It's a lovely sunny day, but you'll find nothing of any comfort out there. Instead, stay right in front of your computer, open a can of supermarket own brand energy drink and a six pack of sausage rolls and scamper with us down memory lane... all the way to last week on Chatterbox.
NEW: Chatterbox photo challenge
Long-time chatterboxes may remember that I used to illustrate the 'Best of' posts with a hilarious photo of the Chatterbox topless bar, which you'll find just over the road from the Guardian offices on Farringdon. However, the Guardian has now moved and I've lost the photo, so that's that.
From now on, I'd like to invite chatterbox readers to submit their own photos. They must be videogame-related and they must be clean. I'm thinking game billboards in interesting places (or just on bus stops, it matters not), people playing games, buildings that look like buildings in games, people dressed as game characters at promotional events... I'm sure you get the idea. Send them to us at Gamesblog + at + gmail + com, stick 'Chatterbox Snap' in your subject header and I'll select one every week to lead the 'Best of' round-up. Bear in mind that the photo will be cropped and reduced to 460x276 pixels, so no panoramic vistas.
This may be a disaster but seeing as though you provide all the comments and write the 'Best of' posts, it's only fair that you submit the photography too.
Anyway, back to the business at hand. And this time, it's Imperfect Rex ferreting through the Chatterbox archives, and - what's that? - I think he's found some pants. Or is that just the Annie Lennox cover of Shining Light? All will become clear inside...
Part one: Killzone 2 chat
PS3 ownership seems to have increased on the Chatterbox recently. There's been an increase in the number of posts regarding Sony's machine, influenced perhaps by the arrival of the system's must-buy title, Killzone 2.
The multiplayer element is obviously a huge part of the game's appeal and regular Chatterboxers have formed their own clan – all bow before NaNageddon!
The inaugural match against a clan of interweb strangers took place on Thursday night. The chat was flying all week in the build up – squads, responsibility, lines of fire, actions on, strategy, intelligence-gathering.
Thursday night arrived and not since the battle of Mboto Gorge has there been such a decisive victory.
For those who missed Friday's box, you can see a replay of the action here.
Sheer numbers (16 against 1) ensured success. Not every witness was impressed though. 'Just watched the battle replay and absolutely pi**ed myself – how the hell did you manage 24 team kills?!' demanded Makar27.
At least there is a rematch scheduled though. For 7.15am on Monday morning... (having read all last week's boxes, I have a suspicion who accepted this - Rex)
Part two: boxers, briefs or thong?
Smellavision posed a question that all of us have pondered at some point - though usually not on the public comments section of a national newspaper website:
"I'm thinking of switching from boxer shorts to briefs. What are the pros and cons?"
Only the anonymous nature of the internet could have made such a question askable. Only the wisdom of the Chatterbox could have answered.
Dizzyisanegg: "Cons – you'd be wearing briefs".
DMT2: "Anyone wear brown Y-fronts with a cream trim?"
alfienoakes: "I've been wearing boxers since the age of about 12 when I got the p**s ripped out of me at school for wearing paisley y-fronts"
(They should have been on the inside - Rex)
Part three: TV Appearances
Chubster2010 started this idea off on Tuesday as he was planning to go to a live recording of the Stephen K Amos show. A few of our regular posters have been at the showbiz end of the camera:
SuperSmashin, "went to watch TV Burp being filmed a few years back. Free tickets and a couple of free drinks vouchers. Ended up being part of the audience dressed as Jimmy Saville and got to keep my wig and cigar."
Alfienoakes can only talk about this now after all these years: "Was on a regional news program when I was about 17 being interviewed about the state of live music in the area and I looked and sounded such a cock that I vowed never to go anywhere near a TV camera again in my life."
CrispyCrumb tries for a win: "I was in a BBC costume drama when I was 12, an extra in David Copperfield"
Uncle3en takes it though: "My brother and I went on Wacaday. Must have been all of 10 years old. However I have to bask in his reflected glory – he got stuck in, I was too shy and stood around looking uncomfortable in the corner not wanting to play ball."
Part four: crimes against music
Annie Lennox has got her hooks into a few regular posters' brains with her terrible cover of Ash's 'Shining Light'. Which led JuanBlanco to pose a great friday question – nominations for soul-destroying cover versions.
Art1eFufkin: "Atomic Kitten murdering Blondie's 'The Tide is High'. And yes, I know the Blondie version was itself a cover, but Atomic Kitten were clearly covering the cover version."
Cunningstunt: "Sugababes and Girls Aloud version of 'Walk this Way'".
Umboros23: "Jonny Cash's 'Hurt'". (surely joking – Rex)
Owlyross had a few to get off his chest: "Avril Lavigne doing Metallica's 'Fuel', All Saints doing 'Under the Bridge' and Alien Ant Farm doing 'Smooth Criminal'".
Sorbicol: "Sixpence none the richer's cover of The La's 'There She Goes'."
(I remember hearing that played on Radio 1 by Mark Radcliffe. His words were, "I always thought no-one else could cover that song well. And I was right" – Rex).
Makar27 took the prize on this subject though: "I was in Exeter Cathedral Green with a friend once when a busker started playing 'Every breath you take' by The Police. After listening to it for a minute, my mate turned to me and said ''It's not bad, but I prefer the original by Puff Daddy'. I was upset."
Part five: Lidl offers of the week
A request for a shop that sells ostrich eggs(!) led mollocate to direct the box's attention to Lidl. Aided by TonyHayers and Cunningstunt , he pointed out some of the great offers in store this week*:
Pony blankets, Bavarian Christmas sausages, toad steaks, tinned goats, 2012 calendars, dog fighting muzzles, imitation tequila worms, floral lavatory seats, German cabbage dishes, low-fat donkey cheese.
*Limited stocks, one per customer, some of these may actually be real.
Quotes of the week
"Cycled into work and it was hard work today. Realised once I'd cycled 10 miles that my back tyre was flat!"
Davefalse not doing 'stupid bloody' cyclists reputations any good.
"Marley & Me – went to watch this last night. Anyone read the book? Not everyone's cup of tea obviously but I'm not ashamed to admit I was bawling like a banshee at the end. Along with 90% of the cinema. Not a great film but brought back memories of the book. Damn heart strings being plucked all over the place. I now want a dog."
Every week doing Best of, there is a post that stands out, makes no sense and leaves me a little stunned. Well done SuperSmashin.
"Bloke at work climbed Kilamanjaro a couple of years back – said it was a piece of p***. Apparently it's just like a path up a bit of a hill with loads of tourists knocking about. He said as long as you take your time and don't rush, your granny could do it."
alfienoakes proving that if Ronan Keating and Chris Moyles can climb a mountain, anyone can.
"Hi guys. Just a quick post to make Mr Hayers jealous. Tons of powder and booze so far. Complete whiteout conditions yesterday, 10 meter visibility. Things were better today though and looking good for the rest of the week.
Currently sat enjoying a beer and sheltering from the snow."
Craggyisland tries to get himself temporarily added to the libel / hate list.
Any other business
Birthdays: Just one this week - MasterAir turned 26 on Tuesday.
New posters: Three new poster to the Chatterbox this week. Please feel free to come back, RobLindsay, 51Monsays, spatenfloor.
Libel List or who we've been having a go at this week: Annie Lennox, Comic Relief celebrities, Jo Whiley, Michaela Strachan, George Galloway, Harvey the ipod loving A&R man, Tesco Car Insurance, Horne & Corden, Powerpoint, Bono and Bob Geldoff.
Sweetheart list: Alexander Skarsgard and Julie Myerson.
Link of the week
A Generation Kill glossary
Games: Killzone 2, Age of Empires, Fallout3, COD4, DoW2, Braid, World of Goo, Watchmen, Streets of Rage, Columns, Street Fighter 4, Bioshock, PES, MGS4, Pixeljunk Monsters, Burnout Paradise, Dead Space, Fifa09, Left4Dead, Resident Evil5, Rainbow 6, Jeanne D'Arc, Patapon 2, 50 Cent: Blood in the Sand, Prince of Persia, Mirror's Edge, SOCOM, GTA: Chinatown Wars, Zack & Wiki, Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, COD:Waw, Chrono Trigger, Legends of Wrestlemania (really cameroon95?), Civ Rev, Puzzle Kingdom, Mad World, Gears2, Team Fortress, Halo3, GTA4, Peggle.
Movies: Watchmen, The Blues Brothers, Kingdom of Heaven, Quantum of Solace, all 5x Harry Potter movies (and you couldn't make time to watch Apocalypse Now, illocon?), Crank, Transporter 3, Gran Torino, In Bruges, Death Sentence, Slumdog Millionaire, Deathproof, Let the right one in, Marley & Me, Ghost Town, High School Musical 3.
TV: Skins, Generation Kill, The Wire, Mad Men, 30 Rock, Flight of the Conchords, Golden Balls, the Stephen K Amos show, Heston Blumenthal, Horne & Corden show, Red Riding.
