Spotify delivered an early Christmas present this week. Down at number 28 in my Release Radar playlist, there was a track called Sahara Spring by Monsieur MÂLÂ. In these cold, damp, early winter days, there could hardly be anything more incongruous than a Sahara Spring, but the music warms the heart like a glass of…Read more Monsieur MÂLÂ
2020s
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis of Narcissus, Salvador Dalí As a teenager, when other kids my age had photos of their favourite football team on their walls, I had a poster of Metamorphosis of Narcissus above my bed. It was the first example of surrealist art I had seen, and I found it fascinating. The composition is striking and…Read more Metamorphosis
Running
Back in the dim, distant days of my youth, the school made us play rugby in the autumn, cricket in the summer, and go on cross-country runs in the winter term. Now, the Crotchety Lad was a bit of a swot and not very sporty at all. Distance running, in particular, I hated. It would…Read more Running
Polarchoral
It's at this time of year that it gets noticeably colder here in the UK. So, let's sing a song of winter. The meteorological office will say that's premature - it's still officially autumn - but hats and gloves have been at the ready in this household for several days now. And Grice released his…Read more Polarchoral
Shingles
The Milky Way above a shingle beach in Suffolk The word 'shingle' has many meanings. It could denote a roof tile or small pebbles on a beach. Several places have 'Shingle' in their names: Shingle Cove (in Antarctica) and Shingle Street (a community and conservation group in Suffolk, UK), for example. And, in the plural,…Read more Shingles
Where Is Home (Hae Ke Kae)
Crotchety Man watched Later ... with Jools Holland on the TV the other night. There was the usual mix of styles, centred around pop singer/songwriter and pop/rock bands. But one artist stood out. A very black countenance in a sea of Anglo-Saxon faces. A classical cellist among massed electronic instruments. Traditional African dress among conventional…Read more Where Is Home (Hae Ke Kae)
Longing for the Dawn
As autumn rolls in slowly in these parts of the Northern Hemisphere, our thoughts begin to turn to the coming winter. It could be a hard one. The news outlets are warning us of possible surges in the Covid and flu infection rates, and a shortage of natural gas may lead to power cuts in…Read more Longing for the Dawn
Fractal Sextet
A fractal is a complex geometric shape, but it's difficult to find a precise definition. One well-known example is the 'snowflake' curve, invented by Niels Fabian Helge von Koch in 1904. Start with an equilateral triangle, then add an equilateral triangle one third the size to each of its edges to generate a new, more…Read more Fractal Sextet
Prayer for Amerikkka
It's been a hectic time in Crotchety Land for the last few weeks. Old Man Crotchety has done little other than move his 92-year-old father into a retirement apartment, and it's proved to be much more burdensome than anyone could have imagined. Quite apart from the unbelievable mass of belongings in his old house (see…Read more Prayer for Amerikkka
Tünel
Tünel is the Turkish word for "tunnel". The one pictured here carries water 120 kilometres across Finland from Lake Päijänne to a reservoir at Vantaa on the outskirts of Helsinki. (The photo was taken when it was undergoing refurbishment.) It seems unlikely, though, that Naci Oğuz had this particular rock channel in mind when he…Read more Tünel
Crotchety Man 