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!

Same, worse, better, same

Is the Japanese poster for "The Last Starfighter" superior to the US original? That's a matter of opinion. It's certainly excellent in its way; focusing more on the aliens and spaceships than the unlikely human hero. Is the working title of the fillum - "Centauri's Recruit" - vastly inferior? Objectively, yes.

RS1 and I managed to meet up for an unprecedented second day of card slinging. We held our own "Spider-Man" prerelease, then "TMNT" prerelease, then "Secrets Of Strixhaven" prerelease, then a final showdown utilising decks constructed from all of those card pools combined. We each won two best-of-three matches, which was the right result, IMO. What a shame it'll be 2027 before we get to play junk-fuelled, geek-talkin', high-stakes*, kitchen-table "MTG" again.

*Nah, not really.

Living ghosts

COMIC COVER OF THE WEEK

By Ryan Sook. The backgrounding of Bats is novel. Nice neon light. And who wouldn't rather perv on Selina?

SONG OF THE WEEK

"Vanlii" by Bayanjargal (Mongolia). I could listen to this sophisticated trad-dance fusion 50 times in a row.

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

Commended >>> Instrumental "The Ents Are Walking" by Progrizon (Oz).

BEER OF THE WEEK

Pleasantly grassy, hints of citrus, clean finish. Wish they weren't all drunk and gone - stupid four-packs.

Moon-shuttle conductor

If you are now or ever have been a hardcore console RPG-er, especially the type who tries to "break the game", you will appreciate this anime. I powered through the 25 episodes of Season 1 this week, in readiness for when S2 drops on Monday.

Yesterday, I spent all day playing sealed "Magic: The Gathering" against RS1. Three matches. First using six booster packs each (40-card decks), then adding a further five (50-card decks), then adding another four packs each (60-card decks). He was victorious, winning 2/3 matches and 4/7 games. But the real victory was...er...maybe the surprising number of expensive cards we opened, then immediately slipped into sleeves, ready for trading to my FLGS. Ideally, they will finance a booster box for next year :-)

No-lifing our hobbies

As a death-metal art project: 9/10.

As a practical, comprehensive rulebook: 3/10 (and that's being generous).

For shaking up the TTRPG scene: 7.5/10.

My desire to ever play it: 0/10.