Crotchety Man is no fan of ritual and has never been impressed by bling. The preparations for the coronation of King Charles III leave him cold. For the next couple of weeks, he will be ignoring the crowns and the bunting going up in the towns and the villages around here. And, when it's all…Read more Ritual Diamonds
The Book of Secrets
Magpie Murders Not so much a blog post, more a placeholder again this week. The bug that laid me low last time has left me with a lingering lethargy and a backlog of tasks to finish. But let's not despair. In a recent mailing, I uncovered a secret. In fact, a whole book of secrets,…Read more The Book of Secrets
Beyond the Illusion
2D or not 2D? The Crotchety wordsmith is officially on sick leave today. A nasty dose of 'flu has stiffened his fingers and addled his brain. So I'm just going to recommend the 2021 album, Beyond the Illusion, by Stefano Panunzi for your listening pleasure. https://open.spotify.com/album/7z1TQoe3meczYTzERbnJlM?si=5F3XmegCTQiiGbsSYfniyw There are strong influences of Richard Barbieri, Mick Karn…Read more Beyond the Illusion
Thinium
Thin lines. Between genius and madness. Between success and failure. Between order and chaos. Is that what Thinium is about? Or is this the Immortal Onion's way of reminding us of the tissue paper layers in the vegetable that makes us cry? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNP5SIMf2_Q This Polish jazz trio has appeared here before - in February 2021…Read more Thinium
Chris Opperman
Opperman was first inspired to become a composer by hearing the music of Frank Zappa. The Chris Opperman website The Zappa influence on Chris Opperman's compositions is clear on his debut album, Oppy Music, Vol I: Purple, Crayon. But there are more strings to his bow (and his piano) than that. The solo piano pieces…Read more Chris Opperman
Time Zones
Time Zone Clock "Tempus fugit", they say, when you are wasting time. And the speaker usually means you are wasting their time as well as your own. The insinuation is that time is too precious to be wasted, and those who squander it are bad boys and girls. But how can we decide how best…Read more Time Zones
Alan Mearns
I first came across the name Mearns in my late twenties. Quite out of the blue, I received an email from one Pete Mearns that read simply, "Fancy a game of Dippy?", and gave details of his Diplomacy fanzine. Puzzled, I scratched my head for a connection and, eventually, it dawned on me that I…Read more Alan Mearns
Free Speech, No Offence
Warning: Some readers may find some of the views expressed in this blog post offensive. On Saturday, The Times published an article by our Home Secretary, Suella Braverman. It was prompted by an incident at a school in the North of England in which a Quran suffered some minor damage. The reports in the media…Read more Free Speech, No Offence
Move
The universe is big. The universe is complex. The universe is dynamic. Everything in it moves. You can't move a mountain, but mountains are moving across the surface of the Earth. The Earth itself moves. It spins on its axis and it orbits the sun. The sun wanders through the Milky Way. The galaxies pirouette…Read more Move
Afrikan Culture
Shabaka Hutchings is a paradox. A paradox, that is, in the sense of "a person, thing or situation exhibiting an apparently contradictory nature" (dictionary.com). He was born and lives in the U.K.'s capital city, but he has inherited dark skin and African features from his Barbadian parents. His last name is fairly common in this…Read more Afrikan Culture
Crotchety Man 