How I find things out

I've been asked to write about how I find things out and how I store the information. So where do I find out most of the things I know? Well, the usual if I'm honest... Facebook, BBC, TV, socialising with friends, school (a bit). Listen, I'm sure you do the same, I remember the things I want to. I don't want to sound overly big-headed but I'm doing pretty well at school. But if you ask me what the 3rd person plural pluperfect of moneo is, chances are I will not know. Ask me which clubs are looking for Samir Nasri, or who came 8th in the Premier League last season, I'll know every time.


Now on to where I store my information. In my head. I've hardly ever taken notes in my life. My parents constantly beg me to take notes for my exams, trying to convince me that by writing it down I will remember better. It just doesn't work with me. I just read and absorb, which (coincidentally) seems to be the way that requires less work. This is why I remember the things I need, my brain selects the ones that interest me the most. In fact, I might try linking Latin into my life somehow, in an attempt to actually remember how moneo declines, instead of which greedy clubs are stealing players from my favourite team.

Publishers of Books and eBooks

eBooks will make a big difference to publishers. There are two main types of publishing, traditional publishing and self-publishing, otherwise known as indie (independant) publishing.

In traditional publishing,  the author completes the manuscript, and then sends it to a publishing house. Then an editor reads it and decides whether it is suitable for the house, and decides to publish it or reject it. If the publishing house decides to publish the book, the house buys the rights from the writer and pays him or her an advance on future royalties. The house puts up the money to design and package the book, prints as many copies of the book as it thinks will sell, markets the book, and finally distributes the finished book to the public.


Self-publishing

In self-publishing, the author effectively becomes the publisher. He himself normally does the final editing and decides the marketing and distributing of the books. In almost all cases, the book goes only on the internet, and becomes an eBook. The largest profit from this is that you only create the number of copies you sell and also there is no cost of printing.



So, in my view due to the development of eBooks, traditional publishing and their publishers will slowly fall out of business, being replaced by self-publishers and eBooks.

Mashups

One of my favourite mashups was one that Mock the Week did on the England team training during the World Cup. Here it is:

Games on the iPod, iPhone and iPad

Games on these devices are becoming increasingly popular, and it seems that every week a new game is discovered that suddenly makes it to number 1 in the charts. I am lucky enough to be on holiday now, and although these devices were primarily created for playing songs, you now see an overwhelming number of people playing games on them in their spare time. In fact, some children have thrown away or sold their Nintendo DS devices, which were built only for gaming, in order to play on iPods or iPads.

     So, with all of these people playing on these gadgets, imagine how much a company could earn if they made a game which reached top in the charts, even if they sold it for only 59p. Well, here is an example: Angry Birds. This amazing game was created by ´Rovio´ and by March 2011, around a month ago, Angry Birds had been downloaded 100 million times. It sold for 59p, which meant that it made 59 million pounds. That, I am sure you will agree, is a staggering amount.

     Now, what is the magic remedy for creating amazing games such as this one? Well, in my opinion the game only has to be simple and addictive. You do not need to have 10 different buttons to click that all do slightly different things, you need a game that even a 4 year old could understand with ease, and if a game is not addictive, it has no chance at all. To prove his point, let us look at three very popular games.

1. Andry Birds: All you have to do is drag a bird backwards with your finger and try to hit some green pigs. Easy. My 4 year old cousin was playing it the other day. Addictive? Once you start playing, it is very hard to stop. A ridiculous number of levels keeps you going for ages. The best thing about Angry Birds is that it is updated so often, with even more levels each time!!

2. Doodle Jump: Even more simple than Angry Bids. All you have to do is tilt the device to jump onto platforms, and shoot the occasional monster by tapping the screen. Again, very easy to play. Probably more addictive than Angry Birds because there is no possible way to complete it, you just have to beat your own high score. The updates on this are good too, with new maps to play on almost every time. In fact, a recent update, which lets you compete directly against your friends, just made the game a lot more excting.

3. Tiny Wngs: A very recent invention, but one of my favourites. In this game, all you have to do is tap the screen to bring the bird down, and let go to let him fly up. Just navigate your way through the hills until night falls. Again, and extremely easy game. Like Doodle Jump, you have to try and beat your old high score, but this has the added interest of missions too. Another great game.

One thing that is common about these games is that none of them have buttons! As I said earlier, the simplest and most addictive games are the ones that make it to the top!

Georgi 'Kinky' Kinkladze

Georgi Kinkladze

This blog post is dedivated to one of the greatest Georgian footballers of all time - Georgi Kinkladze.


Facts and figures


Kinkladze was born in Tbilisi, the capital city of Georgia, on 6th July 1973
He was first involved with Dynamo Tbilisi when he was six years old
He went to Mretebi Tbilisi aged 16 but transferred back for a price of 1 million roubles (around 22,000 pounds).
He made his senior international debut aged 19 against Azerbaijan.
He made a big transfer to Man City for 2 million pounds on 15th July 1995, Alan Ball's first signing.
He was Club Player of the Year for two years running, but Manchester City got relegated twice.
He left Man City for Ajax for 5 million pounds.

An image of Kinkladze

So what was he like as a player?  He was a play maker,

the most exciting type of player, but not only created 

goals, but scored them too. He was remembered for 

his pace and vision, but most of all his skill. When you 

see him playing, it becomes obvious why he was voted

club player of the season twice in a row, he was a 

Manchester City legend. You may think it is crazy if you

have not seen him play before, but he played just like

Messi does today, destroying teams almost single-handedly.

He was probably the greatest Georgian player ever to play 

the game, but also one of the greatest Manchester City

players.

Below is a video that I have created using Jaycut 

which shows Kinkladze playing. 

I don't think he ever scored a dull goal...

After seeing that video, I hope you realise how good a player he was, it is just a shame that he could not prevent Manchester City from relegation. There is also a very good video on youtube about Kinkladze and I urge you all to watch it, it is well worth your time.

An Upcoming Blog Post and Presentation

Within the next week I will create a blog post on my own topic. I have decided to do this on the legendary, but largely unknown to my generation, football player from my own country - Georgi Kinkladze.


Brief background


Born 6th of July 1973 in Tbilisi, Georgia
First played in Dynamo Tbilisi
Transferred to Manchester City in 1995
Manchester City Player of the Year in two consecutive seasons

What was he like?


He was an extremely talented play maker and while at Man City often had about three men man marking him. He not only created goals but scored them too, and is known particularly for his crazy goal against Southampton. He hardly ever scored with his head and all of his goals are worth watching. To watch a great video on him, click here.

There will be a lot more detail in the big blog post.

Wikileaks - My opinion

Wkikleaks has been the centre of a lot of attention recently, and rightly so. Wikileaks release secret, private or classified documuments, which had been hidden from the public beforehand. Wikileaks is a non-profit organisation, lead by Julian Assange (right).
Many people are calling for him to be killed, and he could face a death penalty if extradited to the United States (see here). In my opinion though, Wikileaks is a force for good. The public have a right to know about something that is going on in their country, after all they are the ones paying taxes to keep the counry going. If soldiers are shooting innocent civilians, people should know about it, and in my opinion it is the fault of the soldiers, not Wikileaks. Julian Assange and Wikileaks are doing good to the world, making it  better and safer place. Assange has been accused of rape, maybe unfairly, but in my opinion it does not matter because Wikileaks will not stop, it is doing the world a great justice.