Scores of the veteran

I caved in and purchased the "Return To Ravnica" theme decks, then spent six nights fighting 'em like cardboard gladiators consigned to a coffee table Colosseum...

B/G vs. B/R: (3,-8), (16,-5), (0,20).
B/G vs. U/R: (0,20), (2,0), (12,-47).
B/G vs. U/W: (18,0), (19,0), (0,19).
B/G vs. G/W: (-10,5), (12,-4), (12,0).
B/R vs. U/R: (15,-2), (-1,5), (-2,9).
B/R vs. U/W: (17,0), (-12,3), (11,-1).
B/R vs. G/W: (20,0), (-6,12), (9,-1).
U/R vs. U/W: (7,-1), (-5,3), (14,-1).
U/R vs. G/W: (12,-1), (-18,15), (-10,10).
U/W vs. G/W: (0,7), (-3,18), (-5,10).

1st - Golgari Growth (B/G) - 4 matches, 8 games
2nd - Selesnya Surge (G/W) - 2 matches, 7 games
3rd on countback - Izzet Ingenuity (U/R) - 2 matches, 6 games
4th - Rakdos Raid (B/R) - 2 matches, 6 games
5th - Azorius Advance (U/W) - 0 matches, 3 games

And if you get the title pun, give yourself seven pats on the back.


TV: Ken Burns' multipart doco "Prohibition" (2011).
CD: "Genki Sudo Presents World Order 2012". A gem of an album. It's almost a shame the crew's robotic salarymen videos are so well done as the choreography will overshadow the compositions if you let it.


Deckbuilder's dream - goo.gl/aWBMw


Fascinated by centuries-old cyphers, secret societies and the power of computers to shed new light on both? Then seek ye Noah Shachtman's "The Manuscript" in US "Wired" 20.12.

Kicked upstairs

I went to a steakhouse and ordered the chicken. It was the North Strathfield outpost of the Outback Steakhouse chain, and I was there with DL, HV, their young'uns, CM and AM for a mega-early Christmas luncheon. We expected the OS to be kitsch, possibly even kerrap. Instead, the decor was relatively tasteful, the food good and the service exemplary. I selected the traditional Aussie favourites Gold Coast Coconut Prawns, Alice Springs Chicken and Chocolate Thunder, washed down with a Big Bloke Draught and a Bondi Iceberg. OK, those dishes/drinks aren't traditional anywhere outside of the Outback Steakhouse, but I still selected them. And...in short, a fun afternoon was had by all. When I got home, I watched my recording of UFC 154. The main event saw welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre return from an 18-month layoff to defeat interim champ Carlos Condit in a bloody, brilliant five-rounder. It seemed oddly appropriate after this week's "Degrassi: The Next Generation" MMA storyline (on Oz screens), in which one kid fought another for questioning GSP's ability. Only AM ordered the steak. We should have tried Bushies. No Foster's, sadly ;-)


CD: "Carry Me Back" (2012) by Old Crow Medicine Show

Fetching sticks by the wrong end

AH linked me to this compilation of cool creations (working "Myst" book, Bag End balloon sculpture, Iron Man stained glass window, etc.) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmna2Eh0D20

Eel O'Brian

This TED Talk by gaming evangelist (and first-class oratrix) Jane McGonigal is absolutely worth your time - goo.gl/tZvPM

241

TWTW: half-day hands-on with "Hitman: Absolution"; long-lead Gold Class screening of "Anna Karenina"; blowing 20 bucks on 12th-placed Cavalryman in the Melbourne Cup; Kabuki Shoroku; "56up"; replacing the 8bitcollective-shaped hole in my existence with chipmusic.org; unexpectedly receiving a preview copy of "Assassin's Creed III"; spending Friday night in Warabrook with Mum, Dad and Uncle S.; spending Saturday night in Blackalls Park with JH, SH, AP, etc.; train delays mitigated by absorbing fictions; comic writer/artist Peter Bagge's talk at the Opera House as part of the Graphic festival; the free, sizeable exhibition of Dr Seuss prints that went with it; UFC Macau and Macca's.


TV: Was sorry to reach the finale of "The Valleys". Carley ruled.
CD: "Channel Orange" (2012) by Frank Ocean. A bitter disappointment after 2011 singles "Novacane" and "Swim Good". Offloading this ASAP.

Tenser's herniated disc

Who knew "Doctor Who" had so many swears?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwZphEB33Zg
www.youtube.com/watch?v=v249ael7vrE
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN8jP3LABO8

(As seen in "SFX #228".)


And while we're on the subject of that once-great program...

"Moths look like butterflies from the 70s"
- Karen Gillan, your nuttiness will be missed.

(Part of a tweet reprinted in "DWM #453".)

Friday night (low)lights

Random entries from the Wonder Woman notebook that sits next to my laptop...


Sending out more pheromones than an Orion slave girl.

"He doesn't know where I come from. He doesn't know what I've been through in my life. I've probably had more streetfights than he's ever had in his life. Believe me, I have my own demons in my head. He has no idea how dark I am within my head"
- Georges St-Pierre on Nick Diaz, from "UFC Primetime: Diaz Vs. Condit" (broadcast in January)

Special Agent Muggins

That plot wasn't worth the beer coaster it was scribbled on.

Thrown up by memory V: drug dealer at Shark Bar?

Help! They're holding the rain prisoner in tanks!

King of congee

What Libby Page in "The Guardian" called Facebook's "culture of competitive sharing".

Randwickington-on-Sea

"I set off after flashing nights/With five who also saw the lights"... Genuinely wish I could remember more than the opening couplet of this epic poem I composed in my late teens. [In summary: six men leave a post-apocalyptic village to investigate strange lights in the sky. One expeditioner is murdered in his sleep. The party starts to break down. Further on, another death. Then two more - the men who were supposed to be on guard duty. The narrator angrily trusses up the "killer", only to wake the next day and find that poor wretch has been murdered as well. Stumbling away from the body in shock, he reaches the landing site and is reunited with his own kind.]

Whatever will Amazon think of me?

If a person says they've never cared for The Beatles or The Stones, I'm instantly filled with distrust.

Vita-Weat worms

Are you sure you want to quit (Y/N)?

Didn't do anyfink this week except work like a jerk, rebuild my stomach lining after an horrific bout of food poisoning and go to a reunion that wasn't on...or was on, just somewhere/somewhen else.


TV: "Adventure Time". Sooo much "Adventure Time".
CD: "Synthetica" (2012) by Metric. I'm convinced "Lost Kitten" is a parody of Lana Del Rey (who I also like, don't get me wrong).