ScotlandGer

Journey is an absolute triumph in every sense. The first time I played it, I met up with an experienced player and it was one of the most memorable gaming experiences I've had. And then, when it got to a particular level (you can guess the one I mean) the other player exited the game and I was left to go on ahead, alone, and ... well, it was emotional. I've been through it countless times now.

Just noticed that SF. I was going to give it a bump myself tonight, funnily enough, to see if any one's still playing this. I've left a post over there.

It's a cracking wee game. When I was looking through for solutions to the puzzles, I stumbled on this video which made me laugh and dug it up again. Plus, Dark Souls 2 - it is awesome. I'm about ten hours in and still just probably at the beginning

I was going to give the Dark Souls 2 thread a wee bump, but this is probably a better thread. There is a Youtube gaming channel I watch quite regularly who have just started a play-through for Bloodborne, and that looks an amazing game. It's a PS3 I've got, so can't get Bloodborne, so fancied catching up with Dark Souls 2 and picked it up for £10 in ASDA. And, wow, I'm absolutely hooked now. It took a few aborted attempts, and very nearly gave up completely, but I'm really starting to understand this game now. It's seems impossibly difficult, as I've never played a Souls game before, but I can see I'm getting better and starting to progress. Although I did shite-bag it out of a boss fight last night. I completed Braid a wee bit back which I picked up over Xmas for £4 and I would highly recommend this game. It's a difficult puzzle-platform where you manipulate time to collect pieces of a jigsaw. Again, it's highly addictive because you always seem to be on the edge of solving puzzles. Although, it does seem like a slightly worthy game and I ended up having to Youtube the final few sections to get to the end. I also downloaded R.U.S.E, a WW2 strategy game, and I'm completely stuck on one of the very early, starting levels . I've even looked at several Youtube walkthroughs and still can't progress, and always end up getting my wee army destroyed every single time.

I actually quite enjoyed QT this week. I was expecting Tim Stanley to be of some comedy value / pointless WUM, but he actually seemed to have some interesting points to say. Plus, This Week after QT is usually a bore-fest, but they had wee lambs, in response to Cameron's photo-op today, which were cute and also Louise Mensch (who is also pretty cute (wid ) ).

Yup, this is where the phrase "Aye, do you think I just sailed up the Clyde in a banana boat?" first entered popular parlance. Few realise it originally refers to Glasgow Tories failing to keep to their election promises.

There is an argument that the Unionist party successfully presented itself as being the party to 'stand up for Scottish interests' at Westminster which translated well across urban and rural constituencies in a way that Labour in Scotland struggled to replicate at the time. Bearing in mind, the Liberals had collapsed decades earlier and it was a proper two-party system. To suggest it was based on religious affiliation is to isolate one factor in its success at the time from a number of national / local factors. The Unionist party died long before it sought incorporation into the Conservatives. Financial difficulties, declining electoral success, and ideological dependence on the Tories meant incorporation was inevitable. The argument stands that Labour took over as the party to 'stand up for Scottish interests' based on declining industry and rise of the welfare state. The same argument stands that Labour torched that status during the referendum by being so high-profile and negative regarding Scotland's position. Ironically, they campaigned so vigorously because they recognised that being on the wrong side of a constitutional debate can kill a party (Tories in the'90s in Scotland, or Irish party system as examples). In fact, they won the referendum, but also found themselves in the wrong side of the debate. There is an argument that we are about see a re-positioning of the Scottish party system in favour SNP across all elections. Unsurprisingly, based on their perception to be the party to 'stand up for Scottish interests'.

Aye, it was a pretty poor performance all round. You could tell it was going to be a bad one when his first contribution was asking the Tory to clarify what she had said nearly ten minutes previously, even though it was only tangential to the point he himself was wanting to make. I bet the train ride back was fun, though. Kennedy and Dimbleby swinging from the luggage shelves having downed their Blue WKDs.

I've been thinking it for ages now, but last night's show confirmed it that there is no point for me watching a QT held outside Scotland. The points of reference and points of discussion just seems like such a huge gulf nowadays between Scottish and UK politics that it's just boring now. Last weeks was interesting and I could engage with it even if I disagreed with points etc. Kennedy's approach to QT seems like the appropriate one. I like his style - get pissed (allegedly ), turn up with scruffy hair, suit and shirt all scruffy, and forget the stupid questions from Tories / Ukippers / Labour before you try to answer them, and then also forget what your own answer is after a few sentences, and then knowingly nod to Dimbleby.

I was the exact opposite. I was expecting to love Fallout, but found the story, tone and combat a little jarring. But, then again, I didn't do much research into it and I did go into it thinking it was a (sort-of) gritty, post-apocalypse style game, so probably just my expectations didn't match the reality.

David Bowie The Doors The Rolling Stones Bob Dylan Nirvana

1. Last of Us - It's the first game I've been genuinely interested in characters and story. Other games have almost got there, but nothing close to Last of Us. 2. Skyrim - When I got hooked in, I could spend a day just wandering about having a wee look about the map. 3. Red Dead Redemption - A big fan of Westerns as a lad, and the scenery in this was great and it was cool to ride around in familiar Western-style locations. 4. Age of Empires - I had an ancient PC as a lad and this was about the only game that would run. It was the old-style Age of Empires. 5. Thief - I think this was for PS2 or XBox and a much better game than the recent re-make which was rubbish in comparison. It's one of few games where I would replay levels to try a different way or get through without being seen / pick up extra stuff. Honourable mention to Uncharted 2, Football Manager, and Metal Gear Solid.

This film kills me every time I watch it. I end up on the verge of tears no matter, not embarrassed to admit.

Electricity suppliers are actually taking the p***. Microwaves, televisions, laptops, electric showers, chargers, music players, and bulb-lights all contain an in-built long-life battery to power the appliance. There is no such thing as mains supply. Power-cuts are a fiction, and just a racket for candle-stick makers to profiteer from people's innate fear of the dark.

Cheers guys, I might do that actually. I've usually just got on with things, but maybe this is a sign to be a bit more careful with things like this. Even just a short walk with the dogs and I feel it tighten again. I think I was too eager to get back out and it's set me back a bit.

This is my first experience of shin splints, and what a b******. I always thought it even sounded bad, but I've not been been out for a proper run in 6 weeks. I thought I had got rid at the start of the week and tried for a cheeky 5k on Wednesday and it started all over again. I've been doing the stretches, but rest seems to be the best. I also need to look at my running style, as apparently it's often down to landing on the heel. I'll try to sit sit tight for another week and then give it a gentle go.

Recorded the 50 funniest Moments in 2014 from Channel 4 from earlier and catching up on it now. It's so-so, not great. But, some of the talking heads are veering dangerously into Philomena Cunk / Barry Shitpeas territory which is a delight. I'm not 100% sure if it's intended or not, either way it's quite funny.

It became a bit like tuning into a strange conversation about which I care very little. Not just Question Time, but the whole UK political discourse for the past few years seems completely alien. Jim Murphy's top banter with Gordon Brewer on Sunday Politics today, then a video of him jogging about in retro Scotland top was pretty funny in a laugh and point way. He already looks like he has been caught in the headlights by it all.

I thought Brand was actually pretty good last night. He lets himself get carried away and is too readily provoked and loses the head when challenged, but at least he is contributing a viewpoint on politics which is normally rarely articulated on these types of programmes. A good example was the moaning lady adopting the "common-sense", "...I reckon...", "radio phone-in" perspective of attacking immigration, while bleating about not being against immigration per se, while conveniently ignoring all the nuances of the debate. His response that more energy should be expent focussing on the concentration of wealth and influence was fairly well put and helped to frame some of the greetin'-faced UKIP/Tory flock into cold perspective. All in all, I've more or less given up on Question Time unless it's a show coming from Scotland, or Salmond or Sturgeon is on, or it features someone like Russell Brand.

I've watched the trailer / teaser countless times now. It looks awesome. The Millennium Falcon was an obsession when I was a kid and great to see it again. I'm sorta sure the voice is Andy Serkis, especially the bit at the start with 'There's been an awakening ... Have you felt it?'

1. Fernando Alonso - It was probably Alonso who first got me hooked into F1. I was clicking through the channels and started watching the Monaco GP. Alonso entered the tunnel in his Renault catching up on Ralph Schumacher in a Williams. Alonso tried to over-take inside the tunnel, while Ralph seemed to move over and slow his car which forced Alonso closer to the barriers. The camera switched to the tunnel exit and Alonso slid out backwards with his car in a state after swiping the barrier. In a slow-motion replay, Alonso (facing the wrong way at over 100mph and in a crashed F1 car) gave Schumacher the finger as Ralph drove past. Top dude. 2. Kimi Raikkonen - There's a story I read about Kimi's first private test for Sauber (iirc) at Silverstone. His times for the first morning were passed-on to Peter Sauber who was away. Sauber read the times and phoned the team and basically said, 'Sure, he's fast, but put him out on the full track [rather than the intermediate]. The team replied that the times were from the full-track and that he had indeed been posting these consistent times on the full Silverstone track, in a Sauber, which were comparable to the top few established F1 drivers. I'll also never forget his last-lap victory in the Japanese GP when he overtook Fisichella like a boss. 3. Mark Webber 4. David Coulthard 5. Lewis Hamilton

Two weird dreams last night which I'm putting down to too much alcohol + food over the past couple of days with the Ireland game and friends visiting for dinner last night. They were those type of dreams you remember really distinctly, as normally I forget dreams after a few minutes. The first I was walking around a small town looking for a car parking space, but there were lots of people milling around getting in my way. The people were annoying me because they walked really slow. I finally found one and headed off to get my car. I walked into an underpass and, the former American singer, Anastacia, was sitting there and appeared to be homeless. We talked for a wee bit and then we both walked off together. I should say that I have no idea why I would be dreaming of Anastacia as I don't know any of her songs, and all I can remember about her is she sang rubbish pop songs and always wore glasses. I woke up at this point ... The second dream was that Jesus had come back and stood at the edge of a big field of corn or tall grass. People were travelling from all over to talk to him and a big crowd gathered. Then, Judas walked up to him and tried to ask him a question. Jesus told him to go away and to sit at the edge of the road. When he sat down a health-bar, like you have in video games, appeared above his head. The crowd gathered round Judas and watched his health-bar deplete.

I completely forgot about the bit with Larry. I just watched it on Youtube there. I think I tried to save him, but it was on the basis of trying to keep his daughter on side. I loved this bit about the game, trying to judge the politics of different decisions. I mind I argued against going to the farm to the very end because it seemed so shady, but got over-ruled by the rest. I also took only half the group initially thinking if it went to s***, it would be easier for a handful of us to get away and get back to the rest.

I mind that bit with the two guys from the farm. I was thinking at the time 'this seems really, pretty shady' and really didn't fancy going at all. This was a great episode.

That could be the case about expectations. I watched the first one and expected it to be rubbish and thought it was brilliant. And then, vice-versa for me this week. I'll probably give next week another go.