Strongmen's diets, Michael Jackson's gaming habits, and quite possibly the greatest Vedder of all time. This and more feature in Slump 180, which is what this is.

Christmas happened and then the chaps didn't record and then Dan got ill, but now they're back again. Has anything changed? Not particularly, which is either great news or awful, depending on your feelings on the podcast. That's life, whaddayagonnado huh?

It's a Christmas special with a difference - it's not particularly Christmassy. Having said that, it's much longer than normal, Owen joins Dan, Ian and Brendan, and there are quite a few references to Christmas, especially towards the end, when there's even Christmas music. Also, I've used the word "Christmas" 5 times in this description, and that's got to be worth something.

Where to start eh? Who knows. I mean, is this description part even useful? Does anyone even read this? Who cares - this is a podcast, hence the audio bit is more important anyway. Still, if you like The Slump, I think you'll definitely like this one.

A death-metal parrot, some overpriced tat, a badly-named cheese, and a great deal more besides. You won't get people talking about that sort of thing in most podcasts, but you get a hell of a lot of it in this one.

This week, as well as the links, we've left in some bits between the links that we usually cut out. So in a way it's a bonus "Director's Cut" edition. Make of that what you will, all the while ensuring you're in a slumped position.

If I told you that this podcast featured conversations about ancient Mesopotamian writing, computer programming, and anthropomorphic primates, then you could almost imagine this was a highbrow affair. Well it's not, it's just the same silly talking as normal, so don't worry.

This is published on Friday the 13th. Spooky eh? Well not really. I mean, we recorded it on Wednesday the 11th, so that'll probably safeguard against demons and the like, so hunker down in your seat and slump the hell out.

Dan, Brendan and Ian are back once more. Having said that, Ian had to leave half way through because we wasted loads of time before we started recording, but that's another story. Focus instead, upon stories of sinkholes, public image problems, and the perfect world of the Women's Institute.

Dan is still off, lying in an opium haze somewhere in South East Asia, so Ian and Brendan have manned each others helms.