Music

Prong Ruining Lives

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Prong for me were the great post-thrash band of the late 80s, who skillfully blended New York Hardcore (a scene that they worked for, band members being the soundman and bouncer for the world famous CBGB’s club) with the soaring guitar solos and fast fretwork of Thrash Metal. Throw into the bowl lyrics based on reality rather than Undergraduate Politics or D&D Satanism and you’ve got a winning blend (for me at least).

A power trio in the most literal of senses, generally upbeat (in a growly sort of way), aggressive in a stompy, Prong’s anthems have pulled me through a couple of choke points in my life. Dark Signs off the album Rude Awakening was a particular favorite of mine when I was lost in my early 20s

“Be careful what you want, it may be what you get
Be careful of yourself, you may just kill yourself
Watch out for all the ruin that you ask for
Being trapped below, is that what you need?”

1st verse of Dark Signs by Prong

Thank goodness I’m waaaaaaaaaay less heavy these days and I’ve learnt how to use the Attraction Principle to only bring in good things. But it was this song that helped me make that crucial link 🙂

Its nice to see them still going on with this year’s Ruining Lives LP being around their eighth. This album is a nice mix of the various styles they’ve deployed over years, metal, punk, thrash and even a bit of pop.

My favourite is the following, a riff heavy, punch the air anthem called “Chamber of Thought”

Music

Primus!

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So we were  playing post a band, and Mr Julian Hayley has gave me Primus.
So here we go…

Like them? Oh yes sir, yes sir indeedy! Primus and me go way back to the psychedelic alternative metal days of the early 90s, were I picked up on them from the Hep Kats of muso know how. They were/are part of a tight core of weirdo funk metal bands (Fishbone/early Red Hot Chilli Peppers/Janes Addition/Mr Bungle/Faith No More) that I worship and who saved me from the depression of Death/Grindcore that I would have fallen into if I had had not woken up one day and thought “we’ll crikey little jimmy I needs me something more joyous to salve my soul mmmhum!”. A lo and behold Mike Simms did press upon me a tape with Primus’s early opus magus “Fizzle Fry” , although ole Hogbutcher was trying impress me with the Jazz Hardcore fusion groves of Victims Family (which was why it was labeled Side A) which he did to a lesser extent.

Seen them? Twice. I missed them about three times when they were a spit away from the bars I was drinking in Leeds as a Stoodent, because in those days I was too stoopid to work out how to go to Bradford Uni where they were playing. Eventually got to see them at Nottingham Rawk City with their angrier younger brothers Korn supporting (in KILTS! ) in the late 90s and then again on the last UK tour in 2011

Thoughts on them? To many to catalog here. But a couple of things…

Do check out Les & Ler in Blind Illusion prog-thrash from the 80s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmxM2Fsx5h4) .

Sausage – Primus in all but name and Drummer

and of course the oh so mighty Oysterhead which is Les with STEWART FUCKING COPELAND from the Police

Believe me when “Les Claypool” says what my soul is feeling

“I don’t believe in charity, I don’t believe in Sin… and if you don’t believe in me I’ll sing this song again”

Here’s Frizzle Fry the mystic nonsense that underpins our Universe  (and your thought I’d post Tommy the Cat 😉 )

Gaming, Heart matters, Music

Transistion

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This is where I and my immediate family especially are at the moment. I wouldn’t be surprised if you said you were too. You could argue that we are always in Transition but its especially acute at in this particular time frame.

Globally you can see it on the news as the Head Less Chicken Collective makes its final desperate play to exert Total Control over us all.  Truly amazing sad stuff, which if I had not seen the Gentle Infinite that is coming to us all I would be totally freaking out now.

Henry and Evie even had their own “Transition Day” at infant and junior school respectively a couple of weeks ago. Henry is loosing his baby talk and becoming quite a cheeky little lad. Evie is blossoming into quite a mirthful razor sharp girl. I’m going to have get my self in shape to keep up with this pair 😉

Which is kinda where I’m at the moment. Too long have I neglected my body and its now limiting what I can achieve. Plus there’s a very real possibility of life threatening disease that could hit me any time in the next 10 years. I’ve a family history of heart attacks, strokes and diabetes type 2 and dofus here is half again his ideal body weight over or as my mate Keary says “How are the two of you” 😉  So slowly and steadily I’m getting a grip, its early days and the changes are barely perceptible at moment. More a gathering of the forces with a increased amount of hydration 🙂

The Day Job is about to change big time or small time since we are going thorough an organisational Transformation. Might be good, might be bad, but the team I’ve had the pleasure of working with for the last 5 years will slowly dissolve over the next year or so. Time to leave the glided cage that I’ve sat out the early days of both my children, the house extension and the death of my father.

D101 Games morphs as I come to the end of its initial waves of games. This has been worrying as some collaborators and allies have left the little collective and new dancers take the stage . I know overall its got longevity, a  future and most importantly remains ball dropping fun. Currently bringing OpenQuest 2 to a glorious close and putting together River of Heaven a truly inspirational sci-fi rpg written by my mate John Ossoway, with a sound track by my old mate Keef Baker (which is basically the bright optimistic electronic album I always hoped he would pull out of his creative hat some day) and illustrated by rising star Peter Frain.  As far as my old muse Glorantha goes I’m finishing off a couple of unreleased books, but I’ve come to the reason I’m ok with the fact that I’m on hiatus on running in the setting even at conventions. I’m also working on a confusing amount of stuff which I’ll work on some sort of plan to bringing into being on my upcoming two weeks off work. Then I can at least mention it to the outside world to start getting interest up 🙂 Had fun updating the website over the last couple of days, so its responsive and works on all these new fangled smart devices 🙂

Perhaps we are all going into space.

In which case here’s the theme for River of Heaven by Slipdrive

 

 

Gardening

Our own little Summer Meadow

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image

Definitely fallen behind with the grand gardening plans of building up some cultivated flower beds in the back, so nature has taken its course with lots of flowers from last year’s summer meadow selection that went to seed suddenly appearing a couple of weeks ago.

In the far background is the potato sack which did us proud last year and two pots ready for tomato plants.

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Who actually blogs these days?

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I remember the halycon days of blogging, when all my mates had LiveJournal blogs and would pour out the happenings in their lives every couple of days with the occasional big post with images.

Now its all sound bites with the occasional image. Pictures of people’s tea, and selfies have replaced lovely photos of holidays and days out.

I’m just as guilty of Farcebooking/Twittering as the next man – so perhaps its time to make time for more considered blogging 🙂

Music

Let’s get Wilko to number 1

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Two days to go and Wilko Johnson’s and Roger Daltry’s “Going Back Home” is at Number 2.

I’ve been a fan of Wilko’s since a long lost summer in my 20s featuring Dr Feelgood’s “Malpractice”, The Clash and whole lot of Red Stripe. When I sobered up, I drifted into an appreciation of Ian Dury and the Blockheads, and lo and behold he was the guitarist on many of my favourite tracks. This is before we even start discussing all the musicians he’s inspired. Some people are just part of the musical landscape. He got firmly nailed to my Wall of Heroes when he got diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and instead of going down with depression felt exactly the opposite – in his own words “Euphoric”. Here’s him talking about it last year,

“The things that used to bring me down, or worry me, or annoy me, they don’t matter anymore – and that’s when you sit thinking ‘Wow, why didn’t I work this out before? Why didn’t I work out before that it’s just the moment you’re in that matters?’

“Worrying about the future or regretting the past is just a foolish waste of time. Of course we can’t all be threatened with imminent death, but it probably takes that to knock a bit of sense into our heads.”

A year on he’s still alive, despite refusing treatment, he’s got a record out with Roger Daltry (who is in fine form) and only two days away from taking number 1 🙂  I only became aware of it this morning and picked it up immediately on download, if only to reward the fact he’s gone out and made record, and man is it all killer no filler 🙂

Here’s a track..

Fun, Heart matters, Music

Returned from Winter Break in the Shire*

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Been away in a secluded part of the Cotswolds for the last five days. Quality family time despite having a nasty viral cold. Each day brought some new joy or discovery and the whole break gave me some distance and perspective from my everyday life, without descending into naval gazing.

Inspirations..

Seeing everyone battle through really stinky colds and have a real good time despite of the rather glum weather.

The cottage a real calm place of healing, were it was the small touches of decoration that set the mood rather than swamping piles of ‘stuff’.

Visiting Stratford upon Avon and William Shakespear’s Birthplace. Having the ever charming Henry humbled mid charm offensive by a tall red haired actress who commanded the room with an impromptu rendition of the intro to Henry V.  Seeing Evie’s interest in the history of the house. Chuckling slightly at both of them referring to it as the “Haunted House”.

Exploring Bourton on the Water, which like a lot of the area had been touched by the flooding the week before. Seeing the children’s delight at the place, which is good since this is where we are going to be staying for two weeks in the summer. A solid family day 🙂

Visiting the Roll Right Stones just up the hill from were we staying. Seeing the whole family’s spirits being lifted from deeply tired and foul to laughing and full of energy as we reached the stones. ‘Feeling’ the stones awake as I walked into the centre, and experiencing an intense (but subtle: no tales of hair standing on end here) uplift after I walked clockwise round the circle and then back into the center, which seems to have worked on all levels of my being. One immediate benefit seems to be that my cold is rapidly diminishing in power 🙂

The meal that we had at Ask Italian in Morton on the Marsh straight afterwards, which saw all the family on good form and was also inspiring in the way it was presented and content wise. I went into it thinking Pizza Express/Bella Italia and now Ask Italian, is this is going to be much of a muchness? Turned out to be yes one hand by no on the other.

Gazing up at a star filled night sky with the kids.

Seeing the Birds of Prey at the Cotswolds Falconry Centre, always a joy but this time learnt a lot more about them and their behavior and how the lure of an easy life at the centre keeps them there. How each decision is based up how much work has to be done for food.

This music seems appropriate for the way I feel 🙂

*the title reference is that Tolkien’s Shire is supposedly based upon the Cotswolds.

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2013 a quiet year

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So here we two weeks into 2014, and 2013 has quietly slipped away.

2013 was a year of high and lows, mainly lows turned into Win (which taught me a useful lesson or two).  It was a quiet year partially because of my mother in law, Elaine, getting breast cancer, but also because as a family we were finally settling into the house after the extension. A process that was six months to late in my opinion.  On the positive side I got a much brighter perspective on Life the Universe and Everything – in  a big picture way that was the Big Win of 2014.

So here’s a year in bullet points!

  • My mother in law,Elaine, having breast cancer, which she gracefully overcome 🙂 (Feb-June)
  • Conpulsion gaming convention(Apr) had a grand time, but it really is to far to travel
  • Toby Tickletail the cat joining the family (May)
  • Our two week Norfolk holiday staying Nr Cromer (Aug)
  • Furnace gaming convention. Way-hey Furnace! My perfect gaming convention was perfection this year :D(Oct)

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