Tuesday 24 June 2014

We have moved

Starting from today The Blogging Rat has moved to its own domain bloggingrat.ratime.org.au so please update all bookmarks.

The Ratimé Commitee

Tuesday 11 February 2014

The Truth About Bigfoot

Ok, so I refer to Bigfoot as a him all through this & this image is actually a her
We all know Bigfoot and his story. Well, ok, we probably don't know Bigfoot's story, except that every now and again there's a supposed sighting of him (or her if that video from the 60's is actually real). And sure, some of these “sightings” are nothing more than hoaxes made by people who are bored, want a little bit of fame or just want to hurt and discredit the whole Bigfoot mystery. And then there's the fact that some of these sightings have been made by terrified people who have simply just imagined they saw Bigfoot. They're not making a deliberate effort to hoax people with their claims. They just don't know what they actually saw. They saw something scary and their brain told them it's Bigfoot they're fleeing from. But not everyone who sees Bigfoot is given to these kind of hysterics; hunters, current or ex-servicemen/women, current or retired law enforcement officers should all be expected to keep a cool and level head in a Bigfoot sighting situation. Moreover, a number of them (particularly the hunters) should be able to tell the difference between a large bear and a giant primate.

Now imagine the damage Bigfoot would do
Except one of the biggest arguments the sceptics like to use to prove that Bigfoot doesn't exist is the fact that no body has ever been found. He hasn't even turned up on the road as road kill (and let's be honest, the only vehicle large enough to properly take down a Bigfoot is a truck. Just imagine a little Hyundai Excel striking a Bigfoot! It would be worse than hitting a roo!)

So how do you explain this? Quite simply, really:



Bigfoot is a Morlock!

Depending on which school you belong to this is your typical Morlock
Or perhaps you're of the school where this is the typical Morlock
Bigfoot actually lives in an elaborate set of underground tunnels, only emerging above ground to do some exploring and to make some observations about the what is happening in the world … and maybe to also scare the hell out of any bush walkers in the area (I'm sure they enjoy scaring people).

Now I can hear some of you saying, “Surely their tunnels would've been picked up by sensors that pick up on that kind of thing by now!” Well, no they wouldn't, because not only is Bigfoot a Morlock, he's also an alien. He's got super advanced alien technology protecting his set of elaborate underground tunnels (and depending on how you swing, he could also have the aid of government's and military to help protect him from the general public).

So if Bigfoot is actually an alien who hides out underground, what is he doing? Besides scaring the hell out of unsuspecting bush walkers, he's here to observe mankind and the world (as I've already mentioned). Now it's not so easy for a six foot something, hairy and apparently very smelly creature to sneak around unnoticed.
They wouldn't be able to get much work done if they were going out and taking sleeping people to study themselves (there'd probably be a few more Bigfoot sightings if that was the case), so they send out their helpers, the Greys, their worker drones, to retrieve their human subjects for them.

They've been doing this and more for years.

But that isn't all that they've been doing. As you're probably aware, the Bigfoot phenomenon isn't just restricted to America. There have been sightings of him all across the world, with sightings of the Yeti in the Himalayas to sightings of the Yowie right here in our own backyard
and elsewhere all across the world. Even the Lock Ness Monster is actually Bigfoot; they have a giant base set up under Loch Ness and the monster that we affectionately know as Nessy is actually a machine of theirs that allows them to explore the Loch and it's surrounds. That's right, Nessy is in fact, nothing more than some kind of alien submarine. Nessy isn't the only one of these they have. It's just that Nessy is the only one of these used in an area that is also inhabited by people.

On top of observing us and our world, Bigfoot also likes to keep track of our superstitions and beliefs. This is done by simply unleashing monsters or aliens (it is unclear which these are) from
other worlds and then record how we react to them. A few centuries ago we would've reacted to Chupacabra and Mothman as demons that we have to pray away. Now we simply argue about whether or not such creatures exist and organise little investigative parties to find out the truth of such beings. The same is also true of Bigfoot himself. By doing this kind of thing, Bigfoot is able to keep a clear track of where we are spiritually.

Except all this is kind of eye catching to the average, paranoid human being (and let's face it, we're all a little bit paranoid when it comes to the supernatural and aliens). What does Bigfoot do when he wants to do some stealthy observations? Everything I've mentioned so far has been far from that. Well, it's actually quite simple.
After all, we've started doing the same thing ourselves. That is, to send out unmanned drones. Except Bigfoot's unmanned drones are quite a bit more sophisticated than ours. Not to mention faster. As I just said, we're a pretty paranoid bunch (especially now that we're fighting the war against terror), and are likely to notice drones buzzing around the place. Well, not if those drones are too fast for the human eye to see. That's right, I'm talking about those rods that occasionally turn up in pictures and on film. These rods aren't some sinister (well, actually they could be sinister. We don't actually know what Bigfoot's plans are) beings from another dimension or their missiles. These are actually super fast, unmanned drones that Bigfoot uses to monitor our day to day life. That way he gets to see what we're up to without us seeing (mostly) him watch us.

Peace out!
Fox


*This isn't factual and is based purely on conjecture*

Friday 17 January 2014

Why are Ads Doing This?

After watching Katut declare his love for Rhonda, or possibly ask her to marry him (my Indonesian
isn't what it used to be), I was left wondering how I'm meant to feel about this; am I supposed to feel some kind of emotional connection to Rhonda and Katut? Relief that Rhonda chose him over Trent Too-Good (who I think might be a bit of a player and dropped Rhonda as soon as someone better came along)? Why else would Aami be telling us the story of Rhonda and Katut if we weren't meant to be feeling some kind of emotional connection with them? But then that leads to the obvious question;

Why the hell would Aami want us to feel this emotional connection with them at all?

It's not like I've gone out and bought some insurance after watching a particularly emotional episode of Bold and the Beautiful (yes, I'm guilty of that little sin. And no, I don't think there's ever been a “particularly emotional” episode ever) or Neighbours. Does Aami have that little faith in their insurance that they're trying to manipulate us through Rhonda and Katut?

And if that's the case, why the hell would I want to purchase their insurance? It's clearly not up to scratch.

But they're not the first company to do it; Budget Direct has Zeek and Ziah, the shape shifting aliens
sent here ahead of the main invasion force from their home world to gather information about life on Earth … yeah, I should probably explain that one; I'm sure you all remember a
couple of years ago how Budget Direct had that French woman in the shower singing “Bood-jay” while she washed her hair in the shower (and I might point out that she wasn't using nearly enough shampoo, which only strengthens my argument), and then being told “It's budget, love.” by her partner. Then all of sudden they had the same ad
Ok, slightly different bathrooms. But who's to say they didn't redecorate?
but with Zeek and Ziah the aliens in their place! Totally shape shifting aliens sent here to gather information. Although I still don't see what that story has to do with me buying insurance. Unless perhaps it's life insurance (does Budget Direct do life insurance?).

Then there's RACV and Jason and his possible new girlfriend. Although, the fact that Jason may now be dating the
new girl at work isn't going to make me rush out to get some boat insurance (the fact that I don't have a boat may also be a big reason for this as well). But still, the Jason wooing the new girl at work ads are far more tolerable than the original ones where he was a contender for the world's biggest douche title.

So it just looks like it's insurance companies that are guilty of trying to manipulate us into buying their stuff by trying to get us to connect on an emotional level, or scare us silly with the characters in their ads. Stands to reason; they're selling insurance, after all. There really isn't all that much to differentiate them from other insurance companies. At the end of the day, all you have after parting with you hard earned is a piece of paper stating how much you'll be paid if something bad happens to whatever you've insured (and considering it's an insurance company, that piece of paper is probably a very long, complicatedly worded document that ensures that insurance company is ripping you off unless you read through it thoroughly).

But then I remembered this:

 <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/DvlWQyvEI38" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Hilarious, right? Everyone loved this ad (if you didn't, you're wrong). It was the start of a whole wave of Bigpond ads with that father and son team. I'm not sure if they planned on all those ads or decided to just ride on the success of that first one, but I think we can all agree that the writers of those ads failed to recapture the brilliance of the first one (hahaha, Emperor Nasi Goreng!). Although, I don't think that Bigpond was trying to make us connect with those two on an emotional level. I think we supposed to be afraid of looking like a fool and passing it on to our children.

They are totally part of a larger invasion force!
And what really gets me is that these ads actually work! People make their decisions based upon these ads (otherwise why would these companies spend millions of dollars on them?), instead of actually doing some research into the product in question themselves. I don't want to be left wondering if my house insurance will be honoured when the main invasion force from Zeek and Ziah's home world arrive, that's why I don't pay any attention to these ads (except for entertainment) and actually do my own research before purchasing something important like an insurance policy.

Fox

Sunday 5 January 2014

Game Review: Pangya




For those that like Golf/anime. Then this game could be for you. It is a free to download and play as well as being a cash shop.  We have found the best way to convert cash to points is with the Ultimate Game Card which can be purchased from places like EB. 
The graphics are pretty good but depending on your graphics and computer speed, you may from time to time experience lag.
There are 19 courses for all levels of play whether you're a rookie or world pro.
Kooh
Cecelia

The characters range from a cute lil 11 yr old pirate girl, Kooh, to the more skanky type of Cecelia.  All up there are 11 characters both male and female.  Personally I play the demon son Kaz who has a pet dragon. (for those that don't know me I'm dragon mad).



GAME PLAY
There are 4 game modes
Family:   (up to 4 players can play on the one computer)
Versus: Take turns with other players to complete a course. You don't have to complete a whole course, choose 3, 6, 9 or 18 holes. The player with the lowest score at the end of the match wins!
Tournament:   30 players max, all shooting for the lowest score.  Everyone plays at the same time and must complet all 9 or 18 holes within a set time limit. The max time limit can be set as high as 50 minutes.  Special bonuses are handed out depending on your game play.
Battle Mode:  You put your pang on the line.(ingame currency which you earn as you play.  Points you pay with rl money).  You have a set time to chip in the hole or get as close as possible.  Max of 30 players.
Events are held year round.  At the moment it is the christmas event.  Just recently they have added  a daily quest which there are 3 parts ranging from earning so many pang per game, to HIO (hole in one), to match games which is a team event or complete certain courses.  Some of the other events are Halloween, Thanksgiving,  Valentine's Day, St Pats day, New Year,  Easter. There are also character birthday events.
There are a variety of caddies and mascots which give you bonuses depending on which one of these you choose.  Some will give you an extra slot in your inventory, or an extra power bar.
We have been playing Pangya since it was originally Albatross 18 a few years ago.  It can be frustrating, but is also a way you can take out your daily frustrations whacking a golf ball round a cow paddock.  (rofl).
If you decide to join us, you can look for me (rose)Sie or Black(tear)Ice.
Hope to see you on the Green.
Kuroi

Wednesday 18 December 2013

Jurassic Park Builder


So, I found a game on Facebook that I wanted to give a go. Now, I am in no way a big Facebook gamer as to play a lot of the mentioned games you need to add a lot of people to your account if your friends don't play the same games. Which in turn can turn your Facebook account upside down with so many people finding you because you play that game.

Well anyway, the game I found is call Jurassic Park Builder and when you first load the game on Facebook you get asked if you would like to install in to your mobile device, android, iOS and Amazon but you can still play it right from your Windows or OSx browser.

What you notice first after the game loads is that you are giving the task of feeding a baby Triceratops and bring it into adult hood. This is quite fun watching a baby dinosaur grow into its full size. Now if you’re anything like me you like games that move quickly to allow you to get use to the controls and the way the game works.

But feeding this baby triceratops is one long goal and takes a few minutes to get it to grow to the adult size that the mission is asking you to do. But then once you get the triceratops to adult hood who souls show up but Dr. Grant himself.

He gives you a mission and then leaves you to explore your Dinosaur Island, Once you complete the mission that you get given from Dr. Grant, you're then told to go to the Research lab. WOW they have a research lab, I wonder what fun and exciting things await for us in that building.

So the research place is quite quick at research and you get to create DNA strands sometimes this will work first time others it will take a little longer to gain that much needed DNA strand. But once you get the 3 DNA stands that you need you are given a new baby dinosaur.

Guess who you meet on your Dinosaur Island after completing the third mission, yes you guessed it the Jurassic Park owner himself Dr. Hammond. He gives you more missions because you can never have too many missions on any game.

You get to clear forest to expand your park and Dr. Hammond. Tells you that he wants this version of Jurassic Park to be bigger and better than the original, oh and as you progress through the game do not forget to collect the much needed coins form your Dinosaur.

You get to build enclosure that come with Dinosaur eggs that you have to hatch. Sometimes this can be down by pressing the speed up button but most of the time it will be a waiting game, like in real life. Then you have to feed it and the new Dinosaur you get is a meat eater so you need to go to the docks and order some meat and some veggies so you can continue feeding your little Dinosaur friends.

Oh and when you get passed the dock section of the game you run into another of Jurassic Park’s original guests, Malcolm who thinks it is safer to be with the Dinosaur then the guests that are coming to the park and what is more fun is you get to watch the guests in their cars drive around your two Dinosaur.

Now comes the fun part getting your friends to play this game so you can progress, this is where you get people from the forums to come and join you because you know your friends on FB are not cool enough yet to be playing this with you. The best way to try and get your friends to play this game is by sending out gifts, hang on that is what you do with most games on FB these days. But you can only send gifts to 50 friends at once.

I noticed I was lucky enough to already have friends playing this game which made my progress through it a lot easier.


Don't forget to expand and collect the needed amber to make more and more Dinosaur and make sure you keep your guests happy as they will bring the money in as well.

Monday 25 November 2013

Howl's moving Castle


Howls moving castle is an animated movie released in 2005 and is part of the Studio Ghibli collection. Directed and scripted by Hayao Miyazaki. It is a wonderful tale of magic, adventure, humour, and ultimately love.
The story goes like this, 
Sophie
Sophie is a 18 year old hard working hat maker on her way to see her sister, (yes I am aware this sounds very red riddinghoodish) where she is attacked by solders and is save by Howl (who is voiced by Christian Bale which I was surprised by because I don’t really like him as an actor). Howl is a very powerful magician who is caught in the middle of a war. The mysterious stranger who comes to her aid, who takes her for a magical walk above the crowded streets of Market Chipping to deliver her safely at the bakery where her sister works.
Howl

Because of this chance encounter the Witch of the Waste (yes I know Wizard of Oz)  puts a curse on Sophie and turns her into a 90 year old woman .We follow Sophie’s story ,along where she meets Turnip Head voiced by Crispin Freeman, who shows her the way to Howls moving castle.  It is powered and held together by a fire named Calcirfer voiced by Billy Crystal.
Turnip-Head

Through the whole movie there is a connection between Howl and Sophie which turns to love , it’s a war time love story  ,where you are just swept away by the art work in this film , it is just simply amazing.

DVD features:
There are not many features on the DVD. just the usually play ,select scenes and a theatrical trailer for the movie and a list of the Studio Ghibli collection , but other than that not much else , I know thrilling right , but what it lacks in this department it makes up for it on the art work on the front cover , there are a few covers out there depending on where you live and if you buy the English version (which this review  is about) of the Japanese version which was released first , but as I don’t know any Japanese I can’t review it .

This is my favorite movie in the vast Studio Ghibli collection, Because of the spectacularly beautiful art work and well-known actors that just sweeps you along threw the highs and lows of the whole magical love story. I recommend this to EVERYONE !

- Sora

Monday 11 November 2013

Review; Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine



Firstly, let me say that if I saw this for sale in store I would've bought it based purely on the cover. It has a pop up in it! 


Secondly, I am going to have to admit that I'm not all that familiar with the original Lupin the Third series. It's something I've heard about and been told I should see. And if it's anything like The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, and is actually true to the original series, I'm going to have get my act together and lay my hands on some original Lupin the Third in the near future. 


For those of you that don't know, The Woman called Fujiko Mine takes place before the first season. It focuses on Fujiko Mine and features the whole gang (so I'm informed) before they joined together. It centres around Fujiko Mine who throws the lives of LupinJigen and Goeman into chaos with her wild and unpredictable ways. 
 

There is something dark about most of the characters. But that's not to say that the whole series is dark. There are also moments of cool humour. The whole series is very laid back and cool, along the same lines of Cowboy Bebop with it's delivery.  


Throughout the series there are hints about Fujiko's past, but there's no definitive answers about what she's hiding. The opening and closing credits provide the most clues there. But it's clear that Fujiko is running from something in her past. It's also clear that she also enjoys living the life of a master thief, and that she's a very capable one. She'll stop at nothing and is willing to use anything at her disposal to get what she wants, and she wants what she lays her eyes on. Most of the time she's willing to leave others in trouble while she makes her escape, while at other times she's perfectly happy to team up if it suits her purposes. 


While he's already an established master thief, there is something amateurish and comical about some of Lupin's hijinks, as though he's still learning his trade. Or maybe he just really enjoys show boating. Given the fact that he announces his crimes to the police before hand, and the
amount of thought that actually goes into his heists, it's probably likely that it's the latter. Lupin really enjoys the notoriority of it all, and probably also enjoys making a fool out of Inspector Zenigata. However there is something predatory about Lupin at the same time; that note announcing that Fujiko Mine will be his, and we all know that Lupin gets what he wants, right? 


But while Fujiko and Lupin are enjoying their lives as master thieves, Jigen and Goeman are trying to forge new lives for themselves after crossing paths with Fujiko. They both seem to be unable to resist Fujiko's charm, and seem to find themselves caught up in her plans. Although since they both seem to be trying to find themselves, neither of them seems to might too much. At any rate, neither of them try very hard to avoid working with Fujiko. 
 


Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine is a fantastic series that leaves the audience wanting more. It's very easy to get lost in that world of intrigue and vice. Even not having seen the original series, The Woman Called Fujiko was great to watch. It was a great way to get to know the characters before they became who they are in the original series. It's definitely made me want to want to watch the next chapter in the gang's story once the story of The Woman Called Fujiko Mine is finished. Although one thing I did notice while watching is all of the owl symbolism that appeared in every episode. Up until the Death Day episode, I assumed that it had something to do with the overall Lupin the Third story that I wasn't familiar with yet. But after a couple of those flashbacks in Death Day, I now
think that all of that owl symbolism might actually pertain to Fujiko's secret. So it might pay to pay close attention to anything owl like that appears on screen; it might just help you figure out Fujiko's secret a little faster than the rest of us. 


Peace out!
Fox