3 Million Hits

This blog passed the 3 million hit mark yesterday. I’ve been running it since 2008. I hit 1 million in April ‘23 and 2 million in April this year. Either people are suddenly interested in my random nights out and amateur psychological musings, or there’s a whole lot of bot traffic out there. I suspect the latter. 

I annoyed Sabre from Gladiators with my grammar pedantry. 

Peter Cullen died, yet another person I could have met at one convention or another, but didn’t. I'm sure he was booked to attend at something local. He voiced the titular Predator, Eeyore the donkey from Whinnie the Pooh and Optimus Prime in the 1984 animated Transformers: The Movie. 

It’s a bank holiday tomorrow and I predictably have put up a last minute meetup for tonight: drinks on Deansgate, if that floats your boat. I always forget when it’s a bank holiday, and no other organiser on Meetup seems to put much up either. There’s a women’s cinema trip, a live music acoustic set in a pub, a bouldering session and a 70s disco night – great if that’s your thing – but not much else. I guess it’s down to me. 9pm, Slug and Lettuce Deansgate, 9pm.

 

This Machinist Diet is starting to get painful.

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2 weeks ago I started this Machinist Diet: an attempt to eat like Christian Bale did in preparation for his role as an anorexic insomniac. My goal isn't to look like him - it's to hit 72.2kg. 

It’s taking a lot longer than I thought, although it’s really starting to hurt now. Yesterday I just had tuna and apple for lunch, with no other meal all day. Then I blasted through circuit class as best as I could. This morning I did pump, sauna and steam. I’m about to eat again now. I’m still 82.4kg, a very minor reduction considering how little I’ve eaten and how much exercise I’ve done. Both my skipping ropes snapped on Thursday, so I bought 2 more, much sturdier this time. 

One thing I’ve noticed on The Machinist Diet – you don’t have to clean the kitchen anywhere near as much. Hardly any food prep or consumption happens in it. I still have a load of soup to eat, plus stuff in my freezer. I’m out of milk, protein drinks, cheese and eggs. 

Oh, also, I watched all the (very interesting) extras on The Machinist DVD. 

Let’s see what happens next...

Bank Holiday Breakfast

I was at a family gathering yesterday where a family member was raving about Dishoom’s breakfasts. Dishoom serves up great Indian delicacies and lassi milkshakes. I’ve been for lunch a year ago, but I kept meaning to try their other menus. Here’s their breakfast menu. 

Hence, I’ve set up a meetup with Manc Mates for food, 10am, Sunday morning. Come join. 

I predictably have no plans for Sunday night, when we have a Bank Holiday on the Monday. I’m all ears...

Up! at Six Trees: Afternoon House Music

Love a good house music stomp. Thankfully promoters Up! Supplied an afternoon on the terrace of Six Trees in Trafford yesterday afternoon. Great music from Grace Sands and others including my friend Paul Smith. 

I set up a meetup with Manchester Nightlife and got a group together - some regulars, some new people - we met in Impossible then got a taxi down there. Great music and atmos. Weather held up too, thankfully, as the sun went down.

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Machinist Diet Update

Last Saturday I described this insane diet basted on Christian Bale’s efforts to prepare for his role in The Machinist. 

The problem with a diet like this is that we all have food in our cupboards, fridges and freezers, and there’s no point it going off. So you might as well eat it. And that’s what I’ve been doing: with one meal per day, munching through the eggs, bread and other perishables. I also had made a huge pan of vegetable soup. I had some ingredients for a recipe, so I bought the remaining goods and cooked that too. I’ve actually got loads of non-tuna-and-pineapple stuff still to go. Furthermore, my mum – who doesn’t yet know I’m doing this project – invited me round for a curry. This absolutely stuffed me. When you're only eating one meal a day, it takes a long time to use up. 

Soon, though, it will be just a can of tuna and an apple as a daily meal - as confirmed by the director below...

I watched The Machinist, and understood it a lot better this time. I’ve also watched the commentary track, in which director Brad Anderson clears up a few of the more confusing plot points. I totally forgot Michael Ironside and Jennifer Jason Leigh were in this. 

I started this at 86.2, went down to 83.2 and am currently back up at 85.9. Teething problems. I’m steadily skipping it off. Watch what happens this next week.

 

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House Music at Up this Saturday

Afternoon sessions are rising in popularity rapidly, and with good reason: no late night taxis, no disrupted sleep, more daylight and people are more likely to be available. That’s probably why a few DJs – including a friend of mine – have put together Up, an afternoon of house music in Six Trees out in Trafford. There’s a meetup with Manchester Nightlife that you should join. At the time of writing we’re planning where to meet – probably Impossible in the city centre first. 

 

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Delusions of Grandeur

Discussed Magic Eye pictures with Aisha Katya. I’d swear that is a chicken. Bill Duke – Mac in Predator - liked my photo of us. Saw the solar eclipse on Wednesday, from Hartshead Pike. If you missed it, there’s another in 12 months. 

 

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Went out for a few birthday drinks in Freemount Northern Quarter last night. Behind Closed Doors turned me away because I was in shorts. You’d think a bar with S&M befitted mannequins wouldn’t have that strict a dress code in 2026, but here we are. Moved to Voyuer, a new edgy bar with risque-sounding cocktails (mine was called ‘Delusions of Grandeur,’ so make of that what you will), where a trans waiter served us Baby Godfather shots, a caramel liqueur. Turned out BCD and Voyuer are part of the same company. We finished the night off in Guilty By Association. I managed to get the bus back. Good night in all.