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History: It’s not the truth. it’s what you believe

Matt Geary
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History: It’s not the truth. it’s what you believe

I love History and always have done. From watching war films with my dad, to listening to stories of my Grandfather’s exploits in the RAF during WW2; it has captivated me and percolates through nearly every interest I have – be it gaming, song inspiration, model making and reading. My library, apart from holding all Tolkien’s works and the: A Song of Fire and Ice series, consists almost entirely historical fact and fiction books. From: Clausewitz ‘On War’ and Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War,’ to Bernard Cornwell’s entire ‘Sharpe’ series and Steven Pressfield’s ‘Gates of Fire,’ I live and breathe historic literature, so much so, that I will automatically go to the military history section of a book store without thinking – a habit I rarely deviate from.

Suffice to say, after spending my life reading these sorts of books, I do know a thing or two (I do not profess to be an ‘expert’ just a keen enthusiast) and have picked up the odd tid bit of knowledge along the way. So I think I should share some of this “knowledge” – but where’s the best place to start? Well it is my opinion that history should be taught, warts and all, even if it makes uncomfortable reading. I’ve never seen the point of sugar coating or not teaching things just because it doesn’t fit in with your view on the world. History should be unbiased. Bad shit happens, atrocities are committed and your country and its heroes, probably did something stupid or unforgivable in the past. But that’s just it… the past;  learn about it and understand it, don’t hide from it or dwell on it.

The following was inspired by a lecture I had while ago in University, entitled: “It’s not the truth, it’s what you believe.” It is about historical myths, lies and inaccuracies that are commonly accepted around the world because it is easier to believe than to question.

Enjoy, and if you don’t believe me,  maybe it might inspire you to read more about the subject,to prove me wrong.

 

Ancient History

So who did build the pyramids? Contrary to belief masses of oppressed, whipped and starved slaves did NOT build the pyramids. The great tombs were built 2575 B.C. to 2467 B.C and were constructed by over 10,000 workers (not slaves). These workers were rotated monthly, paid well and given plenty of provisions. They were even given their own graveyard to bury those who died during the construction.

Row, Row, Row, your boat –  Roman and Greek Triremes / Galleys were not rowed by slaves as implied in the movies. Rowing was a professional, skilled and (for good rowing teams) a well paid job. In some cases, as with the Athenians during the Peloponnesian War, rowing was seen as an extension of an Athenians democratic duty. Mercenaries, freedmen and the rich a-like, shouldered the burden of protecting their native shores.

THIS IS SPARTA! – Again as depicted in the movies, the 300 Spartans who fought to the death at Thermopylae did not do so alone. This is a miss-conception and an injustice to the other Greeks who stayed behind (700 Thespians, 400 Thebans and a few hundred others) to help defend the pass.

Other things to know about the Spartans:

  1. They had 2 kings and not just the one (handy to have a spare just incase a Persian mob decided to throw their weight around and mutilate one)
  2. They institutionalized pederasty. Spartan boys were obliged to take an older lover and, as the saying goes, bend over and take one for the team.
  3. The entire Spartan society was militarized, so manual labour and other such menial jobs were entrusted to an oppressed, servile race, called the Helots, who they had conquered many years before. The Spartans had no qualms about murdering slaves as a part of their youngs  initiation rites.
  4. Had a reputation for never surrendering and fighting to the death; somewhat of an embarrassment then, when in 425 BC, a force of Spartans, trapped and pelted with arrows at Sphacteria, surrendered to an Athenian force. they excused themselves by complaining the Athenians fought like women, attacking from afar and had there been a stand up fight, the Spartans would have been victorious! This surrender caused ripples that shook the foundation of Spartan society and the Helots they lorded over.

Spaghetti Eastern – Spaghetti is an Italian staple but noodle  dishes have been made in China as far back as 2000BC. Contrary to belief, Marco Polo did not introduce it to Italy, in fact it is now believed that the Arabs, or Saracens as they were known, first developed how to work grain into long noodles and brought it with them when they invaded southern Italy in the 12th Century (or the 6th century in their calendar)

In The Shadow Of The Sword: The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World by Tom Holland – Book – 9 GPPs

Matt Geary
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In The Shadow Of The Sword: The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World by Tom Holland – Book – 9 GPPs

Straight to the Point;

Books like these should be compulsory reading for all. It’s beautifully written, engaging and extremely insightful; unsettlingly so at times.

Written By:  Tom Holland

Synopsis:

From the author of: Across the Rubicon, Persian Fire and Millennium, in the Shadow of the Sword is a narrative that chronicles the evolution and emergence of Islam, Christianity and Judaism, in Late Antiquity (2nd to 8th century AD); and how: sphere of influence, politics, diplomacy, paganism and fundamentally, each other  formed the basis of these 3, world dominating religions.

What we like

Beautifully written and easy to read – every inch of the English language is stretched and explored, then moulded masterfully into digestible and unintimidating prose. Unlike many other histories whose general ethos is: “people who read these books must be uber intelligent, like us, and therefore must be hit with the biggest and most pointlessly obscure words that we can think of, or just made up, to reiterate our acumen. If they are not, well then, we must make all efforts to scare them away, least they taint our beloved subject!” Sadly for a lot of people they seem to be very good at the latter.

Hollands use of the English language, historical sources and his ability to tell a really engrossing story, encourages readers to read on. It explains who people are, what things mean and doesn’t go too over board on the hugely obscure words –  though he does have a fondness for “primordial” and “Stupefying,” a trend I’ve noticed in a few of his books-.

A minefield skilfully traversed– Religion is a proverbial minefield and a book dedicated to its “evolution” and influence from other religions is bound to cause some people a few headaches, as well as probably out and out offending others (as it has). Holland tiptoes around this very well, keeping to his narrative story, all the while throwing a few historical source curve balls and anecdotes into the mix; without wading in with a full opinion himself. There are a lot of questions with historically sourced answers, but no greater ‘answer’ to the BIG question; that is left for you to make your own mind up about.

History comes to life – This is something that Holland excels at, in every book he writes. The way things are described, how characters act and what people are feeling comes across brilliantly and makes you feel like you are reading a novel, not a history book; making it a lot easier to absorb (in my opinion) what is being said.

Niggles

Only one minor issue – I found the book seemed to just tail off at the end. He is in deep discussion about the Arabs, the Caliphate and Islam one moment and then it just finishes. I guess this could be put down to the fact it is just a narrative, in the end, and it has to stop somewhere, but I was disappointed all the same. Not sure what I was expecting to be honest, maybe for Holland to bite the bullet and say what he had been inferring through out the book but again that would have changed the tone of the entire thing and probably put a lot of people off.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed, In the Shadow of the Sword and I honestly think this sort of; active, engaging and dramatic history should be read by all. I am sure there will be some major critiques launched Holland’s way (as its not exactly comfortable reading, I would imagine for some people), but personally I found it invigorating to read and it really left me with a better understanding of the period and a need to learn more.. Definitely worth picking up!

By Matt Geary

11/05/2012

Avengers Assemble – Film – 9GPP

Andrew Corban
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Avengers Assemble – Film – 9GPP

Plot:

Loki (Hiddleston) returns hell bent on claiming Earth as his own, S. H. I. E. L. D. director Nick Fury (Jackson) decides it’s time to reactivate the Avenger Project, and gathers Captain America (Evans), Bruce Banner (Ruffalo), Thor (Hemsworth), Black Widow (Johannson), Hawkeye (Ranner) and even Iron Man (Downey Jr.) together in one ultimate fighting team.

Straight to the point:

Visually immense, well balanced story and side splittingly humorous (for the most part) a must see for ANY Geek.. if you disagree I will fight you, that’s no lie.

Verdict:
The Avengers Assemble has been steadily beating box office figures around the world since its release, but is it as good as the box office would suggest, or is this just fan boy over-hype?

The movie is based on the Marvel comic series of the same name and brings together the Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Hulk franchises into one movie.  For fans of the individual movies, Marvel have been leading to this film for years; however, given the heavyweight cast there was the strong possibility that the film could not match the billing, or the actors would compete with each other, detracting from the story line.

Joss Whedon was given the unenviable task, amongst increasing fan excitement and hype, to make a cohesive, entertaining and enjoyable film whilst competing with the naysayers who thought he wasn’t up to the job after the alleged “failures” of Watchmen and The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. (Geek Pride feels these were both great films, in our humble opinion) Suffice to say, expectations were high and a lot of us Geeks waited with baited breath, to see the end product.

So has Whedon done it?  Of course he’s done it… and done it big time! The film combines the action you’d expect from a superhero movie, with humour and an emotional attachment to the characters; but to say this film is just another ‘superhero movie’ is to do the Avengers a disservice.   The film is much more than JUST a superhero movie. Throughout the films the characters have grown; you are already aware of each of the heroes’ abilities and backstories; moving beyond this, and at times hinting at, a much wider history, teasing the viewer with where the character development will lead and all the while revealing little Easter eggs for fans.

The film flows at a good pace, with action scenes and visual candy throughout, and percolated with Hero V Hero bust ups (Thor v Hulk FTW!) that leave you wanting more.  All that being said, the film does not rely upon just action to carry it. Some of the best moments come from the characters interaction between each other and the stunning visuals, a la the unveiling of the S.H.E.I.L.D. Helicarrier! (swoon )  that give the entire movie a sense of EPIC proportions.

I would forgive you for thinking that The Avengers was all about the Heroes; however, you must remember that the antagonist in this film is Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston and who manages throughout, not only to stand up against the Avengers with dastardly, well thought out, schemes but also with screen presence.  Holding his own against the likes of Downey Jr, and even, in some occasions, surpassing them.  What Whedon has done so well, is allow the actors to perform freely and interact with each other without compromise, with the actors being given a fairly equal share of the film.

Adam Yauch (MCA) Of The Beastie Boys Dies At 47

Matt Geary
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Adam Yauch (MCA) Of The Beastie Boys Dies At 47

As per the Globalgrind

Geek Pride have just learnt that Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys has died, after a long battle with Cancer; he was 47.

We’d like to thank him for many great memories and some even better tunes.

RIP dude

 

Matt Geary 04/05/2012

John Carter -Film – 7GPPs

Andrew Corban
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John Carter -Film – 7GPPs

 

Plot:

Renegade Virginian Civil War veteran Captain John Carter (Kitsch) finds himself mysteriously transported from a cave in Arizona, 1868, to the planet of Barsoom (Mars), where he unexpectedly tips the balance of a war between the Zodangans and the Heliumites, by rescuing Heliumite princess DejahThoris (Collins) while earning the enmity of the sinister Matai Shang (Strong).

Verdict:

John Carter is certainly an epic film; but what it isn’t is the big Hollywood in your face, bombastic, wham bam, huge impact, just one more explosion thank you Michael Bay, sci-fi blockbuster we have all become accustomed to these days.  It is a rather understated, quiet, self-assured movie, that has the feeling of classic about it.

Based on the pulp novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs, the film was never going to capture the wider audience and so needed to be more than your average sci-fi blockbuster to be a success.  So the line was drawn in the red Martian sand: is John Carter better than your average sci-fi blockbuster?

The plot is simple and actually endeavors to muster a story, with interesting characters, feeling, and dimension.  Something Michael Bay has yet to show us while grossing millions of pounds worldwide year after year.   The film revolves around the title character Captain John Carter, a Confederate Civil War Cavalryman who is transported to Mars and into a war that has left the world ravaged and entering its end of days.  Having forgone his days of war, Carter simply wishes to return home.

.

The film is often jovial, with impressive action scenes and effects with a colourful range of characters that Andrew Stanton has touched with his clever direction.  The motion-capture giant four-armed Tharks are extremely impressive and expressive, following the advancement made in Avatar to allow the actors to show their expression through the CG adding to overall impression of the film.

The production design is in part steampunk and part John Ford Western and from the start you get a sense of how big this film is.  It has a feeling of watching William Wyler’s Ben Hur and David Lynch’s Dune, with the added production design mixed in.

Where the film suffers is that it often gets bogged down in the storytelling, as if trying to avoid any accusations of being superficial.   It’s not often you have me complaining about too much story; however, at times when the film is moving along nicely and you are being carried to great heights, only to become tethered in needless or drawn out character movement.  The Martian politics and illustrative scenes are hampered by stuck up pretension and sometimes not explored enough.  Despite the giant monsters and the expansive scenes, the film does have a sense that it is small scale.  Just as Ben Hur and Dune where both epic they lacked a certain presence of grandeur and sadly John Carter has the same.

Although Taylor Kitsch does occasionally hit the target with his dour delivery he is slightly bland, but he does pick up as the film gears towards the finale .  Lynn Collins plays the princess Dejah Thoris, who looks amazing, with a look that is only added to by her Martian Tattoos and takes the mantle of the best ass-kicking princess since Princess Leia.  Mark Strong plays, well Mark Strong, if you need a bad guy, Mark’s the man for you.  You are; however, left disappointed with Ciaran Hinds, James Purefoy and Dominic West, who aren’t given the chance to fully use their talents given their roles within the film.

To summarise, John Carter is an epic film and will be a cult classic.  Unfortunately it can’t match the level it is required to overcome its initial marketing difficulties, but I would urge you to take a leap on the red sands, you will not be left disappointed.

theoriginalSKB

10/04/2012

Warrior – DVD – 10 GPPs

Matt Geary
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Warrior – DVD – 10 GPPs

Straight to the point

Great storyline that was brutal, immersive and well acted; think Rocky without the cheese. If there is one movie you need rent, buy or download, then it is this one – 10 GPPs

Review

Warrior was one of those films that I saw advertised and thought: “ meh, I’ll watch it when it’s on TV.” In my mind it was just going to be another fad film, like the Street Dance or the Fast and Furious series and now that MMA / UFC is getting bigger it would be time to cash in and make a series of mindless teen movies, dedicated to the struggle of a young, tormented lad, who fights his way to victory.. oh wait they’ve done that already (Don’t Back Down); man was I wrong!

Warrior is so far away from those sort of films that it’s speaking a different language, eating foreign food and bedding exotic women (with protection of course.). Yes it’s a mans film and yes there is a bit of montage half way through, but its so much more than a mindless fight flick; It’s a master class in how to make a truly awesome, fight flick!

The Story is a pretty simple and I guess some could argue, slightly clichéd: dysfunctional family, fathers a drunk, mothers dead, sons hate each other and a fighting tournament (Sparta) is the glue that will bring them together… well ish. But where Warrior differs from other, similar films; apart from being acted and choreographed brilliantly, is that there are two main protagonists, not just one and both stories are interlocked, giving the watcher a bit of a conflicting choice: whom do you want to succeed?

Both Tommy (Tom Hardy) and Brendan (Joel Edgerton) are likable characters with emotional back-stories and individual reasons why you should want them to succeed; a matter made all the more complicated by the fact that they are brothers and both Great fighters; Tommy being more powerful and aggressive and Brendan being more technical.

Now you might think It’s slightly odd that I’m talking about the brothers as if they are real fighters, with real back-stories and real problems, but this is another reason you have to watch the film. The acting and choreography (as I said before) is so realistic, so well thought out and so well executed that you find yourself being pulled into their world. I found myself shouting at the TV during the fights and going “ouwww, ahhhh” when ever someone got slammed or knocked out.. I even turned to my brother and said “he’s not intelligently defending himself” when a fighter was getting ground and pounded; then, after a strange look, realized what I was saying.

I wont go into a lot of detail about the plot or the sub stories but I can’t emphasize to you how impressed I was with Warrior; I will though, leave you with two final reasons why you should watch it.

Firstly: Nick Nolte’s character, Paddy; an ex war vet and recovering alcoholic, who spends most of the film trying to stay on the wagon, whilst making amends with his alienated kids, is acted brilliantly and despite the background of neglect and abuse, you find yourself feeling sorry for this shell of an old man; adding another level of depth and realism to the story.

Secondly: The lack of gratuitous cheese! This is something that always seems to go hand in hand with such films, but was thankfully lacking in this one. There was a point when Kurt Angle appeared and I just thought: “ballz, and it was going so well” but bar a WWE style power slam, no cheese! Showing me that just because you are making a macho film, doesn’t mean you have to layer it with one liners, clichés and over acting.

Please watch this film, you wont be disappointed

Matt Geary

10/01/2012

 

Is Disney’s John Carter really the flop you’ve been lead to believe?

Andrew Corban
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Is Disney’s John Carter really the flop you’ve been lead to believe?

It has been heavily reported in the media that Disney’s John Carter is the biggest box office flop off all time; costing an estimated $250m (£160m) to produce and a further $100m on advertising, you could be forgiven for thinking that it makes the 1995 flop Waterworld, starring Kevin Costner and Dennis Hopper, look like a roaring success.  However, is the media right to discount John Carter and consign the film to the movie dungeons forever?

Despite the apparent box office failure and less than positive reviews by the critics, there is good news for John Cater.  Although not recording large weekly sales figures, JC is still generating a steady income in the box office and it is very important not to forget DVD sales potentials; as highlighted, following the 2007/2008 Hollywood writers strike, where the writers requested a doubling of the residual rate for DVD sales.  DVD sales, more often than not, can generate huge sums of monies for the film studios so I think it is a bit premature to just write off JC as a flop straight away.

So just who is John Carter?

One of the main issues for JC, is he is not the most well known of heroes and has always been a bit of a cult figure (calm down fellow Geeks, I’m referring to the wider world of the non-Geeks here).  American novelist Edgar Rice Burroughs created him 1912; debuting in his first novel: A Princess of Mars.

 John Carter was born in Virginia and served as a Captain in the American Civil War for the Confederacy.  Following the war, Carter becomes a prospector, striking it rich in Arizona; how this leads to Mars, is a very good question. While hiding from Apaches in a cave, Carter appears to die, leaving his inanimate body behind he is mysteriously transported (by a form of astral projection) to the planet Mars, to find himself re-animated into a body identical to the one he left on earth (which was handy to say the least).   Given Earths greater gravity, Carter is much stronger and agile than the natives of Mars and that as they say is where the story begins (which I will not divulge here for obvious reasons… watch the film or read the book).

 

John Carter in the media.

 

While originally a series of novels, John Carter has also appeared in comic book and animated film adaptations over the years.  Most famously in 1977, John Carter got the Marvel treatment; written by Marv Wolfman, who had lengthy runs writing: The Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and Doctor strange, before returning to DC in the 80’s to re-launch DC’s Teen Titans, and penciled by Gil Kane who penciled during the Silver Age of DC’s Batman, Superman and Green Lantern, to name but a few.

Film development originally started in the late 1950s with the legendary stop-motion animation effects director: Ray Harryhausen expressing an interest; however, it wasn’t until the 1980’s that Walt Disney Pictures bought the rights, with a view to creating a rival to Star Wars and Conan the Barbarian (can this article get any more awesome?).  The film soon fell into production hell despite John McTiernan (Predator, Die Hard, The Hunt for the Red October) and Tom Cruise approached to direct and star, as McTiernan realized that visual effects were not advanced enough to recreate Burroughs’ vision (An excuse used by George Lucas for waiting so long to make Star Wars Episodes I, II and III).

THE SCHOOL CODE

Andrew Corban
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THE SCHOOL CODE

With a growing campaign and support from the Education Secretary Michael Gove, there is what some people call a controversial move to bring computer coding back to the classroom; But is this a bad idea?

Back in the 80’s coding used to be part of the course in the classroom, with pupils gathered round the brand new BBC Microcomputers (produced by Acorn Computers Limited) Now as a child of the 80’s, I can remember the coarse, off-white plastic box with those gleaming black keys and that red banner of ‘F’ keys sat proudly on top (back when you only needed 9 ‘F’ keys). The BBC Micro only had 16k or 32k RAM, that gave storage options of either tape, 5.25” and 3.5” floppies, and even a hard drive.

The BBC Microcomputer (1981)

This was the height of sophistication in the classroom, never seen before,  an initiative to bring the burgeoning future of computers to the next generation; to the workers of tomorrow who would be using technology in almost everything we do. You know what? They weren’t wrong. From the simple vending machine, computers with email and the internet, to car manufactures who build cars without a single human hand tightening a bolt or screw; Computers are our life and the odds are high that you’ll even be reading this on your smart phone or tablet.

These BBC computers did not have the luxury of Microsoft, Macintosh OS or Linux and are so basic you were taught how to use simple code to program the computer to perform simple tasks; the height of this was to build a little robot that drew any pattern that you could program on a sheet of paper.

These lessons disappeared with the introduction of the Apple Mac and Microsoft computers. However, with the rise in applications to universities for computer science courses and the growth in computer forensic and security firms is there a call for programming to be added to the curriculum?

We teach our children how the universe was created; evolution and reproduction; we teach them how nations were created and molded through morality (or lack thereof) and faith; We want our children to know the when, the where and the how but yet our children are becoming more accustomed to the latest technology. There are game consoles in most homes with smart phones and tablets becoming a norm in every playground, but no lessons dedicated to how this wonderful technology actually works; children are taught how to use a program rather than how to create a program.

Of course this would come at some cost to supply the educational needs to accomplish this, especially given that most teachers do not have the necessary knowledge to teach programing. However, all is not lost, the Raspberry Pi is a mini-computer designed to encourage people and children to take up programing. With the price tag for the Model A at £22, it is affordable on most budgets and operates a freely available operating system and a ‘start up’ educational coding tool that allows you to learn through creating games among other things.

The Model B Raspberry Pi

I for one would encourage the government to continue with this initiative, but would challenge the industry to allow teachers and the curriculum to keep up with the fast paced world of growing technology and the next generation of coders. But with the emergence of companies like Raspberry Pi signs are encouraging.

 

theoriginalSKB
22/03/2012 </>

BBC Article on WH40k

Matt Geary
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BBC Article on WH40k

Interesting article on the BBC website today,  Entitled:  “Why are Grown men still launching tabletop War?” 

Have to say a few of us at Geek Pride have fallen afoul of the Games Workshops  bleak take on 40th millennium War and have started collecting armies again! But yet there is still this stigma attached to the Games, the company and the people who play it. Something, we at Geek Pride are eager to change!

Keep an eye out… a defence of our battle brothers will be imminent!

 

GAME MOST DEFINITELY IN DIFS

Matt Geary
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0
GAME MOST DEFINITELY IN DIFS

The Internet has been a flame with rumours of GAME groups pending doom.  Sadly these rumours seem to be based on a bedrock of truth, if you read between the lines of the newest GAME Group statement:

“Further to GAME’s announcement of 29th February 2012 and recent press speculation, the Group confirms that it remains in discussions with its suppliers and lenders in relation to terms of trade that allow the business to operate within the facility provided by its banking syndicate, as announced on 3 February 2012, and to meet its revised strategic plan. While these discussions are ongoing, it has not been possible to source new products from a number of suppliers.

The Board of GAME is working actively to resolve these issues as quickly as possible. This includes ongoing discussions with suppliers, seeking access to the original facility or alternative sources of funding, and reviewing the position of all of its assets in the UK and international territories.

It is uncertain whether any of the solutions currently being explored by the Board will be successful or will result in any value being attributed to the shares of the Company.”

GAME Group

Not surprisingly the  markets have reacted accordingly, with GGs  shares dropping to 1p….. not good.

On the plus side it seems (if rumour is to be believed)  there are some major SALES going on in Game Stores at the minute; as they try to off load as much stock as possible!

Article by Matt Geary
12/03/2012 

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