Month: July 2025

Avatar Open source Chris

Here I am with a microscope. But what can I see?

I’d just taken a swab from my cheek and under the ‘scope was a sample of my own facial cells (or “facells”, as biologists call them). And once I’d managed to zoom in enough, I saw this.

It’s my DNA.

There it is in all its glory, all those chains of genetic information that make me so brilliantly unique. And now that I’ve put it online, it’s open source, free for anyone else to come along and use it, remix it and build on it. Feel free to take a screenshot and use it for your own biological experiments.

I’m hopeful that this is the beginning of an amazing new age where there are millions of clones of me running around everywhere. A world of genetically engineered Chrises wherever you look.

What will you do with my DNA? Let me know in the comments.

Avatar ‘Frog Detective: the entire mystery’ – mini review

Before the time comes when I have to (metaphorically) throw all of my interests into the loft because of the upcoming childingtons, you won’t be too surprised to note that I have been playing video games.

A lot of video games. I have been pursuing a life of video games because what else would you do in your early forties? Build a shop? Eat some yeast and submit a two star review as it, “wasn’t what you expected it to be”? Complain about the diversity of umbrellas? Take up yodelling? I don’t want to do any of that.

What I want is to live out my dreams of being a detective. I want to solve crimes and make a name for myself without leaving the sofa. Thankfully, there are now a multitude of games that allow you to do that. I chose ‘Frog Detective’ because I had heard it was funny and it was short.

You play as the titular Frog Detective, the second best detective in the land, second best to Lobster Cop. He’s a very busy boy and currently at the top so you’re doing your best to keep up. What follows is three very short vignettes where you “solve” three very short crimes. The reason that important word is in inverted commas is because there’s not really a lot to solve.

The game is played in first person. When you speak to other characters in the game, the camera zooms back to a third person perspective. You get given the case when the supervisor, travel to where you need to and start interviewing everyone. It’s not a game to be taken seriously in the slightest. You’re not a hard-boiled gumshoe here, you’re a happy-go-lucky frog with a magnifying glass. All you need to do is keep talking to people to find out what they want and then go get the item they need. It’s more of a fun fetch quest simulator than anything else.

Luckily, the quality of the writing is what saves the game from being forgettable shovelware. Everyone is a weirdo. You get an intro which shows you all the characters you’ll be meeting when you start the episode. You’ll meet a sloth who is convinced his island is haunted by ghosts, an invisible wizard whose celebrations have been wrecked by an unknown menace and a supposedly sheriff-less town that’s hiding a terrible secret. Every character has an unusual quirk which results in conversations that go places you’re not expecting. At one point I had to find out which kind of dancing a monkey preferred so I could tell the person that fancied her this important fact so they could impress her at a contest. I found an (I think) antelope floating in a hot tub who demanded some food and when I tried to give him the pie I found on the floor he insisted on having a fresh one. When you write it down it sounds like nonsense, and also when it plays out in front of you it’s also complete nonsense.

You can finish all three episodes in under two and a half hours. At the end there’s a secret sneaky bonus game that you unlock which is fun for a while. It’s a very simple game at heart; you won’t find any mind-bending puzzles from the likes of ‘Broken Sword’, ‘Monkey Island’ or ‘Grim Fandango’ here (I know I made the same point in my ‘Lord Winklebottom Investigates’ review but they’re the most recent point-and-click games I’ve played).

If you see it on sale then I would thoroughly recommend it because it’s very silly and guaranteed to make you laugh.

Avatar Clompotition time (last one)

You’ll all be thrilled to know that this is the last one I have before we can retire this charade masquerading as a proper post. We all have stuff we like to whip out (waaaaaay!) as a cheap post from time to time to fill the quota and tick the boxes. I still have plenty of guff to fill your screens, and your time with, so divant fret, pet, if you’re worried about the lack of meaningful content.

Surely in our roles as gods of the Internet, for existing so long in this digital hellscape, we practically invented meaningful content (or whatever passes for it these days).

Anyway, enough preaching. Guess the expiry date of this bottle of ketchup.

Here’s a little hint too; it’s nowhere near as old as any of the other entries.

Avatar Will I Think of You?

That’s a bit of a loaded question if ever I heard one.

Will you think of me? It depends on what kind of thoughts you have there. If they’re going to get weird and sordid then I’d rather you didn’t. You can keep me away from your dirty mind.

I found this book in a glass cabinet denoting that it is better / rarer than most of the other books in the shop. Notice how young Leonard Nimoy looks on the front, coupled with his description as, “one of the shining stars of Star Trek” and you can gather this book is surely somewhere close to 60 years old.

As it was placed away from general viewing, it meant that I didn’t get to read the shimmering words and haunting images of old Spock. I’m sure they were very deep and meaningful, more than I could ever write anyway.

Avatar Puffins?

It feels like Puffins? Day 2025 is the right time for a quick roundup of all the puffin-related films on offer. Until a few years ago there was no puffin-based cinema at all, but the silver screen now has several offerings for you to choose from.

Released in 2023, and starring Chris O’Dowd from off of Bridesmaids and the IT Crowd, Puffin Rock and the New Friends deals with the unexpected disappearance of a Little Egg and the adventures of Oona (a puffin) and her friends (also puffins) as they try to save it before Puffin Rock is hit by a Big Storm.

The Guardian called it a “wholesome delight”, but only gave it three stars.

2024’s Robo Puffin (styled Rise of the Robo Puffin in some territories) appears to be an Italian movie. In it, evil bad buy Otto van Walrus (a walrus) creates the mischievous Robo Puffin (a robot puffin) to outshine the real puffins, in a plot that appears to have no meaningful jeopardy whatsoever. Johnny Puff (a puffin) and his friends (also puffins) use the power of teamwork to outoutshine the puffin-outshining robot.

If you’re sad that Robo Puffin is available only in Italian, don’t worry: while the feature film is available only in the language of amore, it appears to be a rehashing of this 2020 TV series called Puffins which, amazingly, stars Johnny Depp as Johnny Puff (a puffin). Otto van Walrus (a walrus) is here too, up to no good as usual, though this time Puff and his friends (also puffins) are apparently working for him and not in any sort of robotic outshining contest.

A second series, Puffin Impossible, recasts its central characters as superheroes. If you want to see puffins in capes, this is the one for you.