So you think you can angst?

"Space Hulk (3rd Ed.)" @ TC's
The uniquely detailed miniatures and map tiles in the revamped "S/H" take boardgame presentation to the next level, while special characters and additional rules broaden the scope of the humans-exploring-an-alien-infested-spaceship scenarios. It's designed for two players, but since neither SC or I had played 1st or 2nd Ed. for 15 years, it was agreed we'd share control of the "Illawarra" Genestealers, and our host would be the Space Marines (Cronulla Sharks chapter). Luck is still a major factor, so if your opponent rolls like a demon AND has the advantage of familiarity, you've got Buckley's of winning. Mission #1 saw the humies achieve their fiery extermination objective with zero casualties. An improving grasp of the necessary strategies allowed us to slaughter 50% of the intruders in Mission #2 before exhausting our reinforcements. In Mission #3, we were surprised when (a) the fancy dice finally betrayed their owner, and (b) our plan to lure the Marines and their precious robot into an ambush worked. They were eviscerated to a man. I look forward to Missions #4-12 and the introduction of the Librarian and Broodlord. Also played on the evening was "Gulogulo", a kids' game belonging to TC's daughter where, in a clever variation on "Pick-Up Sticks", bears racing along a randomly generated path attempt to steal coloured eggs from a nest without upsetting the rest of the contents. And "Tikala" - occupy tracts of South American jungle, establishing base camps, guarding ziggurats, excavating shiny artefacts and undermining the efforts of your rivals to do the same. I reckon it's "The Settlers Of Catan" crossed with "Incan Gold".

Black Cherry Club @ Hermann's Bar
This regular alternative gig unites several urban tribes through their common passion for consuming loud music and cheap alcohol in an unpretentious setting. Glamorous goths mix with trendy-teed indies, sweaty headbangers, tattooed punks, jiving rockabillies, unaffiliated droppers-in and statuesque transvestites (shamazons?). The DJ sets are as eclectic as they are floor-fillingly effective, and interspersed with burlesque routines in which a wimple might well be paired with a riding crop. This was my funnest BCC to date. I received props for my "Shazam!" T-shirt, chatted to smart, sexy chicks, didn't get rat-arsed, dug the live band, had a bit of a dance and, erm, was mistaken for a cop who's allegedly my spitting image, apart from his moustache. But when SC - the reveller I knew best - announced he was leaving, a weird coping mechanism kicked in and I hastily exited, leading to morning-after compunction about rudely neglecting to say goodbye to anyone. Will I ever get the hang of this socialising lark? :-)

Shute Shield grand final @ SFS
Bright sunlight belied a temperature in the teens as chilling gusts scattered food wrappers, plus the free newspapers unwisely distributed beforehand, around the stadium and across the field. PB and myself were among the 7,000 assembled for a 2008 g/f replay between ladder-topping Sydney University and Randwick - both sides bolstered by Super 14ers and Wallabies (Waugh, Mitchell, etc.). The first 40 featured rugby of a satisfactory standard and was relatively even; the second was an absolute error-fest that eventually saw the Students exultant, 24-19, over my Galloping Greens. A-frickin'-gain.


D: Tooheys Extra Dry 5 Seeds cider.

L: "Showbiz" (1999) by Muse. The fave band of a cat I respect. Ergo, the backtracking begins.

P: "SoulCalibur: Broken Destiny" on PSP. Thank ye, SC. Steadily unlocking bonus content with Sophitia; Siegfried shaping as my skewering nemesis.

W: 240-minute American Experience/Frontline documentary "The Mormons","UFC #103" (Franklin vs Belfort). I'm not angry, Rich, I'm just disappointed...

Australia's next top hermit

DRINKIN':
* Bitch extra-strength premium lager.

EATIN':
* Goji berries and Coconut Pocky. Which should boost my credibility with Tibetan lamas and Asian schoolgirls, respectively.

LISTENIN':
* "The Incident" (2009) by Porcupine Tree. Ta, LA.

PERVIN':
* Hegre-Art.com. Our magazine has dealt with Petter Hegre in the past and found him to be a difficult customer. But damn, he can photograph naked women.

RANKIN':
* The "M:TG - Alara Reborn" intro-pack round robin finished as follows. B/U (4 matches, 9 games); B/R (3,8); U/W (2,6); G/W (1,5); G/R (0,2). I daren't count the hours I spent testing them.

READIN':
* "Batman - Cacophony" (2009) by Kevin Smith, Walt Flanagan and Sandra Hope.
* "Oishinbo A La Carte 19 - Vegetables" (originally collected 2006, English edition 2009) by Tetsu Kariya and Akira Hanasaki. Foodie manga!
* "Inside MMA" Vol. 1 No. 1. Star-studded, 136-page, homegrown effort from the makers of "Blitz".
* "The Lost Symbol" (2009) by Dan Brown. Wangled a review copy.

RE-READIN':
* "Whiteout" (1998-99) and "Whiteout - Melt" (1999-2000) by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber. In order to inform my assessment of the Hollywood adaptation.

RETRO EARWORM:
* "Miss Divine" (1990) by Icehouse. "I was so surprised, I was comprised..." Go on, ya know ya want to - www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk62eHILcik

WATCHIN':
* "UFC Fight Night 19" (Diaz vs Guillard) - a card as rock-solid as a hill giant's head.
* "Hitler's Stealth Fighter".
* "Skippy - Australia's First Superstar". At the height of the prog's popularity, there were 300 million viewers in 129 countries!
* "Stephen Fry In America". Top-dog travelogue of '09?
* "Breaking Boundaries - Ireland's Extraordinary Cricket World Cup". Happy for them, but sad to relive the awful circumstances surrounding Bob Woolmer's death.
* "The Trials Of J. Robert Oppenheimer" (pts 1 & 2). David Strathairn was a superb choice to portray the detached genius of JRO.
* "The Ultimate Fighter 10 - The Heavyweights".
* "Dexter" x3.
* Crufts 2009. Somewhat hilarious.

Heartstring ticker-tape parade

My seventh-placed Knights weren't expected to defeat the No. 2 Bulldogs in this Saturday gone's qualifying final - and they didn't. But I made the trek to ANZ Stadium to lend my support and I don't regret it. Because I'd purchased one of the earlybird tickets reserved for our members, I had a prime seat right on the halfway line, in the midst of the Novocastrian diehards. The Homebush air was less frigid than usual, so my fur-lined coat sat in my lap. The Knights cap and scarf stayed on, though. I lobbed too late for the Arrive Alive Cup game, but caught most of the Toyota Cup encounter between the Sea Eagles and Raiders. In the dying minutes, the lead kept switching, with the crowd rallying behind the fellas from the capital - or, depending on your perspective, ganging up on the "Silvertails". It went to golden point and the eighth-placed light greens scored a try to well and truly upset the minor premiers. I inhaled a couple of large hotdogs, suffered terrible indigestion, painfully forced down an OJ, then felt OK again. Prior to the main attraction, they held a series of not unexciting relay races (with a football replacing the baton) involving juniors from each of the NRL clubs. They then wheeled out those flame-thrower thingies, which can now spout patterns as well as vertical jets. When the time came, I plugged in my Sports Ears so as to follow the referee calls and...as you know, we were beaten. But 26-12 is hardly a shameful margin. Especially when we lost a crucial player almost immediately (admittedly, it was a risk to field him injured), managed converted tries in both halves and defended gutsily to the end. They were simply the superior squad on the night. Typically, there were some ratbags in the stands... Like the over-opinionated kid behind me who'd clearly never heard of laryngitis or swear jars. The staggering-drunk woman who was shocked at being ejected by police after 20-odd glasses of wine (she actually fell on me while negotiating the stairs). The obnoxious Knights fan who attempted to blame the loss on the rest of us not cheering as loudly or often as him (you're a disgrace to the jersey, sir!). The dude in the Eels shirt who seemed to be there only to stir the pot, hassling whichever side suited him at that moment. And not forgetting the minority of Bulldogs supporters who...let's just say they appeared more interested in the schadenfreude to be had than the rugby league on display. Ah, don't pay too much attention to all that - I'm a fuddy-duddy who even frowns on clapping an opposition error that benefits his own team. And it wasn't a great deal to tolerate for the opportunity of applauding the Knights in person at the conclusion of another hard-fought campaign.


D: Coopers 62 Pilsener, Coopers Mild Ale.

L: "Ashes To Ashes OST" (2008).

R: "Bleach #28"; "Spud - The Madness Continues..." (2007) by John Van De Ruit; "No Law In The Land" (2009), a "knights templar mystery" by Michael Jecks.

W: "In The Name Of The King - A Dungeon Siege Tale" (2007) wot I got from PG, promo DVD of "Maiko Haaaan!!!" (2007), "Erasure At The BBC" (overview of their two decades on "Top Of The Pops") on ABC2, "Top Gear" celebrity laps and La Roux clips/interviews on YouLittleBeautTube, "Duffy Live At LSO St Luke's" (2009) on Music Max. Rolled a "1" on my saving throw versus slinky Welsh chanteuses. Also, the David Suchet episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" (on SBS1) was perhaps the most incredible yet.

Rain lord's roofless temple

Nothing to report save that I wish my stay at the pub on Friday had been shorter and my visit to my parents on Saturday and Sunday could have been far, far longer.


L: "American Saturday Night" (2009) by Brad Paisley, "God Is Not Great - How Religion Poisons Everything" (2007) read in unabridged form by author Christopher Hitchens.

R: Oz "FourFourTwo" (Oct.), "The Otaku's Encyclopedia - An Insider's Guide To The Subculture Of Cool Japan" (2009) by Patrick W. Galbraith.

W: The third-season openers of "Greek" and "The Guild", Alain De Botton's TED.com lecture "A Kindler, Gentler Philosophy Of Success", "Batman - The Brave And The Bold" cartoons.