I like to like!

I'm pretty enthusiastic about a lot of things, as anyone who has ever talked to me on subjects such as popular culture would know. This blog is to document the things that I like no matter how insignificant, embarassing or quinchy they might be. They might be three things I liked from this week, or three things that I have admired for some time, or it might just be three things I watched on the telly. I hope you enjoy these things and if you haven't checked them out already please do!

1. Portal 2

The world is divided into two types of people - those that love Portal, and those that have never played it. As a particular games website described it, it is a "perfect game", not especially long but absolutely perfectly formed shaped and distanced. It was a long time waiting for it, but Portal 2 finally dropped onto our computer systems a couple of weeks ago, and having just completed the single player mode I can catagorically state it is every bit as good as the first game and more. GLaDOS is back, and funny as hell with a sardonic vendetta against the protagonist, but then the game twists and turns in the way that all good computer game narratives should and you're never quite sure where the story is going until the end. Narrative aside, the puzzles are as ingenious as ever, with the range being expanded by different gels which manipulate the environment around you. Blue gel makes you bounce, Orange gel makes you go super speedy fast, and White gel converts any surface so it can bear a portal. Plus you've got levitation helixes, hard light bridges and an old favourite in the singing turrets. The multiplayer is pretty epic too, requiring high levels of teamwork. the difficulty is ramped up on the proviso that two heads are better than one. GLaDOS does her best to pit you up against each other and encourages rivalry even when it is teamwork you should be aspiring to. As ever, her sardonicism really enriches the experience...... overall this game is absolutely brilliant and deserves every accolade it is bound to win at the video game awards.

2. Mad Men

So I'm far from being the first person to jump on the Mad Men hype train, yes I'm fully aware having only really got on board after Season 4 stopped showing on BBC4, but i'm much more used to picking up stuff on DVD and blitzing through it than waiting week on week for the next episode of something (a process I usually find quite excruciating particularly with TV shows that rely on hooks and cliffhangers i.e. 24). That said, I picked up a boxset of the first three seasons and then picked up 4 when it came out a few weeks ago. I have to say that I find it quite remarkable that the show goes from strength to strength, consistently raising the bar for itself as each episode progresses. Don Draper seems to be a massive arsehole 85% of the time, yet you can't help but root for him; Peggy provides the female crux of the show without being just an token romantic gesture to the main character - her story is in a way an allegory for feminism in America during the 60s. Other characters provide comic relief, Joan is the show's ooo la la.... pretty much a complete TV show for me, and if it carries on improving the way it has done so far, it may be in the pantheon of greatest ever TV shows right next to The Sopranos and The Wire. PLUS season 4 features Danny Strong who played Johnathan in Buffy, so deserves extra kudos just for that.

3. Catfish

Catfish is a documentary about two people who meet on Facebook. They get along and start having a virtual relationship, talking over the phone and sending messages to one another. She is stunningly beautiful and the guy obviously really likes her.... and then obviously things start to go awry. Obviously if I say too much it will spoil it, but I really liked this film for addressing issues about identity and the dangers of the internet in a enlightening and engaging manner. I was a little unsure how a movie about two strangers that met on Facebook would really make a two hour story, but I was totally gripped and found the story both really sad but also kind of uplifting.

That's it for now, later pals!