Join me for Movember

Join me, grow a mo and change the face of men’s health.

The humble mo is a misunderstood creature, for 11 months of the year mo’s are often thought of as nothing but a bad taste remnant of the 70’s. But for the month of Movember (formally known as November) mo’s are not only hip, stylish and desirable but indicate the wearer of said mo is a fine human philanthropist with the wellbeing of others on their mind.

For those that could never understand why during November half the male population was walking around with furry lip warmers, Movember is a charity event where men from all around the world grow moustaches and get sponsorship to raise money for Men’s health programs such as prostate cancer research and male depression.  I have been supporter of Movember for quite a few years and while contemplating which style of face caterpillar I would don this year. I wanted to do something a little bit more for the cause.

With this goal in mind, and knowing that my gaming brethren love to support a good cause, I set about organising the Australian Gaming Community Movember Team.  A group of games writers/players/developers who not only want to support a great cause but have no fear in showing a hairy upper lip to the world.


The Following is from the Movember Website


"Movember is about raising funds and awareness for men's health, specifically prostate cancer and male depression. Close to 3,300 men die of prostate cancer in Australia each year and one in eight men will experience depression in their lifetime. Many of these men do not seek help. 

I’d like to try and change those statistics. 

The more people I can get to join my team, the more lives we can impact. You can either grow a moustache as a Mo Bro, or join as a Mo Sista and help to recruit other Mo growers to the team. 

Once registered, the Movember team will send you all the information you need to raise funds and start growing as part of my Movember team."

So if you would like to join me and many others in raising some money you can join our facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/groups/170839739664200/?notif_t=group_r2j) or join the team directly by visiting our team page on the Movember website: (https://www.movember.com/au/register/details/team_id/206020). The lovely ladies out there are more than welcome to join as a Mo Sista and help the fella’s raises their money and provide support during what is likely to be an itchy time.

So wear your mo proudly, whether it be the Magnum PI, the Merv Hughes or the Uncle Chop chop and change the face of mens health.

*This article was originally posted at www.blackpanel.com.au Check them out for all you gaming news/reviews and features. Great site!

Five Fast Human’s With You

I thought I would do another quick round up of what has been hitting my media intake for the last little while. There are some corkers and some shockers in this entry. You have been warned.

Too much man for anyone to take

 Fast Five is the latest entry in the bazillion dollar rev head franchise and it is the best one yet. Some have described it as Oceans 11 for motor heads and that is a pretty accurate description of what is going on here. All of the cast from the previous movies have made a return and they seem to slip back into their respective roles with ease. The biggest addition (and I mean big) to this movie is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as a bounty hunter sent by the FBI to catch Paul Walker and Vin Diesel.  The Rock (and he is the candy ass whooping, smell what I'm cooking, “Rock” of old in this movie, not the fellow that did the abysmal The Tooth Fairy) and Vin bash manliness for the whole movie setting up a fight scene that didn’t disappoint. This movie has enough testosterone to make any 12 year old boy watching immediately go through puberty.

Basically the movie was a load big dumb fun, I had a grin on my face the whole time I was watching. Since Director Justin Lin took over the franchise with Tokyo Drift, each movie has been getting better and better, and with the enormous amount of money Fast 5 made at the box office it is safe to say that there is more Vin, Walker and Johnson coming our way in the near future.

I'm With You is the latest “effort” by funky rockers the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I use quotation marks as the album doesn’t seem to have had any effort put into it at all. All of the songs seem like half-finished leftovers and B-sides from Stadium Arcadium and there isn’t one exciting song on the whole album.

This fly must be attracted by how much the album stinks

I have been a fan of the chilli’s for pretty much my whole life. The first album I ever bought was Blood Sugar Sex Magic and I have purchased every album since. Needless to say I have never been this disappointed with a band I love. There is no magic anymore and if it wasn’t for Flea trying his hardest to carry the band (he is smashing the bass the whole album) I could have sworn that this was not the chilli’s but a band that resembles them. No band is ever beyond redemption but I think RHCP will find it hard to win back fans after this shocker of an album.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution was probably my most anticipated game of the year and boy it didn’t disappoint. Set as a prequel to the original Deus Ex (a game which many still consider to be the best game ever made, 11 years after its release) DE:HR tells the story of Adam Jensen, a security expert in the employ of a human augmentation company. Starting with Jensen becoming augmented, DE:HR takes players on a ride of stealth/action/adventuring gameplay that has rarely been done this well. The game tailors itself to the player, giving you the choice on how you want to approach any given situation. Want to sneak past the guards and go straight to the objective, sure. Want to hack the security system so the turrets and robots attack their own masters , not a problem. Want to punch a hole through a wall, break a guard’s neck and  shoot his squad mates down with an automatic shotgun, yep you can do that too.

Buy this game, you won't regret it

DE:HR is about choice, and with a story that simply outclasses just about any other game out there,  the choice to play DE:HR is a no brainer. I cannot see a better game coming out this year. If you have the slightest interest in gaming you owe it to yourself to get this game. 

Mythbusters. Gaming myths busted for those in older generation

Being an older gamer I thought I would put together a little guide for those well matured folk out there that are a little scared and confused about how a fat plumber with a mushroom addiction can not only be fun, but be one of the biggest entertainment phenomenon’s in human history.

Myth 1 – Playing games is for kids. 

If this doesn't say fun for everyone, nothing does.

Well technically this is true, it is for kids but (and there is always  a but) it is for adults too. Gaming is a genuine family pastime and something that even my really really old parents are now starting to enjoy. In this wonderful day and age instead of the family crowding around the Monopoly board, rolling dice, counting fake money and loosing pieces this can be done in front of the TV with with nothing more than a console and a controller. No more arguments over the rules, no more kids eating the pieces and no more cheating bankers. What can be bad about that?

Myth 2 – Playing games leads to an increase in violent tendencies.

For a gamer the reverse is the actually true. If you ever see a person at work who is loud, irritable, sweating and prone to bouts of Tourette’s syndrome this person may not be coming down from the latest designer drug or recovering from a late night session at the local but be a gamer who hasn’t gotten a chance to unleash his worries on an unsuspecting pirate/ninja/gangster. Therapeutic violence is something that everyone should get behind, after all who doesn’t feel better at the thought of unleashing some of that pent up tension on a virtual representation of the telly tubbies (ok that game doesn’t exist, but it should, instant bestseller).

Myth 3 – Games are only played but antisocial nerds in their parent’s basement.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. In a recent survey that I just made up, 100% of sports stars used their first pay cheque to buy a gaming system.  But in all seriousness (not really) gaming is a wonderful social experience. With the success of multiplayer games like Guitar Hero, Call of Duty and Mario Kart people are increasingly enjoying their gaming time with others. Another recent discovery is gaming goes well with alcohol (as proven by the success of the Mana Bar) and alcohol goes well with friends. Drunken singstar sessions is something that everyone should experience at least once in their life, after all how can you say you know someone until you experience their drunken attempt to bring soul to Ke Shan. Yes the antisocial roleplayer does exist but everyone else is having too much fun playing Rock Band with their drunken mates to notice.

Myth 4 – Games will rot your mind.

If there is anything more incorrect than this statement I am yet to see it. Games make education fun, easy and exciting as well as offering life lessons not available anywhere else. For example, with the inevitability of the Zombie apocalypse where are people going to get survival training? Educational documentaries such as Dawn of the Dead and Army of Darkness will only get the potential Zombie survivor so far. Without the interaction given to people by video games how will people know how to use common household items to create weapons of undead destruction. 

Not only will video games assist your survival in this situation, they will teach you how to drive a million dollar sports car, build and manage a large scale army bent on planetary conquest, use a portal device to escape an evil AI contruct and the ins and outs of the economic structures within a large scale drug operation. All of these skills are essential for a rounded education experience and until the government realises this and Zombie kills 101 becomes a compulsory course in all high schools, video games are the only source of this vital knowledge.

So hopefully my guide has helped you folks in the blue rinse brigade understand this scary movement and to all the gamers reading this, I sincerely hope my article hasn’t made things worse for us.