Come and see a free display of bass virtuosity!

Hello, people on blogger!

I'm once again writing to you to make sure you're all aware of my impending big gig on Thursday! It's by far the biggest and most important solo performance I've ever put on to date, and doing everything I've had to do to prepare for it has, without a doubt, made it the biggest challenge I've ever had to face in my musical career - so a lot of support on the day would be truly welcomed!

Basically, what this gig is is a half-hour bass guitar solo set crammed full of MONSTER pieces. Pretty much all of the big names who are world-renowned for their technical prowess are being represented. In this half-hour, I'll be covering the likes of Billy Sheehan, Victor Wooten, Geddy Lee and Les Claypool - that's right, all the people whose playing is so staggeringly accomplished that at one point I was frightened to listen to them!

So, if you'd like to come and see me conquer my fears, or if you just fancy attending a free show full of great music, here are the technical details.

When: 21/2/2013 - 11:45am
Where: Ghost Academy of Performing Arts, 
Church Lane, Mansfield

Wish me luck! (I might just need it...)

JiM-X

The Licentiate Performance: Official Press Release

JiM-X to Represent Six Bass Guitar Virtuosos in Upcoming Licentiate Performance

James Ian MacDonald (JiM-X) will be putting on his next major performance in Mansfield at the Ghost Academy of Performing Arts on February 21st. This will be a half-hour bass guitar solo set entirely comprised of the works of six musicians who are widely considered to be among the most talented and inspirational to ever pick up the instrument. By doing so, James will be aiming to achieve a Licentiate in Music Performance.

Some of the most iconic bands in the worlds of progressive and alternative rock are covered in the set list, including Rush, Dream Theater, Primus and Mr. Big. In addition, there will be some material originally recorded by two extraordinarily talented and influential solo artists, Victor Wooten and Stuart Hamm. The pieces have been carefully selected from the collective repertoire of all of these artists, and arranged to construct a programme that is designed to provide thrills and grooves in abundance, transitioning seamlessly between styles and showcasing a wealth of stylistic understanding and technical mastery. 

“Preparing for this gig has been, without a doubt, the most challenging project I’ve embarked upon in my musical career so far,” said James. “In order to perform these pieces in a way that does them justice, I’ve had to seriously develop certain techniques that I’ve picked up over the years, and learn others entirely from scratch by studying the work of the many great bass players that there have been over the years. I’ve found the whole process really enjoyable and rewarding - it’s been one great, big, giant learning curve that is surely going to serve me well in my musical pursuits going forward, so I’m hoping that there will be supporters willing to stick around for the journey ahead!”

Be sure to catch JiM-X at the Ghost Academy of Performing Arts in Mansfield on the 21st of February, 2013. The performance gets underway at 11:45am, and it’s free entry for all.

For Further Information Contact: 

07857 981769

j.ian.macdonald@gmail.com 

Visit jimxchronicles.com

Like JiM-X at Facebook.com/jimx3
Watch Exclusive Clips at Youtube.com/jimxtreme

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Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - Apparently, Vampires have blood too

And, with a title like that, who needs a synopsis? 

At face value, one wonders whether or not the historical setting of this film is kind of arbitrary - intended merely to provide a fresh background and setting to what can only be described as pure carnage. 

Well, in actual fact, this story doesn’t do a bad job of merging history with horror and fiction. As paper thin as proceedings might seem in the first fifteen minutes or so, as things progress we see a more considered connection between the fiction and the historic events in Lincoln’s life. The theme of freedom from slavery is strongly present, and Lincoln is indeed portrayed as the hard-working and honest leader who dedicated his life to ensure that all people, who are all created equal, enjoy equal freedom from oppression.

But let’s not kid ourselves. This is still a movie about a guy who kills vampires.

The movie sets out to tell us a story about Lincoln’s dark side... which I can only assume was lost in translation somewhere down the line of recorded history! Abraham Lincoln (Benjamin Walker), as a young boy, witnesses the death of his mother at the hands of slavedriver Jack Barts (Marton Csokas). It is not until some years later he discovers the shocking secret of this cold, sinister individual - he’s an actual vampire! Conveniently, Lincoln is saved by someone who knows all about vampires and how to kill them - that’s right, it’s the guy from Mamma Mia (Dominic Cooper)! For some reason which is not immediately specified, he offers to train Abe up in the art of efficiently slaughtering these undead pests on the condition that he only goes after the marks he specifies. Motivated by pure hatred and the opportunity to one day exact revenge upon his mother’s killer, which his new boss specifically warns against, Abe accepts. 

Now, if it seemed like I dumbed that first part of the story down somewhat - you’d be wrong. That really is all there is to it before we get to the violent bits - that’s what we came to see, isn’t it? 

As for the action and gore, there’s plenty of it. Abe swiftly becomes adept at swinging his axe around and killing things. The movie certainly does it’s damndest to try and show you action like you’ve never seen before, and you will find yourself treated to a few rather imaginative fight and action scenes - especially if, like me, you’re into those which are borderline ridiculous. There’s a bit where the guy Abe’s fighting picks up a horse by the leg and swings it around, using it as a weapon. It is as comical as it sounds, but thankfully it never gets quite stupid enough to spoil the dark tone that they were clearly going for.

But thankfully, this film doesn’t overdo it on either the plot or the action front. Of course, this is much more of a horror/action affair than anything else, but you get decent doses of plot as well - you get a break from the action here, you get a break from plot there. The pacing is actually not bad at all. The biggest breather comes when Abey hangs up his axe to become President and lead his country to freedom with his mighty words, resolving to fight instead with strong words, morals and leadership. But don’t worry, he eventually picks his axe up again when he realises he can’t actually fight hordes of vampires with these things.

As you might expect, the characters in this movie seem pretty shallow. Not that this is necessarily a shortcoming or error on the writer’s part, it’s just a question of where they decided to put the emphasis. There are certain plot-heavy moments which should be pivotal for the characters involved, but this movie places so little emphasis on their reactions and emotions it’s almost abundantly clear that it doesn’t wish to beat you over the head with superficial “character-development” just for the sake of it, as if it knows that you didn’t come here to see any of that stuff.

Once again, the movie is called Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. That title pretty much tells you everything you need to know. It just falls short of being totally one-dimensional - which is absolutely fine if you love that kind of thing. You’ll enjoy it, but... just don’t expect too much else besides the obvious.

In Summary:

+ Nice balance between action and plot

+ Impressive action scenes with nice use of CGI

+ Interesting portrayal of Lincoln - dark and brooding on one hand, but also the virtuous leader history recalls

- Other characters are mostly uninteresting and underdeveloped

- Some scenes with especially badly written dialogue

- You may feel at times like it’s “trying too hard” to impress you

My Rating: 5/10

Men in Black III: Crazy Sci-Fi + Character Development!

Most time travel movies are pretty stupid. Usually, in an attempt to dazzle and intrigue us, things will end getting so overly-complex that they end up contradicting their own logic. 

The most famous time-travel paradox, The Grandfather Paradox, seems to be the case that gets ignored the most. In general terms, this says that if you go back in time with intent to change a particular event in the past, you mess with the causal chain of events that led to your going back in time in the first place. And that's when sh*t gets messed up. 

But then again, that's makes these sorts of movies interesting, right? And besides, what is this - the new Men In Black movie? Erm... since when did they ever make sense anyway? I suggest we forget about all that "logic" stuff and just enjoy it for what it is, don't you think?

Phew... that was an awful lot of question marks. Anyways, onto the actual film. 

This latest entry to the Men In Black series definitely doesn't disappoint on the ol' wacky aliens and plot devices front. What we have is a deranged and enraged dodgy-alien-thing called Boris (no, seriously) the Animal (Jemaine Clement), whom K (Josh Brolin - "wait, not Tommy Lee Jones?" Hold your horses, I'll explain in a minute) defeated and arrested many years ago, who busts out of his moon-prison and decides it would be a really good idea to go back in time and change the outcome of that particular event. Honestly, these freakazoid aliens have no respect for our lovely, consistent spacetime continuum, do they?

And then we're reintroduced to J (Will Smith, duh) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) as we know and love from the first two movies. J wonders why K is such a grumpy, emotionless old such-and-such. Rather than merely being an inconsequential yet comical exchange between the two, this little moment sets us up for the "real" story of this movie.

One fine day soon after, J wakes up and realises that K doesn't exist. Or rather, he's been dead for about 40 years. Realising that this ain't right, he rushes back in time after Boris, and ends up teaming up with young K (Brolin) to make sure he gets the job done right. Good job we aren't worrying about plot-holes or anything, right?

Anyways... sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? Guy goes back in time, teams up with another guy, they shoot some aliens with big fancy guns and everything somehow gets worked out, right?

That's pretty much what I was expecting, and kind of hoping, to see in this movie. But there is actually something more to it than that. Certainly, this is truly the latest installment of the Men In Black series. It's got the weird aliens, big guns, shooting and crazy fight scenes that you would expect and hope for.

But this movie is best enjoyed - surprisingly - as a character-based story focussing on the relationship between J and K.

With the technology available in this day and age, it's getting harder and harder to impress people with sci-fi. To make a really good sci-fi movie now is to either do something truly groundbreaking, or to tell a compelling story. Ideally, you do both. In this case, it's more of the latter. It's almost as if the writers realised that they weren't going to able to blow people's minds on the technical side of things, so they didn't try to. The result is a satisfying trip into sci-fi territory, the usual Men In Black fare with added time travel nonsense and even talk about possible futures and alternate timelines, that should succeed in entertaining, amusing, and even heartwarming. If you hated the first sequel, don't write this one off before giving it a fair chance - you may be pleasantly surprised!

In Summary:
+All the essential elements of MIB present and correct
+Great, convincing performance from Brolin as a young K

+An extra layer of character development
-Nothing spectacular on the technical front

-Somewhat underwhelming action scenes

-Time travel plotholes all over the place

My Rating: 7/10

The Making of Andy Murray

The following is a piece I felt inspired to write immediately after watching Andy Murray's incredible third round match last night.

"What I have just witnessed was just incredible. My eyes glued to the screen the whole time... 

I felt the turmoil Andy was going through. I felt the joy and passion he expressed when finally, he overcame it all. 

Tonight, he was tested to the limit.

There were moments I couldn't bear to watch. 

Moments I couldn't look away if I tried. 

There were times I felt like he was on the verge of crumbling.
There were times I felt my faith in him crumbling.

But he hung on. 

Through all the missed opportunities... all the slips and falls... even after suffering a break... he hung in there.

He kept on fighting back, right 'til the end.

He may still have a temper on him.
That volatile child still not silenced.

But he didn't quit. He would never quit.

But the elation we both experienced as he finally got the lucky break he deserved...

which grew as the set drew to a close,

and transformed the atmosphere to a state of euphoria

as the final set stormed by...

as the clock edged up to eleven, he was determined not to leave things unfinished.

The clock rolled past eleven... and that final game got underway just in time...

and he wrapped it up with a bang.

I believe that tonight, he demonstrated that he truly has the spirit of a champion.

Because although he was knocked down... 

again, and again...

he constantly refused to be defeated.

Through all the pain he had to suffer, he fought back and never surrendered.

He will rest easy tonight.

But my elation came to a halt when I remembered...

In terms of this championship,

there is still a long road ahead for him.

On the other hand, the road to becoming a hero is not about reaping the rewards.

It's all about the journey - the trials and obstacles one most face along the way. 

And this man shows no intention of turning back."

Sonic 4 Episode II: A Good Game, Not A Classic

It seems to me that at least somebody at Sonic Team must understand what makes the classic Sonic games... well, classic. This is quite event in recent rerelease of Sonic CD, with the new “retro” engine put together not by a member of Sonic Team but a talented individual known as The Taxman. The sense of speed, theme of momentum and overall feel of being “a living pinball” that made the original games so groundbreaking is so perfectly captured in this version that it feels like not just an enhanced port, but rather the definitive version of CD.

So why is absolutely none of this present in either episode of Sonic 4? It has been noted elsewhere that, as the game has been developed by Dimps, the game engine is, in essence, the engine from Sonic Rush (2005, Nintendo DS) without the “boost” feature. The defining feature of that game was the introduction of the boost. That feature is what made the engine work and the game fun. Removing it, then, doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense.

Anyways... while the feel of the game is crucial in my opinion, there are a lot of nice things to be said about the game. So let’s get them out of the way.

Visually, the game looks fantastic. The new graphical engine looks way nicer than the one in Episode I, the 3D character models and the more detailed environments breathing a whole new life into the world of Sonic 4. There is plenty of colour, fluidity and detail in the characters and backgrounds alike, and I am comfortable in saying that this particular aspect of the classics is truly captured and continued here. Like the first episode, certain level themes are borrowed from the classic games, but it is far less blatant here and overall it feels a lot less like a “tribute” game than the first did.

The soundtrack seems to be a polarising aspect. Some people quite like it, others seem to truly hate it. The truth is, it does sound just like a Genesis/Mega Drive soundtrack, which must have been what they were going for. Whether this appeals to your tastes or not is obviously subjective. Personally, I quite like it and I find myself enjoying quite a few of the tunes - highlights being the Special Stage theme (which cleverly incorporates the map theme) and Metal Sonic’s new boss theme. However, I have no idea what they were thinking when they decided to axe the perfectly fine and oddly appropriate boss theme from the first episode and keep only the pinch theme. This theme works fantastically well to my ears - as a pinch theme. Problem is, it’s about 10 seconds long. The bosses in this game take several minutes to defeat. Sooooo... yah. You’d think they might have learned from annoying the hell out of people with it in E.G.G. Station from the first episode. Apparently not! Unless they deliberately want to annoy us some more for complaining about it in the first place... 

But anyway. Now for the most crucial aspect - how does the gameplay feel? Well... I guess on one hand you could say that this game engine works perfectly fine. If you consider the engine of the first episode to be “broken”, you will most likely consider this one “fixed”. You won’t find yourself indefinitely sticking to walls and ceilings or stopping dead in your tracks the instant you let go of the controller. But unlike the modern games (and, now that I think about it... the classics), it is still surprisingly difficult to get Sonic up to any decent speed in a short period of time. The classic “spin dash” is... not at all as useful for this as it should be. A number of times I would charge it up and hammer the button a few times excitedly for more power, as you could in the classics, and... well, it just doesn’t work. Mind you, this would explain why they shove springs and speed boosters everywhere...

Now you might be thinking this is just the “Genesis kid” in me talking, and you would have a point - but then, why is this the case here when Sonic Team have shown that they are perfectly capable of producing a gameplay engine reminiscent of the classic games (see Sonic Generations, that came out last year) with these issues virtually absent? 

The answer is simple - Sonic Team dug themselves a hole with the first episode. Even if they understood what was wrong with it, they couldn’t very well make the next episode feel totally different... otherwise, it just wouldn’t make sense. Clearly a very decent attempt has been made to fix what was wrong with the first episode without straying too far from the groundwork laid by that title - just a shame it kind of pales in comparison to the classics. 

Despite everything, at least there are signs that Sonic Team are learning from their mistakes at last. You never know, Sonic 5 could one day become a reality and be what Sonic 4 should have been. However, as it stands, is this game worth paying £9.99 for? 

...well, it’s enjoyable enough, but apart from being kind of short, it just doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. This is a perfect example of game being tremendously overhyped because of it’s title and series history - had this been treated as a little spin-off (no pun intended) downloadable title I doubt that people would care anywhere near as much about it’s shortcomings. That said, it’s still decently fun - and owners of both episodes on the same system will be rewarded with “lock-on” content (mind you, it’s nothing big), so all in all this is not to be passed up by true fans. For the more casual follower, I would suggest - nay, insist - opting for the downloadable rerelease of Sonic CD instead. It’s a far superior product at a fraction of this price.

In Summary:

+ Lovely Graphics
+ Improved Physics
+ Authentic-sounding Genesis style soundtrack (if you like that kind of thing)

+ Bonus “lock-on” content available for owners of Episode I
- Overpriced and overhyped for what it is

- “Pinball” feel of the classics still not perfectly recreated

- Still borrows a little too heavily from the level themes of the classic titles

JiM-X’s Xtreme Nitpicks: still no one-button spin-dash from Generations or Super Peelout from CD? Come on, guys, these were awesome features that deserve to be used in more than one game!!

My Rating: 3/5

A Great Gig You All Must Attend!!

Hello, blog followers!

I am writing to inform y'all of a very special upcoming event. It's now two weeks away tomorrow! Yikes, that's pretty close now.
It's my first performance as a Bass solo performer in quite some time, and a lot of work has gone into preparation for it. I've had to learn a couple of legendary bass pieces that I'd never even heard of before but, now that I have, have massively educated me and enriched my creative palette.

Whatever happens after this, this will be one of the most important performances of my career as a musician so it is not to be missed.

Here are the technical details:

Date/Time: 4/12/11 - 14:12
Venue: Yorkshire College of Music and Drama,
St. Mark's House,
St. Mark's Avenue,
Leeds,
LS2 9BN

For Tickets/Info contact: 07857 981769

This is all you need to know. Be there, please! =)

Jim-x

Dream Theater: O2 Academy, Leeds, 22/7/11

Here's the setlist, and what a setlist it was... it got more and more exciting for me as the night went on!

Under A Glass Moon

These Walls (I know, right?? At last!)

Forsaken

Endless SacrificeDrum Solo!!Ytse Jam Peruvian Skies (Oh, man...)

The Great Debate (...O...M...G...!!!!!!)

On The Backs Of Angels

Caught In A Web (OH Yeah...!!)

Through My Words/Fatal Tragedy (At this point I realised that a dream had come true...)

The Count of Tuscany (Can you believe it??)

Encore:

Metropolis (What else?)

So, I arrived about ten minutes before doors opened... and despite joining the end of a queue that circled the entire length of the building, actually found it very easy indeed to walk very close to the front as soon as I got inside!

There was this support act, Eden's Curse... they were pretty cool, admittedly. I really liked the singer, he had an amazing voice and attitude, and it was great to see such diversity among the band members themselves. He told a very inspiring story about how he first heard about DT... on MTV, funnily enough, back in 1990 when Pull Me Under was starting to get some serious rotation, and how that drove him on in his quest to rock.

The term "sausage fest" often pops in to my head when attending a rock gig and this occasion was no exception. The only girls I saw there were the girlfriends of some of the guys, who may or may not have been dragged along. But, who cares... right? We're all there for the music, aren't we?

There wasn't as much of a grandiose opening to this set compared to the last time I saw them on the Black Clouds tour. No curtain in sight!! Still, it was very exciting seeing the 5 members eventually pop out of their hiding places... I started to scream and jump up and down when I saw JP...

The intro tape was an extract from "Dream is Collapsing" by Hans Zimmer. I must say, it's really for me not to wonder if things like this choice of music and album concepts for "A Dramatic Turn of Events" have anything to do with Mike Portnoy's leaving of the band... I'm still highly skeptical of Mike Mangini becoming a member for good. But the guy deserves every chance, so I waited excitedly for him and the others to show me what the new DT is capable of.

They launched into Under A Glass Moon, and I quickly realised that this feels exactly the same as previous gigs... in a good way, because the fact that MM was playing MP's drum parts absolutely BANG ON... you could just shut your eyes and you wouldn't be able to tell it was someone else playing those parts.

I was there very pleasantly surprised to hear the intro sample to These Walls... I had been just about convinced that they never ever would play this song live or had totally forgotten about it! It then got me excited thinking about what other hidden gems could emerge...

The drum solo was absolutely NUTS. Just like I was hoping. Like other Mangini solos I had witnessed... he seems to just groove for the first few minutes, but then it just gets absolutely insane. Every jaw in the room hit the floor. Just YouTube the guy, seriously... I can't tell you in words how sick this guy is at drums (Not because it's a secret, but because I lack the necessary literary articulative capacity).

I wasn't too impressed with the inclusion of Forsaken and Peruvian Skies, to be frank... I always found those songs kind of underwhelming and they didn't do too much for me live here, either. But some of the other songs the band chose to play SERIOUSLY made up for that...

I went crazy for Ytse Jam, as I would have done for any song off of When Dream And Day Unite!! And The Great Debate... a highly underrated track, a fantastically insane piece of music that goes down and absolute storm live (imagine screaming "LIFE TO SAVE LIFE...!!!").

On The Backs of Angels. I was wondering when they were going to get to playing the new track... it usually happens earlier in the set. Still, I had only listened to this track once thus far as I wish for it to be fresh when I hear the whole album in September. It seemed better than I remembered it, and I have a feeling that my appreciation for it will grow with the number of listens I give it!

Caught in a Web was sick, duh. Always is. ALWAYS. I never get tired of this one.

Then...

I got my wish. I heard Jordan being to play the first few notes of Through My Words... and realised that this would almost certainly lead into Fatal Tragedy. Guys... this is a song I have ALWAYS wanted to experience live. It never happened in my first 5 DT shows... tonight was a magical first. It made me night.

Following that was a big surprise. The Count Of Tuscany. I had thought that they almost certainly wouldn't play this, having done it to death on the last tour. But it was absolutely fantastic, just as always. I remembered that there was a little bit of a different melody in the first part of the swirly-dreamy-volume-swelly-guitar and dreamy keyboards section, which I really enjoyed. The whole twenty minute epic was magical... and I realised that this is quite possibly the single greatest piece the band have ever written. And who'd have thought it would come in such a late stage in their career... and how even more thought-provoking is the fact that it is technically the last recorded DT song before MP decided to step down (well, actually, wait... there was Raw Dog. But... that's not a proper album track. So, yeah.).

Metropolis. Pretty much the standard DT encore we've all seen loads of times. People don't seem to get tired of this song.. I myself would much prefer Learning to Live any day! But this is the play-it-safe classic DT encore that most of the fans go wild for.

So, it was a fantastic gig and I found it got more and more enjoyable as it went on. It was great being close to the front once again, and being able to make eye contact with James Labrie every time he sang down to us lot!! Speaking of James... his singing was absolutely amazing, I don't recall ever being so impressed by it on any other live performance I've seen. He went REAL high a couple of times.

John, John and Jordan were at their usual impossibly high standard. Speaking of Jordan, check out MusicRadar's poll for greatest keyboard player of all time that just happened.

And finally, Mike Mangini. Let it be clearly stated by me that I think the guy is absolutely on fire... there is no more any human being on earth could have done at this point to fill those big shoes he has to fill.

But... is this really right?

MP and the others went through so much, and I couldn't help thinking that it was MP's undying fire and passion for music that kept DT shows exciting for me again and again, so it doesn't ever just seem like the band playing a bunch of their songs. The synergy of those five performers together always made it so much more than that. Some people might well say "who cares, he's only the drummer", but that's just not right... those people are unfortunately really missing the point. Still, I hold mighty respect for both DT to carry on with their passion and even more so for Mike than having to sacrifice his place in the band which had been his baby for 25 years, just to do what he felt like he was forced into doing.

I shall remain optimistic and reserve total judgement until hearing the next album i.e. the one after A Dramatic Turn of Events, by which time hopefully MM should have some creative input. Still, very much looking forward to hearing ADToE and to attending all future shows that I can!!

JiM-X

Chatting up a girl in McDonald's

So, the other day I went to McDonald's.

The girl who served me was very pretty. She looked extremely out of place with her massively radiant smile and gorgeously long flowing hair and pleasantly pure skin complexion.

She flashed me her pretty smile and said "Hi!"

I responded with a cheery "Hi" right back, as is custom, before silently congratulating myself for my incredibly well-timed and sophisticatedly immaculate chatting techniques.

"Welcome to McDonald's. What would you like today, sir?"

"Hmm... let's see... I would like...11 McBurgers, a large Big Mac Meal, a double XL Whooper Meal..."

"Sorry sir, we don't do those."

"Oh, sorry...that's McBurger King. 15 Chicken McNuggets, some McBeef, McChips, hold the McKetchup and McSpit on all of these, by the way... and a McDrink or two, let's see... a strawberry McMilkshake and some McCoffee, with extra McMilk and McSugar..."

She was starting to giggle an awful lot now. This was a big order too so she was concentrating hard.

I continued... "...and five Chicken McSandwiches, some McSalad and some McIce Cream. Oh, and a McTea for my McFriend over there at the McTable.

She looked up at me again. "Anything else?"

"Lots of McMayonnaise. What's the McToy in the McMeal this week?"

"A giant killer McRobot with chainsaw arms and some McMachine guns," she answered, laughing a lot.

"McYes then, an extra McMeal."

Only at this point did she start to play along. "That's a lot of McFood, sir!"

"Yes", I replied, "well, I'm a McBodyBuilder, you know. Got to keep my McStrength up after lifting all those McWeights at the McGym."

She McLaughed again. "Would you like it all in a McBag on will you be sitting in the McRestaurant?"

"I'll be McGoing, actually... unless I can eat it here at the McCounter".

"Alright then, sir."

"Cash or debit?"

"McMoney," I replied, getting out my McWallet.

"That will be two hundred McPounds then, sir."

I paid her, and asked "can I have a McReceipt for my McRecords please?"

She giggled yet again. "Of course".

A McBloke handed over my McFood on a McTray, even though I said I didn't want one as I was taking it away.

"You're very McPretty, by the way."

"Thanks! You're funny..."

"Can I have your McNumber? I'd love to continue this McConversation sometime."

She smiled widely and said "Ok...", whipped out a pen, accidentally dropped it (perhaps I made her McNervous) and scribbled it down on my receipt.

"What time do you McFinish?"

"McSeven."

"Then maybe we can go on a McDate and you can wear a McDress". I did wonder at this point whether I had taken the McFlirting too far and whether it was somewhat lacking in McSubtlety, but in any case it was too late for her as she had written her number down so I could save it onto my McPhone.

"Here's your McChange."

"McThanks!"

She laughed again. "See you McLater. Have a nice McDay!"

"McBye!"

Then I confidently McLeft through the McDoor, but tripped on the McPavement and fell on my McFace as soon as I stepped outside, breaking my McGlasses. Then a McPigeon almost dropped a McPoo on my head, but McMissed.

McLaters,

Jim-x

P.S. If anyone dares call this piece of writing "McRubbish" or some such, I will McPunch them.

No Looking Back

Just now... I very literally took a walk down memory lane.


I had set out with the intent of being able to revisit and remember a particular, special memory of friendship. Down that road, as the twilight was gradually fading to darkness, with the perfect summer breeze that would never waver.


As I got further and further away from my present, curiosity kept taking me a few steps further. Let me just go stand on that road... no, I want to see what's up ahead... ok, just a little further... on and on it went.


I was alone, having now wandered from that path to another in the midst of an enormous grassy field, with old, giant trees casting their giant shadows. This is a place I had not come to in some time... since I was almost an entirely different person.


Although it was all so long ago now... I felt something me calling me back towards it... so I kept on moving. I felt happy.


I kept looking up at the stars.


Then I saw a light in the distance... that was the place.


I really shouldn't go much further, I told myself. Getting too close to that past could be dangerous. But still, I felt drawn in by the light.


I'll just go a little further. So I can at least see the outline of the house... for the trees were obscuring it from my view.


So I kept on going... and I broke into a run... it was all so easy now...


On and on I went, as the memories came flooding back...


...but then I felt a growing sense of uneasiness...


...am I going too far?


I'll keep going until I get to that fence that bars my way.


I run a little further... and then I see that the fence is not in my way at all.


But still... I realise I can go no further.


I cannot go intruding upon their lives now. I had never meant for things to turn out this way... but jumping right back in is not the answer. Things have turned out for the best... I cannot go messing that up.


I looked on and saw the outline of that house start to take shape... multiple lights escaping from the windows. As I had promised, I moved no further. But I stood for a moment and looked on... and uttered a promise to those I had had to leave behind. A promising ensuring that they will never be forgotten. Nor will that one special person.


I looked up at the stars once more with a smile, and bravely turned my back on the past... making a semi-hasty retreat, as it was a long road back to the present, and the darkness was nearing ever closer.


I moved back home quickly as I become more and more inspired, with fresh hope for the future emerging and filling me up inside... and then I returned, having beaten nightfall.


JiM-X

The Beginning?

Goodness me, my titles are getting worse every time. What will I call my next entry?? "The Middle Bit"??

Anyway, I'm writing tonight because tomorrow I start a new part-time job. It's only temporary and I don't start 'til 12.30, but what that means is that this is the first evening for a while where I have to... do something in the morning. I mean... something in the work sense. Something other than leisure or something of my own desire. It feels like... one of those nights which were the night before going back to school after a term holiday, or 4 years ago when I went off to my first real job. This is the first evening since I came home where time has actually meant something. As such, it's also one of the first times since I came home where I've really had a chance to reflect on my inner feelings - because, when I all the time I wanted to do anything I wanted, facing the things inside was not a priority and not something I needed to worry about or be bothered by. Now that there's just the slightest bit of pressure, I suddenly find myself faced with these feelings and concerns.

Today, I also really realised that I really miss Canada (yes, there was a lot of "real" sounds in that sentence, wasn't there?). I miss the money, the people, and even the climate (not so much the winter, but y'know =p). And yes SANA, I miss you too! Obviously.

But I just carry on doing things, don't I? I kinda miss just being able to talk and talk and talk to her...

Jim-x

The End?

Let me get serious, for once.

Today has been one of the stranger days of my life. Strange, because the latter part of it has just been so... normal.

So, after all my 8 months in Canada, today I arrived home. Earlier, When Sana and I parted ways at the airport it was way more difficult than either of us had anticipated, and even though I (just about) held it together then, I too found myself lost in sorrow for a time, starting from after I had been on the plane for a couple of hours. Only then did the enormity of the situation begin to sink in... how long it might be until I get to see her again, how I was going home after all this time and how all my adventures that I had built up for so long were at an end.

But I stayed strong, knowing I had no reasonable alternative. I found my spirits lifted somewhat upon landing, but... since then, I've just felt weird. When I arrived home, it really felt like I had never left. Or, that I had literally just been there. It's so very strange. I even went to work at the village hall again today... when eight months ago, I made such a big deal out of the fact that I was going there for the "last time" and I would be going away for such a long time. As soon as I walked through that door, it was as if no time had passed at all. It literally feels exactly the same way it did last summer, as I was preparing to leave for Canada.

I sat with my parents in front of the T.V. to eat dinner, and watched the snooker with my Dad and later a couple of episodes of Peep Show... but I'm totally weirded out by how familiar this is. I expected to feel different after my experiences, or at least that some significant time has passed.

Don't get me wrong... I definitely had an incredible time in Canada. Made so many friends, went to a lot of parties and did a lot of adventuring and exploration, and even met someone incredibly special. It just seems weird that the last time I was here, I hadn't met any of those people or done any of those things, and yet here I am again and I feel exactly the same. I was expecting some sense of massive relief and comfort when I returned here... but I feel the opposite. I don't feel settled at all.

Now, I just feel at a little bit of a loose end. Even though I haven't slept in almost two days, I don't feel like sleeping at all right now. I just feel unsettled. I had some plans for what I would do when I came back that I was thinking about for the longest time, and I haven't put any of those plans into action yet.

I guess what I need is a couple of days to sort myself out.

1001 Gold Balls

There was a man with lots of golden balls. And I don't mean Jasper Carrot.

I was running around like a crazy person on a 2.5 dimensional plane, when all of a sudden these sparkly gold balls started spewing out of this beanstalk. So, I started to run up and down, jumping around and grabbing as many of them as I possibly could, determined not to repeat the failure that was my last attempt. I would give it my all.
I collected 993, and that was all. But I needed more. That's when he appeared. Like a mysterious benefactor, he threw 7 more golden objects my way, and I attempted to gather them all up. As I was already holding on to almost a thousand, it was difficult, and I dropped the last one - but the kind man helped me by picking it up and giving it back to me.

I was no so close!! And then... the man presented me with one last, and very special, dazzling gold ball. The 1001st!! I had 1001 Gold Balls! I had done it!!

And right on cue, the big broadway band started to play, and I was raised up with the stage, the wires suspending me high above the chorus as I sang with them. I knew I didn't have to be fully in tune, so I kinda relaxed and let the elation I felt carry me through the music as I was backed up by the amazing harmonies and music being performed.

"At last, I've got 1001 gold balls..."

Then my big solo bit before the final, epic finale... I had to sing two words, a cappella, each one acting as a fermata. "And now..."

But my voice was so strained and it could barely escape my throat. It was weak and I felt that this anti-climatic failure was out of my control... and I had let everything down. Then it all went very wrong... I screamed...

...and then I was awake.

Jim-x

Back to Yesterday

This is going to be a very short note.

Because I could talk about so much, but I can also see that there would just be no point.
All that really matters is, I'm proud of how very far I've come.
And I know truly that time won't wait for me to look back.

I really wish there was somebody I could just talk to all night about this stuff... who would not only listen, but understand. And appreciate it all.

But it never stops. Further adventures await, as do more exciting times.

Some funny videos to come at some point!

Jim-x

For those who refuse to trust.

Alright - so I'm not talking about the kind of trust that means you believe stuff you find in the media, in the natural world or anything like that. I'm just talking about human beings trusting each other on a personal level.

For the last couple of weeks, I've been reminded of how little in life is absolutely certain. I think, therefore I am. What else can we say for absolute definite? This is why we can't get very far in life without taking a few risks and making a few assumptions. Trusting and having faith in each other is something we have to do to support each other, otherwise we would each be isolated and as a race, making no progress.

Now, we've all been through bad relationship or other personal experience in which some other person has betrayed our trust. Most people are inclined to hide themselves away, becoming much harder to get to know and a lot less willing to trust other people they meet after such experiences. Now, I am not for one second being unsensitive to these people. But I have had this happen to me way too many times, especially recently. Off the top of my head I can think of at least three instances in the last couple of months where I've been getting on really well with someone but been held back from getting anywhere near close to them because they have trust issues. These people refuse to trust because they were abused, betrayed or otherwise dicked about by someone I've never met, in events that have no relation to me whatsoever. This may be understandable to most people reading this, but... is it fair?

I wonder how many of you have thought about this from the other person's point of view. I was talking to one of the aforementioned three last night, and once I had helped her understand this she conceded that the thought had never crossed her mind, and that she had been selfish in not thinking about it.
What if someone really wants to get close to you? What if someone is absolutely prepared to anything for you... to protect you with their life, to never leave your side and to move mountains just to see you smile? Have you ever thought about how much it hurts to be denied trust when you care about that person in such an intense way? In such a way that these feelings could just break your heart?
If it helps, just think about someone you really love, or have loved. As in, REALLY loved. And just think about what it would be like if they told they just can't trust you, because "I've been hurt too many times", or "I've been through some hard times", or "I have a past"...

Newsflash to those people who would say such things: So have most of us.

It happens to all of us. People can be scum. Greedy, selfish, and unreliable. And sure, in many cases you can be let down. Sometimes it can be more serious than others. I understand that. And we all have to understand that each of us, as individuals, may very well not be the centre of the universe.

I'm not saying anyone is wrong in being hesitant to trust. I'm just trying to encourage them to try and see it from the other person's point of view.

I prefer to have faith in people, personally. Sure, I'm going to be let down from time to time, but that's just life! Something I think we all need to accept and move forward. I know it's HARD, but... isn't that the whole point? To challenge yourself and overcome those challenges?

Just think about it.

Jim-x

Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy

All right then, boys and girls. I just thought I'd do a write-up of this super special show because I believed that it would take more than a few poor quality pictures on Facebook to do it justice. My camera actually rather let me down tonight by being rubbish and deciding to run out of battery, meaning I could take roughly one poor quality picture per piece, just so I could remember what was played, so I thought it might better just to write as much about the show as I can recall.
There were a few oddities among the audience, first of all. I saw a couple of people with moogle hats, and a girl dressed as Yuna in the front row (apparently). Just a few moments before the show started, the man himself walked in and took his seat in the audience. Nobuo Uematsu, long time legendary Final Fantasy composer was at this very show. I could have met him too, if I wasn't so cheap as to not pay the extra 50 bucks for meet and greet. He was wearing some kind of funny Firion-esque bandanna, it was awesome omg he looked like a pirate!
It kicked off with the opening theme from Final Fantasy VIII, accompanied by some CGI from the game. Arnie Roth, the conductor, then did a few greetings and good welcomes etc, then he introduced a "very special" piece of music to start off the event, which also turned out to be very short.
That's right, it was the Victory Fanfare!! Oh, how we all laughed and cheered!!
Then we all settled down and we got serious again as the next piece, Enter Zanarkand, was introduced. This got an excited cheer from many people... and I have to say, I found this arrangement, with the accompanying CGI, very epic, emotional and moving, I felt like I could actually probably cry if I wanted to. It was at precisely this moment where I think I fully started to realise the true beauty of symphonic music. I never really had much time for it before, but... there is really nothing that compares to being in a venue like the Sony Centre with good acoustics and being presented with a full symphony playing such fantastic music like this.
Then we went right back to FF8, and this was one of the highlights of the show for me. Instead of being presented with another beautiful FMV, we were shown an in-game cutscene of Seifer calling Zell a chicken wuss, complete with the sound of a random dog barking. After the text dialogue windows disappeared the characters started to move as if someone was playing the game, and the way they moved, complete with that footstep sound that many of us had not heard for years - the fact that this game now looked so RETRO made many of us in the audience burst out laughing!! What's obvious is that humor was clearly intended given the choice of scene they showed us. Then it went to a fight scene with Squall, Seifer and Zell batting a Galbadian soldier, and the symphony went ahead and played Don't be Afraid as more actual in-game footage played out. The way this symphonic beauty was juxtaposed with this fantastic retroness was the essence and magic of this whole event.
Then it went to one of the most beautiful pieces in the series - Aerith's theme. This is one of the tunes I was hoping they would play. It was just as moving as I expected it to be and again, I could have cried if I wanted to. They set it to some of Aerith's scenes from the game - like her and Cloud's first meeting, that bit when they're in the park before Wall Market, one of Cloud's dreams (when she's in that foresty place) and finally, a scene of the time of her death. They didn't ACTUALLY show the bit where Jenova (Sephrioth) comes down to stab her, but they showed the bit just before and after... and as that scene begun, I could hear a girl from a couple of seats next to me reacting as if she didn't want to see her die, and it really did make me realise (again) just how connected people can feel with these fictional characters. In a strange way, I kind of wanted to see the actual death bit as I thought that would have added to the powerfulness of this moment, but maybe that's me just being a dark evil kind of boy.
The next thing was quite a cool melody of some of the main themes from the first three games in the series. Of course, this was complimented by in-game footage which made many of us smile and make those kind of fond noises in appreciation of memories. There was some footage from the opening CGI of the DS version of III, too.
Then they brought on this flamenco guitar player soloist dude, and they played a song from V and flamenco type piece from IX. Excuse me for not remembering or bothering to look up the titles, it's getting late here!
They then played J-E-N-O-V-A - which, apparently is tied with Dancing Mad, in some circles at least, for the most popular battle theme. It's pretty awesome alright! Think they then played some piece from XI (who cares) and then Clash on the Big Bridge from V - which was surprisingly awesome and EPIC, and really made me appreciate the power of a symphonic arrangement!!
They opened the second half with Opening - Bombing Mission, and I can't remember the exact order of the next few pieces, but they played Fabula Nova Crystallis, which was set to the scene from the game with Snow and Serah on that flying motorbike thing near the fireworks and was performed with a soloist singer, and Blinded by Light which is just pure awesomeness!! They also played a couple of pieces from FFXIV, but again - it's a MMORPG, who cares. I lost a little bit of interest during these pieces, but not much. Oh, and they also played Fisherman's Horizon from 8.

Ok... so were you expecting a conventional review from me, really?? =P

The next bit was awesome... a tribute to that most legendary and magnificent of creatures, the Chocobo! This arrangment was interesting, it was like a combination of an interesting new symphonic take on the Choboco music combined with the swingin' version from XIII, as various clips of Chocobos from several of the games in the series were shown. The video was presented suitably light-hearted and comically. C-H-O-C-O-B-O!!
Then they got three opera singers to sing a piece from V, and one from VI. One of them had Maria in the title. Sorry, but I'm just less familiar with those two games!!
Finally, Arnie introduced a favourite of his, Terra's theme! I was like "great, I don't even know this one either"! I was also thinking, damn... we don't get One Winged Angel after all. Still, it was pretty good... and they showed the credits for the show in a very interesting and suitable retro kind of way!!

Oh, but then there was an encore, wasn't there??
Nobuo-san was called to the stage. He was asked if he would sing with the symphony. He then uttered the only two words I've only ever heard him speak, "why not?" Then Arnie said "believe me, you do not need me to tell you the title of this last piece" and... OMG, I knew what was coming... at least, I hoped I did... and I was right.
That's it. They encored with One Winged Angel.
As soon as I heard that opening stab of string chords, I cheered loudly and got excited with everyone else in the crowd. Nobuo-san joined the choir, which was pretty special. This arrangement was pretty much as you expect it to be, and was set to some of Sephiroth's scenes from FFVII and some footage from Advent Children too. It was a fantastic and very fitting end to the show.
I'd do a generic conclusion but it's getting pretty late - just as long as I've made sure I've said that this show was incredible, and beautiful, and moving, and epic, and there were some smiles and lighthearted moments too - it was everything it should have been. It was definitely worth the 100 bucks.

This Is It! (almost)

Again.
I suppose what this is all about was to make sure I'm not gonna be a wimpy baby about this whole thing. What happened last year was that I was fine in the days leading up to going back to uni, albeit slighty apprehensive, but for some reason on the day I became all shaky and starting feeling weird - like I wasn't ready to go, I wanted more time to stay at home, and just really uncomposed and a mess. Not like a hero at all - and this was after all the inspiration. So I guess I'm just scared of feeling like that again - because right now I feel pretty good about the whole thing, but am I gonna feel weird tomorrow?
It's all very well me saying I've become stronger - like I did this time last year - but as I learnt then, it's not words that count.
I FEEL strong. I feel like I should be able to overcome this, no problem.

So, I think what it was was that... whenever I knew there were days coming up to fall back on, I felt ok. Like I was still gonna go to the gym, and to work for a few more weeks, stuff that made me feel like I was really at home. Stuff that feels like being on summer break. Happiness. Then, today... it hit me that I was working at the Village hall for the last time. That I was going to the Bakewell gym, for the last time.
I mean, I'm not so concerned about leaving my home and family behind, as I know they will still be here when I get back... and then I will have the longest, boringest summer ever, almost 5 months of it. For some reason, last year, I felt like I couldn't even tear myself away from it even though I knew I was coming back pretty soon. I even wrote in my journal that I didn't think I was the kind of person that could handle being a long distance away, like NEWCASTLE or EDINBURGH! How mad does that sound now?? A year on from that and I'm about to go to Canada for A YEAR!! Well, 8 months.

When I come back from this, I will be a man of the world. I will have become a hero!!
And I'm not sure what else to add now. It's time to go for it!!

TIME TO BECOME A HERO!! =)

Jim-x

Barriers

I know, right? Been a while.

So, um... yeah, I kinda promised myself I would do a big epic blog post before I left. Now there's roughly... yup, 60 hours left!!
So, um... yeah. This is more or less going to be a train of thought thing. Tonight, I said goodbye to a few friends. Well, not like it's goodbye, but you know what I mean. Fuck it, I'm gonna get straight to my concern.
There are still some barriers. Within me and within certain others. Some of us still don't express ourselves to one another the way we really should. And some of us... me especially, slightly hesitant to admit this, are still somewhat afraid of people knowing who we are.
Or am I? Is it not that I'm just afraid to embarrass myself? Maybe. I know that's nothing really wrong with that, it's just not how I aim to be.
There was a strange, yet sweet vibe as I parted ways with them tonight. When I drove home, I took my time. I didn't wind the windows down, and I didn't play any loud music.
This isn't working right now. I will be back.

Jim-x

Reasons why I'm now a better person than I was last week

Hi Ladies, Gentlemen and others, and welcome to Reasons why I'm now a better person than I was last week.

And with a title like that, who needs an intro.

1) Turn your headphone volume down, for goodness sake. I know it's really tempting to have the tunes you love pumping at full volume to make you feel good, but if you just turn it down a little a) you won't be excluding yourself as much from the outside world and b) you'll get the same level of motivation without actually killing your ears, and will actually be able to appreciate the music, and indeed the quiet, a lot more.
2) Know when you are wasting time. Ok, for one thing it was great of me to make the effort last term to spend hours studying every day, but just GOING to the library out of routine, as I was, is not necessarily the same thing. Make sure the time you are claiming to spend at work is, for the most part, actually focused on your work. Also, don't waste hours staring down at an empty page. If it's not happening, try something else and come back to it later.

Ok, now I'm gonna stop pretending this is about someone else.

3) I cut out the caffeine, for the most part. That shit was messing me up in a way I wasn't even aware of... and the truth is, drinking decaf actually tastes the same, but without the insane jitteriness afterwards. So now I can enjoy a coffee in the middle of the night. =)
4) I've actually gotten quite into POLITICS now. Many of you will find this a shock but yes, there is important stuff going on and I'm taking an interest, because I want the best for this country and indeed the world, so I think it's important we all try to take an active interest so we can do the best we can to help one another. And I'm totally voting Lib Dem. =D=D=D
5) This is the biggie, I think. I've often wondered (not that often, actually) why people break up with me, and more often than not I decide it's because they're idiots. But a conversation I had with someone recently showed me that while I have my moments - I'm gonna quote her directly here... "you're a different person everytime I speak to you". And that's the thing.
My integrity was never in question. More to do with the way I let feelings govern the way I act, without giving enough thought to some of the stuff I come out with.
I thought just being an honest person was enough to gain one's trust, but now I've realised it also helps if you are able to control your feelings and the way you express them, helping to maintain your composure as the person you want people to see you as. Looking back, this has been a major fault in my personality for a long time and I'm grateful to this person for bringing it up.
6) Another quite biggie. Admit to yourself when stuff scares you, don't try and make excuses. The sooner you admit that your not doing something or avoidance or something is out of fear, the sooner you can get over it and re-awesomealize yourself. Yes, that was a new word. Like it?

I like how occasionally stuff like this comes up so I can act on it. Self-improvement and helping others (not just friends) are among the most important things that motivate me.

I've made some AWESOME music lately too. In fact it's SMMMMMMOKIN'!!!

Um, The End. Bye!

Jim-x

Where Expressions Become Real...

My first attempt at prose in a long while. Comments please!!

Despairing, unable to provide himself with a decent task with which to occupy himself and his sense of ambition wavering, he sat down for a moment with his head in his hands.
“My life’s slipping through my fingers,” he muttered to himself, tormented by the inevitability of death and his dreams going unfulfilled.
Almost as soon as these words escaped his lips... or perhaps even earlier, at the moment the thought of saying those words was triggered in his mind, he suddenly started to feel a crushing emptiness. A growing feeling of dread that was getting more intense with every passing second, as if his very soul was being strangled by thorns of despair, mercilessly tightening their grip.
With each passing moment, he felt more and more like giving up. More and more at peace. But as soon as he began to feel at peace, he then became very panicky - for he realised that somehow he was losing himself...
His hands were cold... and wet. Drops of some mysterious crystal-looking liquid began to dampen the carpet beneath him. But he was not yet aware of what was happening... for some reason time had seemed to slow down for him and he was lost in his own sense of helplessness, becoming numb to the outside world...
Several minutes later, he stirred again, awoken by beams of brilliant light, shining wildly and lighting up his darkening front room. He saw that they were emanating from a strange puddle on the carpet.
Not only that, but it was showing him some strange, unfamiliar images. Various people, young and old, exciting, beautiful locations, and sorts of all experiences, flashing by too quickly for him to comprehend. Because he did not recognise a single one of them.
Now he felt was that his time was running out. Whatever it was that had taken a hold of him was about to win the battle. He felt his senses numbing, his strength fading away and everything fading to black. His last ounces of strength dedicated themselves to the remaining traces of his memory, determined to use what ever he could recall of this world to save his life before there was nothing left.
All that remained were the words he had uttered a few moments before.
And with that, he let himself fall into the pool of mysterious liquid now beginning to flood his room. Submerged, he felt a sudden rush of reinvigoration. He propelled himself across the room, bouncing off the walls in all directions, absorbing the life energy he had lost moments ago. He felt his spirit being restored piece by piece, his determination reborn and a powerful sense of euphoria. Soon, he had recovered the last of his lost soul, bouncing off the floor onto his feet, having returned to full strength.
At this point, in a moment lasting no longer than a few seconds, he made a silent vow to never again let his life slip through his fingers. He burst out of his front door and ran off into the distance, his sense of ambition more determined and focused than ever as he began chasing his rediscovered dream.

Jim-x