A Return to Calm

Phew, that was a bit mental!

Tax Year End is usually fun for most people (and I don't mean fun in the traditional sense), and so it is with me due to my job. The last few weeks have been passed in a blur but the majority of the work is done (and I even managed to fit a game in too) and so I have time to think and type.

One thing I have managed to do is catch up with is my YouTube viewing. YouTube is pretty much a microcosm of the Internet, 99% rubbish but with the odd gem here and there. Over the years, I have found a few channels that are entertaining, informative and even a bit of both. As it's been a while since my last post, I thought I would kick off again with a list of the YouTube channels I like.

I'll start off with WatchMojo and WhatCulture. These two channels do pretty much similar things in general - they provide lists based on various topics. Watchmojo is American and played pretty straight. Primarily lists, they also produce new features as well. WhatCulture is UK based (just down the road in Gateshead) and is more anarchic, sarcastic and downright funnier. There are two channels for WhatCulture I follow, the main one as named and WhatCulture Gaming. They also post more than lists, with opinion pieces, reviews and the like and you could do far worse than have a scan through their content.

ScreenJunkies is all about film, though I tend to stay away from their usual stuff and concentrate on Honest Trailers. Words cannot convey how funny these can be. If you want the gaming equivalent, head to Smosh Games with their Honest Game Trailers. They even use the same "Awesome Voice Guy" to narrate them. Absolutely superb.

Moving on, there are a number of military/firearms channels that I follow. This started out with watching the goofiness of FPS Russia, a channel that seems to have stopped posting in recent years but gad amassed a good range of content prior to that. Following the suggested videos led to pretty much all of the rest of these channels.

FPS Russia uses a fake Russian, lots of explosives and a nice line in sarcasm to demonstrate the kind of high jinks you can get up to if you put your mind to it. I particularly recommend the SA80 demo and his comments on the SUSAT!

Next up, Iraqveteran8888. These guys own a gun store in the states and mix up opinion pieces (very pro 2nd amendment by the way), reviews and just plain fun. There is, in particular, a nice subset of Martini Henry videos that are extremely informative from an actual shooting point of view. Whether you follow their politics or not, the team know how to demo a firearm.

TFB TV (short for The Firearms Blog TV) is a genuinely professional channel, aimed not only at the US market but also internationally (they have a mix of presenters from all around the globe) and they are in essence trying to be the one stop shop for firearms related information. Recent posts from the UK have been very good and again, I would recommend these guys if you have any interest in firearms.

Then there is Forgotten Weapons. This is probably my favourite weapons channel. The presenter, Ian McCollum ( I think that's how you spell it), is knowledgeable, personable and plain good at his job. The focus is on firearms that maybe you might not have heard of, a good example of this would be the recent video from the National Firearms Centre in Leeds about the initial studies of what would form the SA80 program. This guy does this channel out of love of the topic and is the most informative of the weapons channels I have seen to date. He does run a Patreon in order to funds his visits so if you like what you see, please pop that dollar in there.

Finally, for the technical people out there, is Digital Foundry. Focussed on the technical side of computing and gaming, if you have any interest in how games perform, how the tech behind them works or the latest in computer graphics, this is the channel for you. There is also a Digital Foundry Retro channel that does pretty much the same thing but for retro games and is truly a labour of love that is definitely worth a visit.

That's it for now, please do visit any of the channels above if they take your fancy. As for me, I have to sort out a playlist for the 15th as I am guesting on Attention Please on NE1fm (102.5) (as well as streaming). I am looking forward to it as it's been over a year since my last visit.