Thursday Next

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07/29/burnham-only-likes-devolution-when-power-is-devolved-to-him/ There we go... Normality restored. Time to search for a new Labour leader I guess?

I'm flexible on the timing. I would want it to be short enough that MPs see the immediate risk to their seat, but long enough to effect a smooth transition of power. My problem is that at the moment it is too easy to chop and change leaders. Every MP jostles for power/position by switching allegiance from one leader to another. If all those marginal seat MPs had the choice of: change leader and risk getting binned off for Reform, or stick with the leader and let him see his manifesto (which everyone signed up to) through to the end. I think we'd see a lot more leaders see out their terms and more stable government generally. Obviously there would be times (Truss budget for example) where you have to make a snap decision that things have really gone off the rails, but Truss is really an example of what happens when you can sub in leaders with no risk to those making the decision.

I think one simple change that would have stopped the latest Labour psycho-drama is to put in place a rule that if you change PM you immediately call a general election. I reckon a lot of MPs would be a lot less keen on regime change if they had to put their own seat at risk. Yes, there are times when your PM is so disastrous, so corrupt, so unfit to serve that you simply have to get them out immediately, but chopping and changing just because they are down in the polls is fucking stupid. Especially when (in Burnham's case) you have a desire for power and see this as a quick route to get to the top. On Starmer, I think he is honest and competent, which are (for me) the two most important characteristics in a PM. I don't want a charismatic, exciting PM in the same way I don't want an exciting pilot when flying to the US. I want the flight to be as boring as possible, not some showman who chucks in the occasional barrel roll for funsies. The UK was clearly steadily improving on his watch. Economy was growing despite Trump's best efforts, NHS waiting lists were going down, immigration (if you happen to have replaced your entire personality with "genuine concern" over small boats) has dropped massively, and all the Tories could say in response was "We would have made all these numbers bigger/smaller." despite 14 years of evidence to the contrary. I reckon if Starmer had been left to serve out his term, we'd be in pretty good shape and looking at a return to a (probably slightly smaller) Labour majority in the next GE. As it is, Burnham will have maybe a month's grace before everyone is asking Magic Andy where their sunlit uplands are.

Meanwhile over in Normal Island Trump sycophant, London City stock broker millionaire, man of the people who just happened to receive £5million from a crypto magnate before completely reversing his party's stance on crypto and otherwise trust worthy man of the people Nigel Farage is going to be fighting a by-election where his only noteworthy opponent will be Count Binface. This has led to serious political commentators having to interview a man wearing a bin, about his policies such as "Capping the cost of a 99 Flake ice cream at 99p", "Making the bosses of the UK's privatised water companies swim in the rivers they are responsible for", and "Nationalising Adele". He's also had spots on international news including ABC.

It does at least sound like a full-on remake (like Resi 3), not a scene for scene upscaling remaster like Demons Souls. So there will hopefully be enough novelty in there.

Much as I love OOT, I sorta wish it was a new game in that style. I feel a bit remaked-out. I mean, I'll still get it and play it and all, but...

I'm enjoying the game, but I am finding Grace's voice acting sooooooo annoying. "W-w-what's going on?" What's going on is that you are a grown-ass woman who is working a full-time job as a bloody FBI analyst, but you seem unable to even string a sentence together. Like, fine, when you are being confronted by some eldritch horror trying to eat your face, understandable to lose the plot a bit. But when you are in a room talking to a blind eight year old girl who is locked in a cell, maybe you could show a teensy bit of backbone?

I think I have nearly finished my first run through. Tempted to go for the plat, but it does require a Lunatic mode run... I'm loving it.

wtf is a thor?

I completed Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores, enjoyed getting back into it. Took me a while to hit my stride, but such a fun game once you get in the groove. Also finished Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 campaign.

Majora's Mask is my favourite Zelda game, by far. The time thing doesn't matter. You are basically playing as Phil Connors in Groundhog Day. Skills/abilities you learn (songs, masks, etc.) carry forward (or rewind depending on your pov) with you to the next (or last) run through. IIRC you can eventually unlock a song that skips forward (or back) to the start of the loop. Most of the quests will have a sort of soft checkpoint, where you learn a thing that allows you to pick up midway through. Once you get over the heebie-jeebies of being "on the clock" you realise time doesn't matter.

Oh it's worse than that. You need to get an A rank or better on Hardcore mode. So they really make you suffer before improving the quality of life. Once they do though, it's suuuuuch a relief. The downside is that she clanks everywhere she goes instead.

Oh yeah. The first time you play through it, those bits are rough. Then in NG+ Ashley has a suit of armour on which means she cannot be hurt, or carried. It makes the game 1,000 times funner.

Why is "Content not viewable in your region" such a popular game on this forum?

Completely agree. Like that it is an effective way of making you consider whether it is worth the noise of blasting a bunch of zombies, running around etc. vs playing more stealthily, but making him go away is a bit... tedious, whether you do it by shaking him off and getting some distance (normally in the wrong direction for your current objective), or by hiding in a safe room till he resets.