BLOURNAL
Could we please have a normal 2026? Pretty please? Or is that too much to ask?
Sigh.
Look, I said I wasn’t going to doomscroll in 2026, but when the world is figuratively and literally on fire and the powers-at-be are actively pouring gasoline on the flames, it’s hard to resist the temptation.
What I saw, read, played and listened to in December 2025
So… now that 2025 is done and dusted, I can wrap things up presenting all the things I watched, read, played and/or listened to throughout the month of December. Good variety of films, shows, music, games and even books for a change… although I’ve fallen back into bad habits with the latter. That’ll need to rectified this year… PRONTO!
First Day of 2026
So, that’s 2025 done and dusted… Stranger Things is officially finished, Zohran Mamdani is now the mayor of New York and I’m pretty sure it’s now 2026 no matter where you are in the world.
Last Day of 2025
In less than a few hours time — at least in our part of the world — it’ll be 2026 and I’m not entirely sure how I feel about that. I know for a fact that I failed to accomplish much this year, but I also know that it’s no use beating myself up about it.
A step in the right direction
So… I think I managed to spruce up the comment section ever so slightly. It’s still not perfect by any means but I think it looks considerably better than it did even a few hours ago. Alas, there’s still plenty more work to be done with this website in general… most of which is long, long, LONG overdue, but I’m finally on the right track at long last.
Comments Section
So…
I managed to finally add a comment section to this blournal and it was a lot easier than I initially anticipated. That’s the good news. The not-so-good news is that that it currently looks like this.
Why I don’t do year-end lists (Part 2)
So, I mostly don’t do year-end lists because I don’t see nearly as many new movies as I’d like to, and the same could be said for most shows and video games that end up becoming the talk of the town.
Why I don’t do year-end lists (Part 1)
I have to admit… I am fucking awful at keeping up to date with new music. There’s so many albums which released this year that I’ve been wanting to listen to, but for some reason, I just haven’t gotten around to yet..
A few vague New Years’ resolutions to start off 2026 with…
Yes, I know 2025 isn’t over yet but I’d like to try get slightly ahead of the curve for a change.
Truth be told, I don’t really any clear resolutions for 2026 as of yet. I still plan on going to the local hub three days a week to work out, but so far, nothing’s set in stone aside from a few immediate dates in my calendar. I’ll be seeing Biffy Clyro in Belfast in less than a fortnight away, which will be my third time seeing them. I’ve been a fan of this band since my mid-to-late teens and they kick so much ass live, although it’ll be interesting to see how they manage without bassist James Johnston, who’s taking a step back to address his mental health. It’ll be strange to see them without a core member because for me, the chemistry between the three band members has always a big part of what makes Biffy such a good band. Nevertheless, I wish James all the best with his recovery and I’m confident that it’s still gonna be a brilliant show regardless, just with a slightly different dynamic this time around.
Yes, I know Christmas Day has come and gone, but it’s still Christmas as far as I’m concerned.
Hi.
I meant to start working on a post-Christmas blournal entry a lot sooner but I’ve been playing Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 almost nonstop since yesterday morning, so apologies for that. It’s been a great Christmas for me so far and I’ve had so much fun spending time with my family, gobbling up some Christmas food, getting reacquainted with old friends and soaking in all that good old-fashioned Christmas cheer.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
Merry Christmas to all my friends, to both my immediate and extended family and anyone else who celebrate Christmas, and the happiest of holidays to anyone who celebrates the many other holidays around this time of the year.
Yes, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas but the winter weather is still a ways off
So, I was gonna do a sort-of update entry last week, but once I started writing about the tragic deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner, I thought it would be more than a little tone-deaf of me to be whining about my own personal grievances in the same post, so paying my respects to the Reiners obviously took priority.
Rest in peace, Rob and Michele Reiner
So, the first thing I heard about when I woke up on Monday morning was the untimely deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner and I’m still kind of processing it.
You know, if there’s one thing I hate about writing blournals is when I can’t think of a fucking title for one…
Hi, folks.
So, at the moment, I’m trying to dig up a couple of music-themed blogs from which I scoured through earlier in the year. I remember liking how both blogs were presented, but I don’t recall what they were named or what brought me to them in the first place. Currently, the only sure thing I have to go on is that these blogs were made in Wordpress, but Wordpress blogs are a dim a dozen and so far, nothing’s jogged my memory.
Netflix V. Paramount V. Warner Bros
Sigh.
So there’s a lot going on in the world, most of it not good. The hot topic at the moment is Netflix acquiring Warner Bros. and the ramifications that sale may have for the entertainment industry going forward.
What I saw and listened to in November 2025.
Hi, everyone.
So, I really like reading through the “seen, read” year-end lists that Steven Soderbergh shares on his aptly-named Soderblog and I’ve been wanting to do something similar for some time.
I guess you could say it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Well, it’s December and I’m slowly but surely getting into the Christmas spirit. Without being overly saccharine, I like Christmas. It’s not my favourite holiday of the year and there’s aspects about Christmas that I greatly dislike, but I generally find it to be a cosy time of the year… at least once you’ve put up all the decorations and done all the shopping.
Predator: Badlands
I finally got around to seeing Predator: Badlands yesterday.
All things considered, I thought it was a lot of fun. It’s definitely an interesting change of pace for the franchise as it largely de-emphasises the horror of the series, but it still has some of that subversive spirit that makes for a good Predator movie with this film spinning the Predator formula entirely on its head and making the hunter the hunted.
A long overdue update
Hello. It’s me again. Just thought I’d check in to reassure you all that I’m still here. The internet was down for a few days last week and I was also feeling a slight comedown from the week prior, which is why I haven’t updated the blournal for nearly two weeks.
Back in the Saddle
Yeah, living the high life for a couple of days was fun and all, but now that that’s all over and done with, it’s time to get back in the saddle and what better way to do that than by working out at the Hub.