The New Wii Mini - Lower Price but Less Functions?

Merry Christmas everybody! I hope all of you got all the games and gadgets you wished for.

Nintendo came up with the new Wii Mini in time for Christmas hoping that the new low price of $99 would attract new customers. However they took out the online functionality of this unit. Nintendo believes that most gamers do not use the online function. I for one would rather pay the extra $50 and buy the regular Wii because it can be used as a device to watch Netflix online.

How do you feel about this unit?  Would you buy the Wii Mini for the lower price or prefer the regular Wii at the higher price, but with online capabilities? Oh, by the way this unit is available only in Canada!    

For more information: 
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-57554664-235/surprise-nintendos-got-a-$100-wii-mini-for-canada/
 

WonderBook - The latest addition to PS3 Accessories

Wonderbook is an augmented reality book designed for the Playstation 3 console and it is now available for sale. The user holds a physical book-like object and stories come to life as the software displays digital content on the screen using the PlayStation Eye camera.

The first game to utilize the Wonderbook is “The Book of Spells” based on Harry Potter and designed by Sony in collaboration with J. K. Rowling.

Sony's Worldwide Studios also announced that they are working with BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs and Disney on upcoming titles.

My sister, aged 7 really enjoyed this game and I think Harry Potter fans will love this.

If you have played this game or have any comments, please feel free to write.    

Call of Duty - Black Ops II...The Action Continues!

Call of Duty Black Ops II

Now that Halloween and the Remembrance Day are over I want to go back to my favourite topic… Video Games!

Last week we saw the release of the latest installment in one of the most successful video game franchises ever, Call of Duty.

I was fortunate enough to get my copy on the weekend and played it mostly in the multiplayer mode. I too experienced some freezing that many players have commented online. Other than that I think this is an awesome addition to my favourite franchise.

It’s currently priced at $59.99 at most dealers but Toys-R-Us has a sale where you can save 15% if you buy one game or 20% and 25% if you buy two or three games respectively.

Do you enjoy playing Black Ops II? If so please write in your comments.   

Leonard Birchall - The Saviour of Ceylon

 Air Commodore L.J.Birchall CM, OBE, DFC, OOnt, CD

I want to end my series of Remembrance Day related posts with one dedicated to Len Birchall, a Canadian airman who came to be known as the Saviour of Ceylon.

Birchall                                                           (CFpilots.com)

On 4 April 1942, only two days after arriving in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) Squadron Leader Leonard Birchall, a native of St. Catharines, Ontario, was flying a PBY Catalina flying boat, patrolling over the Indian ocean off the south of Ceylon. Eight hours into the mission, as he and his crew were about to return to base, ships were spotted on the horizon. Investigation revealed a large Japanese fleet, including five aircraft carriers, heading for Ceylon, which at that time was the base for the Royal Navy’s Eastern Fleet.  Birchall’s crew managed to send out a radio message to Ceylon, but the Catalina was soon shot down by six Japanese Zero fighters from the carrier Hiryu. In spite of the warning, the Easter Sunday Raid went ahead, but the British fleet had largely withdrawn to a secret base in Addu Atoll.  Three of his crewmen were killed in the action and the others, including Birchall, spent the rest of the war as prisoners of war. Birchall was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his part in warning Ceylon of the impending Japanese raid.  He was also appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for the role he played as a senior officer in the POW camp, standing up to the brutality of the Japanese guards.

For more details about Birchall, please visit the following sites:

 http://wartimehouses.com/the-homefront/the-armed-forces/air-commodore-leonard-birchall/

 http://www.thestar.com/news/obituary/atog/article/107924--leonard-birchall-89-canadian-war-hero

 http://canadiansrilankanpartnerships.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/leonard-birchall-the-saviour-of-ceylon/

Birchall’s medals are on display at the RCAF Museum in Trenton, Ontario.

For Outstanding Ability and Devotion to Duty

 

Rohan Amerasekera DFC*

Air Vice Marshal Ekanayake Edward (Rohan) Amerasekera DFC and Bar (RCyAF)

Today being Remembrance Day, I want to write about another Amerasekera who had served in World War 2.

Ekanayake Edward Rohan Amerasekera was among the first batch of volunteers from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to join the Royal Air Force (RAF). He served with distinction as a Navigator in the RAF Bomber Command, taking part in 52 operations over enemy territory, mostly over Germany.  My dad has written a lengthy article about him on his website which you can find here:

Rohan Amerasekera was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) twice.

The DFC Citation states "This officer has displayed a high degree of courage and determination in navigating his aircraft to the target and back, often under great difficulties. In November 1943 whilst on a flight to a distant target, the oxygen supply failed early in the sortie. P/O. Amerasekera, though suffering from lack of oxygen and extreme cold continued his duties and the mission was successfully completed. This officer has proved himself to be a navigator of outstanding ability."



DFC and BAR

The Citation to the Bar to the DFC states: "This officer has completed his second tour of operational duty. In December 1944, whilst on route to Essen, his aircraft was engaged by searchlights and heavy anti-aircraft fire was encountered causing severe damage to the aircraft. Despite the fact that shell splinters penetrated his compartment, F/O. Amerasekera took evasive action and completed his allotted task. His other targets have included the Ruhr Valley, Chemnitz and Hanover. On all occasions, F/O. Amerasekera has set a fine example by his tenacity and devotion to duty."

Jeeves' crew

After the war, he returned to Ceylon and joined the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) at its inception in 1951. He had the distinction of becoming the first Ceylonese to command the RCyAF, with the rank of Air Vice Marshal.

Rohan Amerasekera’s medals are as follows:

Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar, 1939-45 Star, Aircrew Europe Star with France & Germany bar, War Medal, Defence Medal, Coronation Medal of Queen Elizabeth II, The Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal and the Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal.

My Grandfather's War Service

 



2nd Lt. D.C.O.T. Ameresekere

This month, where Remembrance Day falls, I thought I’ll write about my grandfather, D.C.O.T. Ameresekere, who served as a young soldier during World War 2.  He had joined the Ceylon Garrison Artillery (CGA) as a Gunner before the war (in 1938) and served throughout the war, rising through the ranks to be commissioned as a 2^nd Lieutenant in 1945.  The Ceylon Garrison Artillery was part of the Ceylon Defence Force and saw action when the Japanese attacked Ceylon on Easter Sunday 1942. 

He had enlisted in the 1st Coast Regt. CGA (Regt.No. 1763) as a Gunner on 1 Oct 1938. He was mobilised for War Service on 2 Sept 1939 and was appointed Acting Lance Bombardier on 6 June 1942; Lance Bombardier on 26 March 1943; Temporary Bombardier on 1 Nov 1944 and Bombardier on 1 Feb 1945.

He was commissioned in the CGA as a 2^nd Lieutenant (#987) on 28 Oct 1945. He was awarded the Efficiency Medal [Ceylon] on 20 Aug 1948, the War Medal and the Defence Medal. He was posted to the Reserve on 1 Oct 1948 and resigned his commission on 22 Feb 1951.

 
He was also very active in the Boy Scouts movement, St John’s Ambulance Brigade and the Lion’s Club, both in Sri Lanka and here in Canada.

You can find full details about him on my Dad’s website at: www.ceylonmedals.com/dcot.htm

Unfortunately, I never met my grandfather as he passed away a few days before I was born.



CGA Badge                        [MilitaryBadgeCollection.com]

  




Remembrance Day - Lest We Forget

  Since it is November, I thought I will write about Remembrance Day which is also known as Poppy Day or Armistice Day. It is observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the soldiers, sailors and airmen who have died in the line of duty.

Remembrance Day is observed on November 11^th to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month," in accordance with the Armistice.

John McCrae

We are studying about the Great War in our History class this semester so I am a bit more familiar about it than before. The Great War was called the War to end all wars, but that didn’t happen and about 20 years later, in 1939, the world was at war again.

The red remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem "In Flanders Fields" written by the Canadian poet, physician, artist, author and soldier John McCrae. These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their brilliant red colour an appropriate symbol for the blood spilled in the war.

 

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has an excellent website www.cwgc.org where you can search and find details about men and women who died in the service of Britain and the Commonwealth in the two world wars.

Do you have any relatives that fought in the two World Wars?  Please feel free to write your comments.
 

Disney buys Lucasfilm - Good news for Star Wars Fans?

Last week it was announced that Disney was buying Lucasfilm for $4 billion, adding the legendary Star Wars franchise to the entertainment giant's stable of characters. With the sale of Lucasfilm which is 100% owned by founder George Lucas, he will receive 40 million Disney shares from the deal and will be the second-largest non-institutional shareholder of Disney. The 68-year-old Lucas will serve as a creative consultant but plans to retire.

In this publicity photo released by Disney, CEO Robert Iger, left, and George Lucas of Lucasfilm sign the deal Tuesday letting Disney acquire the "Star Wars" studio for about $4 billion.(Photo: Rick Rowell, AP)

 
What does this do for Star Wars fans like me?  Disney plans to make more Star Wars movies, which is good news.  But will they remain true to Lucas' vision?  We'll have to wait and see.

Assassin's Creed III - The Saga Continues...

Today I want to write about the latest installment in the Assassin's Creed franchise which was released on October 30th, 2012. Assassin's Creed III is set during the American Revolution in the late 18th century and it introduces a new main character, Connor Kenway, birth name Ratohnhaké:ton, who is the new voice for justice in the ancient war between the Assassins and Templars.The advertisements and videos for this game looks awesome. I will definitely get this but first I have to get the other games in this franchise, namely Assassin's Creed - Brotherhood and Assassin's Creed - Revelations. I have already played Assassin's Creed I and II and really enjoyed them. This game is also available bundled with the new 50 GB Playstation 3 Console.  See details below including an excellent review.

Are you a fan of this franchise? If so, which games do you own and what was your favourite game?

These games are like flashbacks of  Desmond Miles' ancestors, which reminds me of a posting done about Deja vu by my friend Carlos on his blog "Life is Golden". He writes some very interesting and thought provoking posts and had included one on Slender Man / Halloween. Please visit his blog at    www.awesomewayoflife.blogspot.com.    

Happy Hallowe'en from: Slender Man

Happy Hallowe'en Everyone!

Hope all of you are having a great time today. Great costumes, yummy candy and lots of fun!

I made a Slender Man costume to wear to my school today. It came out very well. I have attached a photo below

How was your costume? Was it home-made or store bought? Please post your comments.
Hope you all have a great evening!

A Visit to the RCAF Museum –Trenton, Ontario

Handley Page Halifax

 Last summer my family and I have visited the Royal Canadian Air Force Museum in Trenton, Ontario. My dad wanted to see the restored Halifax bomber plane. This Halifax was recovered in a Fiord in Norway and was restored in Trenton. My dad had visited the restoration in 1997 and wanted to see it fully restored. He was interested in the Halifax because his relative Rohan Amerasekera had flown as a navigator with the RAF in one of them during WW2 (more on that later, in another post). We also saw lots of different kinds of aircraft from the Second World War and the Cold War eras. I really liked checking out the Spitfire and the Hurricane, which were the most famous aircraft of the Battle of Britain.

 The museum was fun to visit and my dad also took photos of the medals belonging to the Canadian pilot, Len Birchall, who was known as the Saviour of Ceylon, which will make an interesting story for another post.  With Remembrance Day coming up in November, I will do some posts on these people and about my grandfather.

Here`s a video I took of the Halifax aircraft:

Hawker Hurricane

Supermarine Spitfire

Have any of you visited the RCAF Museum in Trenton or the Aviation Museum in Ottawa?  Did you enjoy it?  Do you have a favourite aircraft or a story about one?  Please post your comments.

Ubi - The Little Computer That Can!

Today I heard in the news about this neat little computer and I wanted to check out the Internet for more details. Ubi, is a little computer that plugs in to any power outlet in your home. You can talk to it and it can talk back, making it hands free. It can connect to the Internet wirelessly and find out details for you while you do some other task.

Ubi (Kickstarter.com)

I think this is a clever little device and it seems to have many uses. However, I will not know for sure until I try one out. Attached below is the link to the Ubi website so you can judge for yourself.

 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/607691307/ubi-the-ubiquitous-computer-voice-activated-and-al-0

Do you think this is a worthwhile gadget for your home or is it something way ahead of its time? Please write in your opinions / reviews.   
        

Avatar 3D- Finally at a reasonable price

Blu-ray 3D release of "Avatar" which was previously bundled exclusively with Panasonic 3D TVs and 3D Blu-ray players will be available as a general release on October 16, 2012.

Avatar, which made 3D popular in the theatres was very much sought after as a 3D Blu-ray and was selling at extremely high prices on E-Bay.  



If you are in Canada, the best deal would be at Future Shop where you can get it for $19.99 when you trade in any old DVD.

For details about the Avatar 3D Blu-ray, check out the following:

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Avatar-3D-Blu-ray/26954/#Review

Will you be buying this disc or did you buy it previously with a Panasonic product?

 Your comments are welcome.

Coming soon – An all new device for the Wii

The new Wii U is coming out on Nov 18, 2012; it comes with a Basic set for $299.99 and the Deluxe set for $349.99. It also comes with a “Nintendo Land” video game and some other special features that come with it such as deluxe digital promotion, Wii U Game Pad Cradle and Stand for both Game Pad and Console. The Basic set has an 8GB internal storage while the Deluxe has a 32GB.

Do you think this is a worthwhile addition to the Wii console or just another gimmick released in time for Christmas?  Your comments are welcome.

Summer fun continues. . .

Peggy's Cove (Taipan Tours)

In August my family took part in a 7 day bus tour to Eastern Canada.  This was the first time I have been away from home for such a long time.  It was fun, but there were times when it was boring because most of the time was spent on the bus going from one place to another. My dad liked it because he didn’t have to drive and listen to us saying “Are we there yet?”  We took our Nintendo DSi and PSP to keep us occupied. 



Cavendish (Taipan Tours)



We travelled through 5 provinces and saw a lot of very interesting places. The hotels were all 4 and 5 Star, and we were well rested. Only problem was, we had to wake up really early to hit the road every day.  All in all, it was fun and we got to see a lot of places.

 Day 1 - Toronto – Kingston - Ottawa (Parliament Buildings) – Montreal

Day 2 - Montreal - New Brunswick (world's longest covered bridge) – Fredericton

Day 3 – Fredericton – Peggy's Cove, NS -  Halifax (Citadel Hill, downtown and harbour tour)

Confederation Bridge (Taipan Tours)

Day 4 - Halifax – Caribou – Ferry ride - Prince Edward Island  (Charlottetown, Cavendish Beach, Anne of Green Gable House)

Day 5 - Prince Edward Island - Shediac –Magnetic Hill - Hopewell Rock - Bay of Fundy - Saint John, NB.

Day 6 - Saint John – Grand Falls - Riviere-du-Loup (Whale watching) - Quebec City.

Day 7 - Quebec City - Thousand Islands - Toronto

Have you been on a bus tour before? Was it fun? Please write in your comments.

What’s your Favourite Movie?

Today I want to write about movies. Everyone has a favourite movie or two. Mine is “The Adventures of TINTIN”. I loved reading all the Tintin books and I was really excited when Steven Spielberg decided to bring these stories to the big screen. Now, he did make some changes to the storyline but it turned out okay and the motion capture animation was excellent. The 3D made it even better. My Dad’s favourite movie is “The Eagle Has Landed” and “Valkyrie” a close second. The first movie starred a young Michael Caine as a German Paratroop Colonel sent to England to kidnap Winston Churchill during WWII. Today we know a very much older Michael Caine as Alfred the butler in the “Batman” movies. My sisters aged 7 and 11 love “The Spy Next Door” and “The Harry Potter” Series respectively.

What is your favourite movie and why do you like it? Do you have more than one favourite?

In my opinion “The Avengers 3D” movie was probably the best action movie of summer 2012.  The 3D Blu-ray was released last week and I give it 5 stars out of 5. The video quality was excellent and the audio 7.1 surround sound was of demo quality.

A start to a great Summer!

I started my summer holidays with a trip to Niagara Falls with my family and some friends.  We have been to the falls a couple of times before, but this time we decided to stay over at the Great Wolf Lodge.  We had heard so much about it and wanted to give it a try.  It is a great place to have fun. The water park is awesome. We spent almost all the time in the water.  They had some crazy slides and fun for all ages. 

It was a great start to our holidays.  We were able to do more travelling in the summer, but more on that later.

How did you all spend your summer holidays?  Did you stay in your own area or did you travel to another country?

Now available...The All New PlayStation 3 Model

The new PlayStation 3 model was released on Sept 25. It is priced at $269.00 US and is bundled with the Uncharted 3 - "Game Of The Year" edition. The new model has a 250GB hard drive to store all of your favorite games, videos, photos, and music. See pictures and video for details.

Unfortunately, we just bought a second PS3 160GB last week. So I guess I won't be buying one of these in a while.

Will any of you be buying this or will you hold out for the 500GB model which will be out later this year?
I believe that might have Assassin's Creed 3 bundled with it. 

My First Post.

Greetings to all!  Welcome to my blog about my hobbies and interests. I created this blog for people who have similar interests to share with me and the rest of the world.

My first post today is based on favourite video games. If you love to play video games on different game systems such as PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii or PC, this is the place to share your thoughts, reviews, tips, hints, walkthroughs, screenshots and explanations about your favourite video games. Please feel free to comment and everyone is welcome on this site.  I am a huge PlayStation 3 fan.  I also play on the Wii and PSP. Currently my favourite game is Call of Duty – Black Ops (online).  I just completed Uncharted 3 – Drake’sDeception.

As you know, the video game industry is always evolving and there will be many new games and updated to consoles coming out in the near future. We can use this blog to share this information.

I will also use this blog to share my views about my other interests such as travel, family genealogy, movies and military history.

I hope everyone will enjoy this site and have lots and lots of FUN.  Thank you!