Saturday 24 August 2019

Sneak Preview - Sequel to DC's Justice League Movie!



Man, I'd buy that for a dollar! ;)

Star Wars: The Mandalorian.



Speechless - all I can say is that this looks to be shaping up to be something special and rather good.

Thursday 22 August 2019

Best Spider-Man movie ever?




Gaming stuff

I finished Days Gone yesterday (really enjoyed it!) and a while ago I picked up Uncharted 4 for a reasonable price (£12!) on Amazon.  (Still need to give Red Dead Redemption 2 a spin but it seems like you need to commit to that more than you would commit to bringing up a child!  It's all installed and ready to go but after the first game having *that* ending, not sure if  I could endure that trauma again)



I played the first game and was so disappointed with the combat.  I hope this one improves upon that shortcoming?  In all honesty, I do prefer the new Tomb Raider reboots but willing to give it a spin.  I have the 4 hour rule - if it doesn't grab me, it gets resold.


Also, hooked up the PS4 VR again into the PS4 Pro - I do miss HDR gaming but playing the VR Star Wars Mission in Battlefront more than makes up for it.



(Not so) Guilty Pleasures: Dawn of the Dead (1978) - OST by Goblin


Wednesday 21 August 2019

It's been a funny few months...

A difficult post - I've been struggling massively these past months/few years with depression.  Full disclosure, earlier this year things got way too heavy and I came very close to doing something very stupid.

My resolve/resilience is massively low right now and I have taken some annual leave from work to try and "fix" things - insomnia, moods which swing from low to even lower and a general lack of appetite for life.

When I say "fix" things, I mean "manage".  Depression, both clinical and chronic, is something I have to live with and adjust to.  I've come to the conclusion that it will never go away.

Therapy has helped, massively when it comes to processing my feelings and emotions (I learned that emotions, even the negative ones, are not "bad" things - they act as a temperature check and enable us to cope with certain situations).  Since August 2017, I kind of switched off my emotions in order to deal with a traumatic life event.  Since then, I've only felt anger, remorse and resentment.  It's kind of like all the "good" and "positive" was vacuumed  out of me, leaving only a hollow husk of an unlikable individual.  However, I am trying to take pleasure in the smaller moments, the simple things that enable me to experience pleasure again.

A pattern I do need to break is this sense of dislocated "doom" or "disaster" that lurks just out of sight on the periphery of my thoughts and emotional "spectrum".  I think this is a massive trigger for me.  It feels like my life lurches from one negative experience to another and again, not healthy.  I am no longer able to "live in the moment" and I always feel as if my life experience is like a VHS tape, always on "fast forward".  And this is why I fail.

Something I have learned is that depression is a killer.  It not only steals happiness, it takes time and happiness away from us.  Stunting our development and life experiences.  I have missed out on so much since I was first diagnosed (medically) with depression in 2010.  Nine years later and I have learned so much, about myself, what makes me tick and what drives me.  Sometimes I like what I see and other times I don't.

I guess I need to embrace the positive and the negative to become the person I need to be instead of the one I think I *should* be?

Edited to Add - Myself and Linda are not going to taint this blog with commenting on certain people's lies.  By acknowledging their existence, Linda and I give them power and dominion over us.  Which is exactly what they crave.  #sad

Tuesday 20 August 2019

(Not so) Guilty Pleasures - Night of the Creeps



I am so gutted that #shoutfactory would not ship to the UK.  Hoping to potentially pick one up when next in the USA but it appears to be sold out.  #ebay prices are off the chain!  I love this movie so might watch the #bluray at some point this week.  Yeah, the action figure would be great but the movie is on my shelf so it's all good :)  #positive #outlook  Reject the negative!

Thrill me!

Moments in art - The Garden of Unearthly Delights (Bosch)

I think I was about 8 years old when I first saw this image in a library book.  A complete mind fuck but even as an adult, it's still a mind fuck now.

Image result for garden of unearthly delights bosch


Click here for larger version.

Interpretation 


As a lay person, I always interpreted this triptych as "Heaven, Purgatory and Hell".  But who am I to guess?  (Heaven has cats - woot!) 

Monday 19 August 2019

Ideas!

I was contemplating starting a new blog to post stuff other than photography but I thought, that might be a bit dull and a faff.  Having one all purpose site to put ideas, photos and things that interest me is much more utilitarian (for me at least).


I guess in my old age I just like a one stop shop where I can pop my thoughts, share an idea or a photo is much handier.  Also, it keeps everything in one place for my audience of 10 hardcore readers ;)

Recent stats - this humble page has had almost 253,000 views since it was first started.  My Flickr is up to edging towards 50,505,000 hits (I had a spike of almost 92,000 hits on 17/08/2019).


So, things aren't changing - new shoot planned hopefully in the next few weeks and will involve a classic Dr Who villain from the Troughton era (specifically, this story).

Have a great week, peeps!

Something to keep you all amused in the meantime.

IMG_3832

Sunday 18 August 2019

(Not so) Guilty Pleasures: Gary Larson - The Far Side.

I have a copy of this cartoon pinned next to my desk at home.  It's one of my lovely wife's favourites.


Image result for gary larson cat fud


(Not so) Guilty Pleasures: Exorcist III

I will make no bones about this one - this movie is one of the best examples of Horror Cinema.  William Peter Blatty was an utter genius.  30 years on and this work of cinematic genius still holds up today.


This article really nails the amazing intellect behind what is a unique experience (and the novel is well worth reading).




Time for some fun. Charlie the Unicorn



It's all been a bit doom and gloom recently so, Candy Mountain!

Mental Health Support


This is another great resource.  If you're feeling low, there is always assistance out there.  I admit, I struggle with my mental well-being, given recent events (threats made to myself and Linda, but I will not go into that as by even mentioning it here brings even more unwanted attention**) and life changing events of the last couple of years.

**Note:  I guess it won't end while I am still breathing.  Bullying a vulnerable person who is at risk of self harm is acceptable, in their eyes I guess?  I just wish they would stop and leave us alone.

Edited to Add - Not going to taint this blog with certain people's lies. By acknowledging their existence, Linda and I give them power and dominion over us. Which is exactly what they crave. #sad