Alastair Reynolds's Blog, page 4

Day 6 of RED January

 Onward!

The snow was completely gone today, leaving just puddles and mud, although there's more cold weather on its way. I contented myself with a slightly shorter run, not helped by forgetting to start my Garmin until I'd already gone some way. My musical accompaniment was Antiphon, the fourth album by the splendid Midlake, which came out in 2013. I've been listening to this record on and off for over a decade and it's really been a grower, gradually settling into my consciousness as a piece of...

Days 4 and 5 of RED January

 I was up ready for parkrun, but we had a number of cancellations in the volunteer group due to the weather, so I took over one of the timekeeping positions instead. Later in the day I went out for my own run:

It started snowing not long after I got back, followed by rain today, so rather than brave the slush and ice, I hopped on the treadmill for a shorter recovery run this afternoon.

That takes us about a sixth of the way into the challenge. So far so good, but one mustn't get cocky. There'll be...

Day 3 of RED January

 A two for one this time as I'm uploading yesterday's run as well as today's. 

This is my fourth consecutive run as I ended 2024 by running in the Nos Galan road races in Mountain Ash on New Year's Eve. Nos Galan is a wonderful community event which celebrates the life of the legendarily fast Welsh runner Guto Nyth Brân, who lived between 1700 and 1737. Here I am plodding around the course a few evenings ago. I think you can get an idea of the amazing atmosphere of Nos Galan, which is always bril...

RED January

 I'm going to beg your patience by mentioning another fundraising initiative I'm doing, although I've set a somewhat more modest a target than I did for the Cardiff Half.

The RED in RED January stands for "rise every day", or, for some of us, "run every day". The RED January movement is about boosting mental health during what can be a challenging time of year, at least in this hemisphere. A little bit of activity, especially done outdoors, can make a massive difference to mood and well-being. I ...

End of year update

 As we approach the end of 2024 I'd like to send good wishes to all my readers and hope you have a relaxed and enjoyable conclusion to the year however you choose to celebrate it, and the very best of times in the New Year. I'd also like to give particular thanks to all those who supported me during my Cardiff Half Marathon challenge with Alzheimer's UK. Every pound was appreciated and it will all make a difference in the fight against this awful disease.

Looking on, I've registered for next year...

It ain't me, babe

 Thanks to my friends Paul and Malcolm for alerting me to a fake Bluesky social media account which is purporting to be me - it isn't. There is also at least one Stephen Baxter impersonator on Bluesky. 

For the record, I'm not on any social media platforms. I used to be able to at least monitor the content of Twitter and Facebook without logging in, but I can't even do that anymore.

White Foxes - Susanne Sundfør

I've gone completely ga-ga for this song and video. It's an old one but Susanne Sundfør wasn't on my radar at all until I heard a collaborative piece by her on the soundtrack to the new Day of the Jackal series. That led me to this piece, which I adore. It's always great to discover a brilliant artist.

The Saints!

 Nice article on the reformed Saints in The Guardian today:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/nov/11/punk-pioneers-the-saints-im-stranded

Galactic Vinyl Memories #13

 I needed to cheer myself up on Wednesday morning, so - thanks to a pre-arranged visit to Cardiff - I did a bit of retail therapy in HMV.

I really like Michael Kiwanuka's music, although this is the first record of his I've bought. I was surprised by how much of it I've recognised on first play. He did a great set at Glastonbury in the summer, and has a new album out now as well.

This is a Khruangbin album. I love Khruangbin! I came to them via a live set that was shown on BBC Wales a couple of ye...

Galactic Vinyl Memories #12

 A two-for-one this time! No connection to the previous record that I can think of, although they certainly stem from a similar period in my listening.

These two records, both of which I'd suggest are now considered "seminal", were bought from a small independent record shop called Rock City in St Andrews, Scotland in October 1989. "Sensual World" was Kate Bush's first significant new release since "Hounds of Love" four years earlier (quite a long time in them there days), while The Blue Nile's s...