ugh...

Just watched the highlights of DC's last game of the season, Friday's match at Kansas City. Left me feeling a little sick. Shameful and incompetent giveaway for a SKC goal in the 7th minute, then several wasted opportunities to return, including a goal that a small child could have scored (but Jared Jeffrey couldn't make). There are a few players on this team I hope will be retained, but far, far more who are simply taking up space and pay that we need to find a much better alternative for. There are losing seasons, and then there are crashing the bottom out of the barrel seasons. This team found rock bottom and reached for the blasting caps. Ben needs to get authorization to start clearing the watch bill and finding some prime hands.

Now watching highlights of Montreal v. Philly. Observations from the first half: the Cartographer (Justin Mapp, who I remember coming into DCU as a young kid) now has less hair than I do. And Conor Casey's belly is almost as big as mine. But he can run a hell of a lot faster than I can.

games and games and games

So, I had two dates and two gaming opportunities lined up for this weekend. One of the dates and one or the gaming opportunities fell through, but the ones that came off were good fun.

Gamingwise, today I headed up to Games and Stuff for some DBA against a new opponent, Jeff. We met up just as the store was opening and had a good game using my primeval DBA matched pair, Alexandrian Macedonians and Later Achemaenid Persians. Jeff took the Persians (with the scythed chariot option, no less) and did a champion job with them, nearly bagging Alexander several times before finally going down 4Sc-3.

Then we joined the Army of Central Maryland blokes, who had been setting up a World War One game for Force on Force. A platoon of French infantry had to consolidate and hold a position against a force of Germans who were trying to sweep past. The Germans moved one section off the board, but they did not move fast enough, and their other two sections were still engaged when the game ended. French victory! (More by luck than cleverness, as players don't know each others' goals, so we would have been perfectly happy, sitting on our positions comfortably, to let the rest of the Germans exit).

There was time for a second game, so we reset the forces and objectives. This time the French were attacking, trying to seize one or more prisoners for interrogation. We were able to get close to one German section, but every time we were about to come to grips with them, they lost their nerve and fled--very frustrating for the POW-less French! In the meantime, the Germans had seized their terrain objectives, so the game ended with a French loss.

As soon as I have time, I'll post more details and some photos on my gaming blog. Since I do like to support stores that let us game in them, I picked up an interesting-looking boardgame that had good ratings on Boardgamegeek, a light-hearted game, where ancient Roman citizens try to establish their social and economic position by claiming buildings in an ancient city. But the game is called Downfall of Pompeii! So the second half of each game features players trying to race out of the city before being covered by lava (yes, accounts now say the city was covered in ash, no lava, but, heck, it's just a game, right? :-) It's rated for 2-4 players, so hopefully we can give it a try on Wednesday...

Mmmph. The only time I mind living on the second (third) floor is when I have 3-4 loads of game supplies to carry up and down for a day out!

dinner

Tired-ish when I got home and felt like just heating something up. But presence of fresh meat and veg in the fridge kept me from doing so. A bean and sausage ragout with tomoatoes, kale, and zucchini is currently on the stove, waiting completion. Later in the week, there should be Scottish mince and tatties, with maybe some kale and garlic; then another kale and tomato dish, this time with chicken quarters.

Kale: it's what's for dinner. :-)

battle of Leipzig

Everyone gushes about Waterloo, but the battle of Leipzig, which took place in mid-October of 1813, was both much larger and, arguably, much more important. BBC News have an article on the reenactment of it on its 200th anniversary, but it's so full of twaddle that you'd be much better off just looking at the pretty pictures. Reenacting friends: look at the shot of the crowd: it looks more like the crush at an Open or Masters golf tournament than a reenacting event!

just sayin'

Clare Bowen, playing Scarlett O'Connor on Nashville, is a stunner. She's gorgeous, charming, and incredibly talented. Her character is really sweet, too, but intensely practical and can go from fanciful to pragmatic in the shake of a lamb's tail. Plus, I adore the way that Scarlett dresses and the way she decorates her place.

That said, Lennon and Maisy Stella, who play Maddie and Daphne Conrad, are also amazing musicians too, and lovely actors in their roles. What a pair of cute girls!