Like Peter Grant [https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2015/08/nightwishs-latest-album-is-different.html] , I have something of a love-hate relationship with Nightwish. I love their music, but the themes they touch on at times... eh. That said, it looks like it's time for a new album, and a new single has been released: Noise. Before we go there, a segue: If you want to skip the video, it's a discussion of how every public space is utterly polluted by sound - and not even beauty in music…
One expression I have come to loathe is "building your brand", and variants thereof, such as "personal brand." Fuck you. The term you are looking for is reputation. Even in its original context, a brand is [https://infogalactic.com/info/Brand]: > A brand (or marque for car model) is a name, term, design, symbol or other feature that distinguishes one seller's product from those of others.[4] [https://infogalactic.com/info/Brand#cite_note-4] Brands are used in business [https://infogalactic.c…
Interestingly, Sabaton is posting live videos of ther concerts from the European wing of the tour. Not sure how long it will stay up as many of these, despite being official vids on the official channel, are mostly taken down shortly after the next one goes up. Audio and video quality are mobile phone grade at best, but it's an interesting look at the energy and crowd at a typical live show.…
Driving in Germany was somewhat surreal. The good news for us American types was that we were on the correct side of the road. You know, the right one. The bad news was that at some point we must have been caught by a speedtrap camera going just a few kph over, and were mailed a ticket. Yes, Germany still has stretches of autobahn that are unlimited, at least some of the time, but the surface roads and most of the highways are regulated. Juvenile jokes about how the vehicle exits are all la…
No, this is not a reference to Pelosi tearing up her copy of the STFU speech Trump delivered, or the Dems behavior in general, though the Fist of course has his usual Not-Safe-For-Work take on it. No, this instead is about a set of posts that touch on interrelated themes. The first is a post referencing Brian Niemeier [https://www.brianniemeier.com] - author of the outstanding Souldancer and Nethereal, as well as a new mecha series - over at kairos, discussing the big lie shared by all of the…