#James Kelman

[markagorman]

Hings by Chris McQueer: Book review

The centrepiece of this extraordinary collection of short stories is called, simply, Bowls. It’s on an epic scale (for McQueer), stretching to nearly 40 pages and telling a class-driven story of Big Angie “a horrible overgrown ned” (middle aged and dressed in trackies and Rangers tops). Big Angie is a class bowler and an even classer Bingo player. The trouble is she hates everyone and everyone…

[the-casbah-way]

new malcolm x jamie oneshot just dropped. we are all aware of the inherent homoeroticism of sharing a cigarette. it's time we discuss the inherent homoeroticism of playing snooker together

[dagwolf]

A vote for any party or any individual is always a vote for the political system. You can interpret your vote in whichever way you like but it remains an endorsement of the apparatus … If there was any possibility that the apparatus could effect a change in the system then they would dismantle it immediately. In other words the political system is an integral state institution, designed and refined to perpetuate its own existence. Ruling authority fixes the agenda by which the public are allowed ‘to enter the political arena’ and that’s the fix they’ve settled on.

--James Kelman, Some Recent Attacks, p. 87

[scotianostra]

Scottish Playwright, writer and Artist John Patrick Byrne was on January 6th 1940 in Paisley.

John Byrne where he grew up in the Ferguslie Park housing scheme and was educated at the town’s St Mirin’s Academy before attending Glasgow School of Art, where he excelled. In his final year he was awarded the Bellahousten Award, the school’s most prestigious painting prize, and spent six months in Italy, returning a masterful and confident young artist. His work is held in major collections in Scotland and abroad.

Several of his paintings have hang in The Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, the Museum of Modern Art and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow. In 2007 he was made a full member of the Royal Scottish Academy and is an Honorary Fellow of the GSA, the RIAS, an Honorary Member of the RGI and has Honorary Doctorates from the universities of Paisley, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Strathclyde.

It was by no means an overnight success for Byrne, he was making a living designing book covers for publishers Penguin before recognition, Byrne has also designed record covers for Donovan, The Beatles, Gerry Rafferty, Billy Connolly, and The Humblebums as well as illustrations for the renowned Scottish writer James Kelman.

As well as his artwork Byrne was an accomplished writer perhaps best known as the writer of The Slab Boys Trilogy of plays which explore working-class life in Scotland, and of the excellent TV dramas Tutti Frutti and Your Cheating Heart.

In 2018 Byrne was named Scotland’s most stylish man at the age of 78 at the Scottish Style Awards in Glasgow, beating Outlander star Sam Heughan to the coveted most stylish male title, which was previously won by Richard Jobson, Robert Carlyle, James McAvoy and Paolo Nutini. Byrne, a good friend of comic, Billy Connolly Byrne said at the time he was shocked at the award saying “I dress like a tramp”.

The highlights the quintessential Scottishness of Byrne’s work, and his enduring humour and his focus on the frailty of human experience often lived on the edge of working-class communities. It is a richly rewarding show which underscores r give John Byrne a rightful place as one of Scotland’s finest and most prolific artists.

His most recent work has been murals - one for the ceiling of the King's Theatre in Edinburgh and another in Glasgow to mark the 75th birthday of his friend Billy Connolly.

During lockdown he worked with Pitlochry Festival Theatre to create a new play which was produced and performed remotely.

He and his wife Jeanine also collaborated on a children's book, Donald and Benoit.

Everything he did was drenched in colour. Without him, the world feels a less colourful place.

John Byrne passed away on Thursday November 30th aged 83.

Everything he did was drenched in colour. Without him, Scotland and the world feels a less colourful place.

[cantseemtohide]

What I read in 2023, pretty good going 👍 (apologies for long non sims post)

1. Middlemarch by George Eliot

2. Capitalism in the Twenty-First Century: Through the Prism of Value by Guglielmo Carchedi and Michael Roberts

3. The Temple House Vanishing by Rachel Donohue

4. The Book of Tokyo: A City in Short Fiction edited by Michael Emmerich, Jim Hinks & Masashi Matsuie

5. Clipped Coins, Abused Words, and Civil Government: John Locke's Philosophy of Money by George Caffentzis

6. Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World by Adam Tooze

7. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

8. Civilizing Money: Hume, his Monetary Project and the Scottish Enlightenment by George Caffentzis

9. An Untouched House by Willem Frederik Hermans

10. Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata

11. Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris

12. Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard

13. Exiles from European Revolutions: Refugees in Mid-Victorian England edited by Sabina Freitag

14. The Apprenticeship of Big Toe P by Rieko Matsuura

15. A Civil War: A History of the Italian Resistance by Claudio Pavone

16. Mrs Caliban by Rachel Ingalls

17. Dracula by Bram Stoker

18. The Silent Dead by Tetsuya Honda

19. Lady Susan by Jane Austen

20. Adam Smith in Beijing: Lineages of the Twenty-First Century by Giovanni Arrighi

21. This Should be Written in the Present Tense by Helle Helle

22. The Citadel of Weeping Pearls by Aliette de Bodard

23. The Invention of Art: A Cultural History by Larry Shiner

24. Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder

25. The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould

26. Ninety-Three by Victor Hugo

27. Carol by Patricia Highsmith

28. Victorian Women Writers and the Woman Question edited by Nicola Diane Thompson

29. Some Recent Attacks: Essays Cultural & Political by James Kelman

30. Mem by Bethany C. Morrow

31. Russia Under Yeltsin and Putin by Boris Kagarlitsky

32. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

33. The History of the British Film 1918-1929 by Rachael Low

34. The Law of Accumulation and Breakdown of the Capitalist System by Henryk Grossman

35. Mayhem & Death by Helen McClory

36. White by Marie Darrieussecq

37. Dream Houses by Genevieve Valentine

38. The Vanishers' Palace by Aliette de Bodard

39. Maigret Takes a Room by Georges Simenon

40. The Lodger, That Summer by Levi Huxton

41. Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner

42. Grundrisse by Karl Marx

43. A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

44. Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

[novemberhush]

Tag 9 people to get to know better or catch up with

Thanks for tagging me, @littleblackraincloudofcourse !❤️

Three ships you like - Just off the top of my head, Buddie (Buck x Eddie from 9-1-1), Marvey (Mike x Harvey from Suits) and Chenford (Lucy Chen x Tim Bradford from The Rookie). I have so many more, lol.

First ship ever - These are all from roughly the same time, and I was only a kid at the time, so I’m not sure which came first, but I’d say Maddie Hayes x David Addison from Moonlighting, Jim Dempsey x Harriet ‘Harry’ Makepeace from Dempsey & Makepeace, and Anne Shirley x Gilbert Blythe from the 1985 made-for-television adaptation of Anne of Green Gables and its 1987 sequel. In my teenage years, I seriously shipped Benton Fraser x Ray Vecchio from Due South.

Last song you heard - I stopped at the Tesco Express on my way home from work earlier to see if they had anything I fancied for dinner (spoiler alert - they didn’t) and You Can Get It If You Really Want came on over the sound system, much to the seeming delight of everyone in the store because we all started humming, whistling and, in the case of one customer, even singing along. Oh, and it was the Jimmy Cliff version, not the Desmond Dekker one, or at least it sounded like it.

Favourite childhood book - Ooh, that’s a difficult one! I devoured books as a child (a habit I’ve been getting back into this year and last) and I don’t know if I could pick just one.

Currently reading - The Binding Room by Nadine Matheson (the sequel to The Jigsaw Man, which I just finished earlier this week), and I’m also making my way through a book of short stories called That Was A Shiver, and Other Stories by James Kelman.

Currently watching - I finally got around to watching the last half of the last season of The Blacklist this week, watching the very last episode just last night. I’m also watching reruns of The Closer and the original The Twilight Zone, as well the current seasons of Death in Paradise, Murdoch Mysteries, N.C.I.S. and Law & Order. I’m also watching Tatort Saarbrücken, but I’m trying to make the episodes last because there’s only five of them and the next one doesn’t air until January! I have a whole stack of other stuff I still have to get around to as well, but there’s only so many hours in the day.

Currently consuming - A tin of Pepsi Max.

Currently craving - Ice cream, even though it’s really cold here at the moment.

I tag @imwritesometimes @slow-burn-sally @firemedicdiaz @tulipfromtheinternet @fireladybuckley @smowkie @all-or-nothing-baby @mistmarauder @katries and anyone else who wants to play. No pressure on anyone who doesn’t!😘

[blurringedges]

Books of 2022

Here we gooo!

1.       Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

2.       A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney

3.       Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

4.       The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss

5.       Hamilton and Me: An Actor’s Journal by Giles Tererra

6.       Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created Sunday in the Park With George by James Lapine

7.       I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy

8.       Dolly Parton: Songteller: My Life in Lyrics by Dolly Parton

9.       A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

10.   The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon

11.   Money: A User’s Guide by Laura Whateley

12.   Windswept and Interesting by Billy Connolly

13.   Year of Yes: How To Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes

14.   Happy Sexy Millionaire by Steven Bartlett

15.   Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadette Evaristo

16.   The Secret Barrister: Stories of the Law and How It’s Broken by The Secret Barrister

17.   They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

18.   Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman

19.   Lord of the Flies by William Golding

[devilgate]

Finished reading: Nova Scotia Vol 2: New Speculative Fiction from Scotland, Edited by Neil Williamson and Andrew J Wilson 📚

If there’s a record for the longest gap between volumes of a series of collections, I think we all know that there’s only one real contender. Though to win it, JMS’s The Last Dangerous Visions will have to actually be released (which, at the time of writing, is scheduled to happen next month, amazingly).

Second on the list, though, might be Nova Scotia. The first volume was published in 2005, to more-or-less coincide with the second Glasgow Worldcon. Nineteen years later all is well, as Volume 2 is published to more-or-less coincide with this year’s Glasgow Worldcon.

And it is again, very good, and very varied. I’m not going to go through the stories, but it struck me that three of them concern someone being resurrected — woken from cryogenic stasis, or reconstructed from DNA and memories — in a future that might not be quite what they had expected or hoped for. A couple of others include bringing back extinct species, or sentient life coming to entities that are not (to the best of our knowledge) sentient at present.

I doubt the stories were chosen deliberately to have those connections. Rather, perhaps this is how our current end-of-the-world fears are playing out: in fantasies of technological afterlives. Not that such stories are particularly new, but maybe they’re particularly now.

Notable contributors: Ken McLeod, of course, Scotland’s premier living SF author. James Kelman, surprisingly: as one of Scotland’s best-known literary authors, it’s pleasing that he’d lower himself into our genre murk. Grant Morrison, Scotland’s best known comics writer, I imagine. And plenty others.

Books 2024, 18

[alrederedmixedmedia]

Alredered Remembers James Kelman, Scottish writer, on his birthday.

"Ninety-nine per cent of traditional English literature concerns people who never have to worry about money at all."

[xasha777]

In the bustling starport of New Glasgow, under the shadow of looming starships and neon signs, a young woman named Elara served as the chief engineer aboard the SS Kelman, a trade vessel named after the legendary explorer James Kelman. Elara, known for her brilliant mind and distinctive style—marked by a braided blonde hair and a steampunk-inspired outfit complete with intricate gear motifs—was a standout in the sea of uniformed mechanics and pilots.

The SS Kelman was docked for repairs, and Elara was busy with the final adjustments to the engine’s quantum flux regulator when she stumbled upon a hidden compartment beneath the main console. Inside, she found a holographic map encoded with coordinates unknown to the Union’s navigation databases. Curiosity piqued, Elara decided to follow the mysterious trail, suspecting it might lead to one of the lost expeditions of James Kelman himself.

Without notifying her captain, Elara programmed the coordinates into the ship’s auto-pilot. As the SS Kelman slipped out of the starport, a series of alarms blared, and Elara realized that the ship was now on an irreversible course towards uncharted space. The navigation system locked and encrypted, Elara was left with no choice but to follow through on her impromptu adventure.

Days turned into weeks as the SS Kelman hurdled through star systems and nebulas, each more breathtaking than the last. Elara spent her time maintaining the ship, deciphering more of James Kelman’s notes hidden within the map, and dodging occasional space pirates attracted to her lone vessel.

Finally, the coordinates led Elara to a hidden planet cloaked by an advanced stealth field, clearly the work of a civilization far more advanced than any known to the Union. The planet was lush and teeming with life, untouched by human hands. It was here, Elara discovered, that James Kelman had founded a secret colony, designed to be a utopia away from the conflicts of the galaxy.

Elara was welcomed by the descendants of the original colonists, who showed her the technological marvels and harmonious lifestyle they had developed, all thanks to the guidance of their forefather, Kelman. As she learned about their society and helped them upgrade their systems with her own expertise, Elara realized she had found a new purpose.

She decided to stay, helping to bridge the gap between her old world and this new paradise. Elara transmitted the data and knowledge she had acquired back to the Union, ensuring that the legacy of James Kelman and the wonders of this hidden planet would no longer remain a secret, but a beacon of hope and peace in the cosmos.

[markagorman]

The Young Team by Graeme Armstrong: Book Review

In the pantheon of great Scottish vernacular writers Graeme Armstrong has joined the podium. He stands alongside James Kelman, Irvine Welsh, Ely Percy and Anne Donovan. Maybe he is the gold medalist, but let’s see what novel #2 brings. My only criticism of this amazing book is it could have been edited a little more tightly. That critique aside, in the meantime we have a belter in The Young…

[the-casbah-way]

scottish brethren i watched this last night and it was really good i recommend

[whatsonmedia]

Music Monday: Latest Music Tracks of This Week!

Welcome to the ultimate dancefloor experience, meticulously curated by music editor Adam Humphries. Prepare to ignite your soul and unleash your inner groove with this precision-curated playlist. Featuring recently released upbeat tracks, this selection guarantees a non-stop music extravaganza that will leave you breathless. Get ready to dance like there’s no tomorrow and embark on an unforgettable week of electrifying beats and unstoppable moves. Let the music be your guide and let the rhythm take control! International project THE ELIALI PROJECT release gorgeous third single 'Virtuality' Israeli singer songwriter has teamed up with highly acclaimed musician, Lucky Ali to create what can only be described as something quite extraordinary. Acoustic yet raw and heartfelt, Virtuality is a gem which has gone viral in the Indian continent, and it's not hard to see why. He may not be well known over here yet but this song is a great introduction for him  https://open.spotify.com/track/1RLm2JvBrBQGwEUKv982A9?si=57ab6eb5514445c2 ERIN K releases cathartic new single 'Goodbye Song' If break up songs can make for great listening then this little sparkler of a song is no exception. American British singer songwriter writes about an end of a relationship yet is not downbeat about it. If anything, the Goodbye Song is interestingly upbeat and has that infectious element where it's more uplifting than down hearted  https://open.spotify.com/track/6XVEtNIaCKIMvHD54cGlKj?si=dbf75c25b2704591 https://youtu.be/hGY8W1120KM Former Noah & The Whale guitarist Fred Abbott announces new album as Fred Abbott & The Wild Unknown! - Shining Under the Soot Every so often indie-rock gives you that one track which is an absolute banger of a gem, and this is definitely that. What Kind of Trouble is testament to Fred Abbott's musical genius as both a songwriter and musician. It remains faithful to his music background in indie but shows us what he's about as an artist  https://open.spotify.com/album/310pfrsgGV5GpfVke62Dv3?si=ZAMKJp9iS0ubw9cEd8oFiQ https://youtu.be/jXXsmBcpf2Q MULL HISTORICAL SOCIETY - Announces Brand New Album: 'In My Mind There's A Room' (21 July) Commencing next month and for five select dates, Mull Historical Society showcases their latest album In My Mind.  If you are an avid fan of these guys then this is a must for you. Full details on tour dates and the album below MULL HISTORICAL SOCIETY - 'IN MY MIND THERE'S A ROOM' - TRACKLISTING:  NOT ENOUGH SORRY – Jennifer Clement FEATURING GUEST CONTRIBUTIONS FROM:  IAN RANKIN / NICK HORNBY / JACQUELINE WILSON + MORE PRE-ORDER HERE https://tinyurl.com/56ehfm6j 1952 – Liz Lochhead WAKE UP SALLY – Alan Warner KELSHABEG – Sebastian Barry PANICKED FEATHERS – Nick Hornby THE RED FLAME DINER – Stephen Kelman SOMEBODY ELSE'S LIFE – Jacqueline Wilson MY BEDROOM WAS MY ROCKET – Ian Rankin SEEDS – James Robertson MELTWATER – Jackie Kay ALL EMPTY ROOMS MUST BE MOURNED – Jason Mott ROOM OF MASKS – Val McDermid ANAGLYPTA – Liz Lochhead MEMORIES OF MULL – Angus MacIntyre Mull Historical Society / Colin MacIntyre - 2023 Live dates 3rd June - HAY Festival  https://www.hayfestival.com/p-20266-colin-macintyre-aka-mull-historical-society.aspx - 17th June - Borders Book Fest — with crime writer Val McDermid  - 29th July - MHS Belladrum - 4th Aug - MHS Edinburgh Festival Fringe @ Summerhall  - Sept - Wigtown Book Fest  - 27th Oct - Tobermory Book Fest  Read the full article

[scotianostra]

Happy 81st Birthday Scottish Playwright and artist John Byrne.

Born John Patrick Byrne on January 6th 1940 in Paisley, where he grew up in the Ferguslie Park housing scheme and was educated at the town’s St Mirin’s Academy before attending Glasgow School of Art, where he excelled. In his final year he was awarded the Bellahousten Award, the school’s most prestigious painting prize, and spent six months in Italy, returning a masterful and confident young artist. His work is held in major collections in Scotland and abroad.

Several of his paintings hang in The Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, the Museum of Modern Art and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow. In 2007 he was made a full member of the Royal Scottish Academy and is an Honorary Fellow of the GSA, the RIAS, an Honorary Member of the RGI and has Honorary Doctorates from the universities of Paisley, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Strathclyde.

It was by no means an overnight success for Byrne, he was making a living designing book covers for publishers Penguin before recognition, Byrne has also designed record covers for Donovan, The Beatles, Gerry Rafferty, Billy Connolly, and The Humblebums as well as illustrations for the renowned Scottish writer James Kelman.

As well as his artwork Byrne is an accomplished writer perhaps best known as the writer of The Slab Boys Trilogy of plays which explore working-class life in Scotland, and of the excellent TV dramas Tutti Frutti and Your Cheating Heart.

In 2018 Byrne was named Scotland’s most stylish man at the age of 78 at the Scottish Style Awards in Glasgow, beating Outlander star Sam Heughan to the coveted most stylish male title, which was previously won by Richard Jobson, Robert Carlyle, James McAvoy and Paolo Nutini. Byrne, a good friend of comic, Billy Connolly Byrne said at the time he was shocked at the award saying “I dress like a tramp”.

The highlights the quintessential Scottishness of Byrne’s work, and his enduring humour and his focus on the frailty of human experience often lived on the edge of working-class communities. It is a richly rewarding show which underscores r give John Byrne a rightful place as one of Scotland’s finest and most prolific artists, as seen in the artists work with the portraits of the late Robbie Coltrane, one of several he has made of the Big Yin, Billy Connolly and the pic of his former partner Tilda Swinton.

[biglisbonnews]

The Scotia Bar in Glasglow, Scotland The Scotia Bar, which was built in 1792, claims to be the oldest surviving pub in Glasgow. The pub’s age is apparent from the wood beams of the low ceiling, the match strikers screwed to the front of the L-shaped bar, and the brass taps. Built on one of the city’s four original streets when the River Clyde was a major shipping thoroughfare, it served sailors, merchants, dock workers, and passengers. It was also popular with performers from the Metropole Theatre next door, which led to the bar’s long association with the performing arts. The Metropole Theatre was located at 116 Stockwell St. In 1906, when Arthur Jefferson took over management of the Metropole, his teenage son Arthur Stanley Jefferson was pressed into working at the box office and collecting tickets. Jefferson fell in love with show business, changed his name to Stan Laurel, and achieved world renown as one half of the comedy duo, Laurel and Hardy. The Metropole building has since been torn down, but in 2022 a blue plaque commemorating Stan Laurel’s showbiz beginnings was unveiled at The Scotia Bar.  During the 1960’s and ‘70’s, the pub was a haven for folk singers, poets, and other performers. Singer Gerry Rafferty and comedian Sir Billy Connolly got their start playing at The Scotia with their band The Humblebums. Later, stories from The Scotia Bar would become a fixture in Connolly’s standup routine.  A few of the former patrons and employees are rumored to haunt the pub. Reported sightings include a woman in a white wimple who sits at the bar or in the snug, the Green Lady (a barmaid in a green velvet dress who walks up and down the length of the pub), and the ghost of a manager who hanged himself in the pub’s cellar. There have also been claims of the ghost of a young boy playing in the doorway, thought to be the spirit of the former owner’s son. The bar, which celebrated its 230th birthday in 2022, still serves as a gathering place for the arts. Writers James Kelman and William McIlvaney are said to be regulars and the bar hosts live music several nights a week as well as a monthly writers meeting and a yearly Scotia Poet Laureate competition. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/scotia-bar

[omnishambolic]

Last song: Storm by Godspeed You! Black Emperor; went down a post-rock rabbithole Fav color: either red or green, depends on the shade Currently watching: only youtube rn, trying to get back into reading! But current books are How Late It Was, How Late by James Kelman and Politics on the Edge by Rory Stewart Sweet/savory/spicy: between sweet and salty snacks only I would choose salt, but between all sweet and savory foods, sweet. I have a rather bland palate so spicy never stood a chance lol Currently playing: browser games, mostly Tetris Current obsession: politics, Scottish indie bands, and Glasgow. And of course Peter Capaldi.

9 people I want to get to know better

(Done this before but answers are subject to change, so why not)

(Tagged by @bobcatblahs - thank youu!)

Last song: Le fac de lettres - Jacqueline Taïeb (catchy AF)

Fav color: This hasn't changed since last time, it's still that warm thing between yellow and orange, which I unironically call yellorange in my daily life but which google has also informed me can be referred to as "amber". Essentially, my favourite colour is anything that can be found on this stripe:

Currently watching: Doctor Who and a variety of stuff Peter Capaldi has been in

Sweet/savory/spicy: they all hit the spot depending on the mood but, yeah, sweet, probably.

Currently playing: Don't really play. Except Gardenscapes or Minesweeper or something, usually when I have to listen to something, it helps me focus.

Current obsession: Peter Capaldi 🧡

alright, tagging: @snugsunresplendence (been a while, I know we've done this though), @nastasya--filippovna, @a-singing-lunatic (yeah, I tagged you both last time, I REMEMBER), @artisticautisticstuff, @imalsorettish, @nisabaismymistress-blog, @queenlovett , @omnishambolic, @millerdoc, @marthajonesurastar, ehh, imma stop here, or I'm gonna tag every single mutual I've interacted with in the past year and this is going to be a wall of tags, I love you all 🧡