault on a 12 year old boy........during a game of Laser Tag. Yep; laser tag. I can't remember Laser Tag ever becoming a physical sport. Then again, whenever I play, I tend to turn into Arnold Schwarzennger from Predator or Commando, yelling "GET TO ZA CHOPPER!" and all the various quotes you could think of, so in that sense; I understand. However, I couldn't care less about this story; it's just the circumstances surrounding it. Lol at Justin Bieber quite frankly. Enjoy the ride mate; no one really ever liked you. =D http://www.imdb.com/news/ni4979190/

The biggest piece of music news yet. This one is HUGE. Like, literally, NUCLEAR EFFING WAR. The internet was sent to a frenzy of speculation last night after Duff McKagan rejoined the ranks of Guns N' Roses at the London O2 Arena for 4 songs, including You Could Be Mine. With the recent controversy surrounding GNR's appearances at the Reading & Leeds festival, this slab of news is very much in their favour. And apparently, they've sharpened their act up. Having attended Leeds festival and watched GNR myself, I can say that they definately we're not as bad as I thought but damn it, play the old songs we all love! I couldn't care less about Chinese Democracy. However, despite this, it begs a huge question: with Axl on familar terms with Izzy Stradlin, Duff and Steven Adler; do we have a reunion on our hands? Is Axl willing to do it? It's in the hands of the only remaining original member; Slash himself. Both have famously denied ever playing on a stage together again so will money talk? Who knows? In the meantime, it's great gossip and makes me feel a lot safer that one of my favourite 80's rock bands may still have some integrity. Read more here >> http://www.kerrang.com/blog/2010/10/guns_n_roses_set_for_2011_reun.html

Knowledge exhausted. Time for Dexter and Mad Men. I did promise to discuss Mad Men but I failed to watch it last night. I suck I know. Bad times. But still, it's on tonight fellas!

Ciao,

Tward

Sunday 17 October 2010

Today I feel BAD but once again, I wanna talk about shit you don't need to know! :D

As the title would suggest, I feel ill today which leads me to believe I am coming down with a cold of some sort. I just feel tired and have a MAHOOSIVE headache; the need to sleep is so great I may collapse as I write this blog. However, all is not bad. In fact, despite my health, I'm generally speaking good!

I'm making a conscious effort, above all things, to write a blog each day. If I don't, you can say "Hey Tom, remember on your third blog when you said you would write one a day and today you haven't", then I'll be a) majorly annoyed with myself and b) annoyed I'm letting my huge number of fans/followers down. :)

So, to start with; film talk. As a member of Cineworld's corporate chain of multiplexes, I feel the need for a trip some day next week, mainly because The Social Network was released last Friday. As a huge David Fincher fan, I'm interested to see what all the fuss is about and how the hell a movie concerning the origins of Facebook is a front-running Oscar contender. I know, it baffles me as well! But hey, give the film a chance. I'm sure the 97% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes isn't there for nothing. A review of that will be posted, I'm pretty sure ASAP.

Equally, can I hear a shout for all you Back To The Future fans out there?! I found this video whilst scanning threw the 'net this morning and it absolutely made my day (one of the reasons to be happy on this lazy Sunday). The video is basically a contemporary re-shoot of the film's original teaser trailer featuring the man himself; Michael J. Fox! It's absolutely fantastic to watch. Great nostalgia and if you listen at the end, a bit of classic Huey Lewis & the News makes an appearance! Check out the link > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM6Ms621898&feature=player_embedded

Now to TV. I've been hearing much about a certain show that has received a great amount of attention since it's first season was shown back in 2007. The show in question is called Mad Men. Many of you may have jumped on the bandwagon and seen it already. I'll admit, as a TV whore, I'm surprised that I haven't stumbled upon it any sooner; however, I have acquired the show's first season and am going to begin watching it this evening (HOPEFULLY). It has received rave reviews for literally everything within the filmic scale; cast, set design, story, cinematography etc. You name it; it's been applauded for so I'm gonna give it a chance. If it manages to come close to Dexter, then I may have a new favourite show on my hands! Speaking of Dexter, I also recently got out Michael C. Hall's former HBO classic Six Feet Under. If have never watched it, I seriously persuade you to do so. It's fantastic TV; an extremely dark premise with humour and a great look at family life in America. The show ran for 5 seasons and is often cited as having one of the greatest series finales ever produced (something I very much agree). Get the chance, watch it! No disappointments there!

Blog for the day complete. I've stuck Pendulum's 'Immersion' album on to get the groove going!
See you all on the flip side,

Tward

Saturday 16 October 2010

No more introductions; just some damn good writing about shit you don't really need to know about!

So I must start by saying I'm an Xbox guy, not a PS3 dude. I don't fall for the corporate crap of Sony. Then again, Microsoft is no saint but since I've had the same Xbox for 4 years (that's right, 4 YEARS!) then I'm willing to give them benefit of the doubt.

Just purchased the latest Medal of Honour (YES AMERICA! With a 'U'. Can you actually believe I went there?!) and I gotta say, its makes for some great gameplay. Campaign like most these days, is relatively short and sweet. Got through it in about 5 hours of constant play, on Hard difficulty as well, which goes to show it's not all that tough. Some lovely achievements can be had at this point, fellow gamers so keep your eyes peeled! The game really comes into it's own during the online multiplayer though. Paying a huge debt to the Bad Company series, the format is very similar in MOH and as a result, hours of fun can be had (with even more 'chevos!) with this selection.

Highly recommened to anyone who likes a good first person shooter. Deffo 8/10 for me.
The BIG QUESTION is will it beat CoD: Black Ops? Hate to say it MOH, but from the looks of the multiplayer trailer released last week, you've already been annihlated!

Another new title I got was Dead Rising 2. I'm keeping this short and to the point. The storyline is to fight a MASSIVE horde of zombies and wait out the outbreak for three days. Cue ridiculous amounts of death, stunts, psychopathy, weaponary and sheer fun with this. It is what it is; killing zombies and as a result, the re-playability of the game is vast. Ever feel down? Kill some zombies. It really helps. 8/10

To TV now. I'm a huge fan of pretty much everything (*cough* loved Lost *cough*). Right now though, my time is occupied by Season 5 of Dexter. Just watch the show people! For me, for yourselves and for it's network Showtime. I promise you; you will not watch ANYTHING AS GOOD for a long time. If you're not up to date, then do it! It's darkly humoured and has many intense storylines. Hooked is what I am and so will you if you watch it! =D

Right, I'ma gonna go now. That's enoguh for now. More nerd chat later. Follow me on Twitter for more various ramblings. I'm interesting really! :D

Hasta la viesta,

Tward

Who's that guy?

What up y'all?!

So, yeah. I chose to get a blog. Gotta tell you; it's pretty rad actually. It will come in useful for loads of interesting facts and lessons that I'm sure anyone reading will be most pleased to see. (Most likely not though, I'm quite boring)

Just FYI, I'm a huge nerd so expect alot of chitter chatter concerning movies, music, gaming, TV etc. I'm huge for all that stuff and you will be getting regular DL's about it.

So, to quickly end this very short blog, go to my Twitter to catch up on stuff (IngloriousTward, thank you!) or just wait for a blog to arrive. Don't worry, I'll make it a tale of hilarity and intrigue so you won't be bored.

Peace,

Tward