New blog!

I promise I'm really going to blog this time. In the past I've always found it hard to blog, and now I think I know why. The problem is continuity. I hear the right way to blog is to keep it focused on a specific subject. Maybe you love a particular thing and you want to stay focused on it.

My problem with that is that means there are some things I can't blog about. What if I see something cool which I want to talk about but it's not in keeping with the theme of the blog? That sucks! So this time round it's going to be a collection of stuff. If you're only interested in one thing, hit the tags. If you just want to hear about design, click the design tag. This is the only way I'll be able to blog in the first place, I have to be able to blab about anything.

There's too much cool stuff out there to talk about one thing.

Let's do this!

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This is a test

This is a test post.

After reading this perhaps I'll understand how the jquery works.

Many thanks.

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THIS BLOG HAS MOVED

Check out http://www.zillastyle.com for awesome finds from around the world!

Also: I'm messing around with templates here, so don't be surprised if the place looks broken ;)

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Am I Godzilla? I am Godzilla!

For a while now games have tried to put the player in the 'shoes' of giant monsters. None however have been so specific as 'I Am Godzilla!'. This flash game has literally one mechanic, stomping.

Using either the keyboard or mouse you control your mighty 'zilla foot, and press space or the left mouse button to crush whatever, or whoever is foolish enough to be below it. You have to time your clicks to get the most effective stomp in, and failing to do so results in some quick button mashing to lift your foot before you can take damage. This usually comes from from angry citizens and the army, who don't take kindly to your new found hobby.

As you rack up points and progress you'll be able to purchase upgrades, and effectively grow up, making your business end larger, faster and stronger (cue Daft Punk). Speaking of music, in the game tune choice is kinda weird, but hey! You might love it!

To recap the controls, use the mouse or arrow keys to move. Press the right mouse button or space to stomp. Press P to pause. Finally when low on health you have the option to press R to run away, which results in a mini game where you either press keys or move the mouse to run, after which you return to the same level with as much heath as you could accumulate. This is essential in later levels. Go forth and stompify!

Armor Games - I Am Godzilla

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Old Chewits adverts

One the first 'zilla style things I saw growing up was The Muncher, a mascot for Chewits sweets in the UK. In the 80s he was a classic B-Movies clay-mation monster. In the early 90s the colour sceme got brighter and the monster more cartoon like, but still clay-mation. Then in the late 90s they made the jump to 2D animation, also renaming him to The Chewitsaurus. Now he's seen less on TV, and more as an internet logo mascot known as 'Chewie'.

The old clay-mation adverts were a lot of fun, usually involving The Muncher eating various other things (vehicles, the Taj Mahal, Barrow-In-Furness's bus depot) but always found Chewits to be, well... chewiest!

The hardest video to find has been the early 90s commercial. The new-look Muncher was trying out rubber boats, rubber tires and something else trying to find something chewy. Eventually he settled on Chewits, naturally! Do you remember this advert? If so please get in touch just so I know I'm not going mad! I'd love to see it again. It's interesting to see how to image has evolved and you can find more Chewits videos on zillastyle's Youtube page linked below. In the meantime here's my favourite from the 80s version.

Youtube - zillastyledotcom
Chewits - Official Website

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You are the Kaiju

So it's 10pm in the UK and I'm still taking in all the recent announcements from Microsoft's E3 press conference. E3 is a big-ass electronic expo where Microsoft, Sony & Nintendo (aka: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 & Wii) show off all their new hardware and software. Microsoft just had their time to show off, and would you believe it! Giant monsters found their way into the press conference. This is further proof that Kaijus make everything better.

A project codenamed "Natal" (Microsoft's answer to Wii's motion controls) looks pretty cool. Instead of relying on a controller... YOU ARE THE CONTROLLER! Imagine that! It's basically PlayStation's Eye-toy on steroids which recognises your movements, as well as your voice.

The promo video features not only bad actors pretending to have fun, but also an example of monster madness. Check out the the video below around 1:12 in, you don't control the Kaiju...

YOU ARE THE KAIJU!

Xbox 360 - Official Website

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Happy birthday Big Ben

The world's most famous clock celebrates its 150th birthday today! Also it's important to remember that the name 'Big Ben' actually refers to the bell which resides in one of the UK's most iconic Landmarks.

Despite the clock starting on May 31st 1859, the great bell within didn't actually sound until a good six weeks later on June 11th. Regardless, the instantly recognisable sound has kept Londoners on-time for a century and a half. Must be hard working in London, you've no excuse to be late with that loud thing reminding you when it's the top of the hour. Excuses excuses indeed...

You'd be right to ask how this fits in this blog. Well back in 1961, Eugene Lourie (who brought us The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms eight years earlier) directed a British take on Godzilla movies called 'Gorgo'. While perhaps not as well none as the 1953 classic, Gorgo sees a sea monster's offspring captured and taken to London as a circus sideshow. Naturally, "Mama" Gorgo isn't happy about this and heads to London to get her kid back.

While ironically difficult to find in the UK, this movie is available on DVD in the US. Here however is cult TV show MST3K's take on Gorgo, specifically the scene in which Big Ben is destroyed just under two minutes into this clip. If you're unfamiliar with MST3K (or, Mystery Science Theatre 3000) then I hope this is a decent introduction, but I've provided a link below so you can find out more about this amazing (now sadly finished) show.

Gorgo on DVD - Amazon
MST3K Info - Wikipedia

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