Status Update

So, there’s been a lot going on of late.

I went and saw TISM a few weeks back at Metro City on their first tour in 30 years. It was every bit as bizarre as I could have hoped, consisting of a lounge band performing extremely white 20th century classics being repeatedly drowned out by TISM belting out carefully selected examples from their high-brow/low-brow, aggressively offensive oeuvre. The support act – Legs Electric – were also fantastic. It turned out to be an extremely late night and the amount of awkward, middle-aged guy bobbing up and down in place sort-of-dancing I did made my knees intolerable for the next few days, but it was totally worth it.

Legs Electric
The Lounge Band
TISM take the Stage. The lounge band valiantly play on, but no one can hear them.
Some Greek dancing during “Mistah Eliot – He Wanker”
A TISM member jumps into the crowd to distribute booze
Death! Death! Death! Amway! Amway! Amway!
Death! Death! Death! Amway! Amway! Amway!
The grand finale – “Give Up For Australia”

Staying with music, I’m going to see the Sisters of Mercy at the end of the month. If you don’t hear anything from me after the 25th, please assume I’ve been devoured by Goths.

I finally got around to watching K-Pop Demon Hunters a while back and – as I feared – have become embarrassingly obsessed with it. I’ve added it to my canonical list of favourite movies of all time (Ghostbusters, The Blues Brothers, The Fifth Element, and now K-Pop Demon Hunters), constantly find myself whistling or humming the songs, and actively have to stop myself saying kkeuteopsi in casual conversation. On a less frivolous note, some of the themes really cut me to the bone, and it’s motivated me to try and be a bit more open and trusting with the people in my life – y’know, just in case my insecurities somehow lead to a demonic apocalypse. It’s also lead me into learning Hangul, which would be pure, indefensible Koreabooism if it wasn’t for the fact that I have a pre-existing interest in writing systems. I’m very impressed with Hangul – it’s extremely elegant – although it would be a nightmare for languages less strictly CVC structured than Korean.

Oh, my bias? Mira obviously. She’s the best. Love her.

What’s this got to do with the price of 람연?

Sir Patrick Stewart passed away last week. That’s a real blow. Jean Luc Picard was my first Star Trek captain and remains one of the measures of true leadership in my head. And beyond his Star Trek work I loved the way he’d happily take on the silliest roles and appear to have an absolute riot doing them. He will be sadly, sadly missed.

And he was only just preceded by Walter Koenig, which leaves the only two original Star Trek alumni as the seemingly immortal William Shatner and the hopefully immortal George Takei. In addition to Star Trek Koenig also appeared in Moon Trap, which is the kind of highly enjoyable B-Grade sci-fi thriller where you take a drink every time the boom mike appears in shot. Fair winds and following seas, Mr Chekov!

The much hoped for Blue Tsunami has rolled across the United States, crippling the maniac in the White House. This won’t fix everything, not by a long shot, but it’s a damn good place to start. The earth exhales. It’s also been schadenfreudelicious to watch the reactions from the American Right. Also Kid Rock swore to stop releasing music if the Democrats took both the House and Senate, so that’s a win for everybody right there.

So that’s it for now. Stay tuned for more ramblings soon.

Southward Ho!

Once a year I have a checkup with my sleep apnea specialist, and during said appointment he invariably asks if I’ve informed the Department of Transport about the drugs I’m on, prompting the following exchange…

Me: I don’t have a drivers license

Him: But… what if you want to go to Bunbury?

I suppose I could say that don’t need to go to Bunbury because the prescription he gives me meets all my amphetamine needs, but that would just be crass.

Car Park

A recent online conversation with a friend of mine in the UK…

Friend: [Son] keeps pestering me to see whether you’ve been to various liminal spaces in Australia. I tell him Australia is very big so it’s unlikely.

Me: I would be intrigued to know what liminal spaces might be available here. I didn’t know we had enough of them to count as ‘various’.

Friend: He was particularly interested in a car park in Melbourne!

Me: Well I have been to Melbourne a few times, so it’s theoretically possible that I’ve at least walked past the car park in question.

Me: Hang on, he’s not talking about the South Lawn Car Park at Melbourne University is he? Because if he is, then I have actually visited it!

Friend: Ah yes that is the one! He will be very excited!

Now what are the odds of that?

Things I Want to Buy

This is a list of things I would like to buy. It’s mostly just for my own benefit, but if anyone wants to use it as a gift guide, then feel free!

Naturally I shall add to this over time.

(Also some of this stuff is so ludicrously expensive that I shall never be able to acquire it. C’est la vie!)

INANE LUXURIES
A piece of Mammoth Ivory
A flanged button australite
Weta Workshop Minas Morgul Environment
<brian_blessed>A CRASSUS ARMOURED ASSAULT CARRIER!!</brian_blessed>

GENERAL STUFF
Large hot-wire foam cutter
Record player
A second monitor for my PC
A hard drive adaptor thingy I know what I mean damnit!

BOOKS
Iron Council – China Miéville
Interceptor City – Dan Abnett
The Infinite and the Divine – Robert Rath

GAME BOOKS
The Silver Bayonet – Joseph A McCullough
Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying
Rivers of London the RPG

GAMES
Metro 2033 Board Game
Fallout Board Game – New California Expansion

GENERAL NERDERY
Warhammer Old World Cathyan Sentinel
Horus Heresy Saturnine Praetor
Saturnine-pattern Terminator

FURNITURE
IKEA Nordli Top and plinth, white, 40 x 47cm
IKEA Nordli Modular chest of 2 drawers, white, 40 x 45cm (x3)

Everyday Formula

A Superb Owl, by Sylvia Alexander

Got myself banned from Reddit for three days for speculating that if Elon Musk attempted to do to Australia what he’s doing to the United States he’d be shot. This is apparently ‘threatening violence’ despite no mention of any person – let alone myself – actually carrying out the wholey theoretical shooting.

Anyway, the ban has expired and I have full access again, just in time for the site to be flooded with Superbowl and Valentines posts. I CARE NOT FOR YOUR SPORTS OR ROMANCE FESTIVALS, AMERICA! LEAVE ME ALONE!

I am now also startlingly poor after some embarrassingly unwise dipping into my savings account. As such I am organising a fire sale of various things I have been putting aside for years with the intention of selling them. I am also halting my program of generously bagging up my used cans and bottles and leaving them by the bins for the less fortunate – I’m less fortunate now, and will be reclaiming every cent I can as soon as I figure out how to haul them to a recycling centre. I’m also going to prune my library as there are many books in my collection that – while nice to have – I do not need to re-read or reference. Second hand books don’t sell for a lot, but the last time I counted I had well over 1,000 volumes knocking around the place, so that’s got to add up to a bit of pocket money.

I have made a vague new-years resolution to get all my Warhammer 40k tanks assembled and painted before buying any new ones. This is going quite well so far, although I am starting to run low on spray paint. Buying more may have to wait a while in line with my new austerity measures. I’m very happy with how my kitbashed Banewolf is looking – all going well I’ll shortly be able to show off all three Geneva-Convention violating variants of the Hellhound flame tank. Nothing like bathing the enemies of the Emperor in a high pressure shower of molten Uranium Hexafluoride – that’ll learn ’em!

Had a games day over the weekend with Chae, Liz, Paula, and Paula’s new beau Mark. Very enjoyable, although the heat was a bit oppressive. Liz managed to roll nine 6s in a row, which Google assures me is a 1 in 217,678,233,600 chance, which is rather impressive really. Prep for the games day also saw me break out my brand new knock-off Henry Hoover – it’s amazing how clean you can get your carpets when you have a vacuum that actually works.

To finish off, here is Henry Hoover predicting the pandemic…