Omphalos fluff

We played through the prologue of co-op legacy card game "Earthborne Rangers". The rulebook is TERRIBLE. Fortunately, the basic play loop is fun, and the far-future setting is beyond alluring. We'll begin tackling "E/R" properly next week.

In-built cowardice

NOVELTY RAMEN OF THE WEEK

A tad weird, but pleasant enough - and they do indeed taste like pumpkin pie. (The serving suggestion is with a dollop of whipped cream!) Would eat again...except they were a gift from the States. The fill-to line is quite low, so the noodles end up in a sauce rather than a soup. Went down well with a chicken salad :-)

ADDICTIVE VIDEOGAME OF THE WEEK

This roguelite word game steadily escalates in complexity, has a sense of humour about itself and stars a mascot who resembles Grover from "Sesame Street". What more could you want in a desktop diversion from the work-handover manual you should really be doing? OK, maybe a bonus head'n'shoulders massage.

GEEKY AUDIOPLAYS OF THE WEEK

Am presently on the first story in the second box set of this cult-telly remake. What a shame BF produced no more after 2020. Anyhoo...an Edwardian gentleman vigilante is transported to the Swinging Sixties, where he faces culture shock and a new breed of villain. Brilliant writing (and co-starring) by Guy Adams!

Rank & file

Weren't stepping stones wonderful things to encounter as a child? As well as being a physical challenge and a daring kind of game, they had a touch of the fairytale about them. Who put these here? Where might the stones lead me? Had I been blessed to marry and father children, I would have wanted the kids to grow up knowing a backyard with stepping stones. And lots of garden gnomes engaging in gnomish activities. And a treehouse. And a secret walled flower garden. Bloody landscaping woulda cost me a fortune!

Amateur human

COMIC COVER OF THE WEEK

By Bilquis Evely. There wasn't much to choose from in the latest batch. Cute gal with sword? Sure, that'll do. Krypto is an annoying mutt, though.

SONG OF THE WEEK

"Lost Boys" by Phoebe Bridgers (US).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KXnboPN1p4

Commended >>> The new official live clip of "Luukered" by Sadu (Estonia), "Forfra Sabar" by Hugorm (Denmark), "Dreams Of Lands Unseen" by Ignea (Ukraine), "Highway" by Elephant Gym (Taiwan) and Matt Gray's (UK) new synthwave remix of the "Quedex" title theme.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE FACT WE'RE NOT GETTING A "WHO" CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

Thank goodness. The RTD2 era was a dismal failure. I welcome a new Wilderness Years!

Flint pieces (FP)

I watched 2025 Oz shark movie "Fear Below". Different! Set in the '40s, killer critter (giant bull shark) is in a river, part hard-edged crime drama, historical touches... The online scores are low, but I reckon you need to be Aussie to appreciate it.

MANGA OF THE WEEK

"DDD" still has the power to surprise and intrigue. Although it's not manga, I also enjoyed the bumper 90th-anniversary "Phantom" special - a solid mix of new and old yarns, plus an excellent essay on the character's enduring popularity.

Fantasy author Brandon Sanderson delivering this year's Tolkien lecture -

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

Parasocial paragliding

Went to the "Brian Robinson: Multiverse" exhibition at the Newcastle Art Gallery. His lino cuts were the stars of the show, and trust me when I say the digital example below (2012's "Navigating Narrative: Nemo's Encounter In The Torres Strait") has only a fraction of the impact of seeing the real deal - bigger and blacker and bolder - up on a gallery wall, alongside its equally strange fellows. I adore BR's style, which evokes ancient Greek pottery, while carrying on Indigenous artistic traditions (tribal figures, X-ray views, emphasis on sea and sky) and sneakily throwing in loads of pop-cultural refs from "Star Wars" to "Pokemon".

Japanese film "Exit 8" (2025), based on the cult indie videogame, is quite good. It elevates the simple source material into something more. Nails the ending, too.

BEER OF THE WEEK

I developed a fondness for this American drop at the Hunter S. Thompson-themed cafe Bat Country in Randwick (Sydney). For a while, it became difficult to get here in Australia. That's no longer the case...or overpriced four-pack. Still an all-timer in my beer book!

The snap of a freshly starched karate gi

Rewatched feature-length spin-off "Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' On Heaven's Door". Listened to the fourth and final box set of "UNIT: Nemesis". Don't wanna talk about those. Instead, today's topic is -

A 2025 Belgian flick about a retired male spy who suspects foul play - and old enemies - when a young woman goes missing? Cool! An homage to the ultra-sexy, ultra-stylish Euro thrillers of the '60s (the poster clearly references legendary Italian comic "Diabolik")? Even cooler! Shame they push the level of sadism into the horror realm. Definite Giallo vibes. And as for the level of surrealism...every time you think it's starting to makes sense, there's another inversion of reality. Then another, then another, then another. It's fucking mental, basically. A unique viewing experience for sure, with some cinematic techniques that genuinely wow, but by the end I was sick of all of the shenanigans. Not to mention all of the violence against women, however symbolic or illusory. The fact a chick is wearing a rubber mask doesn't make it any less disturbing when some dude takes a knife or whatever to her face. I wish they'd played it straight. For a great spin on an ageing female spy, check out "Velvet" from Image Comics.

2, 2, 7, 3, 500, 18, 5, 28

RS2 and I finished our rewatch of Season 2 of "Blake's 7" on Blu-ray. Alas, S3 won't be out until December (sources say).

I kept this nearly 500-page current-day spy thriller from my late father's library because the central spy is also supposed to be an art restorer. Said character did zero restoration in "The Other Woman", but given that it's the 18th(!) novel in the series, I guess the author can be forgiven for running out of ways to link preserving paintings with foiling enemy agents. Or, in this case, sniffing out a possible mole with a possible connection to the infamous Cambridge Five. Despite the size of the book, the pages turned quickly and every chapter left me wanting to know more, even if "T/O/W" never felt like anything but premium-quality genre content. 

28 years after calling time on the wonderful, WONDERFUL "Calvin And Hobbes" newspaper strip, cartoonist Bill Watterson released this collaboration. A storybook rather than a comic, it is short, dark, ugly, depressing, puzzling (on multiple levels) and just profoundly underwhelming. "C&H" still rules, though.

I had a movie day

Watched four of the buggers in 16 hours. They went from educational to light-hearted to crazy fun to deeply creepy. From artist biopic to kids' flick to scifi sequel to the hundredth (200th? 300th?) possible explanation for the Jack The Ripper murders.

Incredible US street photographer whose enormous body of work - in B&W, colour and on 8mm film - from the 1940s-80s serves as a portrait of a country striving to find itself, sometimes painfully. The doco features perceptive observations from his contemporaries and discussion of key influences, galleries, exhibitions and photobooks, as well as noting arguably problematic aspects of the man himself. 

Hard to resist the cast, splendid sets, deliberate silliness and jungle adventure. Impossible to resist, in fact. The level of background detail is dazzling - you can tell the animators/model makers/set designers, etc. still put their best efforts into items that only appear on screen for seconds, e.g. a joke newspaper. On that note, the CGI is smoothly integrated, rather than trying to wow the audience on its own.

Outdoing the fab original, "Megan 2.0" ramps up the chaos, conspiracy, comedy (that Kate Bush cover was gold!), killbots and - by extension - justified technofear about our modern world. It literally goes to places you do not expect. The soundtrack is a blast and also deserves praise for incorporating the "Knight Rider" theme. Oh, and actors Ivanna Sakhno and Jemaine Clement are especially good.

This C-grade poster is laughably misleading for a fillum consisting mostly of (well-written) seated conversations. Which is not to say "Ripper Untold" lacks disturbing bits. The makers use their low budget to show just enough gore to horrify in the same way they show just enough period trappings for believability...which is a word I wouldn't necessarily apply to the big reveal. On the movie poster again, given that "Ripper Untold" is both sympathetic to the social inequalities of the time and attempts to humanise the victims, the sensationalised image and tag lines do it a real disservice.

Destruction, defibrillation and, er, Dodgson

COMIC COVER OF THE WEEK

"Alice Forever After #4" by InHyuk Lee.

Fairly original and highly atmospheric take on Carroll's beloved characters. Comic itself is tempting, but I'll wait until it's collected into graphic-novel form.

SONG OF THE WEEK

"Defibrillator" by The Snuts (Scotland).

The kind of jingle-jangle guitar pop I was mad for in my 20s. Smart lyrics. Doesn't outstay its welcome. What's a "snut"? Maybe I shouldn't ask!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GugxzJQdT-o

MANGA OF THE WEEK

"Destroy All Humans...They Can't Be Regenerated", Volumes 1-6.

Sweet romance/heroic rise set amid the combo-heavy metagame of late-'90s "Magic: The Gathering". Not even joking. Loving this with every fibre of my being.

Bring back karate chops!

Expert plate-spinning (water-treading?) from BF. The Axons, while brought to life surprisingly well in the audio medium, were ultimately dealt with too easily. Part 4's twist of a certain being's involvement in the alien invasion of Earth was spoilt by the fact I'd already seen the cover of the fourth box set - but that ain't Big Finish's fault. On to the finale!

Comfort reading you can smash in a sitting, as I did. Whenever I engage with "The Five Doctors" in any form, I'm reminded that Uncle Terrance was a grandmaster of both "Who" lore and clever plotting. Fellow Target novelisation fans will know what I mean when I say that every embellishment of what we saw on screen remains a tiny delight.

A phrase I'm going through

Often, the titles of these blog entries are just arrangements of words that tickled my fancy enough for me to write them down. Could be something I heard or read, or that just popped into my head. Might rhyme like that. Might not. Could be a Q. If I feel it's warranted, I'll wrap 'em in quote marks.

I have too many of these jottings at present. More than I can use. So I'm burning a bunch below, where they still won't be explained. That's right, this is a list of meaningless titles for never-to-be-written blogs! Aren't you lucky?

* Twenty-sided vice

* Umami hunter

* "There are still ghosts feasting at the table all these centuries later"

* Optimistically whistling the theme from "Minder"

* Pattern-matching machines

* The judge won't budge

* How many zen masters does it take to change a lightbulb?

* "She's a whole deck of wild cards"

* Keyclick symphony orchestra

* Robble, robble

* Canon of worms

* I flew to the wrong country

* Onion-wrapped Flying Dutchman

* "We watch the portraits watching us"

* Hoot and/or holler

* A Golden Age of Iron Age archaeology

* "How do you know when you've run out of invisible ink?"

The threat of mirror bacteria

On the latest episode of "The Doctor Who Show", in their regular series The List Makers (as opposed to "The Myth Makers", casuals), champion Aussie podders Rob and Dave presented their individual Top 5 "Who"-related autobiographies/biographies. It made me ponder mine. In no particular order, I'd go with:

* "Who On Earth Is Tom Baker?" by TB

* "Blue Box Boy" by Matthew Waterhouse (aka Adric)

* "Who And Me" by Barry Letts (producer)

* "Script Doctor" by Andrew Cartmel (script editor), AND

* "Still Getting Away With It" by Nicholas Courtney (aka The Brigadier).

Between them, the lads mentioned all five of those, although I believe NC's was a "just missed the cut" dealio. More interestingly, they both had at No. 1 on their list the bio "The Life And Scandalous Times Of John Nathan-Turner" by Richard Marson, which was later expanded and retitled "Totally Tasteless".

Based on their double rave, I am now on the hunt for a copy!

(I also realise I badly need to read some memoirs by women involved with the program. The above is a literary sausage party.)

"Like judging a beauty contest over the telephone"

COMIC LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK COVER OF THE WEEK

Almost gave the nod to Chip Zdarsky's cov for "If Destruction Be Our Lot #2". The problem is (according to my brain's processing software) that requires another element for balance. Whereas the wonderful illo on the front of this LGB, which was also in the comic store's latest catalogue of offerings, does not.

SONG OF THE WEEK

Nearly wrote SNOG OF THE WEEK. Chance would be a fine thing. Ahem. The contenders, in reverse order of when I bookmarked them, are: 

* "Running Down A Hill" by Dagny (Norway)

* "Gaudete" by Theatre (Ireland) - not a cover of the medieval Christmas carol a la Steeleye Span...'til the final line, anyway.

* "Ritual" by The Warning (Mexico)

* "Fossils" by Thao (US), AND

* "On A Day Like This" by Joalin (Finland) - who usually sings in a mixture of Spanish and English.

All female vocalists. But only because I didn't include Rush playing "Time Stand Still" at the Kia Forum, LA on June 7, with Aimee Mann joining Geddy to sing her album parts - the first time she's ever done so live!

Without further rambling, the award goes to Dagny. Recency bias? Conceivably. Joalin was winning up until this morning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrA7Ulv3yZM

BEER OF THE WEEK

"Calling Dick Tracy! Thirsty pisshead calling Dick Tracy!"

LEGO KIT OF THE WEEK

There were two possible configurations. I chose the future version, with the Mr Fusion reactor and fold-up wheels. Intricate design for a budget set.

ALSO CONSUMING

* Reality contest "100 Cooks"

* Podcast "Shell Game" at a mate's prompting, AND

* "New Scientist" rag.

AMI - BLA

Is it just me or are they trying harder - and getting raunchier - with the new season of "Rick & Morty", now exclusively on HBO Max?

JC asked who I'm supporting in the World Cup. The Socceroos, of course. Japan and Croatia because I have Japanese and Croatian family. Denmark and South Korea 'cos those are the languages/cultures I primarily study...except the Danes didn't qualify! And Iraq since I want their fairytale under Aussie coach Graham Arnold to continue. C'mon, the Iraqeroos! If you think that list is too long, JC's was even longer :-)

First time I had read this Ami mag (ish #7). Well written and edited compared to other retro pubs. New info worth knowing - the interviews with the four ex-Graftgold staff were tops. Old subjects worth revisiting. Gave me an immediate feel for the "Amiga POV" team. Minimal dud humour. PG is gonna collect it, so I'll hopefully borrow each of his issues.  

Funnily enough, there are notable similarities with the previous flick I saw, "The 4:30 Movie" (e.g. learning to understand friends, the adventure of cinema, the film-making urge). Unlike Smith's picture, "Anaconda" largely succeeds in its aims. Sure, it's Hollywood predictable, but the gags/action sequences/emotional exchanges are properly set up - or earnt, as they say - and generally land. The celeb-guest turns are also waaay more effective. 6/10

This oversized omnibus from the dude behind "Tower Dungeon" reminded me of the work of French artists like Moebius and Druillet that astonished and puzzled young Addster in the late '80s. As with "T/D", "Blame" was initially all about the architecture - grand yet intricate, filled with eerie alien emptinesses... Until, that is, I slowly began to decipher what was going on in the wider tale from Kyrii's brief, significant encounters with other dwellers in the seemingly unending artificial landscape. AMAZING.

The 1h28m wasted?

Should I score this teen comedy 4.3/10? 3.4 would be closer to the truth. While the central romance is sweet, the lead actress has a million-dollar smile, Ken Jeong makes the most of a typical Ken Jeong role, and the cameos from KS alumni aren't unwelcome, the simple fact is it isn't funny. A sudden pro-wrestling move is perhaps the only genuinely amusing moment. I never bought the lead the actor. The situations mostly feel forced. Conversations lack that weirdly fascinating quality of Smith at his best. The fake cinema trailers and film-within-a-film are meh. The soundtrack is like the beginnings of a good soundtrack, but only the beginnings. Even the aforementioned cameos are kinda wasted. Basically, it needed a lot of rewriting and polishing. Don't listen to any John Hughes comparisons. "The 4.30 Movie" has none of the charm of a JH production, replacing it with crude humour I won't call "stoner humour" for fear of insulting stoners.

Disclaimer: It's currently averaging 6/10 on IMDb and 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, so clearly plenty of folks disagree with my assessment. If you're one of them, more power to ya. Maybe I'm just a grumpy old man.

Heart Strings XIX

Nearing its milestone 20th edition!

1. Anne Aston on the cover of a "TV Times" magazine from 1967.

2-3. Cara Delevingne in the music video for "I Forgot" / "Out Of My Head".

4. Jessica Chastain as Merida from "Brave" for a Disney promotion. (She was also in Heart Strings II - a decade ago! - aiming an arrow in the fillum "Winter's War".)

5-6. Lara Croft statue available on Etsy.

7. Morfydd Clark as Galadriel in "The Rings Of Power".

8. Zendaya in an advert for Lancome.

Snake hips & venomous quips

I thought I'd used that title. The archive search function says otherwise. Perhaps I dreamt it.

--

Craving more bebopping cowboyness, I gave the 2021 live-action series another chance. After all, the biggest "C/B" fan I knew, RS2, had deemed it passable. I also recalled dear old Dad, who preferred fantasy to scifi, digging it enough to complete. It turned out the 10 episodes were fine for helping this escapist linger in that high-tech, low-life (to borrow a phrase) galaxy with a dysfunctional crew of struggling bounty hunters a little longer. 

The l-a series is essentially a greatest-hits package that makes a couple of key mistakes: connecting/explaining too much and concentrating more on the Syndicate plotline, which was always the least interesting. Can't fault the casting, however. I wasn't sure about Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine at first, but her charisma won me over. Did you know the show was filmed entirely in New Zealand? No, me neither, until I read it yesterday.

Tirade Federation

COMIC COVERS OF THE WEEK

It's all about rebellious chicks and symbolic skulls, apparently. "Black Cat" by J. Scott Campbell and "Skate Ali" by Jamie McKelvie.

SONG OF THE WEEK

"The Times" by Florrie (UK).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yBlNUaW7r4

Commended >>> "Cowgirl" by Shaboozey (US), "Rain Check" by Lawrence feat. Quinn XCII (US), "Skyjaborg" live session by Asgeir (Iceland), "Go" by Uranus feat. Tsetse (Mongolia).

Thinking of using one of my genie wishes to bring into existence a second sequel to "Romancing The Stone", with a theme song by Lawrence.

BIRTHDAY LEGO OF THE WEEK

A crank allows you to rotate the background carp so they jump over the arch. Legend says that a fish which can do so will be transformed into a dragon.

Resurrect your darlings

If the first box set was a romp, the second was a grind. Don't take that as an entirely negative appraisal. It was like...rightio, you've gotten to know the protagonists and antagonists, now the latter are going to put the former through hell, presumably so our heroes can save the day in the fourth box set (after additional science-fictional complications and suffering in the third). Thumbs up for Stewart, Osgood and Bambera. Thumbs down for the dull Dominators and crap Quarks.

Neanderthal master, human apprentice

VIEWING

Read King's novel a few times in my youth. I was happy with this adapto from last year. And by happy, I mean traumatised all over gain. Every death was painful. Come the end, my eyes were misty. You can thank the terrific casting and acting for that. OK, there were moments of overacting, but I found I could rationalise 'em away as atypical behaviour caused by the extreme circumstances of the story. The plot changes didn't worry me, and the depiction of a corrupted American heartland felt very real. Critics who wanted more explanation of the contest and its prize, Major and his soldiers etc. are idiots. "The Long Walk" is about resilience, mateship and free will, not technicalities. Closing ballad "Took A Walk" by Shaboozey and Stephen Wilson Jr. was an enriching bonus.

UNBOXING

Cha Hae-In from "Solo Leveling" arrived this morning.

ADMIRING

Frieren as Vermeer's "Girl With A Pearl Earring" by Tsukasa Abe.

LEARNING

Duolingo has added Chess instruction. While I've known the basics since I was a small boy, I'd never been formally taught a scrap of strategy (only picked up the odd tip from observing others). It's fun!

What's one letter?

The new "Masters Of The Universe" flick opened in Aussie cinemas today. I've been a fan of the franchise from the beginning; it launched when I was 11. One of my spoilt childhood chums had *every* "M/O/T/U" toy. I didn't. My modest collection was limited to: a battle-scarred Ram Man another pal had made his parents replace, a Webstor I bought myself (his grappling hook and climbing backpack were the irresistible attraction), and a bootleg figure who was a purple lizard guy that I received from an aunt. 

"Master Of The Universe" by Hawkwind (1971)

I am the centre of this universe
The wind of time is blowing through me
And it's all moving relative to me
It's all a figment of my mind
In a world that I've designed
I'm charged with cosmic energy
Has the world gone mad or is it me?

I am the creator of this universe
And all that it was meant to be
So that we might learn to see
This foolishness that lives in us
And stupidity that we must suss
How to banish from our minds
If you call this living I must be blind.

Wealth extraction

Finished my rewatch of "Cowboy Bebop". Released back in 1998-99 and still rules. When A.I. destroys the anime industry as we know it, we will lose the possibility of rogue masterpieces like this. The relentlessly stylish visuals, the jazz-pop soundtrack, the fantastic world building worn lightly, the diversity in the 26 eps, the unexpectedness of some scenes, the ambiguities and persisting mysteries...the absolute vibe of the thing.

Breems & vorns

Ummm, sooo, it appears I am now collecting all 151 Gen 1 Pokemon (any printing) in cardboard form to go into a nifty zip-up case, and zillions of others digitally in "Pokemon TCG Pocket" on my new iPad.

Addster's Top 5 Pokemon...at this early stage

1. Snorlax

2. Magikarp

3. Mr Mime

4. Gengar

5. Koqpunch

Matters arising

If you haven't seen this playful 2022 documentary about a Scottish case from the '90s involving a truly bizarre deception, don't Google, just view-gle!