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...