Notes

Shorter posts, links, or thoughts. No schedule, not heavily considered.

  • Slava’s Snowshow

    …ONE DAY I realised that I wanted to create a show that would take us back to our childhood dreams; A show which would help spectators be released from the jail of adulthood and rediscover their forgotten childhood. Slava Polunin – creator of Slava’s Snow Show A few weeks back a friend popped up on…

    Read more »

  • iPhone X

    Yes. I got THE new iPhone, not an 8 or 8 Plus, but the new shiniest of shiny one. Did you expect anything else? Pre-ordered Like millions of others, I hit the Apple App Store at 8.01 on the 27th October and reserved mine, with a provisional pickup date of the 18th November. So imagine…

    Read more »

  • October in review

    Lived Highlights Weezer did what Weezer do. Great big silly riff based gig. Sixth visit to Six by Nico Blade Runner 2049 Someone turned 44 Trainspotting at the Citizens Theatre My birthday month, something I am increasingly not bothered about celebrating (hence why it doesn’t pop up on Facebook) and a few gigs as we…

    Read more »

  • Product delights

    I don’t think it’ll come as any surprise that I take great delight in finding small improvements in the items I own, especially as I’ve written about this before. I’m always curious about this kind of thing, where design meets functionality, and the benefits it can bring. That said, most of the time when it…

    Read more »

  • Trainspotting at the Citizens Theatre

    We all know Trainspotting, the movie. Based on an angry novel that rails against, well, pretty much everything it can, it hit a stylistic note that resonated, exposing the gritty side of life we all know lies beneath the social media glimmer. This stage adaptation of the novel is a different beast, sticking closer to…

    Read more »

  • Weezer

    As a packed out Academy sang along with the final refrain of the evening, myself included in my usual slightly off-key baritone, Weezer acknowledged the crowd with well deserved smiles I stood and let the memories of twenty plus years wash over me. From the minute they stepped on the stage, ripping their way through…

    Read more »

  • Six by Nico: Forest

    The sixth menu at Six by Nico would surely have to be an affair to remember, right? Well I’ll admit I was a little underwhelmed by the menu this time around but, having been pleasantly delighted in the past, I still had a little tremor of excitement as we sat in Kelvingrove Cafe prior to…

    Read more »

  • When Sgt. Pepper arrived

    Earlier this year I listened to the remastered, reissued Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – an album that was released six years before I was born. The first thing that struck me was how similar it was to Nevermind by Nirvana. No, really. Nirvana had been making some waves but the first time I…

    Read more »

  • 44

    44 is a tribonacci number, an octahedral number and the number of derangements of 5 items. Since the greatest prime factor of 442 + 1 = 1937 is 149 and thus more than 44 twice, 44 is a Størmer number. 44 is the number of candles in a box of Hanukkah candles. “Forty-Four” or “44…

    Read more »

  • Oops I inked me again

    Tattoos hurt. Depending on where on your body, and what your pain thresholds are, the sensation of getting a tattoo can range from an almost soothing buzzing feeling, to a mild ‘scratchy’ feeling, through to a sharp cutting pain. I don’t mind the pain. It’s part of the parcel and becomes an intrinsic element of…

    Read more »

  • Blade Runner

    There is nothing new. When I heard there was going to be a second Blade Runner movie I ran the gamut of emotions that is likely familiar to sci-fi fans of my generation, a mixture of excitement, hope, and fear, all of which could be best summarised by the following statement: Please don’t be Jar…

    Read more »

  • If in doubt DIY

    How many gigs do you attend each year? Which band have you seen most often? Which venue is your most attended? What month is ‘gig month’ for you? With quite a few gigs lined up in the coming weeks I’ve been busy scouring setlist.fm to create some sample playlists in Spotify to give me a…

    Read more »

  • September in review

    Lived Highlights LCD Soundsystem at the Barrowlands was utterly amazing Splurged on AirPods (still loving them) Gin Festival shenanigans A good month, quieter than August even though it was my Mum’s birthday at the start of the month, and my Dads at the end. Singapore envy not withstanding (my friends were there again), I confirmed…

    Read more »

  • Focus needed

    With no apologies whatsoever, I’m gonna talk about going the gym. Again. The next block of ‘boot camp’ sessions starts on 4th October. It’s the third time I’ve signed up and have to admit I’m looking forward to it starting, and it’s got me thinking about how I can make it successful. The first time…

    Read more »

  • Gin Festival

    Last week I looked ahead at my calendar and realised that I had nothing at all planned for the weekend just passed. I wracked my brains for a second, it doesn’t take much longer, but couldn’t think of anything that I might just have forgotten to add. I really did have an entirely blank weekend.…

    Read more »

  • LCD Soundsystem

    The Barrowlands is probably my favourite Glasgow gig venue. Large enough to generate a good crowd atmosphere, small enough to feel intimate, and tarnished enough to feel alive, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a gig there that wasn’t good. Add in a band that has a good live reputation and it was with…

    Read more »

  • AirPods, finally

    I’ve held off getting a set off these for some time but as my current ‘commuting’ in-ear headphones (JLabs Epic BT – discontinued) are starting to show their age, both in terms of wear and tear and in how the diminishing battery life is impacting the Bluetooth connectivity. Although admittedly the latter concern is purely…

    Read more »

  • X or not

    We’ve had a couple of days to digest the recent Apple keynote, and a few more days than that to pour over the leaked data that basically outlined all of the announcements and almost reduced the keynote to little more than a series of (mostly) slick product presentations. Almost, but not quite. There was certainly…

    Read more »

  • 4 beeps in the night

    I had gone to bed at a reasonable hour for once and was asleep in no time at all, my weary bones and tired mind happily conceding to the warmth of the bed and the darkness of the night. I fell fast into a deep and comfortable slumber. So you can imagine my consternation and…

    Read more »

  • August in Review

    Lived Highlights KT Tunstall at the Kelvingrove Bandstand was wonderful Attended a wonderful wedding reception that was utterly uplifting and full of fun, joy, and love. Congrats Rob and David!! A day at the Edinburgh Festival, an annual ritual, included an amazing acrobatic troupe, Circolombia Physio consultant which left me with hope that my long…

    Read more »