Happy birthday!

(Yesterday or today? Or last May and you've only just remembered to post??)

A city scene seen from street level; a portrait view between two tall buildings, with a third straightahead. In a gap between the buildings, the Manchester Town Hall clock tower can be seen, clock face lit white. The sky above (and between buildings) is blue but for a band of orange red cloud; the mirrored buildings reflect the sky.

A landscape city sky scene; an office block to the right side and a smaller one (further away) in the middle are silhouetted against a blue sky with a band of bright red cloud across the middle of the picture.

Morning from Manchester where nature outdoes the Christmas lights.

Good to see other people stopping to notice, too!

.... Evidently.

You will be visited by three spirits…

Goodnight, Hookland.

Show me a picture on your phone that has your energy but isn’t a selfie

I remember feeling a flash of optimism as recently as February 1986. It’s coming up for the 40th anniversary soon: I must celebrate…

I'm not entirely sure most people would consider my whistling a skill.

...Or even whistling.

Found myself repeatedly listening to it and it's companions (Heroes, the Philip Glass and Dylan Howe versions) a lot the other week.

Today, I've mostly been whistling 'Speed of Life', too.

It's the third one of his I've read; got another one lined up, too.

Oh it is.....but I can't comment on everything with the word limit round here!

Enjoyed the characters and the stories; it'll get a reread at some point.

A pile of books, mainly paperbacks stacked on top of a hardback, all with their spines on view. In no order, the books are: Richard Brautigan The Confederate General of Big Sur Kathleen Jamie Cairn Bruce Chatwin The Viceroy of Ouidah Bohumil Hrabal I Served the King of England Anthony DeCurtis Lou Reed: A Life Iain Sinclair White Chappell, Scarlet Tracings Russell Hoban Kleinzeit Edward Storey The Winter Fens Richard Foster. The Punk Rock Birdwatching Club Sarah Moss Summer water Joe Brainard I Remember T. S. Eliot. The Four Quartets

November books.

A fair mix again; pleased to have read the Reed biography. Enjoyed the Winter Fens. Will re-read the Sinclair.

Random acts of senseless beauty #133

Goodnight, Hookland.

....the low ceiling required medical attention?

Petition: Call a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy We are concerned about reported efforts from Russia to influence democracy in the US, UK, Europe and elsewhere. We believe we must establish the depth and breadth of possible Russian influence campaig...

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...

Goodnight, Hookland.

But the darkness still has work to do.

I have pictures somewhere; I should find them again.

Goodnight, Hookland.

Classic.

And I used to work at Liverpool Lime Street.

And I remember that Millets.....

In the great 'what to listen to when washing up?' debate, Butthole Surfers beats The Moral Maze hands-down

YouTube video by Charli xcx Charli xcx - House featuring John Cale (Official Video)

To be fair, a CharliXCX collaboration with John Cale was not on my list of things to expect from 2025.

youtu.be/Xgp7wlBfASA?...

Mamdani is going to impose “Sharona” law, under which everyone will have to make his motor run, his motor run.

I kind of feel the concept of the shifting baseline needs to be more widely understood outside of environmental circles. It's an insight and a warning for so much in this accelerating world.

Sounds good!

Even I thought this was one of mine!

It's the sticks that come back down with the small markings on that used to excite, but they seem very few and far between these days.

listen, if you're ever despairing about your art or whatever, just ask yourself "is anything i ever make going to be as stupid as a cybertruck?" ✨

the information crisis: as 'information about what's going on' has become essentially free, previously somewhat sober newspapers now sell themselves increasingly as penny dreadfuls filled with the thrills and spills of terror, drama and salacious details of crimes.