News Archives
Confessions of a Real-Time Content Junkie
Posted on 04/02/2005 at 15:19:08 by MakTheYakIt's true, I can't get enough of it. It's my major weakness. I'm sitting here with my RSS feeds open, several web browser tabs open with the latest piece of news or comment in them and wondering why I always get the feeling I have no time.
It's simple: there's just too much out there to take in. There's comics, news feeds about 1001 different topics and forums... don't start me on forums. What a great idea the forum is, a place where anyone can log on and share their ideas with anyone else who might be interested. Trouble is I'm interested! I'm interested in far too many things for my own good. And it wouldn't matter if it was just me, but so is everyone else! There's always new content to read somewhere and it's stopping me doing the things I know I need to do! I'd stop looking at it if it weren't for the fact that I'd think I was missing out. Which I probably would be.
Did you hear about...? Did you see...? What do you think about...? How can I possibly answer these questions if I'm not up to date with whatever they are on about? I don't want to sound ignorant by saying I've never heard of the new report on the recent development of bi-pedal anteaters, now do I? I don't want to say I haven't SEEN the latest video of the new Nintendo DS game because it would sound like I don't care or am not interested, which I am.
If anyone has any suggestions on time management for a guy with far too much to do that can spend up to a whole morning catching up on his unread email and various web sources of information and entertainment, please get in touch. I need your help.
Subscribe to the Yak Shack news feed and be a content junkie too!
On a completely different note, I made a big step in digital evolution last weekend: I threw away my floppy disks. We live in a world wher eI no longer think the floppy plays a valid role. It's slow, it's prone to errors like no other medium I know (apart from maybe the ill-fated water cracker drive, which kept getting clogged with crumbs) and it holds practically nothing in the way of data! Why these things are still around I just don't know. For those of you who still use them, please consider getting a USB flash drive. You will never look back, trust me.
Meet the Fockers (sequel to Meet the Parents) is a very funny movie. I'd say not quite as good as the first one but still very entertaining and worth a look. At least it can't be as bad a sequel as Legally Blonde 2.
I can't remember if I mentioned this before but I will be going to the Bristol Comic Expo to try and get a bit of publicity, maybe sell a few items and to hang out with my mates John and Liam. Should be fun, so if you're in the area drop on by and come to see me. I'll even draw you a sketch! More on that nearer the time, but I think that's on the 14th-15th May. Keep those dates free...
Jeff Sprouts A New Comic
Posted on 17/01/2005 at 14:53:35 by MakTheYakJeffrey Rowland, who I mentioned in the news post directly below this one as it happens, has posted the first of his new comic, TV Network Channel. It looks good! I think there will be a lot less continuity than in Wigu (which I still highly recommend you read, now at its new location) but that's definitely not always a bad thing. I am looking forward to reading this thing on a regular basis! Check out the first strip. If you are not convinced come back a few weeks later and check it out again with all the new strips, as it's difficult to judge a comic on one strip alone... be fair now!
Long time no news!
Posted on 15/01/2005 at 12:47:00 by MakTheYakHappy New Year to you all! I hope that you have not broken all your resolutions yet.
First of all let me apologise for the length of time it took to update the news! It's a problem that when there's a lot going on that I could talk about there's not enough time to write it up! So sorry about that folks...
OK let me fill you in on what's been going on. I have moved house to a bigger and better place. Of course the downside is that it costs a lot more and so I'm having to work in the evenings to keep up rent payments! The plus side, apart from more space to store my junk, is also a bit fo a down side considering the time of year but living further out of town means I have to cycle into work every day. So with any luck I will maybe lose a bit of weight in the process! I can only hope.
I finally have a digital camera! That means that hopefully I will be able to set up an online photo album and if you are bored enough you will be able to go and looks at my snaps. But I won't force you to don't worry.
The other day we got The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures as it finally came out over here like 6 months or more after it came out in the USA. Not that I'm bitter but if I'd known it would take so long I would have imported it. Let me just say it's a totally amazing game! If you have a Gambecube and a Gameboy Advance you need to get this game and get some mates around who also have gameboys because it makes it even more fun! It's a collaborative adventure where you are working WITH each other more than against. There are four Links which you control a certain number of depending on how many players there are. You go in a house or cave and the action moves from the TV screen to your GBA so the other person/people can continue playing on the main screen. It's so much fun I can't even start describing it! If you played the Four Swords that came packaged with A Link To The Past on GBA you have only had a tiny taste of what it's like. For goodness sake what are you doing here? Why aren't you buying this game??
Hey guess what? I got Freeview! I mean I got it before but my ariel wasn't good enough or something. But here at my new place it works! Hooray! It's amazing how quickly you get bored of 25 TV channels instead of the usual 5. I'm just kidding, it's not that bad and it's useful to be able to watch all those shows that they confine to the "extra" channels. There are also two Music channels there as well. Now one thing I have noticed about music TV is that it's not really as good as the radio. You have the TV on in the background and you kind of get distracted and end up sitting down and watching the damn thing. That just doesn't happen with the radio. Do I have a point? No not really. Just an observation.
Geez if you got this far well done! If you didn't well... you suck! But you didn't read that so it doesn't matter.
Sad news everyone! WIGU has ended its run. It was a quirky little comic that was definitely a little strange but highly entertaining and consistantly funny, and it will be missed by its thousands of readers. Still Jeffrey Rowland, the man behind it all, has plans for another strip which he is secretly working on which I'm sure will be great! If you want to read it the archives are still all online which is great, but I think I'll be buying the books when the third and final year is published. Three years! Imagine that. And he updated every one or two days. That's dedication! Makes my weekly update seem a little paultry!
Talking of paultry, most update schedules seem that way when compared to Derrick Fish's of Dandy And Company's daily update regime. And guess what? Derrick was kind enough to dedicate a whole page in the second issue of his bi-monthly comic, ANTHROlogy, to me and Roz. I drew him 3 guest strips for his guest week and Roz wrote in a fan letter and between those we took up a whole page! The comic book in question is a Special Edition featuring artwork from Scott Kurtz of PvP and a crossover with the PvP characters. You can buy the excellent comic book here (it's Dandy & Company: ANTHROLogy 1 & 2) as part of a double pack bundled with the first issue. It's a bargain - look at the price! Go buy and make Derrick a happy boy!
OK I think that's it for the time being. I'll make sure I get back into the news updating swing of things, OK?
Wallpapers are on me!
Posted on 15/12/2004 at 10:52:59 by MakTheYakWell what do you know? Wallpaper! Lots of it! Seriously guys we have so much wallpaper you could probably print all this off and decorate your lounge! But you wouldn't want to. There is a whole bunch of Pirates! wallpaper - one for each character plus a group shot - and there's even one for the much under-used Cyber Pub comic which has caught my imagination again recently. Fuel up on all your wallpaper needs here!
I recently got a brand spanking new Nintendo DS! It's pretty fantastic I have to say. The launch titles outside of Japan have a bit of a way to go but it's a solid system and has sold about 2 million units so far I believe. Compared to Sony who sold only 200,000 odd of their units since launch (although admittedly they didn't produce many more than actually sold) it's no wonder Nintnedo have always been on top of the handheld market. Mario 64 DS is a remake of the N64 classic with a few twists - you can play as Mario, Yoshi, Luigi or Wario, but you have to unlock them to do so. Also to unlock are lots of mini games which make full use of the touch screen (and are really good fun!). I think that mini games are the way forward with this thing. Play Feel The Magic: XX/XY and you'll see it's just a collection of mini games wrapped into one big game with a rather weird story. Same with Wario Ware: Touched (which has only been released in Japan so far but I'm looking forward to its English language release). Of course if it's not for mini games the touch screen doubles very effectively as an analogue control stick. It's a new experience using a frictionless control stick and quite a pleasent one too. I'd recommend anyone who likes games to get one... and if you don't like games then you should try one as I know people who have played it and got one despite a history of not being particularly into games :D
If you are looking for a DS or anything else for that matter then spare the Yak Shack a thought. You can buy a lot of stuff off the internet these days and now you can help us out here at the 'Shack at no extra cost to yourself! If you look to your right you will see a menu bar which has the option to "Do Us A Favour!". I'm currently listing Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com (for our American customers), Lik-Sang and Play Asia. Everyone knows (and probably uses) Amazon, so why not search through the 'Shack? It costs you no extra and we get a cut of Amazon's profits to help run this place! And if you decide you want a Nintendo DS (good idea I say) then buy from Lik-Sang or Play Asia by clicking through this website. Seriously, it's like 10 extra seconds of your time (less if you are already looking at this site!) and I would really appreciate it. It's a way to show you care without spending anything! That and I'll really appreciate it and be forever in your debt. Or something. Cheers guys!
Incredible
Posted on 02/12/2004 at 13:28:10 by MakTheYakWell we went and saw 'The Incredibles' last night and really I think that is the ideal word to use to describe it. Incredible. The story is fantastic - and let's face it where would a movie be without a good story? Lots of twists and turns and a fantastic climax. And what's more it's laugh out loud funny practically all the way through the movie. The 'camera' work is great and that animation is amazing. I really think that this is a film that everyone can enjoy. Pixar have really pushed the limits on this one and we see great effects like realistic fire, crazy explosions and the hair is getting better with each movie! First there was Sully's hair and now this! It definitely has a more adult tone to it somehow than previous Pixar movies but the kids will still love it - that's a difficult balance but it's there and it's definitely a good thing. Anyway, enough of my extolling - just go and see the movie if you haven't already and make your own mind up about it :)
Oh and if that wasn't enough there is a great little animated short in front of the movie called "Boundin'" which is great fun, so don't be late!
Valve released Half Life 2: Deathmatch the other day and I've had a little bash at it - overall it is great fun and with the gravity gun available as default it makes for a rather new deathmatch experience! You can pick up pretty much any freestanding object (filing cabinets, desks, steel drums, etc.) and pelt it at people with force, which is quite fun. But it really changes the way you play. First off while making a great shield, whatever you are carrying really kind of obscures your vision and so making your way around with a 6' desk right in your field of vision isn't the easiest of tasks. Second of all watch out what you are carrying. If you decide to carry a drum full of flammable liquid it will explode on impact - very handy. But if someone spots you and shoots the drum it's going to explode in your face! Nasty. Lastly it's quite fun to engage in a friendly game of catch. If someone lobs something at you you can hit the trigger of your gravity gun at the right moment and catch it! Send it rocketing back at equal force and see if they can catch it. Try that with an explosive barrel and it suddenly becomes a little more interesting :)
Oh! And don't forget to check out Wacky Comics - I did a guest strip for Liam over there. Random but delightful!
