As you can easily see from the frequency and age of the posts in this blog, I haven’t really been posting anything really for quite a while. Part of the reason has to do with changes in my life that were substantial, part of the reason is the clutter that populates WP’s user interface. All in all, WordPress is a sweet platform, but at this point in time it’s not really working for me. And, last but not least, there is so much stuff on here that I felt that a new beginning was needed. I will still keep and maintain this blog, but for now it’s in suspended animation until…well, who knows. :-) So look around, comment, go nuts!
So here goes; check out THE GRUMPY GERMAN, a more streamlined and more personal blog.
Just a quickie (and sign of life!): I finally got around exploring Psychic TV, one of the spawns of Throbbing Gristle after they split up in 1981, and founded by Peter Christopherson and Genesis P-Orridge. PTV’s catalogue is HUGE and I had no idea where to start, so I bought the debut, Forcing the Hand of Change, figuring that’s as good a place as any. I knew some of their more trippy, acid house stuff that they did in the mid-eighties, and, well, wasn’t that impressed. However, FTHOC is pretty awesome. I’m pleasantly surprised. To give you an idea, here’s the song Catalan (from the FTHOC album), which was the soundtrack for a short film by Derek Jarman:
- Yep, that was the first song by Roky Erickson (official website & myspace) I’ve ever heard. It came up on Pandora on…wait a sec…I think a station tagged with Hawkwind. Awesome, awesome stuff and you know what bugs me? After snooping around on the Internets I discovered what a big deal the 13th Floor Elevators where back in the days! How come nobody told me? I mean, seriously, while I admit that I grew up in the middle of the old world, I am shocked. So I got my hands on some of his stuff and it’s fucking amazing, the album “The Evil One” by Roky Erickson and the Aliens, recorded after a prolonged stay in a mental institution, is an absolute keeper and on heavy rotation since I got my greedy claws on it. Also highly recommended is the documentary You’re Gonna Miss Me.
I remember seeing those, what, eight or ten years ago at the Fantasy Filmfest as a supporting movie for some other movie whose name I forgot and was thrilled. The clips get more and more NSFW as they progress and actually the less violent ones are in my opinion much funnier than the others. The first two are my favorites, but they are all worth watching. Don Hertzfeld’s official page can be found here.
We are still on the West Coast, enjoying the weather, feasting on ripe figs in the backyard, and sampling tiny kiwis whose name I also forgot but which are the size of a gummy bear and have a taste like ten kiwis laced with lemon juice – absolutely delicious. I can’t wait for when we have our own backyard and live in a climate that makes gardening fun and not feel like toiling in the searing Connecticut sun…
I’m back from the Eastern Planes and 104ºF. Trust me, while it feels like an oven it’s dry heat which I think is way easier to handle than the humid, muggy variety. I also took a bunch of sweet photos in the Oregon High Desert, which will go up on my Flickr as soon as I get a chance to go through the pile and edit some of them.
Visiting Eastern Washington and Oregon was great, the landscapes are so amazing, it’s like being on a different planet. The moment we stepped out of the train in Central Oregon I could smell the pine trees and felt at home instantly. The High Desert rocks!
This blog is updated more or less frequently, but not daily, and I post more personal stuff here. There is also an additional incarnation of this blog on Tumblr, called Bearded Dave, which I'm using to post little notes, pictures, etc. that I come across and think are neat. You can also follow the Grumpy German on Twitter or Friendfeed. Go nuts!
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