2017 - What a Year!

WHAT the fuck have I just lived through the past twelve months??
The past year has been a huge rollercoaster of emotion. I've gone from starting the year on a high to being incredibly pissed off by March, being given a great opportunity in April, while ending the year with hope that 2018 will actually be decent one, which I can reflect on with some hope without some pricks ruining it.

The next few paragraphs will most probably offend many, but I don't care, if you've read my rants in the past then you know there's no holding back.

So where do I start? Well lets get the rants out of the way! 

What started off as a great, promising year was quickly ruined by an attention seeking possessed doll and someone who couldn't handle the responsibility of their job. But after that was resolved, those people were put in their place when karma kicked their arse. 

After that hitch, I still found it hard to get a job because many didn't want a forty-two year old working for them. I was actually told by one employer that I was 'too qualified' for a job. What kind of bullshit excuse is that? Anyway, I soon became a volunteer on a local television show, where I began to fulfil my dream career as an editor and that also saw me go in front of the camera too. And to this day I'm still volunteering and enjoying working on that show. So thank you Dave for the opportunity! 

That show also spawned other work as a director (yes you read correctly, a television director) for LUTV, overseeing their home games being broadcasting to international audiences, something I thought would be daunting, but is a great job to do. 

Summer kind of flew by, as I began sorting out my future, planning a new business opportunity with a old friend. Some people finally got to see the true colours of one person, and I actually got to see a lot of my daughter, who this year started secondary school (fuck where have the past eleven years gone!?!).

I ended this year, working on a feature as a Digital Imaging Technician (a job which I found a bit boring to be honest) but the cast were great, some I got to know well and some of the production team were a decent bunch too. It was my first feature to work on as a crew member, however the only criticism I have go towards some people on set, who, I have to say need to remove their heads from one's arse. It was the old, if your face fits bollocks. 

I have always wanted to pursue a career in film or television and be given the opportunity to do so has been fantastic. However, some aspects of it have been ruined by those who think they're bloody royalty and egos need severely deflating. Even the actors were more down to earth than those people. Personally I can't stand people like that. Seriously, who the hell do you think you are? Sort yourself out and stop ruining the experience for others because of your arrogant attitude towards those you don't really know. If you don't like the look of someone then don't hire them - simple. I was also warned by others in the industry that this can be the case, but to experience it myself serious woke me up to the pricks who don't deserve the work.

Another gripe of 2017, which to be honest makes me laugh and shake my head is the amount of people I have on social media who think their bloody celebrities. Honestly peeps, get a reality check please. If you want fame, then work for it. Stop posing like a dildo thinking your somebody your not. Your attitudes towards others are shocking and stop with the bloody pouting! That happened two years ago, you look like you've just passed wind during a photograph. 

Speaking of being social, my social life has been minimum this year. Not because I'm old, but its been down to the lack of friends. Many parted company after the shit storm of 2014, however, a few kept in touch and one in particular 'Terry' you're the brother from another mother. Love you matey! I know we've not had the opportunity to return to your new hometown, but we will I promise.

Also, many "friends" (yes I used speech marks, how very 1990), stopped talking to me when I finally put my foot down on those who repeatedly took the piss out of my generous nature. I've always said, if you scratch my back, I will scratch yours. Sadly, many wanted their back scratching and gave nothing back in return. So when I started saying no to these people, they took the huff and jogged on. I seriously don't have time to selfish people like that in my life. 

Before I finish I've got this question to ask.

Why the hell is stupid arsehole still in power? When he was running for President we all thought it was a joke, expecting Hillary Clinton to be the first female President. But after rigging the election (yes he fucking did and the Russians admit it), he won. What the fuck!?! So during his first year at the White House, he has proven to be another Hitler in the making. Seriously! He's a vile racist who if not taken out of power soon will trigger a nuclear war. He's tearing apart everything other Presidents have taken years to achieve. Come on America, get this fucking nazi out of the White House and make America great again.

So, despite it being a mainly shit year, I hope 2018 is so much better for everyone I know, more so for my family as we can do with it. I've worked bloody hard to get the career and life I've longed for and I'm not letting any prick ruin that. You can keep your bullshit to yourself, because the only life its going to ruin is your own. 

Is Online Television The Way Forward?

Since the launch of television in the 1930's, broadcasting has come a long way in the past eighty years. From the UK going from four channels (BBC 1, BBC 2, ITV and Channel 4) in the eighties, to now having over a hundred channels available via satellite, cable and with over seventy channels on standard digital television. But what does the future hold for television as we know it? Well with internet speeds going from a crappy 28k dial-up to over 50mb broadband, we're seeing more online streaming services surfacing such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, which are beginning to dominate our television screens. Even Sky have jumped on the online bandwagon by launching Now TV, offering a handful of its entertainment channels such as Sky 1 and Fox, along with their movie and sports channels as a cheaper alternative to cable and satellite, which you receive by buying a rebranded Roku box for £9.99, or via their Now TV app available on Smart TV's, Pads and now mobile phones. With various alternatives to watch online TV and on-demand services being readily and cheaply available, could this spell the end for television as we know it?

Picture: BBC

Last year, the BBC announced that it was to close BBC Three and make it available online only due to cutting financial costs. This caused a bit of a stir amongst its loyal viewers, especially as this has grown to be a popular channel since its launch in 2003. However, since its announcement, they've been unable to secure the rights to shows such as Family Guy and American Dad, because of security issues with the BBC iPlayer, therefore the BBC had to move most of its popular programmes to their other channels BBC 1 and 2, losing some of its popular US imports like Family Guy to ITV. 

So what are the benefits of online broadcasting? Well, it can be a cheap alternative I suppose. There's no expensive broadcasting equipment required other than a decent streaming server and a reliable broadband connection. There's also alternative apps available which allow you to watch HD quality channels from the US and around the world without the need of satellite equipment being installed. Another benefit, especially to UK audiences is that on-demand television allows you to watch what you want, when you want, dismissing the watershed which is imposed on UK television stations so you can't watch anything other than PG rated material before 9pm. So unless you've got Sky or Now TV, who's movie channels are no longer required to operate under the watershed regulations because they use the pin protection software on its boxes. British television can be quite limited during the day with constant edited movies and crappy daytime programming, unlike our european neighbours who can watch programmes and movies like The Deer Hunter uncut in the afternoon on free television. Yeah, television should still be monitored so you don't get propaganda and sick images on our screens, but viewers should be given the freedom to make their own decisions on what they want to watch, like they do in most european countries. However in the UK, our government and OFCOM won't allow it, and we're still being told these are the programmes you're offered and that's it until 9pm, then you can watch what you want. Which coming from an adults perspective, takes the piss really as it shows these people don't trust you in being a responsible adult, especially if you've got kids. They're excuse is that the watershed is there to protect viewers from seeing inappropriate material. Hang on, we've got the internet, which at a click of a mouse, can give you hardcore pornography, more graphic than what is allowed on UK porn channels. There's also You Tube and Live Leak, which allow its viewers, again with a simple click can access thousands of graphic content videos. Yet in the UK, you're not trusted to either turn over the channel or turn off the television if something offends you or isn't appropriate to children. The main culprit is bad language in films and programmes. The UK was quite strict with this especially after the watershed, but in the last twenty years, broadcasters have become more relaxed, where we can watch a film or television programme uncut after 9pm which can contain strong language. More recently, milder language such as 'piss' and 'arse' is now heard in daytime television, mainly in US programmes, but words such as 'shit' and 'bastard' are still censored until after 7pm on some channels, despite OFCOM actually giving the broadcasters the choice to allow PG rated mild language to be broadcast before the 9pm watershed, but they still opt not to do so. 

Picture: Wired.com

So, from all that, online television could be an advantage in that it will give viewers more freedom to watch what they want, as the technology will be there to allow all broadcasters to use a pin protection system which Sky and Virgin Media are currently using. 

But before I go in to the advantages of online television, let's first look at the disadvantages. The first being the UK needs a stable broadband connection. At present, a good percentage of the country still can't receive broadband, and unless you're willing to pay a fortune to receive broadband via a satellite or if you're lucky enough to be in a 3G/4G signal area, you're still receiving the internet via dial up speeds. For some reason, Wii-Max hasn't taken off in the UK which would really help rural areas out and give customers high broadband speeds without the need to dig up your driveway for fibre optic cables to be installed, along with a £150 bill for the work. So for the BBC to say, that they're placing one of its channels online only, and the fact some folk are still unable to subscribe or receive on-demand television because of their poor internet connection is a further kick in the teeth for them. Plus, buffering is a major issue for some in busy broadband areas, because they're not receiving the speeds they pay for because of busy networks. So what is the use watching a channel, which keeps buffering every minute or so, because your internet is struggling. Another issue would be programming content as receiving online channels from other countries is easily done, because VPN can override geo-blocking which a lot of networks use to stop people from outside the UK or US receiving subscription or exclusive channels. So unless you can guarantee the copyright holders to a film or programme that your online channel can only be received by the country its intended for, then you've got no chance of bringing quality programming to your viewers unless you're making high quality material yourself. Finally, you can't record from online television unless you buy the expensive kit that will allow you to do so. But if you manage to pay for that, you're going back to the old VHS days, where you can only record and watch one channel. So until TiVo technology comes out for online television, or the channels place everything they show on a catch up basis, you're more likely to miss your favourite show. Finally, could online television lead to more people watching on-demand television over live television? Its possible as a good percentage of UK viewers are watching a lot of on-demand television these days. So unless broadcasters look at how on-demand television can keep them going financially, live TV could become a thing of the past as I've said previously in this thread, people would rather watch what they want, when they want. 

Picture: VHS Recorder from 1982

What about the advantages then? Well I mentioned earlier that it could open the door on television schedules being improved, especially in the UK where the watershed dominates what we can watch during the day, unless you've got the Sky Movie Channels, Amazon Prime or Netflix. It could also be used to reduce piracy by opening the geo-blockade and allow US channels and their on-demand counterparts to be made available in other countries allowing for programmes such as Game of Thrones to be shown at the same time everywhere, which could possibly reduce downloads by those who are having to wait a long time to see these programmes. Okay, this could have financial implications on the production companies or networks who rely on their rights being snapped up by foreign broadcasters, but would it really be a massive dent in their finances? Well, let's say if the US version of HBO was made available to the UK, via subscription, then they would see an increase in subscribers. Also, broadcasters such as Sky Atlantic, who like to model themselves on being the UK version of HBO, would still be able to purchase the rights to programmes like Game of Thrones, as people would use them as a second chance to catch their favourite HBO programmes. This would be the same for other channels who have purchased the rights to broadcast US imports on UK television, its actually a win-win situation. Reduce piracy, gain more subscribers! It could also help shows that are lacking in viewers and could avoid them in being cancelled after one or two seasons. If a programme doesn't do well in America, then its canned. The US networks don't care about whether or not its doing great anywhere else, but again, if their channel is freely available elsewhere, this could boost the survival of a programme as it would gain more viewers. As for scheduling, this isn't a problem. Yes there's a five to seven hour time difference between the UK and US, but if recording facilities were available for online television, then this wouldn't be a problem, unless your a die-hard fan then you'll stay up and watch the damn thing.

One more advantage would be that it could open the door to provider competition. At present in the UK, you've got Sky dominating the market, with Virgin a second best for subscription channels, with Netflix closing in on them, but other than that, its Freeview or Freesat for those not wanting subscription television. However, on Freeview HD, online television has begun to surface, with several choices from the likes of VuTV offering subscription channels such as Comedy Central and Cartoon Network via broadband if you're box or Smart TV is compatible. So what's not stopping new providers bringing out their own online boxes, offering a range of channels from around the world? Unless Sky fully jump on the online bandwagon, this could be a game changer for television viewers, being offered alternative channels without the need of a satellite dish or a cable box being installed.

Summing up then, if broadcasters actually took time out at looking into the possibilities of online television and the doors that it could open, not just for them, but to advertisers, sponsors and increase their subscription revenues. Online television in my opinion is certainly the way forward.

Exploitation For The Love Of Money

A Good Day To Die Hard - Out Now In Cinemas

Should the BBFC allow studios to make changes to their adult themed films in order to receive a lower rating?
I say a big fat - NO!

This comes to light since the release of the new Die Hard movie in the UK, where Fox and the BBFC have received a slating from fans of the franchise.
Fox approached the BBFC with a workprint of the movie and asked what rating they would receive.
Originally, the BBFC offered a '15' rating uncut, however they gave them optional changes which could be made in order to receive a '12A' rating.

For those who aren't familiar with UK ratings. 12A is like the PG-13 rating, where the film is suitable for persons aged 12 and over, but persons under 12 can view the film with an adult or guardian. The film content is limited on its violence, sex and strong language however, a limited use of the f-word can be used throughout the film.

Fox came back with a finished print taking the suggested cuts on board and the BBFC rated the film '12A'. However, it looks like the UK are the only country (could be wrong) who have received a watered down version of the movie.

So in a time where people are blaming games, movies and television for violence in society (and not the fact that violent people have issues to begin with). Is it right, the BBFC should be making suggestions to studios so adult themed movies like Die Hard can receive a rating where kids can see these films? No is the answer! The BBFC should be looking movies like this and ask 'Is it really suitable for kids?'.

Now in all honesty we know full well why Fox have opted for a lower rating - money! So here we have another argument. Exploiting kids to adult themed movies at the cinema in order to receive a few extra bucks. Shouldn't the BBFC be doing something to stop this explotation in censorship by not offering suggestions to studios so films like Die Hard can't receive a lower rating?
Another reason, especially more-so in the UK is releasing 'uncut' versions of movies on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Ripping Off Customers with Uncut Versions

Customers in the UK have always in my opinion, been victims to a rip-off market, more so with DVD and Blu-Ray films.
Live Free or Die Hard aka Die Hard 4.0 in the UK, suffered the same treatment at the cinemas. It was butchered in order to receive a '12A' rating, then on DVD received a '15' rating uncut. Why? To make more money.
Now don't get me wrong, I don't mind 'uncut' or 'director cut' versions of films such as 'Big' or 'Blade Runner' where the additional footage wasn't cut from the cinema release in order to receive a lower certificate, but the director's chose not to use the footage as they didn't think it was suitable to use for running time or pace purposes.
But more recently, I've noticed films that have received a '12A' rating are getting the 'uncut' treatment later on and it is down to ripping off customers as a majority of these 'uncut' versions only have minutes of extra footage where strong language and minor cuts to violence have been restored.

Overall then, should the BBFC put a stop to studios exploiting kids to adult themed films by not offering them alternative ratings? Yes is the answer!

How The Mighty Fall

As the UK Prime Minister says the country is out of the recession. Within a week of photographic giants Jessops going into administration and closing its shops after 90 years. Big music giant HMV today have also called in the administrators.
HMV has retail stores worldwide and has been seen as the main retailer for music and video - until now that is.

So what the hell happened? Is the recession to blame along with the Government for not doing enough to save businesses from failing? Or is technology bringing down retail giants to their knees?

Personally, I think both have had a part to play. The Government hiked VAT up from 17.5% to 20% raising prices and increasing the cost to run a business. This rise in VAT was frowned upon by many, but the Government stood their ground and raised it to 20%.
Recently, the Government announced plans to raise VAT further to 25%, which could mean more well-known businesses could end up knocking on the administrators door, putting more people out of work. It would also mean less money in the customer's pocket as fuel would become more expensive amongst other household bills.
However, this has yet to be given the green light as the announcement has angered many MP's and members of the E.U. have actually spoke up telling the Government to lower VAT and not raise it to help move the economy. But as per usual, this plea has fallen onto deaf ears and the Government continue on to put us back into the recession.

In saying all that with the growth of technology, faster broadband and cheaper online retailers - is there really any shock value to the news of HMV going under? Not really, no.
I personally found HMV to be expensive on a lot of its goods. For example, last year I bought the Alien Blu-ray box set for £18 in Tesco. It was also the same price in other high street and online retailers who sold it for around the same price. However in HMV, you could buy the same box set for £40. That's a big difference, but in their defence, HMV have had decent sales on such as 5 Blu-Ray discs for £30 and the more recent blue-cross sale knocking 25% of its displayed price.
Unfortunately, these sales haven't helped the company from going under because the online market is under cutting their competition with ease.

What high street retailers should be doing is taking on these cheap online retailers head on and match their prices. At present, customers would be willing to wait three days for a item which they bought a hell of lot cheaper than what they could in a high street store. If a high street retailer matched or under cut its online competition they could see a rise in profits as people would most probably opt to make their purchases in store rather than waiting those three days.

However, with faster broadband speeds now available in the UK, a lot of people are preferring to download their music, games and films rather than buy a hard copy. Why? Space saving is one reason with no CD or DVD cases cluttering up room space. As for other reasons, well, shopping from home is the big thing now. People would rather buy online in the comfort of their own homes, plus you can shop with non UK online retailers being able to buy a product not available in the UK.

Overall then, are we really surprised to see well-known high street retailers disappear? I think not.

Taking A Bite Of The Apple

WTF is going on with Apple?
They seem to be shunning the old in favour of the new. And many of you probably know full well what I'm on about. If you don't, then let me enlighten you a bit more shall I? iOS6.

Seriously Apple, what the hell are you playing at? Oh yeah we've a made some major changes to the iPhone iOS which has hundreds of new features, but the downside to it is that its not really compatible with anything lower than the iPhone 4S.

I myself own an iPhone 4, my girlfriend has a iPhone 4S. We both upgraded to the new iOS6 around the same time, but as soon as my phone reboots I suddenly get plagued by 'Fixed Dialling Active' constantly flashing up on screen and 95% of the time I see 'No Service' appear where I used to see a full strength 3G signal. Where as my girlfriend hasn't had a problem.
So thinking my sim card was playing up I get a new one from my local O2 store, who are just more confused than me at these sudden problems that non-iPhone 4S/5 are experiencing.

As expected the problems persist, so I contact Apple, who talk me through a series of 'solutions' to repair my phone. Guess what? They didn't work either and Apple's response was 'its your iPhone and there's nothing more we can do because your iPhone is out of warranty. You need to take it to your local Apple store (50 miles away) to have it checked'. Seriously? So I've got to put up with the issue until I happen to drive into Newcastle one day and have Apple check out my iPhone.

After looking online for another solution knowing full well that my iPhone wasn't at fault and it was the iOS firmware. I noticed that it wasn't just me experiencing the problem.
Customers who had upgraded their firmware to iOS6 all experienced the 'No Service' issue and no-one had any solution on how to fix it.
Great! We've now got a phone where we're not getting a full service and there's nothing we can do about it except suffer.

Then a shimmer of light appeared in the form of an announcement by Apple to say they were releasing an update to fix a connectivity problem. Yay! I jumped for joy. Someone has fixed the problem. We can use our phone's as normal again.

A couple of days later, I get the message that there is a firmare update available. Click on it only to read that it has nothing to do with the 'No Service' issue, but a WiFi connectivity issue iPhone 4S/5 users were experiencing. Ah right great! Bollocks to the rest of your customers who are experiencing 'No Service' issues then eh?

But to add insult to injury, Apple only then stop us from downgrading back to 5.1.1. Fan-plucking-tastic! Not only give us software that isn't compatible, but stop us from going back to a firmware which worked fine.

I continue to look online for any further developments, only to find one. Turn off the 3G setting. Okay, no harm in this and hey presto I finally get a stable signal. Go back to 3G and I lose my signal again. So, until Apple pull the cores from out their arse and either fix the problem or allow it's users to downgrade back to 5.1.1, we have to continue to use a restricted, slow service.

Thanks Apple! Thanks for nothing!

In the Press.

© Reuters

Well let's start with the sad news of singer and actress Whitney Houston.
A great musical talent who like Michael Jackson, has now left a great void in the music industry with her untimely death.

At the time of publishing, there is (as usual) rumours and speculation to how she died. But the truth behind her death won't be known for a while, so instead of pondering on what's happened, just remember how she lived.


Snow Joke!

Europe is freezing its ass off as temperatures plummet to -30C. 

Countries such as Rome, South of France and Spain who all should enjoying Spring like weather right now are being hit with snow storms causing huge problems. 

However, for once the UK has escaped the big freeze with the country having its first major snowfall this winter last week as temperatures dipped to around -18C. But this was short lived as temperatures have since risen back into double figures for some parts.

UK Petrol Price Update.

Well nothing much has really happened. 

The British government have done sweet fanny adams into getting prices down as they refuse to do anything help. 

In the UK, petrol is taxed twice (yes twice!) basically because our government is... well, greedy!

If the government removed one of these taxes, that would bring fuel costs right down in line with most of Europe and the U.S., but they won't. Why? Because it would leave a big hole in their pockets that's why. 

It makes me laugh when the government keep borrowing to help with the recession and the country's debt. However, we as people get advisers telling us that obtaining another loan to pay off a loan is wrong and will only get you into more debt. So what the hell are the government doing then?

Why don't the government just make sufficient cuts not just to public services, but to things that will make a difference and help get the economy moving again such as VAT.

They sit there in Parliament with their smug looks, thinking they're all doing us a favour when the truth is - you're making matters worse! 

If they cut taxes, petrol prices and more, they would see the economy begin to move as people will have the money to spend again.

But this is only a pipe dream as the British government seriously don't care about the UK people, just themselves and their pockets.

Lady La-La!

Copyright ©2010 David Gabber/PR Photos

Erm... Yeah whatever (cuckoo!).