It's no secret that it is really hot in a lot of places right now. When it's too hot it is hard to concentrate and it's sometimes hard to keep the mood up, so in that vein I'll keep this short and present The Sketch Show.
This British comedy show ran between 2001 and 2004 and starred such comedy legends as Lee Mack, Tim Vine, Ronnie Ancona and Jim Tavaré amongst others.
I'm linking the (I think) entire show below as well as a couple of examples to see if it is to your liking.
That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week and try to stay cool.
It is no secret that I love history, and history is full of famous people, people with secrets.
Today I want to highlight the History Expose channel on Youtube. The videos are 15-20 minutes and each features an individual with something to hide, from J. Edgar Hoover to Eva Peròn, from Emily Bronte to Thomas Jefferson. I've seen a couple of videos and I hope the rest are just as good. Of course one has to keep a skeptical mindset but if this sort of thing interests you, this is a good place to start.
I have recently been watching Middle-Earth lore videos and they are really fascinating.
J.R.R. Tolkien wrote a lot in his lifetime. Pretty much everyone has heard of The Lord of the Rings trilogy as well as The Hobbit, or There and Back Again. Some have heard of the Silmarillion as well, but there is a massive list of books in his name. Some are his letters, some are poetry and some are things his son Christopher edited together. Full list here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien_bibliography
But back to the videos. I have been watching a few different channels, but In Deep Geek is one I'm confident in recommending. There is other stuff on there as well, but I haven't watched those. What I like is that everything is based on Tolkien's actual writings, there is no guess work or 'your guess is as good as mine' things presented as fact.
So, if you like Middle-Earth and want to learn more, like what were the Barrow-Wights? Or what was The Watcher outside Moria? Perhaps you want to learn why Sauron had no idea The Shire existed or indeed what Pipeweed is, then make yourself comfortable and enjoy.
That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!
With Midnight, the next expansion for World of Warcraft around the corner, I've been too busy to watch a movie, but I have an interesting documentary for you.
Göbleki Tepe, or Göblekitepe, is an archeological site that was occupied around 8000 BCE in Upper Mesopotamia, what is today the Republic of Türkiye. It amongst other things sports advanced stone work that was presumed to not be possible at that time.
Göbleki Tepe is one of those sites that threaten to upend what we think we know about the past and challenges generally accepted history and archaeology. So please enjoy.
That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!
This is a music channel apparently run by one person from the UK. All the songs are Warhammer themed, both 40K and Fantasy, with a large portion being parodies on famous songs and some being originals in different styles such as folk and even death metal.
I haven't had the time to listen to all of them, but the dozen or so I've heard are amazing. I'll embed a few below. So, if you're in the mood, go and have a listen, the music is awesome and deserves more views. (Disclaimer: I do not know the creator at all.)
That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!
Today I have an interesting video for you. Johnny Harris, an independent American journalist visits Finland, and joins both Finnish and visiting troops for a NATO exercise in Lapland. He also visits other places like the border to Russia and parts of the extensive shelter tunnels underneath Helsinki. The video is called Inside the Most Prepared Country on Earth, which feels like a bit of an exaggerated title, so make up your own mind.
Overall I liked the video, and I highly recommend it.
That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!
I've played World of Warcraft since it's early days. I have also been away from the game many times, even for years, but sooner or later, I have always returned.
The beauty of a game like WoW is that you can play it how you want to (within reason). Some are almost pure PvP'ers, others spend all their time in the auction house making fortunes buying and selling goods. Raiders, transmog hunters, explorers, completionists, the list goes on.
Today I want to share two players with you. Both are Youtubers, and the first is Pathalerix, who's Goldlocked series has taken off in a big way. His deal is this; his character is at first stuck in Elwyn Forest until he can earn enough in-game money to buy a WoW token. Then he gets to move on to an adjacent zone, and so on. I have learned a great deal from watching Goldbound. I highly recommend it.
The second channel is Manaburst who decided to only level up in dungeons, nothing unique per se, but he's soloing the dungeons, starting with Deadmines at level 9! This ongoing play-through has also taught me a thing or two, and I heartily recommend this channel.
Both of these gamers and Youtubers have created a challenge for themselves that is inspiring and awesome despite being pretty masochistic at times. They may not be the originators of these challenges, I simply don't know, but they are examples of how you can come up with a new way of playing a game beyond what the devs intended, much like my own project of clearing Sniper Elite 5 without taking any damage. There are new and interesting ways of playing our favorite games if we use a bit of imagination.
That's that and all that. Join me again next time, and until then, have a great week!
One of the less talked about wars in history is the Falklands war between Great Britain and Argentina in 1982. Despite being a relatively modern war and happening in my own lifetime, I knew very little about it. I did find a very nice documentary about it and wanted to share.
So please enjoy this excellent documentary and join me again next time. Until then, have a great week!
Once in a while, you come across something that straddles the border between madness and genius.
What I have for you today is a car with the Merlin engine from a Spitfire! A WWII fighter engine in a car is inspired, but what it is inspired by, is anyone's guess.
When I saw the guys trying to start the car, which by the way requires a checklist, I realized that practically no one could steal that car, it is that complicated to start. It is also ear splitting loud. So enjoy this video, it is something else.
That's that and all that. Join me again nest time and until then, have a great week!
I have had a very hectic week, but that does not mean I don't have something for you.
The Youtube channel Dungeon Soup makes bizarre animations centered on fantasy with a D&D-ish slant.
Recently their series, Chaotic Good Barbarian has taken the Youtube sphere by storm, and I thought I'd share it with you guys today.
Be aware that both the style and humor is pretty out there, and I don't think its for everyone, but I have enjoyed it a lot. Behind the oddball antics is some pretty smart writing, and if you pay close attention to episode 2, you are going to get some neat inside information.
I'm going to let the series speak for itself, overselling something is annoying at the best of times. I'll embed the first video and link the playlist below.
That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!
I have a distinct memory that I have mentioned Kriegsspiel before, but I'm not sure so here we go.
A friend recommended a video about the subject, and it was so good I wanted to share it with you all.
The video will explain it all in detail, but let me give you a bit of a teaser. Kriegsspiel or wargame in German, was a way to simulate battles on a table before actually fighting them in real life. Countries that adopted Kriegsspiel saw a marked increase in success on the battlefield compared to those who believed they didn't need such nonsense.
In time, civilians got into it, and thanks to that, we eventually got things like Dungeons & Dragons, the Total War games, Warhammer and much much more. Kriegsspiel even in a sense invented hit points. A huge portion of modern gaming came from generals trying to rehearse battles in advance.
I highly recommend this video if you've ever played any of the games I mentioned or indeed anything even remotely similar, or if you just like history.
That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!
The holidays are upon us, and fun as they are, sometimes we need a small break from the festivities. I still wanted to give you a laugh so I found some old (and I do mean old) but brilliant British comedy sketches.
Hopefully you'll enjoy them and I wish you all a very Happy Holiday! Join me again next time for the last post of the year. Stay safe and have a great time!
Since my day to day is still a bit chaotic, and I haven't returned to my old routines, we are continuing with historical documentaries.
I found The Complete History of Rome, Summarized. To he honest I haven't finished it as it is three hours long (and that's just a summary), but it is really good.
So without further ado, please enjoy this excellent summary of the historical behemoth that was the Roman Empire. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!
If you have ever watched a scary movie and thought; "why are they going in there?" or maybe said "no, don't go in the basement!"then this sketch is for you:
On the other hand, being chased by a merciless killer is terrifying, so what can be worse? Being ignored by the merciless killer, that's what!
That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!
I have something fun for you today. There are many Youtube channels dedicated to history, there are even many channels that do animated history, like the incredible Oversimplified that I have posted about before. This week we're looking at BlueJay who has a knack for both humor and odd facts, a great combo.
This movie is all about the Iranian embassy siege in London in 1980. However, since I can't really recommend it, I needed a new plan. Suffice to say, 6 Days is not a bad movie, but it is poorly balanced. The story and characters are all over the place, and the story is a bit disjointed. It doesn't tell any lies as far as I know, but it leaves out a lot of details. It feels like a mini-series that has been cut down to a movie. Good actors, yes, and I don't feel like my time was wasted, but not as good as it could have been. Watch it if you want to.
Instead, I want to give you an excellent two part documentary about the Iranian embassy siege by the Youtube channel Simple History.
Stakuyi is a complete history nerd, and one of his passions is playing the grand strategy game Hearts of Iron 4. This massive WWII game is incredibly multifaceted, allowing you to experiment with a large amount of scenarios, based on realistic if sometimes unlikely factors, since the game is extremely well made.
I'll embed the first video for your convenience, you can find more on your own if you want. But that's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!
I have previously posted about CIA disguise techniques, but today I have a retired MI6 agent talking about the craft, gadgets (or actually a lack of them), and the evolution of how espionage is handled.
The year is growing old and 2023 is ending. Most of us have lots to do and no matter how much time we think we have, it's never enough.
All this can add up to a lot of stress, so I figured I'd give you something relaxing and fun to watch.
Very British Problems, Christmas edition is a collage of sorts starring some top names in British comedy sharing their Christmas traditions and tribulations. So, enjoy and I'll see you guys on the first day of 2024!
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and all that!
I checked the post listing and realized that I have written about Giallo movies for over a year now, and it has been a blast. Some of these movies have been amazing while some have been awful. I don't write about the bad ones, just to make that clear, but overall, I have loved every minute of this journey.
On occasion I have tried to succinctly explain what Giallo is, but it is a bigger subject matter than what can be described in a paragraph.
Luckily, I have found someone who can explain it, and that's what we're doing this week.The Youtube channel TheKingInGiallo has two videos the chronicle the rise of the Giallo literature as well as the movies. How they came about, how they worked under Mussolini's regime, what influenced them and what they in turn influenced. If anything I've written about these movies has made you curious, do check these videos out.
But beware, there are some very gory images and some spoilers for a large amount of movies. Overall, the spoilers aren't that bad, they drown in a flood of information, but in all fairness, I have to warn you.
