I watched Chocolate. Was going to try and post a longer, more considered, comment on it with regards to the recent controversy about Sia’s film, but still tired after first covid vaccination shot side effects. Briefly: Fun, some bone crunching stunts, some featherweight fighting though outweighed by good stuff. With…

I read the comic Freeway Fighter. Based on the old Fighting Fantasy book by Ian Livingstone that I remember borrowing from the local library a lot.

Not knowing the book I always accepted Rico’s quick promotion as a function of desperation because humanity was losing and short of qualified personnel and, as Nilus points out, for propoganda purposes.

Doctor Aphra - Fortune & Fate. First volume in the new series written by Alyssa Wong. It’s alright. Wong is, as far as I know, new to writing comics and it shows in some moments where the art (by Marika Cresta), pace of the action and words don’t mesh as well as they could and, i think, will. I have some reservations…

The Knightfall comic is a seminal work in my comics life as it was one of the first collected editions I bought and so shaped my understanding of Batman in a big way. Which is perhaps a little odd because he (Wayne) doesn’t feature much in the second volume and I’ve never read the third. I still re-read it every few ye…

After an extended break I finished Agents of Shield season 4. So good.

You’re probably correct but the wiki is a bit confusing. 15% alcohol is clear but then it says a 750ml bottle contains the equivalent of a strong black tea at 32mg of caffeine per 100ml. I assume that’s for the whole bottle. Apparently the Irish get double the caffeine. So, in comparison, good for a night-cap.

Which version did you watch? I saw GL at the cinema, didn’t enjoy it. Now, having mostly forgotten it, I occasionally wonder if it is as bad as it’s reputation and recently watched a YouTube group reaction (FilmJoy) to the extended edition. They have almost convinced me to watch it again so interested to know if it…

This reminds me of Buckfast Tonic Wine, a caffeinated wine in the UK. Turns out to also be of French origin around the same time but, unlike Vin Mariani, doesn’t contain cocaine and, because we didn’t have prohibition, remains largely the same now. Unofficial slogan “Buckfast, it’ll get you fucked fast”. It has a…

Hadn’t heard of World Trigger and after looking up the premise it sounds promising. Will keep it in mind for when I'm next looking for a new manga. Thank you.

So far My Hero Academia has been one of the better shonen manga I’ve read. I was intrigued by the idea of a manga take on superheroes and it’s entertained me as much as early Dragon Ball. In parallel I’ve been reading One Punch Man. While that goes for more comedy it’s interesting to see the similarities of their…

Knowing scientists penchant for amusing Latin names I thought Culex Molestus would translate as: pain in the arse. Sadly there seems to have been a disappointing lack of whimsy  as Google says it’s Annoying Gnat.

Ha! I had no idea Sir Terry Pratchet got the clown face painted egg - in men At Arms i think - from real life. It’s such a neat and charmingly practical idea. I have been saving his last few books to read and this reminds me that now is a good time.

I remember as a child in school we read a story in which people started being nice to each other because of a parasite’s survival mechanism. A niceness infection film as a philosophical follow up would be different and nice? Not ready for more of this current horror. Though if horror is where Soderbergh is headed,…

Giant Days vol. 14. I tried to take my time as it’s the last volume but rushed through it last night. There are more stories to tell with these characters and if Allison ever does then I’ll be on them in a flash. For now though I’m going to save a complete read through for a low weekend because this comic has never…

I think cricket is more of a former British Empire countries sport than European. Would not surprise me to find baseball far more popular in mainland Europe.

Yesterday finished a collected edition of the first 3 Black Company books by Glenn Cook. I’ve been intrigued by these since Steven Erikson mentioned their influence on his writing a series i really like: The Malazan Books of The Fallen. The influence is clear to see in some of the characters and world building. However…

As cutting people in half to count the rings is generally frowned upon may I suggest Wikipedia?

Why do cows follow the goat? I'd guess, from having eaten some delicious gold medal winning stakes, because it leads to championship.

A friend lent me the Pitch Perfect films that I intended to watch one a day for the weekend. I binged them all yesterday.

Not knowing much about them I expected a combination of my vague memories of Moulin Rouge and 1st season Glee. What they are, or at least start off as, is a combo of underdog sports film and…