Banksy vs Bristol Museum

Upon entering Bristol Museum, after a large but fast-moving queue, I was greeted by a vandalised ice-cream truck and a happy policeman riding a rocking horse to and fro. All of which gave me the sense that I was in for one of the first museum trips that I could honestly say was enjoyable!

The first floor is Banksy dominated and split into two main sections. One section consisting of canvas-based artworks, and the other featuring caged, 3-D items.

The canvas-based section questions modern society (as is Banksy's style), and picks up on particular topics such as the police force and modern politicians. Often challenging the stereotype of the police being "tough" by presenting them in varying situations, such as running through a meadow holding hands, or (as seen above) riding a children's play-park ride. What was most memorable and eye-catching for me was the wall-sized portrait of the House of Parliament. In which all politicians were replaced with monkeys (rather fittingly), obviously picking up on certain outrages stories that I shan't mention now.

The second section was very surreal. Monkeys painting, caged families of hot-dogs and swimming fish fingers. Very surreal indeed. Once again, these were not just random pieces of art that Banksy created for the purpose of humour. They all expressed strong messages about modern society and all of it's faults. It made me think of social issues that I have never put a great deal of thought into before. Issues such as animal testing, displayed visually through a Rabbit applying make-up in front of a bathroom mirror (see right). These thought provoking tendencies were a running theme throughout the exhibit.

That wasn't the end of the Banksy fun. Far from it. The rest of the museum was littered with examples of Banky's work, whether it was a clever adaption to another artist's work or the odd rubber sex-toy (that's correct, rubber sex-toy!). Not his most thought provoking piece of art but humorous non-the-less.


As a keen Banksy fan, I could not pass up the opportunity to see an exhibit displaying the graffiti artist's genius, and it was far more than I could have expected. As I was leaving, taking it all in one last time, I noticed the guest book. Words could not express how much I enjoyed my visit. I simply wrote, "Awesome".

Screamers aren't funny

I was recently roaming YouTube, probably one of my most viewed sites ever in the history of the internet (along with Facebook), searching for live performances by Jimi Hendrix, songs on Guitar Hero on Expert 100% or funny things that make me laugh like Scrubs or WWE moments. I typed in to search Float On by Modest Mouse. I eventually found a good quality version on my phone by some weird guy who had made a video containing the lyrics and some very, very dire animations to accompany these words. Anyway, I allowed the video to play, whacked the phone in my pocket and continued playing on my Xbox 360 (Best Console Ever - Bar the N64).

Then, as I was merrily killing my enemies, an almighty scream which lasted over 9 seconds blared out into my eardrums, sending a ripple through my body. The song then continued on but with me mortified.

I would like to make this clear as of now. Screamers are not funny. They never were and they never wil be. They are made by people who clearly have nothing decent to put on YouTube so they just want to ruin the reputation of the site. Stop making Screamers. STOP IT NOW!

The End of a Silver-Coated Era

It's finally over. More than 12 months of speculation have come to an end with Manchester United accepting an enormous sum of £80 million for Cristiano Ronaldo. This signing follows the recent acquisition of Kaka from AC Milan to Real Madrid and SkySports Spanish correspondent, Guillem Balague, believes that they are not finished yet and David Villa is next on their shopping list.

The United number 7 has had a long career at the club, arriving from Sporting Lisbon in August 2003 for a fee of approximately £12.24 million. His time at Man United hasn't always been filled with goals-galore and Ballon d'Or awards, in his first season he recorded 6 goals from his 40 appearances, and it wasn't until the 2005/06 season that he reached double figures. The end of that season saw the World Cup in which Portugal knocked-out England and the Portuguese winger seemed to have fell out with Wayne Rooney. This sparked rumours that Ronaldo would not return to Manchester, out of fear that he would be greeted with hostility. Despite the speculation, Cristiano returned to a warm welcome at the club and all thoughts of Wayne Rooney not being happy in the same team as Ronaldo were threw out of the window as the two formed a fantastic partnership which saw the United number 7 score 23 goals which contributed to the club's triumph in the league.

The best was still to come for Cristiano as the following season saw him named as Portugal's captain and his club winning the league and the Champions League double, with him scoring an outstanding 42 goals in 49 games. This brilliant achievement earned Ronaldo the Ballon d'Or, making him one of the few players in Manchester United's history to achieve this great award.

Cristiano Ronaldo is truly one of the greats in the history of the club, and his contributions over the years will not be forgotten. No man is irreplaceable, and no one is bigger than the club, however this is one man that will cause difficulty when searching for his replacement. Here is a tribute to one of the best players in the Premier League's history.....



Now the United fans must bid farewell to their Portuguese prince. However, as many fans will tell you, exciting times are ahead.

iRack

I'm sure you will agree with me when I say that the whole situation with Iraq has become a bit of a joke. It's not getting any better over there, yet British and American troops keep getting plowed in like herds of Sheep!

We are massive fans of comedy here at The New Wave, and American based comedy show Mad TV have supplied a light-hearted take on the situation in Iraq. I give you ... the iRack!



Hope you enjoyed that as much as I did!

WTF?

Possibly the freakiest music video I've seen in my life. MGMT never cease to surprise it seems, I don't know which is more scary, the demons and monsters goggling at the toddler or the look of pure terror on his face.



Who needs Sesame Street when you have these guys?

Heart Warming

If the stress of exams is getting you down, there is simply one answer.

Please watch this:




Life is good again...

The Master of Puppets Have Returned!

I am, of course talking about the new Guitar Hero Metallica game. Upon turning it on you hear the legend that is James Hetfield (the lead singer of Metallica) scream the words "Metallica, is here!!" and at that point it hit me that I wasn't just playing a game, I was being given a chance to fulfill my dream of playing on stage with Metallica. Yes, I realise that I'm not actually playing on stage with Metallica but it's the closest I'll ever come!

As this is a branch off game from Guitar Hero World Tour, the features do not differ to any great extent. You still have the options of 'career', 'quickplay', 'rock star creator', etc. After accessing the quickplay option with anticipation I was speechless to see the endless list of awesome metal-tracks, My Apocalypse, Enter Sandman, One, Cyanide. I couldn't believe it! I was pleasantly surprised to see not only Metallica songs, but Toxicity by System Of A Down, Tuesday's Gone by the legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd and many many more.

Moving on to the career mode and I am glad to tell you that it is much more reminiscent of the Guitar Hero 3 story. You play songs individually and no longer in sets of 4, 5 or 6, and there seems to be more of a story line within the game, unlike Guitar Hero World Tour where you just played gigs with no real plot. I don't want to reveal too much about the story but I was pleased to see a return of the daemon manager from Guitar Hero 3.

I have often complained that Guitar Hero games of the past have featured too many bands that don't deserve to be placed under the banner of 'Guitar Hero', R.E.M being one of those bands. However, this problem is not evident in Guitar Hero Metallica, and that makes this game the best Guitar Hero game I have ever played.