Hello people. I am home now. It was a great 3 months away, I would say time of my life, but I'll save that acolade for my death bed. I've now dived the barrier reef, got all gooned up, flew my own plane, canoed the everglades, skydived, bin to fraser island in a 4x4.. stood next to the opera house, roamed with kangaroos.. You get the idea :)

I notice NG has changed a bit since I was gone, the art portal, cool addition. I dont kow what to make of the changable layout so far, it's real cool but I feel a little cock-handed using it.. maybe i just need to get used to it. But man it's all looking cool and it's time to fly. I picked up on a game me and Kayn were talking about before I left this morning and started on a run cycle. I'll keep this page updated with information because it should be awesome if we finish it... no, WHEN we finish it. No more If's.

===Here's me fighitng a kangaroo===

Dear Newgrounds,
I have gone to Australia for three months, I'll see you later.
Goodbye England.
- Tom.

Soon enough, there'll come a point in time, when the hurd of glory supporters shouting Man united will find themselves in a peculiar position....

If these blokes stay with Man City, the arabs; then there will come a point in time that they become the best team around and take their neighbors crown. Will the glory supporters follow? All those fools with regional accents (other than Mancunian) will slyly hide their united shirts at the back of the cupboard and go out and get themselves a City shirt.

How will they feel when all the fat blokes from Devon who've sung 'glory glory man united' since they were kids, now their kids are coming home supporting City. Great isnt it?

I reckon in 5 years time this'll have happened, City will be the big dogs. Im a villa fan, but will back the underdog in this case.. until the underdog is the overdog... then I guess ill just pity United and boo city.

It's bin a while since my last guitar post, but heres an update - if only for myself (and rock-god historians of the future).

I've been playing alot, I have 5 days free a week to do completely what I like. So I am playing most days. I've honed in on learning travis picking style - this is my aim. To be like Merle Travis. I'll probably swap the good willed showmanship for a poetic Facade though I reckon.

I met a straggler the other night who ofted some advice on me. He said, the best guitarist he ever saw, was his brother. And his brother, the best guitarist he ever saw, ofted some information on him. If he ever could start it all over again, er, guitar, not life - he'd learn to finger pick from the start. This was music to my ears because this is exactly what i'd set out to do and was my new found plan as of earlier that week.

So anywho, here's a few of the new things i've learnt. I've been writing alot too. Just checking back to my last guitar post, i've actually improved alot. That's cool to see.

- Coffee & TV by Blur
- It's only rock & roll (But I like it) by the Stones
- Blowin in the wind by Bob Dylan
- Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks
- Pipedown by Babyshambles
- Oxygen by Willy Mason
- Wrong way by Sublime
- Up the Bracket by the Libertines
- Time for Heroes by The Libertines
- Fell in Love with a Girl by The White Stripes
- Sunny Afternoon by The Kinks
- Tangled up in Blue by Bob Dylan
- Feelin' Groovyby Simon & Garfunkel
- Positively 4th Street by Bob Dylan
- I'm so Free by Lou Reed
- The Importance of Being Idle by Oasis

Im at the stage now, where it's not so much a case of having to learn the likes of 'Wrong way' by Sublime, or 'Up the bracket' by the Libertines, its just a case of looking at the chords - memorizing them, and picking up the strumming pattern. It's cool.

I've been lookin at alot of Dylan songs and jamming them out and singing along. He's a cool guy to look at when you're learning - especially for his chord use. D, G, A.... G, A, D ... simple.

Travis picking is good because I can then take one of these simple to learn songs and give it a breath of (er, well, american west) freshness. Infact one of my reasons for learning Travis Picking is because i'd like to be able to play 'Don't think Twice' by Dylan.

I just learnt this a minute ago after watching Badlands tonight. Great film by the way. Martin Sheen is great.

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My plan right now, for myself - is to get off travelling in Australia. I think I will begin in Adelaide and possibly work up towards Sydney. If anybody has any advice or info about Aus, or travelling that you think i'd like to know please PM me, ta.

Hello people. If you are looking for good flashes, check out my favorites list. I try and monitor the list and i'd say it's pretty tight. It's packed with great submissions - some unknown, some known (and inbetween are the doors).

Here is one that I found yesterday, thanks to the Newgrounds Awards.

Easy way out

I think this is an absolutley brilliant animation, not just for Newgrounds but in general. I've been listening to Dylan alot recently and had somewhat disowned his new music as (ignorantly) presuming it would dour down the rest. I've been listening to Dylan from around 1965.

But this animation is fantastic. It gives the song such a sinister character & doing so proppeled modern Dylan for me. Check it out I think it's great.

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
454086

Working on my long prolonged-for not much-long-er, soldier game.

Here's a fancy image which formed when I layed all the sprites out in the same place.

It's coming along well. Today I decided to drink energy drinks & draw to help give myself & the game a boost. CaiWengi is actionscripting it.

Heello. I just watched my first flash back for the first time in a while, ha ha, how brilliant is that? I'm gunna have to make-do on the end quote and release the anticipation of people 'looking out' for part two.

~ HERO NUMBER 1! ~

I love how cheesy it is. It was made half as a joke, half sincere 14 year old brain by the way. After watching xin and thinking it was so shoddy, I had a go and made that.

---

But yeah, I remember how excited I was when it actually made it on. Me and my mate where sat at the computer and it finally made it through judgement and I was giddy with joy.

LOOK OUT FOR PART TWO COMING SOON.
But probably not.

Hey people. Here's an update on my guitar. I'm getting better, and with so much free time on my hands - I should be. Im at a stage now where I can look up a song and learn it - learn it all the way through - and be able to play it. It's brill being able to do this... It feels cool.

This week i've learnt to play a few Libertines songs, they and the Doors are the two bands' I always call my favorites if anybody is to ask.

Just to note to any guitarists out there - I can play songs, but with chords is what i'm talking about... not the soloing, and riff's over the top. I'm playing rhythm I guess. But it's cool, because that's what you want when you're one man and his guitar.

And again, it's cool noticing the amount of good, nice - sound - people on the web willing to teach you to play guitar. I found a couple of good sites recently, this one I found a few days ago, and this guy Christopher Dahl (the crazy.. but if a little up himself german guy) a week or so ago. But just an hour ago I found this new guy and he's really cool... the right attitude, cool guy, cool songs.

So new songs i've learnt..
- What a waster by the Libertines. Great fun to play, you can just chill out and go through it.. like the man himself.

- Dont look back into the sun by the Libertines. Same as above.. great fun to just sit down and play and sing along too. Like the man himself...

- One more cup of coffee by Bob Dylan. This is a fun one to play... very simple. It's alright to play along with the track, but the track is a little offbeat and so you find yourself lost. When you're into it though, it's fun. I'm gunna change the lyrics of this... 'One more can of beer for the road'..

- S.T.P by Sublime. I wanted to learn a Sublime song and this one just happened to come on. I wanna really get into the reggae beat and get with the strumming patterns.. but it's nice to play this song just chilled out.. strumming it casually. I like the opening lyrics.

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I'm learning Coffee & TV by Blur at the mo too, so stay tuned for more.

Yo. I began playing guitar again a few weeks ago after years of not doing so. I got a guitar when I was younger for my birthday.. I think I was 13 or 14 maybe - around that age anywho.

I wanted to play, but was one of those kids who left it in the corner then the case then the cupboard.

But I decided to get it out the other week. It's one thing I could do to keep my mind off my woman who left me the week before. Playing FIFA just makes you feel like a sad-bastard when you've been dumped..

And now, anywho - the point of this post. I wanna make a little list of what I can play so far. There's one thing i've noticed since I began playing again - how much of an aid the internet is to perspective guitar players. Youtube is a revelation -- you can go on there, type in your favorite (semi-popular) song, with lesson in the line and get a result. It's great.

I can play:
- Knockin on heaven's door by Dylan or whoever
- Hurt by Johnny Cash
- Reptillia (riff atleast) by the Strokes
- I Fought in a War by Belle & Sebastian
- Beyond the Sunrise by Belle & Sebastian

- Man on the Moon by REM
- Brain Damage (riff or two) by Pink Floyd
- Horse with No name by America
- Day Tripper by The Beatles
- Working Class Hero by John Lennon
- Riders on the Storm by The Doors
- Mr.Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan

There's a couple here i'm quite proud that I can play because they are songs I love. Riders on the Storm firstly as it's an adaption of the song but it works and it's different. I am happy to be able to play Mr.Tambourine man too because any time someone's got a guitar anywhere i'll be able to pick it out and whip out a few 'Heeeeeeeyyyy Mista tambourine mans...' for them. I've been listening to Dylan alot recently too so it's not to be able to play one of his.

It's a great thing being able to play the guitar, and what I look forward to is to be able to pick up a guitar at any time in my life and bell out a few chords and sing a song... that; and to be a big-bloated leather-clad rockstar of course.

One day....

..Until then...

..Yerh!

"Yes, 22 of them, and every one is loaded".