Gaming & Real Life Violence.

The other week while going through my normal Facebook & Google + feeds i stumbled upon a article that was posted by a friend of mine featuring the infamous Supernanny "Jo Frost". Which basically said that playing video games was the reason for the riots that happened in London not that long ago. Now from what i have read previously this is not the first time she has jumped on the bandwagon of Games and Gamers are Evil!

She went onto say the following:

"Research shows that within 15 minutes of playing one of these games young men become highly aggressive and lack empathy in normal situations. It is not too fanciful to suggest it's a short step from being immersed in this war-like world to taking that nightmare mindset on to the streets with all the consequences of anarchy and violence we saw rip apart cities."

Call Of Duty

Personally do i agree with this? Hell NO! i don't, sure i have read lots of articles around the world about oh such and such shot x amount of people after playing games like Call Of Duty etc and it's the videos game fault but how on earth can ANYONE come to that conclusion. I mean seriously have they sat down with these individuals and said "oh why did you shoot these innocent people" to which they got a reply "oh i was playing  this video game and just decided to pick up a gun and go do it" i mean come on! what complete and utter crap. You can't seriously expect me to believe this is the case can you?

Golden Axe

I personally have been a gamer since back in the day, when i got my first ever games console (Sega Master System II) and played games such as Altered Beast, Golden Axe, Mortal Combat. Before i got my PC and moved onto games like GTA and Duke Nukem, now let me tell you games like GTA & Duke Nukem was filled with pure and utter violence, from running people over with vehicles to taking baseball bats and beating people around the head with them and have i ever had the tendency because of these games to go out get a baseball bat and beat someone until they are dead? of course not because i know in my head already that these types of games are not REALITY they are fiction.

Now am i saying that video games have nothing to do with these acts of violence, of course im not perhaps they have indeed contributed to them, but they have certainly not been the main cause of such crimes as violence against others and especially the London riots.

She also went on to mention


"Those horrific video games which I mentioned earlier must be brought under control. Their content should be subject to censorship and the age at which they can be bought tightly controlled," she writes. "Shopkeepers should demand proof of age and where they ignore this and break the law by selling them to children they should be fined."


This however i absolutely agree with i would never ever let any of my children play violent video games that they are clearly under-age for and i do believe that all video games should come with a censorship on them, i already know that games like GTA etc come with a 18+ censorship on it, and i definitely agree that parents and grandparents purchasing these games for minors is idiotic 

But i stand by my views and opinions that video games do not cause violence, but what are your own personal thoughts and opinions on this matter? do you believe that parents should be more vigilant when purchasing games for their children?

If you would like to read the whole interview with Supernanny Jo Frost then you can find it >HERE<

What Have We Created?

Remember the times where kids would go out and play on their bikes, kick around a football with friends and just generally have a laugh. I remember that when i was a young lad i was bearly in the house, always out having a blast with friends or even just out the front of the garden playing on my own.

But these days no, kids are hooked on technology, TV, PC's and Game Consoles and unfortunatly my two kids have become just that, techno junkies.

As people are aware who read my blog the other day, the twins were away at their dads for the weekend and upon arriving home on Monday thats all they could think about. They normally jump out of his car and hug their mummy and say how much they missed her and couldn't wait to come home to see her, but not this time. They hopped out the car, gave Marie a quick hug and asked "Can we go and play our Cars console?"

I mean way to make your mum feel special right?

So it seems that in the course of a few months my lovely two boys have went from being fun loving kids who want to go outside and play in the sun and generally get up to stuff, to being a couple of kids that would rather sit up stairs all day and play a games console.

I really shouldn't be that suprised since afterall im a complete gaming nerd myself, and they have watched me spend countless hours playing World Of Warcraft, so does this mean my dream that i have had since they were small little boys bearly able to walk will come true? Will i have them in a years time logging into my WoW account and doing my dailys for me in the morning before they head off to school? or perhaps logging in on the weekends to go raid on my character?
All i can say is "HERE'S HOPING LOL!!!!"

So the twins got up today at 09:30 this morning and Marie handed them their cerial for breakfast, and i'm not kidding they didn't even finish it five minutes before asking "Can we go upstairs and play our game??"

Of course we refused and made them go away and tidy up their bedrooms before allowing them, but honestly we have created some gaming nerds i think.

(Max kicking ass at some Mickey Mouse game)

(Alex patiently waiting for his turn)

It's actually quite surprising that he was sitting so patiently since normally we are constantly hearing them argue about who's playing and who played last, which then results in one of them coming down to us with "X is playing all the time, it's not fair, it's my shot" which is normally resolved quickly by "if you don't stop arguing we're going to come up and turn it off".

 (The actual game they were playing not the best pic but oh well)

And then to top it off, after they were bored with playing their console they decided to come down the stairs, after they heard me playing some music on YouTube and decided it would be a great idea to take over my laptop while i was away out the back having a cigarette.

(Damn those children of mines lol)

And then to top it off, we normally have the children set the table for dinner but yesterday Marie shouted up to them, "ok kids come down and set the table for me please" the only reply that was given was "but mum.... we're playing, you can set the table" i mean seriously!!!! of course we shouted up get the console off and get your asses down here and set the table but i mean it's just so funny to hear some of the things that kids will come out with.

But the way i see it if they're doing that at least they aren't doing stuff they are not meant to be doing, like playing in the bathroom and jumping on their beds etc so i suppose thats one benifit.

It's Time For A Change

Have you ever just sat down and looked back on your life and thought to yourself, "damn what the hell have i done with my life?".

Well over the last few weeks i've been sitting thinking the exact same thing, in all honesty by this point in my life i had already expected to have been settled down, married with children with a good lifestyle but yet i find myself un-married and unemployed. I have children maybe not biologically mines, but still mine in every sense of the word, and i would never change it for anything in the world.

However i would love to change my life itself, i would call myself a proud person and possibly go as far as call myself stubborn aswell, which although may be good traits are also pretty bad ones aswell, not the proud part but certianly the stubborn.

So i find myself living in Sweden for 5 years and wondering why have i basically got the same lifestyle as i had in the UK?
I mean i had the opportunity when i moved over here to create a whole new life, a whole new person, change who i was back in the UK and create someone better, but for some reason i seem to have decided to just take the easy route and not bother.

There is many reasons for this and most of them are my fault, and maybe people will be sitting wondering well why not do something about it?
Well it isn't that i haven't been trying but perhaps i haven't tried enough and i have came to realise although i possibly already knew that it is not only myself i am hurting, but the chance of happiness for my family as well. Not that they are unhappy, but i feel i could be making my life and their's a lot better. During out lifetime Marie and i have been through a lot and i feel it is well deserved for us to have a little bit of happiness and security in our lives.

I mean i don't actually want alot in life if im totally honest, it's not like i want a flashy house, a super fast car or anything like that, all i really want is to be married to the woman i love and to have a great family, perhaps even add on to the family we have already (kinda miss being called dad) but without me changing my life i don't think any of these things will ever become possible. So once more it all falls back on myself, i mean there ain't no fricken fairy godmother out there that is going to help me out is there?

Don't get me wrong i am not unhappy in my life, i have met a person that i know is the "ONE" that everyone searches for in their lifes and although my twin boys are a bit over the top at times, they are also a great joy to have in life and my teenage daughter, well i'll let you know about her when she stops being a stroppy teen :P

So i have decided to head back to school and finish up what i had originally began (that's a complete other story). I mean there is no reason why i cannot continue to look for work while being in school now is there? and perhaps not sitting in the house 24/7 and meeting new people will give me the push i think i have been needing for a while now.

So if there was anything in your life that you could change, what would it be?

Truly Inspirational

Looking through my facebook feed today i came across this article posted by one of my friends

A Lifetime In 3 Years

After reading this article all i can say is WOW, it was truly a inspirational story and really makes you take a long hard look at your own life, and life in general.

Just thought i would share it with everyone here, as i think everyone could learn more than one thing from this guy. You never know what is around the corner so you should make the most of what you have when you have it.

Apparently I Needed Help!

My partner decided that i needed help translating the things she said and the actual meaning behind it, since well as everyone knows men are slow, we might not admit it. Heck we might even deny it but every man in the world knows that their women is 300x smarter than he is.

I mean they have even come up with their own secret language or at least kept the normal words, but added simple yet decisive meanings behind what they are saying.

So my partner Marie decided to head off around the internet to enlighten me as what she is really saying.

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Normally i hear alot of these things on a daily basis, but i take no notice of them and just carry on with my day without a second thought. I think it comes back to men being slow.

However after reviewing this image i have came to the solid conclusion that i now understand the female psyche a little bit better now and perhaps i will not misinterpret what she says any longer..

Although i'm now going to be very worried everytime she comes out with "WHATEVER" knowing now what she actually means by it, and trust me i hear that alot from mines.

So at least now you know what your spouse, fiancee, girlfriend or perhaps just a friend that happens to be a woman is actually saying to you! There is hidden meanings behind everything a women says.

Living With A Siberian Husky

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Living with a Siberian Husky is literally like living with a four legged child, especially when you live with our one "Kaiser".

When we first decided to get a dog i had said to my partner Marie that it had to be a Siberian Husky, it was always my dream to own one of those dogs since i was a child after seeing them in movies, everything about the breed in my eyes is just amazing, from the looks of them to their personalites, i can't honestly say that there is another breed off dog out there that gives me the same chills.

So our search for the perfect dog and breeder began, Marie spent months searching personal adds and looking up Siberian Husky breeders online until we stumbled across Okamis Kennel owned by Helena Skoglundh. We contacted her and it was just lucky that she had a set of pups due about 6 months later i think it was, so after speaking to her over a course of several weeks we decided that she was definitely the breeder we had been searching for.

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Well after months of waiting little Kaiser was finally born and Helena had contacted us and told us that she had found the perfect Siberian Husky for us amongst the litter of pups that she had got, i distinctly remember her describing him as the "Clown" of the pack and i must admit she was not half wrong about that. 

From the minute we got him he showed us that he was definetly a clown in every sense of the word.

So now we have had him for approximately 2 years+ and everyday is a new adventure with him.

Siberian Huskys are described as:

• Eager
• Friendly
• High Energy
• Intelligent
• Escape Artists

Kaiser is however not your typical Siberian Husky, i don't know if it was because we were determined from the get go or what it is with him, but he is definetly all of the above except the Escape Artist part. From the day we got him we always gave him slight freedom allowing him to walk off leash etc (this is not recommended to everyone) and perhaps that is why we have never had any issues with him trying to run off or dig holes out of our backgarden, but he certianly shows all the other traits of the breed and alot more.

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I would say that Kaiser is probably my best friend in the world, no matter what he gets up to, which include going into the kitchen where he is not allowed to be, or chasing the neighbours cats in the backgarden i just find it extreamly hard to stay mad at him no matter how much i try, i mean he just has to come up to me and lay his head on my lap and look at me with those big brown puppy dog eyes of his and in that minute all is forgiven.

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The only major downside to owning a Siberian Husky is the fact of the shedding, they are meant to shed around twice a year or as it's known in the dog world "Blowing Their Coat", but our little Sibe seems to shed all year around, if like myself your wardrobe consists of black clothing, then you better be prepared to look like a Siberian Husky yourself. Their hair gets absolutly everywhere and by everywhere i mean EVERYWHERE!!!
But i guess the pro's way outway the cons of owning one.

I personally wouldn't have it any other way and if im honest if i could afford it i would probably own another 3 or 4 quite easily without thinking about it.

So if your looking for a dog and a best friend for life i would seriously urge you to look at the Siberian Husky, however be sure you have the time and the patience to deal with the breed, they are not easy dogs to deal with, but treated the right way and you will have a friend for life.

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I hope you enjoyed reading my post about my little friend Kaiser. Please feel free to drop me a comment below with your thoughts.

Friends Or Just Acquaintances?

So just before i logged out last night, i was sitting on Facebook like always reviewing the latest news feeds like i always do where i came to thinking about friends old and new.

As you grow up you meet lots of people in your life but how many of them can you actually call true friends and how many of them are just plain acquaintances that you have happened to meet, maybe spend a few years getting to know?

I have to admit when it comes to keeping in touch with people i must be one of the worst people on the planet for it, it's not that i don't want to or that i can't be arsed, it's more plain forgetfulness or something else gets in the way.. You know those moments where you sit down at the computer to write a e-mail or a message to someone or pick up your mobile ready to text someone and then something happens and it just goes completly out of your head? I have those moments all the time, but perhaps it's just me? Although im still a very firm believer that communication is a two way street, and it seems my "friends" are also as forgetful as i am.

I tried a few months back to get back in touch with people i knew at school and it is quite amazing how people change or haven't changed from the last time you met them, i mean i personally feel that especially from the time i left school that i grew up quite a bit (having kids will do that to you i guess) but i still feel that im the same guy i was back then, always ready for a laugh and a joke but at the same time i have other responsibilities aswell so perhaps some of things i would have done back then i cannot do now, it's not that i don't want to it's just the simple fact when you have children and a partner things like having fun to some extreames just can't happen.

But some of the people i got back in contact with have changed so much that now i probably wouldn't even communicate with them at all even back then, i mean even people i considered really close friends are like aliens to me now, of course people change, people grow up, they stop liking certain things and begin to like others just as i have but it just amazes me that someone you had so much in commen with could be so different only a decade later.

Most of my friends these days consist of people online that i play World Of Warcraft with, alot of people say that they aren't real friends and just people i know through a computer game and in some circumstances they are probably right, i have met quite a few people through the game and some of them gradually lost contact with over the years (bear in mind i've been playing WoW for 6 years now). I have even met some in "Real Life" as they call it and held events here at my house where the people i play with can come and have a drink, meet up with each other and have a good laugh. But it has become very apparent that these people are perhaps just people i know, since i have found that once the person has stopped playing etc that we just simply loose contact. Why? well i think it's because we no longer have anything in commen with each other.

However i have met some online that i would call dear friends, even some i have never even met in "Real Life" it's not that i don't want to meet them, it's just money and where they may live that gets in the way of this, but these people i know better than i know some of my own family members and vice versa. I mean we talk alot and not only about the game but troubles and other aspects of our lives, and we are always there for each other in times of need. These people i would personally class as real friends and not just people i know in a video game.

So what makes a friend? is it just the fact you know them? perhaps you have spent a few years with them at school or any other activity? It's a pretty damn good question.
I myself have came across alot of people in my time and considered them friends at that time, but now? i really don't know if that is what it was or not. If you loose contact with people for years, are they still a friend? or just someone you know?

Please feel free to leave me a comment below on your own thoughts and opinions. Perhaps i am misguided in my thoughts i really don't know but i would be very eager to see what other people's opinions and thoughts are on this.