Miguel Sanchez

Deep Impact (1998): Emotionally manipulative bullshit. Morgan Freeman is the leader of the free world and I'm cheering for the meteor to destroy the earth. Rain Man (1988): The Wikipedia page for this film claims the film raised awareness of autistic spectrum disorders when it was released. I can only hope this is true, because watching it just made me feel very uncomfortable. Tom Cruise is an android who learns how different humans think. The day after I watched this Lisa's Substitute was on TV, so the film remains the second best thing I've seen which ends with Dustin Hoffman leaving on a train as the main character ponders how he altered their view of the world and themselves. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001): I went to see this on a school trip when it was released. It was probably the first film I'd seen based on a book I knew, and since I was 9 I'd obviously read however many books there were at that time enough to know them off by heart. The film was not a perfect recreation of what I had seen in my mind, so naturally it was the worst thing in the world. Watching it now, I realise I misunderstood it. Absolutely hysterical. No wonder Americans think British people all talk that way. Underwater (2020): Kristen Stewart has seen Alien at some point in her life and obviously felt like shaving her head and running around a narrow, poorly-lit engineering location in her undies. The main difference is that Alien has tension, suspense, action, characterisation, coherent camerawork and good acting. I've just looked it up and discovered it apparently cost at least fifty million dollars to make. It must have gone on waterproofing Kristen's eyeshadow which remains flawless throughout. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019): I saw about ten minutes near the end of this when it was on TV as I went to bed. I decided to watch until I could understand what was going on. Someone who isn't Tobey Maguire does some extremely unconvincing CGI to try and stop a guy from using a bunch of drones to make it look like Tower Bridge is being attacked. My understanding of Marvel is that there about a hundred films that are all like this. God help us all.

I got a haircut for the first time in a while a couple of weeks ago. He asked for £10 and I was so surprised it was so cheap and my hair was so long I gave him £15 out of shame.

"I had forgotten about it until I reminded myself of it by doing a bit of research" The longer Jane Lewis remains employed to talk about things to an audience the more I think it's an elaborate ruse to see how long it takes anyone to notice that she's about the least suitable person on the planet for the job. Maybe it's only P&B that's realised.

I think Baracus stands alone in the P&B weirdness stakes.

Trying to bait strangers on the internet into potentially giving money to charity because they annoy you is a bit weird.

I really fancy going on a cruise. Can anyone recommend any companies?

Meh. It took a couple of tries on Classic difficulty but mainly because I kept outbraking myself.

The Belgian version of Elton John. As amusing as the national anthems have been over the past few years, there's something really undignified about it.

FK1Bairn on the morning of the big day:

Week 30 update One death this week, newsreader George Alagiah: George Alagiah: 'Brilliant, kind' BBC journalist and newsreader dies aged 67 - BBC News There's a lot of detail about his life in that article as well as links to others. In the time I've run this game and the time I've been aware of who Alagiah was I only knew him as a newsreader, but some of the events he covered as a reporter are pretty significant and things which needed to be reported on. In a world where it feels like more bad stuff is happening than ever there's almost a disconnect because of how fast it comes and how accessible it is. To me the notion of journalists covering a story and being integral to the public's perception of the events are fading, and reading about Alagiah is a reminder to me of a time when news was news, and there was an implicit sense of trust in the people telling you the news. He died at 67 so he's worth 58 Base Points. He was a popular pick, with a bunch of people getting Base Points, one Vice-Captain bonus for 87 and just two of you naming him Captain for 116 points: 58: @Aim Here, @Arbroathlegend36-0, @Bert Raccoon, @Billy Jean King, @Bully Wee Villa, @cdhafc1874, @Desp, @Donathan, @Enigma, @Fuctifano, @HI HAT, @Indale Winton, @lolls, @LoonsYouthTeam, @Mark Connolly, @Michael W, @Ned Nederlander, @pawpar, @Priti priti priti Patel, @psv_killie, @pub car king, @Savage Henry, @Scorge, @Shotgun, @The_Craig, @The Master, @thistledo and @weirdcal 87: @DG.Roma 116: @kilMARKnock and @Herc As a result, the standings look like this: 1. JustOneCornetto 405 2. psv_killie 376 3. Arbroathlegend36-0 288 4. Desp 264 5. LoonsYouthTeam 245 6. The Naitch 240 7. gkneil 234 8. Arabdownunder 228 9. buddiepaul 226 10. Billy Jean King 225 11. Mark Connolly, weirdcal 224 13. qos_75 221 14. peasy23 220 15. amnarab 219 16. Ned Nederlander 209 17. Miguel Sanchez 199 18. Herc 190 19. Bully Wee Villa, cdhafc1874 192 21. lolls 180 22. Donathan 179 23. Shotgun 170 24. Bert Raccoon 169 25. D.V.T., microdave, throbber 166 28. Ludo*1 162 29. chomp my root 161 30. Savage Henry 159 31. Michael W, pub car king, The_Craig 157 34. Aim Here 155 35. DG.Roma 154 36. The DA 153 37. sophia 148 38. Karpaty Lviv, Scorge 145 40. Indale Winton 142 41. Sweaty Morph 140 42. alta-pete 139 43. get_the_subbies_on 138 44. Frosty, HK Hibee 134 46. Fuctifano, HI HAT, thistledo 125 49. kilMARKnock 116 50. ThomCat 115 51. doulikefish, tamthebam 111 53. Melanius Mullarkay 110 54. Arch Stanton, mozam76 101 56. Lofarl 99 57. Oystercatcher, pawpar, weemac, willie adie 97 61. atfccfc, Ray Patterson 96 63. HTG 95 64. djchapsticks 94 65. Moomintroll 93 66. Enigma 90 67. dagane 87 68. ParsJake 86 69. sparky88 84 70. blackislekillie 74 71. Jimmy Baker 71 72. ICTJohnboy 69 73. paulathame 68 74. lichtgilphead 67 75. expatowner 60 76. German Jag, Priti priti priti Patel, superbigal, The Master 58 80. Dunning1874, sleazy 55 82. Empty It, The Hologram 48 84. DeeTillEhDeh 42 85. Oceanlineayr, Salvo Montalbano, Shipa, statts1976uk 39 89. 10menwent2mow, dee_62, mizfit, parxyz, scottsdad, senorsoupe, superwell87, Suspect Device 32 97. choirbairn, Derry Alli, stanton 31 100. BillyAnchor, Christophe, Lex, PWL 29 104. Everyone else 0 The spreadsheet has also been updated with these scores: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RxCIfczRUmrRrW79tUQ0vJ5KaHZpYENsTKmDqW4X3W4/edit?usp=sharing

The only good Foo Fighters albums are The Color and The Shape and Wasting Light. The rest are almost all completely forgettable filler, and even the good songs are all very generic and just missing something that makes them actually memorable.

Thanks to O2 adverts I've heard a Lizzo song for the first time in my life: Just hideous.

Anyway, The Shaggs have popped up in my suggestions again:

Limmy fan, by any chance?

The Hearts top looks like a pair of jammies.

Lots to take in for that Accies outfit. The thick stripes and black collar screaming 'Doncaster.' The logo on the shorts being in the middle of nowhere and looking very small. The socks looking like JJB own brand. No irons within a five mile radius of NDP.

A Quiet Place Part II (2020/2021): Did A Quiet Place need a sequel? Not really. Does it need the further sequel it's getting? Not really. Does it need the prequel it's getting? Not really. Does it need the video game it's getting? Not really. At least I live on an island. Armageddon (1998): Spectacular. Surprisingly hard to follow when they're actually on the meteor, even by Michael Bay's standards, but still spectacular. There's also a character in the credits listed as "Nerd" which I found hilarious. Arrival (2016): A genuinely great film, ironically spoiled by the fact I'd seen it before. The visuals and premise of the first half are still engrossing though. I'd like to live in Amy Adams' house. Braveheart (1995): Quite possibly the strongest concentration of nonsense ever committed to film. Robocop (1987): The world's worst police force fail to protect capitalism's wet dream. Capitalism tries to replace them with robots. Hilarity ensues. The first time I saw this I thought it was rubbish and lacking Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Ironside, the more I see it (I think this was the third time) the sadder and less dated it gets.

Away goal could be crucial for Hibs here.

hahahahahahaahahahaha

If I was a Hibs fan I think I'd rather they went out. If they're this bad against a bunch of Andorran postmen, what would they be like against a real team?

Interesting framerate on the iplayer.

Mafia: Definitive Edition (PS4, 2020) In Mafia you play as Tommy Angelo, a cab driver in the city of Lost Heaven who has a chance meeting with some Mafia guys one night. He has another chance encounter with the same Mafia guys a few weeks later, whereupon he's invited into their boss's restaurant to interview about giving up the cab and becoming a wheelman for the Mafia. What follows is a stunningly realised period piece, with 1930s America the backdrop for an assortment of open world driving and shooting. I never played the original Mafia, either on PC or PS2. I've played 2 and 3, although 2 was so long ago I can't really call on it as a point of reference. Either way, the Definitive Edition of Mafia rebuilt the entire city and re-voiced the characters. I understand that this might affect the way players of the original think of the game, but it doesn't apply to me. As a result I can say that Lost Heaven is absolutely remarkable. In terms of capturing the aesthetic of the time period I've not seen something this successful since L.A. Noire. Every detail of the world is stunning. The vehicles, the buildings, the music, the environment, every part of it. Each area of the city feels distinctive as you drive around. You could honestly just drive about for a few hours, listening to the radio and following the speed limit and be quite content. Things are a bit shallow in terms of what you can interact with, but the scale and detail of the achievement is to be admired. I think I said something similar when I played Mafia III, so it's clearly a developer that knows what they're doing. Mafia is old enough that the open world aspect is old enough to separate Story Mode and Free Roam. The story has chapters where you start a mission and finish it before moving straight to the next one. Free Roam is separate. As someone longing to see Driver make a return like this, I can respect that. It does make the world feel slightly hollow though. There's no benefit to exploring aside from a few period collectables and the chance to unlock some new cars for your garage. But then in Story Mode you get given good cars every time anyway. It almost feels like this fantastic world was made but rather than really let the player loose on it, it's just... there. Maybe it's just me. Maybe open world games have changed too much. But for a remake, couldn't you update this one thing? Gameplay is functional. Driving is a strange experience. I don't think you could slide cars from the 30s the way you can here. There's a deliberate way of driving them that can make police chases awkward if you need to make sudden turns, but they're still manageable enough that you can overcome it. Cars also have a fuel gauge and a speed limiter, so if you do spend lots of time in Free Roam you can pull into a garage and give a kid a nickel to fill er up. It's quaint, but it's a nice touch. There are also guns, melee combat and a bit of sneaking available, and they all work well enough. Aiming can be a bit vague but if you pop in and out of cover headshots almost become a formality. The story itself is good. It's classic Mafia story stuff. Lots of characters with the usual names. The standalone missions can make some of the minor characters feel inconsequential. For instance, one mission Tommy walks the bar owner's daughter home. Later on, they're married. Later, he's not coming home on time and his dinner's cold. He has a daughter. I don't think his daughter is even named. Character development only really happens for Tommy, then Sam and Paulie, the two guys he meets at the start. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with this, but the game starts by introducing you to a bunch of people who you think are going to be important who quickly become part of the background. Still, I like the development of those three over the course of the story. The voice acting on all three is great too (my apologies to the original cast), and it's just all very believable. Maybe because there's a similar structure to all those Martin Scorsese films but it feels easy for a game like this to fall into cliches and tropes, and outside of everyone being impeccably dressed I don't think it is. To be extra critical, there are references made to the Great Depression (and the general misery of the 30s) but these are always just in the background. Radio noise, posters on a wall. I think the possibility to make a real social commentary exists here, but the lack of immersion in the world hinders it. There are only twenty story missions. A modern sandbox game like this would have at least double that and probably twice as many characters. Ultimately, there are a few occasions where I just feel like the game could have done more than it did with what it had to work with. One thing I've just remembered after finishing that I'm putting in here. One occasion where you feel disconnected from what's going on is a mission near the end, where you need to break into an abandoned prison to climb the guard tower so you can assassinate a politician giving a speech. The prison has been taken over by homeless people who meet you with a range of responses - attacking you, calling you a fed, telling you to leave, or insane babbling. Things like "I lost an arm in France for this" written on the walls. The level comes out of nowhere and is a genuinely haunting experience. It comes and goes with no mention before or after. This is the sort of thing I mean, something that could be explored further and given context. Instead you just have something off-putting, rather than truly haunting. Since I didn't play the original, I can't say if this is the sort of remake of a beloved game I'd be happy with. The obvious care and attention paid to the world is fantastic. The story still holds up, and I could see this as something I would have spent a lot of time with if I has it on release, when I was 12 years old. That's probably all I can say about it.

Time for this touching tribute to get another airing:

dryhorce said to be devastated.