2024 Year End Review

Well here it is again,folks!

The 2024 Year End Review and it's that time of year where I celebrate some of the media I've been consuming this year. It's been a year where quite a lot has changed as series I've been watching have gradually been finishing for good leaving me with space to try and discover new shows to get addicted to.

So let's get this show on the road, shall we?

Merry Christmas!

Well it's finally upon us, almost!

Merry Christmas from all here at The Write Dimension!

I want to take this opportunity to get in early with my season's greetings because we all know family and friends will gather round and no doubts old frictions will arise and tempers may flare causing us to lose our way emotionally. But if we make it our aim to rise higher then this will become a season for us and our loved ones to remember for all the right reasons.

Still to come here is the year end review where I, as always, look back over the year and pick out some of my favourite media to be consumed. It's almost complete now, I've just got the final touches to put to it so expect that over the coming days.

Again, Merry Christmas and a happy new year for 2025!

Peace!

===TLP===

2023 Year End Review

 Hello everyone!

Rather belatedly, but as promised, here is my best of show for 2023. As always, the winners are not necessarily from content produced in 2023, just that it was consumed, by me, last year and made enough of an impression upon me to deserve a place on this list.

Here we go...

Closer to Year End

Hey everyone!

Can you believe we're in the final quarter of the year? Already? I know for me it still feels like I'm running on an internal clock that still reads "summer" so I've been playing catch up this past few weeks trying to push my internal clock up-to-date again.

Such is the life walking through the grief journey, I suppose.

Today I want to talk about some of my goals for this blog in the run up to Christmas and beyond.

As always, in December will come my end of year review where I'll be celebrating all things entertainment that have impacted me this calendar year. The usual entries will feature from video games to movies and TV shows. Who knows, in years to come I may flip the script and create the antonym of my awards and celebrate some of the bad stuff too...

Beyond that, in the coming months heading into 2024 I'll be looking to officially restart my Off the Scale series in my illusive quest to one hundred. The book and film reviews will be continuing too.

Finishing the year strong is my only aim and that is why I'm trying to push to update my blog more frequently. Although that's only because I'm about to break  my post record for 2020, my only year-end target right now. I long for the days when I can get back to hitting three figures' worth of posts per year but that's the target in the long term.

Meantime -->> L.I.F.E. G.O.E.S. O.N.

Until next time...

Peace!

===TLP===

XBox One Inbound!

 Hey everyone!

So, a fortnight ago, I secured a deposit on the OG XBox One.

I have until the end of May to complete my payments as I'm buying it on a reserve basis.

Already I have got (or had bought for me, luckily!) Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and FarCry 5 to enjoy with it when I get it home. But I fully intend to add FarCry: Primal, Sunset Overdrive and Ghost Recon: Wildlands  along with a couple of Assassin's Creed titles; Assassin's Creed: Odyssey and Assassin's Creed: Origins to it!

Finally taking a step over into the eighth generation around a decade later, it will be nice to get back into the current generation of gaming. Even if it is at the tail end of what is, in reality, the last one (convoluted logic much?) with the XBox Series and PS5 serving as current gen. It will be awesome to be able to buy some much newer games given that I've been in reverse for so long in PS3 and PS2 back-catalogue that I'm going to be surprised by what others take for granted in their games.

Sure, over time, support is likely to end for PS4 and XBox One titles now that the XBox Series and PS5 has, what I feel, got a better grip on the industry. But I'll take advantage of it whilst I have the advantage of it because there are plenty of other games I want to play aside from the above. Like Cyberpunk:2077, No Man's Sky, Outer Wilds & Red Dead Redemption II for instance, that I'm sure I'll get enjoyment out of and hopefully, be blown away graphically like I was the first time I saw footage of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey.

That footage alone showed me how I'd de-tuned myself from current and last gen gaming under the proviso that, if I can't buy it, there's no point making it worse for myself by looking at games I just do not have the tech for...

Until now!

Well, May at least!

Naturally, expect reviews for these titles as and when I deem it relevant/appropriate to do so. I'm not going to review as soon as I've played; I would rather play the game enough to be, hopefully, balanced in my assessment.

Peace!

===TLP===

2022 Year End Review

Hello everyone!

This has been, probably, the toughest year on record for me.

But I have to stay focused and deliver the year end review I've been accustomed to bring.

Are you ready? Cos here we go...

November - Just Passing Through

 Hey everyone!

It's nearly the end of the year and it has certainly be a challenging one for me, has 2022, first I lost my father then I underwent a significant transformation that I'm hoping will mean I can return to the blog a lot more frequently than I have done this year.

I still have "Off the Scale" to complete, given that I set myself the target of uploading 100 episodes some time ago and have done nothing towards it.

Time and chance happen to us all, but I'm learning that it is what you do with your responses that dictates whether you will make it through them stronger or weaker.

Coming before the end of the year is my annual awards where I'll be shining the light on some of my favourite entertainment as well as picking out my favourite track of the year, as a new feature to it.

Until next time...

===TLP===

Just a Quick Update...

Hello everyone!

Well, it's been just over a month since my last update and, whilst I haven't been able to do a fraction of what I would have liked to have done by this time of the year. I have had to adjust and adapt to differing expectations now that daddy is, sadly, no longer with me.

I miss him like crazy every day. Some days are easier than others, but what I'm finding the hardest is coping with the triggers that remind me of him...

All at a Loss

Hello everyone!

This is a sad one for me to have to write this... in the middle of last month, my father went to be with the Lord.

It has hit me really hard and, admittedly, left me all at a loss what to do with myself. I don't know what mornings are like, especially as I find I'm sleeping in until early afternoons at the moment. But I'm trying to give myself the grace to cope with my grief the best way I can.

In the grand scheme of things, at least daddy is out of the way of the harm that this world causes people, that's a big plus, especially when I consider what the world has done to lesser men than my dad.

I'm still gaming, at the moment working my way through Relicta, an intriguing physics-based puzzler that I hope to take a look at in a bit more detail here once I've finished the game. I'm about two-thirds done with it...

I still want to blog so I'll see you soon.

===TLP===

Epic Games: 15 Days of Free Games

To all the gamers out there...

Epic Games is doing their fifteen days of free games again!

Yesterday it was Shenmue 3. Today it's Neon Abyss.

Get on over there and secure yours today!

Don't thank me, you've earned it, especially after the crazy year we've all had!

Peace!

===TLP===

Quite a While

Hi,

It has been quite some time since I last updated this blog, almost a year, I believe, but that is because as I am sure I have said before, my priorities have been changing so very much. The pandemic has forced me to reassess my priorities and act accordingly to ensure I'm giving the appropriate time and attention to what matters most to me.

In the days ahead, I hope to rectify this in my return to blogging, but it's going to take time for me to resurrect desire to regularly post.

My priorities have changed. Permanently.

Keep the faith!

===TLP===

No More Promises

 Hi everyone!

I hope you are all keeping safe in this season of pandemic that just feels like it's going on and on without any hope of respite.

I wanted to let you all know that, having been unable to keep up with the majority of goals that I have set for the blog this year, I will not be making anymore promises with regards to what content is coming.

I have been dealing with my father just recently coming out of hospital, which has hit me harder that I expected so am taking a look at future content I want on this blog.

There will be content, that I can assure you, I just cannot assure you when that will be because my priorities are shifting a lot lately. I am, in turn, finding that my resource management skills are being put to the test to avoid me getting dragged down by fear and anxiety over this whole virus situation.

Don't worry, I am NOT shutting down the blog by any means, it's just that I can no longer promise what will be coming and when it will be arriving.

Please be patient with me as I try and work through this all and I will try my best to keep the content coming, even if it remains sporadic for a while.

Stay safe!

===TLP===

Stuey's News: A Return to Blogging and Keeping Safe in Lockdown

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to post a quick update to keep you all in the loop with regards to my direction going forward.

In this CoVid climate, my personal priorities have had to shift around and some have had to revert backwards. As a result, blogging has taken a significant step backwards. However, I have been doing my best to keep myself safe and my perspective where it needs to be; getting through this period safely with my eyes upon God first and foremost.

Now that I have entered Q3, or Quarter 3, I want to try and gain some momentum with how often I post upon here. I have been through a very challenging period, as I have said in other posts that has meant that blogging has had to take a back seat for a while. A lot of it has been down to some changes that I have had to make in terms of where my ideas were best documented and as a result, journalling has increased in priority.

I do have a couple of reviews planned and they are coming soon, as are some more of the "Off the Scale" entries as I bid to hit 100.

Stay safe!

===TLP===

Stuey's News: A Return to Regular Posting Imminent!

Hello everyone!

First of all, thank you so very much for your patience during this incredibly challenging time for all of us. I have been completely swamped with project work that there was no way around and certainly no way for me to prioritise blogging over until now.

I will be looking to return to a regular schedule in the coming weeks, starting very belatedly with the continuation of my Off the Scale series as well as some reviews that I have had in the pipelines since the start of the year, almost.

There is so much more that I could add at this point, but as this is just a quick update, you can expect to see far more action on this blog, again, than has been so far this quarter.

Peace!

===TLP===

Coronavirus

As you will no doubt be aware by now, the globe is currently under the throes of a health crisis known as Covid19. It has already claimed numerous lives as well as affected countless others, from workers to shoppers.

We all need to stand together in times like this.

The ransacking of shop shelves shows, sadly, that we are indeed living in the midst of a selfish generation, new decade or not. It is proof that many of us are looking no further than our noses as far as how we live our lives.

But it is not for me to decry, or to attack, as instead I want to ask us all to consider whether we really do need even a fraction of things we are bulk-buying. Surely there comes a time when we need to recognise that there is more than just us in existence in this world.

Next time you are shopping and you're tempted by bulk buying think: -

Is this really necessary?

Think twice and buy once. Not multiple times.

Stay safe everybody!

===TLP===

A Snapshot

Hello everyone!

I have tried to conjure up content for you, dear readers, but the books I have been reading lately are just not up to scratch for my calibre to produce a review from.

I will, however, endeavour to keep you all in the loop with my progress because you have shown tremendous patience in giving me the space to work through my issues outside of the blogsphere. It has had to be scaled back on a permanent basis because there has just been too much demand upon my own personal resources that I have had to reprioritise everything and everyone in my life.

Thankfully, God has been my Rock throughout this period of my life where I have just wanted to journal my way through it and nothing more. I know that I would not have made it through without Him.

===TLP===

Back Once Again

Hi everyone!

It's been quite some time since I've been able to post on here as I've been going to through quite a rough time of it, what with losing my uncle before Christmas and a rather unexpected encounter with a friend.

But I'm back now, or at least I intend on being. I have read a fair few books since I last wrote on here and will be looking to resurrect my review series, yet without rushing into too much. I know my limits a lot better now and have been trying as hard as I can not to push them, merely to lean against them to increase personal capacity...

Stuey's News 2020 - Regular Posting will Return

Hi everyone!

Just a quick update to let you all know that I'm in a far better and more suitable place to be blogging again, so I expect to be updating this blog with more content in due course. Including the long-awaited redesign of all things format-related.

I have been through some really challenging times lately that has required my entire mental resources to focus upon it effectively. Consequently, it has taken my focus off my blog for a while, which cannot be helped. However, I shall be looking to resume my "Off the Scale" series celebrating all things classical music once again as I bid to make it to 100 and sign off on that series.

Thank you for your patience whilst I've worked through these issues as it has taken everything within me to keep things on course. I have to give all credit to God, for that, because I could not have persisted upon this course and sustained my progress without Him.

Thanks be to God "who always causeth us to triumph in Christ" (2 Cor 2:14) indeed!

===TLP===

This is My Life

Hi everyone!

Though I might not be able to see whoever reads this, know that I fully respect and love that you have taken the time to read this, an anonymous voice from somewhere across the internet.

My updates might have been sporadic for much longer than I have ever intended, it has not come without price. That price has seen an increase in importance for me to journal my way through this year's valley experiences rather than plastering them all over here.

Don't you worry, what I am hoping for, is a real sense of purpose to come through out of the aftermath of what I've written since starting my Faith Experience journals...

Stuey's News: Off the Scale Returns in October, More Reviews Coming...

Hello everyone!

Some exciting news for you, Off the Scale will be returning the first Monday of October so buckle in for that because it's going to be a wild ride as we make our way towards 100 episodes and the climax of the whole series.

In addition to all of this, I will be continuing to churn out reviews as fast as I am physically able to, which I'm hoping will be a lot sooner now that my course has finished. I am approximately two films and three books behind so will need to step up my game if I am to get them out this year.

The yearly review will still happen in December so stay tuned for that one.

Thank you all for your patience whilst I made it through a really busy August with all my courses and workshops that I was attending.

Here's to the design changes coming real soon!

===TLP===