Here’s a short poem about the power of poetry to change the world.

Sad news indeed. A phenomenal musician.

From LEGO themselves.

Morning

And thou mayest aske thyself, 'How do Ich werke thys?' And thou mayest aske thyself, 'Wher ys that large destrier?' And thou mayest telle thyself, 'Thys nys not my beautiful castle!' And thou mayest telle thyself, 'Thys nys not my swift goshawk!'

Follow up: this is very effective at stopping the doomscrolling. I’ve blocked Bluesky, Instagram, Discord etc on my phone between 0800 and 1800. There has also been a concomitant improvement in angst levels. The “filling the time with useful stuff” is still a work in progress, but: getting there!

Pretty much how I view “tracking” vs “mixing”

Point Taken #bloomcounty #billthecat #opus #goodmorning #comics #oliver #outland #SteveDallas

We have been out this evening to our local makeshift cinema to see this very film. Many spirits were lifted 🕺💃🪩

Following up from my earlier post, here’s an article from the Press and Journal: www.ross-shirejournal.co.uk/news/beautif...

FYI @shirley-sings.bsky.social

Morning.

Too many funerals of late, but this one hits hard and hits strange. Iain was a whirlwind and sharing a stage with him was an experience. He was a genius fiddler and a great guitarist- I could find myself losing my place in a song because I got wrapped up in what he was playing. Slàn abhaile… 🥃

I'm beginning to suspect this Donald Trump chap might be a bit of a cad.

Again. Remember the role of Surrealists in fighting fascism. Feed your soul.

OK just seen this. Magnificent. Much cap doffage to @johnorthside.bsky.social

🤬 I’m sure enough kind souls would offer to look after some of it. See also: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbukt...

Its still a bank holiday in Scotland. Pigs In Blankets sandwiches for lunch anyone?

Why is it always ‘Who’s the best frontman of all-time’ when no vocalist has ever - nor ever shall - elevate a band as much as Sandy Denny did Fairport and Fotheringay?

I’m collecting river imagery, history, stories and folklore for An Upcoming Thing and well, this has my name all over it 😆

Well, this is a concept that has set the mental hares running this morning. 🤔

I can’t take the credit for the observation and I’ve forgotten who said it, but if you consider that the audience for this government’s policies and communications consists entirely of politics columnists a lot of things suddenly make sense.

Dry January also applies to reverb.

So in a response to my standard New Year activity of chastising myself for not making better use of my time, I have installed the below- free- app to restrict the time I spend on social media. I’m trialling with Instagram, but I’m coming for you Mr Bluesky!

🧵👇

I honestly and truly got “hopeful”, so I’m having that, thanks!

Lucy van Pelt has finally gone too far. But she will be brought to justice

Good advices.

Being asked to move out of the way by Sir George Martin. I was blocking a lift that he wanted to use.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is showing from tonight at 10.10pm on BBC Four as part of John le Carré Night. Photo of Alec Guinness as George Smiley taken for a 1979 @radiotimes.bsky.social cover by John Timbers.

Reminder that years ago it was found out that the FBI straight up made up a whole bunch of fake forensic sciences, plural. People have gone to jail and been executed due to literally pseudoscience. Hair forensics, for instance, is totally nonsense. They admitted it. slate.com/news-and-pol...

I was having a meal with a work colleague in Manchester (Mr Thomas’ Chop House on Cross St. Highly recommended) when Christopher Eccleston came in. There was just the three of us in there. We left him alone to have his tea.

I wish I could quote this with enormous flashing neon lights shouting “THIS!”. Machine learning has been with us for decades and is an invaluable tool for domain specific evaluation. That it’s now endlessly mixed up with AI LLMs is unbelievably infuriating.

Interesting, I did not know this! FYI @loreandordure.com in case you consider doing a card reprint 😉.

This. Forever this. In fact I am watching it RIGHT NOW! (ad break…) The follow up? Not so much…

Big, BIG fan of the Pears Cyclopaedia as a lad!

A creepy story for Boxing Day. Hope you’re all having a fun festive time!

👏👏👏

Christmas is hard for many. The years roll, the ghosts at the table increase. We’re haunted by the absence of voices, of laughter engines who drank and ate with us. This can be day of remembrance rituals. For what it’s worth, Hooklanders near and far are in my candles today. Be gentle on yourselves.

If I didn’t dislike him enough before… 🤬

Happy Solstice! ✨ Here’s to the return of the light and the release of my new single, Wintersmith. Head to www.shirleybarrmusic.com for all relevant links ❄️ #terrypratchett #wintersmith #independentmusic

My favourite Christmas film. 🤩

👀

We're happy to announce that Bandcamp Fridays will be returning in 2026. Check out the full list of dates below.

Any recommendation for Blindsight must be retransmitted, passed on, amplified. Best hard sci-fi I’ve read in years (it has academic end notes!) And I’m saying no more about things mentioned in the thread below.

The life of a touring musician in the UK.