I’m not a big Nick Cave fan but this New Yorker interview really resonated with me. Nick Cave on the Fragility of Life

I watched The Ipcress File for the umpteenth time. I can watch it again and again despite knowing all the twists and turns of the plot. It’s also my favourite Michael Caine film. 🎥

It’s that time of the year when foxes start making their nocturnal noise. I woke up in the middle of the night to what sounded like someone getting murdered at the back of the house. It’s a horrible racket.

😳 Hello insomnia, my old friend.

Happy with my new desk.

Wearing my badge for WFMU Fundraising Marathon fortnight. Increased my monthly contribution this year because I love this station.

I’m always late to things and so I just finished watching the first season of Reservation Dogs. It’s publicised as a comedy but the last few episodes are hugely affecting. It’s one of the best things I’ve watched in a while. Thoroughly recommended if you haven’t seen it yet. 📺

Clear blue sky and bitter cold today. There’s been a trend, here, over the last ten years or so for the worst of winter to come in March. Snow is forecast for tomorrow.

I’m getting a new desk. The choice was between a nice, solid, Ikea desk with drawers or one with built-in usb chargers and legs that could be raised up or down depending on whether you wanted to sit or stand.

I chose the one that didn’t require a plug.

When you’re young ten years feels like an eternity. When you’re older it goes by in a flash.

A starling sitting on the roof.

It’s easy to say now but I always thought Dilbert was the least funny cartoon in the long history of cartoons.

I’ve had Covid this week. I could have cried when I saw the positive result after being so careful for the last three years. Feeling miserable but the coughing is starting to fade a bit. Hopefully the worst is over.

Started to read: Wyntertide by Andrew Caldecott 📚

It’s taken a while for me to get around to reading the second part of this excellent trilogy.

🥂 Last work day of the year.

I just heard a radio advert for Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. That’s a bunch of words that don’t slip off the tongue easily.

I turned on the micro.blog newsletter service and sent myself a copy to see what it looked like. It’s nice. I haven’t written much here to justify a newsletter but I can see how it would be a great way to keep family members up to date with what I’ve been doing.

Christma Eve dinner at relatives today including a few gin & tonics and this doggy.

Trying to get back into the VSCO iOS app but the user interface is still awful. There’s something wrong if I have to keep reminding myself where the camera button is. It’s unfortunate because the app has a lot of nice filters that are worth using. In for another year anyway.

I never really listened to Terry Hall’s band The Colour Field that much. Which means I’d never heard their gorgeous cover of The Roches’ Hammond Song until today. Hammond Song on YouTube 🎶

🙁 Contemplating the first Christmas without my dad around.

I don’t like the way rich and powerful men get referred to using their first names eg “Boris”, “Elon”. They’re not our friends.

Steely Dan’s 20 greatest songs – ranked! | Steely Dan | The Guardian:

With November marking 50 years since their debut album, we pick the best of the band’s idiosyncratic output, with tales of capitalism, drug dealers and mid-life crises.

Nice list. Deacon Blues is my fave. 🎵

I watch baseball late at night here in the UK. My late dad was in the US Navy and we lived in San Diego for a while when I was very young. I would love to see the Padres beat the Yankees to win the World Series for sentimental reasons.

That word “late” is still hard to say.