Robot Claw – Page 508 – “Life In The So-Called Space Age”

Words I’ve Learned Playing Letterpress

December 12, 2012

Letterpress is a great game. We’re all playing it, so we all know that.

It’s also educational! Here, in alphabetical order, some words that I learned by having others play them against me.

bolix – to do something poorly, to ruin something in execution. (Variant spelling of bollix which itself is derivative of bollocks) (Played by Bernard)

crunkles – to crumple (obsolete) (Played by Dad)

furzes – a spiny shrub common to Western Europe (Played by Dad)

gunsels – young men kept for homosexual purposes; catamites (Played by Dad)

revers – the parts of some garments that fold in such a way as to give the appearance of a tailored collar (obsolete) (Played by Matthew)

seiten – a type of chewy food made of wheat gluten (Variant spelling of seitan) (Played by Florence)

snook – a type of fish related to the bass (Played by Joyce)

Dads words in particular give me pause. Is he guessing these, or is this indicative of the vocabulary of a man who learned English by reading antiquated Biggles novels in a primordial jungle?

There Will Be No Dawn For Me…

December 7, 2012

…on Sunday!

Tomorrow, we’re going to see the marathon of the extended versions of the three Lord Of The Rings films. You may not have heard, but to celebrate the release of The Hobbit next week, the three original films are back in the cinemas for one-day only.

And I mean ‘marathon’… the extended versions are about an hour longer each that the original versions that were in cinemas years back. The marathon starts at 11 am and goes until 1:30 am.

Yes my friends, 14.5 hours just for 3 movies!

Even though we own them on Blu-Ray, we’ve never actually watched the extended versions, and since we’re both big fans of the trilogy we’re both quite excited!

How many other people will be there? Will they let us bring food in? How many times will I have to go to the toilet? Will I emerge with a ruined coccyx?

Will I be the only one in the cinema who stands up and yells along with Saruman: ‘There shall be no dawn for men!‘

If you don’t hear from me for a while, the above is the reason why 🙂

I Boldly Went

December 4, 2012

Yes, my friends, from an equally mysterious source, I very recently managed to obtain this fine treasure:

OMG part 2! It’s a factory sealed box of Star Trek trading cards all the way from 1992! Look at the sheen of the pristine shrink-wrap! What fabulous treasures must be sealed inside?

Let’s find out:

Oh, alluring black and pink and blue! These packs just scream ‘Open me!‘ don’t they? Interesting how the divide between the TNG and OS packs is horizontal now compared to the series 1 box isn’t it?

Here’s a closer look at two of these little pouches of loot:

And here are the exact cards from the rightmost pack in the above photo:

A ‘Vulcan Lyrette‘?? It’s difficult, in English, to describe just how truly terrible most of the OS series cards in this set are. I loved looking at and reading each one of these marvelous cards! Here’s a shining example:

If we had a merciful God, I would be joking. Alas, I am not 🙂

Oh, but the TNG cards! They are wondrous! Doctor Leah Brahms! The last tragic moment of Tasha Yar’s life! Lwaxana Troi! Doctor Pulaski! Even the wonderful, wonderful Q! Surely a better card set couldn’t possibly exist?

And then there’s this work of art:

Yes my friends, resistance to the charm of these cards is positively futile!

So, my original offer stands. I purchased these not only for myself, but for each of you as well. I just know you want some of these, and my condition is trifling.

Simply, in 100 words or less, complete the following sentence in a comment:

“Excluding the obvious choice of Reginald Barkley, the Star Trek: TNG character I most identify with is _____________ because ____________ “

Serious answers only please! Let’s join the United Federation of Planets together 🙂