Ages ago I went on a little Audible spree, in an effort to not waste credits. Now, at a time where I’m actually waiting for credits to refresh, I come to realise a book I’d been hankering after has been in my Audible Library for ages!

Somehow, in the weird story of the millionaire who is trying to live forever having taken a lot of blood transfusions from his son, who now appears to have a nasty disease hauntingly similar to host-graft reactions, the thing that most baffles me is that he’s only 4 years older than me.

Working on a deck for Amsterdam that really makes me laugh. Red Hulk ‘Don’t make me angry’ that is full of maddening(ly good) universe crossovers.

25 years later, the album I Get Wet by Andrew WK remains my go to workout record.

My plans for MagicCon Amsterdam are so simple 1) Play lots of Magic 2) Catch up with old friends/meet new ones 3) Assorted contractually obliged bits as part of being on the Commander format panel 4) Aiming to only get in long discussions on Sol Ring’s legality when there is wine around Who’s in?

I love moments in TV/film where out of nowhere the audience is hit by the reality that an actor is actually a wicked musician. Jack Black in High Fidelity Bill Bailey in the piano episode of Black Books Noah Reed in Schitt’s Creek

Could be sleeping, instead watching dystopian comedy that predates AI but somehow remains commentary on it. youtu.be/OPeC7o9iDnI?...

I know that the internet loves to moan, and that the Magic version of that is dunking on universes beyond. Right now though, I’ve really enjoyed the games I’ve played with the Marvel Super Heroes set. I kind of like comics, but moreso, I’ve enjoyed the gameplay of the set thus far.

Rip Ibarra II Any of his videos would be a perfect one to share. I’ve picked this one - feel free to have a wonderful browse through all of them; they are all beautiful. youtu.be/2RBaLza1JWc?...

I got up at six and may well be late for work, in spite of planning ahead for poorly communicated rail works. Also I’m being charged more than normal for the privilege of this atrocious travel experience. I shall not be taking questions at this time.

Woop! Something something Knicks in five!!!!1!111!

I am not a total history nerd, but somehow today's Headlines just clicked for me. A fun little game worth a look. 📰 HEADLINES · Jun 10 🟩+1 🟩-2 🟩-1 🟩✓ 🟩+3 486 / 500 · Excellent · www.headlines.games

Look, we all know that Reed loves Sue, but what if he *also* has a penchant for wibbly wobbly tentacle time? Is it a coincidence that Reed's art has him at peak tentacle, reaching toward the sea? I don't believe in coincidences.

Imagining a different universe (a universe beyond if you will) where all the cards in the Marvel Super Heroes set had artwork that felt like comic book artwork.

In case there was any doubt, my kind of ADD is that given the opportunity, I will 100% sing a mashup at karaoke.

My favourite part of building thematic Commander decks is figuring out the spells that fit the theme. Anyone can search for creature type - bird, but when the spells include As Foretold, Inevitable Betrayal and No Mercy, now we’re telling a story.

A Mighty Wind is now on UK Netflix Years ago I worked for Warner Home Video as an intern in the marketing dept, and wrote the blurb on the back of the box for the UK DVD. The film is an utter joy. You should definitely watch it. The last line of my blurb was true; A Mighty Wind will blow you away

I don’t know if they realise it, but my games with new players on Commander night (aimed at helping them learn to play/building their confidence in playing with new folks) are one of the highlights of my week.

I kind of dislike weaponised rationalism, The Lord of The Rings and the Oxford comma.

Shopping for glasses when you can't see yourself in the mirror easily without glasses is a bloody chore. Who wants to come glasses shopping with me? I'll buy the drinks. I can be blind, you can be drunk - it'll be like an 80s buddy comedy.

I love playing commander with grizzled vets, but sometimes a new player game is just what the doctor ordered. Everyone’s deck popped off, Tom got his first ever Commander kill, and a bunch of regulars donated cards to the new player cause. My heart is full.

Commander house rule - whoever controls the Monarch token gets to have the next song queued for background music. Obviously standard ‘Don’t be a dick’ rules abide.

Which of my US friends who is travelling to MagicCon Amsterdam wants to get me the Danhausen Knicks t-shirt? I refuse to spend $75 on a $35 t-shirt due to weird tax/tariffs/shipping. It’s possible to be a Danhausen/Knicks fan and not live in NYC.

The comically large electric fan that I own only really gets used a handful of times per year, but on those days I feel like a genius.

The real downside of forgetting your headphones for the commute home is having to listen to the phones of everyone else on the bus

I don’t think I’ve ever lived somewhere with what I’d describe as a ‘good’ internet connection. This post written on my phone’s 4G connection, while waiting for the wifi to possibly start working again.

To my friends in London for spotlight series this weekend I hope you have a lovely time! Might catch y’all tomorrow, but if you need London tips in the meantime, just ping me

Not at MagicCon Vegas, but have taught 4 new people to play Magic today, which feels pretty great in itself.

It’s taken until today to articulate quite why I love this song. Listen to it as someone with ADD looking in the mirror and knowing what to do, but somehow being incapable of doing it. I’m sorry to say it sums up more of my relationships than I’m proud of. youtu.be/2ysfiIwgBuU?...

Forgot my headphones for my commute on a day where I have a new album I really want to give a first listen. Currently on a train somewhere south of Ideal.

American friends - when you get a beer at a bar over there, how big is the glass? I had always known that the US measure of a pint is different to the UK measure, but hadn't realised until today that it is 20% smaller. Wild.

Rewatching Friday Night Lights on my commute over the last couple of weeks has been a real treat. It’s not a perfect show, but the good episodes are truly excellent. Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.

Happy ‘Beginning of Easter eggs on sale’ day to all those who celebrate.

While I’m sympathetic to those who want to lay hands on cool Japanese language alt art cards in Secrets of Strixhaven, I’m kind of glad they won’t show up in non Japanese play boosters - I like my opponents and I to be able to read all our cards, and intend to be drafting a fair bit.

I really like this land cycle for commander. The tiniest baby step toward a card that is better in later seat position, and very potent in general. Likely just a dual land from turn 3 onwards - I hope they get gradually more and more available.

I spent much of yesterday mentally repeating ‘I am really not in the mood for April Fools Day’, but knowing that if I uttered it aloud, I would become its prime target.

How is pineapple on pizza such an ideological battleground while BBQ sauce on pizza skates by?

I wonder, if you handed a full Universes Beyond set to someone entirely unfamiliar with the source material, what that person might be able to tell you about the story/setting upon which it's based.

Sam Black has been talking about Rhystic Study being banworthy in Commander, and I will echo that I think it is also a worthy ban, and have done for a while. It feels pretty clear cut to me logically, but for the fact that a swathe of folks have the opposite opinion. I would like to hear more.

I’m not saying it’s a great film, or even a particularly funny film, but when I was a teenager a bunch of friends and I tried to watch the whole of Ace Ventura 2: When Nature Calls without cracking a smile. The laughs, when they inevitably arrived, were massive.

Watched the Alex Garland movie Men (2022) tonight. Bloody fantastic. There were a few moments where the effects were fighting to keep up with the vision, but given budget etc it delivered for me. Was stunned to see that reviews on it are super mixed. Have you seen? What did you think?

My love language is ‘everything is going terribly, and while I’d genuinely adore to be able to materially help, sometimes the best I can do is share funny things from YouTube’ youtu.be/udSMZG_L-S0?...

I might be unbelievably late to the party, but is this Magic card, printed around the time Avatar, the Last Airbender first aired, not perfect for a firebending deck with the Avatar cards that came out some 20 years later?

Ugh. I just found out about a *perfect* method for doing something for a magic effect. Flawlessly undetectable. However, it's a flawlessly undetectable way of doing something that there is basically no heat on anyway. 99.99% of the time much easier moves would work fine. Kind of wanna do it...

What is the most difficult sport to handicap? If you spot me enough shots, I can beat anyone in the world at golf. Meanwhile, how big of a head start would I need to win an F1 race?

In a world where 147 is a maximum break in snooker, Ronnie O’Sullivan just scored a 153. I’m confident that he could spot me 147 points and my chances of winning would be slim to none.

Really tempted to sell some Magic cards tomorrow in order to fund buying more magic books. When explaining my hobbies to people, I suspect some of them think I have a stutter.

Tonight, rather than doomscrolling or watching random videos, I've largely been playing the piano. I am not yet good enough to say that 'I can play the piano', but I'm definitely improving.

If ever you were looking for a great reason to draft more, I can point you no further than the price of Untimely Malfunction, a Shadowmoor Uncommon that is currently priced higher than all but a handful of cards in the whole TMNT set.

If I was on the @dropout.tv show Smartypants Society today, my presentation would be ‘the dark wormhole of trying to understand the lyrics to Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ I’m not, and I don’t know what my answer would be tomorrow, but that’s the thread my ADD is pulling at this morning.