Tomorrow could be boring

Calendar shoot!

A few months ago Julie and Tom from Spotty Badger Productions got in touch with me because of this photo. They said that a fan-project-turned-somewhat-serious - a calendar of Smart cars and their owners - was now entering its second year, and that they'd quite like for us to feature as the month of December 2006.

We finally managed to shoot the pictures today and it was a hoot! Tom took in excess of 100 shots (wonders of digital photography; no expensive film stock) and from what I could tell, many of the images were quite striking. I made a point of taking a few sets of clothes along, just in case, but in the end we only went for two different outfits. When the calendar comes out at the end of this month, I will show you some of the results.

The setting was at the historic town of Battle, at a small Gothic style chapel and its adjacent graveyard. I've spent the day draped over tombstones and leaning on angel statues. It sounds bizarre, considering the project in question, but it worked very well. A great mood for the images.

I do hope that one day I'll have the opportunity to customise my Smart pod; it'd be excellent to splash some illustrations on it, or otherwise put more of a personal stamp on it. It's always inspiring to see what other owners have done with theirs. Dangerous, even (for I have no money for such extravagance right now!). One day.

It was very nice to meet Julie and Tom; they're creative and fun. I reserve the right to change my mind if they blacken my teeth out on the photo!

Spaceships and giant chickens

One of my favourite forms of escapism is gaming. Not just any kind. The space opera megalomania-kind, or the hero building RPG kind are definitely most fun for me. Any turn based strategy game, or an RPG stands a chance, but only the CIV series seems to stand the test of time as something worth returning to over and over again.

CIV 3 was a little dissapointing with bugs and inherited problems, but the addition of an independent plug-in called Double your pleasure took it to a new level. Some might say it transforms CIV 3 to such a degree that it becomes a different game. I am waiting for the fourth installment in the CIV series. Release date: somewhere in Quarter four. In time for Christmas, of course.

Bizarre, but true: the game Master of Orion 3 is indirectly responsible for my current relationship. Timo and I met through a group that started at the (now empty) MOO3 forums and splintered off to form their own community.

MOO3 turned out to be a total flop (deservedly so, I think. It was pretty stinky). In its place, something strikingly similar (only better!) emerged: Galactic Civilizations.

I've only just started playing GalCiv; whilst I enjoy gaming, I certainly don't have a lot of time for it as a hobby, so certain things just have to wait. Therefore I opted out of buying this title when it was released. Timo bought it as part of a special offer last week. He (very kindly) resisted the urge to hog it.

One of the biggest gaming features of both our lives has been Final Fantasy Online. It's a small wonder I've managed to stay away from MMORPGs as long as I have, but when a Final Fantasy title came into the picture - well, that was it. I had to be a part of it.

I think Final Fantasy VII was the game that sold the entire FF world to me. It is probably one of the best games ever made.

It is wonderful to see some central themes carry on through the titles. Certain pieces of music, characters and so on. And Chocobos! How could you not love a ride through a breathtaking landscape on a giant chicken?

FFXI Online has its downsides. Due to its gameplay structure, certain aspects of the game begin to resemble real life just a little too closely. Like the constant need to make money.

And when tasks in a game end up on your things-to-do list, that's just wrong. Escapism is meant to be an actual escape.