Sabbatical or Retirement?

It seems like forever ago but I started this blog almost exactly ten years ago now. As I've probably mentioned here at some point during that time, it was my wife's idea. She doesn't like videogames much, you see, and was fed up with me burbling on about them. I don't remember doing it that much but she suggested I start this blog anyway, and get my gaming fix that way instead of bothering her.

So that's exactly what I did, and it has occupied a sizeable slice of my free time ever since. In all that time, I have posted something at least once every calendar month, usually many times, but that's until now. As the few regular visitors here may have noticed, it has now been over three months since I've posted anything. That doesn't mean I have fallen victim to a certain virus pandemic that's doing the rounds, I'm happy to say, but it has been a cause of concern for me nonetheless.

Red Parsley is Taking a Nap!

Oh dear, what in the blue blazes is happening? Apologies for the lack of new posts here at your (probably not) favourite gaming/movies blog. As predicted a while back, events have conspired against me and, despite continuing to have plenty of ideas and subject material, I now find almost no time at hand for playing or writing. This situation should only be short-term and I hope to be back to business as usual soon, but for the moment, don't give up on Red Parsley and keep checking for new stuff!

On the plus side, I did recently manage to catch San Andreas at the cinema (review coming soon-ish!) and among the numerous things to catch my eye was the leading lady, Alexandra Daddario, so here is a nice picture of her to pleasantly massage your visual cortex until I return once again!

 

So Much To Do, So Little Time...

Oh hello there, how's stuff 'n' junk? Things have been rather busy here in RKS Land, as some of the regular visitors among you may have noticed from the notably less-frequent posts here at Red Parsley. The main reason for this for the last couple of months or so has been my work. As much as I'd love to do this blog or something similar for a living, it is still sadly very much a part-time venture, undertaken purely for the nostalgic love of and continuing passion for video games, specifically those of older origins or created in a similarly splendid spirit.

The World Cup rules but it takes up a lot of time!

But yes, unfortunately I do have a need for a 'day job' and it's always ultra-busy at this time of the year which rarely leaves me in the best frame of mind for blogging when I get home, and I often haven't had time to take lunch breaks either, which is time usually spent playing games for reviews here. It's been this rather than a lack of interest or inspiration that has caused the reduction in new posts here and it's likely to continue for at least another month or so. My work is gradually easing up but now I have two new problems of sorts: firstly, the FIFA World Cup is here which is awesome, but it also means many of my evenings for the next few weeks will be spent on the sofa (or in the pub) with a few beers, watching some fine football; and secondly, my wife and I have some family visiting from Brazil for the next two-and-a-half weeks or so which inevitably means lots of taking them around to see places, meals out, and even five days in the ever-impressive Paris!

Blu Ray - What's The Big F*ckin' Deal, Bitch?

Although I have long been a keen retro gamer, it’s not just video games that I'm lagging behind on. Much of the music I listen to is by bands I enjoyed in my youth, or even from earlier than that, and I'm happy to wait to see most films and TV shows, even ones I've dying to see (which is probably why there are few 'new release' film reviews here at Red Parsley!). It also takes me much longer than most to embrace new technology. I still don't own a tablet (and have no intention of getting one) and I didn't even get my first mobile phone until about six years ago; even now I've only had three different ones.

Most of my Blu Ray collection (and PS3 too!)

With all this in mind, it's probably not surprising that it's only been in the last year that I finally got around to replacing my trusty CRT television with a flat-screen model, and as I've mentioned here before, I complemented this purchase with a PS3, primarily for its ability to play Blu Ray discs. This obviously facilitated my introduction to 'High Definition' entertainment but I've recently found myself wondering... is this it? What’s the big fuss all about? Ironically, one of the few times I've 'converted' quickly to a new technology was when the DVD format was unveiled. During the height of my irresponsible credit card days I bought my first player for £600 at a time when there were only around 10 films available on the fancy new discs (and half of those were single layer 'flippers') of which I bought three – Contact, Assassins, and Face/Off. The latter was the first one I watched and the difference in picture and sound quality was immediately obvious.

When Gaming Became a Reality (kind of)

I don't talk about it often here but, alongside the more obvious choice of football (I mean actual football - you know, where the 'ball' is kicked with the 'foot'), my favourite sport is the stupidly-named-but-still-awesome American Football. It's a sport that always been popular in its homeland, now more than ever, but aside from the odd spurt of interest elsewhere, few other countries really take an interest. There are a few fans here and there of course, like myself, and it may not surprise you to hear that my appreciation of the sport stems from the world of video games.

The superb sequel to the original Joe Montana game...

Back in the early 90's when Sega's MegaDrive was the latest console powerhouse wowing the world, I was given a game by a college friend called Joe Montana Football. I had no clue who he was or what the sport really entailed but thanks to a combination of trial and error and a periodic scan of the hefty instruction book I gradually learnt the rules to this complicated sport. Soon after this I discovered that one of the less popular television channels here in the UK showed games on Sundays so I decided to give the real sport a try, but I needed a team to follow. The first and most obvious choice was the team I played as in the game - the San Francisco 49ers, led by who I then knew was the legendary quarterback of the game's title himself. However, he was nowhere to be seen! It later turned out that he had been traded to the Kansas City Chiefs that very summer and Steve Young now had the unenviable job of following in his footsteps.

Time For A Break...

Oh, hello there, I'm Simon, custodian of this humble blog. As regular visitors may have noticed by now, new posts have been somewhat thin on the ground of late. This has mainly been caused by a recent period of illness from which I am now mostly recovered. Since then, however, I have found myself with a startling lack of interest or enthusiasm in doing... well, pretty much anything really, and that includes playing spiffy retro games and then writing about them here. I therefore think the time is right to take my first sabbatical since starting this blog over three years ago. I feel confident my passion and enthusiasm for this subject, as well as my other fields of endeavour, will soon return. Until then, enjoy the summer, and I'll no doubt be boring you with all manner of new posts in a few weeks or months. And don't defect to any other blogs or I shall be most upset ;)

Astronomical Musings #1

I recently read a news report on a subject that I've long found slightly irksome - extrasolar planets. They, for non-astronomers, are planets in orbit around stars that are not our Sun. They are difficult to spot - considering their distance it's hardly surprising - and it's only been with the help of recent innovations in the field that astronomers have been reliably able to detect them amidst the glare of their parent star. As the news article in question mentions, this is done by looking out for the tiny and very brief drop in luminescence in the star as the planet passes between it and us.

The existence of quite a large number of these planets has now been confirmed. Amazingly, from such a huge distance it's possible to determine what kind of planet they are and even their temperature. Many of those found so far are gas giants but this latest discovery is not. Not only is it a terrestrial planet (i.e. one with a solid surface) but it's also one that's supposedly in the so-called 'habitable zone' around its host star. By this the genius astrophysicists mean that its distance from its star and therefore its mean surface temperature is comparable to that of Earth. This had led to many excited claims of 'a second Earth' or a 'twin' of our planet which has in turn prompted some more imaginative individuals to speculate that it might even host complex life-forms not unlike those found here on our own planet, and it's from here that my problem arises.