Computer Games

Where did this start? It would almost certainly have been with Asteroids or something similar. Much of my student grant would have been squandered on these coin-op games - at 10p a game. I managed to avoid the "Pong" games of yore.

But it really took off with Quake. I did get some shareware DOOM bundled with the first PC that I bought but have to admit that its, so called, 3D control left me feeling a bit conned.

Anyway, Quake is where my liking started. This is one of those "shooters". Of the First Person variety. You have a gun of sorts and run around killing stuff. The amount of gore in this game is minimal. A good game to get into with some frightening moments. An odd type of game - Monsters, Knights, Marines.....Being a bit brown was its only drawback. Imagine 3 hours of the above, sprinkled with a bit of red, purple and white.  Yes, the colour palette was somewhat limited. 

To get it at its best you have to play it in the dark with headphones on. Then you get the real atmosphere - it is unreal. Think you're a hard man? Why not take on the monsters by creeping up on them and punching or kicking them rather than take them on at it is a distance with a rocket launcher?

Quake led on to Quake 2, now there's a title! About the same time came out Unreal and Half-Life. Unreal scored with colour, a long way better than Quake. Weapons a bit of a let down, you never really thought you were firing a real gun, more like a pea-shooter. Not like the sexy noise made by Q2's grenade launcher.

Half-Life is easily the best of the bunch for single player games - it has everything from the intro through the game proper to the ending. The sequels/add-ons are also good, if somewhat short. The original Half Life has been through several mods but now we have a HD version and the visuals are stunning. Just check out.

The whole 3+ hours of it. But that intro is a piece of class.

Multiplayer Unreal Tournament (in any of its guises) can't be bettered IMO. I prefer it to the Quake version easily. I know some would say the military shooters (Call of Duty et al) and better but, as I have no friends, I prefer just me and the bots.

Quake is up to version 4, UT was up to number 3 and HL was up to 2 plus the episodes.  All cracking games on the PC - I haven't tried them out on consoles yet, if ever. I just cannot get to grips with the console controllers.

There are other shooters out there that have, at some point or other, been on my computer and I have enjoyed them all in general. Bioshock had a truly amazing setting - Art Deco underwater. HALO, Crysis, Mortyr, Wolfenstein, Serious Sam  and others were there too. I'm not trying o sell you these or provide any critical review. You can choose whatever one you fancy. That's what the comments at the end are all about.

Those are the shooters that I like and there is only one other type of game I spend any time on - the sub sims. Now some of these early ones are quite poor as you can see if you watch the following:

The shooters at the top are all about running around killing stuff. The SubSims are in a different league especially if you have realism set up on high. You can't just point and shoot. A bit more thought is required. These are all about stealth and patience. Sail on the surface and you'll be sunk. You have to plan where you want to be and make sure you are there waiting for the enemy.

My Musical Alphabet : F

Another break from work (entirely above board) and we reached the letter after E, that is F, but first the usual housekeeping:

As I keep saying, this stuff isn't mine and may very well be pulled for breach of copyright. You can, of course, go looking on YouTube, or its foreign variants, for copies. I'm sure you know how.

I'll start off with something from my childhood. That was some time back, so it's in monochrome, or Black&White for you youngsters. There are colourised versions out there but the less said about that the better. Anyway skip to about 1:25 for the song. The puppet series was Fireball XL5 from Gerry Anderson. Him of Thunderbirds fame. Believe it or not there are Facebook groups for all us oldies of XL5 vintage. I wonder if this is where my interest in that big place outside of the Earth started? Again, another believe it or not moment - there are more modern covers of this song as well as a French version!

Moving on from the old days, something I heard a bit more recently is this offering from Germany featuring Roland Kaiser - Friedensangebote. Not sure how it came about but was more than likely heard when I was trawling the radio waves as is my want. Some more trivia, the lady, Julia Meynen, is a German voice artist.

The Fs must contain some Fleetwood Mac. Like many other of my musical choices, I have had to make a choice as to what track particularly tickles my fancy. For 'Mac, it is this number from more recent times. As I type this I am painfully aware that the blues classic "Need Your Love" isn't here. Sorry fellas.

I also have a soft spot for many things French and I'm quite taken with this from Alizee; (the short dress/coat is purely coincidental). Unusually, this foreign language song charted in the UK. Maybe that is where I originally heard it. I very much doubt that, as the charts at that time (as now) were never on my "to do" list. I did not watch MTV either but maybe it was on one of the other music channels that I sometimes skipped through. Whatever, I was recently awakened from a post mid-day bierfest, to hear the song on an intercom and had to use my old friend, Google, to track it down.

Also a French song I quite like is Rina Ketty's interpretation of J'attendrai:

I know this song from an interest in the last world war. It has been covered in many languages but I like this one. Only bettered, IMHO, by Lili Marleen, in German.

I'll finish with Foreigner, in the studio as I've not been able to track down a decent live recording. I'm not really a big fan of theirs but what I like about this is the production - the overdubs and all that gubbins.

And so we come to the end again.

Comments more than welcome and until next time, cheerio!

Underground maps

Let the weirdness begin.

♫ Sexy, sexy, very, very sexy. They're very sexy.♫ 

No, not the cheesecake/beefcake variety but the  Harry Beck variety.

Still clueless?

Well, I speak of the following:

That is the underground map of Hamburg, a city that just has to be on your visit to Germany, but more of that at a later time. I'll just mention the triad - A City, A River, An excellent Underground. There. You're booking your tickets already.

I'm based in England and am more familiar with the London version:

Another fine city that has to be on your radar, not only for the dirndl wearing Mädchen or lederhosen wearing Jungen of the Oktoberfest, is München whose map is shown below.

Then there is this for your next stop off in Vienna:

Then there is the Berlin map

I do have to admit that for this one, you do have to be a special kind of geek and I do admit to spending my waiting time in some train stations just reading these maps with the occasional break to look at the train timetables. There is more to some stations than the sight of (insert train of your choice), or a drink/sausage from an Imbiss stand.

There is a lot of detail in these maps so you might want to use you favourite browser to help you out.

Why do these maps appeal to me? Well as they say in my home city - F**k knows. It just might be the mathematician or scientist in me.

If this has piqued you interest, good, if not then not to worry. BUT there is a load of stuff out there, wiki can get you started.

Sorry for the shortness of this one, I'll make it up at a later date.

Finally, any comments are more than welcome.

Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei

Foreign TVSeries Junkie

What's that all about?

I suppose I'd better explain this one, but with a word of warning - it does not appear to be available in English, not dubbed (yeuch!) not sub-titled.😒

As you might assume from the title, as well as my other likes, this must be some foreign muck.

You couldn't be further from the truth.

I have always liked foreign TV whether it be sub-titled movies, sub-titled cop shows, whatever,  but with the internet...WOW!

First of all, I have to thank two companies: Sky and Action Concept:

Sky for showing something during those channel skipping moments. We all do it, there is only so much class on the hundreds of channels out there. I believe it was called Europe's Greatest Stunts. Stunts from the TV mainly, and non English-speaking TV to boot.

Action Concept for providing a lot of said stunts.

This little blog, a blogette, if you will, deals with the titular. Even if does focus on German TV I can't say Das Blog as that would be made up and stereotyping. And we can't be having that.

Here are some of the links you might want to check out before reading the rest of this, if you are able to get back to it after the smorgasbord available on the 'net:

Wiki's English offering and Action Concept's page. 

So, like you asked, "what's it all about?" 

Well, I'll start with a TV series that began back in 1996 and it goes by the title, " Alarm für Cobra 11 - Die Autobahnpolizei" which translates roughly as "Alarm for Cobra 11 - The motorway police." Yeah, I know that is a lot of help.

Cobra 11 is a team of law enforcers based in/on/around the autobahnen of Germany. The Alarm bit of the title is probably best thought of as "Call out"

As it says in the intro to the episodes:

Their turf is the motorway

Their mission: full speed

Their opponents today: extremely fast and dangerous

Crimes without limit - every job a high risk

For the men of Cobra 11

What we have is a TV police crime series based around the motorways, initially in the Berlin area but now moved to Cologne. We have two detectives along with their boss and supporting officers dealing with crime. All sorts of lowlife crawls out of the woodwork and into a car/truck/bike....and takes to roads to evade our heroes.

But.

Then comes Action Concept. And they destroy big time. 

They take a boring old cop show-car chase and ramp it up several levels. No more seeing that pile of boxes and immediately thinking, "car crash". Not on your Nellie.

And I hate to have to say this but they don't just destroy old bangers. Often shiny new Beemers take the hit. Just like the ones I want. But I'm big enough to get over it.

Yes, Action Concept is responsible for all the stunt work and they do not skimp.

Here are some examples of their craft plucked from our old friend, YouTube:

You might want to watch this without the distracting music soundtrack. But that is just my opinion.

Then there is this:

As you might see, the series seems to be available, not just in Germany, but in several countries. In fact, most of Europe seems to take it. With one glaring exception us in the UK.

The show is still going strong and there have been several changes of characters but the plots keep coming.

So, to sum up, cops-car chases-car smashes. Did I say it was German? What's that you say? No need?

As usual, enjoy and feel free to leave any comments.

My Musical Alphabet : E - EUROVISION !

As usual, I do not own the copyright on any of the links in any part of this blog. They will be removed if required. Or they might just vanish in their own right as the owners ask Youtube to pull them. You can, of course, go looking on YouTube, or its foreign variants, for copies.

We have now reached the second vowel of the alphabet, the Es.

Well, the Es must start with Eurovision, that excellent, longest running, annual song contest. It's even older than I am. Where to begin: With ABBA or with the nul points-ers? I could easily make several blogs with the material. But I won't, there is so much to cram in.

I'll start with my earliest Eurovision memory which, coincidentally, was the winner in 1965. Luxembourg won with the song "Poupee de cire, poupee de son", performed by France Gall. This clip shows the old contest, when a live orchestra was used:

I agree that most of Eurovision is forgettable but even the mighty Quo have produced some duffers. In any case, I like the spectacle, I like the songs, I like the show. The only thing I have a downer on is the UK commentators. The best show I've seen was when I was in Germany following their win with this: Satellite from Lena, sung with a strange English accent.

Not a UK commentator in sight. Bliss.

Some more Alpine stuff now - Edelweiss but not as you know it, not the one from The Sound of Music but this from Edelweiss, that fine Austrian Electronic/Dance band. Did you know there is a crossover with this lot and Star Trek? Another piece of trivia for you pub quiz aficionados.

The Es wouldn't be complete without the E.L.O. and I have to admit trying to whittle their output to one track wasn't easy. But I've plumped for this one - Hold on tight.

Apologies to all you non-guitar people out there but here is another fine little tune by the title El Negrito.

And so we come to the end (as they said in the closedown of RTL back in the day) and I'll repeat what the guy says in the intro to this - the most beautiful yodel in the world,  Erzherzog Johann Jodler.

Remember, comments are welcome. You disagree with my ESC favourites? You think someone else deserves to be listed? You might even have a suggestion as to who should feature in some upcoming episode?

Some more TVJunkie stuff - early 1960s - Danger Man

As usual, I do not own the copyright on any of the links in any part of this blog. They will be removed if required. Or they might just vanish in their own right as the owners ask Youtube to pull them.

Welcome to the next 5-minute installment of the weird and wonderful world of a hard-working scientist. So let us begin.

Every government has its secret service branch. America, CIA; France, Deuxième Bureau; England, MI5. NATO also has its own. A messy job? Well that's when they usually call on me or someone like me. Oh yes, my name is Drake, John Drake.

So begins the TV series, "Danger Man," also known as Destination Danger or Secret Agent. I didn't watch these and I have yet to start collecting non-region 2 DVDs: There is no way I remember this from the original as I was a babe in arms at this time. I remember it from a later series, still in black and white but with this Edwin Astley theme tune and different opening credits. I must have watched it by mum's side, it was one of her favourites too. Note the guitars!

Anyway, to the substance of the TV series:

John Drake worked for NATO in the early series, I seem to remember. He is contemporary with Bond but, unlike 007, only worked with a handful of gadgets. He used brain over brawn, he did not treat women as "bed-warmers". He seemed to be somewhat of a loner and only reported to his bosses directly, on the whole.

You need to remember that it was, in today's parlance, "of its time". Actors blacked up, stereotyped behaviours and accents. To paraphrase Star Trek's Scotty - the whole kit and caboodle. Put a turban on a blacked-up actor, throw in a load of beggars, a train station sign saying "Karachi" and "Boom!" you're in Pakistan.

You can find more in this wiki link and this one. There were 4 series of this TV show going from 1960 to 1968 with an odd gap. It started in black and white and moved to colour.

What I really enjoy about it, is that, unlike more modern shows, there are no real story arcs, each show pretty much stands on its own.  That does have its drawbacks, John Drake's accent changes, his superiors change, his employers change.

Unlike 70s offerings of similar material, these shows are not overly violent. OK, they start off with some sort of death or killing but, then, so does Columbo (maybe more of him later). The deaths are not bloody, violent affairs. No beheadings, knifings, no blood and gore putting you off your tea.

As I said above, it is off its time. The usual suspects are the baddies, Commies of all shades, Central and Southern Americans with mustaches and sombreros, middle eastern power crazed rulers (sans keffiyeh or fez)....you get the picture.

I'll finish here but I'll leave with this question for you: 

Did John Drake become Number 6 from The Prisoner?

Until next time, cheerio!