Jp Corkery

Well, I got thorough some more of my backlog of photos to upload here with some so-so photos from a trip to Fota last Summer.

Next up, sifting through the approximately 1500 photos from New York.

Every so often I'm reminded of why cliches are cliches.

Be careful what you wish for.

I'm soon going to be free of a little problem that's been bugging me but I may be losing a friend in the bargain.

I hate when life forces people apart, but I guess we can't all walk the same path in life like some freakish conjoined n-tuplets, all joined at some appendage or other.

Or can we? Where's a mad scientist when you need one?

G4TV reviews X3: The Reunion

Edison Hate Future

I've been going through the archives at Wondermark and I found this webcomic particularly funny given that twice this morning, someone sent an email to the entire company.

Once I'm through with the Wondermark archives it's onto Gone With The Blastwave.

Let's face facts. It's name is not "Puzzle Quest" - it's "Puzzle Crack". Or maybe "Crack Quest". Or maybe "Crack Crack - dear God where is it? I need my fix!" - though that's not the catchiest of titles.

I broke a mouse playing the PC demo. I got my PSP version in the mail and have been playing it every chance I get. When the PC version is finally confirmed (C'mon - this no comment crap isn't fooling anyone!) I'l probably buy that as it's the best version of the three.

Everytime I close my eyes I see the damn game grid full of jewels calling to me.

This must be what a World of Warcraft addict feels like. Shame you can't get WoW on a PSP so you can conveniently take it everywhere with you. :)

If you're a Transformers fan, go to SectorSeven.org and log in with the password 'fwiffo'. Double click the red hard drive on the fake desktop that the site gives you and watch the video clips there.

Awesome.

This is awesome.

That is all.

Rose Walker had it right.

"Have you even been in love? Horrible, isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens your heart and it means someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses. You build up this whole armor, for years, so nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life...

You give them a piece of you. They don't ask for it. They do something dumb one day like kiss you, or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so a simple phrase like "maybe we should just be friends" or "how very perceptive" turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a body-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. I hate love."

- Rose Walker, Sandman: The Kindly Ones by Neil Gaiman

Eh. These things happen. Moving swiftly on....

Last night, a group of us from work went on the Cork City Gaol Haunted History night tour. It was an interesting ecperience even if they didn't tell us too much about the history of the place. We were split into groups and assigned a warden each. They then treated us like we were new prisoners being processed into the gaol.

We were led around the gaol, being told about the life we could expect as 'guests' of the gaol and watching actors play out scenes between prisoners or between wardens and prisoners. Finally they brought all the groups together and it lead into a rather disappointed over-the-top cheesy dramatic presentation at the end of the tour, but everything up to that point was interesting.

I actually found it particularly interesting as a role-player. It was a somewhat interesting exercise to try to get into the mindset of a prisoner though the tour isn't really aimed at that as completely as it could be - probably for the best actually. Last thing you want is a 'warden' mistreating a tourist. Still, there are moments on the tour which try to draw the audience in to experiencing moments in the life of a prisoner, and for the most part it's well done.

There could be a bit more of an emphasis on the history of the prison but the tour already runs at a bit over an hour and they probably want you to go on the day tour if you want to learn that stuff.

Right - more or less all settled into the new flat. Still some stuff in boxes but nothing important. The place has really grown on me, but there's still a few things to do to make it feel more like home.

Watched Slither on DVD last night - cool movie. Great addition to my my zombie (ish) movie collection. Shame it wasn't more successful in the cinema. Nathan Fillion needs to make more movies. And I'm not sure White Noise 2 counts being both the inevitable extension of a horror franchise and the rip off of another horror franchise at the same time.

And picked up a few of the Daily Mail's free Magic & Fantasy DVDs while visiting my parent's house. I've seen Alice in Wonderland, so I put that aside to watch Merlin: The Return. Jesus Christ, was that a bad movie. Merlin, played by Rik Mayall, slips into mannerisms of Richie from Bottom occasionally. In general it's just the wrong kind of bad to be an enjoyable bad movie, though there are parts of it you'd get a laugh out of watching it with mates and mocking it.

And I just realised earlier that I'd made two sets of plans for tomorrow night that couldn't possibly work out together - well not without a time machine. Thankfully I remembered today instead of on the night itself, like I usually do. So tomorrow, I'm off to tour the Cork City Gaol on one of their Haunted History tours with the guys from work. Hopefully it'll be fun.

Well, I'm about recovered from last night's drinking session with the guys at work. We finally got to go out and celebrate the award our project won last November and we were treated to dinner on the company's tab, followed a couple.. a good few... more like a lot of rounds of drinks. On our on expense this time, but what the hell.

Much fun was had, and as the inebriation set in, much office rumours and gossip was shared. Nothing bad - just a bit of harmless fun. All in all a fantastic night.

So no too long from now, I'm off to catch a train to Dublin for another party tonight. Don't know if I'll even be able to look at another alcoholic drink, let alone drink one, but I'll give it a shot for the sake of the party.

Some thing got me thinking about an idea for an Unknown armies game I read somewhere that I wanted to do something with. The I stumbled across The Parking Lot Is Full again for the first tiem in years.

It's full of ideas, each of which could be used for Unknown Armies games. You never need to think of scenario idea again.

Just found out that the next episode of Heroes won't be until late April.

I hate American TV networks. Why can't they just air a show from episode 1 through to the end of the season? It works well enough here.

There's only three Battlestar epsiodes left this year which leaves about a month with no show to be watching. :(

Here's a thought: If Queen Elizabeth bought the new Nintendo console, would that make it the Royal Wii?

Hey - don't blame me! I've been exposed to one too many puns in the office today and now my brain is stuck thinking like that.

One of the most entertaining Will It Blend? episodes yet...

Freaking hell, I may have just found the first movie/miniseries that I'll be waiting for in unbearable anticipation since Lord of the Rings.

JJ Abrams is in talks to adapt Stephen King's Dark Tower books.

Completely unrelated to anything going on today, This is awesome.

And more related to today - Valentine's Day?



They should actually sell love hearts like that. That'd rock.

"That is not dead
Which can eternal lie.
Yet with strange aeons
Even death may die."
- H.P. Lovecraft

Earlier today, Ian Richardson, the voice of Terry Pratchett's Death from the recent Hogfather movie, passed away.

Well, I've just about recovered from the hangover left from last night. I had a work night out last night in the form of a pub quiz followed by drinking until stupid hours. It was a great time spoiled only slightly by the fact that everyone was in the mood to go dancing but we decided not to go near the Qube during Rag Week - a wise choice as I saw the crowds leaving there as I walked home past the place.

On eof the best things about the monthly work social events is that the next day, there's always such a wonderful friendly atmosphere in the office. The day after an event, more so than any other day, everyone just gets along a lot better. Today alone, I've already had a few conversations with co-workers that I've never really talked to before.

Someone better give our Sports & Social committee medals or something - they've actually motivated people to become friends with their co-workers.

Anyway, that's the first night of a busy weekend out of the way. Warpcon's here and while I doubt I'll do any gaming, or even enter teh convention hall probably, I'll be spending a fair bit of time in the Old College Bar this weekend.