i'm slightly in shock at the moment, as i've been offered positions playing guitar in not one, but THREE different bands, each playing completely different styles of music (punk, classic rock covers, and thrash).. as to which i join, it'll probably be the punk one until i have the confidence neccesary to play the stuff i was brought up listening to, such as Priest, Rainbow, Sabbath, Maiden and the like.

games-wise, all i have to say about the Orange box is "WOW!". i can't believe it took me this long to play a half-life game, and as for portal.. Infinite undiscovery is proving to be a good distraction, but i've been feeling the lure of the dark side again, leading to yet another play-through of KOTOR.. oh, well..

Wow, Guitar Hero: World Tour seems amazingly easy, even on expert. in fact, the only two songs i can't beat on expert are B.Y.O.B (System of a Down), and, as i predicted, Hot for Teacher (Van Halen), which is only so annoying on account of being able to play the damn thing on my SG, yet not in a video-game..

not been playing anywhere near as much as i want to, though..managed a couple of hours on Fable 2 in the last fortnight or so, same on Fallout 3 (not really getting into it as much as i did in, say, Oblivion, to be honest).. beat Gears 2 on insane with little brother, and played a bit of World at War, but other than that..

now, for a *shudders* Haircut, and working towards forklift driving licence..common sense doesn't seem to be prevelant, but i'll do anything to afford the influx of awesome games coming out without having to sell any organs on ebay..

I'm incredibly jealous at the moment, seeing as Ac/Dc are going to be touring New Zealand, whereas the UK has a grand total of 4 shows, tickets are hell to get hold of anyway, and even if i was able to manage to get my hands on any, it's a choice of: Manchester (likely to get shot, stabbed or mugged; VERY high crime rate..) Birmingham, London or Ireland..perhaps i need to take a little "holiday" some time soon in order to realisticly see them..say, one of the many US shows, or even the rest of europe..unless they confirm to play download next year..

also, there's far too many games coming out in the next few weeks, my bank balance is going to suffer heavily..this friday, there's Dead Space, Far Cry 2, and Guitar Hero: world tour (not mentioned Fable 2, as that ought to arrive in the post any day now..), then next week Fallout 3...then Gears 2..then World at War..left 4 dead..hopefully Rock Band 2 for european release in the next few weeks (even though i doubt it..), AC/DC track pack to get.. i expect by the time i've finished all them, it'll be about time for COD6, and GH5 (whatever they're calling them), and the whole cycle begins anew.. never mind the large pile of games i have yet to find time for, and with a little project i'm involved in, which'll take even more time up (and involve great deals of fake gore, watching horror movies, drinking and working on scripts/movie reviews.. i love the creative process!) i may need to give up on sleeping for the forseeable future..

still, been having fun.. random escapades and anarchy are fun.. even though i feel that something has to go wrong soon..(well, other than that the local music shop's closed down, the day before one of my guitar sttrings snapped :( )

i'm loving Black Ice atm.. it arrived in the post on friday morning, and since then hasn't left my CD player, other than the half-hour or so it took to put onto my mp3 player. i haven't learned the lyrics or songs off by heart (yet), but all i can really say is: Wow!

also, finally beaten "Reign in Blood" on GH3 on expert! now just the devil to beat..which could take some time..

recently been playing on "too Human", which is proving to be fun, and quite gripping in it's own way (probably due to quite a wide knowledge of nordic mythology in the first place), and GTA4. i never played any of the other games in the series, yet i'm very pleasantly surprised. as ever in sandbox games, it's fun making a roadblock and seeing the AI cause havoc trying to drive around (when i'm not playing pool, darts or qubed..those mini-games are SO addictive!)

added a land raider Redeemer to my Space marine army and had a couple of games against my little brother's fledgling ork horde, with less-than-positive results.. perhaps another dreadnaught will help..

and roll on halloween..

okay, i'm going to (finally) begin letting people get to know the real me, and attempt to forge new friendships, rather than being like a ninja..faceless, able to disappear and reappear without a sound..

i'm a fairly quiet person, unless i hear GOOD music (in my opinion, that's mainly songs from long before i was actually born, such as most Ac/DC, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Motorhead, Alice Cooper..and so on, but it is also beginning to expand, with bands such as Iced Earth and Avenged Sevenfold on there as well now.), in which case, i WILL air-guitar..

i'm from England, learning the Electric guitar (self-taught..) and have quite a large family, with 2 brothers and 2 sisters, all younger than me. my username is actually just pure laziness: my surname and first letter of my forename (Jonathan)

i'm generally a pessimist, but my cynicism has more or less dried up recently. even so, i can still come up with persuasive arguments against most topics, especially if they are institutions (such as religion, the education system, welfare, or anything else really) that can be associated with state-control.

perhaps i'll add more to this in future. or perhaps i won't. Either way, it's the beginning of a new way of life for me.

i need to get a grip on myself. i don't know why i'm putting this up on here, other than a need to vent, with no risk of certain people finding out things.

It's been over six months since Rosie broke up with me, i need to move on instead of continuing being depressed and relying on alcohol for relief. it seems as if it's the only thing i can rely on recently.

i'm not very good at talking to people: i tend to only speak if i have something to say usually, and not too confident when it comes to meeting new people or speaking to them either. all i really know for sure is that i need to do 3 things:

first, find some way to thank Aimiee for being such a good friend and still being there for me, even after i acted like a total jerk and quit speaking to people. fortunately, she is still wanting to be friends, and i've finally been able to laugh and joke around.

Secondly, cut back on my drinking, starting Tuesday..going to have one last blowout at a party tomorrow before i stop, or at least cut back to once a week going out.

Third, i need to get away from worksop (if not england) for at least a couple of weeks in order to get my head back in order and rediscover who i really am: i've put up a facade of being in control of my emotions for so long, i can't remember how to let the mask slip. not sure when i'll have a chance to do that, though.

shame my first major post on here is on such a low point, but still..at least it's something, and i'll be slightly less of an enigma..

AC/DC have confirmed their new album (Black Ice) and tour for later in the year!

can't wait to see them, i need to get tickets, however much it'll cost me..

what the hell? i know this is an american website, but even so, why does everyone get so worked up about things that DON'T ACTUALLY AFFECT THEM IN ANY WAY, such as the BBFC's decisions regarding manhunt 2? i'm in the UK, i play violent video games, butthe important thing is that people should get on with their own lives, rather than constantly bragging, or complaining when some other country has things worse than america..

all nations have problems, that much is apparent...the UK is no exception. i've had enough of americans looking at british news, and posting things along the lines of "sucks to be british"..mainly because it feels true. the nation has been let down too many times by the government in the past, and i know everyone complains that things were bad under Tory rule, but at least the country worked. decent health care, practically no unemployment, low crime, the police were respected..in contrast, look at the country now, and realise just how badly we were screwed over by new labour..high immigration, low employment as most of the new jobs are going to the minorities in order to meet requirements and avoid any backlash for not hiring someone, even if there was someone better suited for the task.. a police force more interested in meeting government targets, rather than tackling REAL problems, just to avoid the paperwork..Political correctness and Health and Safety fascists..millions relying on state benefits..at times, i wonder whether it would be better just to start from scratch, although that will never happen, as those in power are unwilling to relinquish it, and have the rest of society thoroughly under their thumbs and dependant on things carrying on as they are..

may have gotten a bit sidetracked somewhere..

why are people constantly finding ways to complain and find fault with anything? freedom of speech is around so that everyone can give their opinions, and that is what a blog is: someone's opinions on a subject.

despite this, people are too closed minded to accept that in this world, there are people with views which do not follow their own, and as a result, will just skim trough an article, looking for anything that they can use as ammunition and an excuse to criticise, while there are very few that speak up and provide encouragement or support. it's easy just to click a mouse button and write a negative comment about something, yet it's very rare to find people with an open mind who will make decisions after viewing available evidence, and weighing up both sides of an arguement. those people tend to be criticized themselves for anything positive, but that happens, and probably always will. it's the reason i don't bother with forums, since anyone actually expressing their opinion is flamed repeatedly.

Basically, this is just a request: when next you're reading a blog, or a comment, or anything; just spend a few minutes to see the writer's point of view, and don't just write any insults without reading and understanding the post. if you fully comprehend the post, then sure, you can complain if you still want, but it's just courtesy to give people a chance to explain their views, rather than shoving your own down everyone's throats.