Facebook sucks. It's unattractive, riddled with annoying advertisements and never, ever does what I want. So I've been looking around for alternatives. Google threw up this article comparing four somewhat similar apps and diaspora sounded interesting. It's an open source project that provides social networking facilities, much like Facebook, but it's distributed over a network…Read more A Life Worth Living
Track of the Week
Killing Moon
Echo was a naughty nymph. When Zeus came down to dally with the maidens of Mount Cithaeron, he told the loquacious Echo to engage his wife, Hera, in long conversations so that she would not find out about her husband's indiscretions. And Echo did as she was told, for it would be most unwise to disobey…Read more Killing Moon
Winter Is Never
This video appeared on the Proglodytes blog last week. It pleased Crotchety Man greatly and impelled him to pursue Gazpacho across previously uncharted regions of online musicland. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okjo3tRZnNY For English speakers 'Gazpacho' is a strange word. It's a Spanish word for a cold vegetable soup. Not the most promising name for a band, you would…Read more Winter Is Never
Midnight Commander
Has there ever been a better time for tales of heroes? Here's a story to lift our spirits from the latest album by modern-day minstrel, Kray van Kirk. Kray has appeared in these pages twice before; the last time was in October 2015 when Shiloh was my track-of-the-week. Back then the song was about a…Read more Midnight Commander
A Scarcity of Miracles
I think Spotify has performed a miracle. On my Release Radar this week the track that caught my ear was called A Scarcity of Miracles. It was by Jakko M. Jakszyk, Robert Fripp and Mel Collins, and it had a release date of 2020. For this ardent follower of King Crimson new music by three…Read more A Scarcity of Miracles
Nine Feet Underground
If you dig deep underground you should take care or you may plunge into the hellish land of the fallen angels. If you dig deep into the past you may find yourself in an altogether more pleasant place. If you go back before the the Devil spawned hip hop and grime, before the urban pop…Read more Nine Feet Underground
Some Things Must Last
The Crotchety A.I. Engine™ is not quite sure what to make of the phrase "some things must last". Clearly, some things do last longer than others. Even in this modern age of fleeting sound bites and disposable goods the mother-in-law's visit drags on much longer than any son-in-law can be expected to endure. Diamonds, of…Read more Some Things Must Last
Étude No. 16
This bison was painted on the wall of a cave in southern France around 17,000 years ago. It is one of the earliest examples of painting as an art form, although exactly where it fits in the chronology of the stone age is difficult to determine. To suggest it is the 16th in a series…Read more Étude No. 16
Into the Myst
The end of a year is a time to look back. It's a time to celebrate our achievements and try to learn from our past mistakes. But as one year ends another begins and that's a time to look forward. We set ourselves new goals and try to imagine what the future will be like.…Read more Into the Myst
Midnight’s Mirror
We are very nearly at the end of another year and, indeed, another decade. What better time, then, to look back and take stock. With a big space telescope, like the Hubble, we can see billions of years into the past ... but I don't have that kind of chronological mirror so let's just return…Read more Midnight’s Mirror
Crotchety Man 