I swore I'd never use Emoticon's again, but...

Condolences, StevieG. Well, the first half was good, but the intensity just seemed to drop off as the game progressed. Collingwood did realise that was a final , right? It was almost as if they decided early to conserve their energy for Adelaide next week...perhaps I'm being a tad harsh, from the co...

Yeah, but once you get 'em, you wouldn't trade 'em for quids. (It's a cliché, I know, but it's also true.)

Thanks Menolly! My daughter was so excited, she woke me up at 4:00AM to 'help' me open my presents. Heh.

I managed to catch bits of it during work. It looked like a ripper of a match! So, that ends Carlton's run, right?

Cats looked a bit ragged to me, but they did enough. The Bulldogs were always going to be tough, for anyone.

I think it is. I caught the tail end of a match last week, but I thought it looked like Twenty20. I've no idea when they're being shown, however. It certainly isn't being advertised the way the Ashes were. (Or maybe I just haven't looked properly.)

Now, if only Cail could speak with such authority into the ears of Randi Mayem Singer. Then would come unto us the new Eden...

Ah, your heart is bigger than mine, tinhamodic! Just re-read the passage where Trell, Lena and Atiaran compel Covenant to eat Aliantha , and nothing there indicates to me that Trell ever forgave Covenant. (The Wounded Land, Part Two: VISION, FOURTEEN: Pursuit page 260-262, 1980.) And yes, I will rea...

Okay. So, no one picked Adelaide, did they? Seriously, they just embarrassed Essendon. (Hmmm...Buddy gets rubbed out, and Hawks lose...Lloyd out, Essendon lose...hmm, it IS an AFL conspiracy! Right, time for my medicine.) I must admit though, this final series is more interesting than last years - e...

I could not agree more. Words cannot sufficiently describe my disgust. May all involved be condemned to endless Home And Away re-runs.

Agreed. Twenty20 may be a great spectacle (so I'm told), but it certainly simplifies the cricketing skills needed for the game. No need to be able to read the pitch - it'll be flat and dead, guaranteed. No need to work on your bowling - just short of a length, on or about off-stump will do fine (tho...

heh, yes, I'm with you there StevieG. Apparently, Twenty20 is the next big thing as far as cricket is concerned - and I reckon Warnie is probably right when he says it'll replace ODI cricket - but it doesn't really thrill me. Wonder how much money the English are losing because of the washouts? Rick...

Me too! Doh.

Well, we competed well for half the game, anyway. Final score Essendon 116, Hawthorn 99.

Congrats Essendon, and good luck trying to keep Lloyd from being rubbed out, just like Buddy. (Oh, yeah, AFL Tribunal; lets see you rub out another key forward for making unintentional head contact. Idiots.)

My submission sent, with thanks to Menolly for her encouragement.

But he was just construct. Why would he need to be controlled? Exactly: he is a construct. He has no morals, no conscious, - perhaps even no consciousness - and only one 'desire' - to fulfill his purpose, potentially regardless of the cost. If ever there was a creation that needed a safety catch, V...

Sounds like a great idea, Dorian. The lack of concrete data should keep players suitably nervous...

Dogs v Pies is definitely the game of the round, for mine. Should be an absolute cracker! With so many crucial match-ups, it's got the makings of an arm-wrestle. I've tipped the Dogs, but it could go either way.

Really?? Surely I'm not the only one who stood and cheered when Leo finally drowned, am I?

(Well, horses for courses, as the saying goes. I begged my wife not to force me to watch Titanic - had she learnt nothing from The English Patient? *Sigh.)

I thought the Ur-viles had included it as a safety mechanism, an option of last resort to control the uncontrollable.

I have a copy of Gilden-fire that includes illustrations, so my 'minds-eye' of the Haruchai has always been coloured by that. Solid, stocky folk that look like they could quite calmly walk through a brick wall. Think WWF without the hyperbole.