Garden Party

Much ink could be spilled, and has been, discussing the dichotomy between the Apollonian and Dionysian impulses.Or you could watch this.

HS1098

He was a strange figure, a dull lumpish creature that the locals knew only as Trog. Whether that was the name his parents gave him or simply an unpleasant title dreamed up by the people around him nobody knew. It was the name he called himself though and his unfortunate neighbours would often hear him […]

Sounds of the City

Alma Deutscher is now fourteen years old. She’s already been somewhat of a sensation for her musical talents and they show no signs of abating. In this new piece she takes inspiration from the discordant sounds of city life, including traffic noises, sirens and general cacophony and creates a series of waltzes. In the opening […]

Truth or Consequences

This is probably going to be a pretty unfocussed post. I apologise in advance for that, but it’s a subject that annoys me so much that I get distracted by shield-biting rage every time I try to think my way through it. I’ll just jump in and swim to the far shore. I am fed […]

Hither Came Conan

A strange admission for someone of my long tenure in the worlds of fantasy and science fiction, but I’d never actually read Robert E Howard’s Conan stories before. I know they’re almost archetypal examples of the genre but for some reason I’d never got round to picking them up. That changed recently, when I bought […]

With a guard at every door

And a lovely parable for the kiddies

Joshua, Genocide and the General

Originally published on my defunct LiveJournal page, now with added thoughts I’ve always regarded Story as a powerful force, using that rather simplistic term as a catch-all for myth, metaphor, internal-dialogue and other aspects that I’ve rarely bothered to sit down and define. A while ago, when I first discovered this blogging business, I wrote an […]

The Magus and the Munchkins

“What the hell is that annoying sound?” I asked. “Munchkins. Singing. Sorry about that.” “Munchkins as in…” Wizard of Oz, yes. Sorry again. Not what you were expecting I’m sure.” “Well quite. I was expecting some sort of profound revelation about the nature of the universe, not just an irritating ear-worm from a musical. So […]

“You’re a shaman, Harry”

“I’m a — what?”

The False Knight on the Road

I’ve recently rediscovered my collection of folk music, a genre I like for the narratives contained in the songs, if not for the affected nasal drone that some singers affect for some reason. Listening this lunchtime I shuffled upon “The False Knight On The Road” which is on the face of it an encounter between […]