GarethRDR

I'm seeing work colleagues in person this week for the first time in a long while and, to be honest, I'm inwardly hoping that's the reaction I get. Wife wanted to join Slimming World 3 months ago, I told her if she did then I would do it with her. I've since lost 2.5 stone, but it never feels like I can see it myself. I'm currently at the point where traditionally, whenever I've gone on some health kick (few years back it was trampolining every day, some years before that it was swimming), this is the weight I start to plateau and lost interest. Difference being I've always had a terrible diet, and this is the first time I've actively tried to address that. It has been telling/encouraging that I haven't yet really bumped up my activity levels above normal (footy once a week, Taekwondo once a week, that's really it though) but still had that weight come off, I'm really hoping to get one of those comments, really push myself to get through Xmas and kick on.

As is custom, there's not a great deal I've played that was one of this year's releases, but ot that batch it would have to be the new Armored Core. Although it is bastard hard. Alan Wake 2 was good but a little bit of let down overall (and I would have been loathed to give my GOTY to a download only release anyway) and Starfield was a huge disappointment. Of the older stuff I've gotten round to this year, probably enjoyed Cyberpunk and Astro's Playroom the most.

At least they're not wrong on the new Slowdive, very near contender for me that was.

I've heard really good things about the Puss In Boots flick, worth a look?

Yeah, I tend to keep this to strictly stuff I know I went to the cinema for.

Rat Catcher? Yeah, very much enjoyed that.

It's fine bicks. You are Kenough. Besides, this can't possibly be the case in the same year that Exorcist Believer was released.

Barbie for me, just shading Evil Dead Rise to top-spot.

Got a clear fave this year: M83 - Fantasy An absolutely joyous return to everything I love about Saturdays = Youth and Hurry Up We're, Dreaming era-fare, ably abetted by the fact that they have incorporated members of the excellent BRUIT ≤ into their touring band. Finally caught them live for the first time at The Roundhouse earlier this year and it did not disappoint. A few noteworthy mentions: • PLANK! and Teeth Of The Sea are a dead heat for noodly-electro/krautrock record of the year. • Heavy pick goes to JAAW's debut Supercluster • The delayed Phoxjaw album notverynicecream - mentioned this in last year's thread as it was due out then, but at that time allegations had sprung up around one of the band members and the release was shelved. Developments since have ostensibly exonerated said band member; sticking strictly to publicly available facts and attempting to avoid any conjecture, in the immediate aftermath, the band put out a statement claiming the allegations were vexatious and the alleging parties had previously been reported by the band to police prior to any allegations being made public. Ultimately, the record label would issue a detailed statement in support of the band, having been provided with and reviewed whatever evidence it was that the band had originally gone to the authorities with. About a month prior to the label's statement, 2000 Trees festival who had originally made public the allegations as part of a statement dropping the band from the bill last year, issued a retraction, an apology and stated they had paid a "substantial sum" in damages to the band. The band then issued a statement with more details around what their evidence was and their timeline of events leading up to the allegation, and a follow-up stating they had asked their accusers (who had issued similar retractions/apologies) to donate to rapecrisis.org in lieu of paying damages to the band. One last word(s) before I actually say something about the bloody album; my own position wound up being "wait and see", to the point I held off on cancelling my pre-order for the album. Once the statement from the label came out, that was enough for me to inwardly resolve any moral introspection on my part, to the point where I was happy enough to go and see the band's Guildford gig this year. I had - I guess selfishly - reasoned in my own head that regardless of the outcome in favour of the band, that they would simply be persona non grata with some promoters from now on, and chances to see them live again may become few and far between. Though I don't necessarily intend for this to sound like some self-serving confessional, I am aware that whatever opinions or stance I have on the whole matter, these were undoubtedly driven by my own bias given how much I enjoy the band and their output, and that this feasibly puts me at somewhat hypocritical odds with my own belief that the judicial system in it's current format does not do near enough to support victims of sexual abuse. Time and hindsight hasn't really made things clearer for me, some days I feel like I may have compromised my own moral compass, others that it would have been disingenuous of me to simply cast the band aside (and I guess to that point, do my own actions suggest I had no intention of doing so anyway?). Urgh. I'm just going to shut up now. Musically, it's a great album. Have a listen, or don't.

Just had a look out of morbid curiosity. Red Red Wine track 3. You're not wrong.

One of my favourite pieces of random film trivia is Raimi recycling a shot from The Beyond for a dream sequence in Spiderman because they were rapidly running out of money. It'll never come up in a pub quiz, sadly.

Not the literal one, the rather excellent band (who are from considerably far away from Manchester):

Still down for me!

All Fridays Matter.

Personally I like to go with a specially curated Dead Can Dance playlist, which consists of 99% their floaty Clanned/Enigma-esque numbers, but also has Dawn Of The Iconoclast thrown in there, just to freak people out. Stick it on shuffle, adds a real element of suspense to the evening, like ambience-roulette. Better yet, if you can somehow queue it up so the opening fanfare happens just as you light the crème brûlée.

Christ is this ever true. At the "height" of the mid-aughts' New Rave craze, bar maybe two songs I found Klaxons to be utterly dull, but I would have absolutely gone to bat for, say, White Rose Movement, who it turns out in hindsight some years on were also just a bit shit (again save for maybe one track).

The annual surge of desperate mugs buying shitty-and-not-actually-any-cheaper-than-usual Chinese flatscreens has brought HSBC's online banking functionality crashing down. This has left me unable to send the £3.50 I owe for yesterday's weekly kickabout, thus I am being tarred and feathered by my peers. So **** you, Black Friday.

Puma size-wise and quality would be an improvement, but it can be a real crapshoot when it comes to kit design. They seem to either nail it or have a horror-show, with little in between.

A modern take on Dante's Inferno, truly.

Reign Of Fire deserved way better then it got. Think it was Frailty that had me realising McConaughey was more than just "that guy in the terrible movies".

Guessing I can't cheat and say Manchester Orchestra?

Pounding is genuinely one of my top 20 all time tracks. Absolutely love it. Martin Rebelski's solo stuff is also a treat if you like your downtempo vibes.

Niiiiiiiiice.

Netrunner builds essentially put the game on easy mode if you just want to have a laugh, and it's never not funny to stand across the street from a building teeming with enemies, hit one of them with contagion and watch them all take turns toppling over like spontaneously combustable dominoes.