Tendrils

Remember when hot chips was a meal? Nothing else, just hot chips. Simpler times.

Spent a pleasant afternoon reading this coffee-table tome that, fittingly, I borrowed from my local library. While seeing book-filled buildings of every architectural style was fascinating, the overall message, even in 2014, was that too many of these social lifelines are falling into disrepair then permanently closing down. I describe the experience as "pleasant" because of the included reminiscences about and celebrations of libraries by famous writers. On which point, it's cheeky of the publisher to name-check Asimov, Seuss and White on the cover, since their texts are only small reproductions of short letters submitted for another project. But don't let that put you off.

Binged S4 of "The Traitors UK". Great people and a great conclusion. Shame the format (games and twists) was *identical* to the latest American season, which I devoured like a bag of hot chips a bit over a week ago. I hope they keep the Secret Traitor in future series. Adds an extra dimension. It's fun to try to guess, based on the shortlist of possible murder victims delivered to the regular traitors, who it might be!

Apart from the fact...

...the over-aggressive idiot Yautja could never stop fighting long enough to invent space travel and the main female character was chopped in half (was that *really* necessary for the plot?)...8/10.

Stick it in your family album

Attention all planets of the Solar Federation!

COMIC COVERS OF THE WEEK

From no award to two! The atmospheric "Elvira" cov is by David Acosta, while the retro "Usagi" one is by Jim Rugg.

SONG OF THE WEEK

The on-fire cover of Sombr's "12 To 12" by The Veronicas (Australia). Gives the original a run for its money!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yLSO5FIJ7U

Commended >>> Punk gem "Evacuation" by Sick Shooters (Netherlands), the new live clip of "Mihklipaev" by folk rockers Sadu (Estonia), and kooky dance collab "Somewhere Else" by Tomora (UK/Norway). 

DOCO SERIES OF THE WEEK

Spellbinding. That fight to the death between the allosaurus and stegosaurus! Despite being a dinosaur fan since kindergarten, I feel like this four-parter gave me a better understanding of these terrible lizards - their origins, their ascent and their daily lives.

VIDEOGAME OF THE WEEK

Fuggin' awesome strategy-er. An instant time killer, though, so be warned. It will punch the balls off your productivity.

Sharing is daring

Years ago, a female colleague emailed everyone in our department to say...

SUBJECT: Wishing well

BODY: There's 50c in the third loo from the left in the ladies toilets if anyone wants it.

I'm paraphrasing the message, but that was the gist. Pretty sure it was a Friday afternoon after she'd been to the pub. I thought it was funny.

=

Another time, a male coworker poached by a rival outfit and leaving under a cloud emailed the entire COMPANY - including the billionaire then-owner - with a tongue-in-cheek invite to his "farewell party" at the coffee cart downstairs at 4.30pm. We later heard that the joke had seriously annoyed the higher-ups, but what could they do?

Our email system had been configured with lots of group commands for mass-messaging magazines, departments and, yes, the whole firm, so as to make sending around mundane notices about holidays, etc. easy.

=

A third instance of oversharing within the same organisation saw me included in a humorous report about a debauched (to put it lightly) evening meant to go only to those involved. When someone realised I'd been emailed the piece by mistake, I was told, "Delete that. Pretend you never saw it."

I honestly wish I hadn't seen it. TMFI!

High on your own supply

At the beginning of my first year of university (failed first degree), I met these two dudes studying either Software or Electrical Engineering who were "Warhammer" fanatics. After I told them I'd never played "W/F/B", they swiftly organised a lunchtime game in a room you could book. It was us and a fourth guy. I wanna say the battle was 2v2, but maybe it just felt like that because they were teaching me the rules. While I don't recall much in the way of terrain, the miniatures were well painted and I know they pointed out some humorous customisations. It was beaut fun and I was ready to throw myself into the hobby. Except...I only saw those two dudes a couple more times (one "helped" me with a Comp Sci weekly programming task*), then they both left our uni - whether to study elsewhere or join the workforce, I don't know. Maybe they went on to manage branches of Games Workshop. They definitely had the enthusiasm.

*The tutor didn't accept his solution. Thanks for nothing, mate, haha.

Caravanserai

Residing near a shopping centre, I've observed a sizeable increase in the number of mobile homes pulling in to refuel both vehicle and humans inside. It suggests #vanlife is on the rise in Oz. In fact, I've seen so many of these nomads in the past year or two that it makes me wonder if there isn't a guidebook or website or app somewhere recommending the parking/petrol (diesel?)/eateries/supermarket at our centre. How many motorhomers are seeking adventure on the open road and how many are merely responding to the cost-of-living crisis is a discussion for another day.

Watching: "The Traitors US" S4. A return to form after S3.