The malicious Queen of Hearts It seems to me that almost all committees are dysfunctional. As soon as you get more than 3 or 4 people together round a table, opinions fly across the room in all directions, and the substance of the discussion dies in the crossfire. In theory, the meeting comes to a…Read more Malice in Wonderland
Solstein
Viking sunstone 'Solstein' is the Norwegian for 'sunstone', a birefringent form of calcite. It may have been used by the Vikings for navigation in mediaeval times, although that idea is still little more than speculation, as this article on the Wikipedia wiki explains. "It permits the observer to follow the azimuth of the sun, far…Read more Solstein
The Fusion Syndicate
Inside the tokamak There are no prizes for guessing why I have chosen this 2012 album to grace the pages of the Crotchety Man blog. Just look at this partial list of artists: Billy Cobham Mel Collins Larry Coryell Colin Edwin John Etheridge Jerry Goodman Gavin Harrison Percy Jones Theo Travis Rick Wakeman And that's…Read more The Fusion Syndicate
People
Nat Ural and Art I. Ficial The older I get, the more I worry about the human race. We are supposed to be a rational species, but I hear people making absurd statements and claiming they are undeniable truths all the time these days. Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity. And…Read more People
Protocol
"The use of the word 'extinction' breaches diplomatic protocol", says dinosaur. protocol[ proh-tuh-kawl, -kol, -kohl ] noun The customs and regulations dealing with diplomatic formality, precedence and etiquette. An original draft, minute or record from which a document, especially a treaty, is prepared. Medicine. The plan for carrying out a scientific study or a patient's…Read more Protocol
Slip Away
Watching the day slip away The forensic archaeologist at the Crotchety Music Institute was asked to find songs on the theme of Position. The search began with the keywords 'position', 'where' and 'place', which turned up a few mostly unremarkable pop and folk songs. Next, he tried 'front', 'back', 'above', 'below', 'left' and 'right'. These…Read more Slip Away
Three Movements
Hop, skip and jump. Three kinds of movement. But probably not what Sonar had in mind when they recorded their Three Movements album. https://open.spotify.com/album/3cnkDweGrKifrvJNZKjUWb?si=8N0zZSIfTtG-Hy8oaZuS2g Sonar is a quartet with a traditional rock band line-up: two guitars (Stephan Thelen, Bernhard Wagner), bass (Christian Kuntner) and drums (Manuel Pasquinelli). Their output, though, is nothing like that of…Read more Three Movements
3-Headed Prog
Cerberus, the three-headed hellhound of Hades. For prog lovers and three-headed dog lovers, I present a trio of prog rock albums by bands new to the Crotchety ears. The first is vintage Italian prog from 1973. The album is called Arbeit Macht Frei and you won't be surprised to know that it takes as its…Read more 3-Headed Prog
Unhurt
Aja Monet I eat my peas with honey. I've done it all my life. It makes the peas taste funny, But it keeps them on the knife. Would you like some poetry to accompany your music feast? Or do you prefer a side dish of music with your main course poetry? Either way, the New…Read more Unhurt
Here Is Everything
As moons go, Earth's is pretty big. Of the hundreds of moons in our solar system, only Ganymede, Titan, Callisto and Io are larger. But the members of The Big Moon band have their eyes on even bigger things - much bigger, in fact. They have brought the whole universe into our backyard, made an…Read more Here Is Everything
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