Free buckets in Finland

Tried to visit my GP without an appointment and was asked to return this afternoon. No wuzzers. Not wanting to go straight home again, we drove around for a while, noting changes in the suburb and admiring front-yard Halloween decorations. Those inflatable "Bluey" figures are popular this year.

COMIC COVER OF THE WEEK

By Luciano Vecchio. Putting the camp in training camp! I know a Wolvie fan who would absolutely hate this.

SONG OF THE WEEK

"Urdr" by Gealdyr (Netherlands). Slow, sorrowful, gets under the skin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxP0htSfQ_U

TRPG REMINISCENCE OF THE WEEK

I used to own a copy of 1990 Australian publication "Rus: Fantasy Role-Playing In Heathen Russia". Never played it. My friends weren't keen. I recall them joking about how it was just peasants trying to grow turnips. While that's not quite true, it was a harsh setting, e.g. constant risk of disease.

Hewlett-Packard Lovecraft

Heady scent of flowers as I walked around the neighbourhood this spring morning. You take such things for granted until you're laid up in a hospital bed, then you realise they are priceless. Also dug the loud purr of an idling special-edition V8 Commodore in the shopping-centre car park.

Made the best burgers for lunch: fresh potato buns, crunchy-batter fish pieces (patted dry with paper towel to remove any oil), plenty of rocket, loads of avocado, American mustard. Don't sleep on fish burgs!

Remember "SnarfQuest"? If so, this is for you...

When shall we tree leaf again?

RIP, Walter Koenig.

Caught this art exhibition. I'm not a huge fan of video installations, but some of AT's are excellent. No. 1 for this viewer being her intimate (not *that* intimate, ya dirty buggers) portrait of soccer stars The Matildas.

Played this recent release. As a space-mad lad, I'd have adored it - and maybe that's all that matters. As a picky gamebook collector of advanced age, I found it too novel-like, with insufficient choices. That said, the prose is a cut above what you usually get in CYOAs.

Feature-length fan film which succeeds thanks to the performances and writing. Plenty of continuity delivered just subtly enough. I hope they manage to finance the proposed followup. Gonna need SC to watch it now and confirm the Doc's companion Jennie resembles one of our former magazine colleagues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj0_8jhiUww

Continuing the theme, the talks/readings from this event have kindly been made available as an episode of Joe Ford's "Hamster Book Club" podcast. 4.5 hours of pure geek joy, plus the odd revelation. Very wide range of topics. I'm approaching the three-hour mark and so, so grateful to the sharers.

Is the stalemate rule stupid?

Further health concerns :-( Been playing "Yahtzee" to take my mind off my troubles. Sisters and I never owned it as kids. Genius design.

This 2014 documentary about the legal (and moral) fight for the largest, most intact T. rex skeleton ever unearthed is worth your time.

After that piss-poor tribute to Captain Britain, "Spider-Man #1000" was a 9/10. Didn't want it to end. Also didn't expect a yarn by Triple H.

What's your highest score on "Lady Bug"?

Had some health concerns today.

WBBL Season 12 commences Thurs, so I'm looking forward to that.

Apart from a gorgeous David Mack cover, the "Captain Britain" 50th-anniversary special was a disappointment, especially when the three tales inside were by stalwarts Claremont, Davis and Abnett. The interior art didn't wow me, either. The highlight was the essay in the back - and I normally hate text pages (that aren't letter columns) in comics.

MAGAZINES WOT I AM CURRENTLY READING

Eyelashes

Astounding win by Volk in Abu Dhabi in the wee hours. Maybe the best base for MMA is rugby league, haha. Seriously, though, "legend" almost doesn't do the bloke justice anymore.

Can't complain about Willis (France) winning the Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final 2026, even if I was rooting for the two Korean gals in the Top 8. Enjoyed Zurich more than LA in '25. Breakout star of the event was Slayer (UK).

Rewatched Aussie scifi megaflop "The Time Guardian" (1987), starring Tom Burlinson and Carrie Fisher. It allegedly destroyed his career and, years later in an interview, she couldn't remember making it. Think: "Battlestar Galactica" meets "Wake In Fright", except sillier than that already sounds.

Read the GN below. Superb art, good story that had real heart. Only weakness was the vagueness around the new villainess Forger. I even liked the romantic interaction between Cats and Bats. Felt more cutely coupleish than cringe.

Unpaid spokesperson

The latest episode of the "Book Review" podcast from the "N/Y/T" is a beaut listen. Guest genre authors Leigh Bardugo and Paul Tremblay discuss their personal horror histories and suggest Halloween reads for various age groups/dispositions.

Saw this flick. Lee Miller was an American-born fashion model and socialite who took up artistic photography, then perhaps surprisingly became a frontline reporter in Europe during WW2, documenting important events and horrors of the war.

How's this for a premise?

Office guy on train finishes final chapter of serialised scifi novel he's been reading online for years. Each post from the author shows the number of views and, by this point, guy knows for a fact he's long been the only person still reading. Train suddenly stops, mighty demon appears, forces all humans present into horrible death game...just like in the novel. Only office guy is aware of what is "supposed" to happen next - and how it might be possible to survive it! 

Note: He's experiencing things from a slightly different angle to the book, because he's not the main character, which I think is very clever.

I shall be collecting the subsequent volumes.