The sssentence isss...

I will now pass arrogant judgement on six of the aforementioned amateur manuscripts.

"House": The premise – one woman's recollections of her childhood homes – didn't prepare me for tales of the brutal discipline imposed on her and her mum by traditionalist grandparents. There are instances of wonder and happiness, though.

"What's For Suppa!?": Mono sketches and random doodles like you'd do in a boring lecture or shareholders' meeting. But redeemed by a strip questioning the longevity of gratis electronic journals and, on that basis, defending tree-based media.

"A Zine About Canberra": Soldier through the virtual sociology essay on the Canberran identity and you'll be treated to amusing pars of local knowledge on cool/infamous spots around the nation's capital. Even the poetry stuff at the end doesn't suck.

"Folk Marketing #3": Snaps of garage sale signs. When you look at a bunch in a row, you really notice the idiosyncrasies. The cover pic - four rival signs competing for space on a telegraph pole - is priceless. But who holds a sale from 7am-3pm?!

"Mixtape #10": Cooking, sewing, handicrafts, etc. Not my bag, although I did groove on the article about squatting and "dropping out", and reviews of old paperbacks about same. Top-notch production, fittingly. Proved a big hit with my siblings.

"Westside Angst #15": A chap without a functioning television analyses, in gonzo fashion, the memoirs and fiction that got him through winter. Except for the odd clanger (eg. "for all extensive purposes"), the writing is literate and engaging.


L: Radio sampler of the "North, South, East, West" anthology* (2009) by Tim Finn, "Absolution" (2003) by Muse.

P: "Broken Destiny" again, but with a character I created - Santa Claw, a blue goblin in a red'n'white suit who wields Death's scythe.

W: "Inside The Vatican", a slices-o'-life two-parter (Easter and Christmas); "Crossing The Line", about Joe Dresnok and other US military defectors to North Korea. Have all three eps of "Yellowstone" recorded and waiting to go. Must get to them soon.


*"A journey through the years of Split Enz, Crowded House, The Finn Brothers and solo."