Saturday, 5 July 2025

Aimee's art review

Albrecht Altdorfer, The Battle of Alexander at Issus (1529)

"I like this one. All the people, the message in the sky and the sun and the moon, it's very detailed. It's my favourite one."


Tsuguhara Foujita, Girl in the Park (1957)

"I like this one because it's bright and detailed."


Sam Francis, Around the Blues (1962)

"I don't like that one, it's rubbish."


Agnolo Bronzino, An Allegory of Venus and Cupid (1545)

"This is rude, because they're naked. There's a bottom there, a bottom there, there's even a willy. It's rude. I like it!"


Josef Albers, Homage to the Square (1964)

"The best thing about it is nothing. The worst thing about it is that it's just totally yellow. That's the worst one."


Wednesday, 2 July 2025

More songs by Aimee

The artist's second EP of song lyrics and stock photo selections following her 2024 debut.


I'll Always Have Your Back

You have to always remember
That I'll have your back
Forever
But didn't you know
That I'm sticking together with you

Some day we might be apart
But I don't think we will
Because we're together

I'll always have your back
No matter what
Because we're together
Forever

But didn't you know
That I'm sticking together with you
Forever

I'll always have your back
No matter what
Because we're together
Forever

Didn't you know
That we're sticking together

I'll always have your back
No matter what
Because we're together
Forever


Together Forever

How I shine
Shine though it's dark
You and me
You and me

That's a good reason why you love me
That's a good reason why you make me smile
And that is what I did with you
That is the reason why I have long hair like you
That is the reason I have black hair

Ohh ohh
Look at me, look at you, we're together now
Together all of us
We're all together, forever
Always be together, no matter what
I know we're together forever

You never worry about me being apart
I'll never forget you're me, you're in my heart
You were the reason that you made me fly in my dreams


The Money Song

[A half-hour financial epic improvised live at the playground and on the walk home, only a few fragments were recorded for posterity]

The money so-o-ong

Mo-o-o-o, mo-ney
Mo-o-o-o, mo-ney
Mo-o-o-on, ey-ey
Mo-o-o-on, ey-ey

You can do a painting job
You did the painting really well
And you get paid
You get the money today

Money, it's easy to get
You plant the crop
You plant the potatoes
You plant anything
Or you can do a different job
Like in the cafe
Be a babysitter
Whatever
And you'll get money, money
You'll get lots of money
Right in your day
You can get a coin
Put it in the locker, if you have one

My friend always has something in common
So let's pray for the day and shine bright with each other
So we can see the money, the mone-e-e-ey


Gloves Endless Song

[Scene: Wearing a pair of gloves on a hot summer day]

I'm definitely not taking my gloves off
Even though it's hot
I've got a secret, in my head...
Fine.

[Takes the gloves off]

Sunday, 29 June 2025

Alrightreads: Comixxxxxxxxxxx

Mike W. Barr, Peter David and artists, Star Trek Graphic Novel Collection: All Those Years Ago

1985-88 (collected 2020) / Ecomics / 118 pages

***

Three vintage DC annuals filling in some landmark historical blanks with commendable respect for canon, if less compelling plots.


Kris Straub, The Chainsawsuit Initiative

2011 / Ebook / 64 pages

**

I don't get it.


Various, Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror: Heebie-Jeebie Hullabaloo

1995-97 (collected 1999) / Ecomics / 144 pages

***

Even more authentic than the main series, and early enough to have free reign for parody before they presumably worked through absolutely everything.


Walter Simonson and Sal Buscema, The Mighty Thor, Vol. 3

1985-86 (collected 2013) / Ecomics / 264 pages

***

A bit of a comedown from the epic confrontation as our overpowered hero deals with various nuisances. I'm so used to it now that it's not even amusing any more, but since I'm over half way through, I might as well stick it out.


Joceline Fenton and Chrystin Garland, Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems

2016 / Ecomics / 128 pages

***

More on-model than the earlier comics, this is basically an episode, and it's fine. Includes an extensive gallery of misleading covers.

Friday, 27 June 2025

Alrightreads: Further scoops from the bottomless Rhys Hughes well

Rhys Hughes, Eyelidiad

1996 / Ebook/audiobook / 138 pages

****

Borderline classic of Gothic surrealism.


Rhys Hughes, The Crystal Cosmos

2007 / Ebook / 80 pages

*****

Inverse rationalism taken to its illogical conclusion.


Rhys Hughes, The Abnormalities of Stringent Strange

2013 / Ebook/audiobook / 205 pages

***

Hirsute pulp fun with some impressively deranged sci-fi concepts.


Rhys Hughes, The Million Word Storybook: Male Edition

1993–2015 (collected 2015) / Ebook

*****

After filtering out the crossover tales of the Female Edition and other collections I've read previously, there were only 11 new stories to get around to. There's not a significant difference between the two versions, which both give you more Rhys Hughes than most people strictly need, unless you're me.


Rhys Hughes, The Rhys Hughes Fantastic MEGAPACK

1995–19 (collected 2019) / Ebook / 319 pages

*****

A good selection for a possibly unauthorised best-of, with a few newer ones I hadn't read.

Wednesday, 25 June 2025

Alrightreads: Gamesmaster V

Various, My Little Pony Roleplaying Game: Dark Skies Over Equestria

2023 / Ebook / 168 pages

****

Some entertaining adventures with less engaging padding in-between, like an old Doctor Who serial, but easily abridged to taste.


Andrew Peregrine, My Little Pony Roleplaying Game: Nightmare Moon Campaign

2023 / Ebook / 4 pages

***

A decent outline for an unrealised campaign book, though riffing on existing concepts (even before they were specific episodes and comic stories). It's probably a bit scary for me to try my hand at expanding, so that gets me off the hook.


John Kennedy, My Little Pony Roleplaying Game: Great Cake Mistake / Sundae Mystery

2023 / Ebooks / 82 pages

***

These convention-oriented scenarios are more inviting than the standard introductory adventures, and we might try one or the other, though I wonder how much actual play these got, coming about a decade late for the brony craze.


Ryan Costello, Andrew Popowich and Mary Bellamy, My Little Pony Roleplaying Game: In a Jam

2024 / Ebook / 40 pages

**

Lower key than the equivalent second adventure from Tails of Equestria, MLP RPG players are spoiled for food-festival-themed escapades, if they like them apples. The montage challenge is a fun idea, at least.


Various, Sword & Sorcery: Relics & Rituals Core Rulebook

2001 / Ebook / 224 pages

****

An abundance of ideas for spells, items and other specific magical strangeness to supplement the single-page spellbook in our roleplaying system. 'Core' is right, this'll get a lot of digital nosing.

Monday, 23 June 2025

Alrightgames: Adventures on a Single Page – The Archmage's Thermal Baths (Adapted)

Adventures on a Single Page: The Archmage's Thermal Baths (Adapted)

2020 / Roleplaying game adventure / 2+ players

***

Another substituted quickie, taking out the baddies and ponied up as Flim & Flam's inadequately-researched mountain wellness resort (I was disappointed once again at recurring characters not being included in the Tails of Equestria standees pack in favour of random OCs). I didn't know what we were going to do with the dragon egg we'd be left with at the end, but after incubating in my mind for a few weeks, the ending emerged, which also solved the problem of my own pony character being underdeveloped and boring. Weredragon, bitches!

Sunday, 22 June 2025

Alrightgames: Adventures on a Single Page – Wizard Tower for Sale (Adapted)

Adventures on a Single Page: Wizard Tower for Sale (Adapted)

2021 / Roleplaying game adventure / 2+ players

***

Ponied up with no fuss to replace a duller sub-module in our ongoing Changeling campaign, it offered the chance to catch up with the accident-prone unicorn mage from our first outing and was just some fun time-warping craziness generally. The player was in such a hurry to ascend the floors that we missed the overpowered Wand of Silence sitting in a desk that could have been useful in our inevitable forthcoming confrontation. I did try to hint.

Saturday, 21 June 2025

Alrightgames: My Little Pony RPG – The Balance of Harmony (Adapted)

My Little Pony Roleplaying Game: Dark Skies Over Equestria – The Balance of Harmony (Adapted)

2023 / Roleplaying game adventure / 2-6 players

***

A more roleplay-intensive chapter was welcome after the previous one was a bit dicey, but the scenarios themselves could have been more interesting than mostly mundane domestic problems, especially since they're so loosely related to the theme and open to interpretation that they could have been anything. We only worked through a few, replacing the rest with imported modules and improv to advance our personal stories.

She had the most fun in between quests as we returned to Ponyville to demand our share of broth. We don't save the world for free.

Thursday, 19 June 2025

Alrightgames: Top Trumps Pairs – Sea Animals

Top Trumps Pairs: Sea Animals

2021 / Card game / 2+ players

**

"Top Trumps" in meaningless branding only. This is the least played of her primary-coloured Happy Meal wildlife card games, but she's found a new fascination in the camouflaged stargazer fish.

Tuesday, 17 June 2025

Alrightgames: Cozy Town

Cozy Town

2022 / Roleplaying community-building game / 3-4 players (played with 2)

***

I limited the card-based turn-taking activity to one short season to prevent boredom, but the young player continued the extracurricular roleplaying of Sonic Town's milestone Happiness Festival all evening, complete with extracurricular Lego diorama. You had to be there.

Since then, she's just enjoyed coming up with a town but not bothering with the game aspect. Fair enough.