SW7 is no more...

New SW7 stuff has been released, and ultimately means that the name 'SW7' is no longer the way to refer to Alton Towers' newest development. This morning, it was released that the name will in fact be 'The Smiler', I was initially disappointed, but I have to say it has already grown on me massively already, and that is probably most likely due to some of the other stuff released today.

The SW7 mini site had two updates today, with the domain of www.altontowers.com/2013 still showing the initial update, including an amazing concept image which got me more excited than I would have ever believed it could. It's disturbing due to the woman's face, but it also shows it's fun, exciting and also gives an idea of what the trains will be like, despite the restraints being B&M.

The second update flashed up on the site for a few minutes, before being removed and was due to have a section called 'The Lexicon' thought to be a similar character to 'The Lord of Darkness' from Oblivion. This was replaced by a Facebook tab instead. The latest update can be found on two domains, www.the-smiler.com and www.altontowers.com/thesmiler . There is also a game due to be released in February, screen shots are shown on the newest mini site, it will be for both iOS and Android. It does lead to the idea that at least one lift will be a chain lift though, and also that each section of the ride may have a name, as the area approaching the lift hill seen has 'Converter' or similar, and we already know about 'The Inoculator' so how many sections will be given names?

The Smiler's (It still feels soooo weird not calling it SW7) opening date has finally after much speculation, and to my disappointment been pushed back. This has not however the few weeks that was expected, it has been pushed back a full two months until May, so yes, I am slightly disappointed, and it out a downer on things today, but overall, I will stay positive. There's still the Towers2Go thing being released on Wednesday, and I think it must have something to do with the game, due to the repeated use of the #play hashtag.

So, until Wednesday at least, farewell.

SW7 update... and Matt Lonsdale

Ok, exams are over, my article is in, so now the waiting game begins.

So, onto SW7.
Oh my gosh it's getting exciting! Eeeeee! Okay, I'll try and calm down, so that I can type. Breathe.. Breathe. Okay, so a lot has happened since I last posted, it makes me realise how long ago it was. The Sanctuary has been confirmed as being open for part of the 2013 season, but for how long we are not quite sure. Oblivion, my baby girl is getting a luxurious repaint, which she definitely, without question deserves, the last time she was painted was when? Probably 15 years ago, as the track would have been there for the '97 season, oh she deserves it so much, and she'll look so pretty.

Marketing has also exploded after such a quiet time, posters such as the one on the left have been plastered all over London, Manchester, Leeds and I'm sure many other places too.
But to add to that, sheep have been corrected by someone, maybe Dr Kelman? Oh great, now I've got an image of Dr Kelman running across the countryside in a cat suit and balaclava with a spray can and stencil in his hands, and now I can't stop laughing. Okay, maybe not Dr Kelman then, I'm still giggling from that, but somebody from the Ministry of Joy, or the farmers have been paid by Alton Towers... Nah, that last one is impossible. But yes, the sheep, they caused a trend on twitter of #creepysheep with many people unsure of what the logo itself actually was. Until some mean people spoiled our fun :(

Other than the sheep, Alton have uploaded some images to their Twitter and Facebook accounts, some exciting, some worrying.

The only worrying one really is the 4th image, as it may represent the name. Most likely it won't, as 'The Smiler' is much more likely, and as much as I hated 'The Smiler' as a name, it's miles better than 'The Inoculator'. The others are all exciting, I have no idea what the first one is to do with which makes my intrigue increase. The second, I thought was a smoke version of our smiley friend, but somebody said it might be the word 'cure' in smoke, which is a possibility I suppose, but I guess I hope it's not, as it would make 'The Inoculator' the more likely candidate for the name. The third is the one that I found the most exciting, you can see that it says "You belong to" so, what will follow it is extremely exciting for me at least. The last one is interesting, as it shows our smiley friend having evolved slightly in the eye region, but was probably the least exciting of all of the posts from last night.

Tonight however, things got a bit more exciting and not exciting. Exciting things first, Alton have released a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0doiBMadquc) about their advertising campaign, which shows the image being projected onto Big Ben and other various locations. Not so exciting is this picture to the right, not only does it claim the ride to be named 'The Smiler' and releases that name in a very disappointing way, but it also puts an end to all of the viral marketing that I was loving. This may be fake, as there isn't a QR code, but I personally doubt that very much, I think it is genuine, I just hope Alton know what they're doing here.                                             There is also said to be a release of something on Wednesday by Towers2Go and Alton Towers simultaneously by the sounds of it. We don't know what, but Towers2Go have released this along with the fact that 'the Inoculator' won't be the name. So, we'll see on Wednesday.

I think that's all of the news so far.

Maybe, some Music stuff now? So, I love an artist called Matt Lonsdale, and I get his tweets sent to my phone, which is usually helpful for releases etc. But he's joined a band now, and isn't going solo anymore, which is all good as long as it's what he wants, plus he's following me on Twitter now. But, due to this, he's retweeting any tweets that mention his new band so my phone is just constantly vibrating, and every time it does I just shout "Matt!" because I know it'll be him, and I haven't been wrong yet. So, mini annoyed-but-happy-at-the-same-time rant is over :)

I'll be back soon :)

Quick Phone Post

Oooooh, this is my first post with my phone, it's quite exciting actually.
Yes, anyway, onto my point. I cannot believe (and I'm actually proud of myself for this) that I have managed to stay away for so long. The reason for this is that I am busy revising and sitting my AS exams. So, I have not neglected this, I have simply gone on a revision holiday- Yes it is as fun as it sounds.
If anything exciting happens though, I will shoot straight back here. I'm also still working on that piece. I think I'm just going to do a round up of the 'news', because I can't pick a topic without having to fill it with speculation (thanks for that Alton) which wouldn't be news.
Anyway, I'll see you soon. Bye for a bit.

The Mystery of our time: Teenage Girls.

My friends (the female ones obviously) and I are teenage girls, and to be completely honest, I don't really understand them or myself. What we are to boys and adults I would hate to know. But this might help everybody decipher the mystery.

There's obviously the weight issue, which is big with anyone (no pun intended). Well, it's not so much about the 'weight' itself it's about the amount of 'fat' on their bodies. Whether their stomachs are bigger than everybody else's becomes the latest craze, and of course, they cannot be satisfied unless theirs is the biggest. This will gradually become something that the girl will become very self-conscious of, and will probably turn to dieting or just not eating. When one girl falls into these thoughts and feelings, a domino effect quickly begins. Even the stick insects decide they've got too much meat on their bones. This is where the girls either decide that they were clearly being stupid, or it becomes a serious problem. Self-confidence issues can kill people. To any teenage girl who is reading this I would like to say, be sensible, don't worry about what everybody thinks because inside, they'll be facing similar if not the same issues as you.

Fashion is a major part of any girls upbringing. It starts off with the clothes that they will happily wear as a child, the ones that you see their mums picking out for them, whilst they're sat in the aisle playing with their Barbie. When one girl at school has chosen the clothes herself though, a nightmare ensues. The begging of the parents has started, tantrums, crying over pieces of fabric, and all just to look like a clone of someone else. I expect this is the most annoying part of parenthood to be frank. These young girls lives have quickly signed over to be enslaved by this obsession. By teenage-hood the girls will either have gained some sense, or will be found somewhere in a crowd of clones.

My next two points are very closely related, so they can be put into one sub-category of interests. This includes music and hobbies. I will address each point separately, but will not go into as much detail as with the above points. So, everybody has different music tastes, whether it's R n' B (I love being able to write 'and' like that, I feel so cool. Unless it's Fish n' Chips), Pop, Jazz, Rock, you get my point, it'd take too much brain power to write all the genres, but yes, basically everybody likes different music. But as a teenager, you're expected to have the same tastes and listen to the same songs as everybody else. Of course though, it could never be simple, tastes change. You have to learn to "go with the flow. Brap mate." the easiest way to do this is to listen to the radio, as you need to know the lyrics if you want to stand anywhere near being cool. But, the story didn't end there (sorry, I couldn't do a blog without any reference to theme parks), as the girls age again, having the same music tastes as everybody else is seen as being un-individual, and now that isn't cool. You are however still expected to like the same artists as everybody else of course, no less could be expected of you.

Finally, we're onto part two of this sub-category, hobbies. To me, the hobbies that anybody takes part in shows their true character, they may look like a tough bully but if people knew he did ballet would anybody take him seriously? No. It reminds of the song 'Stick To The Status Quo' from 'High School Musical'. They're allowed to have their own hobbies, well what I mean is that they're not expected to follow what everybody else is doing. Of course, they're also looked down on if they do anything that is in the slightest uncool. So, in essence uncool girls are expected to have no life and have no fun. Wow, I didn't actually realise just how twisted it was.

Wow. Looking back on that, I'm amazed that I've actually managed to write something slightly philosophical. But in seriousness, these are the women of the next generation, all of this needs to stop, so we don't have confidence-ridden doctors or managers or other careers. I find it a very sad conclusion to the piece. I was hoping to have a humourous ending, but that's clearly not going to be so.

Until next time, Cheerio.

If you didn't get the theme park reference, watch this video to enlighten yourselves. Watching it from about 2:30 should do the trick. http://towersnerd.com/theatre/?video=15

Careers of the future.

Yes, it's another post. I'm bored okay.

Now, with these exams coming up (ARGH!) I've been thinking about what it is that I would like to do when I'm older. I've been back and forth with this so many times, that i think it's time to stop and look at all the options. Now, of course I have ridiculous dream careers that I would absolutely love, doesn't any teenager? But, I don't really know what I'm doing at all. So, as I have a 'scientific brain' I'll do an analysis. My science teachers will have all just cringed at that. But yeah, I'll split it all up to make sense.

As I said I have some ridiculous, and completely non-related dreams. So prepare yourselves to be amazed at my deluded self. One of my dreams, that I have had for a few years now is that I would love to one day be a member of the England Ladies Football team. I love football and would love to be part of it. I have however evaluated my football skills, and have come to the conclusion that I can't play at all, so I think it would be better for everybody if I stick with just being a fan.

Another of my far-fetched dreams is that I would love to be an F1 driver. Yes, I know, but I did say that they were completely un-related. I love watching F1, and I would just love the idea of speeding around the track, whilst there being science involved as well. But, it's another one that I have to cast aside. You have to have a lot of money to make it in Motorsport.

Now, my third one, surprise surprise is theme park and roller coaster related. I would love to design roller coasters, either like John Wardley, or like the boys at B&M or Intamin or wherever. The main problem with this is that I would have to do an engineering degree, and I'm sorry, but the prospect of me in Engineering is just hilarious. Plus, I'd have to do well at physics, and I am currently failing physics. To be fair to myself, it's the particle physics that I don't get, but that unfortunately is still part of the physics course. Therefore, my grade is dependent on whether I understand it or not.

There are other things that I would love to do, but are not necessarily my dreams per say. I could go into Biology, which I love. If I did this, then I would go into the research side, or maybe become a secondary school teacher. Biochemistry also interests me, as long it's not medical biochemistry, because that just doesn't. It's the molecules that I'm interested in, I could never be in pharmaceuticals, because I would never be able to handle the tests. If something went wrong, then I'd see it as my fault.

So, my third post in a day is now complete. Enjoy.

First Post.. a little about me to start with.

Well, this is my first post. So, wish me luck.
I've been wanting to make a blog for a while, but never really had the confidence to do so. I highly doubt anybody will read this, but on the off chance that they do. Thank you.

So, I'm sure people would want to know what has given me this confidence. Well, it's thanks to an Alton Towers forum, which goes by the name, TowersStreet. I've been (and still am) part of all 3 major forums that are based on Alton Towers, TowersTimes, TowersStreet and my personal favourite, TowersNerd. Anyway, back to my confidence thing. I have been parts of forums for a while, and never really given my opinions on things. I've been the one who sat back, watched and then asked questions, as if I know nothing. Two days back, there was a discussion (not an argument, I like to make that very clear) on whether or not Alton Towers would open their new ride (SW7) without all of the themeing (It may sound boring, but to me it most certainly is not) . So, this time I decided to get stuck in, yes I was hit down a few times as the discussion started to get more heated, but I enjoyed it, and I felt like I may actually be a valued member. Then last night there was another discussion which I got stuck into straight away, on how big this new project was compared to previous projects. I feel like I have grown so much over these past two evenings. So, I thought why not make a blog? If no-one reads it, then It's something for me to read over when I'm older.

So, onto my three favourite forums. I joined TowersTimes (TT) when I was about 7, as my brother had joined, and I was inclined to follow him. I posted about 4 posts, and then ran away scared. The people on TT can be aggressive in the way they put things across sometimes, especially when somebody offers an opposing view to theirs. As a seven-year-old I ran away terrified. In June two years back, I started looking at the forums again, as my interest and curiosity took over from the memories of my frightened self. This led me back to TT, I re-joined under a different name and just watched the forum, rather than posting. But due to this, I found a little forum hidden away at the back of the internet, TowersNerd (TN). It wasn't bustling with brand new news every ten seconds, but it gave the little news that was needed. I looked over the topics and found that they spoke to each other respectfully, and seemed to think about their answers. I happily joined. And, to this day it is still the forum that I've posted on the most. Now, TowersStreet (TS), I'm not quite sure why it was formed (some disagreement or something) but that's not important. It formed in the summer of 2012, and a lot of people joined out of interest I think, well I know that I did anyway. And, I think that's all to say about TowersStreet, sorry. I have fully re-joined TowersTimes now, and I post often. It's not all as scary as I first thought. If I'd have stayed for a little while longer when I was seven, I may have realised this and I could probably be a silver member by now. But these things are sent to try us.

It's interesting to see the differences in the forums. TowersStreet and TowersTimes are where you need to be the most independent, if you have a view and people don't agree you need to be able to stick up for yourself, but I personally find getting stuck into the 'discussions' fun. If however, you don't get involved in the big debates, then you won't be on the receiving end of any slight aggression. If you do want to post an opposing view though, don't expect a completely courteous reply. We're very stubborn people. Now, TowersNerd is a safe and good place for anybody who wants to be a young starter like me. It can feel like a big family at times. The important information is given to everybody. As previously stated though, it is not the busiest of places. This could hopefully change in the future if more people join. So, if you're hungry to post, then TT and TS are where you need to head over to. But, I would say to join all three, then you can;t possibly go wrong.

I'm not sure what I'll post about, probably some Theme Park stuff, some personal stuff, some football, some just random things.
I can tell you pretty much how often I'll post though, it'll be very regular at the start, then spread out, and then stop for a couple of months until I find it again, and then there'll be a pace set.