Seeing is believing. Or is it? Is what we see real, or is there a worrying gap between perception and reality? Philosophers have been arguing about this for centuries. One thing is certain: optical illusions and hallucinations exist so, at least in those cases, our perceptions must lead us astray. In most everyday situations, though,…Read more Perception
jazz
Knats
Playing jazz with a funky groove An Internet search for 'Knats' produces information about those pesky little flying insects, gnats. We don't suffer from gnats in our house, although we do sometimes have ants in our kitchen. I can tell when the ants are roaming because I can hear Mrs Crotchety muttering to them. Sometimes…Read more Knats
Stick Jam
Careful, guys, steps ahead ... How many ways can you think of to use a stick? You might throw it for your dog to fetch. If it's a nice straight stick, you might use it to keep your runner beans upright. Or you might drop it off a bridge in a game of Pooh sticks.…Read more Stick Jam
The Gathering
A nighttime gathering. Dancing at a rave in the woods, perhaps? A review of Mark Wingfield's Elemental album on the Cirdecsongs blog prompted another expedition into unknown regions of cyberspace. The burning question was "Who is that guy?". It turns out that Mark Wingfield is an English jazz guitarist with strong connections to some of…Read more The Gathering
Longing
Longing for ... what?, I wonder. It's been exceptionally wet in some parts of the UK for the past couple of months. Many of us here have been longing for the rain to stop. But Lis Wessberg is from Denmark. I have no idea what the weather has been like over there, but the chances…Read more Longing
I Remember William
William Shakespere, The Bard of Avon How many 'William's have I known? In truth, not many. In fact, I don't remember actually meeting anyone calling themselves William. History gives us William the Conqueror, literature proffers William Shakespeare, and the first in line for the throne here in the UK is our Prince William. But time…Read more I Remember William
Yellow Fields
Wheatfield with a reaper by Vincent van Gogh Seen through the eyes of Vincent van Gogh, wheat is a vibrant yellow. More often, though, when we see yellow fields, we are looking at the flowering heads of canola, the plant whose seeds are the third-largest source of vegetable oil in the world according to Wikipedia.…Read more Yellow Fields
One For All
For the first entry of 2026 in this blog, I'd like to set a warm and welcoming tone. Let's forget 2025 and the unforgivable antics of the egotistical bullyboy leaders of the East and the West. Instead, let's cross our fingers, and hope for better things to come. The key to a happy new year,…Read more One For All
Lizard
A fresh look at a beloved lizard. This is the second time I have blogged about Lizard, King Crimson's third studio album. In my earlier post, I noted that Robert Fripp had described it as 'unlistenable', and respectfully disagreed. This time, I will not be pulling my punches. The 2025 David Singleton Elemental Mix reveals…Read more Lizard
Forever Blowing Bubbles
If you are a fan of West Ham United Football Club, please don't sing/play/stream the club anthem while you are reading this post. Its music hall style wouldn't mix well with the progressive symphonic rock on Clearlight's second album, Forever Blowing Bubbles. https://open.spotify.com/album/7KkzZ9XnykpxNy1hm11H7f?si=YZxqU4v8TfW9rDk-cwAzMw Clearlight was founded by Cyrille Verdeaux in 1973. VERDEAUX, native of France,…Read more Forever Blowing Bubbles
Crotchety Man 