Shorter posts, links, or thoughts. No schedule, not heavily considered.
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Gig: Post Modern Jukebox
Everytime I listen to the current hits of the day I come away with a catchy tune in my head. Sure it’s auto-tuned, heavily produced, and reliant on a hook rather than things like a melody or a smart lyric but they are catchy nonetheless. And yes, I am big a huge snob about this…
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Writing sparks
Struggling with the duvet cover I paused and reminded myself just how good it is to slide between fresh bed linen. A few more wafts of the duvet and several curses later my bed was made. It took a lot of willpower not to just climb in right there and then. What an odd phrase,…
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Podcast: The West Wing Weekly
Geek alert: I frickin LOVE The West Wing. If you’ve never seen the show then this episode by episode ‘following along’ podcast will make each moment richer. Scrap that, if you’ve never seen the show, drop everything and watching the Pilot episode. If you enjoy that, then subscribe and listen to the first episode of…
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I met a spaceman
Ground control to Major Tom… Ground control to Major Tom: Lock your Soyuz hatch and put your helmet on! I can still remember the first time I heard Space Oddity. I can recall just how otherworldly it sounded to me and while that was largely down to Mr. Bowie (an entirely other being for sure)…
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Gig: The Lovely Eggs
I’d not long finished my dinner and was doing the dishes. Standing at the sink I pondered what to do next and tried to think of reasons not to do any more chores, after all hoovering can always wait until tomorrow, right? We will ignore the fact that my hoovering was probably about a week…
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Podcast: 99% Invisible
One for all you beautiful nerds, 99% invisible covers an endlessly fascinating series of topics loosely arranged around design and architecture. 99% Invisible is about all the thought that goes into the things we don’t think about — the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world. From graphic design and prop making for movies,…
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New Bands and Small Venues
For a while now I’ve been on a mission to discover new music. That might just be music that is new to me, or it might be actually new up and coming bands that I’ve not heard of, but I’ll happily admit that the recap of my musical year that Spotify provided was a bit…
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Team Training at the gym
Gym wanker post alert. Last year I started going to the gym. I was doing a ‘BootCamp’ which was less ‘being shouted at by angry army types’ and a lot more ‘encouraged to push yourself during HIIT sessions’. There were two sessions at week, including a 9am start on a Saturday, and once I got…
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Podcast: The Adam Buxton Pod Cast
A man that has been on the periphery of my media consumption for 20 years or so, and I admit I didn’t really ‘get’ the Adam & Joe thing at first and as none of my friends were bothered I missed that boat, but after catching some of their show on 6Music a while ago,…
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Podcast: Beautiful Anonymous
Human beings are fascinating and the Beautiful Anonymous podcast is a fascinating sight into the life of that weeks caller. Some people come on and talk about how they can’t visual memories, one told of her escape from a violent abusive relationship, and a recent favourite was a German caller who was picking cherries in…
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En Pointe
It’s always good to try something new and so I kicked off this year with a first; my first ever live ballet performance (watching, not performing) of Swan Lake. Having spotted it on Facebook late last year, I posted to see if anyone else was interested and one of my awesome gym buddies Martha said…
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Happy 2nd Birthday
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gordon McLean (@gmclean) Dear Lucy, You are two. TWO! How this has happened so quickly is beyond me (heaven knows what your parents must think!), but there you have it. You are now two years old and as your character and personality has started to show,…
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Six by Nico: Best of 2017
The eighth incarnation of Six by Nico and as we move into a new calendar year, they’ve decided to go back to some of the best dishes from 2017, but there was a twist! The menu was announced on the 5th January, and in the days prior to the announcement it was up to the…
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Podcast: Hidden Brain
I discovered the Hidden Brain podcast late last year and it’s quickly become a favourite. The Hidden Brain helps curious people understand the world – and themselves. Using science and storytelling, Hidden Brain’s host Shankar Vedantam reveals the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, the biases that shape our choices, and the triggers that direct…
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What’s Next?
The new year looms ahead of us and whilst I know that logically it’s purely an arbitary numbering scheme that governs this thinking, one can’t help but think of the coming weeks and months as something fresh and full of possibilities. I guess the secret will be to keep that thinking through the rest of…
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Hello 2018
I don’t do resolutions, but I do have a few things I want to focus on next year. These are things that I’ll try, they aren’t goals, they are just things to have in mind at the start of the year. Some will stick, some won’t, and that’s all part of the fun. Fundamentally I…
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December in review
The last monthly review of the year! Not sure I’ll keep these going next year but time will tell. Lived Highlights Another visit to Six by Nico Completed my third (and final) BootCamp I got an inspirational Awesome Fiver Enjoyed the Gorillaz gig way more than anticipated Bought a new drinks cabinet Ohhh and Honeyblood…
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Gig: Honeyblood
Have yourself a Honeybloody Christmas! Featuring sets by Emme Woods, Man of Moon, and The Spook School (I only got there in time to catch the latter), there was a great atmosphere prior to Honeyblood coming on stage. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gordon McLean (@gmclean) Having seen them twice, once…
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The day of boxing
It’s over. Another year and you’ve survived Christmas Day. Well done! For some Christmas can be an ordeal, a day to be gotten through. For others it’s a day to savour and enjoy. Whatever type of Christmas Day you had, it’s over now. Boxing Day is a day for leftovers if you have them (trifle…
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Five pounds
What would you do with a fiver? That’s the question recently posed by Awesome Foundation Glasgow, as they handed out bright pink envelopes on Buchanan Street. They hoped the fivers would be put to good use; donated to charity, maybe used to purchase food bank items, or used to buy a hot meal for someone…