I'm really not a Russell Brand fan...

...but if rumours of him hosting a reprised version of the absolute classic gameshow the Crystal Maze ("Get out! Get the crystal!) are true, I'd have to say he would be an excellent candidate for a very challenging hosting role.

Imagine the possibilities of a Brand new (very drole...) Crystal Maze with all the advancements in television. But, let's be honest, they tend to cock these remakes up. So, here are my top tips:

Stick to the same format - We don't want to see teams competing against each other; No families, only grown-ups; There has to be the Crystal Dome finish; There absolutely has to be the crappy prize of a Crystal in a box. etc

Do not, under any circumstances - Try to include CGI into the challenges or surroundings! Large, semi-realistic sets are a must, not computerised worlds filmed in front of a blue screen.

Zones: Aztec, Futuristic and Medieval were all winners. Ocean World was pants. A forth, equally brilliant world must be created.

Will Brand turn out to be a fantastic Richard O'Brien or a lame Ed Tudor-Pole? Either way I'm tuning in. I think this could be a proper Saturday/Sunday night winner!

Thoughts?

Ministry of Gaming, Edinburgh

I’m not embarrassed to say I really wanted to just sit back and play video games last night. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, if you follow the money, you’ll see that video games are overtaking both the music and movie industry. But having recently moved about and being stuck on a rather slow computer with a dodgy cable connection I haven’t been able to get my fix.

Luckily Edinburgh is home to the Ministry of Gaming. Located on Bread Street this place claims to be “Edinburgh’s hub for competitive and community gaming” and it isn’t hard to see why. Buzzing with younger blokes (stereotype confirmed) at around 7pm on a Thursday night, the set up is reminiscent of all the best things about Laser Quest when you were little. “Wow....it’s like the future!” There are almost 30 very very powerful computers for gaming, with your own login, comfy black leather chair and headphones to zone yourself in.

The speed of the connection is staggering and forces n00b gamers like myself to refrain from blaming lag for my constant dying and lack of killing. Oh yeah, before I go on, the game I play is CounterStrike: Source. If you haven’t read about it, CS is one of the most popular for online competitive gaming with competitions going on across the world, as well as at MoG. It is a first-person shooter pitting Terrorists vs. Counterterrorists.

And there’s one other thing you should know about CS. I’m not very good. I stink in fact. But even worse than that, in MoG, where you'll find the finest gamers Edinburgh has to offer, I failed repeatedly to even get the programme running. My inability forced me to ask the very helpful staff for help no fewer than three times. Luckily, this isn’t jock land where I would be publicly mocked and humiliated for this kind of idiocy (Since when have I lived in a US High school?!?)

Anyway...When I finally got going, the time flew along. My hour (£4; prices per hour drop the more time you pay for) was filled with a few spasms of excitement as I smelt my first kill, duly getting p0wned, and many many “expletive deleted” outbursts.

For me, MoG is a great place to play your favourite games on computers that can actually run them! But clearly it is a “hub” for gaming, and anyone with a slight inkling to give it a try will find themselves rewarded with gentle assistance, stunning equipment and a fantastic array of games.

Wanna know what I’m like playing CS? Boom headshot!

Ministry of Gaming is open Mon - Sat 10am till 10pm and Sun - 10am till 8pm
www.tmog.co.uk/

Fancy reading more about Gaming? Check out Dave Cook's blog

As MPs debate Abortion...

...I implore you to watch this video.

You know those guitars that are like, double guitars?

I have been pretty rigid with my music lately. Everyday is the same couple of albums, and they're all new. It got me thinking. What would a Supergroup from these bands look like? Well....hold your breath....cos here we go!

Singer: Tommy Rogers - Between the Buried and Me.
A phenomenal metal singer with a genuinely good voice too. Seeing BTBAM supporting Dillinger Escape Plan, I was completely taken aback how precise and perfect his vocals were live. His intensity is overwhelming while the bipolar journey the songs take you on really magnify his excellent range.

Bassist: Chris Cain - We are Scientists.
Ok it's time for some much needed coolness. Who better to fill the roll than the whiteboy afro and tash legend from the excellent We are Scientists. If you watch an interview with Cain, you'll know what I'm talking about. Witty, quick and smooth, this guy is the opposite of what bassists usually are (I'm looking at you Nate Mendel!)

Lead Guitar: It's amazing when you dislike a band so much, they go and change their sound, alienating a lot of their original fans - just to get you on board. I disliked Panic! at the Disco so much, and yet their new album is superb. Equal parts delightful pop and country, it is so far removed from the hideous pretentious 'clever' punk sound they went for before. Thus, I am awarding my lead guitar to Ryan Ross from Panic at the Disco (even though he looks five-years old).

Drummer: Goodness it would be easy to throw in the BTBAM drummer here. But no...I won't. I'm giving it to Jack Bevan from Foals. A token indie drummer granted, but Bevan is spectacularly metronomic.

Rhythm Guitar: A cheeky pick here really. I'm going for Alex Turner from the Last Shadow Puppets. Proving himself to be the most accomplished and fantastic artist of our current generation, Turner is also a darned good (sometime) backing singer with the Last Shadow Puppets. Add to this his nifty guitar skills, I think he'll do nicely.

What would they sound like? A hybrid of indie, pop, electronica and metal, or in other words, a big pile of rubbish.

Manchester - some perspective

There's a great piece by Tom English in today's Scotland on Sunday about the violence following Ranger's loss in the UEFA Cup final.

It is good to finally see someone hit the nail square on the head in the Scottish media for what was a disgraceful turn of events.

Read the article in full here

All eyes are now firmly on the Chelsea and Manchester United fans this coming Wednesday in Moscow for the Champions League final. Let's just hope we don't have a repeat of Manchester.

Que Sera, Sera...

Well, the unthinkable has happened. Rochdale AFC, the most "unsuccessful club" in English football (famed for never leaving the lowest flight in the football league) are going to the play-off final to battle Stockport for a place in League One

Beating Darlington on penalties today means the Dale are off to Wembley for the first time in their 100 year history.

My love affair with the club started two years ago after my uncle's company MMC became sponsors. Ok, so not the most romantic football story, but a few games at Spotland has turned me into a fully fledged supporter.

And having experienced the horror/joy of actively supporting a team in the playoffs, I can safely say I can't wait for Wembley. Whether I can make it down or not is not decided, either way, the Dale are going up.

I'm so confident in fact, I've created a Hubdub question, so think I'm wrong? Take me on here.

"The Finale" Review (10 years late) Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Ten years to the day, "The Finale" was broadcast to an audience of 76 million views. (To the day! How spooky is that?!?) And, last night, I finally watched the last ever episode of the legendary show, Seinfeld.

I may be ten years late, but fate has brought me to this point. My casual purchase of Season's 1-3 in a sale at HMV last year started something. A pathway which led to my bedroom last night (steady...). Lying watching my TV I finally, with all the character and show history correctly viewed and etched in my memory, enjoyed "The Finale", exactly ten years after it was originally screened. Just imagine, all those people back then with their small TVs and slow internet.

I can't remember ever watching Seinfeld on the TV. I know I knew about it. But something inside me insinuated that isn't up my street. Very strange indeed really, when, having completed Series One, I realised any reservations were completely unfounded, and that Seinfeld will be one of my favourite shows ever.

Why is it so good? Well it's clearly not lost anything over time as the humour is still spot on. It isn't about "nothing" but the conversations, some of the plots and settings are normal, allowing the legendary characters to make this show. Watched in a group, it is even funnier. Lol funny.

My favouite episode? Well it's hard to look past "The Contest" ("I'm out!") but I also hold the "The Parking Garage" and "The Merv Griffen Show" in super high regard.

And "The Finale"? What of that...Well it's certainly not what I expected (a similar reaction, I've learnt, to the original broadcast) but it captured how innovative Seinfeld was. A long time ago I wrote a blog about the best endings to TV shows ever..."The Finale" is great in so many ways, and I was on tenterhooks for the closing, but tbh I wouldn't put it up there. More, it should be remembered for the season which led up to that point. Finally hitting his stride without Larry, Seinfeld season 9 is right up there with the superb early series.

There's no doubting Seinfeld's 'classic TV' tag and it is now firmly in my rotating cycle of DVDs I can watch over and over and over...(add to this Curb, Scrubs and Simpsons).

Ten years young and still rocking. How it isn't overtly-syndicated on TV like Friends I'll never know.

Boy, these pretzels are makin' me thirsty.