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Welcome to my world.

Brilliant YT still, mind.

That's like blaming an obese kid for being fat. If sweets and Maccy D's are available, they'll gorge themselves. They'll gorge themselves when times are good, but what will they do when sweets and Maccy D's suddenly become less affordable?

This is one area where I do understand the complaints of Tanni Grey-Thompson et al - there's no doubt that in team sports, say, and even tennis/athletics to an extent, the male version gets the lion's share of the media coverage. On the other hand, the male version is always going to be the "elite" at a human level, and hence more interesting to the non-enthusiast - rightly or wrongly, nobody would really care if there was a female equivalent to Usain Bolt, for example (just ask the man on the street who Carmelita Jeter is - the fastest female ever if you ignore the clownish dope fiend that was FloJo, but no real public profile at all).

I feel genuinely sorry for those who have been and continue to be struggling to make ends meet, but it's become far too easy to place all the blame for the current situation on Those Evil Bankers and pretend that a good proportion of the population didn't love it when their house prices were inflating and they could get cheap credit for this, that and the other. Of course the economy is in real trouble, of course we have some tough times ahead, and of course the government could be handling it better, but those who were quick to benefit when (they were being told that) times were good shouldn't be moaning now that (they're being told that) times are bad.

It's possible, of course. Mention the p-word and that's the first thing any (30-something-plus) gay man will think of. Just because you've been lucky all these years doesn't mean it won't come back to haunt you.

It's a bit rough that there's no women on the list when the likes of Amir Khan and Andy Murray have made it, but then a male taekwondo world champion wouldn't get on there either.

....1 or ...8, ....1 or ...8, ....1 or ...8, Obafemi Martins

It's like this: Obviously it's callous shitehawk reporting of the highest order, but if the underlying story - five professional footballers have been in touch with the Second Chance clinic since Speed's death to seek active help for depression - is true and it begins to get rammed home to even Daily Star readers that this is a serious problem that affects Real Men too... who knows. A little something good might come of the whole thing. Or one of the tabloids will blab their names and they'll be taunted into oblivion from the stands every week.

"Óró" by Orka is smashing. Ten tracks of clanky Faroese darkness.

Oh, that's who it was. I had it on mute so I was idly wondering. Not enough to unmute it, mind.

You'd like to think our networked world will prevent some of the very worst excesses. But who knows, maybe it'll facilitate them.

Did he used to be the Idlewild singer? Aye

I'm still working my way through this year's fare and I'm a long way from being done - had about six months where I barely listened to any new music, but the enthusiasm has returned now. So far I've liked the Roddy Woomble album a lot, the Mountain Goats are on form as ever, but more than anything I'm loving this. It's basically tailor-made for anyone who comes from an old mining area and thinks "()" was Sigur Rós's best album. Which:

Sorry to hear that Toonpack. It's a tough one, you want them to have a long and happy life but that makes it all the harder to let them go when it's time. Moderate relief here today, looked like we were going to have to move in January but it's been put off for at least a couple of months. I hate moving at the best of times, but doing so in the depths of winter? Urgh.

Up The Arf' Corner

No great change then...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZGTNUQELiE

Near Dosforth, dupid!

I'd be wondering why she's talking with her mouth full in the first place.

That's where the drink came in. Obliterating the grim reality.

A lamb tagine, in this case. But if Fish had persuaded me to stay on for a nightcap, I'm sure that would have been on the agenda too.

Mildly sozzled and full of good food because someone chose the right thing from the menu.