2005! The Year In Review

Just a recap of 2005 while I'm waiting for the party to start.

2005 was a year that opened in the wake of a Tsunami which devastated Southeast Asia, speaking of disasters; George W. Bush was sworn in for a second term. Tom Cruise jumped a couch to profess love, Anakin became Vader, and Jackson was acquitted. Bird Flu warnings were issued, Bastards bombed the Brits, Discovery launches and thankfully lands as well. Katrina devastated New Orleans, Kate had coke, and an earthquake rocked Kashmir, France explodes (no-one cares) but Hemel exploded too and created much hullabaloo. We remember 241 US Marines lost their lives, as did George Best, Peter Jennings Richard Pryor and Pope John Paul. 2005 forever changed the word as 2IGTV began podcasting and this website came online.

For now, have a Happy New Year and enjoy the party!

Colonel "Whopper" Creedon

Merry Christmas

Dear readers, Please accept with no obligation, implied or expressed, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the holiday* of your choice on or about the winter solstice, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all, and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2006, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped to make Ireland great (not to imply that Ireland is greater than any other country or is the only "Ireland" in the western hemisphere) and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee. Notice, Disclaimer and Conditions of Greeting: By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable, provided there is no alteration to the original greeting, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. There is no promise by the wisher, express or implied, to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

*As used herein, "holiday" is limited to its secular meaning, without regard to its English language derivation from the words "holy day".

Just in case all that went over your head: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Col. Ciaran "Whopper" Creedon!

Eminem's music so bad- it's used to torture!

You've seen it in movies: "Ve have ways of making you talk", the shining light, punch in the face, threatening loved ones, head in a toilet and if all else fails- and the movie is in any way a comedy then the person will be threatened with being forced to listen to James Last, Bette Midler or another unpopular artist of the day.

Well it's actually now being adopted by real CIA itself. Allegedly (as with everything in the CIA) Rapper Eminem's songs have been used to torture detainees.

Piss-ant peaceniks "Human Rights Watch" (of a similar vein to those Amnesty Internationl wasters) claims U.S. forces operated a secret prison near Afghanistan last year and says music by Eminem (above) and Dr Dre was used to make detainees suffer. The group, in a report, quotes an Ethiopia-born prisoner who says he was kept in a pitch-black prison and forced to listen to their music for 20 days.

The bastards! I'm almost ashamed to be associated with this horrendously dispicable course of action. I actually approved of what went on in Abu Ghraib in 2003, I agree with the US using and landing unmarked, or falsly marked aircraft in Shannon to transport terrorist 'suspects' to countries who condone torture, I think the Geneva Convention should not apply to the 'animals' associated with Al Qaeda, but this: .. no, this goes to far, even to protect the world I would never subject ANYONE to Eminem.

Next stop: Pluto

NASA today revealed plans to land a space vessel on the planet Pluto. The planet is so far away from Earth not even the Hubble can spot details on its surface. The mission is planning for lift-off no earlier than January 17, 2006 from the Kennedy Space Centre.
Scientists hope to discover details of the planet's surface and atmospheres after launching aboard an Atlas V plane, the spaceship will cross the entire span of the solar system and reach Pluto in 2015. More on this in 10 years time then...

X3 unleashes trailer

I've been so drunk and/or tired for the past few days I missed the fact that Fox has uploaded the announcement teaser trailer for X-Men 3. It's most impressive for a teaser really, all I was expecting was a logo but we get some idea what the film is about instead- fancy that eh? Well in it we see that Jean Grey has returned from the dead (they obviously don't see that as a shock if it's in the teaser) and has become Phoenix, which you'd have to be blind, deaf and stupid not to have figured out at the end of the last installment. I also saw The Beast played by Kelsey "Fraiser" Grammer (above) and Angel in it so it looks like the mutant count is up again, but evidence of Shadowcat, Collossus, Juggernaut, Callisto and Jubilee to name but a few make me think that there may just be a bit too many characters for non-comic book fans to keep track of.
I'm even more worried however, mainly due to the fact that Bryan Singer will not be helming this installment as he's busy with Superman. Instead we have Brett Ratner who made the god-awful Rush Hour films so my hopes ain't too high this time around.

2IGTV Episode 10

Well this is the last episode for this year and I'm sure everyone will be impressed. I am. While I had a cool idea to turn the show into a fun and interesting awards show, Mark shot that down with anti-aircraft fire so I'll present those in the form of a post here later.
In the meantime you can hear some of my best-of-2005 choices for the year. Also in this episode you hear about King Kong, why Mike Bay has room for us at any party he throws, that we could have a Nick Cage free year, the Italian Job sequel and much more.

Hemel Hampstead Explodes!

Because of my “real” Job, I have a somewhat unique perspective on a place that has been in the news this week: Hemel Hampstead. I know exactly where it is; which is more than I can say about places north of a line between Dublin and Kerry here. I’m intimately familiar with names of areas, major roads and even some of the newer housing estates that have been built over the past 5 years. I see it almost every day represented in a monotone 2 dimensional 1:500 scale. It’s easy to forget that each building in each estate on every road in every area of Hemel Hampstead is someone’s home, school or place of work.

Well everyone in that little place in Hertfordshire, understood the meaning of fear on Sunday as part of the Buncefield oil depot exploded. It became one of the hottest (get it?) news items everywhere and was quickly declared the largest peacetime fire in Europe, which is pretty scary. No doubt the poor folk with a HP2 address probably thought that al-Quaida had abandoned plans to destroy London and had turned on them instead.

I was disappointed that there wasn’t more looting after the evacuation though. I would have liked to have seen the good ‘ol Tommies of the British Army or even the Royal Marine’s (fully clothed this time) being deployed to “take care” of looters. Hey and if Blair didn’t want blood on his hands he could have called me. I could think of nothing better to do than to lead a tank column up St Alban’s Road or drop with paratroopers into Hemel Hampstead FC’s grounds under the cover of the black plume of smoke that can be seen 40km away in the centre of London.

Narnia- yay or nay!

To be honest this is something I'm not going to see it due to it's non-violent nature and the fact that it's billed as a kids film, I doubt there'll be anything in it for me.
I'll admit to watching almost every episode of the 80's TV series as a lad and I enjoyed it- then, but I'm not going out to buy the DVD boxset tomorrow- some things must stay buried in the past for fear of destroying their memory.
It seems that the film critics love it! But then again I never listen to people who are paid to have an opinion about entertainment- I listen to peers, people I know, people who give an honest opinion because they're not paid (or brown-enveloped by movie-studios) to tell us what we want to know.

So what are people saying about it? Four out of the five people I know whom have told me they saw it seemed to be most disappointed. Mark wants everyone to avoid it. Pearlgurl has frankly said the film is "the biggest load of bollox ever". I asked a poor soul at work what they thought of it and they started crying. There was one advocate however (there's always one) whom I won't name for fear of retaliation against him- but he seemed impressed with it, after being forced to listen to his account of the film I finally asked him, knowing what I like, was there anything in the film for me? He conceded that there wasn't.

Unlike Star Wars or Harry Potter who's franchises have more adult than children followers, Narnia is firmly grounded into the under 12's age group and I'm sure it'll be as fondly remembered by them in the future as we remember "The Neverending Story" or somesuch.

I wouldn't be a Colonel unless I barked orders so I order you all not to go and see this film! Kong is out this week and I'm sure it'll be forgotten about anyway.

Mission Impossible 3

Mission Impossible was a good film. I was a fan of the 'updated' series in 1988 with Phil Morris and Peter Graves and I felt that it was a faithful representation of the changes in the world since then. M:I-2 was not a faithful representation, but it became one of my favourite movies of all time. I have an M:I-2 cardboard standee from the foyer of the Capitol , one side of which is framed in my office and I even got a gift last Christmas of one of Tom Cruise's spent 9mm cartridges encased in resin from the Biocyte shootout scene.
But enough about Mission Impossible 2, because Mission Impossible 3 is almost upon us. The third installment in the Tom Cruise action film series takes the franchise in a new direction... this time it's personal. The trailer hints at a story that's clearly centered more around the character of Ethan Hunt than the previous movies.
Alex Kurtman and Roberto Orci the screenwriters have really fleshed out Cruises' character this time around. "The fun of Mission: Impossible for us is finding out how to make a movie that was really an exploration of that character in a way that the previous two movies have not done, aside from some unbelievable action sequences," Kurtzman says.
M:I:III stars Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Laurence Fishburne, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Michelle Monaghan, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Simon Pegg, (yes I said Simon Pegg- don't ask)!
Director J.J. Abrams (Alias), is currently lensing in Shanghai. It'll also film in United States and Italy and it's set for a May 5, 2006 release.

Mark gets a Dalek & Cubaboy doesn't offend

One sign of the apocolypse in the day is frightening but I've seen two today.

1. My friend and 2IGTV co-host Mark has bought a radio-controlled Dalek. If you have'nt figured out from listening to him, Mark does not under any circumstances buy someing that serves no useful purpose. He own's nothing that does not perform a specific function which benefits the operation of his life. He owns no works of art, ornaments, religious iconry or childhood treasures. But when he saw a radio controlled Dalek the other day he just had to go and buy it. Apperently it was so bereft of reason or point to buy- that in itself- was a reason!

2. Cubaboy has written non-filth infested,
worthwhile observation on the most recent waste of Hollywood money "War Of The Worlds", and... and... Christ- I agree with every word he says!!!
I'd also go as far as saying that I doubt anyone (even Speilberg) could sue him for this peice either!

"CHiPs" ride again!

And this time it's not a case where they dig up Larry Wilcox and Eric Estrada to do a TV movie as in "CHiPs 99". No, this is a fully modernised movie much like they're doing at the moment with Miami Vice. The only casting at the moment is Wilmer Valderrama as Poncherillo but I'll have more soon no doubt.

It begs the question what's the next wonderful childhood memory to be raped by the power of Hollywood unoriginality?

Answers in the comments below...

Bourne revealed!

The trilogy of Bourne spy films attempts to answer the question: Who is Jason Bourne? The final installment – The Bourne Ultimatum – should answer that once and for all.

Jason Bourne embarks on a mission to get to the bottom of things – the Treadstone project, and the conspiracy among those who would like to eliminate the evidence. Along the way, he discovers his pre-Treadstone past in the military, his mother, and his real name.

Locations will range from London to Paris to Gibraltar to New York but this will be a big one so don't expect it next year.

Indy 4 is God's next job

Lucas is now devoting himself full-time to writing and producing "Indiana Jones 4." Steven Spielberg, of course, will direct. Lucas said at the King Kong premiere that he's got a script now from Jeff Nathanson, and he's tweaking it. That won't go on forever, he assured, and filming will occur before Harrison Ford goes into a nursing home. LOL.

Ads in your games? Whatever next?

You've seen them so many times in movies and TV. Carefully placed products and logos scattered seemingly innocently around the scene, a can of Coke here, a bottle of Heinekin, Bud or whatever somewhere else, a car passing the golden arches of McDonalds. It happens now with such frequency that those of us who aren't slaves to advertising like myself probably ignore them- I don't even remember Will's car in I-Robot (above) had an Audi logo- maybe it was because the movie was a load of shit?

However I didn't ignore some advertising the other day; Sam Fisher, the Ex Navy S.E.A.L. you play in Splinter Cell 3: Chaos Theory is preparing for a mission on board an Osprey, he opens a pack of chewing gum and pops one in his mouth. He sets it down and the camera pans downwards to focus on it- a pack of Airwaves! It was the most blatent advertising, I'd ever seen in a game. Okay I've seen the advertising in a virtual football field and billboards in driving games but never in something like this and certainly not something as blatent.

It turns out however that this new practice works just as well as The Force on the weak-minded according to a study that was highlighted on Sci Fi Wire today.

The Mummy III: Dear God no!

It would have been daft not to make a sequel to the original 1999 The Mummy film. So they did; but it was shit! However for some bizarre reason the studio has greenlighted at least a script for a third Mummy film and it appears that the new Mummy villain will be Chinese.

The desiccated remains of China's first uber-Emperor Qin Shihuang… Wang wants to take over the world by releasing his army of warriors who were cursed and turned into terracotta statues a few millennia ago."

Stephen Sommers is not writing apparently, it'll be Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, the creators of Smallville. There's no confirmation that Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz are involved with the film, but their parts are written.

Sizemore not jailed... yet!

Actor Tom Sizemore ain't going to jail after his lawyers convinced an L.A. judge that prescribed medication made him fail a drugs test. The actor, 44, was deemed to have violated conditions of his probation, which dates back to a 2004 drugs offence, when a routine test discovered amphetamines in his urine.
Sizemore has already spent three months in a rehabilitation clinic for his addictions, and the court has declined the prosecution's request to jail the star - if he can provide a prescription to prove his claims. Sizemore is currently on bail, pending his appeal over his conviction for domestic violence against former lover, Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss.
Hell if normal people in work can get a doctors note to prevent them being fired, I'm sure a Hollywood actor can get a prescription written up for a Judge ya?

Picard NOT boldly gone...

Patrick Stewart has said in a recent press conference promoting his new series Eleventh Hour that there have been "talks" with Paramount executives of his possible return to Star Trek. Stewart considers the talks "serious", but as he's contracted to the Royal Shakespeare Company for the next 16 months nothing will happen before then.

So I'll be back with more news of this in March 2007.

The rise and fall of Ang Lee

Before the turn of the century I was privileged to see a film with Toby Maguire set in the old west called Ride with the Devil it. I can't say it was a remarkable film and it never made it to my DVD list, but if it ever came on telly, I probably wouldn't turn it off.

I wasn't too long after that that I went to see Wo hu cang long or "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" to those of you who are uncultured. I found it quite remarkable. It was interesting to see Chow Yun Fat not diving across a room in slow motion firing dual berettas with pigeons flying everywhere. Crouching Tiger, was beautifully shot, wonderfully acted and superbly directed.

It was interesting for me to find out at this time that the director of both films was Ang Lee a filmmaker from Taiwan. I was actually looking forward to the next film directed by this man.

Unfortunately it was the godamn Hulk. But I'm not going to talk about that, it's too painful.

His next film is Brokeback Mountain starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger as two cowboys. It's billed as a love-story so I knew it wouldn't be my cup of tea, but love stories don't hurt director’s careers do they? But then my friend told me that the two stars play fag- pardon me, Homosexual Cowboys.

Bye bye Ang.

DOOM review

Movie reviews are not something I'm going to do a lot of, I prefer to discuss them with Mark during 2IGTV, but this is one I must do. I've barely have had enough time to recover from an extraordinary experience last night; I played one of my trademark PC games in a packed cinema with no need to reload, quicksave or get cramps which turn the palm of my hand into the shape of a Logitech wheel mouse.

Yes, DOOM opened here yesterday to a packed house, full of male video-game nerds who no doubt, like me, were at some point in their lives; Galactic Space Marines who travelled to Phobos, Deimos, the surface Mars and to Hell itself to kill demons in the most influential (now ripped off by everyone) game in western civilisation to date: DOOM.

I doubt a single one of them was disappointed. With only a few major changes to the story of the DOOM games, in which the Demons invade mars through a portal from Hell, in the movie they’re a product of the usual genetic research gone awry as in Resident Evil and propagate like Aliens. These changes accepted however, you're in for some treat. Fantastic set pieces, great use of automatic weaponry, many references to the game, a senseless amount of gore and violence and of course Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson make for one terrific movie.

See it today. That’s an order!

Colonel Creedon Rating: *****

Face/Off a reality!

I'll admit I thought this was pretty incredible when I read it: Apparently some French (they might actually be good for somthing) surgeons were watching the John Woo film Face/Off starring John Travolta and Nicholas Cage the other night and one said to the other "Hey mon ami we shurd tryy do dis for ray-al wee?"

And they did. Amazingly they perfomed the worlds first Face Transplant. One of the patients was dead before they started though. They couldn't be expected to be as good as the surgeons in Face/Off (they are only French after all), read about it here.

I can see this being marketed soon enough however and soon we'll be able to buy the face of our celebrity heroes. Me: I've got dibs on Connery!

Kid kisses his girlfriend to DEATH!!!

And you think all you have to worry about is STDs these days.

In Canada, a teenager with a nut allergy has died after kissing her boyfriend hours after he had eaten a peanut butter sandwich.

Doctors said traces of peanuts may have been on her partners teeth, tongue or lips.

Poor fucker. It'll haunt him for the rest of his days. He'll probably top himself.

Code Reds: A no-no in US but all the rage in UK!

The true 'hard men' of Great Britian are not the two bald blokes on Eastenders but the Royal Marines, British counterparts of my beloved corps.

Now, while the corps no longer recruits crybabies and whiners, it seens that a more stringent interviewing system should be applied to the Royal Marines to weed out these type of people from being recruited. The Marines should be allowed to practice this kind of training at their leisure with out MOD interference- we live in a time where this is necessary!

Mr. Miyagi passes on.

Everyone's favourite little oriental fella and sensai, Noriuki "Pat" Morita has died of natural causes at his Las Vegas home, aged 73. The actor and comedian, whose portrayal of Mr. Miyagi in the 1984 movie The Karate Kid earned him an Oscar nomination.

I believe the wisdom of Mr. Miyagi is second only to Yoda.

2IGTV Episode 9

The ninth episode of 2IGTV is now available. This episode was recorded in the more relaxed atmosphere of my quarters as opposed to the clinical studio where we've previously Podcasted from. So if you want to know about the XBOX360, William Shatner's latest Ebay sale or the Terminator TV series then go here.

Braga; now you can crawl back into your hole!

Brannon Braga's sci-fi show Threshold has been cancelled by CBS. I'm absolutely delighted. I wanted him to fail so badly- now I got my wish. Apparently the ratings for Braga's show were even worse after they changed it from Friday to Tuesday and that was the nail in the coffin for the network.

Braga, you murdered a good friend of mine (Star Trek), now you've no supporters, fans or even a show, you can fuck off now! Why not release your wasted life energy into the cosmic pool where it can be used by someone with more to offer the world.

With the news that he would not be continuing as a Star Trek producer and that his partner in crime Rick Berman would also be leaving Trek behind him after the next movie, this is turning out to be a very good week indeed.

Wrecks Review

I was TWELVE FEET from Ed Harris!

I fulfilled an ambition this evening, I saw my 2nd favourite actor of all time: Ed Harris, in the flesh.

Ed was performing a preview of the world premiere of "Wrecks" in the Everyman Palace Theatre here in Cork. Written by Neil Labute whom I honestly never heard of until 4 hours ago, Ed carries the drama all by himself, no mean feat. The 54-year-old actor plays Eddie Carr, a man whose wife has just died and who is reminiscing alone about their life together, and their unique love for each other, while family and friends mourn in the next room.

I can honestly say I've never been more impressed by anything I've seen on stage, not that I'm there every week, but I wasn't sure a one-man play (even with Ed) would grab my attention like this did. There was times I could almost believe that I was there with this man in the funeral home listening to him tell me about his life and the life of his wife. So much so that I was completely unprepared for the ending.

I emerged from the theatre almost speechless and I will never forget the powerful performance and well written drama that unfolded before me tonight. Both Labute and Harris deserve the highest of praises for Wrecks which continues from tonight until Dec 3rd. Go here.

50 Cent's marketing ploy!

While I could never listen to his "music", I do have some admiration for someone who's been shot more times than I have! The Rapping artist known as 50 Cent has released a bloodthirsty and extremely violent video game "50 Cent: Bulletproof" which has been given the M for 'Mature' (Over 17) rating in the US (and will most likely be attributed an 18+ here) for blood, gore and sexual themes.

Mr. Cent wants parents to buy it and use it as a teaching tool. I'm not joking!

Teen shags dummy!

Sometimes while reading the news I see a strange headline and have to read it again before realising that my filthy male mind manifested somthing completly different there and it's actually harmless (Unless you're reading The Sun in which the editors are paid to create innuendo with every headline). This time however what I read was real.

Night Vision Goggles for Potter Police

"Why the hell is the Colonel referencing Harry Potter tonight?" I hear you ask. Well, while I can safely say that I was thouroughly un-entertained by the Potter movies I have seen and I'm about as motovated to going to see the fourth installment as I am about going to a Greenpeace rally.

What I do want to say is that I'm most impressed with the Intense efforts by 20th Century Fox to prevent bootleggers from camcording Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Apparently they distributed thousands of night-vision goggles to theater staffs throughout the world and promised rewards to any employee catching a moviegoer in the act of camcording the movie.

Hang on a sec: NIGHT VISION GOGGLES!!!!! How fucking cool is that????! I want some Night Vision Goggles too godammit!!!!. Not that I want to give anyone any ideas for Christmas presents or anything....

Lucas spells death-knell for DVD

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the great George Lucas has said that DVD will be replaced with Pay-Per-View.

"It's the way kids do it today. It's how you do it on your iPod: They just download it. You pay 99 cents for music, and movies will be like two bucks. That will definitely change the economics of the business because (studios) are losing money now."

I'd better get my DVD collection packed up to sell now. Anyone want some?

The Prisoner

Sky One is believed to be planning a new show based on The Prisoner a cult series that ran for 17 episodes on ITV in 1967, which starred Patrick McGoohan (left) as a former secret agent trapped in an isolated town.

The show will not take place in the famous "Village" setting of the original—shot in north Wales but it is understood the themes of paranoia, conspiracy and identity crisis will remain.

The executive-producer of the show for Granada said the new series would take "liberties with the original" and would not retain its arty feel. It's reported that Bill Gallagher, the writer of the BBC's crime drama Conviction, is reported to be writing the new version.

I'M BACK

Miss me? I was away for a few days of meditation before the Christmas rush, to re-energise myself. It's all go now!

Congratulations to the unknown Canadian who was visitor number 1000 a few days ago!

More facinating statistics

Someone mentioned last week that I didn't publish any visitor infomation to "The Colonel's Eagle" for last week. This is basically because I didn't intend it to be a regular feature, but here it goes for this weeks visitors.

As you can see there's been some hits from such far off lands as Finland, Qatar, Singapore, Korea (South) and several hits from a number of South American countries.

Sith Apologist demanded browser details, as he "did his bit" for Firefox. I think he certainy did as Firefox has risen from 5% to 28.57% of the type of browser that people used to access this site last week. Various incarnations of IE still naturally have the lions share at 63.26% the remainder is divided between Netscape and Safari. Mozilla and Opera have vanished.

And yes, the US Military visits here have increased...

Joes remember their own on Veterans Day!

The members of Counter Terrorist Group Delta known to most as G.I.Joe: America's daring highly trained special mission force, held their own Veterans Day ceremony at noon yesterday. Presiding over the ceremony was Brigadier General J. Flagg, son of the original G.I.Joe commanding general who lost his life to the evil arms-dealer Destro during a battle in Washington in 1983.

The flag was raised and saluted to remember all the Joes who had fallen in battle with Cobra: A ruthless terrorist organisation determined to rule the world.
(Picture shows left to right:- Chief Warrant Officer 4 Edward W. "Torpedo" Leialoha representing the US Navy, Major Brad J. "Ace" Armbruster of the USAF, Gunnery Sergeant Wendell A. "Leatherneck" Metzger, USMC, First Sergeant Conrad S. "Duke" Hauser representing the US Army, Lieutenant General Clayton M. "Hawk" Abernathy (sitting) US Army, former Commanding Officer of G.I.Joe who was paralysed recently when shot in the back by Cobra Commander, General Joseph B. "G.I.Joe" Colton US Army, Commanding Officer G.I.Joe and Brigadier General James Longstreet Flagg III, US Army, son of the original G.I.Joe commanding general- B.Gen. Lawrence Flagg, who was KIA battling Cobra over 20 years ago. Flag held by Sergeant Major Ettienne R. "Gung-Ho" Lafitte, USMC)

The memorial speech for fallen Joes was given by Colonel "Whopper" Creedon who himself once served as the MOUT Operations Commander for the G.I.Joe team. While Col.Creedon's speech was far too long to reprint here, he did make special mention of the Joes who had recently fallen in battle:

"We must never forget the sacrifices given by our comrades who laid down their lives so that we can continue to enjoy our freedom in a democratic and just society. Since the Global War On Terror began; 8 more brave and courageous men and women from our armed forces who united under our common goal to rid the world of tyranny, terrorism and oppression sadly lost their lives.

Corporal Wilmer S. "Hardball" Duggleby, US Army Infantry
Sergeant First Class Allison R. "Lady Jaye" Faireborn, US Army Intelligence
Petty Officer Second Class Dwane A. "Rampart" Felix, US Navy Coastal Defence
Sergeant Anthony S. "Flash" Gambello, US Army Electronics
Chief Petty Officer Christopher R. "Tracker" Groen, US Navy SEALS
Sergeant First Class Jane "Glenda" Mullighan, US Army Air Corps
Staff Sergeant Blaine L. "Mainframe" Parker, USMC Electronics
and
Sergeant Phillip M. "Chuckles" Provost, US Army CID

Least we not forget their ultimate sacrifice in the name of peace. The death of a friend and colleague may diminish us as a whole, but it will serve only to strengthen our resolve. We will never give up, we're always there, fighting for freedom over land, sea and air".

Superman Returns

Thanks be to Christ that Nicholas Cage's version of Superman was never realised. I firmly believe he would have done for the Superman what George Clooney did for Batman. I think it would have been hard for anyone to replace the late great Christopher Reeve, and impossible for someone as limited as Cage, shit I'd have even accepted Dean Cain over him.
With Tom (Clark Kent in Smallville) Welling not wanting to don the tights and cape of Superman, WB and director Bryan Singer selected a newcomer Brandon Routh to play the Man Of Steel.

However unlike the most recent Batman film, Superman Returns is not an origin story. Apparently after a mysterious absence of several years, Superman comes back to Earth. While an old enemy plots to render him powerless once and for all, Superman faces the heartbreaking realization that the woman he loves, Lois Lane, has moved on. Superman's return challenges him to bridge the distance between them while finding a place in a society that has learned to survive without him. In an attempt to protect the world from destruction, Superman embarks on an epic journey of redemption that takes him from the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of outer space.

Okay so the plot is hokey, but here's some good news: Kate Bosworth will be Lois Lane and Kevin Spacey himself will be Lex Luthor!!!! AND wait for it: Marlon Brando will reprise his role as Jor-El, Superman's real father- via some clever special effects and restored deleted footage from his original appearence over 25 years ago!!! WOW!! Superman will Return in this part of the world in mid July next.

Nov 11th Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day in the US. A day of prades and speeches, a day of rememberence and appreciation for all the servicemen and women who have taken part in the defence and security of the US from the forces of evil. It's a day to remember those who fought in wars past and current conflicts, for those who risked their lives and lost them. You will not be forgotten.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY USMC

Today is the 230th Birthday of the USMC. I'll just post this message now from the Commandant. Semper Fi!

ON NOVEMBER 10TH, 1775, THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS RESOLVED TO RAISE TWO BATTALIONS OF CONTINENTAL MARINES MARKING THE BIRTH OF OUR UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS. AS MAJOR GENERAL LEJEUNE'S MESSAGE REMINDS US, THE ENSUING GENERATIONS OF
MARINES WOULD COME TO SIGNIFY ALL THAT IS HIGHEST IN WARFIGHTING EXCELLENCE AND MILITARY VIRTUE. EACH NOVEMBER AS MARINES THE WORLD OVER CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF OUR CORPS, WE PAY TRIBUTE TO THAT LONG LINE OF "SOLDIERS OF THE SEA" AND THE ILLUSTRIOUS LEGACY THEY HAVE HANDED DOWN TO US.
THIS PAST YEAR HAS BEEN ONE OF CONTINUOUS COMBAT OPERATIONS OVERSEAS AND DISTINGUISHED SERVICE HERE AT HOME - A YEAR OF CHALLENGES THAT HAVE BROUGHT OUT THE VERY BEST IN OUR CORPS. IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN, MARINE COURAGE AND MASTERY OF COMPLEX AND CHAOTIC ENVIRONMENTS HAVE TRULY MADE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF
MILLIONS. MARINE COMPASSION AND FLEXIBILITY PROVIDED HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THOUSANDS IN THE WAKE OF THE SOUTH EAST ASIAN TSUNAMI, AND HERE AT HOME, MARINES WITH AAVS, HELICOPTERS, AND SOMETIMES WITH THEIR BARE HANDS SAVED HUNDREDS OF OUR OWN FELLOW AMERICANS IN THE WAKE OF HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA. ACROSS THE FULL SPECTRUM OF OPERATIONS, YOU HAVE SHOWCASED THAT MARINES CREATE STABILITY IN AN UNSTABLE WORLD, AND HAVE REINFORCED OUR CORPS' REPUTATION FOR SETTING THE STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE.
THE SENSE OF HONOR, COURAGE, AND PATRIOTISM THAT EPITOMIZED THOSE WHO ANSWERED THAT FIRST CALL TO ARMS 230 YEARS AGO IS STILL INDELIBLY IMPRINTED ON OUR RANKS TODAY. IN COMMEMORATING OUR ANNIVERSARY, LET US STRENGTHEN OUR TIES TO THE PAST BY PAYING HOMAGE TO THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE US. AS WE HONOR THE SACRIFICES OF OUR WOUNDED AND FALLEN COMRADES, OUR COMMITMENT TO ONE ANOTHER REMAINS UNSHAKABLE. WE TAKE SPECIAL PRIDE IN THE ACTIONS OF THE MARINES NOW SERVING IN HARM'S WAY, AND REDEDICATE OURSELVES TO THE SERVICE OF OUR NATION AND OUR CORPS.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARINES, SEMPER FIDELIS, AND KEEP ATTACKING!

M.W.HAGEE, GENERAL, U.S. MARINE CORPS, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS.

The Colonel survives frozen iPod scare!

The other day my iPod (named Apollo on VerTecXneT after the god of music) froze. For want of a better word it crashed! It was a terrifying experience, the iPod device has revolutionised the way people listen to music the world over and certainly personally it has negated the need for carrying CD’s and awkward portable CD players which can take up almost 5 times the space of an iPod.
Anyway after I unplugged Apollo from Hyperion recently it neglected to turn over control of its interface to me; i.e. the clickwheel didn’t work. I found this odd, but I was aware of the procedure to automatically reset it, so I wasn’t fazed. I attempted to reset it by pressing the MENU and SELECT buttons simultaneously which is SOP for a frozen iPod. This however did not work. I found this curious, but I persevered and re-attempted the operation, but again nothing. A quick search on the internet revealed that it sometimes only works if you have the unit plugged into a power supply using the AC adaptor as opposed to Hyperion’s powered firewire connection, so I gave that a go, but to no avail.

My distress level was admittedly rising a bit at this point, but I wasn’t about to give up, as a Marine, I’m incapable of surrender. Another option the internet revealed was to open up the iPod and disconnect the battery. As without the battery, the iPod will loose its internal memory and ‘forget’ it was frozen. Now if you’re familiar with an iPod you also know there are no screws or any visible way to get into the internal working of the thing, so before I tell you what I did next I’ll give you a warning:
Opening your iPod will completely invalidate your warranty- you’ll have no recourse. If you send it to Apple after it has been opened by a non-Apple individual they will charge you the price of a new iPod to ‘repair’ it. In reality they just send you a new one.
Also, opening the iPod is quite easy for someone like me whose ego allows him to believe that he’s a technical genius (which I am), and someone who is apprehensive or fearful about tinkering with highly valuable microelectronic components has no business whatsoever in attempting to open one.
I was going to post a link to a website that details how to open an iPod, but then you could come back to me and saw “you said if I followed these instructions I could open my iPod and…” well you get the idea.

To shorten this post, let’s just say opened Apollo, located the battery and disconnected it from the motherboard. I left it off for about 20 minutes leaving any residual charge in the components dissipate. When everything was back together, I was filled with anticipation as I awaited the little Apple logo on screen and for it to go back to the main menu, but alas, it didn’t; instead it returned to its previous frozen state.

It appeared I had exhausted all viable options I could locate on the internet. It was time to seek a higher power, the man from whom I learned to do all of this, I speak of Mark. Mark's solution was to update Apollo’s software to the very latest release and wipe the memory entirely- THEN remove the battery and see what happened. When that didn’t work he simply offered his condolences at the ‘loss’ of my iPod and was a bit peeved that I would have to get a new video-capable iPod (as they don’t make my model any more) and thus be technically superior to him.

At this point I felt the need to paraphrase Sherlock Homes “when all other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the cause.” It wasn’t the software in the iPod, or the hard disk being stuck, so I was forced to conclude that it must have been the click wheel itself was at fault. I was dubious that even my vast experience and knowledge would be enough to able to repair a defective component deep within the inner workings of an iPod, but the only alternative was having to buy a new one, so I reached for my tools one more time and again began to dissect Apollo piece by piece.

It was not until after I had removed the motherboard from the device that I could finally see the issue that had plagued me since this began. Somehow a miniscule metal contact strip leading from the rear of the click wheel assembly has become disconnected from the motherboard. Don’t ask me how. I would understand if it happened AFTER I opened the Apollo, but it obviously had disconnected itself beforehand, leading to the initial problem.

With the help of a tiny tweezers I was able to reseat the metal strip into its home slot on the motherboard, reconnect all the other components and seal Apollo once again. I was overjoyed when switched on again it asked me to choose an operating language (because I had wiped the memory and the device had to be set up all over again) which I was able do with my now-functioning click wheel.

Another crisis averted by Colonel “Whopper” Creedon.

Alba is whore!

Jessica Alba is upset because she's being typecast, because of the roles she's being offered. The Sin City actress is grateful for the opportunities she has been given in Hollywood - but would kill for the parts offered to rival actress Natalie Portman.

She said today: "The scripts I get are always for the whore, or the motorcycle chick in leather, or the horny maid. I get all those screenplays that start, 'Tawnya is in the shower. The water streams down her naked, perky breasts.' Somehow, I don't think this is happening to Natalie Portman."

No it isn't Jess, 'cos Portman can ACT. Now you just sit there and look beautiful, that's what your paid to do. Silly bint!

I've achieved fame!

"When someone writes about you, whatever it is, you're famous".
Edward Bennett c1962

Cubaboy has written this hilarious article. I hope some TV producer sees this and gives him a job. It'd be better than some of the shite that they put on nowadays.

Scarlett to wear loin cloth?

Scarlett Johansson (The Island) is set to star in a new action adventure film called Amazon, according to Variety.

Apparently she came up with the idea herself while filming The Island. She reportedly mentioned the concept to screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci, who are producing the project.

The film, set in 200 B.C., will reportedly center around Johansson who plays a "gladiatrix" who takes on an army that destroyed her homeland.

Somebody pinch me...

Les Miserables II: This Time It's War

I pay very little attention to France, a nation of stuck-up, boring and cowardly people bogged down in snobbery, one-upmanship, producers of wine that I find substandard to their Spanish neighbours lead by a leader who says too much when he should shut the fuck up and this week, becomes mute when he should have been addressing the nation.

You see right now, for the first time during my lifetime anyway, France has become interesting.

Nightly rioting, violence and destruction reign in France now. It started when two youths were electrocuted after being perused by police into a power station. There was outrage from their peers and they went mental, burning cars, smashing windows and whatnot. They attracted support from some like-minded members of the racial minorities, the Blacks and Arabs and are now in their twelfth night of anarchy.

I blame the politically correct, liberal and leftist politicians and their confused minds. They encourage immigrants to maintain their cultures and identities and then they expect them to integrate; which of course they don’t. Now they’re paying the price for their lack of vision. Thankfully this issue has arisen in France first and not a ‘real’ country like the UK or even Ireland, so now steps can be taken to prevent similar occurrences of this phenomenon elsewhere.

Now most immigrants I know are decent, hard working and law-abiding citizens, but I think it best for safety’s sake that different members of the same immigrant race are not allowed to live within 1km of each other. I think this would encourage more integration by them and eliminate these ‘ghettos’ that exist in France where even the police don’t dare to tread. Any bad eggs should be weeded out after a period of surveillance and either sent packing from the country or ‘disappear’. We have enough of our own “scum” as Minister Nicolas Sarkozy put it so delicately.

As for France, I can only hope that a peaceful resolution to the conflict isn’t found. I’d prefer for an example made of the rioters, probably deploying the military and failing that, perhaps some bombs being dropped. You must remember it’s only France; it’s not as if anything valuable will be lost.

The Upgrading continues

Well I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I should get this operation finished soon enough now as I've got a couple of weeks off work.
Orion, Prometheus, Agamemnon and Perseus have all been altered considerably. Magnus has been completly cannabalised and officially decomissioned and it's processor will join my very first PC (Control)'s processor in a frame on my wall as of this week.

2IGTV Episode 8

Poor Mark went a day and a half without sleep before recording this episode. I'm kicking myself for not taking advantage of it more. Not evey episode can be gold folks.

USMC to join USSOCOM

Today is a bright day for the Corps. Donald Rumsfeld announced yesterday that the United States Marine Corps will create an element to officially join the United States Special Operations Command for the first time.

For as long as I remember the Marine hierarchy standpoint on Special Operators has been that they consider the most basic Marine a special operator, the Marines were elite already, so why join SOCOM? So in 1986, the Army, Navy and Air Force went off pooled their resources and integrated their spec. ops. forces like Delta Force, Rangers, SEALS and Combat Controllers into the newly established SOCOM, while the USMC created their own independent Force Recon elements and trained some of their MEU's to be Special Operations Capable. The Corps didn't want to turn control of Force Recon over to SOCOM because it was felt that their skill was required to fulfil the fundamental mission of the USMC.

This arrangement worked for about 15 years until some bastards hijacked planes and flew them into the WTC and the Pentagon. The SOCOM operators went off to Afghanistan ahead of the main of the main force and had some fun. While a handful of Marines have been working with Special Operations in a Joint capacity, the then-Commandant General James Jones had an idea then and decided he'd have a little 'conversation' with the USSOCOM Commander, Air Force General Charles Holland and decided it was time to close ranks.

It was 2003 however before Marine Detachment One (MAR-DET-1) joined NAVSPECWAR (Navy SEALS) on training exercises to deploy as part of SOCOM. The 83-Marine strong (with 4 Navy corpsmen) was the first unit to integrate with SOCOM. I noticed also that in October of the previous year, a Marine General was appointed as Chief of Staff and Director of the Center for Command Support, U.S. Special Operations Command! I didn't think this was coincidental then as I remembered it as I read the news today and I see what was going on now. The aforementioned Marine General was one Brigadier General Denis Hejlik, the same general whom has just been appointed as head of the new MARSOC (Marine Special Operations Command).

I said a few weeks ago that there would be big things in store for the Corps when Pete took the big chair, I didn't think it would be only 30 days later though. Hmmm MARSOC will have about 2600 men and hefty slice of the lovely SOCOM budget- I wonder if they'll need a Colonel?

Galactica set for third year

The best new sci-fi show this century is getting a thrid season. Battlestar Galactica has surpassed all expectations and with this renewal, will even surpass in quantity the amount of episodes of it's original incarnation as it has done in quality.

The science fiction remake began as a miniseries two years ago but was expanded into a television series after meeting with acclaim and impressive ratings. Galactica continues to be the Sci Fi Channel's top shows week after week. In fact, 7 of the channel's top 10 most-watched broadcasts in 2005 were episodes of Galactica.

In the meantime, the show is preparing to resume its second season this January after a mid-season break. More when it returns...

Michael Piller dies

The man may have been co-responsible for creating Star Trek: Voyager, but unlike Rick Berman and Brannon Braga- I don't know anyone who wanted him dead.

Sadly Mike Piller, at age 57, lost a battle with cancer yesterday that most of his collegues didn't even know he had. He remained quite active in television until recently and his shows Wildfire and The Dead Zone have been renewed for 2nd and 5th seasons respectively. I'll always think of him as the man who co-created Deep Space Nine- the best of the Star Trek shows.

I can only hope and pray that Berman and Braga will share a similar fate as poor Mike and die horribly of cancer as they were a cancer on Star Trek for the past several years and effectively killed it... for now.

Stallone To Make New Rambo Movie

I know the man's almost 60 but as he's going to do a final Rocky movie as well he may as well return to the Army boots and bandana of John J. Rambo in "Rambo IV".

The plot (as if that matters for a Rambo movie) is a bit vague at the moment: John J. Rambo retired into a quiet life until he comes out of seclusion to track and recover a missing girl".

The movie will be shot between Mexico and the United States. Filming is scheduled to start in the spring.

That's about all I have. More when I get more.

To tired to title this

Well thankfully the Cork Guiness Jazz Festival is over so I guess it's time to sober up and get back to it here.

It 's facinating the difference a week can make to a site's traffic, as evidenced by this new chart.

The UK has lost it's lead in visitors and is just slightly behind Ireland, but I've a lot of 'fans' in the US. (Admittadly I just came up in generic searches for Stargate, Star Wars, Marine Corps etc.)

I've even been vistited from the French!!! :O

IRON MAN in 2007?

"Marvel superhero Iron Man looks likely to revert back to the comicbook publisher after more than two years of fruitless development [at New Line]," according to Variety this week.

Well, this is consistant with what I've been reading over the past couple of months. Basically Marvel has been waiting out New Line's option on Shellhead, hoping for a better deal from them. If not then Marvel could take the project elsewhere. What this could mean for David Hayter's screenplay and the involvement of director Nick Cassavetes remains to be seen.

So where wight Iron Man end up at? It's anyones guess but certainly a possibility is that Iron Man becomes part of the much vaunted Marvel-Paramount co-venture. Marvel Studios chief Avi Arad listed Iron Man among the projects that were part of that deal in this years Comic-Con, however the project is stalled pending the resolution of New Line's option on the material.

Everyone knows Tom Cruise has long wanted to play Tony Stark but couldn't make a deal with New Line or work out his busy schedule to fit in the project. Cruise is very much part of the Paramount family, having starred in their successful Mission: Impossible franchise. If Iron Man does indeed leave New Line and end up at Paramount, perhaps Cruise might be reapproached.

Watch this space, as Iron Man is my favourite Super-hero above even Batman or Spiderman, I'll bring you the news as soon as I hear.

Next she'll be admitting to touching the Whizzinator!!!

Dumb blonde Paris Hilton has slammed reports she denied ever meeting Tom Sizemore, but insists she has never had sexual relations with the troubled actor. In new sex video, Tom Sizemore Sex Scandal, the Black Hawk Down star alleges he had a one night stand with Hilton after a party at his house in 2001, when the hotel heiress was 19.

Hilton quickly rushed out a statement denying his claims, saying, "He is not an acquaintance of mine, nor have I ever had intimate relations with him."

However, after Vivid Entertainment - the producers of Sizemore's sex tape - released a photo of the pair at the actor's house in 2001, Hilton insists she has been unfairly portrayed as lying about ever meeting him. Her new publicist Jack Ketsoyan says, "We never said she never met him. She never slept with him and he's not an acquaintance of hers. She doesn't even know who that other girl in the photo is. To me, 'acquaintance' means that you're not friends; you've met in the past but that's pretty much it. She doesn't remember the party at all."

I'm well used to her kind, what I get out of this statement is: if she doesn't remember the party at all she was obviously to pissed to remember bedding Sizemore!

UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION

A friend of mine dragged me to see Underworld a couple of years ago at 6PM on a weekday. I don't go to the cinema on weekdays, but he insisted. So I went to see it anyway expecting "another Vampire movie".

Boy was I wrong! Underworld was one of the best movies I had ever seen, period. It had the perfect amount of action, edged-weapons, blood, automatic weapons, slow-motion Matrix-style photography, spent cartridges and of course the delectable Kate Bekinsale as Selene, the Vampire Death Dealer who shook up the aristrocratic decadent world of her kindred by forming an alliance with Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman) a hybrid of Vampire and Lychen (Warewolves). Needless to say I quickly ordered the Unrated, extended Directors cut of the film from the US as soon as it was available.

In January 2006, UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION the sequel will hit the flicks. Appearently we will see a lot of the backstory of both Selene and Viktor, as well as the aforementioned action elements of the original. I'm already salivating.

Now why can't all goths look like Selene? The perfect female form poured into a sinfully tight black PVC number, sapphire blue eyes, deshevilled raven coloured hair and a stainless-steel slide on her Walther P-99 9mm automatic pistol.

Because then the rest of the females on the planet would be ignored by man.

Grab the trailer to Underworld: Evolution only on Yahoo Movies.

Mr. Sulu comes out

It has emerged officially today that George Takei the 68 year old actor best known as Lt. Sulu in the original Star Trek TV series (and later Captain Sulu in the Star Trek movies) is a homosexual.

I can't say I was shocked to read this to be quite honest. I recall going all the way up to Dublin about 13 years ago now to a big Star Trek convention there and I met the man in person and I'll admit, I've never met a nicer more courteous bloke. He must have signed something in the region of 1000 autographs in the couple of days he was there and he still had time to sign my USS Excelsior blueprints.

I can only hope that Howard Stern (the US version of Cubaboy) isn't too unkind as he regularly just calls Takei on his car phone just to listen to his cool and mellow voice.

Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis to get renewed.

This in from scifi.com. Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis to get renewed. The longest running Sci-Fi show ever: Stargate: SG-1 and it's spin-off show Stargate: Atlantis are to get 10th and 3rd seasons next year respectively.

Stargate: SG-1 recently took a new direction with the departure of Richard Dean "MacGyver" Anderson from the show when his character Jack O'Neill was promoted to Major General and was transferred to Washington to head the Earth Defense programme (god help the earth)! Farscape's Ben Browder took command of SG-1 as Lt.Col. Cameron Mitchell and veteran actor Beau Bridges (left) is Major General Hank Landry the new SGC commander. A seemingly invincible new enemy, The Ori was revealed also in season nine and I'm sure the writers, producers and the cast are happy that their new dynamic and tale won't end this year.

The one place in the universe, I'm never going is to the Lost City of the Ancients, or Atlantis as it's better known as. Why? Because not one, but both of the US Marine Colonels who have ventured there- Col. Marshall Sumner (Robert Patrick) (left) and Col. Dillon Everett (Clayton Landrey) (right) have had their life energy sucked out of them and they died horribly. While I personally dissapprove of the fact that the Atlantis mission is administrated by civilains, I'm not volunteering to oust that administration any time soon.

Being a bad place for my peers notwithstanding, I think Atlantis has found feet this year and is gaining strength. Much owing to the new dynamic of Mitch (Asst.Dir. Skinner in X-Files) Pileggi as Col. Steven Caldwell (An Air-Force Colonel- so he doesn't die) the commander of the Daedalus, the Prometheus' sister-ship constructed with the aid of the Asguard.

While we still have to wait until January for the second half of the current seasons of both shows, at least we have a whole season of each to look forward to.

Cubaboy Strikes Back!

Steve has a new "improved?" blog here.

He's promising "fun puzzles" now.

Congratulations to Cubaboy on being the 500th visitor to my Blog at 08:47 GMT yesterday.

I can do no more then this to be quite honest. Visit blogsbystephen at your own risk...

Red 6 becomes one with the force.

Actor William Hootkins who played a minor yet oft' discussed role as Jek "Red6" Porkins in Star Wars IV: A New Hope passed away after a battle with cancer at age 58.

Although he had a small part as an X-Wing pilot who bravely assaulted the original Death Star before being shot down, he was loved by Star Wars fans worldwide and naturally has his own action figure- one which I have as yet to add to my collection.

Rogue Trooper comes to PC

Rogue Trooper was always my favourite 2000AD strip, now it's going to be a game.

Rogue Trooper is a third-person action game with squad combat elements for the comic's hero to command when in battle.

"On the hostile planet of Nu Earth, there are tales of a lone warrior. A man who appears out of thin air to take out whole platoons, then disappears back into the shadows. In the centre of a futile war, one man can swing the balance: the ultimate soldier and last survivor of the massacred Genetic Infantrymen, hell-bent on revenge ... the Rogue Trooper. "

Rebellion fucked up Judge Dredd's video game so I'm going to reserve judgement on SCi's (Carmageddon) effort for Rogue Trooper.

Zombies are here. Be prepared!

One of the finest news-sources on the planet "The Onion", has just released an article detailing the inadequate defences in the city of Pittsburgh, which indicates that the city could easily succumb to a devastating zombie attack. It provides from some sobering reading here.

I myself am a veteran of many attempts by the undead to walk the earth but usually these incursions are on a small scale limited to secret underground military installations. The true danger nowadays is that they could surface during the day and learn to use weapons armour or even vehicles or some freaky shit like that.

The end of this month is a prime time for them to 'surface' and feed off the living so I'd suggest arming yourself with something deadly, anything that could remove a head would be good, but a few well judged whacks with a hurley should do the job too.

Be aware as well of young zombies posing as "Trick or Treaters". I came accross one poor fucker who got his arm bitten off by a group of them one year before my team arrived to liquidate the little shits! So if they do call to your door this year I'd suggest crowning them with a hurley before they do their thing- if it does turn out to be a genuine kid: just think of the fortune you save the parents in the future on schooling and college fees.

2IGTV Episode 7

The latest episode of 2IGTV is now online here. We recorded a special ultra-long bumper edition of the show on Sunday evening as circumstances prevented us from recording one within our projected 10-12 day timeframe. There's too much content to go into here, you should know the kind of podcasting gold you get now anyway...

Sunday, A Day of Rest.

This graph shows distribution of visitors to "The Colonel's Eagle".

As I'm still in the recovery stages of my 30th Birthday celebrations, I've just been taking it easy looking at some of my visitors statistics to this page today and I've found a few intresting things I'd like to share with you all.

Firstly, an 'unfortunate' 88% of surfers are using IE to browse, 5% Firefox, Safari 2% and the remaining 5% is shared between Opera, Mozilla and Netscape.

Of greater intrest is who is reading this. Well naturally, I know most of the people here, but what about the poor unfortunate people who unsuspectingly find themselves here?

A Canadian visitor was brought here when he asked Mysearch.com "what is the name of the muppet eagle". Another Canadian surfer asked Google "to others before the google folks fix this" as a seach term and he was to the Smurfs post.

An American in Denver, Colorado asked google to find him "colonel war eagle". The "War eagle" is a rare variation of the Colonel's rank insignia (in my logo at the top) where the head of the eagle is facing towards the arrows it's carrying. I suspect he's a collector of militaria like me.

Someone in Dublin did a google on"ciaran creedon" and was naturally brought here, obviously someone who misplaced the URL, remember to bookmark folks!

Someone in Atlanta, Georgia did a 'search.people.com' on Colonel Oliver North and a day later a countryman of his in somewhere called East Wenatchee, Washington googled the term "oliver north said i am innocent". Both were brought to my Oliver North post.

I became apprehensive when I saw that someone from the United States Government Centre for Disease Control in Stone Mountain, Georgia came here from another blog but what really got my attention was the two hits on Thursday last from, someone working for the 347th Communication Squadron of the United States Air Force who came here via a masked path so I can't tell what they wanted, or if they found it :-O

I'm off now to record Episode VII of 2IGTV a special bumper episode since it's been so long since the last one.