5 more, 5 to go....

Led Zeppelin - Four Symbols

I thought very hard about not including this album, because it comes up as #1 on all those classic rock lists. But in the end I had to include it here. As for 'Stairway to Heaven', the song has only been spoiled by over-exposure. Just try and remember the first time you heard it.

Marillion - Brave

It's very difficult to choose just one Marillion album; they've done many great ones, including all four they did with Fish, and last year's superb "Anoraknophobia". In the end, I have to choose "Brave", their dark and intense concept album that appeared just after so many fans had written them off after it's blandly commercial predecessor.

Pink Floyd - The Wall

An album which divides Pink Floyd fans; some think this was the beginning of the end for the band. It was reviled by the critics when it first appeared; Sounds notorious punk/indie pseud Dave McCulloch slammed it for containing too many guitar solos and gave it one star. Cloth-eared twit! Whatever I think of Water's semi-autobiographical concept, I still love the music, especially those Dave Gilmour solos that Sound's critic hated so much.

Queensrÿche - Operation Mindcrime

I know I'm a sucker for concept albums, but 80s metal didn't get better than this. The Seattle-based quintet's finest hour, the concept is about cyberpunkish tale of an assassin drawn into a cult. Very much a product of it's time (Cyberpunk was big in the 80s), but the powerful twin guitar attack and Geoff Tate's distinctive voice passes the test of time.

Rainbow - On Stage

I always felt Ritchie Blackmore was constrained in the studio, and really shone playing live. The late 70s, both with Mk3 Purple and Rainbow saw some of his most ferocious playing. For Blackmore fans, this one is a must-have. It's not just Blackmore who shines here, just listen to the way Ronnie Dio interprets Deep Purple's "Mistreated" and makes the song his own. It wasn't just punk bands that had the energy in 1977!
:: Tim Hall 12:49 PM ::  

This came up on the Ngauge mailing list

If you had more money, and British N gauge gear wasn't as rare as rocking horse droppings (as it appears to be at present, especially the models) and so on - What layout would you have if you could be totally let off the leash with it? E.g. Features, Loco's, etc?

My dream layout would be a US-style 'system layout' based on Cornwall. The layout would start with Penzance, including Long Rock carriage sidings. The other end of the layout would consist of the china clay hubs of Burngullow, Par/St Blazey and Lostwithiel.

That's the minimum; if there was even more space I might include Fowey docks, Goonbarrow and Parkindillick clay works, Liskeard and Moorswater including the viaduct and the spiral, and Plymouth North Road which could function as a terminus. And of course Saltash Bridge as a set-piece scene.

Time period would be mid-80s to present day. The sad thing is, I'm probably got enough stock to populate all this.

Dream Layout 'B' would be the Bern Lotchberg Simplon main line from Speiz to Brig, incorporating Frutigen, Blausee Mitholz, Kandersteg and Goppenstein.

:: Tim Hall 6:13 PM ::  

Let's make Scott even more jealous.

Friday - I used up all my positive dice karma playing Ogre, in which I rolled so many sixes in the early part of the battle that the other poor guy didn't stand a chance! First time I've ever played Ogre, which is Steve Jackson Games' wargame of futuristic tank combat

RPG of the day was a game of GURPS Transhuman Space game run by Phil Masters, in which I got the nerdish techie with no social skills called "Derek" (And that's not the first time a convention GM has given me a character like that!)

Then there was the friday night Pyramidian dinner at Belgo Centraal in Covent Garden, arranged by Harvey Mills and attended by Phil Masters, Ken Hite, John B, Jan Hendriks, Constantine Thomas, Ian McDonald and myself. At least two people came armed with cameras, I'm worried that one or both might have scanners, so pictures of me might end up on the net. Great to meet Ken Hite, though lines like "Pre-industrial genocide is a lost art" preserve his scary reputation. (Have you read the introduction to Suppressed Transmission?)

I won't say why I associate Belgo Centraal with the Jerry Springer Show, it's a long story.

Saturday - Morning saw me play in the first ever game of Star Munchkin to be played in the UK. Much the same rules as Munchkin, and just as funny. This one is a parody of SF cliches rather than of Dungeons and Dragons, with monsters like Captain Quirk (who comes in peace), Bottle Bottle (who follows you around and whines), and Great Cthulhu himself. John Kovalic's artwork is up to his usual standards. And I killed Bottle Bottle!

Finally I played in a demo game of Nobilis. Nobilis is an interesting RPGs, with PCs of god-like power, each representing a concept which can vary from "The Hunt", "Spirals" (two examples from the game) to "Aircraft" or "Mauve". Each PC represents the embodiment of that concept, and can do just about anything possible to something to which that concept applies. Probably not really to my taste in games, but very good for players that are good at improvising on the spot. Still, it's fun for a change of pace.

To sum up? It's larger than last year, with four floors rather than three. There were two irritating things; one was that the demo hall closed at 6pm because the demo areas were intermingled with the traders; this caused one game to have to hurriedly relocate. The second irritant was the somewhat overpriced catering. Overall, a good con, plenty of games, a good turnout of SJG's Men In Black. Bumped into quite a few old friends from previous cons, such as Pyramidians Trotsky and Jo Ramsey, and Dreamlyrics members AJ and L'Ange.

Now I'll have to read all the RPG stuff I've bought; Decipher's new Lord of the Rings RPG, The Kaiin Players Guide for the Dying Earth RPG, and finally Barbarian Adventures and Orlanth is Dead for Hero Wars.
:: Tim Hall 7:39 PM ::