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:

PPPoddd rrreccc

Four parts, three available as I write. His life and career. Wonderful yesteryear anecdotes and nuggets of wisdom.

A garden of trees

LEGO KIT OF THE FORTNIGHT-PLUS

Great! Technic builds are more satisfying. The downside is they aren't as much of a stress reliever because you can't put as many brain ops into sleep mode. 

ANIME FILM OF THE...IT'S BEEN A WHILE

"Gintama: Yoshiwara In Flames" (2026) [Netflix]. Criminals, courtesans, close-quarters combat, crass and corny humour, and consistent chaos that carries you along to the curiously compassionate conclusion.

CURRENT AUDIOBOOK ON MY WALKS

(However, I'm taking it fairly easy at the mo'. Trudged too many kays in Sydders, often with a bag, and am still recovering from the negative effects :-( )

Two nights in Sydney

Read half of this. Like the later Adrian Mole diaries, when he's an only semi-successful adult and the joys of his youth aren't quite the same, it is bittersweet.

Met CM at his CBD workplace, so I could stash my bag. This was the first photo I took. I guess when JA became free, they blacked over that part. Long may he stay so!

I was craving potato wedges, so we went to the 3 Wise Monkeys pub. Served with the traditional sweet-chilli sauce and sour cream, they satisfied the hankering.

Next was the Nat. Maritime Museum, for the "Treasures Of The Viking Age: The Galloway Hoard" exhibition. I wanna steal the idea below for an RPG module!

Afterwards, cutting through the Entertainment Centre due to rain, we spotted this vending machine containing only high-vis vests. Wish I'd checked the price.

Bought a Pokemon card I "needed" from Pidoof, then we headed to gaming bar Fortress Sydney for a pint of the house lager in faux-Medieval surroundings.

Upstairs from FS is the JF. "S/T/O" is a video diary of a Japanese artist's journey to Cowra, site of an infamous WW2 POW uprising. We found it poetic and moving.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowra_breakout

I crashed at CM and AM's place for the two nights. Our first dinner was at a Chinese restaurant which recently opened in their street. I opted for a simple beef dish.

C. always has new figures. This fig of Motoko Kusanagi from "Ghost In The Shell" he 3D printed (using resin) and painted himself. Commercial quality, I reckon.

Because none of us had seen it, we sat through the following. Barely scifi and one of the worst movies ever made. Even so, LN's antics raised the odd chuckle.

On the second day, I arrived in Randwick an hour early for a medical appointment. Spent it on the campus of my former uni. This is their resident bilby sculpture.

Having gotten the thumbs up from my specialist, I ate a Subway sub. Then: WW1 postcards exhibition at the War Memorial. The librarian shared a few cool stories.

"Avatar: Forms Of Vishnu" at the Art Gallery Of NSW was impressively large and full of wonders, although it left me with more questions than it answered! 

I'd planned to spectate on park Chess at this point, but was too tired. Returned to the lads' joint. Dinner was Turkish fare at Sahara, Burwood, a past fave of mine.

With fancy ice-creams for dessert, we watched actual scifi (shorts) on the Dust channel on YouTube 'til it was time to call stumps. I trained it home the next morning.