Roman ALAN

Short story writer from Aotearoa, or New Zealand, but have not looked up to see the Southern Cross for a while.

Lend me your eyes: https://medium.com/@romanalanwrites

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npub108easxa00qmm2s4x9vx93xxh59q55034vr3ghutlryq0cekrntsslef5zx

NIP-05 Address

romanalanwrites_at_mastodon.nz@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs8nu7crwhhsda4g2nzkrzcnrt6zs228c6kpc5t79l3jq8uvmpe4cgqhmx4w

Author Public Key

npub108easxa00qmm2s4x9vx93xxh59q55034vr3ghutlryq0cekrntsslef5zx

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Last Notes

2025-05-25 22:16:51

Useless quote for 26 May:
"You do not wipe away the scars of centuries by saying, 'Now you are free to go where you want, and do as you desire, and choose the leaders you please.' "
~ Lyndon B. Johnson, in his 4 June 1965 Commencement Address at Howard University
#UselessQuote #LyndonBJohnson

2024-10-28 22:18:52

I confess that I was listening to this last night, and I also confess that the Brain DJ is still listening to it this morning.
Wire, "Being Watched" (2003)
(One of the recordings not on "Read and Burn 01", "Read and Burn 02", or "Read and Burn 03".)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVNc0oBR-jE
#Music #Wire

2024-10-17 12:48:20

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Daily Haiku Prompt for 17 October: Hunter's Moon
Heavy bucks and does
puff clouds in the cooling dusk –
betrayed by moonlight.
#DailyHaikuPrompt #Haiku
#Poetry

2024-10-16 11:38:17

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Daily Haiku Prompt for 16 October: hot tea
Sitting with a view
of unraked leaves playing tag –
hot tea turns lukewarm.
#DailyHaikuPrompt #Haiku
#Poetry

2024-10-10 08:46:27

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Daily Haiku Prompt for 10 October: plenty
This plenteous crop
from seeds sown without much thought
has upset the cart.
#DailyHaikuPrompt #Haiku
#Poetry

2024-10-06 22:21:20

Useless quote for 7 Oct:
"Singing has always seemed to me the most perfect means of expression. Since I cannot sing, I paint."
~ Georgia O'Keefe, quoted in "Austere Stripper", Time Magazine May 27, 1946, Vol. XLVII No. 21
Link to source:
https://time.com/archive/6773306/art-austere-stripper/
#UselessQuote #GeorgiaOKeefe

2024-09-13 11:02:19

One more on the theme of "Young At Heart" on Friday Night Jukebox, and classic Chicago Blues –
Muddy Waters, "Mannish Boy" (1977 version)
guitar, vocals: Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield)
harp: James Cotton
piano: "Pine Top" Perkins
guitar: Bob Margolin
bass: Charles Calmese
drums: Willie "Big Eyes" Smith
guitar, screams: Johnny Winter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSfqNEvykv0
#JukeboxFridayNight
#YoungAtHeart
#MuddyWaters

2024-09-09 22:17:18

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No. I'll have to look into that!

2024-09-09 22:15:12

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Agreed that the piece does not depict the planet Mars.
For me it is magnificent music, and according to Holst,
"… the character of each planet suggested lots to me, and I have been studying astrology fairly closely". (1913 letter)
So less of the Roman gods and more of the pseudoscience of matching human affairs and celestial appearances.
The piece itself is most likely an experiment in rhythm and harmonic dissonance, in one of "a series of mood pictures" (Holst).
Cheers!

2024-09-09 21:55:23

The 20 Book Challenge:
Twenty books that have had an impact on who I am – one book cover a day over 20 (non-consecutive) days.
No explanations, no reviews: just the book cover with alt text.
Day Seventeen:
(17) "Jaguars Ripped My Flesh" by Tim Cahill, 1987
#20Books #20Books20Days
#Books #Bookstodon
#JaguarsRippedMyFlesh
https://mastodon.nz/system/media_attachments/files/113/109/758/244/392/775/original/e053b53791e6ee8c.jpeg

2024-09-09 21:32:04

From the Brain DJ this morning, a three-piece and a drum machine sounding much better than that sounds –
The Three Johns, "Pink Headed Bug" (1983)
Referencing a knocked-out Philip Marlowe in 1940's "Farewell My Lovely" by Raymond Chandler.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maIZhMX6lwc
#Music #NewWave #TheThreeJohns

2024-09-09 21:25:04

Useless quote for 10 Sep:
"Rich men, Auctus, think of anger as a sort of money-making: hating comes cheaper than giving."
~ Martial, Epigrams XII.13, c. 101 AD
#UselessQuote #Martial #Epigrams

2024-09-09 12:52:52

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I was thinking the same thing as I listened to "The Eve of the War" again, with that steady 4/4 beat.
This was one of younger brother's favourites when it was released, so that's how I know it. It wasn't something that I was enthusiastic about at the time … it seemed to be prog jammed onto a disco beat, which was about as sacrilegious to my tastes as Mars attacking Earth …

2024-09-09 12:47:15

The last of the Mars themes for Symphonic Monday. I think we can squeeze it in, because Mick Ronson wrote the string arrangements and Rick Wakeman played piano –
David Bowie, "Life on Mars?" (1971)
vocals: David Bowie
electric guitar, recorders: Mick Ronson
bass guitar: Trevor Bolder
drums: Mick Woodmansey
piano: Rick Wakeman
violins, violas, cellos, string basses: unidentified BBC Studio musicians
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZKcl4-tcuo
#SymphonicMonday
#ArtRock #DavidBowie

2024-09-09 12:37:59

One more for Symphonic Monday, and going with the big orchestral sound, courtesy of Berliner Philharmoniker –
Gustav Holst, "Mars, The Bringer of War" from "The Planets" Op. 25 (premiered 1918; "Mars" was composed in 1914)
Recorded by Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan conducting, in 1981. It's that a relentless 5/4 ostinato over seven minutes that gets you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UfpgT9FMAk
#SymphonicMonday
#ClassicalMusic #GustavHolst

2024-09-09 12:28:55

Monday September 9, just a few days after Herbie Flowers put his bass back in its case.
Here's how this works:
Herbie Flowers plays bass on this 9-minute track that has a lot of synthesizer work to produce a big symphonic sound –
Jeff Wayne, "The Eve Of The War" (1978)
Richard Burton (yes, the actor) narrates parts of H. G. Wells' story, and Justin Hayward carries the vocals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YwFvmnbj3E
#SymphonicMonday
#ProgRock #ProgressiveRock #JeffWayne

2024-09-09 11:52:08

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Daily Haiku Prompt for 9 September: willow leaves
Willow wickerwork
leaves braid marks on your thighs like
idle summer guilt
#DailyHaikuPrompt #Haiku
#Poetry

2024-09-09 11:47:32

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Daily Haiku Prompt for 8 September: chilly
Behind frosted glass
chilly liquid clinks with ice,
rings stain the counter
#DailyHaikuPrompt #Haiku
#Poetry

2024-09-09 11:43:27

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Daily Haiku Prompt for 7 September: clear water
No way across but
the wish for the farther bank –
muddied clear water
#DailyHaikuPrompt #Haiku
#Poetry

2024-09-08 22:37:44

The 20 Book Challenge:
Twenty books that have had an impact on who I am – one book cover a day over 20 (non-consecutive) days.
No explanations, no reviews: just the book cover with alt text.
Day Sixteen:
(16) "Italian Folktales" selected and retold by Italo Calvino, 1956
#20Books #20Books20Days
#Books #Bookstodon
#ItalianFolktales
https://mastodon.nz/system/media_attachments/files/113/104/255/814/575/843/original/2894efad38cf11b3.jpg

2024-09-08 22:15:47

This morning, very early this morning, the Brain DJ decided that Radiohead was a good choice –
Radiohead, "High and Dry" (1995)
A black and white film of young men at Vasquez Rocks, CA. Ninety-two million people can't be wrong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qFfFVSerQo
#Music #AltRock #AlternativeRock #Radiohead

2024-09-08 22:10:24

Useless quote for 9 Sep:
"… whenever the tongues of the non-possessing class threaten the possessors, whenever the disinherited menace the privileged, that moment you will find that the constitution isn't made for you."
Voltairine de Cleyre, 1893
#UselessQuote #VoltairineDeCleyre

2024-09-08 00:37:38

The 20 Book Challenge:
Twenty books that have had an impact on who I am – one book cover a day over 20 (non-consecutive) days.
No explanations, no reviews: just the book cover with alt text.
Day Fifteen:
(15) "The Drowned World" by J. G. Ballard, 1962
#20Books #20Books20Days
#Books #Bookstodon
#TheDrownedWorld
https://mastodon.nz/system/media_attachments/files/113/099/074/766/889/251/original/54ad459a94a8a6f3.jpg

2024-09-08 00:19:59

The Brain DJ is highly active this morning, going back to the seventies and to one of those seminal tracks in recording history –
The Damned, "New Rose" (1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug3RfquyZl0
#Music #PunkRock #TheDamned

2024-09-08 00:10:12

Useless quote for 8 Sep:
"… lawyers, as well as academics, should consider it their duty to change the way the law works – or better, to change the law so that it works.
It is wrong that the system works well only for the top one percent of the clients."
~ Lawrence Lessig, 2004 (in "Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity")
#UselessQuote #LawrenceLessig

2024-09-06 23:33:23

The 20 Book Challenge:
Twenty books that have had an impact on who I am – one book cover a day over 20 (non-consecutive) days.
No explanations, no reviews: just the book cover with alt text.
Day Fourteen:
(14) "Black Water: The anthology of fantastic literature" edited by Alberto Manguel, 1983
#20Books #20Books20Days
#Books #Bookstodon
#BlackWater
https://mastodon.nz/system/media_attachments/files/113/093/172/191/916/724/original/21e9c40f491eb738.jpg

2024-09-06 23:18:59

No surprises this morning from the Brain DJ: back to 1977, back to the same release. The fun part is that I know exactly why this song was is my head early this morning – the connection is through the 20 Book Challenge!
Brian Eno, "Backwater" (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvciU4AJ5Cc
#Music #BrianEno

2024-09-06 23:13:28

Useless quote for 7 Sep:
"Vitriolic, hateful, and threatening language used against women in public life has become normalized by male politicians and media personalities who employ it mostly without consequence and inspire their online followers to replicate it across the internet."
~ "It’s Everyone’s Problem: Mainstreaming Responses to Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence" (Jankowicz, et al. Sep 2024)
#UselessQuote #TFGBV
Link to source:
https://igp.sipa.columbia.edu/sites/igp/files/2024-09/IGP_TFGBV_Its_Everyones_Problem_090524.pdf

2024-09-06 11:02:28

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Daily Haiku Prompt for 6 September: dragonfly
One hovering dart
eyes my clumsy stumbling bulk –
dragonfly with poise
#DailyHaikuPrompt #Haiku
#Poetry

2024-09-06 10:50:59

In other parts of the world a lot of metal is flying through the sky, aiming at ripping someone apart (sorry to say) –
Tom Waits, "16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought-Six" (1988)
"I plugged sixteen shells from a thirty-ought-six
And the black crow snuck through a hole in the sky
So I spent all my buttons on an old pack mule
Oh, and I made me a ladder from a pawn shop marimba …"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPOaicwzq4A
#JukeboxFridayNight
#FlyingThings #TomWaits

2024-09-06 10:42:30

Maybe they're flying, and maybe they're just a trick of the light. Anyhow, a lot of people can now say they've seen the lights in the sky –
St. Vincent, "Northern Lights" (2011)
"I saw the Northern, Northern Lights
Convinced it was the end of times …"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeFa3Z4VrfA
#JukeboxFridayNight
#FlyingThings #StVincent

2024-09-06 10:31:04

More Flying Things on Jukebox Friday Night –
Moby, "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters" (1995; this version with Víkingur Ólafsson, 2021)
"I thought of God (whoever or whatever God might be) looking at Earth before life began, an empty Earth, and aforementioned God omnisciently knowing all the horror and joys that would come with a world full of life, and I lay down on the floor and cried." (Moby, "Reprise" liner notes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPaaC3IBMm0
#JukeboxFridayNight
#FlyingThings #Moby

2024-09-06 09:56:16

Something is in the air, spitting ions in the ether, this Jukebox Friday Night where Flying Things are up over our heads –
Brian Eno, "St Elmo's Fire" (1975)
"In the blue August moon
In the cool August moon …"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZKch8dZ61w
#JukeboxFridayNight
#FlyingThings #BrianEno

2024-09-06 09:49:14

Flying Things for Jukebox Friday Night, and a 1978 song by Scott Engel, better known as Scott Walker –
David Bowie, "Nite Flights" (1993)
"Be my love, we will be gods on nite flights
With only one promise, only one way to fall …"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeGs4yJrZVY
#JukeboxFridayNight
#FlyingThings #DavidBowie

2024-09-06 09:26:07

Friday Night Jukebox, and the theme is Flying Things, and I'm surprised that no one has picked this oldie yet –
"This, ah, always was one of my true favourites. I thought it was, like, this great romantic song –and I being one the world's great unrecognised romantics! It's always a turn-on for me to get to sing one of my romantic songs in public."
Lou Reed, "Satellite of Love" (1972, live at the Capitol Theater, NJ, in 1984)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFbgAxxVh1E
#JukeboxFridayNight
#FlyingThings #LouReed

2024-09-05 22:00:12

The 20 Book Challenge:
Twenty books that have had an impact on who I am – one book cover a day over 20 (non-consecutive) days.
No explanations, no reviews: just the book cover with alt text.
Day Thirteen:
(13) "Metamorphoses" by Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso), 8 CE
#20Books #20Books20Days
#Books #Bookstodon
#Metamorphoses
https://mastodon.nz/system/media_attachments/files/113/087/118/142/483/970/original/5202b4034c63e099.jpg

2024-09-05 21:37:14

The Brain DJ is picking up on recent listening material, so hey look –
Einstürzende Neubauten, "The Pit of Language" (2024)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fmeFBCMyZI
#Music #EinstürzendeNeubauten

2024-09-05 21:33:53

Useless quote for 6 Sep:
"I've noticed that if you throw something into a water – body like a lake or an ocean – that the next day you come back and it's gone. So somehow it takes it away and filters it through and just cleans it up like a garbage compactor or whatever."
~ "Ricky" in "Trailer Park Boys" Season 3 Ep. 8, 2003
#UselessQuote #TrailerParkBoys

2024-09-05 10:57:17

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Daily Haiku Prompt for 5 September: walnut
Enigmas encased
in a wrinkled wooden shell –
pass the nutcracker
#DailyHaikuPrompt #Haiku
#Poetry

2024-09-04 21:23:25

The 20 Book Challenge:
Twenty books that have had an impact on who I am – one book cover a day over 20 (non-consecutive) days.
No explanations, no reviews: just the book cover with alt text.
Day Twelve:
(12) "The Weirdest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous" by Joseph Henrich, 2020
#20Books #20Books20Days
#Books #Bookstodon
#TheWeirdestPeopleInTheWorld
https://mastodon.nz/system/media_attachments/files/113/081/303/707/739/662/original/cd5eb21b104657eb.jpg

2024-09-04 20:59:42

Another morning, another memory of a track from the 1970's, recovered by the Brain DJ –
Brian Eno, "Spider and I" (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k80fJbzcz38
#Music #BrianEno

2024-09-04 20:57:50

Useless quote for 5 Sep:
"The years between fifty and seventy are the hardest. You are always being asked to do more, and you are not yet decrepit enough to turn them down."
~ T. S. Eliot, 1950
#UselessQuote #TSEliot

2024-09-04 11:09:37

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Daily Haiku Prompt for 4 September: deer
Like deer in headlights –
peering through heat haze at cars
waiting for the green
#DailyHaikuPrompt #Haiku
#Poetry

2024-09-04 10:48:17

(3/3)
You need to be here after (1/3) and (2/3). If not, take the snake back to square one, please.
So she released this song on 30 August 2024, and the abuse of women is still going on –
Goldie Boutilier, "The Line-up" (2024)
It's a lyric video for a very good reason.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w87nOSRGO1w
#MusicWomenWednesday
#GoldieBoutilier

2024-09-04 10:44:26

(2/3)
If you're here after (1/3), you in the right place. This is the song that she was talking about –
Goldie Boutilier, "K-Town" (2022)
She's working with some great musicians and finding a really nice sound, and getting past the hard times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZldjWKdW9M
#MusicWomenWednesday #GoldieBoutilier

2024-09-04 10:40:02

(1/3)
Out on a limb for Music Women Wednesday, with this first video not being music, but being about what the music industry can do to women.
Once you've watched the 10-minute documentary, the two songs by Goldie Boutilier will have a deeper meaning and hit a little harder.
At the same time, I hope she makes it.
Goldie Boutilier, "Emerald Year (Short Documentary)" 2023
#MusicWomenWednesday
#Documentary #GoldieBoutilier

2024-09-03 22:24:13

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When r > g, wealth held by the rich grows faster than the total income of workers.
For Piketty, r is the rate of return on all investments, and g comes structural factors connected to demographics and technology (rather than government policy).
This is also an interesting supplement (link to American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings 2015):
http://piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/Piketty2015AER.pdf
Cheers!

2024-09-03 22:05:23

The 20 Book Challenge:
Twenty books that have had an impact on who I am – one book cover a day over 20 (non-consecutive) days.
No explanations, no reviews: just the book cover with alt text.
Day Eleven:
(11) "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" by Thomas Piketty, 2013
#20Books #20Books20Days
#Books #Bookstodon
#CapitalInTheTwentyFirstCentury
https://mastodon.nz/system/media_attachments/files/113/075/842/603/338/489/original/4c49f4da3ef9a664.jpg

2024-09-03 21:52:04

Echoing last week's playlist, the Brain DJ is happily humming …
Degiheugi, "Let Me Down" (2021)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRgt4BWJYP0
#Music #HipHop #Degiheugi

2024-09-03 21:41:44

Useless quote for 4 Sep:
"Leadership does not mean domination. The world is always well supplied with people who wish to rule and dominate others."
~Haile Selassie, 1957-1959
#UselessQuote #HaileSelassie

2024-09-03 12:20:16

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Daily Haiku Prompt for 3 September: orchids
Such complex blooms
to attract a single bee,
and marry pollen
#DailyHaikuPrompt #Haiku
#Poetry

2024-09-02 23:02:51

The 20 Book Challenge:
Twenty books that have had an impact on who I am – one book cover a day over 20 (non-consecutive) days.
No explanations, no reviews: just the book cover with alt text.
Day Ten:
(10) "Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West" by John Ralston Saul, 1992
#20Books #20Books20Days
#Books #Bookstodon
#VoltairesBastards
https://mastodon.nz/system/media_attachments/files/113/070/352/151/970/902/original/a6a8aea423d0afcf.jpeg

2024-09-02 22:29:15

From the Brain DJ this morning –
Jane's Addiction, "Irresistible Force (Met the Immovable Object)" (2011)
Dave Sitek played bass in the studio, Eric Avery having left the band in 2010. So only three band members are in the video …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVOi5Hdbd7Q
#Music #AltRock #AlternativeRock #JanesAddiction

2024-09-02 22:17:05

Useless quote for 3 Sep:
"Life is fired at us point blank."
~ José Ortega y Gasset, 1957
#UselessQuote #JoséOrtegaYGasset

2024-09-02 12:20:13

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Daily Haiku Prompt for 2 September: new moon
late dusk dragonfly
finds no prey in streetlight pools,
under a new moon
#DailyHaikuPrompt #Haiku
#Poetry

2024-09-02 12:16:38

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Daily Haiku Prompt for 1 September: wind storm
A deep blue expanse
without a cloud or raindrops,
blows til Kingdom come
#DailyHaikuPrompt #Haiku
#Poetry

2024-09-02 12:12:23

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Daily Haiku Prompt for 31 August: sardines
Silver-flanked swimmers
seeking safety in numbers –
as if packed in tins
#DailyHaikuPrompt #Haiku
#Poetry

2024-09-02 12:03:32

Here's the prog rock for Symphonic Monday, then, with some parts played on the organ in London's Royal Festival Hall –
Emerson, Lake and Palmer, "The Three Fates: Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos" (1970)
It's in G major, btw.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQjvBD21peI
#SymphonicMonday
#ProgRock #ProgressiveRock #ELP #EmersonLakeAndPalmer and Palmer

2024-09-02 11:53:39

Symphonic Monday without the symphony orchestra, but you will hear where a lot of prog rock keyboardists found inspiration –
Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706), "Toccata In F Major"
Recorded by Régis Rousseau on the organ at Church Of St. John The Evangelist, Montréal, Canada, 1998.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGZo0pCpR-g
#SymphonicMonday
#BaroqueMusic #JohannPachelbel

2024-09-02 11:33:06

Mondays are for Symphonic Monday, and I'm picking up a composer from last Sunday, an obscure composer, lovely piece though –
Carlos Seixas (1704~1742), "Harpsichord Concerto in G minor" (undated)
Recorded by Ensemble Arcomelo, Jose Luis Gonzales Uriol, Harpischord, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSa2DTwhpJ8
#SymphonicMonday
#BaroqueMusic #CarlosSeixas

2024-09-01 22:53:20

The 20 Book Challenge:
Twenty books that have had an impact on who I am – one book cover a day over 20 (non-consecutive) days.
No explanations, no reviews: just the book cover with alt text.
Day Nine:
(9) "Down With Skool! A Guide to School Life for Tiny Pupils and their Parents" by Geoffrey Willans, illustrated by Ronald Searle, 1953
#20Books #20Books20Days
#Books #Bookstodon
#DownWithSkool
https://mastodon.nz/system/media_attachments/files/113/064/680/446/319/278/original/7194d7b69fe2572d.jpg

2024-09-01 22:33:10

The Brain DJ has drifted back to the late seventies –
Japan, "Alien" (1979)
This is from when Japan started working with John Punter, who had produced Roxy Music's 1974 "Country Life", and David Sylvian started singing low and slow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdVzXjXsjwU
#Music #SynthPop #Japan

2024-09-01 22:24:48

Useless quote for 2 Sep:
"No independent person just grew up, and was born independent.
You worked, and you learned teamwork, and you learned cooperation and unity, and struggle, and then you became independent."
~ Tupac Shakur, 1992
Link to source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL-ZoNhUFmc
#UselessQuote #TupacShakur

2024-09-01 02:26:51

The 20 Book Challenge:
Twenty books that have had an impact on who I am – one book cover a day over 20 (non-consecutive) days.
No explanations, no reviews: just the book cover with alt text.
Day Eight:
(8) "The White Goddess" by Robert Graves, amended and enlarged 1966 edition
#20Books #20Books20Days
#Books #Bookstodon
#TheWhiteGoddess
https://mastodon.nz/system/media_attachments/files/113/059/778/121/736/991/original/a728b3bfc71dd9a3.jpeg

2024-09-01 01:45:40

Sunday morning is when the Brain DJ usually has little input, so I get to choose a bit of baroque music for my pleasure and yours –
Carlos Seixas (1704~1742), "Harpsichord Concerto in A major" (undated)
Recorded by the Norwegian Baroque Orchestra (Norsk Barokkorkester) conducted from the harpsichord by Ketil Haugsand, at S. Marcos, Coimbra, Portugal in July 1994.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-meg1tT2J0
#Music #BaroqueMusic #CarlosSeixas

2024-09-01 00:51:40

Useless quote for 1 Sep:
"Paucite paucarum diffundere crimen in omnes."
(Forbear to lay the culpability of the few upon the many.)
~ Ovid (Ars Amatoria; Trans. Henry T. Riley), 2 CE.
Remember that these quotes are useless until we think about them; thus, "Useless Quote".
#UselessQuote #Ovid

2024-08-30 23:42:04

The 20 Book Challenge:
Twenty books that have had an impact on who I am – one book cover a day over 20 (non-consecutive) days.
No explanations, no reviews: just the book cover with alt text.
Day Seven:
(7) "The Oxford Book of Classical Verse" edited by Adrian Poole and Jeremy Maule, 1995
#20Books #20Books20Days
#Books #Bookstodon
#OxfordBookOfClassicalVerse
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2024-08-30 23:20:44

The Brain DJ and I were listening to a lot of blues music last night, and the Brain DJ wants just a little more of Blind Willie Johnson. I'm going sideways a bit –
Justin Johnson, "Soul of a Man" (2023)
A heavy electric slide blues cover of "The Soul of a Man", a gospel blues recorded by Blind Willie Johnson and Willis B. Harris in 1930.
This track off Justin Johnson's 2023 "The Biscuit House".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkPcqCRHeGM
#Music #Blues #BluesRock #JustinJohnson

2024-08-30 23:04:42

Useless quote for 31 Aug:
"We have to pay attention to the stupid stuff right in front of us, as it might well stand between us and a smart future."
~ Tom Murphy, 2011
Link to source:
https://dothemath.ucsd.edu/2011/10/why-not-space/
#UselessQuote #TomMurphy

2024-08-30 11:03:58

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Daily Haiku Prompt for 30 August: pear
My hand shapes a bowl
for your firm form so my knife
can carve pear slices
#DailyHaikuPrompt #Haiku
#Poetry

2024-08-30 10:48:14

Some gospel blues, and yet another blind player who knew his way around the neck of his guitar –
Blind Willie Johnson, "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" (1927)
They put this one on the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 record, launched in 1977.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71Ti_TdpJHE
#JukeboxFridayNight
#DisabledOrDifferent #Blues #GospelBlues
#BlindWillieJohnson

2024-08-30 10:41:11

A lot of good blues players had the ear but not the sight. This player is more mysterious than many, with very little background information available –
Blind Blake, "Diddie Wah Diddie" (1929)
"There's a great big mystery
And it sure is worrying me
This Diddie Wa Diddie, this Diddie Wa Diddie
I wish somebody would tell me what Diddie Wa Diddie means …"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c37ezpBln1Y
#JukeboxFridayNight
#DisabledOrDifferent #Blues #PiedmontBlues
#BlindBlake

2024-08-30 10:32:54

Blind Boy Fuller died 13 February 1941, and his musical partner Sonny Terry got together with Brownie McGee.
Sonny Terry is another blind musician for this theme of "Disabled or Different" on Jukebox Friday Night –
Sonny Terry with Lightnin' Hopkins and Brownie McGee, "Blues for Gamblers" (live, 1961)
Big Joe Williams is there, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG00lbOliT0
#JukeboxFridayNight
#DisabledOrDifferent #Blues
#SonnyTerry #LightninHopkins #BrownieMcGee #BigJoeWilliams

2024-08-30 10:22:00

Going for Piedmont blues from the East Coast of the States, and another blind player who could really play –
Blind Boy Fuller, "I'm A Rattlesnakin' Daddy" (1935)
Watch out for the double entendres:
"I can rattle to the left, rattle to the right
My woman said, "I believe my rattlesnake daddy can rattle all night!" …"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFKxbH9aBJk
#JukeboxFridayNight
#DisabledOrDifferent #Blues #Poedmont Blues
#BlindBoyFuller

2024-08-30 10:08:40

Time for a old spiritual from one more bluesman whose ear is better than that of most sighted folk, on Jukebox Friday Night and "Disabled or Different" –
Reverend Gary Davis, "There Was A Time When I Was Blind" (1956)
"It was a time when I went blind, it was a time when I went blind
Was the darkest day that I ever saw, was the time when I went blind …"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klFNXK_NamA
#JukeboxFridayNight
#DisabledOrDifferent #Blues
#ReverendGaryDavis

2024-08-30 10:00:17

Another bluesman with the well-tuned ear for Jukebox Friday Night's theme "Disabled or Different" –
"Mother died and left me reckless
Daddy died and left me wild, wild, wild
No, I'm not good lookin' but I'm some sweet woman's angel child …"
Blind Willie McTell, "Statesboro Blues" (1928)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njuW6k9XTSw
#JukeboxFridayNight
#DisabledOrDifferent #Blues
#BlindWillieMctell

2024-08-30 09:53:46

Some of them bluesmen with the extra-tuned ear are going to fit right in with the Jukebox Friday Night theme "Disabled or Different" –
"Mama, that's all right, mama, that's all right for you
Said baby, that's all right most any old way you do …"
Blind Lemon Jefferson, "Black Snake Moan" (1927)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI4jMU5Tbo0
#JukeboxFridayNight
#DisabledOrDifferent #Blues
#BlindLemonJefferson

2024-08-30 09:29:17

Jukebox Friday Night has the theme "Disabled or Different" to reflect the Paralympics and all of us as we are. Me, I'm a leftie.
Big Bill Morganfield, "Left Hand Blues" (1999)
Actually, not about being left-handed, but an original tune by the son of Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield) and Mary Brown.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w-Uxnmfy9U
#JukeboxFridayNight
#DisabledOrDifferent #Blues
#BigBillMorganfield

2024-08-30 09:10:27

Jukebox Friday Night, celebrating the Paralympics and all of us as we are, has the theme "Disabled or Different" tonight.
The Kinks, "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" (1966)
"And I don't want to walk about like everybody else
And I don't want to live my life like everybody else
And I won't say that I feel fine like everybody else
'Cause I'm not like everybody else …"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGprNYy0C1Q
#JukeboxFridayNight #DisabledOrDifferent #TheKinks

2024-08-30 07:49:29

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Go on then, Roxy Music's 1972 "Roxy Music", with "Virginia Plain" folded in as track 4!
For those who do YouTube, "Roxy Music" as a playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWhzG9cQGgc&list=OLAK5uy_m5vZOIyTyPnIf8SHpXGDTKkN32m6i46JQ
#RoxyMusic

2024-08-29 23:06:41

The 20 Book Challenge:
Twenty books that have had an impact on who I am – one book cover a day over 20 (non-consecutive) days.
No explanations, no reviews: just the book cover with alt text.
Day Six:
(6) "The Airtight Garage" ("The Airtight Garage of Jerry Cornelius", "Le Garage Hermétique/Le Garage Hermétique de Jerry Cornelius", by Moebius (Jean Giraud), 1976~1979, this edition 1987
#20Books #20Books20Days
#Books #Bookstodon
#TheAirtightGarage
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2024-08-29 22:42:29

I am still listening to "Hindsight is 50/50" (2023) regularly, so it is no surprise that the Brain DJ has latched onto a track this morning –
Ghostwoman, "Wormfeast" (2023, live in KRWX / Kerwax, 2023)
Ghostwoman is Ille van Dessel and Evan Uschenko.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzqdMldITJg
#Music #AltRock #AlternativeRock #Ghostwoman

2024-08-29 22:30:18

Useless quote for 30 Aug:
"… it is in the progressive state, while the society is advancing to the further acquisition, rather than when it has acquired its full complement of riches, that the condition of the labouring poor, of the great body of the people, seems to be the happiest and the most comfortable.
It is hard in the stationary, and miserable in the declining state."
~ Adam Smith, 1776
#UselessQuote #AdamSmith

2024-08-29 08:50:21

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Daily Haiku Prompt for 29 August: lamplight
Still night slightly chill
over cricket carillons
and haloed lamplight
#DailyHaikuPrompt #Haiku
#Poetry

2024-08-29 04:45:39

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Well, I'm not making the rules here, but because the aim is to display the cover of the book, I guess either is okay.
Some of the covers I used are photos of my copy of a book, but others were online pics because I couldn't dig out my copy easily (so many books that they're stored in a closet now).
Cheers!
#20Books #20Books20Days

2024-08-28 22:02:45

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Not hard at all – takes about 10 minutes to do each post, with the AltText and fiddling with the photograph taking most of the time.
The challenge for me, however, is finding books that genuinely changed my thinking or approach to life, rather than just choosing my favourite books.
Anyway, do the first one when you feel ready, and you're on your way! I believe 20 non-consecutive days is fine.
The biggest thing is seeing the infinite variety in other people's choices.
Cheers!

2024-08-28 21:48:31

The 20 Book Challenge:
Twenty books that have had an impact on who I am – one book cover a day over 20 (non-consecutive) days.
No explanations, no reviews: just the book cover with alt text.
Day Five:
(5) "The Epicurus Reader", edited by Brad Inwood & L. P. Gerson, 1994
#20Books #20Books20Days
#Books #Bookstodon
#TheEpicurusReader
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2024-08-28 21:36:17

The Brain DJ went back to the early seventies, perhaps inspired by the forecast of bad weather –
The Doors, "Riders on the Storm" (1971)
Jerry Scheff played bass on this and other tracks on 1971's "L. A. Woman".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv8GW1GaoIc
#Music #TheDoors

2024-08-28 21:31:13

Useless quote for 29 Aug:
"Riches here do no good. We cannot take them away with us out of this world, but we want to have love and peace."
~ Red Cloud (Maȟpíya Lúta), 1875
#UselessQuote #RedCloud #MaȟpíyaLúta

2024-08-28 12:03:44

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Daily Haiku Prompt for 28 August: dew
Beautiful Ersa,
Selene's quiet daughter,
leaves fields bejewelled
#DailyHaikuPrompt #Haiku
#Poetry

2024-08-28 11:46:41

One more push towards the end of the week from Music Women Wednesday, the third release with the voice of a woman front and centre. However, the backing is not a band …
Moby - "Sweet Moon" ft. Choklate (Jun 2024)
Kolesta Moore is Choklate, originally from Seattle WA. Do I need to introduce Moby? He's been around a while now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTjnnt50s58
You'll also find a Jung remix here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCZ9-U_TGo4
#MusicWomenWednesday
#Electronic #Moby #Choklate

2024-08-28 11:38:00

A boost through the week from Music Women Wednesday, and the second of three bands with the voice of women to the fore –
London Grammar, "Into Gold" (Jun 2024)
The trio of Londoners Hannah Reid and Dan Rothman, met Dominic "Dot" Major in Nottingham, and now have their fourth album "The Greatest Love" scheduled for September 2024 release.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAaz8h56jQk
#MusicWomenWednesday
#Electronic #LondonGrammar

2024-08-28 11:27:35

As we go over the mid-week hump, we get a boost from Music Women Wednesday!
Three bands with the voice of women to the fore, starting with –
Röyksopp & Robyn, "Monument" (2014)
Röyksopp are the Norwegians Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland, backing the Swedish singer, Robin Carlsson aka Robyn. Kjetil Møster plays saxophone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c-RbGZBnBI
Röyksopp's 2014 "The Inevitable End" version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo6UnKr6Bwg
#MusicWomenWednesday #Electronic #SynthPop #Röyksopp #RöyksoppAndRobyn

2024-08-27 22:39:02

The 20 Book Challenge:
Twenty books that have had an impact on who I am – one book cover a day over 20 (non-consecutive) days.
No explanations, no reviews: just the book cover with alt text.
Day Four:
(4) "The Man Who Folded Himself", by David Gerrold, 1973
#20Books #20Books20Days
#Books #Bookstodon
#DavidGerrold #TheManWhoFoldedHimself
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2024-08-27 22:27:37

The Brain DJ has gone for something out of the sixties, and in honour of the weather as well –
The Ronettes, "I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine" (recorded 1966, unreleased until 1974)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtEmjwI2a7Q
#Music #TheRonettes

2024-08-27 22:13:10

Useless Quote for 28 Aug:
"You’ve got all these eager AI developers that get their hands on a data set and ask themselves, 'what AI tool can I develop from this data set?', instead of starting with the problem and then finding the data and developing the tool."
~ Dr. Daniel Yang, Aug 2024
#UselessQuote #DanielYang

2024-08-27 11:57:25

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Daily Haiku Prompt for 27 August: autumn wind
Early this morning,
I met the wind from autumn
around a corner
#DailyHaikuPrompt #Haiku
#Poetry

2024-08-26 21:52:29

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Oops, that's a big mistake on my part! The post has been edited to fix that, and Maciek Meller is a full member of Riverside.
Thanks for letting me know!
Cheers!

2024-08-26 21:36:32

The 20 Book Challenge:
Twenty books that have had an impact on who I am – one book cover a day over 20 (non-consecutive) days.
No explanations, no reviews: just the book cover with alt text.
Day Three:
(3) "Cooking With Pomiane", by Edouarde de Pomiane, 1976
#20Books #20Books20Days
#Books #Bookstodon
#EdouardeDePomiane #CookingWithPomiane
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2024-08-26 21:19:18

Me and Sarah N. Dipitty have got the Brain DJ singing our tune this morning (a song I first heard last night) –
Steve Louw, "Train Don't Run" (2021)
Steve Louw used to be in the South African band Big Sky, and started releasing solo albums in 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5Zw1RJ8oRk
#Music #CountryRock #BluesRock #SteveLouw