About a year after I bought Blade on video, the tape played back a bit wobbly so I bought it again. Watching Blade II in the early hours of this morning with my big-little brother (again about a year after having bought it), the same wobbliness of its predecessor kicked in - this time causing the tape to get chewed up.

Surprisingly, I found the whole thing quite funny - probably because it mirrored the previous film’s problem, which was just odd to say the least. Besides, it’s no good crying over spilt milk et cetera.

And foreseeing comments from people saying to upgrade to DVD: VHS is better - less faffage amongst other things. So there.

…someone points out that the wallpaper on your phone is of writer, Doug Naylor.

But of course, we all knew that.

I only had to go to Racodac today for a personal tutorial about the progress of my Screen Type project. I haven’t even started the project yet, so I showed the tutor my Young Musicianage logo instead. Which, incidentally, he didn’t like despite the three hours it took me to finish last night.

I also had to attend a photography studio induction that lasted a whopping eight minutes. All in all, I was at Racodac for no longer than an hour. So bus fare was well spent again today.

Okay, so I use a bus pass. But had I paid the full rip-off £1.20 bus fare twice, it would’ve been a complete waste of three & a bit Pot Noodles.

No spoilers here, matey.

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith was absolutely fantastic; never before have I made such a conscious effort not to blink for fear of missing anything.

Bridging the gap between the prequel trilogy and the original can’t have been an easy feat. But this film fits perfectly between Episode II & IV and only now does the saga truly feel complete.

Among other high points, Anakin’s transformation to the dark side, mooted for nigh on thirty years, and his duel with Obi-Wan were breathtaking - despite its inevitability - leaving me dumbfounded and with an aching jaw.

George Lucas, I salute thee.

This is Blake Neale reporting for ::BigBlakeBlog:: outside the Odeon cinema in Beckenham - waiting to see what is probably the most anticipated film of all time: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.

It’s sure to break all box office records to date, but come back later today for my verdict.

Forgetting the fact I’ve always joked about nakedness at Racodac since my interview (when I overheard a young lass being praised for saving someone’s project through appearing naked in it), I never considered being subjected to nakedness despite the slight arty nature of the course.

Obviously we’re all human adults and we should be able to observe our reproductive systems without adolescent sniggering. But I’m not a pretentious art twat so I find bouts of nakedness rather amusing - most of all when they’re least expected and/or unnecessary.

In Context Studies today we were shown the designs of various AIDS campaigns. AIDS itself is a serious issue and therefore not funny. But some of the tactics used in the designs were very funny, which created a weird air in the Lecture Hall where people wanted to laugh but didn’t for fear of acting out of place.

Backing up a couple of hours for another funny, Elliot S. and myself were caught in a giggle loop moment when one of our tutors knocked a hot beverage over on the table and remained seated in the spillage not realising the accident had taken place. What made matters worse was that this took place in the middle of a group critique, so the both of us were struggling not to laugh, but were also restricted as to where we could look away from the incident.

We both shared a giggle loop moment yesterday too - when we saw another of our tutors strutting his funky stuff. He wasn’t dancing, mind - he was just placing an empty cup down on a desk.

Oh, how we laughed.

Throughout my life, I’ve almost always found my own ‘thing’ and not been one to follow trends. Yes, I may be one of millions of Red Dwarf fans, but I developed this passion by myself - for myself - not because anyone else told me to do so.

The many people I see that have personalities manufactured by their peers and/or current fads shouldn’t bother me. But it *really* does. I realise that it’s virtually impossible to get through life without being influenced by others (cue a long discourse on Ideological State Apparatus), but I’m talking specifically here about following trends for the sake of. Just think of those god-awful frog/chick/dragon ringtones that you can’t avoid the adverts for. They’ve only taken off because it’s a trend.

Anyway, although I could continue moaning about this in a general sense for ages, there is something specific that I want to mention: The word “chav”. Don’t get me wrong - chavs themselves are, let’s face it, scum. But it’s the overuse of the word at the moment that’s really getting to me.

I read on Ceefax late last year that the word was voted the Best new word of 2004 (or something to that effect) by top dictionary chief-people. This, I’m sure, has contributed to the awareness of the word, aiding its propulsion as a trend.

Exactly how it could be voted as a “new” word, however, is beyond me; I myself used the word at least three years ago, as I remember having to explain to someone at the time what I meant in saying it. It’s just hearing it several times a day now is too much, too quickly. It’s not the most pleasant-sounding of words to start with; the effort to say “ch” gives the impression that the word is building to something bigger, but the sudden “av” that follows is anticlimactic, making it sound harsh.

Not that I often sit and evaluate the structure of words, or anything. As I said, I know this shouldn’t bother me, but hearing its constant use - quite often incorrectly, too - really does get my feckles up.

End of.

My father has just read over an important form that I filled in - checking for any inaccuracies before I put it in the post. And the only thing he queried was why I’d put the letter “g” instead of the at sign (@) in my email address.

I’ve only been writing the at sign wrong all these years!

What a tw@.

Last week the tutors had a go at us about the poor turnout for software training. I was going to attend, but I spent all day sorting out the animation machine instead.

Anyway, today - much to my annoyance - I rushed to Racodac for software training all to find that it wasn’t on. I mean, it’s just not playing cricket, is it?

Making the most of my time, I captured my animation, edited it together and exported it back to VHS ready for the critique tomorrow -the critique which marks the end of this horrible unit.

You know, I’m sooo tempted to show the tutor an animation that I made when I was just eleven years old - it beats these last two animation projects I’ve done hands down.

Because of the highly demanding animation projects I’ve been working on of late, I’ve completely abandoned Young Musicianage. It’s not due for another month, so it’s not as if I’ve been a naughty boy with it or anything. Still, today I’ve been brainstorming ideas for it and have come up with a wonderfully in-depth conclusion:

“Bumflaps.”