While beforehand, and for the majority of the start of the show, I was still seeing Tubridy as a tosser; it subsided quite quickly during the intense grilling of Biffo (aka Brian Cowen aka an Taoiseach aka He Who Is Supposed To Be In Charge Around Here), before fading completely when Saoirse Ronan was on. I must say, he really does fit the role very well, a lot better than the Plank (i.e. Pat Kenny) used to.

So, after clearing the high bar set by the Pl- no, sorry by Gay Byrne that the Plank never managed to clear – how consistent will Tubridy be? He better hope for the life of him that he manages to keep the nation satisfied with the show, otherwise I think the flash mobs will be all over him. Or we’ll have to start gatecrashing the show again.

Hey, I actually managed to find some decent videos on YouTube. Only took about half an hour of mixing around keywords…

Now, how’s he going to handle the Toy Show…?

It was a couple of months ago watching the clips from Britain’s Got Talent on YouTube when I stumbled across their "shows" feature. It was intruiging seeing that there were all these TV shows now readily available to watch anytime on the Internet without having to resort to iffy websites, overuse of ads, or just plain dodgy stuff. While a lot of the good stuff is still geo-restricted to the US, there are a few fine gems in the rough.

On another note, I had always been a bit of a lie-low fan of anime and manga. Most of my prior experiences with the genre had been with… Pokémon. Yes, that. In all fairness, it was all that ever showed on the basic TV packages you could get when I was young…er. So, when I browsed to the animation category of shows on YouTube, I was quite surprised to see the amount of anime that was available to watch.

When you are a bit of an anime virgin, as I considered myself at that point, you do feel a bit lost in a sea of shows you have no idea what they’re about and what to watch. It may seem intimidating, but the only real answer is to jump in, have a look, and see what you fancy. It might take a bit of jumping from one to another to find one that suits you, but it’s all worth it in the end. One main thing to consider with most anime though, is that the series generally doesn’t last all that long. A lot of series are written for a 26 episode run and that’s it. So expecting just one to keep you entertained for a good while is not the best of ideas.

Anyway, after having a quick browse around I did indeed dive in. Mock me if you must, but I really did enjoy my first pick: Angelic Layer. While it quickly came to mind that it was a bit more sh?jo then sh?nen, I quite enjoyed it. Maybe it’s the fact that the main plot of the series – the game of Angelic Layer is played by two people controlling robotic angels and must fight for victory – is very similar to the Pokémon games that drew me in, or the odd slapstick humour bit that literally had me LOL’ing (actually, it was that very first bit of slapstick in the very first episode that really drew me in). But, I really enjoyed the series. Kinda wish it didn’t have to end…

Currently I’m in the middle of watching the series Ouran High School Host Club. I don’t want to give away too much otherwise I’ll ruin it for everyone else, but the depth of the plot, and ease in which it can change from humour to love to fantasy at a moment’s notice is really very well created and executed. Also, it’s one of the less modified anime out there. While a good few anime from what I’ve seen are mostly ruined in English dubs, Ouran is kept remarkably intact. I would definitely advise any anime virgins out there to watch it!

Even now though, I’m starting to consider where to I’ll be lead after I finish watching Ouran. Finding a new anime to enjoy can be tough, generally getting recommendations from other anime lovers is a good way to go, or you could just stumble across a good one here or there. One thing I can say though is… HOLY SWEET MOTHER OF CRAP!

Who says YouTube isn’t a valuable community resource? Who needs shit like the RTÉ Player and the BBC iPlayer when actually decent shows put their shit where everyone can see it

I hope we all remember the good, thorough gungings on NHP. I don’t mean those "chair underneath the tank", or the "car wash" ones. I mean the whole round-the-house shebang!

After watching them, I actually had this one game show in my head, but I just couldn’t remember the name of it. I knew it was on BBC, always had three teams, and had a final round that involved climbing up a very slippery inflatable slide while dripping with gunge – and having more gunge dropped on you – and then once you made it, to slide down into the moat of gunge to win.

And thanks to a little Google search and the Related Videos section, I found it – Run the Risk

Unfortunately, there is very little around for the UK version of Fun House… But when I saw this one "Pump it Up" in the related videos section and started to watch, I realised that this was another one of those shows I used to watch. Again, featuring a very slippery, gungy climb at the end to win

Now I just need to fine more of these old messy gameshows! You found any?

In case you haven’t realised by now, it’s a sketch by someone on deviantART. Nothing official
Still wouldn’t mind seeing something like this though!

• Channel 121: Dave has been added to Channel 121, between Bravo and FX.
• Channel 126: UKTV Gold has been renamed G.O.L.D. per rebranding.
• Channel 127: UKTV Drama has been renamed alibi per rebranding.
• Channel 411: Setanta Sports News has been added as a new channel.
  Also, because of this the following changes are implemented.
• Channel 421: Sky Sports 1, moved from 411
• Channel 422: Sky Sports 2, moved from 412
• Channel 423: Sky Sports 3, moved from 413
• Channel 424: Sky Sports Xtra, moved from 414
• Channel 425: Sky Sports News, moved from 415

Maybe sometime in the future there will be an RSS feed of new Magnet channel changes?

A few of you probably know MLG Orlando is taking place right now. The only reason I’m watching it though, it because there’s very little else to watch on TV or online! The rules still annoy me, what with the Halo guys playing Halo 2.5 rather than Halo 3, and the Vegas 2 guys sort of playing CoD4 style – because they eliminate the use of cover! Why they change so many core values of the games to better accomodate their players who can’t be bothered changing how they play?!

There was also a lot of competition with regards to American motor racing last night. There was probably more competition between the relevant racing series than there was in them! Both the NASCAR at Chicagoland and the IRL at Nashville were running simultaneously at one point. By the time I realised that and tuned into the IRL, it was red-flagged for rain and about 10 minutes later, the race was called
It doesn’t help when the IRL race review videos fail in comparison to others, primarily the NASCAR.com race rewind! Well, actually that seems to be failing recently after they switched from using Windows Media Player to a fancy Flash thingy to play videos!

Hmmm, I had a few more things in mind to mention when I first started writing, but listening to The Riot’s live video show right now is making me forget

PS: Oh yea, I almost forgot about the RPWS, which is entering the final stretch to the end of the season!

After seeing them blitz their semi-final, I was gunning for eScala to win the final. I mean, electric violins/cello playing a classical piece that was infused with a bit of pop/rock? Who wouldn’t like that. OK, maybe it was my love of Rock Band that made me fall in love with the music. On the other hand, who wouldn’t want some great specimens like those gals to win, eh?

Signature did very well also. Thankfully I accurately predicted them coming in the top 3 (alongside the wrong guesses of eScala and Faryl Smith). Their mix of Michael Jackson and Bollywood is very impressive. And what makes it even more impressive is the fact that they don’t do it for a living! I didn’t quite catch as much info on their normal lives from those bio clips played before their acts, but they do seem to be normal people who have an extraordinary talent.

When I first saw this year’s eventual winner, George Sampson, back in the first season in 2007 – I really did think he was very good. It was a pity he didn’t make the semi’s that year. This year, seeing him come back made me quite excited, could he be the first person/act to "bounce back" from rejection and get through to the semi-finals? Well, as we all know he did

Seeing his act in the semi-final, I was impressed. Such a classic song remixed to fit his dancing techniques was astounding. But, when his time came in the final and I found out he was doing it again, I thought to myself: "He’s got no chance now, repeating his act." And obviously, I was completely fucking wrong. Wow, never thought I’d be saying that…

But, looking back at this act again (both his encore on the show, and on YouTube again and again), I can understand why he won. It was well choreographed, well rehearsed, and well executed
All I can say is well done, and enjoy:

There’s just one little thing I need to complain about the show – why are there no auditions in Ireland, or even Northern Ireland? I am aware it’s Britain’s Got Talent, but if The X Factor has auditions in Dublin, why not this other talent searching show?

This weekend will be one for the TV. Well, when I say TV, I mean TV and streamed foreign TV that is, given some of this weekend’s gems are from the US. In fact, it starts in just under an hour from the time of this posting!
The Eurovision would normally be something to watch from start to finish, but given we’re not in this year’s final, I don’t see any reason to watch anything other than the results. Hopefully we will see the UK take the wooden spoon this year, after they didn’t give us any points last year, while we gave them a good few

With the little gap caused, Britain’s Got Talent will do a nice job of entertaining us – or at least the bad acts will! Not sure what’s going to be on afterwards, but I’m sure we can find something between the end of the lack of talent and the Eurovision results. With any luck as well tonight, the NASCAR Nationwide Race will be live, or at least delayed on Setanta. I know it’s not the same as the Sprint Cup, but at least NASCAR is NASCAR.

Tomorrow is a big day of motorsport from start to finish. Monaco Grand Prix in the early afternoon, the Indy 500 early evening, and finishing off with the Coke 600 later on at night. 3 different races, 3 different racing series (Formula 1, Indy Racing League, NASCAR Sprint Cup – for those of you who don’t follow motorsport as much), all in one day. It seems ironic how all three of these races are big events in their respective series. Monaco is the glitz and glamour of the F1 season. The Indy 500 is the biggest and most watched event in the IRL season, and the Coke 600 is the longest and most important race in the Sprint Cup season. I sure am glad that none of them will overlap each other from the looks of thing, although if there is rain at Indy, that could be a possibility. I’d rather not have to be watching two different race streams at the same time (and that is also provided I can find a Sprint Cup stream this weekend).

Expect me to be very bleary-eyed come Monday morning!

Friday night saw me doing something which I never really thought I’d be doing for ages – playing CoD4 multiplayer online and enjoying it… Once you start gaining more levels and unlocking more stuff, it is actually quite a decent experience. The Challenges section is really the main reason I keep playing. You could say it gives the same sort of "buzz" getting achievements does, albeit without any Gamerscore increases. Still getting a nice notice and fancy sound effect informing you that you’ve just achieved the Hardcore Deathmatch MVP (on the Russian style map camping the hole above a doorway), or successfully said Goodbye (jumping from the top floor of the building under construction to the basement on Standoff?) keeps you hungry for more. I just wish that challenges that unlock on later levels would take into account whether you’d completed it before unlocking it. The amount of times I’d completed those one-off Sabotage challenges before unlocking them…

Last night didn’t really have much going on. It was more of a night where the reason I was up all night is because I wasn’t tired… Yes, lame excuse. However, I did catch a good few more Pokémon in Diamond. Some of them were actually quite surprising, although it might have been down to the extras you "unleash" into the Great Marsh with the National Dex, added with the Super Rod.

Speaking of Pokémon, it’s been a week since I bought all 26 currently released volumes of Pokémon Adventures (the manga) from some guy in Singapore on eBay. Hopefully the package will be arriving at Dunboyne within the next week or so. Then I can see if it was worth the €200+
It’s just a pity that the guy from Serebii.net who was in charge of the manga section, Coronis, has had to leave. His write-ups were getting me interested in the Diamond and Pearl series of the manga. Actually it was his detailed bios of the main characters which got me interested in the manga in the first place. At least he entertained a lot of people with his write-ups, and hopefully got a few other people interested in the series as well

Tonight will probably be another sleepless night, although it probably won’t be as bad as the rest of the weekend. Mainly because I have a 10am lecture in the morning. It really all depends on how I decide to watch the Daytona 500. Yep, the NASCAR season is back
The main thing here is that there are two ways to watch the 500, but both of them have their inherent disadvantages. The first option is to use NASCAR’s Raceview application, which is free for the 500. This will allow me to "watch" the race live on my computer and see everything that’s happening, albeit virtual. While this allows me to watch the race live, it doesn’t have the proper TV camera, nor the ESPN commentary. The second option is to watch NASN on Setanta tonight and hope that the race is being shown delayed. Although it isn’t live, it is TV. However, the earliest it will start is midnight, meaning I’ll be up until about 4 or 5am…
Or, alternatively watch it during the week if Setanta replay it some other night. Preferably Thursday since I’m not busy in the morning on Friday

At least next weekend won’t have so much sleeplessness, as the A1 is in South Africa, which handily is only GMT+1

Finally went back to the Disability Service to see the AT officer to get Inspiration installed. Will most definitely help with assignments, in the research phase

I’ve also gone back to the Celtic Snipers. In talking with Gav about him wanting to join them, it’s pushed me to try and get to know them again. It seems that they are having some amount of conversation about me, what with the 7 hits so far today from what appears to be a thread in their “Staff” or similar forum. Good or bad, I can’t tell.
And lads – yes, I can see where you’re coming from! It’s forum number 16 and thread number 919!

Oh, and Baby Bear enjoys Kinder Buenos ->

Anyway, this weekend will be quite eventful given it’s Aoife’s 8th birthday. Well the birthday’s not until Tuesday, but the party’s this weekend. Expect a load of posts with me being bored to death of little girls…

To “sign off” for now – Takeshi’s Castle FTW. Although the Dragon Lake is better when it involves them swinging around in an arc to land on the pedestal and not land in the sludge. Straight swing to avoid water FTL.

It all starts Sunday evening, around 7pm. I turn on the TV, and head over to Setanta Sports (Magnet: 105), expecting there to be the 3M Performance 400 from MIS on.
Then I find out that there is a rain delay, and eventually an hour later, that it has been postponed until Monday. I’m thinking “no biggie, I’ll watch it tomorrow night at midnight”.

Monday night at midnight – turn on the TV to Setanta – postponed due to ran yet again. Yea, that’s a little annoying, and the fact that they show the Busch race from Saturday isn’t much of a compromise. Alright, better tune in Tuesday.

Tuesday night at midnight – turn on the TV to Setanta – YES! We have some Nextel Cup coverage! But wait, what’s this little blue ticker at the bottom of the screen saying? “Due to technical difficulties, we are unable to bring you the full coverage of the 3M Performance 400. You are watching the highlights” – WTF?! 2 days of waiting for the race, and I’m only gonna get snippets? That’s BS…..

And the annoyance is compounded by the fact that I only found out this week, that I missed them racing at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (for those of you non-F1 fans, that means the Montreal road circuit) two weeks beforehand, and the fact that JPM (Montoya, Car 42) only finished in 26th which doesn’t help his campaign for getting into the Chase at all! ARGH!

WATCHING – A hell of a lot of alternatives to the Nextel Cup……
HOPING – JPM can pull off a miracle and get into the Chase
FIXING – A lot of Penny’s screw-ups with the CBTS forums

Formula 1

OK, Hamilton won a Grand Prix. Stop going on about it. You’re acting worse than when Jenson Button won in Hungary last year! However, one thing I will say. Although it has been said he got hurt in the smash, Kubica’s crash was insane!
Yes, it hurt, and caused a shitload of debris, but it looked funky. And it seems they’ve finally spruced up the Safety Car thing and mae it more NASCARy. Too bad half of the drivers didn’t get it. And the black flag for Massa? Bullshit. Fucking asses. And laugh at Alonso for all his mistakes. Pressure’s getting to him!

NASCAR Pocono 500

OK, why a triangle? Oh well, just another bit of weirdness. Same with the back wing. I thought they changed that thing in the last race? Aren’t they gonna make up their mind? And why the hell are they so scared of racing in the rain? F1 does it, so why should you guys get to say “Oh noes, it’s raining, so we can’t race, thus we’ll either stop the race or do it tomorrow, thus being a nusiance for everyone!” Wusses.

Simpsons 400th Episode

I admit I was hyped up about this. And it failed to deliver. OK, the Tracy Ullma short “couch” gag was good, but lacked reason. And the plot was crappy. But at least they showed how the FCC wreck TV with all the bleeps and filters. Bring on South Park and their saying of “shit” over 130 times in 1 episode! BTW, that WoW episode was bullshit.

Scarred

MTV’s new show is crazy weird and really gross. I admit I was really fucking squeamish. If I want to see shit like that, I’ll watch ER, thank you very much. I’d rather not have to watch crap on MTV when I’m looking for good stuff.

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl

Technically it wasn’t on TV, but someone uploaded them, yay!
D/P Episode 4
D/P Episode 5