The scars of the weary, aged cat owner. I don’t know if it’s better or worse that he did this by accident.

It’s been a while since I posted new records, largely because it’s been a while since I bought any. Finally got round to visiting the vinyl shop in Falkirk, and found a couple of gems. Picking up Arab Strap there felt appropriate, and am now 3 for 3 on Sisters albums.

But even then I didn't really throw myself into Black Sabbath in a collect-all-the-albums way (and I am, as anyone who knows me will tell you, an album collector kind of guy). That would take me until 2009, and come via a fairly unexpected source.

The video game Brütal Legend.

Off the back of that I bought this compilation, oddly enough not a part of their official catalogue due to not being released by a label associated with them and their management. How that happened I don't know. But it gave me a good introduction.

Others have expressed confusion, so to be clear:

A tree stump in my local park has a full erection. No one has done anything to resolve it. THIS COUNTRY.

There are two wolves inside you. One drives you to craft an awful dungeon rat out of the hair you just trimmed off your face and head. The other makes you take a photo and post it online. The moral of the story is don’t listen to wolves.

Worth noting that the site scrape above does not carry what is still the actual title of the piece that I referred to above. Here it is.

Is it a sign of our encroaching idiocracy when phishing’s level of false authenticity becomes this atrocious?

The temptation to comment with “You’ll definitely have at least one more near-death experience” is all too real for me, a very normal human being.

@bouphe.bsky.social Since it's niche enough that you maybe haven't been shown this yet - a wrestler in AEW called Skye Blue has a new look that struck me as "Bouphe and her sister merged in a pod by a goofy '50s sci-fi movie scientist". I had a brief genuine double-take.

A slightly arch photo taken while walking along the seaside in the depressing/exciting* land of my birth.

* select according to your level of previous exposure

New glasses, new jumper, 15lbs lost. Seemed reasonable enough for a photo. I swear I used to know how to pose for photos without looking embarrassing. Or maybe there’s just only so much that can be done when this is what you’re working with.

(He's fine.) #blackcats

Leaving the house more in 2025 means you get random photos of things I see and like. Lucky you. Here’s some ice frozen into a cool pattern on a scuzzy pavement.

I just think it’s neat, ok?

My 2024 #lastfm summary - a lot of old classics, it turns out. I suppose that is what happens when you hit your mid-forties. Surprised not to see #HEALTH feature, but I suspect they fell victim to the double whammy of a propensity for collaboration and an understandable lack of metadata merging.