A horse is a horse

Enrolled in a free online course about detective fiction. The last such course I did, I completed in December 2022. Why the break? It wasn't so much that I burnt out on online learning as that I was struggling to find topics of sufficient interest to the little grey cells. This one should be good.

In the land of the blind drunk, the one-beer man is king

My Fitness To Drive Request Notice arrived; an annual occurrence since the government changed the regulations pertaining to some forms of vision impairment. It means a trip to the optometrist, followed by a trip to the GP. The former should afford me the opportunity to photograph new street art. The GP visit doesn't suggest anything exciting. I s'pose I could drop in at the nearby South African grocery store and grab biltong. Been yonks since I had Castle Lager, but I bet it's expensive as a specialty import these days. They make the biltong themselves.

Playing: "Regency Solitaire II" [Steam]. I'm a sucker for Solitaire-based light adventures.

Watching: "Strange New Worlds" [Paramount+]. Astoundingly consistent in its beautness.

Recent (re)viewing

"Arachno", "Constantine", "S/M/B", "Hunt" and "Legacy" all rewatches.

* "Arachnophobia" (1990) [own copy]: Flimsy story. Extremely well executed - especially climax.

* "Bastille Day" (2016) [Netflix]: Atypical action thriller. Parisian chases, tussles, twists.

* "Beavis And Butt-Head Do The Universe" (2022) [Paramount+ free trial]: Smart-arse idiocy revival prompts occasional chuckle.

* "Constantine" (2005) [Prime Video]: Honestly not that bad/unfaithful, in hindsight.

* "Resident Evil - Death Island" (2023) [Prime Video]: Stunning animation, insane "stunts", variable voicing, BIOWEAPONS! AND: Deadweight history aside, superb use of medium.

* "Super Mario Bros" (1993) [Kanopy]: 10,000 wrong decisions. Zero intentional laughs. Fascinating!

* "The Hunt For Red October" (1990) [Apple Store rental]: Novel's 40, movie's great (if total sausagefest).

* "Tron - Legacy" (2010) [Disney+]: Intro sucks. Protagonist meh. Grid sequences AWESOME. BUT: Michael Sheen's glam publican steals the show.

<<< Pick of the bunch is "Arachnophobia". >>>

ANZAC Day tomoz

Would love to attend a Dawn Service somewhere. That's not feasible in my given situation. Will settle for catching snippets of commemorative events from around the nation on telly.

I note there are three games of NRL. Three! On a Thurs! Only two of AFL, but they're also holding one tonight. (No Pacific Super Rugby or A-League.)

It appears that, along with remembering the sacrifices of fallen servicepeople and munching homemade ANZAC biscuits, I'll be watching a fair bit of footy.

Knowing when to fold

Uninstalled poker puzzler "Balatro" [Steam] after 77 hours. Was still achieving/unlocking stuff. Very slowly, though. 1-2 Glengarry leads per night. Diminishing returns. And it was keeping me from exploring other gameses. Am satisfied with the entertainment derived for my 20-buck outlay.

New listening

Finished "Servo" (highly recommended). Will begin the audiobook of this tragic memoir from 2023 on my Monday walk. Gotta tackle something serious in paper soon as well. At the moment, my traditional reading is confined to gamebooks, "SFX" and "Retro Gamer" mag, and "Batman" comics.

Blurb:

A novelist’s gripping investigation of the forces that led his childhood best friend from academic stardom to the psychiatric hospital where he has lived since killing the woman he loved

When the Rosens moved to New Rochelle, New York in 1973, Jonathan Rosen and Michael Laudor became inseparable. Both children of professors, the boys were best friends and fierce rivals who soon followed each other to Yale University.

Michael blazed through Yale in three years, graduating summa cum laude and landing a top-flight consulting job. Then, one day, Jonathan received a devastating call: Michael had suffered a psychotic break and was in the locked ward of a psychiatric hospital.

Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Michael was still in hospital when he learned he’d been accepted into law school, and living in a halfway house when he decided, against all odds, to enrol. Still battling delusions, he managed to graduate, and after his triumphant story was featured in The New York Times, sold a memoir for a vast sum. Ron Howard bought film rights, completing the dream for Michael and his tirelessly supportive girlfriend Carrie, and Brad Pitt was set to star. But then Michael, in the grip of psychosis, committed a horrific act that made him a front-page story of an entirely different sort.

The Best Minds is Jonathan Rosen’s powerful account of an American tragedy, set in the final decades of the American century, an era that coincided with the emptying out of state mental hospitals. It is a story about the bonds of friendship, the price of delusion and the mystery of identity. Tender, funny and harrowing by turns, The Best Minds is both a beautifully rendered coming of age story and an indictment of the profound neglect of mental illness in our society.

Six suns

Thanks to my friend JK for linking me to the series of scifi shorts going under the banner "A Thousand Suns". There are six episodes. This is the first -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXaVgAxtYFI

For what it's worth (nothing), I'd rank 'em, best to least best: 5, 1, 3, 2, 4, 6. The sixth is the only real weak instalment. I hope they make more eps.