Tabards & Scabbards

Been doing some RPG-related reading... "Call Of Cthulhu: Gateways To Terror" (three mini modules) was satisfying without being spectacular. I ran one of 'em. "D&D: Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide" was essentially a Forgotten Realms highlights package. It's among the biggest-bang-for-your-buck 5E HCs. "D&D: Dragon Delves" I am still working my way through, one micro quest (and shade of wyrm) at a time. "Original Adventures Reincarnated - Grimtooth's Old-School Traps" is also a read in progress. Nostalgic silliness. No sign of Grimtina yet.

Viddying: "Louis Theroux - The Settlers". As disturbing as I had heard.

CD Ima revisiting: "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?" by Megadeth.

Solving (with difficulty!):

Sharing then deleting:

Antarctic blast

(And I don't mean rereading "Ninja High School".)

Do yourself a favour and stump up the cashish for "Birdigo" on Steam, a word game as addictive as it is charming. Think "Wordle" meets "Balatro" meets, erm, "Wingspan". It provides those thrilling moments where you go, "If I push this wacky little strategy as far as possible, I *might* just smash this run."

Maybe 20 years ago, there was a website called (from memory) Erotic Falconry, where some joker would add raptors in to naughty piccies - like having an eagle sitting in the corner of the bedroom where a couple was going at it. I feel like the web has lost that nutty side. So do these two.

"Only five were ever made, and only 10 survive" (counterfeiting gag)

When you've a heart condition like mine, you must take antibiotics before visiting the dentist. Which is what I did today. Despite not having had a dental checkup for four years, I knew how fanatical I am about thoroughly brushing and flossing, and wasn't shocked there were zero issues. The ol' fangs merely needed a bit of a professional clean. The doctor was bloody - or rather, bloodlessly - excellent, too. Made an appointment to see him again next year.

This is probs the end of my LEGO journey for a while as I'm out of display room:

Because why not recreate a tragic cinema scene in yer plant pots? Poor Artax.

New audio dynamite

Publisher's blurb:

A stolen car worth $7 million. A broke private investigator. Best friends turned worst enemies. 

And the global manhunt neither saw coming.

In 2001, thieves parked a box truck in front of an aging tycoon's factory, cut the phone lines and used an overhead crane to lift out their prize: a 1938 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Teardrop coupe - "the most beautiful car in the world" and one of only two in existence - then they disappeared into the night.

The tycoon died. The trail went cold. End of story.

Until it wasn't.

In 2015, Joe Ford was a PI trying to scrape together enough money to help his daughter, who suffers from a disease causing her to go blind, when he got a tip.

A mechanic in the French Alps had been burned by a thief and had a secret to share: the location of the missing Talbot-Lago. 

The reward for finding the car would mean Joe could not only save his daughter's sight but also set his family up for life.

Using skills gleaned from his mentor Chris Gardner, who taught Joe everything he knew about the business of rare luxury cars, the investigation would span a decade and involve the FBI, Interpol, a global crime ring...and a shocking betrayal.

Elite racing machines, high-end thefts and billionaires who will stop at nothing for a moment of glory - The Million-Dollar Car Detective is unlike any heist story ever told.

Unrelated?:

Unhealthy, unwealthy and unwise

My heart specialist asked me a while back to have a cholesterol test. To my knowledge, I'd never had one before. Got a referral from my GP, fasted for 14 hours overnight and arrived at the pathology place not long after it opened. The nurse couldn't draw the blood from my left arm - and she wasn't sure she'd be able to draw it from my right, either. Instant trauma. Thankfully, the right arm worked OK. She said the doc should have told me to drink heaps of water. I only had one regular glass when I woke up. So now I have two sore arms...but at least it's over with. Will be interesting to learn my cholesterol level. I believe I eat a healthy diet. That isn't always enough, though, as sometimes (aging) bodies struggle with certain tasks. There's honestly not much room for improvement with my diet, so if the reading is too high, I may need medication to fix the problem.

Wanted a Jolyne fig. This'un had the prettiest face. Among those that didn't cost hundreds, I mean.

After a couple of blissfully warm days during which the lawn (mostly) dried out and I was able to garden again, winter is reasserting control. It's grey, windy and the temperature is dropping :-(

Mick S. Coe

COMIC COVER OF THE WEEK

By Ben Bradi. Reminds me of those lovely painted covs from the "Phantom" publishers in Sweden (Egmont) and Germany (Zauberstern) that make me jealous whenever I see 'em.

SONG OF THE WEEK

"La Machiavela" by Flora Fishbach (France). "Catching Bodies" by Sekou (UK) and "Dancing Alone" by KiiiKiii (Korea) are also worth your chucking in your earholes. Oh, and I must remember to further investigate the band Transportna (Lithuania).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TimpFI8qrPo

The lady herself:

DISTURBING-EST DOCOFILM OF THE WEEK

The lack of proper health care, abuses of power, prejudices and punishments, honey trapping, etc. were worse than you probably imagine.

Blast from the past:

Margaux T'synnes

Free official "Raspberry Pi" magazine. You just need to wait until the ish has been on sale for a month. (I wish they still made multiformat games rag "Wireframe". It was superior to anything on the newsstand.)

https://magazine.raspberrypi.com/

I think "Evercade Evolution" may be doneski. Even so, you can access the past issues here for nix.

https://evercade.info/evercade-evolution-magazine/

While "Super Cellphone Gamer" is not-very-stealthy stealth advertising, it does feature champs from the legendary "Mean Machines". And it is well done, with amusing nods to the technology of old.

https://www.supercellphonegamer.com/home/

I'll always read a comic before a book - and always a magazine before a comic. It's the way I'm wired. Grew up devouring every mag I could lay my hands on. They were the ultimate source of up-to-date info. I then worked in the industry for approx. 20 years.

That being the case, the "Wyrd Science" rags I received from SC are all read. As are the vintage editions of "Arcane" I was given by PG. As is the entire run of "Next Magazine", which I ordered from Fusion a little while ago (ish #9 is in the post). That last title gave me a great feel for the scene! Highly recommended if you own the computer in question, as I proudly do.

The figure collection grows:

Have I shared this on DGN?:

Eclectic blanket/"Tina said you're a ****"

Went to Collector Con at the Newie Entertainment Centre. Lots of stalls, large crowd. Two most popular products by far: Pokemon cards, Hot Wheels cars. Everything else a distant second. Pops just hanging on.

Was contemplating a "TMNT" Party Wagon when a chap suddenly plucked it off the hook and bought it. Luckily, I found an identical example for the same price on a different dealer table on my way out of the convention.

Pod recs:

Nonsense: (Not sure where I saved this from, but I noted, "'A Fine Romance' by Loopy Dave.")

The jig is up!:

Watching: Three-part BBC documentary "Julius Caesar - The Making Of A Dictator" (2023). 

The guarding of the change

Was surprised to realise I had completed "Gloomhaven: Jaws Of The Lion". The final fight wasn't as tough as 1-2 of the earlier ones. I thought I had a few scenarios left to play through, but it turns out they were merely random events which required drawing the right cards. Learnt that on Reddit, where plenty of others who had beaten the boardgame expressed similar feelings to mine. The word "anticlimactic" was used more than once. Anyway, I consider it done'n'dusted now. Gave me MANY hours of lonely strategic fun. I've no interest in replaying with the two characters I didn't use the first time - there's not enough variety in the missions for that. Did my best to reset my copy to its original state and will be gifting it to RS2.

Next, I shall be tackling an even bigger, even heavier b/g, that's been waiting patiently on a bookshelf for several years since I backed the Kickstarter campaign: "Roll Player Adventures". I hear it's solo-tastic. Here's an official image:

And here's Smurfette posing with the severed head of the wizard Gargamel, who was actually her creator:

Divine council regulation

Another finished build:

Watching "Ottoman Empire By Train" [Foxtel]. Love historically inspired travelogues. Love railway journeys. Love Professor Alice Roberts, with her signature pink hair and sketchpad.

The clearout of old picture folders continues:

Sunstorm

Had dinner with DJ, DQ and DW, three of the four fellas I hung out with most in high school (RIP, MV). Always great to share memories, developments, opinions, jokes, pub grub and tap beer with some old mates.

Binged "Final Draft" [Netsy]. Kind of a Japanese version of "Physical: 100", except with the emphasis on ex-star athletes having more to prove. Also, they lived together and there were outdoor and academic tasks.

COMIC COVER OF THE WEEK

Almost chose one of the covs for "Exquisite Corpses #4", but a missing anatomical detail annoyed me. So, instead, a more predictable, admittedly less inventive, yet still rock-solid option. It's by Dan Panosian.

SONG OF THE WEEK

I initially thought this was going to be "Swimming Beetles" by Beatpella House (Korea). Then I fell hard for "Hey You" by The Belair Lip Bombs (Oz). "Move Move" by Ako (Japan) nearly threw a spanner in the works. Ultimately, though, I think I have to go with "Good Faith" by Secret World (Oz). Guest vocalist Shogun* kills it on the second verse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOAYoE2277c

BEST FILM I SAW IN THE PAST WEEK

After being put off by a premise I thought was too cute - world leaders gathered at a remote location when the planet turns to poop - I gave this a chance and, am pleased to report, was entertained by its (very) black political comedy. The new "Nosferatu", OTOH, is a gorgeous waste of time and money. 2004 doco "I Like Killing Flies", about an NYC eatery, is a classic eccentric-misfit yarn, if yer in the mood.

*Can't mention Shogun without remembering his former group Royal Headache - or the fact my bud AH privately quick-sold his Commodore station wagon with my copy of their album "High" in the CD player. (He apologised profusely and offered to buy a replacement.)

big

When we were teenagers, my mate JH was known by family and friends as Big. His adopted (and considerably smaller) younger brother, who had the same Christian name, was called Little. For a while, their parents looked after a ward of the state who ALSO had the same first name as Big and Little. He became Medium.

During his artistic youth, Strine superstar Barry Humphries produced a number of works he dubbed Bigscapes, each prominently featuring the word "BIG". Example >>>

The best character in the "Sonic The Hedgehog" franchise is Big The Cat.

Back in about 1990-91, I purchased the self-titled debut album from US band Mr Big without having heard them. I did so because, (a) I knew they had toured with my beloved Rush, (b) The cover was very Rush-like, and (c) There was a song titled "Addicted To That Rush". To my horror, I discovered that rather than lyrically complex, uplifting prog rock their music was, to my ears, crap.

B.I.G. (B.I.G. is good) is a recursive acronym I just invented a la the ancient computing term M.U.N.G. (M.U.N.G. until no good). According to Google, B.I.G. can also stand for Believe In God. Or, indeed, Goddess.

Unconnected to bigness: Am hooked on soccer reality series "Necaxa" on Disney+. Sort of "Welcome To Wrexham" in Mexico. Doesn't have quite the same depth yet (four episodes in), nor are the stakes anywhere near as high. Nevertheless, it has made me a fan of the club and of its new celeb boss/face of the program, Eva Longoria, who comes across as a genuinely caring person.

Just use auto lock

Had a pneumonia vaccine for the first time on Wednesday. Unusually for me, there were no obvious side effects. Unless...

Got the car serviced yesterday. While I was waiting for the mechanics to work their magic (they only take 3-4 hours), I walked over to the uni to eat lunch and read an updated Target novel in the library. The food options now are pathetic! If you want anything other than an overpriced sandwich, you're SOOL. For an institution of 35K+ students (most of 'em at this campus), it beggars belief. Settled for Subway. Ripped through this'un and left it in the library-foyer book nook for a fellow nerd to find, along with five other kewl novels I'd brought from home for that express purpose -

If you're wondering, the above features two extra stories involving Romana 2, Doctors and Tharils.

Collected my new glasses today. Optometrist slightly increased my prescription. Old ones seem fine to me, so I'm sticking with those for a while longer. I kinda like the idea of having a stronger pair in reserve. And I can still locate a tiny piece of LEGO dropped onto multihued carpet without too much trouble. Speaking of which, Diagon Alley is complete!

Well, that's all of my non-news. Peace.

Xodcast x'recommendation

Appropriately enough, since Mr Stewart is an intellectual and moral hero of mine.

You should go back and listen to his similarly excellent explorations of argument and ignorance as well.

On a related note, two-part documentary "Real Life Of A Roman Soldier" [Foxtel] taught me plenty.

Doing this now 'cos...

...I'll be too busy tomozza.

COMIC COVER OF THE WEEK

By Angel Hernandez. For the idea as much as the execution. Stood out from a largely humdrum field.

SONG OF THE WEEK

"Totem" by Ummet Ozcan (Netherlands). Dropped 10 days ago, but it took me a while. Wait for the chorus!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9x7Bk-xxSo

BEST FILM I SAW IN THE PAST WEEK

2016 Italian drama "Perfect Strangers" [Kanopy]. Riveting, darkly amusing and thought-provoking.

K. summary: 

"Paolo Genovese’s multi award-winning comedy of manners is a fiendishly clever take on decorum in the age of smartphones. During a dinner party, seven friends decide to play a dangerous game. The attendees place their cellphones on the table and agree to make all texts and calls public in an attempt to prove they have nothing to hide. Rapid fire and wildly entertaining, 'Perfect Strangers' poses the question: How well do we really know those close to us?"

Gone but not forgotten by me

At Aussie role-playing conventions in the 1990s, there used to be light-hearted games based around Tiny Teddies biscuits, where the players would bring a box each, and the biccies would function as their life points. The GM would instruct them to scoff a handful when things went wrong. None left? All over, Red Rover.

There were also games (term employed more loosely here) in which you constructed a colourful fantasy creature out of Play-doh, agreed on its combat abilities with the GM, then all of the participants fought their critters in an arena. I think it was called Claydonians. If you moved into melee range/fired a projectile and rolled a hit, you might be allowed to, say, poke the enemy with one finger. Creatures whose doughy bodies became too mangled were kaput. Last critter standing won.

Trollball, from the "RuneQuest" universe, was also once a thang. I still read about cons where Jugger - from 1989 scifi flick "The Salute Of The Jugger" - is played, so perhaps that can be considered the successor to Trollball. I'm sure I'm forgetting other oddities from the conventions of old. Do they stage multiforms in 2025?

He's talking, I'm walking

(Latest listenation on my peregrinations.)

Official blurb:

"'When The Going Was Good' is Graydon Carter's lively recounting of how he made his mark as one of society's most talented editors and shapers of culture. Carter arrived in NYC from Canada with little more than a suitcase, a failed literary magazine in his past and a keen sense of ambition. He landed a job at 'Time', went on to work at 'Life', co-founded 'Spy' and edited 'The New York Observer' before catching the eye of Conde Nast chairman Si Newhouse, who tapped him to run 'Vanity Fair'.

"With his inimitable voice and raconteur's quip, Carter brings readers inside the drawing rooms of the great and not-always-good of America, Britain and Europe. He assembled one of the best-ever stables of writers and photographers under one roof, and here he recreates in real time the steps he took to ensure that 'Vanity Fair' during his 25-year run cemented its place as the epicentre of art, culture, business and politics. Charming, candid and brimming with humour, 'When The Going Was Good' perfectly captures the last golden age of print magazines from the inside out."

5 Danish pop songs wot I really like

Hoping I haven't linked to any of these prev. I know I plugged "Stor Mand" a few years back or that'd be included. So Tobias Rahim misses out this time, even though I dig pretty much everything he releases.

Natasja, Tessa, Karen Mukupa - "Til Banken" (2020)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QnvLRqFPPQ

Mad genius Simon Kvamm's cover of Malte Eberts'/Gulddreng's "Model" (originally 2016) from the reality series "Toppen Af Poppen" in 2022. That's ME in the orange shirt. Shame about the scandal involving a member of the house band, I loved that show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfhnT_8gPds

Blaest - "Videre" (2023)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cCE2vXIV2c

Malte Ebert - "Er Det Mig Du Elsker?" (2025)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFqJd2KwX-g

The Minds Of 99 - "Under Din Sne" (2022). Immortal track!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCWEHOQGQb8

Have a nice weekend.

Roaring candle

My earliest memory of "The Goon Show" is of Dad listening to it on ABC radio - and frequently chuckling - while I as a young kid struggled to understand what the hell was going on. Later, I found that my best cousins, TH and GH, were also devotees of the program. This was no surprise as they were into all things British and comedy-related. I may have mentioned before that the pair even made their own little humorous audio shows using a portable tape recorder and mic. Later still, I spied some "Goon" tapes in the bedroom of my pal JH. They belonged to his father, who was happy for me to borrow them. I won't say this led to me tracking down every episode or becoming an authority on "T/G/S"; it's just something I've always liked. And recently I've been thoroughly enjoying trawling the archive of the podcast "Goon Pod", which as well as analysing eps and key figures, does interesting tangents on stuff such as Jonathan Miller's uniquely strange and striking 1966 "Alice In Wonderland".

Preppy

Spent a fair chunk of today preparing the "Call Of Cthulhu" adventure I hope to run for four friends on Friday night. (Fingers crossed, since I've been feeling a bit off.) It's amazing what GM-ing assistance you can find online nowadays... Printable versions of the prerolleds, handouts and maps. Blank telegrams. Additional pregens in case folks cark it early in the tale. Helpful answers to all of my queries about the world of the 1920s and history/mythology of a certain country. I was even able to view a video in which a fella shared fabulous tips for sprucing up the module in question. Then a two-hour vid that let me to see a group of strangers battle through the basic quest. (My take is bookended with original minor encounters to potentially link in to a campaign. Should demand closer to 3h.)

12th dimension

Smashed these. Plus that entire stack of "Amiga Addict" rags I mentioned. Am also rereading "Scarred For Life" Volume 1, which I rebought (along with Vol. 2-3) after giving my copy to RS1. That "Treasure Hunter" game-in-a-zine features clever mechanics such as using any blank crossword grid as your tomb map.

It me:

Position vacant: Atlantean translator

COMIC COVER OF THE WEEK

By Elias Chatzoudis. Standard cheesecake pose. It were the chess pieces what done it for me, your honour.

SONG OF THE WEEK

"Trip" by Mad Routine (US). To quote sister AC, "Sounds like K-pop, looks like grunge." Among my tracks of the year thus far. Flawless production. Veela's vocals are a gift from the gods.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYqrCIR42g0

If you're a fan of bizarre horror-soap pisstake "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace", check out the Noiselund (Sweden) remix of "One Track Lover" by Todd Rivers.

Require further listenation? "What Is Forever For" by Frost Children (US), "Night Walk" by Shaun (Korea) and "Rise Again" by Kim Ki Tae (also K.).

BEST FILM I SAW IN THE PAST WEEK

Fatal shooting inside the Korean DMZ. The South have their story. The North have a very different explanation. A neutral body investigates, interrogating the survivors from both sides... While it didn't utterly devastate me like director Park Chan-wook's later "Decision To Leave", I am still thinking about it days on.

GPP

RS2 and tried the boardgame "Winter Court" yesterday. The concept is that snowed-in courtiers have naught to do apart from politic - so you win by gaining the most influence. Alas, with two players, the luck factor inherent in the card drawing and the predictability of your opponent's moves, render it unbalanced. We agreed it'd probs be way better with four people.

[Pic pinched from net.]

NEW ARRIVAL

Saw this figure on Selena Is Akane's channel. Had to have it. While I'm an Erza guy, Lucy has her charms.

FINALLY, FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON

(Except I appear to be reposting lots of golden oldies.)