Machine wisdom

COMIC COVER OF THE WEEK

By Aaron Kuder. I don't mind T&A (I worked in men's mags for 17+ years), but there was just so much of it among this week's covs. Was nice to see someone creating proper art. Worth a zoom in order to admire the finer details.

SONG OF THE WEEK

"Axis" by Soen (Sweden). Prog metal that actually deserves to be called prog for the distinctiveness and depth. Love the variety in his vocals. Been spinning this on a daily basis and I like it more with every listen. New fave metal band?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0-kkSUKpW0

Commended >>>

* Live version of "Paiwei Back Alley" by Vinida Weng (China) = missing a hook. Love her flow, though.

* "Small Talk" by Ill Peach (US) = reminds me in a good way of Metric.

* "Summer Again, Sung To The End" by Egoism (Australia).

* "Here Comes That Crow" by Leenalchi (Korea) = imagine if I could see them perform in Copenhagen in November on their world tour! 

DEVOURED THIS WEIGHTY TOME

Read every word of the 440-odd pages. Is it better than "Worlds & Realms"? IMO, no. But it's an incredible collection of swords & sorcery illos, with some fascinating art-related revelations, connections and comparisons across the five editions. (Even if they oversimplify/sanitise the history of "D&D" in places.)

Charge and fine the boo birds

LATEST AUDIOBOOK ON MY DAILY WALKS

Blurb:

Summer 1914. A world on the brink of catastrophe. In London, 26-year-old Venetia Stanley – aristocratic, clever, bored, reckless – is having a love affair with the Prime Minister, HH Asquith, a man more than twice her age. He writes to her obsessively, sharing the most sensitive matters of state.

As Asquith reluctantly leads the country into war with Germany, a young intelligence officer is assigned to investigate a leak of top-secret documents – and, suddenly, what was a sexual intrigue becomes a matter of national security that will alter the course of political history.

Strength versus power

Wowed me a tad less than "Verily, A New Hope". I liked the way Lando, the Ugnaughts and the space slug spoke. Yoda and Boba were OK.

This combination comic-gamebook works so well. The structure is devilish, and you feel clever when you breach each invisible barrier.

Pot-fondling archaeologists

How chaos in US politics and turmoil in American society led to a revolutionary, industry-changing year in cinema. Convincing! My sole criticism: it wanders off the road (and cheats, e.g. mentioning "Star Wars") a little in the second half. Fab editing - there are moments when films are in a dialogue with each other.

Infodumpster

Another "University Challenge" grand final over. Now, the depressing three-month wait for next season begins. Congrats to Manchester and especially to their MVP, Madgwick. The lovely "Quizzy Lizzy" (from 2013) will always be that uni's #1 contestant, but he's surely earnt the #2 spot :-) I only managed to answer seven of the Qs correctly out loud before any of the students did. The level of play is just too high at this stage of the competition to expect a score of 20+ or even 10+. Sometimes, I look at my scoring answers - in this case, Eugene Onegin, corpse flower, Tarkovsky, Ian Smith, "Grizzly Man", Baron Samedi and Charlie Parker - and perceive the pathetic narrowness of my range of knowledge. Couldn't get a bloody STEM question to save meself. Even when my brain was young, sharp and untouched by alcohol, I don't think I was good enough to succeed on "U/C", but was I good enough to at least qualify for a team (maybe as a reserve)??? I've helped a few pub-quiz sides to glory in my time. Then again, that's likely true for *every* contestant. Madgwick is probably banned from his local trivia night for winning too many prizes. Those poker-machine vouchers are supposed to be spread around, mate ;-P

Looking to get back in the win column

The brand-new "Fist Of The North Star" gets my thunderous gut punch of approval. It's faithful to the original manga, with superior visuals and sounds to the previous anime adaptations. There are four episodes presently available on Prime. Watching 'em has made me realise just how influential "F/O/T/N/S" has been. A couple of caveats: avoid the dreadful English dubbing (which you probs would anyway) and allow yourself time to return to the old-school mindset required to appreciate what is a relatively simple tale.

Matchstick toothpick

COMIC COVER OF THE WEEK

By EM Gist. Call it a Grogu-appreciation pick.

SONG OF THE WEEK

"All 4 U" by INI (Japan). Am far from a boy-band fan, but this is v. slick, catchy and dancey.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBBYmYvsbP0

Commended >>> The beatbox/looping cover of "Small Town Boy" by Sxin (Germany). Best version since Paradise Lost's 2002 metal take.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9ySXILRFpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf4q2rUc57M

PETITE PAGE-TURNER

Really worthwhile history and analysis once you get past the intro. KL is a champ.

It's WrestleMania weekend, ya turnbuckles.