Beijing is a huge sprawling mass of concrete and dust. It is home to over 13 million yet has a cold, uninviting feel to it. Old Soviet-style apartment blocks cling to the sides of 16 lane roads clogged with cars owners who exasperate the pollution problem with their pride and arrogance.
However, taking a stroll down one of the thousands of side streets or hutongs can wield surprising results. Try taking a step back from the clutter of horns and bells and have a walk around the smaller streets in your neighbourhood and try to discover a bit of the city you never knew about.
These photos were taken earlier this year just south of People’s University while I was looking for a shortcut on my return from work one saturday.
Not those type of rocks you crack heads! Here’s some old school punk and metal from the biggest bands in Beijing: Brain Failure and Black Panther. I’ll be heading out to the punk clubs soon for some more up-to-date videos, pictures and reviews of both old and new bands.
Love them or hate them, the Ewoks are shit. A blatant product of George Lucas’ Yes Men hard at work. Yet the the remastered versions of Return of the Jedi (1997 and 2005) seem to be lacking a little something. Sure, there are cool new scenes of the Empire crumbling around the planets we know and love, but the music sucks! Where’s the nub nub i ask?
So for all of you who actually want more Ewoks, or for those who enjoy a bit of nostalgia, here’s the original 1983 ending to Return of the Jedi:
Back in the early ’90s the SNES and Megadrive were objects for fanboys to argue over in the playground when they got bored over Nike vs Reebok. Only those who were serious gamers knew that the Amiga ruled all with their ultimate weapon: the adventure game!
For those of you who want to relive some of those classic Amiga adventures (Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Monkey Island 1 & 2, Sam and Max, Flight of the Amazon Queen, Beneath a Steel Sky etc) can download Scummvm and a host of games from the site and *ahem*, I shouldn’t be saying this… “abandonware” sites can be found for those games you miss from the past.
Everything about Scummvm and downloads can be found here: ScummVM
In my first post I mentioned I didn’t want to tell you the random crap which happens in my life, but please forgive me if I post something interesting from my daily excursions every now and again.
I saw this guy on the way to lunch in Beijing’s CBD district. There were no ladders around or anyone from his company (I presume he was up there with a purpose). I don’t know how he got up there or how he planned to get down. I’ll take a wander over there again tomorrow to see if he’s still there.
Ok, to kick us off here is a short video on how to create an animated Gif using Adobe Imageready by Slashdottdott from Youtube ( http://uk.youtube.com/SlashDottDott). Although it’s just a beginner’s tutorial, it’s really quick and easy if you want to waste some time or learn something new.
I’ve always been a little bit suspicious about blogs. I’ve read a few on various different subjects and found them inane (however there are a few gems in the mound of shit).
On this blog I’ll just dump a load of links, videos, games and photos, without all the pretentious, self-obsessed crap which plagues most blogs.
If you like what you see then please give a comment (hate mail appreciated).
