Mr Owl PhD

This is probably my favourite song of 2018 so far:

In fact here is the Sparkles thread:

The 'Sparkles' thread is probably worth digging out. That was a classic. The Beatles versus Fugazi thread was quite a weird one.

Deadyfilarious: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-43367267

No longer in the SNP, though apparently still okay to be an MSP: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/mar/06/mark-mcdonald-resigns-from-snp-over-inappropriate-behaviour

There is this on YouTube:

Or alternatively they'll just buy the citizenship of half the Brazil team and will go and win it.

Dolores O'Riordan isn't lingering: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/15/cranberries-singer-dolores-oriordan-dies-aged-46

I can't imagine there'll be a whammy of that status this year, unless Andrew Ridgely and Francis Rossi both peg out.

The great dead race: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42378765

Going into the toilets at work (University of Aberdeen) and finding that someone has daubed swastikas and the phrase 'Ban Islam' on the cubicle doors. Bit depressing.

Whatever happened to the likely deads: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-42067506

Charles Manson brings the cult to an end: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42016704

Keith Barron has reached his duty free limit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41998040

I'm weeping because they're below The Vines and New Found Glory on the bill.

I'm sure any prejudicial comments he made on here were made at a difficult time in his life and that he's been 'on a journey' to self-awareness since then.

Are you familiar with the Quietus website? http://thequietus.com/ They cover a range of music but cover some of the sorts of music you're interested in. I regularly hear about stuff I wasn't familiar with and that isn't covered so much elsewhere in the media from the site. They're big fans of Gazelle Twin. Have a listen to their recommended albums and music for October: http://thequietus.com/articles/23476-albums-of-the-month-october-kelela-laura-cannell-errorsmith-zimpel-ziolek-granite-shore

My first gig in Aberdeen was Bob Dylan at the AECC in 2000. That was actually a few years before I came to live here. I'm not really that big a Dylan fan but some friends of mine were travelling up from Fife and had a spare ticket. It was all right I suppose. My first gig ever was the Senseless Things at the Black Lion in Northampton in 1989. It was quite fun. Most of the audience were old punks, so were miles older than the band themselves. That was my first gig unless I count seeing Dexy's Midnight Runners and Chas and Dave on a school trip to watch a live recording of Crackerjack. That was in around 1983 during the Stu 'I could crush a grape' Francis era of the programme. I think they might have been miming, so it probably doesn't count as a proper gig. We recreated their performances in a school assembly a few weeks later. Good times.

Jake LaMortal: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41339153

I'm really liking the new album by Alvvays. It seems to have had pretty mixed reviews but it's just top tunes from start to finish. What else are people looking for?

I think at the last split second he knows Ederson is close but presumably he also thinks he can get the ball, hence why he's going for it. He shouldn't go so high with the foot of course, and I'm not saying the red card is wrong. Ederson also goes into the challenge knowing full well that he could get hurt. That's why everyone is going on about how brave he was. He knows it's a potentially dangerous 50-50 before it happens. He could pull out or hold back, but then he knows that Mane might score. Tricky dilemma. The dangerousness of a high boot is hard to assess because it often depends on very small differences in timing and the proximity of the other players. Here's one from Liverpool's game against Arsenal: Of course Salah wins the ball and goes on to score without getting Bellerin's boot in the face. It's a split second difference between the two though. Arguably Bellerin should have been red-carded, just to compound his misery. Likewise with Emre Can's goal - his boot is 'dangerously' high but it's not a danger to anyone because the Watford defender marking him doesn't bother to try to challenge for the ball with his head. If he had done then Can could have got a red card rather than scoring the goal of the season without him actually doing anything different. Should players just never put their foot above a certain height? Should 50-50 challenges (which almost always carry some sort of risk of injury) be outlawed? Maybe that's what Fowler's worried about when he says 'the game has gone'.

Because it was seemingly accidental (at least in the sense that I don't think Mane realised how close Ederson was), it reminded me more of Nani's tackle on Arbeloa, which loads of people at the time thought was a total unjust red card. But, you know... Here's Emre Can with some more reckless play. Should stamp this sort of thing out. Keep those feet down!

I read somewhere that Wilfred Bony has asked to take the number 2 shirt at Swansea. If that's true then I hope he breaks his leg and never scores again.

Careful now: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-41071609