IT IS THE SOLDIER

It is the Soldier, not the minister
Who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the Soldier, not the poet
Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer
Who has given us freedom to protest.

It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the Soldier, not the politician
Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.


©Copyright 1970, 2005 by Charles M. Province

Robin Hood Review

To start with, this movie is not about the Robin Hood we know in stories and such, rather this film is about how Robin Longstride became Robin Hood. 

  The movie's director has many great films to his name, Alien comes to mind, and his direction in this movie is brilliant.  The shots are nitty, dirty and perfectly woven into the story's context.  

  

  The cast is is also great, with Russel Crowe playing Robin Hood.  Crowe gives the character a wisened man who can still kick ass, while Cate Blanchett plays the role of Marion Loxley.  Some have said that a younger woman would have been better, buth with Russel Crowe that woman would have been young enough to be his daughter!

  The story is solid enough and with a mix of friendly scenes mixed in with battle and war one would no see the time pass by.  One thing I have noticed, that doesn't really bode well for the film, is King James' rather great resemblance to Blackadder.  I was just waiting for Baldrick to show up with is boxers draped on his head.

  The action is well directed, with a number of impressive scenes that remind me of the bomb scene in Pearl Harbor.  The acting is great, and the musical score is good too.

  All in all I'd give it an 8/10, and here's the trailer:

Florence + The Machine to sing in Twilight: Eclipse? Gulp.

Yep.  It's confirmed.  Florence Welch shall sing "Heavy In Your Arms" in Twilight Eclipse.  And yes, I will watch the movie.  Just for her though.   Nothing else.

Florence And The Machine leads MOJO Honour's List Nominees

This time last year her debut album, Lungs, hadn't been released. Since then Florence Welch has enjoyed a meteoric rise and clearly made her mark among MOJO readers as she scooped four nominations when the shortlists for this year's MOJO Honours List were unveiled last night. No other act in the seven-year history of the MOJO Honours List has ever been nominated in four voted-for categories.

Florence And The Machine are nominated in the MOJO Best Album category (sponsored by Ford Transit) for Lungs, MOJO Breakthrough Act, MOJO Best Live Act (sponsored by Red Stripe) and MOJO Song Of The Year for You've Got The Love.

Elsewhere, Kasabian are nominated three times for MOJO Song Of The Year (Fire), MOJO Best Album (sponsored by Ford Transit) for West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum, and MOJO Best Live Act (sponsored by Red Stripe), while Sheffield's Arctic Monkeys are nominated in the latter category as well as in MOJO Song Of The Year for Crying Lightning. Fellow Steel City hero Richard Hawley receives two nominations in the MOJO Song Of The Year category (Open Up Your Door) and the MOJO Best Album category (sponsored by Ford Transit) for Truelove's Gutter.

The full list of nominees reads as follows:

MOJO BEST ALBUM
(sponsored by Ford Transit)

Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum (Columbia)
Richard Hawley - Truelove's Gutter (Mute)
Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me (Drag City)
Florence And The Machine - Lungs (Island)
Paul Weller - Wake Up The Nation (Island)

MOJO BREAKTHROUGH ACT

The Jim Jones Revue
John Grant
Florence And The Machine
The Low Anthem
Mumford And Sons

MOJO BEST COMPILATION

A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Exploding In Your Mind - Volume 2: Pagan Love Vibrations Compiled And Mixed By The Amorphous Androgynous (Platipus Records)
Can You Dig It? The Music And Politics Of Black Action Films 1968-1975 (Soul Jazz)
Where The Action Is: Los Angeles Nuggets 1965-1968 (Rhino)
Charlie Gillett's Radio Picks From Honky Tonk (Ace)
Island Records Reggae Box Set - War Ina Babylon (Universal Music Catalogue)

MOJO BEST LIVE ACT
(sponsored by Red Stripe)

Kasabian
Midlake
Rufus Wainwright
Arctic Monkeys
Florence And The Machine

MOJO SONG OF THE YEAR

Richard Hawley - Open Up Your Door (Mute)
Florence And The Machine - You've Got The Love (Island)
Kasabian - Fire (Columbia)
Arctic Monkeys - Crying Lightning (Domino)
Rage Against The Machine - Killing In The Name (Sony)

In addition to these contemporary categories the MOJO Honours List will also include a host of merit awards bestowed by the magazine itself. These will include The MOJO Inspiration Award (sponsored by HMV), The MOJO Les Paul Award (sponsored by Gibson), The MOJO Hall Of Fame award (sponsored by Universal Music Catalogue) and the MOJO Catalogue Release Of The Year (sponsored by HMV).

Halo Reach: Birth of a Spartan

This a new trailer for the new Halo game: Halo Reach. It looks good, but I expected something more.

Halo Reach the las Halo game ever?

In a recent interview with MSNBC, Bungie's GM said that Halo Reach is going to be the greatest Halo game ever.  As they have no plans to revisit Halo, they are going to make Reach the best title yet.  


The story is going to be a deep, Band of Brothers style drama about a small group of people.  As in Band of Brothers: They depended on each other.  The world depended on them.


From the beta it looks as though it shall be a whole new Halo experience, with better customisation and vehicles.  The vehicles themselves are drive from inside, as in when a player is driving a vehicle the camera is inside the cockpit.  This makes it a great contender for any Battlefield game for the next few years.


Unfortunately, this could very well be the last we hear of Halo, except in books and the film that Peter Jackson should really start working on.  Right now.

Charity takes on a new approach...

This here is a man who decided to use his body for charity.  For a price, people will...pull wax strips off of him!  Watch and enjoy as he writhes in pain!

Help! Facebook causes Syphilis!

   When one thinks of syphilis, one thinks of STDs, and when one thinks of STDs, one thinks of carelessness, right?


   Not anymore!  A health official, Peter Kelley (director of public health at Teeside), claims that Facebook is to blame for the recent rise in cases of syphilis.  To quote: "Social networking sites are making it easier for people to meet up for casual sex."  


  I say, "What have you been sniffing?"

Florence + The Machine to sing in Twilight: Eclipse? Gulp.

   Ok.  Florence and the Machine said to NME Magazine that "would do a song for the Twilight soundtrack".  But it's not confirmed yet.  Eclipse has to be signed off first, then Florence Welch could be confirmed as involved.  Well, I guess I'd shop my balls off just to listen to her sing... As would most male music fans.  As it is, she has three songs in the top 40 Uk Hit Singles Chart on MTV (You've Got The Dirtee Love; Dog Days Are Over and You've got the Love), proving that genuine talent, years of hard work and innovation do work out, even without a major recording label behind your back, covering your every move.  You hear that Justin Bieber?  What if there was no Usher?  Hey, best of luck, just watch it dude.  Watch it.

   New look.  You like?

I just found the Bad Company movie...

   Guys, brilliant news.  I just found the Bad Company movie.  Well, it's not Bad Company as such, but it should be!  It quite possibly takes all the best bits from every action move in the 80s and 90s, and rolls them into one!  The cast, hell they're tough.  And bad.  So here it is.

2nd Place for Aston Martin!!!!!

Aston Martin claims second place at the 8 Heures du Castellet, one of the many races in the Le Mans series.  The LMP1 009 car finished in second place after a faultless 8 hours!  This time round, I think that Audi and Peugot are going to have to move over.  Guys! This is Aston territory! Get outta the way!

I dunno about you guys, but I think that this is the best song ever.  By the best singer ever.....

Best Commercial Ever Made

Bad Company. You wish.

  All right.  I've got to come out with this.  I can't stand the pressure on my chest, the monkey on my back....

  I've just played Battlefield Bad Company 2, and I am about to make the most dangerous comment around.  It might, possibly, maybe, be the best game I've ever played.  Ever.

  The graphics are brilliant.  Just a few days ago I said how graphics have hit a brick wall.  I'll tell you this much, they're definitely digging their way out now.  For example, during the first mission you're on a truck, chased by quad bikes and other trucks.  Your assault rifle has a grenade launcher add on (see where I'm going with this?).  If the grenade detonates under the quad bike, the whole thing gets thrown into the air.  Realistically. The characters seem real because of the way they act, the way they interact not only with you, but with each other...

  Hell, I'm drooling already.  So far, and I'm in the middle of the fourth mission, I have to say that it is very good, perhaps even brilliant.  One small criticism I have is about the lack of night-vision gadgets, or at least a torch.  But otherwise, I think it's better than Modern Warfare 2.  Now I shall bar my door, and hope CoD fans don't come pouring in through the window, I Am Legend style.............

Houston, we have a problem

   I dunno about you guys, but have you seen a really great development in gaming graphics over the past four, perhaps five years?  I certainly haven't, at least I haven't noticed anything remarkable.  Yes, computer models can really mimic human behavior and stuff, but I've seen very few models that have a human texture.  I dunno, but once you look into their eyes, they seem dead.


   Maybe what I'm talking about is something that a computer can never do, or maybe I'm nit-picking, but can you guys see what I'm on about?  We need to work harder, and finally breathe the essence of life into our video games.  I'd love to feel as though I'm really fighting with a hardy bunch of Marines on Halo, or beating Al Qaeda arse in Medal of Honour.  I really do.

"EA, thou art so greedy"

      I would like to make something very clear.  I am an avid gamer (as well as petrol head and technophile).  I often download demos onto my PC and Xbox 360.  Like 99% of humanity, I don't like spending without knowing what I'm getting for my money.  So I download demos to see if the game's any good.  Now though EA have suggested that video game demos are "premium content", and thus one must pay to download them, then pay again for the full game.  GM Nick Earl said that it would "serve as a low-cost marketing tool" to reduce the risk of needlessly promoting a game that might not do well.

  WTF?!  Of course they won't do well, who's going to pay to try them out?  Who, I ask?  EA has tried to avoid this reaction, by stating that "None of the proposals call for charging consumers for traditionally free game demos".  So, in what way will the new proposed premium content be different from current premium content such as add-ons.  I'm confused!

The iPad - New niche that only Apple sees? Or is it the next iPod?

I've been watching the news quite a lot lately, and I've made quite a few observations. Some have become tradition, such as political unrest in the Middle East. Others, though, simply blow your mind. North Korea suspected in the sinking of South Korean warship, three earthquakes in a record period of time in three seperate parts of the world...not the usuals.

But I've also been following tech news. Microsoft's conquering the OS market with Windows Seven. The iPhone's the must-have phone of 2010 (same as 2009 and 2008), while the Nokia 5530 is beating competition in the 'budget smartphone' category. Netbooks are in vogue, and big [17 inch+] laptops are slowly leaving the market. Every niche has been conquered: the smartphone and the netbook have replaced the PDA, and iPods are simply head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to portable media players for the masses. But then the iPad comes along, and BANG! Oooooh, drool. Yes, it looks brilliant. But what's it actually for?

Besides being an avid technophile, I'm an even greater petrol head. And every time I look at the iPad only one thing comes to mind..... BMW. Just look at their X series cars/4X4s/luxury whatever. What's their purpose? Are they good off-road? Nope, except for the X6. Are they sporty? Nope. An indication of social status? Nope again. These cross-overs are conquering the market. Are they any good? Surprisingly, yes!

Are they good for carrying the family around? Yes. Can they tackle some light snow, or flooded streets? Yes. Can you carry the shopping AND the family around in a 150 mph+ car? Yes again.

But, you may ask, what does all this have to do with the iPad?

The iPad seems to be a netbook/tablet/iPod Touch cross-over. No, it won't work as an ebook 'cause it doesn't use eInk, therefore your eyes will melt in their sockets after a couple of hours of Hemingway. But, it's probably great for movies. It's all touch, so web-browsing needs a whole new definition. Besides, the thing looks small enough to carry around between two files. Or two sheets of paper. Sure, it will get dirtier than other devices, as with all touchscreens.

Rather than filling anew niche, Apple have simply watched as the opposition stumbled into a new market for pocket devices. Then, with the Terminator's 
precision, they delivered a perfect sniper's head shot. The iPad won't 
revolutionise the industry, it will simply be everything the industry could be: 
just like the iPod.