Wholesomely bewitching

Unlikeable, ineffectual main character stumbles through glorified ghost house, then layers of reality, until you're on the verge of nodding off when the end credits mercifully roll. Or was that just my experience? :-)

CURRENT PAPER READING

CURRENT AUDIOBOOK ON MY DAILY WALKS

Boss Nass drops bass, smokes grass

RS2 and I are persevering with "Earthborne Rangers" and its shoddy manual. We now look up any rules queries online.

Pod rec! A professor of history, a professor of religion and their learned guests. Unstuffy. Lightly teachy rather than preachy.

Atomic secrets

Rewatch. The visual effects that so wowed me in '85 - the stained-glass knight! - now look "stuck on" and samey. Regardless, the overall film is still superb.

Beautiful, innovative, mature, disjointed, largely boring. Big tick for the effective use of "Sweet Child O' Mine". Big cross for referring to Uluru as Ayers Rock.

Never reaches the heights of "Cosmos" or "Arrival". The philosophical parts work. The science-y parts let it down - breakthroughs happen too quickly/easily. Patchy cast (younger stars weak).

CURRENT PIXEL READING

Winning at losing

COMIC COVER OF THE WEEK

Conan's pirate pal Valeria by Nick Marinkovich. Intense gaze! You can imagine the rest of her outfit from just the headband and puffy sleeve. Clever. He *almost* overdid the hair with that signature, though.

SONGS OF THE WEEK

* "Fever Dream" by RinRin (Australia)

* "Vagabond" by Malte Ebert & Mumle (Denmark)

* "Pole Position" main theme remix by Reborn Synth (Germany) - this one's actually two months old. Earworm warning!!!

* "All Blue" by Hiss from Beatpella House (South Korea)

* "Stranger" by Uranus x Jossey (Mongolia)

* "Africa" cover by VoicePlay (US)

* "Amanat" by Ay Yola (Russia)

* "Give Me Something" by Vulfpeck (US)

* "The Moon" by Yagoda (Russia)

* "All That We Perceive" by Thievery Corporation (US) - new clip for a 2003 track, which is sufficient reason for me to include it.

RANDOM TRPG REMINISCENCE OF THE WEEK

I reckon it was Nucon 91 where I played in one of a fella named Greg Rickards' wonderful "Saga Of Raven's Nest" games (not to be confused with the RPGA Network's Ravens Bluff site). Picture a detailed diorama of a Medieval-fantasy town plus surrounding areas, populated with painted miniatures...one of which you are controlling, using a rules system of GR's devising. Meanwhile, a bunch of other peeps are doing likewise. While I can't recount the plot at this remove*, I recall the feeling that SO MUCH was happening, with various little groups pursuing their own agendas - and co-operating and coming into conflict - across the bespoke landscape. Minis were constantly in motion. I can't say if my team-mates and I were successful in our aims. I can say we had some unique fun.

*Was I a guard defending the settlement?

BEER OF THE WEEK

Splendidly average :-) 

SNACKS OF THE WEEK

Thanks to sister AK for these.

Where's theirs?

The latest "Doctor Who Magazine" has an amazing 27-page interview with actress Anneke Wills (Polly). It just keeps going - I felt like I was reading "The Comics Journal". Fortunately, her life has been full and her opinions are strong, so it's a fascinating journey.

RIP, Angry Anderson. Saw Rose Tattoo live more than once, but the time which sticks in my mind is when they supported Motorhead. Geez, he went hard. Also, no Aussie over a certain age could forget his role as Ironbar in "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome".

Talking old flicks, I rewatched "Gremlins 2: The New Batch". Such a cartoon. 0% believable, 100% nonstop chaos. I think I appreciate it more now than I did at the cinema - with JH and co.? - in 1990, mainly for the sheer amount of satire they crammed into the thing.

Backed this handcrafted fairytale setting for 5E (and the like) on Kickstarter. After I'd resisted the charms of "Land Of Eem" and "Dolmenwood", "The Hazelands" struck a kooky chord. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tinefieldling/the-hazelands-setting-guide

Purple flowers

On today's "University Challenge", the Queen's Belfast team had three American members and one Irish, while their opponents Southampton also sported an American. Nothing against Yank quizzers - Brandon Blackwell (2019-20) is one of the best players EVER to appear on the show - I'm merely observing that they are becoming increasingly prevalent. Anyhoo...the Qs on "Star Wars" planets were a gift. I managed to answer 16 right before the contestants.

Couldn't last 16 minutes watching the new "Golden Axe" cartoon. Painfully unfunny. Waste of a licence. Whoever decided to make it an adult comedy (both terms used loosely) is a fool.

CURRENT PIXEL READING

CURRENT PIXEL REARRANGING

"Scriver" [Steam]. Smashed it first go tonight. Sure, there are higher levels/additional challenges available, but it was so easy I'm already worried there won't be much replayablity.

May as well finish the bottle

There was one Knights flag in our street prior to the men's team's upset win in Auckland on Sunday. Now, there are three flying outside different houses. Doubt we'll defeat the Panthers, but no harm in dreaming.

Pod rec! Experts, not adverts. Extensive back catalogue. So far, I've listened to episodes about gut bacteria, language acquisition and modern cities.

RS2 and I rewatched the Director's Cut of this. Totally holds up. Even the 1982 computer displays. Shame Kirstie Alley didn't return as Saavik.

Enter the prize

It's hot here and there's been smoke in the air all day, like bushfire season has come early. Bloody hope not. 

Netflix's portrait of the infamous Oz breakdancer tells you everything you need to know in 1h12m. Most importantly that: 1. R. and her hubby/coach/#1 fan deluded themselves into believing *that* routine might tickle the fancy of at least one judge (I think they're still slightly deluded about it), 2. There's no substance to the rumours of favouritism or foul play in her Olympic qualification, AND 3. She's a nice enough sort, just quirky and somewhat naive. I wish her well.

Did you catch King Casey's cinematic armbar submission at UFC 331? Check out her eyes in the slo-mo replay - deadly focus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxuKT_J2f64

Tea and anchovy toast

What a disappointment after the first Eleven/Eleanor collection. No shade on Miles Taylor or Jasmine Bayes, who I want to hear engaging in intriguing, exciting adventures. Sadly, what "H/I/P/S" offers is lame conspiracy, tedious treading water and an unwelcome unreality scenario. Spoiler warning for the next bit... I couldn't care less about the Judoon, Slitheen, the Shadow Proclamation or Lake Silencio! Bundle them together in such a convoluted way and you're bordering on fanwank. There are too many annoying alien voices and, for that matter, too many minor characters played by Nick Briggs. He's a multi-talented fellow and I do like him, but he's instantly recognisable - it takes you out of the tale.

Definitely less of a disappointment is Prog 2500 of Brit institution "2000AD", which will turn 50 next February. While the cover's nothing special, the book size has been upped to accommodate seven yarns, each of which is either a Part 1 or a standalone. Two are very good, two are good, two are middling and one gets an N/A because pages of text, even with illos in the borders, have no place in comics (look at how they ruined the "X-Men" titles). Can't complain about that strike rate for the money. There's also heaps of variety in the writing and art styles, as you'd want in a milestone anthology like this. A proper dose of Thrill Power!

At each other's Throaties

COMIC COVER OF THE WEEK

By Mattia Monaco. Bananas.

SONGS OF THE WEEK

* "Woof" by Esme Emerson (UK)

* "The Return" by Q-Tip & MC Lyte feat. Mos Def (US)

* "Mogo" by Fatoumata Diawara (Mali-France).

RANDOM TRPG REMINISCENCE OF THE WEEK

Have I mentioned the haunted-house convention module with a GM who seemed to believe it was his duty to frustrate our every move? I'm talking: monster appears, hits PC, disappears, no chance to interact with in any way. One mate walked out of the session, went and listened to a rugby-league game on his car radio.

CURRENT PIXEL READING (iPad)

Brush contacts

Pod rec! While John Pollock, Wai Ting and co. from POST Wrestling have kept me infotained for years, this guy's summaries of the week in American pro rasslin' are just so listenable. Besides a classic smooth DJ voice and the ability to maintain an uninterrupted patter, he's the kinda storyteller who makes every topic interesting.

"Supergirl" was utter shite. I won't bore you with my specific complaints. I already bored PG with a page full! The sole positive was lead actress Milly Alcock, who was beaut in a bad role.

Constructed a fun, competitive Brawl deck based around T'Challa, The Black Panther. Am still honing the thing, but I was sidetracked by "A Pig Quest" on the C64. Incredibly polished and deep! Honestly, had it been around back in the day (1MB cart...I dunno), it could have taken the Beige Breadbin to another level.

https://www.protovision.games/games/apig.php?language=en

BEER OF THE WEEK ^^^

Also eyeballing... "Physical 100: Mexico" (binged the initial seven eps), "The Colosseum With Dan Snow", footy finals.

Shelob lives!

"D&D: Arcana Unleashed - Deadfall" was released today. My copy should arrive tomorrow. When our pal MD was assiduously collecting the original Forgotten Realms supplements in the late '80s/early '90s, our group was deeply fascinated by the Red Wizards. (Even more so than we were by the Zhentarim.) I guess I still am :-) "Deadfall" is a spy thriller for Levels 11-20.

As I type, the Oz men's cricket team is engaged in an ODI against Zimbabwe. Such matches are no longer foregone conclusions. Former "minnows" can beat us now - sometimes comprehensively. Sporting of speak, the 2026 Asian Games commences on Saturday in Japan. Making its debut: Virtual Taekwondo! Yes, with VR headsets, sensors and zero contact. They were discussing it on the Korean news last night. Call me a dinosaur but I reckon it sounds stupid.

Sellshields

Was running errands all morning, in the glorious spring sunshine. One small business had a prominent sign that read, "Please don't steal. This is my income." It's sad that people have to be reminded of the fact.

Relaxed in the arvo with "White Dwarf #527" and a bottle of soju. Ideal jumping-on issue, by the way, as it officially introduces the new 11th Ed. of "40K" and has obviously been written to be beginner friendly.

Got around to watching "Mortal Kombat II". One thumb up for the dumb, fighty fun. I liked some of the choreography and effects (and over-the-top gore). Amusing in places. But death feels too temporary.

What was once Type II is now Type Poo

Tried Standard "MTG" for the first time in years. It was a wretched experience. Hordes of creature-enchantment combo decks with tons of redundancy. You either join them or ya go extreme control packing copious counter/removal/card draw and only about four win conditions*. I despise the latter style of pile as much as I do copying a net.deck. Ended up with a BGW mid-range creation that won maybe 25% of the time. Wrong for the meta but at least it was mine - and it appeared to confuse the odd person. Will now be returning to Brawl (~1v1 Commander), where my win rate is closer to 50% and, despite the number of broken cards, games actually seem fairer.

*It's more likely the opponent will concede out of boredom rather than wait for you to finally start attacking with a lone critter backed up by a full grip.

Power pivot

Played "Gloomhaven" at RS2's with the fellas. It's the boardgame that keeps on giving. Will we ever run out of scenarios? Various bevvies were imbibed at the gaming table. Alas, I cannot recommend passionfruit-pineapple vodka.

Am enjoying "Physical: 100 - Italy" on Netflix as much as I did the three Asian series. The Mexican edition will be released soon, too. Perhaps the long-term plan is to hold an all-star international season of the show.

Latest anime guilty pleasure = "World's Strongest Rearguard". Yet another isekai where the protagonist ends up leading a harem-ish adventuring party. But well paced, with some unique bits (e.g. giant dogs) and not sleazy.

Stand-up tragedy

Made it through my annual dental checkup unscathed. Huzzah!

COMIC COVER OF THE WEEK

By Rahzzah. Lobo's been irrelevant since the '90s, but this is nice.

SONGS OF THE WEEK

* "Kung Fu Jumpstyle" by Kaien Nuen (China) - Track has been out for months. Fun-ass clip is new.

* "Que Me Quiten" by Maria Arnal (Spain) - For Colors. Unusual. Really builds in such a short time.

* "Vem Du An Ar" by Keisha (Sweden) - ADORE this. A challenger to Veronica Maggio's pop throne?

* "Beat SID" by TRS (Germany?) - On da C64. Bomb The Bass continuing to inspire decades later.

* "Kyrgyzstan" by Amirchik (Kyrgyzstan) - Catchy celebration of his homeland and its nomadic heritage. 

* "Anime Mig" by Jalda (Sweden) - Almost as fresh/fine as the Keisha track. Swedish musos, eh?

* "Ravage" by Novelists (France) - A concert in a song. Wide-ranging music and vocals get me.

* "Crazy, Baby" by Cara Delevingne (UK) - Like an old fave you forgot. Much credit to the producer.

* "Beautiful World" by World Order (Japan) - Glad to see Genki and the boyz still doing their thang.

RANDOM RPG REMINISCENCE OF THE WEEK

After I taught GH how to play "D&D" (in our early teens), he used index cards to create a host of ready-to-use monsters with their stat blocks reproduced, no. appearing and individual HP rolled, and treasures fully generated from the tables. I was so impressed.

Zipped through this GN (ta, PG)

Collects all 12 issues of the comic "Heathen", about an unfairly exiled Viking lass named Aydis attempting to overthrow the established order - taking on fellow humans, monsters like trolls and mermaids (nastier than you'd think), the mighty Valkyries and, ultimately, the boss god himself, Odin. Dug the sketchy-yet-expressive art, its cool palette a constant reminder you are travelling in frozen lands. Dug the writing; almost exclusively dialogue and no word wasted. Dug that the sexual situations and combat were never gratuitous. Dug the playfulness. Dug the seriousness. Thought the point about the madness of Christian converts turning on the witches who'd served their communities for centuries was particularly well made. "They accuse me of cursing things and conjuring demons, consorting with someone called Satan? I don't even know who that is. I mix potions, that's all." A feminist fable? Yeah, but one that charms, surprises, provokes in a good way and puts to shame probably 90% of mythology/fantasy stories on the market.

Ladies of letters

As a dude from the other side of the globe who wasn't even born when "Ms." launched, this nearly two-hour doco (released in 2025) was an education. Granted, I'm interested in anything to do with the history of magazine publishing, but I reckon most inquisitive folks would find it worthwhile. It's not just a praise-fest, either, as former staff admit important areas where they coulda done better and the film-makers note two famous writers who later cut ties with the publication. But let's not end on a downer. "Ms." mag, which still exists today albeit in a limited form, has clearly enriched the lives of millions of American women.

Current paper reading (ta, SC)

Publisher blurb:

"For 70 years, they guarded the British Empire. Oblivion and Fogg, inseparable friends, bound together by a shared fate. Until one night in Berlin, in the aftermath of the Second World War, and a secret that tore them apart.

"But there must always be an account...and the past has a habit of catching up to the present.

"Now, recalled to the Retirement Bureau from which no-one can retire, Fogg and Oblivion must face up to a past of terrible war and unacknowledged heroism - a life of dusty corridors and secret rooms, of furtive meetings and blood-stained fields - to answer one last, impossible question:

"What makes a hero?"

Doolally

Preposterous from beginning to end. Technically well constructed, though. And GG might not be discerning in her role choices but she's a solid actress - nailing every expression required. Which is fortunate, since for the majority of the movie we are either seeing her beautiful face react to the latest unexpected obstacle or watching her gallop around central London like a gazelle. Wait, whaddaya mean I was perving on a stuntwoman?

Dip yer lid

"Beyond Words" update: Got the gold trophy on all but two annoying levels. Unlocked most of the gear and achievements. Might be done with it.

In other news, lurve this bombshell...er, bombshell from the slick C64 demo "All Your Baddies Are Belong To Us" by the group AMID.

Distant days, other days

As I was coming out of the sushi bar, a family pulled up in their family sedan. The mother exited her driver's door normally. The three kids climbed out of the other three windows like gleeful monkeys. I was suddenly reminded of how much I used to enjoy doing that as a child. Partly because I wanted to imitate Bo and Luke Duke from "The Dukes Of Hazzard"*. Partly 'cos it was Something I Wasn't Supposed To Do. And partly, I guess, because back then your natural instinct was to turn every activity possible into a physical challenge. Continuing down the road, I found that the bridge spanning the local river had collapsed, so I was forced to jump across the 25-metre gap while clutching tight my bag of sushi rolls.

*Blissfully unaware of the future controversy surrounding their Dodge Charger's problematic livery.

Fruit salad

COMIC COVER OF THE WEEK

By Gabriel Hernandez Walta. It caught my attention, then the blurb made me more curious... The premise sees the mysterious death of one of the stars of a "Friends"-like TV phenomenon leading to the uncovering of dark secrets about the show. One assumes the real-life tragedy of MP (RIP) was the inspiration for the tale.

SONG OF THE WEEK

For the vibes, the new live clip of "Everything Will Be Alright" by Kraftklub feat. Fred Rabe (Germany).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8Cj2jrIw0c

Commended >>> "Brown Eyes Mafia" by Abrila (Argentina) and "No More Shot" by Tune Up Channel (India). I also discovered Dear Seattle's sublime cover of the Missy Higgins track "The Special Two" seven years late. Considering the original is a piano ballad in which M. laments stealing a guy from her older sister, hearing the lyrics as a forceful male rock vocal gives things an unusual spin.

RANDOM TRPG REMINISCENCE OF THE WEEK

I miss when you'd borrow a "D&D" module from a pal and find that next to key encounters were descending tallies of monster HP marked in pencil. Or else they'd been erased but the impressions on the paper remained faintly visible to the trained eye. Brave adventurers had been this way before - and more would follow!

"Coin detected in pocket!"

This is tops. Am working through the book-faithful chapters in 1P mode. It's elegant and challenging, with oodles of replayability. Stylish presentation, too.

"Beyond Words" [Steam] is also tops. Word builder + engine builder + level explorer. Wild horses were only *just* able to drag me away to blog a hasty reco.

Wetware engineering

The supermarket where we purchased groceries today had a Community Noticeboard. Yes, they still exist. It was covered in busy squares/rectangles of paper/cardboard. "Missing cat". "Skin analysis" (whatever that is). A handyman offering his services. An experienced carer also seeking work. Contacts for mental-health support and legal advice. The opportunity to play for a senior soccer team, try your 2B at life-drawing classes or attend a classical recital. The only other specific notice I can recall was an advert for a car engine...which doesn't make for an obvious closing line. Nevertheless, I was glad to see the tradition of these bit-of-everything boards still motoring along in defiance of the digital.

--

If you're a fan of "B/T/T/F", musical theatre or - like me - both, I recommend this 1h40m documentary from 2025: