This Shit's Chess, It Ain't Checkers...

Yes as you may have noticed I haven't posted in a good couple of days and this is probably due to a few different reasons A) I just haven't thought of much interesting stuff to post about, B) I've been very busy chasing my bitch of a landlady for my deposit from my student accommodation C) I haven't been on the computer much at all because I've hardly been at home.

To be honest it is probably more down to reason B than anything else. If I'm not doing more tidying at the house I'm chasing her down on the phone, on my way to Coventry to meet her or on my way back from Coventry after she has cancelled said meeting. I think I'm nearly there now though as she said she will hand the cheques over on Thursday when I meet her at the house, we'll see though...

Urban Dead Update

Well it has been a rough few days for Alfonso Durant in the world of Malton. The other night I was left standing around all evening in the middle of the street. Obviously one of the un-dead saw me and decided to take a chunk out of me and nearly killed me until my hero a mister "AI Zombie" came along and not only took down the living dead piece of shit but also went to the trouble of healing me back up. Then yesterday I almost did the exact same thing again after taking down a zombie and building my points up I have two action points to make it to a building and just about made it. Today I took a couple of swings at a zombie but alas, no kill and I easily made it into St. Christopher's church in Shearbank.

Hopefully the barricades will hold out until tomorrow...

Doing Something Different...

I love street art (NOT Graffiti) and always have, always will. No matter what other people say, in my opinion it will always be the most accessible form of art for everybody. I especially love it when new artists enter the scene with something brand new that has never been done before.

This piece was created by a very clever lady named "Anna" from Baltimore but placed in Manchester. I have to say that the use of textiles within the street art world is a very rare thing but this is absolutely genius. Like good art it looks great and gives you something to think about.

Lets hope that she keeps up with this and comes up with some more pieces. The bad thing about any art is that someone can create an amazing piece but then disappear as quick as they came about.

People Ask Me Why Adi Granov Is My Favourite Comic Artist of the Moment ...

See for yourself.

Rocket Science

Could this be the next "Rushmore" or "Squid and the Whale" or just another cheap imitation? Watch the trailer and hazard a guess yourself...

Urban Dead Update

So it has been a few days since the last update and not a lot had happened until tonight. I logged on to start exploring more of the map and moved from Rolt Heights into another green area of the map, Pashenton. Here I killed my first zombie which moved me up a level and left me with enough XP points to buy a new skill. I decided to go against the advice of Rich and Stu who told me the "Free Running" skill is the best to buy first and purchased the hand to hand combat upgrade which gives me a 40% chance of hitting someone with my axe. I then moved into the suburb of Earletown which is yellow on the wiki-map. Here I attacked my second zombie of the day but alas no kill this time. With 5 moves left I decided it was time to set up camp but every building I tried to enter was strongly barricaded so I couldn't enter! I'm now waiting for my points to build back up and I hope I get enough soon otherwise I'm stuck standing in the middle of the street all night!

It could be game over for Alfonso Durant!

When Does Buying Become Collecting?

I was thinking about this after we had a conversation at work the other day. When exactly do you become a collector? Now I buy and own A LOT of shit including DVDs, Comics, Cd's and Toys amongst other things. Even though I buy and thoroughly enjoy all of this stuff I wouldn't refer to myself as a collector of the bulk of it.

For a start I own well over 4 short boxes worth of comics but I really wouldn't call myself a comic collector more of a comic reader.

I say this because I'm not trying to have complete runs of stories, characters, appearances etc. This to me is the behaviour of a collector. I'm a massive fan of Ironman but it is not one of my missions in life to have every comic with an appearance from Ironman in it. I just happen to have the comics that I have because once I have read them there is nothing for me to do with them. I suppose I could a) sell them, b) throw them away/give them away or c) just wait for the trade paperbacks. Now both options a and b would just be me wasting my money and I like the fact I have the opportunity to re-read things. Option c is better but some things take ages to be realeased as a trade or never get released. I also like reading my books weekly as I know there is always something coming.

I am exactly the same when it comes to my DVDs. I do not buy new releases just down to the fact that it is too damn expensive.

I only buy films that I like (or get given ones I don't) and I only get them when they are cheap enough. Now for instance I have wanted both "The Departed" and "Children of Men" for ages and when they were new they were £22.99 and £17.99 but the other day I got them both along with "Garden State" for £20. If I were a collector surely I'd be double dipping all the time for the best version of the film?

The only thing I would really class myself as a collector of would be toys. This is really strange as well considering the fact that I don't actually own that many.

I rarely buy toys nowadays and I have to be really, really impressed with them but when I do I am reminded of why I do buy them. I suppose it is kind of like buying a piece of art that you can have to look at, enjoy and keep. Again though there is this conflict of whether I am a collector or not because most of my toys come straight out of the packaging and go on display. Don't collectors keep them in the boxes?

So when do you become a collector of something? Let me know because I really have no clue whatsoever.