Sleep paralysis demon

This face belongs to my newly-acquired sleep paralysis demon. One night I had a dream that made me annoyed and angry. I don't remember the details, but I remember the emotions I was feeling when I suddenly woke up. Sir, you are sleeping on my chest and stomach. Your chubbiness is compressing my insides, making breathing difficult while limiting my range of movement which I like to enjoy, even when asleep.

That was a couple of weeks ago, so why am I posting this report now? Because since then, I have been waking up to this face at all strange hours of the night as since he's done it once, he feels entitled to do so repeatedly. No more. Your new career has been terrifying and short-lived. You threw up on my carpet and my mattress, so now you are summarily banned from my room. In revenge, he's taken to jump scaring me awake with the Song of his People, loudly lamenting the injustice of revoking his privileges for no good reason. Excuse me, sir?

SU-METAL wins Metal Awards' Female Metal Singer of 2024

 

This news is days late, but I was waiting for a video I could make a link to. Suzuka Nakamoto a.k.a. SU-METAL is Metal Awards' Female Metal Singer of 2024 after winning a year-long ballot by a landslide. The video cites the openness of the Metal community, becoming more inclusive of new, innovative variations within the genre, and how BABYMETAL's blend of heavy metal and idol-pop has opened up to the world a new way to appreciate Metal music. Agree and agree.

SU-METAL has forged an over a decade's long bond with a growing fanbase who really love her and BABYMETAL so much that they care enough to actually vote. Consider that the total number of votes cast for Female Singer at nearly 100,000 is double that for Male Singer at 50,000. Voting matters. When I cast my vote last year, SU already had a commanding lead over her rivals, so I knew that this fanbase was unparalleled among other female-fronted metal bands. Give her more chocolate to keep her (and MOA and MOMO) working hard and happy at making great musical productions for us all!

Certified roadworthy

Today was all about getting M2 ready for 2025. I'd originally planned to get everything done over the next few days, but because of good timing and a convergence of locations, M2 is physically roadworthy for another season of zipping around town.

Although a little premature, we went to the dealer for periodic servicing. Here's where I learned something new about car tyres:

It's upside down, but the last two of the digits encircled by this oval shape tell of the year of manufacture: 2021. The preceding "20" means it was manufactured in the 20th week of 2021. The mech told me this so that if I ever need to get an after-market replacement, I can insist on purchasing new stock instead of old.

In the afternoon, we went to our bi-annual LTA inspection which we had to pass. That's the other reason for today's servicing -- to get everything pre-inspection ready. Among other things, brakes, emissions, drift, and alignment were all parts of the test, and we got a clean bill of health which will last another two years.

The next thing was to get the new ERP 2.0 On Board Unit (OBU) installed. Coincidentally, I could get it done at the test centre itself. I actually planned to get it done tomorrow at an authorised agent I'm familiar with, but since I could get it done today, why not? One odd thing is that I should have been notified of my 2-month free installation window period, but that notification never came. It was only because of curiosity that I checked a couple of days ago and discovered I was eligible. Had I missed this window, the cost would have been mine to bear, and that would not have been nice. 

Anyway, now I have a GPS-looking device permanently glued to my windscreen, and that's just the touchscreen display. I turned off the annoying huge-ass digital clock display, preferring this mostly blank screen. With this thing installed, M2's movements are constantly and persistently tracked by overhead satellites, effectively wrecking his potential as a getaway car. The touchscreen will now give me real-time traffic updates based on my location, kind'a like Waze, but since the sats are tracking every vehicle on the road the info is spot-on accurate.

What remains is to get the necessary documentation done: renew insurance and road tax. Since the systems are all online, that will be easily done. Tomorrow. Correction: Done.

Going with the 'Flow'

The first time I watched this trailer, I was instantly hooked. But being a more arthouse project, the film got a very limited run. Glad I got a ticket to today's screening at The Projector -- and the very first time I took advantage of the senior citizens' price.

'Flow' is a beautiful piece of storytelling. There isn't much of a plot but a journey as we, the audience, literally follow the flow of wherever the story takes us. In a world seemingly left behind by the human population, our protagonist, the black cat, lives a relatively comfortable life in an abandoned house probably once occupied by a sculptor with a cat obsession. For some reason -- which isn't important since cats don't ever ask 'why' -- the world is flooded in a deluge that drowns all but the tallest of peaks. The cat is able to swim to a boat cast adrift, only to find it is already occupied by a capybara. Thus begins the tale of a boat that eventually collects an odd assortment of stranded animals: a materialistic lemur, a golden retriever, and a heron secretary bird injured while protecting the cat from hostiles.

The animation is smooth, and while it betrays computer graphics, the style looks like every cel is painstakingly painted. Each animal behaves like it should, and anthropomorphizing is very limited to how the capybara, heron, and to some extent, the cat quickly figure out how to steer the boat using the rudder. Through the journey, we are treated to scenes of bravery, compassion, heroism, generosity and of course, conflict, as this microcosmic Noah's Ark learns to trust one another and eventually care for each other.

What I also love about this movie is that there is no human dialogue at all. Each animal makes its own sounds, but meaning is communicated through tone and body language The artists must have studied the movements of each animal carefully, and faithfully reproduced them convincingly on screen. As I'm watching them, I'm also thinking about my animals at home. Would they be able to survive as ably if their human owners unexpectedly disappeared?

There's an obsession over mirrors and reflections as a recurring theme. Clearly, the movie is an allegory about unity in diversity, and how different talents complement each other when contributing to the greater good. The goldie gains the cat's trust by mirroring its movements, so there is a strong statement that's being made about what we can accomplish together as we navigate the chaos and uncertainty of living in our reality.

But I also detect an undercurrent of caution against selfishness too. The boat picks up a pack of dogs stranded in rising waters, but almost immediately they cause problems for the original crew. Although not outright hostile, there is a conflict over ownership of the things the lemur has brought on board. They also eat all the fish the cat had worked hard to catch. And when their help is really needed to save a life, they bail. While it was a moral obligation to save their lives, there really was no time to set boundaries and conditions before taking them on board.

Overall, this movie is more of an experience than anything else. It moves from one situation to the next. Some are breathtakingly gorgeous, others are tense and ominous. Like the current that keeps the boat moving forward, so too do we go with the flow.

Bekhauf: High energy inspiration by Bloodywood ft BABYMETAL (Pt 2)

Bekhauf official MV has dropped. It's not an anime series but an animation featuring the vocalists of Bloodywood and BABYMETAL in an action-packed battle against deities from both Hindu and Japanese pantheons. The narrative runs parallel to BABYMETAL's Karate: forced to fight, the protagonists hold their own against fearful opponents, they suffer a setback, they focus on rescuing one another before combining forces to finally win. Interestingly, the stakes are not exactly life and death but for the respect of the antagonists. In this sense, adversity is a test of resilience and being able to count on each other in a fight to the end. 'Bekhauf', according to the subtitles means 'fearless', but it's more like being undaunted, not reckless.

Musically, the track is a (head)banger. It's full of high energy and a driving beat, great for a cardio workout or an on-the-road playlist. It doesn't have a catchy hook -- that is, I've watched the video a couple of times now but if there's an earworm in there, I haven't got it yet. On the whole, it's great to listen to, but offers little to crowd participation, though this is only my first impression. While the end credits list KOBAMETAL as the Producer, this track sounds more like a Bloodywood piece than a BABYMETAL one. That's not a bad thing. I like the diversity in the metal, pop, rap, electronica combination, the encouraging storyline of the video, and I got to listen to Bloodywood for the first time.

Bekhauf: High energy inspiration by Bloodywood ft BABYMETAL

The ladies of BABYMETAL have turned in yet another collab, this time with Indian metal band, Bloodywood. As of now, the full audio track is available on Bloodywood's channel. Anxiously awaiting the full MV drop which, going by past experience, should be by about midnight tonight.

Meantime, I'm posting the YouTube trailer link which is very anime inspired. The catch phrase is "fear is a choice (but the choice is mine)". This concept and the music sound more serious than dance poppy. The track is mostly metal featuring a lot of male harsh vocals amidst a driving, relentless heavy rhythm with what sounds like SU's clean vocals seemlessly blending in to smoothen the tone, backed with MOA and MOMO's harmonies. The ladies' voices are rather electronically processed, perhaps for an ethereal effect, contrasting the grounded and growly male voices. The bridge features a clear traditional stringed instrument, though with the electronic effect it's hard to tell which one. Drums out, SU gets a beautifully rendered verse to herself. This is one high energy song meant to inspire and encourage, like "Leave It All Behind" but with less didactic lyrics. Well, less didactic English lyrics, anyway.

Have to tune in again later to match the visuals to the audio for a better picture of what this collab is all about. I don't know what "Bekhauf" means, and for now I don't want to find out. Could this song be the intro to a new anime series? The trailer suggests a story that could be epic.

Katsu craving

Had a katsu craving, but didn't feel like going to the usual place and wanted to try somewhere else. Wandered around Takashimaya's basement food offerings and found this place, Kimukatsu. Just what I was looking for.

A healthy chunk of breaded pork, crispy on the outside, tender inside. I like that when I order the garlic option (original, cheese, and garlic being the top sellers according to the counter guy) it isn't shy on the garlic. I also like that the sauces come in dipping saucers, and not slathered on top so I get to control how much or little flavour I want in every bite. Left is teriyaki, right is shoyu, if I'm not mistaken.

What's unique is the rice that comes individually portioned. It's a nice touch to have a staple that isn't dished out of a generic pot but rather is specially cooked just for you. Please don't make the mistake of eating the rice directly from the wooden steamer and make a mess. Take the extra step to scoop it out into the empty bowl provided, like a civilized person. Thank you.

Honestly, I initially thought the pork may not have been enough for the amount of rice served, but taking polite bites and alternating the meat with the shredded cabbage and pickles, the whole set proved just right. I wish they'd also provided a napkin to deal with cabbage whiplash, but there was a box of facial tissues fully on display on the counter, and not difficult to reach for, at least from where I was sitting.

Finally, the matcha was more robust than I expected. More like a proper beverage than a tea. Maybe it's because when ordering I said 'matcha' instead of 'green tea'. Would that have made a difference? Anyway, it was a satisfying finisher to lunch.

Nice to have a second option to the usual, with comparable quality for a marginally lower price too.

Agatha All Along: Con All Along

Episode 7 from last week was so impactful that the two remaining episodes released concurrently today on Halloween struggled to match. They were still good and answered a few remaining questions, regardless.

Episode 8 brings us full circle minus the witches that died on the way. Death isn't playing around. Dead is dead. But she is a professional doing her job, so there are no theatrics with her... well... Firm, but patient she allows Alice to rue how short-lived her curse-liberated life has been before asking, "Are you ready?". Rio/Death has also one of the most meta moments early in the episode when she uses her knife to slash the scene like it was a stage backdrop -- which it is -- and disappears into the rift.

As in the Wizard of Oz, Billy's shoes get them home, or at least to the site of the last trial. Agatha recognizes it as her basement, though it seems she is joking at the time. The final trial, though supposed to be for the green witch, is for everybody to pass individually. Jenn, High Priestess "unable or unwilling to use her power", pieces together who had put the binding spell on her (it was Agatha All Along) and frees herself. Having made a deal with Rio, Agatha helps Billy Maximoff get what he's missing even though it is specifically what Rio does not want for Billy to have. Agatha's busy betraying everyone left and right at this point. She passes her trial on a technicality, but what she is missing she does not get back.

The 3 surviving coven members finally return home. Back in William Kaplan's room, Billy realizes how alike he and Wanda are. The Witches' road and Coven Harkness' journey on it was entirely made up based on the items and knick knacks that decorate William Kaplan's room. Billy Maximoff has created a Wandavision-like hex bubble in Agatha's (or rather Ralph Boehner's) basement  through which the coven traveled. If not for Billy's imagination, the Road doesn't exist at all -- and Agatha has known it all along!

Which brings us to the finale. I was wrong about Agatha being secretly good. She's a very horrid person, perhaps due to her mother and original coven being dead set on killing her way back in the 18th century. Ever since then, she's lived with a persecution complex, surviving on preemptive strikes on any coven she discovers. Rio asks Agatha why she lets people believe she sacrificed her son for the Darkhold, to which she replies that the truth is much worse.

While it is not clear how Agatha and Rio became so close, Rio allowed Agatha's son, Nicholas, 6+ years of life although he was supposed to die at childbirth. The Ballad of the Witches' Road was cobbled together by Nicholas and Agatha while they celebrated their bond and their journey together 'down the wind-y road' which was Nicholas' original lyric. The Ballad spread as Nicholas performed it in public places to make money. After Death finally came for Nicholas, Agatha took the opportunity to use the song that once was about the love between mother and child, turning it into a con in which she traded the lives of entire covens for their power. This story doesn't explain the Darkhold, but it does show that Agatha betrayed the innocence, purity and beauty of her son's memory just to feed her addiction to power. The one good thing that came of her life corrupted into a scam.

In my analysis of this entire series, I never asked one very crucial question. If this story mirrored The Wizard of Oz so closely, who is the Wizard of Oz? The con artist. The trickster. The one with no power, but made use of the power of others to get his way. It is Agatha All Along.

Music box

A little souvenir from our staff bonding exercise today. We crafted our own music box diorama from a selection of figurines brought over by the vendor, Okdodoo, a local startup. My first attempt is messy with the use of too much glue. The residue is obvious in the shiny flecks on the display surface. I had my eye on a larger, more realistic looking tree, but was seconds too slow to grab it off the parts table. Hence this more stylized tree which I'll take as a metaphor for why we can't have nice things. Regardless, I'm pleased with the overall composition which avoids excessive symmetry, and things arranged along a straight line. The music is, of course, a couple of bars from the "My Neighbor Totoro" theme. The tone is pleasant, soothing even, and worth the wind-up, at least while the novelty still lasts.

A shout-out to the two partners of Okdodoo who are 'live' demonstrations of taking the path less traveled by foregoing their corporate careers to pursue a creative passion. Each item is hand-crafted by the two of them. They didn't detail their process, but it's clear they're fully committed to their craft and motivated by a love for what they do. Given today's activity theme of the future of work, these two gentlemen clearly embody some of the many traits that we would like to see in our kids as we prepare them for their futures.

Agatha All Along Ep 7: it's about time

As the season is winding down, the revelations are coming thick and fast. The trial is for Lilia, the coven's seer. My guess about the road under the Witches' Road proved correct. Lilia and Jen, having been hurled into the bog, get sucked under and deposited in an underground passage. The route to this trial, though, takes place within the fractured and improperly sequenced timeline of Lilia's centuries' old existence.

The creativity of this episode in telling the story through a disordered jumble of scenes -- that gives the audience a taste of the disorientating kind of life Lilia has lived -- and still making them all make sense to the overall narrative so far is amazing. When all the pieces fall into place for both Lilia and us, her sporadic and incongruous outbursts throughout the season turn out to be spot-on premonitions and warnings acquired from the future, but are too fragmented and devoid of context to be useful. This is exactly Lilia's gift and curse, and the reason she has chosen to neglect her power. Just because she can see the future does not give her any ability to alter it, so what's the point when all she sees is Death?

Lilia's trial helps her understand her true purpose, finally giving the lion the courage to face her visions and see them through to the end. When seen in their totality, her visions are not really as bad as when she just catches glimpses of incomprehensible bits and pieces which are scary because without proper context they seem so random, hopeless, and futile. This key realization gives her the means to literally turn the tables on the Salem's Seven with some apparent finality, and not a moment too soon. For Lilia, herself, it's bittersweet that the end of her trial gives her a new beginning too.

Also, it seems to me that each episode, like in Wandavision, moves our characters through time. In AAA, the movement is backwards through history. Episode 7 puts us in a medieval setting, but the costumes are based on contemporary Hollywood depictions of fairy tale witches. Agatha is the classical Wicked Witch of the West, which is the persona she projects in front of people. Billy is Disney's Maleficent (I admit I don't yet see the symbolism, though he does brag about having the cheekbones for it, referencing Angelina Jolie who played the role). Jen is dressed as the Disney version of Snow White's evil stepmom in disguise as the hooded fruit vendor bearing a poisoned apple as a reference to Jen being a shyster hawking toxic products prior to the Road. Lilia is dressed as the classical Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, who although takes offence at the cultural stereotyping heroically plays out the role for real by the end of the episode. While Agatha already knows who Rio is, Rio's true identity is revealed in this episode too, although among the rest of the coven only Lilia gets to see it.

What's the scene, drama queen?

Continuing with the witchy vibe from the last few posts, we get a storm in a stirring ladle from 'Wicked' star, Cynthia Erivo, who is upset over a fan edit of the movie's promotional poster. In homage to the 'live' Broadway poster of the musical, the fan casts the shadow of the hat's brim over Erivo's eyes to create a more photorealistic version of the same.

Erivo takes exception to her soulful eyes being "erase[d]", and by extension, the erasure of her entire being. Seriously? It's a movie poster, not a personal boudior portrait. The character being portrayed in the poster is Elpheba, supported by her best friend, Glinda (played by Ariana Grande). The Broadway poster sets an important scene focusing on the relationship between the two characters. There is the sense of closeness, of course, but also confidentiality, conspiracy, and with just a hint of a smile (and with obscured eyes), a sinister plot being hatched. Less is more.

What exactly is happening in the OG movie poster? With Erivo's face in full view, choosing "to look down the barrel of the camera to you, the viewer..." those eyes, beautiful as they are, "communicate" nothing of the relationship, or the scene the two characters are in. In fact, it looks like Elpheba is not even paying attention to what Glinda is whispering in confidence to her, and by looking straight at the audience, it's like Elpheba can't wait to spill the tea for us. Besides, Elpheba is not a fourth-wall breaking character like Deadpool or She-Hulk are (unless she is in the movie?), so if Erivo is promoting anything in the movie poster, it's not the movie, but herself -- especially since she is so perturbed by a fan edit that she takes so personally.

When you're in a movie poster, you are not you. It's distastefully unprofessional for a performer to put themselves above the production they're in. Get over yourself.

Agatha All Along Ep 6: Heeere's Billy!

I love that Episode 6 is a complete break from the pattern that began on the Road, and was starting to get repetitive. It's clear that Teen is Billy, Wanda's kid. And now we get some answers about how that came to be. The clues were there all along.

Half the episode is spent on connecting the dots of Teen's backstory which in itself is a lot of fun as we see fragments of the puzzle fall into place, explaining how a life conceived in a delusional woman's fever dream could possibly manifest itself in corporeal form, along with his true motivation for walking the Road. The other half is a complete re-shoot of Episode 1, but from Teen's perspective rather than Agatha's. It's hilarious as we get to see how her neighbours would have interacted with someone whom they would have rightfully considered delusional for the past three years. It's nice that they treated her kindly all that time while she behaved like a complete lunatic in their midst.

Although it's Agatha's show, this episode is almost entirely Billy's vehicle. Agatha survives her attempted drowning in the bog -- which seems to be her forte -- so she gets to be the sole audience to hear Billy's sigil-uncensored self-reveal. I'm not clear how she knows, but with Billy seemingly having killed off Jen and Lilia in the previous episode, Agatha senses a kindred witch-killing spirit in him. As the two surviving members of the coven that started this journey proceed further down the Road looking for the next trial, their relationship dynamic is now more unwilling master-apprentice, less owner-goldie. In the meantime, Rio's whereabouts are unknown and no one's looking for her anyway.

How will Coven Harkness pass the next trial if it's meant for Lilia or Rio? Could a resurrection be in store for Lilia if it's hers? Will we return to formula and the Oz motifs in the next and subsequent episodes? Only a week to find out.

Wait. I just realized that Billy has replaced Agatha as Dorothy. Like Dorothy who recognizes that her travelling companions on the Yellow Brick Road are people she knows and met in real life, so too has Billy/William Kaplan encountered the members of Coven Harkness before their journey on the Witches' Road. The Oz theme is still driving the story, but it's taken an unexpected detour. Awesome!

Agatha All Along Ep 5: you can't go home again

Consider me thrown. This episode has upset many of my expectations. First, we're no longer on a merry jaunt through the creepy woods. This episode is really leaning a lot more into the 80's horror vibe. The reintroduction of the pursuers, the Salem's Seven, puts them directly in contact with Agatha's coven, who manages to get away this time. We also get a backstory about the Seven's origins, as told by Lilia and Rio. It's interesting that Agatha, herself, neither confirms nor denies the story. After all, she was there when it happened, and was also probably responsible for how it turned out -- but she says nothing other than "mercy is overrated". Hmm...

The trial begins with the coven dressed like teenagers having a sleepover Cabin in the Woods style. They are comfortably dressed for bed but are made to commune with the dead instead. Surprisingly, this trial is Agatha's. Instead of it being the climactic trial like I expected, Agatha's trial takes place at the mid-point of the season. Again, the parent-child relationship is at the heart of trauma. The ghost that manifests is Agatha's own mother with whom she has had a very different relationship from Lorna and Alice Wu's of the last episode. It seems that Agatha had no love from her mother since birth. Instead of protection, Agatha's mom wants to punish her daughter and tells the coven to continue on the Road without Agatha.

In the tussle over Agatha's fate, history repeats itself and once again, Agatha gains power at the expense of a coven member. I'm not sure if Agatha passed her trial, but she certainly got what she wanted out of it. Her response, though, doesn't look like she was happy with the price she paid. Agatha is a complicated woman. I speculate that Agatha would rather everyone believe the worst of her, than pointlessly defend herself for her mistakes.

While Teen usually takes Agatha's side in arguments, this act of betrayal disillusions him. When Agatha spitefully tells Teen how much he and his mother are alike, she has clearly accepted that he is not her son. Her trial confirms what Rio told her in the previous episode, so Agatha's hopes are finally dashed. Having eliminated one possibility, Agatha suspects another witch who could be Teen's mom, Could he really be Wanda's?

We don't find out immediately as Teen lashes out with a power we never knew he had: mind-controlling the remaining coven to toss Agatha into the bog that threatened to drown Sharon Davis in Episode 2. He also uses telekenisis to toss the coven (sans Rio -- where is she?) into the bog too. These are Wanda's powers, though not her colour. It's a jaw-dropping moment as Teen stands alone, magical sparks crackling from his fingers, and wearing what looks like Wanda's headpiece, with Billie Eilish's "You Should See Me in a Crown" playing in the background.

If Agatha is Dorothy's parallel, in a way, she did go home to her mom, but found no welcome there.

I wonder if next episode, the journey takes us literally "down the Road" -- as in down underground -- since that's the direction the coven has taken, thanks to Teen.

Agatha All Along Ep 4

I have to be honest and ask if this series needs to be 9 episodes long. While it kicked off with an intriguing premise, and gathered a quirky, dysfunctional coven of mediocre witch people, we seem to be repeating a formula for each character's trial. Episode 3 was a scavenger hunt of common household items. This episode involved nothing more than singing a song. While it was a competent performance with the occasional dramatic moment, that was it. Trial complete and let's move on.

In performing the song, Alice discovers that her mother composed it as an expression of love for her daughter. It also functioned as a spell of protection over Alice, saving her from the fire that killed her mother. So, the tin-man finds her heart when before she was empty of belief, and had numbed her emotions (except anger) having never got over the loss of Mommy. It's a redemption arc, neatly summed up in the title of this episode.

We also learn that each trial represents an element that will kill the aspirants on the Road should they fail. The previous episode threatened them with drowning, while this one would have offered them to the flames. So far, both causes of death are common means employed to execute witches.

Perhaps the depiction of Alice's trial had to be shortened for scenes of the coven members starting to respect each other and begin the process of bonding over past trauma. But I feel that Sharon "Mrs Hart" Davis deserved better than a simple burial, which while mostly respectful was unceremonious. To also have her immediately and dramatically replaced by Rio Vidal (which was not unexpected) did her dirty. I suspect we're not quite done with Sharon yet, though. She's had too much build up to not return in perhaps a different form later.

As for Agatha, Rio more or less confirms our suspicions of her intentions towards the members of her current coven. As for Agatha's seemingly maternal behaviour towards Teen, Rio seems sincere in informing Agatha that Teen isn't Agatha's. But Rio also looks to be carefully curating these information drops, so if she inadvertently lets a proverbial cat out of the bag, it was perhaps no accident.

Overall, I found this episode exposition heavy while going through the motions of yet another trial. A show loses its fun factor when it repeats formula and becomes predictable Here's hoping that Episode 5 will do something crazy, or at least different, to throw my expectations for a refreshing loop..

Agatha All Along Ep 3 -- character notes

'Agatha' episode 3 scatters a lot of little clues about the company on the Road. Other than introducing the first trial on the Road, the Wizard of Oz theme takes a backseat. Good choice, as now we can follow each character's backstory without needing to forcibly connect them with their Oz doubles (oh, really?).

Let's start with Agatha. She becomes very unlikable as her cowardice and selfishness amp up in this episode. She is either lying about having walked the Road before, and she's just winging it, or judging by her behaviour on this current journey, she might have survived the last one at the expense of her travelling companions back then. While she has no inclination to face the dangers of the trial, she unexpectedly becomes very protective of Teen when he offers himself as her replacement. Could there be some maternal instinct kicking in? Possibly. Jen recounts a rumour that Agatha had sacrificed her child for the Book of the Damned (the Darkhold?), and if that were true, she doesn't seem willing to repeat the experience. The glimpse she has into her past suggests how horrified she is about what she did, but it's too early to say. Terrible friend though she is, she is a terrific coach, giving Jen a heartfelt pep-talk that snaps her out of a panic attack, allowing her to complete her crucial task.

Teen, the Gen-Z representative comes in clutch navigating the trial which is set in a modern yuppie house. Making use of the kitchen sink as a makeshift cauldron, Jen the Potions witch needs to bring her brew to a boil fast. Teen immediately comes up with a 21st Century solution. In fact, early in the episode, Teen figures out that the trials are meant to be faced without witchy magic but with practical magic, emphasis on the "craft" in "witchcraft". This realization opens up for us a glimpse into the witchy codenames for what are otherwise ordinary household ingredients like "eye of newt" referring to mustard seed, and "gut of a eusocial insect", meaning honey. We also learn that none of Agatha's coven can hear Teen's backstory either. It's been censored by a sigil that keeps his secrets secret from the witching community.

It is Jen's expertise that is under trial in this episode. It is up to her to remember the ingredients of the potion needed to save the lives of their coven. A vision of her past shows how terrified she is of a mysterious Victorian-looking man who calls her "an inconvenient woman", appears to have abused her and possibly stolen her power. When Jen freaks out, being unable to remember the last ingredient of the potion, Agatha reminds her that knowledge IS power. Jen the fraud, the scarecrow, finds her brains and completes the potion, ending the first trial. Jen is the first to name-drop, Mephisto, who is widely speculated to make his MCU debut in this series, but it could be just as well be a fan service red herring.

We get only a fragment of Lilia's past in her vision. Giving off a Renaissance horror vibe, her vision hints that her trauma has to do with survivor's guilt. "They're all dead", Lilia says in Italian when she returns to reality. If Lilia is the Lion, she may have stayed quiet and hidden while she watched some horrific event happen to the people around her. As such, her trial may have to do with confronting her act of cowardice. We'll see in subsequent episodes.

Similarly with Alice, her vision is fragmentary. It speaks of a generational curse, and hints at Alice's abandonment issues. She tells Teen that her mother "wasn't well", and in her vision, her mother drinks out of a suspicious-looking vial immediately after declaring that she was "next". Perhaps the heart Alice the Tin-man is looking for has to do with forgiveness for her mother.

'Mrs Hart'. The whole of this episode, she has been responding as a normal, non-magical person would, having been dragged unwittingly on a magical journey. She constantly reminds us that she is "Sha-ron" which is the identity badge she carries around with her throughout the episode. She is endearingly hilarious with her lines and behaviour. Her character is built up a lot, so what happens to her at the end is unexpectedly heart-wrenching. With Agatha simply responding "Who's Sharon?" to close the episode, I suspect that the human "Sharon" identity will take on a new magical form, which would be crucial at the trial of the Green Witch. Or if Rio Vidal is actually meant for this task, it's important for Sharon to be separated from this group so that she can transform into the Good Witch whose role is yet to be filled.

No sign of Rio or the Salem's Seven, but I believe their absence gives us a chance to understand the underlying motivations of our main characters before pursuit begins again.

Anticipating along with Agatha

Marvel's latest Disney+ series, "Agatha All Along" began with a 2-episode drop. The first 2 episodes set up what looks like a "Wizard of Oz" journey, leaving lots of references and parallels in the plot and characters they introduce. What follows is a list of "Agatha" characters that parallel Baum's classic tale.

Wanda's body is discovered. Cause of death: being crushed by something large and heavy. The Wicked Witch of the East (WWE) is killed by Dorothy's house falling on her. Wanda's body is repeatedly shown to have no shoes. Dorothy subsequently takes possession of WWE's ruby slippers and wears them for the rest of the story. Agatha finds a locket which she wears presumably for the rest of the series. The power Dorothy is looking for is in the slippers she wears. Presumably, the power Agatha is looking for resides in the locket. The power in both objects are unlocked at the end of the journey. Perhaps then we will understand the significance of the lock of hair in the locket -- a secret possibly closely connected to the character played by Joe Locke(!).

Agatha parallels Dorothy. Unlike Dorothy who wakes from her dream at the end, Agatha wakes from her dream at the beginning. She finds herself in the town whose inhabitants were terrorized by Wanda, like the Munchkins were terrorized by WWE. The locket and the lock of hair inside it are likely to be connected to the empty child's room in Agatha's house. Joe Locke's Teen says that what is "missing" is at the end of their journey, so perhaps what Agatha is missing is a son. It'll be too convenient for Teen to be Agatha's son, though. I anticipate further complications.

Agatha introduces Teen as "Toto", the name of Dorothy's dog, who is a silent companion on the journey. While Teen proves very smoothly loquacious, a spell keeps him silent about his origins. Teen is the instigator of Agatha's journey, just as Toto, for whom Dorothy is searching, keeps her from reaching shelter in time, thus resulting in them both being sept away by the cyclone that starts their journey.

Lillia, the Divinations witch, parallels the Lion. Agatha calls her "Coward" which is the Lion's identifying trait.

Jen, Potions, likely parallels the Scarecrow. Agatha calls her "Fraud", which is what a scarecrow is. It's job is to scare crows by pretending to be human.

Alice (and here I admit I'm stretching the parallels) is the Tin-Man. Agatha calls her "Disappointment", but the parallel I'm seeing is that as an ex-cop and the Protection witch, she carries a badge of law-enforcement that was once made of tin in the USA's early days.

Rio Vidal is probably the Wicked Witch of the West (WWW) who is Dorothy's pursuer. There is bad blood between Rio and Agatha, a love-hate relationship. There is betrayal between them, and I wonder if Agatha's missing son might have something to do with that. Jen accuses Agatha of child sacrifice, so could something have happened to Agatha's son, Nicholas Scratch, that might have given the impression that she had sacrificed him in the past?

Salem's Seven: for the moment I see them as the flying monkeys WWW sends after Dorothy the same way that Rio had informed the vengeful group of Agatha's whereabouts.

The one wildcard is Sharon "Mrs Hart" Davis whom Agatha brings in as a misdirect. It is likely that Mrs Hart is an undiscovered witch. She is a substitute for a Green witch required to complete the party (so Agatha isn't lying when she invites Mrs Hart to a "party"). Mrs Hart describes herself as having a "green thumb", and her dress is full of botanical motifs, so she could very well be as magical as her counterparts, she just doesn't know it yet. She is the only one wearing white, though. By process of elimination, Mrs Hart could be the equivalent of the Good Witch of the North, Dorothy's adopted fairy godmother along her journey.

It'll be another few hours before I can watch Episode 3 at time of publication. I really want to see how this series will continue and twist our expectations now that the players are set and the journey has begun.

Reviewing the much maligned Star Wars Outlaws

Played the Prologue chapter of Star Wars Outlaws which came free with the new PC. This Ubisoft game is currently receiving much flak. So few people have bought it despite it being a Star Wars property that it's being blamed for the company's stock nosediving significantly since its launch.

Apart from complaints about poor gameplay, dumb enemy AI, and other glitches, the central issue most critics take with it is the ugly female avatar you play as. Normally, players would have little problem playing as a female character, as long as there's an option to play a male character as well (like Shepard in Mass Effect), but nobody wants to play an ugly female character. To be fair, I think Kay Vess, while no supermodel, is still kinda' like a normal, somewhat athletic everyday woman. For a game that involves a lot of sneaking around, it makes sense that she isn't an attention-grabbing glamourpuss, anyway.

As for the game itself, right off the bat there's a lot to learn about the mechanics of character movement, the use of your companion, um, animal, the puzzle minigames (which can thankfully be switched off), and character and equipment progression. I'm not used to sneaking-around games, and having to keep track of which buttons do what messes up my pathetic attempts to scuttle undetected from cover to cover, so I end up running and gunning instead. The game does allow for that option too, but it's punishing in the early stages given the rudimentary state of our weapons and gear. Like I wish I had found out sooner to just get into the unattended spaceship, instead of dying so often, fighting off wave after wave of armed guards. You don't level up from killing people, so there's no point being a hero, anyway.

Is it a bad game? It's frustrating, at times, but I'm having a masochistic kind of fun learning from my mistakes, and redoing scenarios repeatedly until I don't die and can move forward to the next thing. There are layers of complex systems to master (skill specializations, and faction reputation management, for example), and I've barely scratched the surface. After leaving the home planet, I'm carrying around some backstory, a load of guilt, a substantial bounty on my head, not enough pocket change, and perhaps a score to settle with the Rebel Alliance for recruiting me under false pretenses. The whole setup is intriguing enough to see where it's all going to lead, plus the promise of open-world exploration once the main campaign is complete.

I don't believe Star Wars Outlaws deserves the cold shoulder. People should give it a chance for what it is, rather than allow prejudice to excoriate it for what it's not, and not meant to be. To play it as a fresh new experience, and not play it to find fault with it and use that criticism to discourage others from playing the game for themselves. As it is, I hesitated purchasing the game because of the criticism it got even pre-launch, and I'm only playing it now because I got it for free. I think I'm having a good time with it.

Lingering for lox

Went for my semi-annual teeth cleaning. They do a very thorough job, getting right into the crevices to eradicate food debris and stuff. So with a little guilt (and no prior breakfast) I sought out the nearest available nosh and the M&S cafe was it. Time to put back what the dental hygienist had taken out.

I immediately gravitated to the salmon and cream cheese bagel without thinking about it. My mouth already tasted bloody from the oral scouring not 10-minutes earlier, and I worried that the bagel might be so well toasted that every bite would erupt into shrapnel, as I've experienced in other places before.

Thankfully, the bagel here was soft and fluffy, with a light, super-fragile crust for the tiniest crunch. The salmon (lox) came in a generous portion, complementing the cream cheese -- an unusual combination, but somehow it works. The sandwich (?) included lettuce, dill and a pickle slice, subtly sweet-sour, adding a fresh flavour to every mouthful.

The cappuccino was milky and smooth going down. Good for sipping while people-watching, but because parking was expensive in the area, I couldn't hang around as long as I would've liked.

2 PCs, 1 monitor

Here's the solution to my 2 PCs, 1 monitor problem. An HDMI switch (not a splitter which would solve the opposite problem). The 2 outputs go into the main unit, while the attached 1m cable couples with the lone functional HDMI input slot in the monitor. Now I can have both PCs on and toggle between the 2 displays using the circular button on the main unit, instead of having to alternately plug separate cables in and out of the slot causing unnecessary wear and tear on everything. This switch is from Baseus and was the only model I found on the shelves at my local Challenger. So total budget overrun is now $23 for the extra HDMI cable, and $24 for the switch.

The new desktop powerhouse

A mostly easy and painless setup of the new Aftershock Ryzen 5 7600 + GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER rig. Essentially just plug and play. The problem I had was with my existing monitor which apparently has only 1 functional HDMI port. Maybe the other port needs cleaning, but my idea of sharing 1 monitor between 2 rigs isn't quite as seamless as I hoped.

Honestly, it's not the pretty lights and colours that attracted me, but the value I could get from each dollar spent. I do like the simplicity and neatness visible within the box through the plexiglass panels. Reminds me of a fishtank housing a family of tetras.

The corner of the monitor gives away the first game I'm playing on the new setup. Finally, Diablo 4 is running as quickly and smoothly as it should. It's currently Season 5, and I've been very lucky with the mythical drops of exactly the equipment I need from early in the playthrough. I picked up a Starless from normal Duriel, and an Andy's from normal Andy when the odds of any of them dropping from normal bosses are unrealistically high. Seasonal rewards give plenty of summoning materials to try for another mythical drop from Tormented Bosses, and I got a Tyrael's from Tormented Beast in Ice. Finishing the seasonal campaign with 3 separate characters provided enough crafting materials to manufacture my own mythic Shako. Now all I need to do is figure out which of the 3 characters is my favourite to bear this entire collection of treasures and blast the remainder of the season away to my heart's content.