Batman: Assault on Arkham Review

The new animated DC comics release Batman: Assault on Arkham is latest release which is set in the Videogame universe of Arkham Asylum after the game Arkham Origins. However the film focuses not on Batman himself but on the "Suicide Squad". A small governmental task force of supervillains including: Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, whose skills are utilised to the dirty work of the government. After  recent disappointments of Son of Batman and Justice Leage: War, this is a triumphan return to form. Some spoilers to follow.

Presenting the PhD: 8 Tips for Making a Great First Talk

I have recently been lucky enough to give an academic presentation. It was a scary thing beforehand but  when I was giving it and afterwards everything was fine. I was pleased to hear that the talk had been received well and that the members in the audience enjoyed it. Perhaps more importantly they got the message of my talk. I was fortunate enough to have a support group around me who enabled me to give the best presentation that I could have at the time (Thank you to all who helped!). Here are some of the things that they helped me do in order to help me give a good presentation.

Son of Batman Review

The new Dynamic Duo

Son of Batman is the latest in DC Comics animation following on from the last two releases about the Justice League (War and Flashpoint Paradox). It is released as a part of the celebrations for 75 Years of Batman, and is the first release preceding Assault on Arkham later this year. It is a mixed release with some good animation but an ultimately hollow experience for fans of the original story by Grant Morrison and of Batman and Damian. Some story spoilers to follow.

The Travelling PhD

Part of my PhD involves me travelling around a lot for various different reasons, whether this is to go for a conference or for a talk. The majority of my travelling however is to go and visit participants. Recently my car (named Emmett) reached a total 100, 000 miles. Not all of this is mine but I have made a smaller but significant contribution. Having only recently passed my driving test it has not only been an education in terms of driving but also in using and knowledge of having a car. It did make me realize that there are many parallels with driving that also are applicable to the completing a PhD.

Always Moving

Since I have been able to drive too and from testing sessions I get a lot of time to think (always a dangerous situation). It gives me far too much time where I can over think situations but also remind myself of conversations. Driving back from testing yesterday I was reminded of my a conversation with a friend about studying for a PhD and working in research.

Calm Before the Storm

During my first year there was a whirlwind of activity, I was new to Newcastle, I was setting up experiments, looking after project students, testing participants. It was daunting and felt like I had gone off at break neck speed, at times being unable to fully process it all. There was a near constant pressure to get things done. Pressure to prove myself to my supervisors. Pressure of moving and settling into a new city. Fortunately I was able to weather that particular storm of pressures. My second year has taken altogether much different pace. It much more nuanced, building there is pressure there but it is a different kind of pressure.

Single Handed PhD!

Recently I have been struggling with some motivational issues to do with my PhD. These were primarily due to my frustration with the slow pace of the speed of my work (nothing new here for a PhD student). Now however I face a new barrier to my PhD. I have broken the third metacarpal in my right (writing) hand. This has been quite a frustrating experience so far but in some ways it has also acted as a catalyst for reffirmation of my motivation to get over my past frustration and to focus my frustrations on several more productive avenues, both academic and non-academic.

The Wall

One thing that I was told in my PhD induction is that at certain points, you will be very busy and you will have to work long hours, sacrifice much of your weekends and evenings. In the last four months I have reached a level where for one reason or another I have been unable to take a prolonged break (or in some months even just a break)! I have reached a moment that is commonly found during physical exercise.I have reached a wall in my working ability and motivation.

Remembering I Kill Giants!

It may not appear obvious but there is something that you do that very few people know. It is something that you do in almost every single part of your life. It is something you do not always realize you do but is something that you do more often than you realize. You  What you do more than you ever realize is that you kill giants!

Academic Origins

I have realized that I haven't talked much about my PhD recently, well today is not going to be that day. But something in the last couple of weeks has made me appreciate how interconnected the people I work and have worked with are. Even this may not be that surprising given how (relatively) small academic research is compared to other areas of work such as or the City. It feels more complicated than purely chance.

National Suicide Prevention Week and Superman

This past week has been National Suicide Prevention week. The aim of this week is to raise awareness about issues related to suicide. I think that everyone can agree suicide is a tragedy that in many cases can be avoided and prevented from happening. Despite being one of the leading causes of death in the world, talking about suicide is infrequent. Part of this is due to suicide being a multi-faceted complex issue spanning across many areas and crucially people come at it with their own viewpoints and opinions.

Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox Review

The new DC comics animated film release is based off the comic event Flashpoint written by Geoff Johns. This event has been controversial due to it being used as a platform for DC to partially reboot all their comics to make it easier for new fans to jump on. I won't address this and focus on the DVD release. Some mild spoilers to the plot to follow.

Mr. B Gig Review

Artist: Mr. B. The Gentleman Rhymer.

Venue: Cluny 2
Date:12/7/2013

A little bit late with this review but as in my previous posts it has been a busy month. Mr. B is one of the self-styled pioneers of of Chap-Hop along with Professor Elemental. This genre combines Hip Hop with particular aspects of English "chappish" culture such as cricket, tea and chinos. This fused with his Banjo and Yukele give Mr. B. a unique sound.

Friends Never Give Up

Something that I also experienced over the weekend was an interesting scenario when I visited my friend. Their friend was a little worse for wear and it was a testing set of circumstances for all, particularly for those who knew the individual concerned. I did what I could to reassure my friend and hopefully it helped him somewhat. Unfortunately I had to leave whilst he was at the hospital so I had to leave him a note. It was a note of where I had a rare moments of that was both eloquent and full of clarity. Below is the note.

Conferencing

So the last month has been very hectic. There have been two big international colour conferences back to back in separate weeks. This was my first experience of such a busy conferencing schedule and was intense and very tiring.

Self Writing

One thing I realized that I don't do as much as I used is writing short poems or short pieces of prose. Previously when I would write it would help come to terms or clarify my position with a problem that I was facing. I found that when I would write things down it would force me to confront the issue, mapping out what the problem, see the pros and cons and then identify a solution or have a moment of clarity.

The Last of Us Review

With the recent announcement of the PS4 being released this holiday season, the time of the PS3 as Sony's premier console is coming to end. The Last of Us is one of the few remaining AAA titles in this console cycle. Having recently just finished this game, these are my thoughts on it.

Stop - Faith Elliott (Original)

A fantastic song from Faith Elliot. Very heart fealt.

Evolution Emerging 2013 - Review

Venue: Cluny 2
Date 25.5.2013

Evolution Emerging is a platform to give emerging artists in the North East. This year numerous acts entered with different venues spread out across the Ouseburn Valley pubs. Each artist plays a short setlist of approximately 30 minutes. Since I had not been to this area of Newcastle before I decided to go to the venue where I would be most likely to enjoy the most artists. I decided to go to the Cluny 2 for my first experience of North Eastern Live music.

One step forward, One step backwards, One step forwards!

So after the last months eye-opening self-realiztion moment, I have spent time working on sorting out my life in general as well as social events and also PhD in there as well. I am getting better at balancing between three yet I seem to only be able to get two out of three things correct. Still this is better than only only being able to focus on one thing having no balance at all.