Last five movies watched

Don't waste your time on "The Predator".

Pick of the bunch: "Stieg Larsson - The Man Who Played With Fire".

[Viewed on: Foxtel, Kanopy x3, Disney+.]

Not-so-solo gamebooks

For me, solo gamebooks bring back countless happy memories, including a few that involve other people.

When I stayed over at my childhood pal DP's grandparents' farm, he and I slept in the caravan next to the house. There, he GM-ed me through the fifth Fighting Fantasy adventure, "City Of Thieves", which he'd already played and beaten himself. (He actually became mildly obsessed with it and used to draw pictures of the undead villain, Zanbar Bone.) D. furnished me with extra scene-setting description and clues, but also ridiculed missteps. It was kind of stressful - like taking a test of one's FF proficiency! Fairly sure I didn't complete the quest that night before we retired to our bunks.

Another time, my buddy SV and I had both managed to get hold of the 20th Fighting Fantasy, "Sword Of The Samurai". I was heavily into "AD&D" at this stage. However, he was one of those kids who forever preferred gamebooks - he was a born reader (the most voracious I ever met), not an amateur actor/tabletop gamer. Anyway, we decided to race to the end of "Sword". I recall it took 2-3 hours. We'd compare progress across the room: "Have you fought the kappas?" I wanna claim I reached entry 400 first. I've no proof, but S. was a year younger and I usually won our contests.

You may be aware selected FF titles were converted to digital form for the Commodore 64. My mate LC got the conversion of the second FF, "Citadel Of Chaos". We were SO excited to play it. Surely the incredible graphics and sound of the C64 would take it to a whole new level. Well...erm...those were fine for the era. The problem was that we could no longer cheat like we did with the paper original. The fact I recollect us digging it out of his cardboard box full of tapes on more than one visit suggests we never conquered the bloody thing. Unlike "Friday The 13th" (L. was a horror nut).

In black

Rock group Blue Oyster Cult has sung about - yes, has, the boys are still rolling after 54 years - numerous dark subjects: drug deals gone wrong, "Dominance And Submission", being unafraid of death, monsters, war and more. But I was musing the other day that perhaps none of their songs are as darkly serious as "See You In Black", from 1998's "Heaven Forbid".

Lyrics reprinted without permission, but with the utmost respect:

"See You In Black" (Bloom/Roeser/Shirley)

I'd like to see you in black
It'd make me feel like your husband's dead
I'd like to see you in black
We could make him suffer instead

I'd like to see you in black I'd like to see you in black
I'd like to see you in black I'd like to see you in black

You can't lie to me, Ann
You can't pretend he isn't beating you up
I saw the marks on your hands
I saw the blood on your coffee cup

I'd like to see you in black I'd like to see you in black
I'd like to see you in black I'd like to see you in black
I'd like to see you in black I'd like to see you in black
I'd like to see you in black
I'd like to see you in black

The wind plucks your black lace gown
You're standin' proudly beside his grave
I see you wearing black
Gently smiling and oh-so-brave

We'll run away to Greece
We'll walk the ruins of the Parthenon
We'll drink ouzo in our tub
Watch the dust billow 'til the night's gone

I'd like to see you in black I'd like to see you in black
I'd like to see you in black I'd like to see you in black
I'd love to see you in black I'd love to see you in black
I'd like to see you in black
I'd like to see you in black
In black
In black

Vaccin' 2: Electric Boogaloo

Had my second dose of Pfizer. The clinic was a lot busier - a positive sign. 

Overheard one security guard advising another that if a person hesitated when answering the list of questions about where they'd been, who they'd had contact with and how they were feeling, to scrutinise their ID in case they'd snuck in from outside the area.

I was made to replace my mask because it wasn't new today! (They gave me a freebie.)

A safety rule had also been added where any plastic chair you sat on had to be reversed when you were done, so the cleaning crew knew to immediately give it a once-over.

In the waiting section, the screen in front of me was requesting an update to Microsoft Edge.

The needle nurse was even more thorough than last time.

In the observation section, a different nurse asked if I was OK. That didn't happen after my first jab. 

Nurses, eh? Some of the caringest creatures the gods ever blew breath into. A friend, unsure what to study at uni, enrolled in Nursing partly just to be around them! That guy ended up running a pub in London.

Exiting, I passed a huddle of staff who were pointing up and looking for something in the rafters. "He was over there, then he got scared and went that way." I bet it was a possum.

It's such a relief to be fully vaccinated. I wish you the same opportunity.

Last five movies watched

"Adventures..." (1987) was a rewatch. The House Of Mouse has edited some of the language. I condone replacing a certain slur. I don't condone nerfing a couple of swears that were originally really impactful/memorable. Anyhoo, apart from that, the film holds up well. It's charming! Elisabeth Shue is an absolute queen. 23 playing 17, but a queen. For me, "Adventures..." is comparable to prime John Hughes fare. For a nanosecond, I considered watching the 2016 remake. Yeah-nah, looks awful.

Pick of the bunch: The revelatory "Val". I always thought Mr Kilmer was just another handsome leading man, good at playing roguish types. Turns out he's classically trained, very arty, very serious, very spiritual and has suffered considerable tragedy (not that he's "woe is me"). The strength of the doco is VK has visually documented EVERYTHING he's done in his acting career, going back to childhood. He has boxes and boxes of reels, tapes, etc., which provide some amazing insights into a fascinating life.

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

Last five movies watched

Give "Artemis Fowl" a miss. Not terrible, just completely meh.

Pick of the bunch: "Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop". Gloriously colourful world and characters. The right level of sweetness. Evokes feelings of youthful summers, discovery, loss... And I adored the haiku component (which I'll resist calling a refreshing change).

[Viewed on: Disney+, Prime, Disney+, Prime, Netflix.]