Last five movies watched

"Lost Lamp" was a rewatch - still delightful. I'm counting "The Promised Land" because it's a special that runs for 97 minutes.

Pick of the bunch: "The Two Popes". Unusual, enlightening and moving. An acting masterclass by messrs Hopkins and Pryce.

[Viewed on: Disney+, Prime, Kanopy, ABC iView, Netflix.]

Last five movies watched

Between May 2015 and February 2016, I got through a metric crapton of fillums and displayed the posters here on DGN (usually) in groups of five, along with my...

Pick of the bunch: "Miss Fisher". Such an enjoyable romp - and a lot more Indiana Jones than the artwork suggests, believe me.

[Viewed on Kanopy, Kanopy, Netflix, Prime, Kanopy.]

Who review: "The Flying Dutchman"/"Displaced"

In Big Finish audio adventure The Flying Dutchman by Gemma Arrowsmith (half of a two-parter from September this year), the TARDIS crew of the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Hex land on…no, not the ghost ship of maritime legend but another vessel fleeing from her in terror.

As the team attempt to uncover the secrets of the Dutchman, they must try to make a bunch of superstitious 18th-century sailors see reason – a job made no easier by their own barely explainable appearance. There’s also a nice subplot with Ace in a mentoring role.

While the shipboard scenes and themes (e.g. the threat of mutiny) are familiar, and the ending is of the kind found in a famous cartoon, the fan-pleasing characterisation (puppet master Seven, warrior Ace, realist Hex) and stirring music/rich effects make for a memorable voyage.

During The Flying Dutchman, Ace references the Mary Celeste, the mysteriously abandoned real-life ship that’s been linked to several of the Doc’s regenerations. It springs to mind again at the start of the second story in this release, Displaced by Katharine Armitage.

The TARDIS has been drawn to a location – never a good thing! – which turns out to be a dwelling seemingly occupied by a modern Earth family until just before the heroes arrived. But why has the home’s A.I. locked them in? And why has the TARDIS locked them out?

Although there are parallels with the first tale (“The wind and water...”), this is more of a puzzle and features a clever bit of wordplay. The smaller supporting cast also means the regulars, particularly Philip Olivier’s Hex, have greater opportunity to convey their thoughts and feelings.

To go into any further detail about Displaced would risk spoiling its surprises. The exposition is complicated, but logical enough. The spooky beginning is perhaps stronger, though, and left this reviewer wondering, Are sinister smart homes the new haunted houses?

In conclusion, The Flying Dutchman /Displaced is doubly satisfying in that it offers a slick, action-packed historical and a cerebral sci-fi investigation. Despite this contrast, the characters remain totally consistent, for which the writers (and possibly script editors) deserve credit.

Eyewear

Got my first pair of multifocals. My old glasses were too weak for reading and too strong for watching TV across the room and such. Can tell it's going to take me a while to get used to these.

I was a teenage cinema usher

My duties were to transfer ice to the candy bar from the ice machine in the storeroom, replace empty bags of post-mix syrup, add the ingredients to the popcorn maker (kernels, yellow gunk, orange powder) and start it popping, tear the tickets of peeps entering the cinema, check they weren't bringing in drinks bought elsewhere (the owners were fanatical about this) and send 'em to buy paper cups from us if they were, direct latecomers to seats with my trusty torch, mop the lavs, vacuum the foyer/stairs, help sell candy or movie merch if the sales staff were super busy, make up our own brand of lolly bags and choc tops (those stingy owners again), do the lunch/dinner run, do the post-office run, give the cinema a quick tidy between screenings, give it a proper clean last thing at night, also the projection booth, wash and wipe up in the kitchen (the popcorn maker was a PAIN), take the trash out to the giant bin behind the shopping centre, change the marquee display on a weekly basis, and whatever else I was asked to do - from carrying film canisters to sorting piles of posters to giving my opinion on a new trailer. 

One projectionist was nice enough to play a Rush tape through the whiz-bang stereo system for me while I cleaned the cinema. He immediately received an intercom call from an older lady in the box office requesting a return to our usual muzak.

As soon as pressing tasks were done, I was permitted to watch the rest of the current flick from my usher seat. For that reason, the longer the picture, the better. "Dances With Wolves" ran for weeks at our joint and afforded me a tremendous bludge. Three hours plus extras! Cheers, Kev!

Best of the beasts

I bet you have a favourite animal. Perhaps it's the roly-poly groundhog, which builds separate homes for summer and winter. Nah, it's probably a breed of cat or dog. Chances are you also have a fave bird. My father's is the blue crane, because seeing them brought him a sense of peace when he was recovering from cancer treatment. I doubt you have a favourite fish. I'm not talking about a species you reckon is delicious (mmm...barramundi). I mean a fish with which you feel an affinity. Erm, unless you're a fisherperson or marine biologist or something. Then you probs do. But enough about the creatures of the land, air and sea. What's your #1 MYTHICAL MONSTER? The chimera gets my vote, and here's a fantastically sculpted and painted example I stumbled across a while ago.

Rodcast Pecommendation

The origin of the seven-part "Finding Drago" pod was an Oz cinephile's curiousity being aroused by a line in the Wikipedia write-up for "Rocky IV" (since removed) that mentioned an unofficial sequel novella. Roping in a pal to help, he began researching said text and its fans, which led to an even more interesting hunt for its mysterious author, a decorated journo who'd supposedly met a tragic end.

If that makes "F/D" sound rather serious, it isn't. It's two jokers having a blast with every wacky new lead they uncover in relation to Todd Noy's "Drago: On Mountains We stand".

The first episode lives here - https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/finding-drago/the-first-thread/10588894

Be careful where you click next or you might jump ahead and ruin it for yourself, and also 'cos the chaps have done an unrelated second season, entitled "Finding Desperado".

S2 was inspired by an item in the Guinness World Records 2005 about history's youngest professional film-maker, Dutchman Sidney Ling, who in 1973, at the age of 13, reportedly released canine detective caper "Lex The Wonder Dog". Our sleuths set out to discover if this was entirely true...

MacquarieCon '94

Found all of my paperwork from MacquarieCon '94. For the non-Aussies among you, this was (is?) a role-playing convention run at Macquarie University in December by their student gaming club, MURPS.

According to the personalised timetable, I was player #150. I've always been prompt at enrolling in stuff, so there may have been twice that many attendees. 26 years hence, I can't be sure. I do remember it being popular.

It appears I played 10 sessions over the weekend - nine with my team named Splintered Gestalt and one on my lonesome, when my buddies took part in a "Magic: The Gathering" tourney. I dug the CCG, but viewed it as a waste of a con slot.

The Friday sessions were 9am-12, 1-4, 4.30-7.30 and 8-11pm(!). The same on Saturday. Sunday was 9am-12 and 1-4pm only. We subsisted on junk food sold at the convention, and kipped on a friend's parents' floor.

Here's a rundown of what I played:

1. "Shadow Of The Sw*st*k*": WW2 supers using the "Heroes Unlimited" system. I was Captain Venger, who was like a flying Captain America crossed with Batman. His fortune was tied to the success of US war bonds, so while he was anti-killing, he wasn't without an agenda. I won a trophy.

2. "A Bridge Too Far": "Cyberpunk" system. From what I can gather at this distance, the plot involved contaminated water, clones, celeb-worshipping gangs and had a lot to do with teeth. I was dental assistant Sarah Malley, also a part-time drug dealer with a weakness for dodgy dudes.

3. "The Call": Haunted-house scenario for "AD&D 2E". If this is the "Ravenloft" adventure I *think* it was (there were others), the seemingly inexperienced young GM frustrated so many of our ideas that my mate got angry at him, stormed out and listened to the footy on his car radio instead.

4. "Sleep Of The Damned": Experimental systemless module about the dreams of the amoral/immoral. Everyone was assigned the role of a different type of horrible, horrible extremist (conspiracy-believing t*rr*r*st for me), and - spoiler warning! - it transpired we were trapped together in Hell.

5. "Disconnection": Didn't manage to retain my character sheet. This was a "Shadowrun" tale set against a war in Europe and the decline of magic.

6. "Mystics & Mediums": Multiform with a clever premise about a Mystic Expo coinciding with freak weather events on the hippie-packed north coast of NSW. I was a cop trying to protect folks from natural (and supernatural?) threats. After the huge storm hit in game, I shoved my head under a real-life tap so I could re-enter the main room with my hair dripping. Method acting!

7. "Hunter Planet": Surprise, surprise - "Hunter Planet" system. The usual madness associated with this homegrown RPG. My chara was a wormlike alien bodybuilder/hairdresser.

8. "The Best Laid Plans": I want to say this was a "Flashing Blades" romp. Then I want to say we utterly blew it, dallying at some fancy masked ball too long, missing the obvious clues and letting the baddie(s) get an unassailable lead on us. Never mind.

9. "Slayer's People": System was "SLA Industries", can't speak to the specifics. Imagine aspects of "The Tripods" (E.T. overlords), "Blade Runner", "The Running Man" and White Wolf's "World Of Darkness" and you'll catch the vibe. I was an Ebon called Jester, apparently.

10. "Treasure Hunt": "AD&D 2E". RPGA "Living City" underwater expedition. Except our party barely left the opening location due to banter and self-invented side quests. We role-played as The Simpsons...whose global-smash show the GM amazingly didn't watch. But he thought the concept was amusing when we explained it to him later. And a couple of us won trophies.

I'm positive my team-mates scored additional prizes, but I can't recall what they were for. "M:TG"?

Looking back on MacquarieCon '94 now, I'm impressed with the variety of the modules - as well as with the appetite for gaming we possessed in our early 20s (not to mention our ability to thrive on a rubbish diet). Would I do it all again? Yeah, but maybe not that "Ravenloft" adventure.

Ad on the back of my timetable for one of the con sponsors -

I'm annoyed...

I'm annoyed by contestants on the Australian edition of "Mastermind" [SBS] being allowed to choose individual movies as their special subjects. Anyone can watch a 90-minute flick, read the corresponding Wikipedia entry for background information and get 6-8 questions correct. If you then do well in the general knowledge portion, that might be enough to win on a slow night. To me, the entire body of work of a certain director or actor is an acceptable specialty. A single film isn't. Spending years studying everything there is to know about Napoleon's battles, birdlife in South-East Asia or the novels of Toni Morrison makes you a mastermind. Doing a cram on "Repo Man" the week prior to the show doesn't.

Annual ritual

Selecting a calendar is a big deal for me, especially now I am back to essentially living out of a bedroom. (When I had a flat sans flatmates, I'd hang a few around the place.) For 2021, following much online searching, I'm going with the NYC Metropolitan Museum Of Art's Egypt Every Day, which features 365 different artefacts to admire/examine. I prefer calendars that are spiral bound, with a metal loop designed to fit over a picture hook. Unfortunately, E/E/D is of the sort that only have a small hole punched through them. They need to be hung on a nail and can rip under their own weight if you're not careful. The solution is to reinforce the pages on both sides with clear self-adhesive eyelets. Which I've just done.

Sonic temple

I was eight or nine when I received "Sonic Invader". My Atari 2600 lay in the distant future, so I made the most of the handheld. It was colourful (faked with screen overlays) and noisy (sound effects plus little ditties). I adored it! The maximum score of 199 wasn't tricky to attain with spare lives. Before long, I could do it every game without dying. Then on the advanced setting. Even holding the unit the wrong way round. Later, I experimented with clocking it in the minimum number of waves of aliens. The lower they got, the more they were worth. I was zapping each enemy just before it invaded, along with any bonus-point UFOs that appeared. However, playing with the zone above your ship obscured by cardboard proved a step too far.

(Only if they are well treated)

I've ridden a horse, of course. Been in a bunch of drawn carts and carriages. Have a memory of a donkey ride at a school fete. Once travelled on a wagon pulled by bullocks at an historical township. And another time went camel riding on a farm with sister AC and her hubby. Never seen the world go by from atop an elephant, though. There's still time!