Caution: laws of physics may apply.

Last one out turn off the lights

ceb — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 11:14:22 GMT

No longer posting here. Find me at https://ceb.dreamwidth.org/ instead.

I will be reading stuff people post here, at least for the moment, and OpenID means you can log in to DW with your LJ account if you want to comment and haven't moved.

Done

ceb — Tue, 04 Apr 2017 21:24:05 GMT

* new keyboard stickers
* assorted bistromathics
* catalogued some books

Worldcon
* message thread re at-con staff

BSFA:
* another presenter attempt
* emailed re spare copies
* expenses
* velcro 7&8 sew & glue

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PSA for Cambridge people

ceb — Mon, 03 Apr 2017 08:36:48 GMT

Bookings are open for the new University Library room escape game running over the summer: "Solomon Schechter & the Chamber of Secrets" http://bit.ly/schechterescape

I've been to two games by these people before and they're very fun and well-balanced (we won the last one by 15 seconds).

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Daffowocky: a poetic mash-up (I've had a request)

ceb — Thu, 30 Mar 2017 20:30:58 GMT

I constructed this for a Jómsborg the New society dinner some years ago (2008) and I'm still pleased with it.

Daffowocky

I wander'd lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Daffodils, my son!
The stems that bite, the leaves that catch!
Beware the Jasmine plant, and shun
The frumious Buttercup!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the floral foe he sought--
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
All at once he saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw he at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left them dead, and with their heads
He went galumphing back.

"And, has thou slain the Daffodils?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!"
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
"O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

I wander'd lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

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I made this

ceb — Sun, 26 Mar 2017 22:01:51 GMT

This weekend I have made a thing! Which is neither for Worldcon nor the BSFA, unlike everything else I've been doing in the past 6 months.

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Cambridge environmental volunteering PSA

ceb — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 14:35:15 GMT

FLOATING PENNYWORT WORKING PARTY ON THE UPPER CAM, SATURDAY 1ST APRIL
2017

The invasive Floating Pennywort has in recent years colonised the lower
Bourn Brook, the River Cam and some of its minor tributaries, and is
affecting an SSSI near Wicken. It is also spreading down river on the
River Ouse and has been found as far down river as the Denver Sluice.
Since 1990, when it was first found in the wild on the River Chelmer in
Essex, it has spread rapidly and each year the number of affected sites
is expanding exponentially. In high season there are long stretches of
the Cam where dense mats reach out towards the centre of the river, and
in one part it has grown from bank to bank. It is a threat to
bio-diversity, a nuisance to river users and could increase the risk of
flooding.

This week contractors for the Cam Conservators have been removing as
much as they can from the upper Cam by mechanized means, but inevitably
this will leave floating remnants and inaccessible patches. If left,
these remnants will soon grow. The Cam Valley Forum and associates are
organising a major volunteer punt day on SATURDAY 1ST APRIL ON THE UPPER
CAM, and we are inviting you to join us. The target is to remove as much
as possible on the day, from Byron’s Pool to Scudamores boat station.
Scudamores are kindly giving us ten punts for the task, which will need
a minimum crew of one experienced poler, a raker and a netter. And just
as important, we also need people on the bank to rake out easy-to-reach
Pennywort and to help with lifting out filled bins from the punts and to
dispose of the material on the bank. Not everyone feels comfortable on
a punt in which case a bank job would be ideal. Up to forty people may
be required to take this project forward and we hope that you have the
enthusiasm and time to be part of this unique experience.

If you would like to take part, or have any queries please contact Mike
Foley (Cam Valley Forum) on mfpfoley@gmail.com

We envisage a early start time between 9 – 10 am and those punts that
go the furthest (Byron’s Pool) will not necessarily be out for longer
as there is much to do in the Grantchester Meadows area. It would be
very useful if you could supply details of your experience, how long you
want to be involved, and whether your role would be on land or on water.
An indication of whether you possess a long handled rake and are
prepared to bring it would also be useful.

More detailed information will be available to those who express an
interest.

Mike Foley

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Interesting stuff, Cambridge science week edition

ceb — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 23:00:59 GMT

Things I might go to at the science festival, feel free to join me! (Not all of these, obviously, as some of them overlap.)

Main programme at: http://www.sciencefestival.cam.ac.uk/events

Mon 13 Mar, 7:30-8:30 How to feel safe - which infectious diseases are going to kill you. Talk, pre-book, Mill Lane. (BOOKED)

Tues 14 Mar, 7:30-8:30 Sensing the season. Talk, pre-book, Sainsbury Lab. (BOOKED)

Wed 15 Mar, 5-6 Reanimating the nameless dead - encountering the people of mediaeval Cambridge. Talk, pre-book, old divinity school. (BOOKED)

Thurs 16 Mar, noon-1pm The bone collectors. Talk, Whipple. (no booking needed)
6:30-7:30 Getting up close and personal in Herculaneum - a story of sewers and corpses. Talk, pre-book, Mus Classic Arch.
7:45-8:45 Ask an archaeologist. Comedy, pre-book, CB2.
9-10 Will Seward has a really good go at alchemy. Comedy, pre-book, CB2. (BOOKED)

Fri 17 Mar, 5:30-6:30 The first night of television. Talk, pre-book, Babbage. (BOOKED)
6-7 Erebus volcano in the footsteps of Shackleton and Scott. Talk, pre-book, Mill Lane.
4/5/6/7/8 Build a neural knitwork. Workshop, pre-book, Mill Lane. (BOOKED for 8pm)

Sat 18 Mar 6-10 Family retro-gaming evening. Pre-book, computer museum.

Mon 20 Mar, 5:30-6:30 Experiments in photography - Cambridge in the 30s. Talk, pre-book, UL. (sold out, curses!)

Tues 21 Mar, 7:30-8:30 Morphing structures. Talk, pre-book, Mill Lane. (BOOKED)

Wed 22 Mar, 5-8 Why is this here? Whipple museum drop-in. (no booking needed)
6-7 Looking beneath the soil. Talk, pre-book, Mill Lane.

Fri 24 Mar, 5-6 The skull, a multitude of forms. Talk, pre-book, Chemistry. (BOOKED)
6-7 The maths of everyday objects. Talk, pre-book, UTC.
7-9:30 An evening of unnecessary detail. Comedy/entertainment, pre-book, Union. (BOOKED)

Sat 25 Mar, 11-noon Where maths collides with holograms and special effects. Talk, pre-book, Isaac Newton.
2-3 Maths vs disease. Talk, pre-book, CMS.
noon-4 The science of jewellery. Drop-in, Betty & Barney Rubble, CMS. (no booking needed)

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Interesting stuff, London edition

ceb — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 20:05:12 GMT

Electricity at the Wellcome Collection (on now, to 25th June):
https://wellcomecollection.org/electricity

Robots at the Science Museum (on now, to 3rd Sept):
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sitecore/content/scim/visitmuseum/plan_your_visit/exhibitions/robots

Science Fiction at the Barbican (3 Jun - 1 Sep):
https://www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery/event-detail.asp?ID=19875

Les Miserables 1925 silent film with live accompaniment from Neil Brand (23 Apr):
http://www.barbican.org.uk/film/event-detail.asp?ID=20944

Tesla vs Edison in dance format (18 Apr - 7 May):
https://hackneyempire.co.uk/whats-on/mayumana-presents-currents-uk-premiere/

Russian revolutionary art at the Royal Academy (on now, to 17th Apr):
https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/revolution-russian-art

Russian revolution at the British Library (28 Apr - 29 Aug):
https://www.bl.uk/events/russian-revolution-hope-tragedy-myths

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Useful info for writing to peers in the House of Lords

ceb — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 01:09:39 GMT

Writing to peers is a bit of a faff. Well, the writing bit less so, working out who to write to is the faff.

http://www.stilleu.uk/lobby-lords-brexit-bill/ is the best source of suggestions for what to write. It also has information on how to choose who to write to.

Write to a specific lord (search by name) here: https://www.theyworkforyou.com/peers/
Or use https://www.writetothem.com/lords to search by other factors - e.g. words they have mentioned in debate, or connections to a location. The other benefit of this is that you can check whether a given peer is someone who turns up to debates or not.
These both limit you to 6 emails a day (the rationale being that above that, messages will be dismissed as spam). Many peers use the general House of Commons email address and this is a convenient way to email them. The form will put in the correct form of address for you.

However, using https://www.theyworkforyou.com/peers/ you can look up email addresses, and if you find peers listing a different address, not just the HoL one, you can email them separately at that address.
http://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/whos-in-the-house-of-lords/how-to-address-a-lord/ for how to get the form of address right (NB that's Dear Lady Mobarik, frex, not Dear Lady Baroness Mobarik, not completely clear from that article).

In addition, the following are members of the government so subject to whip, and so may be less useful to write to:
Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Treasury), Baroness Williams of Trafford (HO), Baroness Joanna Shields (HO), Baroness Anelay of St Johns (FCO), Lord Keen of Elie (MoJ), Lord Nash (Education), Lord Bridges of Headley (ExEU), Lord Prior of Brampton (BIS), Lord O'Shaughnessy (Health), Lord Henley (DWP), Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Transport), Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (DCLG), Baroness Evans of Bowes Park, Lord Dunlop (Scotland), Lord Gardiner of Kimble (Biosecurity), Lord Bates (int dev), Lord Ashton of Hyde (cult), Lord Taylor of Holbeach, Earl of Courtown, Baroness Mobarik, Viscount Younger of Leckie, Lord Young of Cookham, Baroness Goldie, Baroness Buscombe, Baroness Vere of Norbiton, Lord O'Shaughnessy (all whips)

Other useful links:
https://www.crowdjustice.org/case/parliament-take-control/ "Case updates" has ideas and material they've sent to all the Lords and previous stuff they sent to MPs
https://www.bindmans.com/uploads/files/documents/UK_Parliament_EU_Citizenship_rights_booklet.pdf
http://www.crossbenchpeers.org.uk/interests.html
http://lordsoftheblog.net/

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Letters!

ceb — Mon, 20 Feb 2017 14:36:22 GMT

I need to get round to some letter-writing activism. If you need to also, then you are welcome at my house (in Cambridge) this evening to do so, from 8:30ish. DM me if you need the address.

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Worldcon

ceb — Fri, 03 Feb 2017 12:00:09 GMT

Would any of you like to help out with Worldcon organisation? We have a variety of volunteer positions open, including things that don't need a large time commitment, things that can be finished in advance of the convention[*], things that don't require any previous experience, and things you don't need to be in Finland to do. Full list at: http://www.worldcon.fi/recruitment/

(If I know anyone who wants to help and can make CAD maps, please let me know, I desperately need a map-maker for the Exhibit halls.)

[*] There will also be things that can be done entirely at the convention, but we'll mostly be recruiting for those nearer the time.

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Ears

ceb — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 18:57:23 GMT

I'm considering getting my earlobes pierced. I used to hate the idea but I find I've largely grown out of my old squicks/objections.

How much does it hurt, O pierced-lobe people? And I sleep on my side, should I arrange to get ear 2 done after ear 1 has healed?

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How to stay outraged without losing your mind

ceb — Fri, 27 Jan 2017 00:24:02 GMT

https://medium.com/the-coffeelicious/how-to-stayoutraged-without-losing-your-mind-fc0c41aa68f3#.cmqbe77mf

(Written through a Trump filter, but all useful stuff nevertheless.)

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Rogue One

ceb — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 19:02:08 GMT

I saw Rogue One! I was not impressed. My primary objections are:
(1) good grief what a terrible sausage-fest;
(2) the main personality trait of everyone in the film is "petulence".

However I do like the explanation of the amazing design flaw in the Death Star (as exploited in Episode IV) as the attempt of a disgruntled engineer to sabotage the Empire. I feel many of the Empire's design decisions can be explained in the same way.

"Why do your tanks have stupidly spindly legs?" "It's the attempt of a disgruntled engineer to sabotage the Empire."
"Why are your shield generators perched so obviously and precariously on the top of your star destroyers?" "It's the attempt of a disgruntled engineer to sabotage the Empire."
"Why is your data centre suspended over a giant void?" "It's the attempt of a disgruntled engineer to sabotage the Empire."
"Why does your installation have a 'destroy installation' button?" "It's the attempt of a disgruntled engineer to sabotage the Empire."
"What's with the ludicrous hat?" "It's the attempt of a disgruntled engineer to sabotage the Empire."
"Why are you wearing a tablecloth?" "It's the attempt of a disgruntled engineer to sabotage the Empire."
&c.

damerell further opines that the lack of railings in the original trilogy is the result of the Empire Health & Safety Committee deciding that the presence of railings in Rogue One was a direct contributory factor to the leakage of the Death Star plans to the Rebels, and demanding they all be removed.

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Exciting things happening in Cambridge soon

ceb — Sun, 08 Jan 2017 19:19:34 GMT

10-15 Feb, eLuminate festival
https://www.cambridgelivetrust.co.uk/e-luminate
including a hologram-making workshop and a playing-about-with-light-photography workshop on Sun 12th (I am coming home early from a con to go to the 2pmm hologram session because aaaaaaaa holograms).

13-26 Mar, science festival
http://www.sciencefestival.cam.ac.uk/
particularly this "Sounds of Science" concert with Evelyn Glennie which is actually on the 12th:
https://www.cambridgelivetrust.co.uk/cornex/events/sounds-science

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WGT mini-reviews 2017

ceb — Sun, 01 Jan 2017 21:53:08 GMT

Usual annual WGT band mini-reviews. I do like this starting at the start of the year thing, it gives me a small cheering thing to do at this time of year when I'm over-peopled and appreciate being able to hide in data entry.

Declared prejudices: I generally like goth, punk/horrorpunk/psychobilly, 80s, pirates, and the near end of metal, electronica, EBM, industrial. Also weirdo up-itself French/Spanish noodling with drums, for some reason I cannot adequately explain.

I generally do not like folk/mittelalter, indie, noise, the noisy end of electronica &c., the beepy/clubby ends of electronica &c., the washing-machine/sore-throat/hit-it-as-fast-as-you-can ends of metal. So if you like those things, take my reviews with a pinch of salt and listen to the bands anyway. (Also while I generally like classical, it's not what I go to WGT for, so I tend to skim over classical artists.)

http://www.wave-gotik-treffen.de/forumwgt3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=23992

0 OMG no - really avoid
* no - avoid
** tolerable - wouldn't mind going if others want to
*** OK but not worth a special trip
**** would like to see if possible
***** must see
****** I will cry if I don't get to see this band

001 = *** = Skinny Puppy = could be OK electronica/goth/indie-noodle thing, bit like a less angry Killing Joke, largely not irritating but skirts the line sometimes = https://soundcloud.com/officialskinnypuppy
002 = *** = The Mission = UK classic goths, very easy to get hold of in the UK (despite repeated farewell tours), gig quality depends very much on how drunk Wayne Hussey is and how dirgey he's feeling = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22the+mission+uk%22
003 = ** = Klangstabil = chilled noodly electronica, inoffensive = https://klangstabil.bandcamp.com/
004 = ** = B-Movie = sometimes a trad/80s bouncy cross, mostly however JUST BORING = https://www.reverbnation.com/bmovie
005 = *** = Black Nail Cabaret = laid-back darkwave synthpop = https://blacknailcabaret.bandcamp.com/
006 = *** = Masquerade = 80s so so trad post-punk (formed 2012) subtype: careless singing = https://masqueraded.bandcamp.com/
007 = *** = Desperate Journalist = Siouxsie-model indie = https://desperatejournalist.bandcamp.com/music
008 = ** = Hexperos = inoffensive mittelalter = https://soundcloud.com/alessandra-santovito
009 = **** = Aeon Sable = perfectly satisfactory goth, if nothing wildly exciting; bit like a more metal version of The Mission = https://aeonsable.bandcamp.com/music
010 = **** = Hørd = French electronic noodling, I like it a lot but it's a bit static = https://hordmusic.bandcamp.com/
011 = * = Iszoloscope = experimental techno-industrial, some tracks OK, most are annoying noisefests though = https://ant-zen.bandcamp.com/album/false-vacuum (= various others available if you search https://ant-zen.bandcamp.com/ )
012 = *** = Whispering Sons = moody gothy post-punk = https://whisperingsons.bandcamp.com/
013 = ** = Esben and the Witch = moody floaty goth, female vox, bit dull = https://esbenandthewitch.bandcamp.com/
014 = ** = Ianva = Italian dark cabaret; too much cabaret and too little dark for my tastes = https://myspace.com/ianva/music/songs
015 = *** = Red Mecca = chilled and Swedish electro-rock with slightly odd vocals = https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmqKZeDx1r4ZZzOgU-sga6w/feed
016 = **** = Eden (Sean Bowley) = pleasantly thoughtful goth, lots of nice notes = https://edenseanbowley.bandcamp.com/ https://www.youtube.com/user/Myreverberation/videos
017 = *** = Virgin in Veil = bit like early-Dreamies but with a worse singer (flat and nasal) = https://virgininveil.bandcamp.com/
018 = * = Larrnakh = floaty folky thing with irritating chanting; all songs sound the same = https://myspace.com/larrnakh/music/songs https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=larrnakh
019 = ** = Ah! Kosmos = quiet trancey atmospheric, pleasant enough = https://soundcloud.com/ahkosmos
020 = ****(reassess) = Wires & Lights = only free recorded stuff is low-quality youtube videos, but seems like pretty good bouncy echoey goth = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwKTll0cme0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stiF3HsqLKs
021 = * = Mlada Fronta = unchanging inoffensive bouncy trance = https://mladafronta.bandcamp.com/
022 = *** = BFG = 80s mould goth = https://bfgcontrol.bandcamp.com/
023 = * = Jarboe = irritatingly noodly singer-songwriter = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jarboe
024 = ** = Lebanon Hanover = 80s synthpop with studiously off-key vocals = https://lebanonhanover.bandcamp.com/
025 = *** = Saigon Blue Rain = pleasant mellow electropop, slightly Cure-y = https://saigonbluerain.bandcamp.com/
026 = ** = Principia Audiomatica = quiet art-gallery techno, very soporific = https://soundcloud.com/principia-audiomatica
027 = **** = She Past Away = interesting bouncy new/dark wave = https://shepastawayofficial.bandcamp.com/music
028 = *** = Sixth June = downbeat darkwave, vwoooorp = https://soundcloud.com/user9976845
029 = **** = The Devil And The Universe = really really good song introductions that sadly never turn into songs = https://soundcloud.com/the-devil-the-universe
030 = 0 = Sylvaine = wet soft rock with occasional unexpected screaming = https://soundcloud.com/sylvainemusic
031 = *** = Angels & Agony = by-the-numbers futurepop = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGjUjXLcIEA&list=PLNxSzmhiT2bix6E5AMOEHP37xCTeeuuSu
032 = 0 = Da-Sein = irritating experimental drony thing = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=da-sein+tautology
033 = ** = Pouppée Fabrikk = pedestrian EBM = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRhZ2f8udi0&list=PLUakSsFj5HfYnpx2KhSJXFMoY_M1HKxsv
034 = ** = Illuminate = 3rd-rate goth = https://myspace.com/illuminatemusik/music/songs
035 = **** = Vain Warr = deep-voiced slightly-discordant goth, grows on me the more I listen to it = https://vainwarr.bandcamp.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VfNj4lfhLU
036 = *** = Cryo = passable electro-industrial = http://www.cryodome.com/ https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cryo+retropia
037 = *** = Der Blaue Reiter = up-itself Spanish noodling with drums (puts D to sleep in 100% of tests). David says '10/10 very restful, ideal for falling asleep to' = https://soundcloud.com/derblauereiterband
038 = 0 = Shireen = plinky-plonky and wet (so probably actually splutchy-splutchy) = https://soundcloud.com/shireenmusic
039 = ** = Azar Swan = weird sort-of Madonna thing = https://soundcloud.com/azarswan
040 = *** = Chemical Sweet Kid = highly genre-confused French Marilyn Mansony sometimes? Inside this band is a good band trying to get out. Almost tempted to go and see them just in case they're glorious = https://soundcloud.com/chemicalsweetkid
041 = * = Nikolas Schreck = like Nick Cave, were Nick Cave stripped of all the things that make Nick Cave great. OTOH, probably hilarious = https://www.youtube.com/user/TheNikolasSchreck
042 = ** = Annwn = 'mystic folk', inoffensive = http://www.annwn-music.de/20-0-Hoerprobe.html
043 = 0 = Corde Oblique = appears to be mostly a string ensemble = https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUOFgO9tsjwcsZPdadrgEQw
044 = ***** = VNV Nation = look like a darts team, sound like triumphal electronic angels = https://soundcloud.com/vnvnation/sets/playlist
045 = ** = Moon Far Away = plinky-plonky Russian folk goth = https://soundcloud.com/moonfaraway
046 = *** = Lucifer's Aid = danceable computer game electronica meets minimal wave, kinda? = https://soundcloud.com/progressproductions/lucifers-aid-deep-inside-1
047 = ** = Hautville = Italian progressive neo-folk = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hautville
048 = * = Ohm = hyperactive twangy borderline-techno = https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClxGSGrozihPJ0N92fjtGLg
049 = ***** = Nox Interna = gothic rawk = https://noxinterna.bandcamp.com/
50 = ** = Autodafeh = uninspired but danceable EBM = https://soundcloud.com/autodafeh
051 = ** = Eisfabrik = inoffensive trancey EBM = https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSklxU-UGHTZplLbYqm25nw
052 = * = Cuélebre = folk, subtype twang/dirge = https://cuelebre.bandcamp.com
053 = * = Noisuf-x = unsophisticated techno objects = https://soundcloud.com/noisuf-x
054 = ***** = Amanda Palmer and Edward Ka-Spel = I have no idea what this is going to be like but it will be VERY INTENSE = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Amanda+Palmer+and+Edward+Ka-Spel
055 = **** = Peter Heppner = Mr Wolfsheim in a more piano-y incarnation = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JgtovoNtFk&list=PL26A22371A58B6A88
056 = *** = In The Woods... = jolly prog metal = https://dmp666.bandcamp.com/album/pure
057 = ** = Soviet Soviet = bouncy but repetitive indie-ish post-punk = https://sovietsoviet.bandcamp.com/
058 = ** = Besides = inoffensive noodlerock, does not impinge on attention much, would make good hold music = https://besides.bandcamp.com/
059 = * = Peter Bjärgö = dull atmospheric noodling = https://peterbjargo.bandcamp.com/
060 = 0 = Landscape Body Machine = ambient squiggledoof = https://landscapebodymachine.bandcamp.com
061 = ** = The Agnes Circle = uninspired 80s goth = https://theagnescircle.bandcamp.com
062 = **** = Rotersand = highly danceable futurepop = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rotersand
063 = *** = S.P.O.C.K = silly Star Trek-themed electropop = https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0usx3Ou2bk_NYV-LYQZY2A
064 = *** = Sex Gang Children = seminal batcave, marmite vocals = https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5qZ8rtYa0iILUqc23g3tVQ
065 = *** = Cephalgy = adequate if uninspiring EBM/Neue Deutsche Härte thing = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cephalgy
066 = *** = Ritual Howls = Peter-Murphy-wave = https://ritualhowls.bandcamp.com/
067 = ***** = Bloody, Dead & Sexy = satisfying punk-adjacent goth (is this deathrock? OMG I might have finally found out what deathrock is!) = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XimgRiCzwM&list=PLC7mlN6Ee9IUzku02ERKrg1R0vO22c3WF
068 = **** = Red Cell = heavily 80s-influenced synthpop = https://soundcloud.com/redcellmusic
069 = *** = Der Fluch = imprecise horrorpunk = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar4gUATrQsg&index=4&list=PLLGfsTKeZ3DIql62RHn4FzQsbzPkFWY0i
070 = **** = Frankenstein = lively, competent, Alice Cooper-y horrorpunks = https://myspace.com/frankenstein/music/songs
071 = *** = Klez.e = Pillows-mould indie = https://klez-e.bandcamp.com/releases (old) https://soundcloud.com/staatsakt/kleze-mauern (new)
072 = *** = Drab Majesty = some kind of gothy synth wave = https://drabmajesty.bandcamp.com/
073 = ** = Andyra = fantasy-themed music, achieving 'overwrought' in several disparate genres = https://www.youtube.com/c/andyra-band
074 = *** = Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio = pleasant calm not-wildly-exciting chanty martial noodling = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ordo+rosarius+equilibrio
075 = **** = Finsterforst = 'black forest metal', I'm hoping cherries are involved. Like all the sorts of metal mushed together in a generally pretty satisfying way. = https://finsterforst.bandcamp.com/ (various of the albums have sampler tracks)
076 = * = Ah Cama-Sotz = art gallery atmospheric techno = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up0GlfD0TI4&list=PL2E2JO9ET7Lm0LFxgJ2fZmY0cNWu90Czj
077 = ** = Scary Bitches = strangely irritating 90s goth = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_Jo4JQIQro&list=PLyE_hpSznWM5ElhSesNcPrLnCvoX8MiTZ
078 = ** = Herbst in Peking = this r srs goth (chanty and somewhat noodly) = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7CZfQ6TavU&list=PLsVriu9W8N8SNZ3jY3echMDbLLGfs0149
079 = *** = MGT & Friends = MGT has guitarred for all sorts of bands. Plays a lot of lightly altered covers, original stuff seems like pretty cromulent straightforward rawk = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INIx3B5F_0g&list=PL6fjpgXxJMbfw_Cy4UboiNIXmsYF5Pv2c https://soundcloud.com/markgt
080 = * = Varg = Varg! sore-throaty black metal with very heavy makeup = http://www.varg.de/
081 = 0 = 13th Monkey = techno/noise = https://soundcloud.com/13thmonkey
082 = * = Unlight = Black Metal With A Very Sore Throat Caused By Extraneous Capital Letters = https://unlight.bandcamp.com/music
083 = ** = Andi Sexgang = as Sex Gang Children only acousticer = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=andi+sex+gang+acoustic
084 = *** = Revolting Cocks = early industrial in the Front 242/Ministry mould, some good covers = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=revolting+cocks
085 = *** = Amorphis = adequate melodic-ish metal = https://www.youtube.com/user/amorphisofficial
086 = *** = Odroerir = mittelaltery folk with occasional crunchy guitars = https://odroerir.bandcamp.com/
087 = **** = Sinistro = slow, arty metal = https://projectosinistro.bandcamp.com/
088 = * = Machine de Beauvoir = incomprehensibly arty noodling = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=machine+de+beauvoir
089 = *** = Emma Ruth Rundle = at the rocky end of singer-songwriter = https://emmaruthrundle.bandcamp.com/
090 = ** = Thrudvangar = growly viking metal with occasional incongruous bounce = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmYYzo0GVcM&list=PL80WYK6LQztEWD5dpn-uBO0Iwc0B3QAYD
091 = ** = Empusae = soundscapey, interesting for soundscapes = https://soundcloud.com/empusae
092 = *** = Ragnaroek = metally rock with occasional surprise bagpipes, sound fairly fun = https://www.reverbnation.com/ragnar%C3%B6ek
093 = ** = Iamtheshadow = 80s influenced minimal synth wave, quite pleasant but goes on a bit = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=iamtheshadow
094 = *** = The 69 Eyes = competent gothy rawk, sadly not as good as their image = https://www.youtube.com/the69eyes
095 = **** = Cabaret Voltaire = 80s bouncy synthpop/light industrial. Recently recovered from 20 years of being moribund = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2vCpT1H7u0&list=PL_cMbpgQXa3w2QDTkIr3ht-D7nHtb5Yhh
096 = **** = Alcest = wall-of-sound shoegaze metal = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQsXnldCDeU&list=PLwQ1EmeGPtWkQ7TMZ-m4SwTEqRyeFnTYy
097 = **** = Wednesday 13 = smooth Alice Coopery horrorpunks = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80kCYcrCzs8&list=PL9A43E1BE3B620E42
098 = ***** = The Creepshow = really excellent psychobilly/horrorpunk, infectiously dancey = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwEgUKMRX5w&list=PL-n2f_4aX54zKcqKdiKDWyn-P6NzcR9ss
099 = * = Folk Noir = country-ish folk = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5qOnNRi8sc&list=PLlE1w-__sh1clEuSiIJw9l_a1K-6tFZVS
100 = *** = Hamferð = extensively metally, slow wall-of-sound stuff, Lenin on bass = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feR12pQ8dXc ! :-D https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVIbcTR_usCCXyBw_7jhw4Q
101 = 0 = Schneewittchen = still has not learned to sing = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=schneewittchen+band
102 = **** = Romuvos = pleasant but slow Lithuanian folk metal = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBZ3DdGrIlY
103 = **** = Vogelfrey = fun & bouncy folk pirate-adjacent maybe-metal = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-PpZR_nHg4&list=PLBOCL-GMbgpB_l3tvf_d4Z5yKWT9vXzT3
104 = *** = Decoded Feedback = po-faced synthpop = https://soundcloud.com/decoded-feedback
105 = *** = Johnny Deathshadow = like Deathstars with extra guitars instead of synths, weird OTT skull makeup = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJws5NbAJIo&list=PLYw0EKFtqvRLJzsWrqPfEcTWoOyCk3mDE
106 = ** = Suicide Commando = dull EBM in need of cough sweets = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBYwMOPKuPo&list=PLh9UiUjRXplj6oXN3LnGy0bmG-pYiLIM0
107 = *** = Rroyce = danceable if not terribly original lightly 80s-influenced synthpop = https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqy1C09_4yAKVJJ0nuROT1Q
108 = ** = Sündenrausch = overwrought metally goth = https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWN1aVO8uFZ408UZGOoXfLQ/videos
109 = *** = Technique = pleasant wave = https://soundcloud.com/technique-synthpop
110 = ***** = The Pussybats = rawk! = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pussybats
111 = *** = Superikone = half way between wave and synthy techno, interesting enough in small bits but badly fails the self-similarity test = https://soundcloud.com/superikone
112 = * = This Morn' Omina = slow tribal trance, bring your glowsticks = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq_b7XL1zaE&list=PLfIYf7Tz5OqSMFV6d7NxVFx_2U8ICEwYY
113 = ** = Xandria = incredibly overblown symphonic metal. Might be worth poking nose in for the maximum ludicrosity (David likes it more than me) = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbbNfaQoJvU&list=PL7VYf9B2TiU6X1xhC75dEHmaVZSVJH1uh
114 = ** = Fïx8:Sëd8 = slowly-changing electronic thing, got a beat (and random quote disease) but no real song structure = https://fix8sed8.bandcamp.com/ https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fix8sed8
115 = * = V2A = 3am Slimelight music (variety: incoherent clubby electronica) = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAFVL1V8uwY&list=PL--zb70SXoUyytXeP-_5WKdcU6Mc5Nwkt
116 = *** = Funker Vogt = bit like Projekt Pitchfork but lacking Pitchfork's commendable sense of when to stop if you want your song not too have gone on too long. Also hired a Nazi singer recentlyish (he's departed again, but still) = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNph35Eb-pA&list=PLmSZdZpURVNHgjPen_-tYllc2FBC4hsWS
117 = ** = Bleib Modern = slow mopey goth, Masadaish but less good = https://bleibmodern.bandcamp.com/
118 = **** = Tanzwut = bit like a cross between pirate folk and NDH-with-bagpipes = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNABHax-Qt0&list=PLGZ7sBC4Ow_OwPPTEy_af3NH92dhgBkIC
119 = 0 = Sylvgheist Maëlström = experimental ambient techno = https://soundcloud.com/sylvgheist
120 = **** = Erdling = Neue Deutsch Härte but avoiding the local minimum of Rammstein = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjxByYD_q0Y&list=PLv2xO0wrWcEGeW2fb9-wCrXlbRK99d17E
121 = *** = Klimt1918 = pleasant fuzzy shoegaze = https://klimt-1918.bandcamp.com/
122 = *** = Die Selektion = pretty standard wavey electro = https://soundcloud.com/dieselektion
123 = ** = Nachtblut = shouty metal, a bit tedious = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=nachtblut
124 = **** = NOVAkILL = catchy danceable EBM = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=novakill
125 = ** = Equilibrium = jolly folky metal, occasionally beer themed, quite sore-throaty though = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bYMAgM42pM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNNl7jAUBlI&list=PL60D54FFA6427E7EC
126 = ** = Spiritual Front = dark cabaret; mostly OK, only a little irritating = specifically this album: https://spiritualfrontofficial.bandcamp.com/album/black-hearts-in-black-suits
127 = ** = Nim Vind = disappointingly easy listening, possibly supposed to be punk? = https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOeYVMPR3A32fQQ5KedeJ-Ytobg3aqtQs
128 = * = Codex Empire = undifferentiated techno = https://aufnahmeundwiedergabe.bandcamp.com/
129 = **** = Whispers In The Shadow = central in the path of 90s goth, quite Lamora-esque in places = https://whispersintheshadow.bandcamp.com/
130 = *** = Box And The Twins = coldwave but with just enough going on to be interesting = https://boxandthetwins.bandcamp.com/
131 = 0 = Sutcliffe Jügend = 'power electronica' i.e. random noises = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sutcliffe+jugend
132 = ***** = The Vision Bleak = chunky B-movie gothic metal = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+vision+bleak
133 = ** = The Eye Of Time = arthouse strings/piano/noises, pleasant if not very notable = https://theeyeoftime.bandcamp.com/
134 = ** = Dunkelschon = bouncy mittelalter = https://www.youtube.com/user/DunkelschoenMusik
135 = *** = Dorsetshire = reunion after 20yrs; 90s goth electro/wave, a little Suspiria in places but with whispery vocals = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dorsetshire+Das+Letzte+Gefecht+
136 = ** = Rotting Christ = raaaaaaaametalraaaaaaaa = https://soundcloud.com/rotting-christ
137 = * = Rendered = fuzzy techno = https://soundcloud.com/rendered-audio
138 = *** = Too Dead To Die = excedingly clubby EBM = https://soundcloud.com/toodeadtodie
139 = *** = Chrom = comfortingly unoriginal futurepop = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcFXhuzTK58&list=PLv6uTYvJmEjmGtFN10wMn0swLuAmUggM5
140 = **** = Massive Ego = studiously weird presentation of actually pretty good clubby electropop = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=massive+ego
141 = 0 = Blac Kolor = techno = https://soundcloud.com/blac_kolor
142 = ** = Welicoruss = Russian folky deathy metal, not hugely interesting = https://soundcloud.com/welicoruss
143 = ** = Yggdrasil = sometimes growly, sometimes melodic, washing-machine metal = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=yggdrasil+band
144 = *** = Lolita Komplex = gothloli sort-of-metal, similar space to Birthday Massacre but not as good = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lolita+komplex
145 = **** = Framheim = interesting and pointful electro = http://www.framheim-music.de/ (secretly bandcamp)
146 = ** = Gene Loves Jezebel UK = 80s hair goth, now with less hair and more brooding sibling rivalry = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gene+loves+jezebel+jay+aston
147 = *** = The Firm Inc. = unoriginal electro-industrial = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+firm+inc.
148 = **** = Forndom = entrancing mythical atmospheric = https://forndom.bandcamp.com/album/dau-ra-dura
149 = ** = Holygram = dull post-punk = https://holygram.bandcamp.com/releases
150 = = Kite = passable synthpop; singer has a mouth full of marbles = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reX1OHI1m_Q&list=PLw8fmYxzJXumXJLs4IjlqABgHUiLp56uo
151 = * = Theodor Bastard = irritating noodling = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=theodor+bastard
152 = *** = Beyond Obsession = wavey with some interesting note choices and a slight air of boy band = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_nunCALtzE&list=PLtNkgTlJTg4uHvGDeKnMeF_fmgu-Rs5lR
153 = 0 = Hypnoskull = noisy techno = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hypnoskull
154 = * = Trobar de Morte = wet fantasy mittelalter = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LlvKxdOVgc&list=PL5831A41B7658D46C
155 = ** = Punch'n'Judy = bouncy growly pirate-adjacent = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=punch%27n%27judy+band
156 = 0 = MÄNNERCHOR LEIPZIG NORD = classical =
157 = 0 = CAPELLA FIDICINIA = classical =
158 = 0 = GUNTHER ROST = appears to be a male model, or just possibly an organist = http://www.gunther-rost.com/
159 = 0 = AXEL THIELMANN = researcher? =
160 = 0 = PETR EBEN = dead composer =
161 = 0 = MICHAEL SCHÖNHEIT = classical =
162 = 0 = MARTIN SCHMEDING = classical =
163 = 0 = WOLFGANG SEIFEN = classical =
164 = 0 = ANNA GARZULY-WAHLGREN = classical =
165 = 0 = COLLEGIUM VOCALE LEIPZIG = classical =
166 = 0 = KAMMERCHOR DER SCHLOSSKAPELLE SAALFELD = classical =
167 = 0 = CHOR UND BALLETT DER MUSIKALISCHEN KOMÖDIE = classical =
168 = 0 = ORCHESTER DER MUSIKALISCHEN KOMÖDIE = classical =
169 = 0 = CHOR UND KINDERCHOR DER OPER LEIPZIG = classical =
170 = 0 = GEWANDHAUSORCHESTER = classical =
171 = 0 = LEIPZIGER BALLETT = classical =
172 = 0 = KATHRIN CHRISTIANS = classical =
173 = 0 = MORITZ EGGERT = classical =
174 = 0 = CAROLIN MASUR = classical =
175 = 0 = CARMEN STEFANESCU = researcher? =
176 = 0 = ENSEMBLE AMARILLI = classical =
177 = 0 = FREIRAUM SYNDIKAT = baroque jazz, god help us =
178 = 0 = DUOUNRUH = classical =
179 = **** = Umbra et Imago = earnest German goth = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=umbra+et+imago
180 = ** = Devilment = competent but BORING goth metal = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=devilment
181 = *** = Soft Kill = inoffensive minimalist indiewave (I just made that up) = https://anopendoor.bandcamp.com/
182 = ** = Skeletal Family = resurrected 80s post-punk, boring live = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxdEy5WeO9A&list=PLTMZPrCGvdSEZvTxY425giCg5liLcH
E2K
183 = ** = Percival = mittelalters (but they do have a song about Jomsborg) = https://www.youtube.com/user/percivalschuttenbach/videos
184 = * = In Gowan Ring = noodly experimental folk = https://ingowanring.bandcamp.com/
185 = ** = Arcana Obscura = folky-goth belly-dancers = https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCstsv-xnxJmqgqCoVM6gRLQ
186 = 0 = Psyclon Nine = industrial with really annoying sore-throaty vocals = https://psyclonnine.bandcamp.com/
187 = * = Lea Porcelain = shoegaze with particularly can't-be-arsed vocals = https://soundcloud.com/lea-porcelain
188 = * = Wirrwahr = mittelalters, subtype: bagpipes and tootles= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FGROjekDAk&list=PLCr1HvSWKLePl3LYDdVXcGf6-WKATkVeR
189 = ** = Invsn = indie/post-punk, not very exciting = https://invsn.bandcamp.com/
190 = * = Skaluna = mittelalters, subtype: hurdygurdy = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=skaluna
191 = 0 = Ensemble Chromoson = 'contemporary music' by which they mean godawful cat-scratching = http://www.chromoson.cc/medien/
192 = 0 = SLAVOMIR ROZLACH = classical =
193 = 0 = IZABELA KALDUNSKA = classical =
194 = 0 = MAIKE BR_MMER = classical =
195 = 0 = STEFANIE B_HLER = 0 =
196 = 0 = LUKAS DREYER = classical =
197 = 0 = PHILIPP SCHUPELIUS = classical =
198 = 0 = GASLAM QUINTETT = classical =
199 = 0 = HONGFEI LYU = classical =
200 = 0 = VANNINA HORBAS = classical =
201 = 0 = LAURA KOPSCH = classical =
202 = 0 = ANTON SCHMIDT = classical =
203 = 0 = THEO W_NSCHE = classical =
204 = 0 = IVO NITSCHKE = classical =
205 = 0 = MIGUEL BLANCO = classical =
206 = 0 = MATTHIAS EISENBERG = classical =
207 = 0 = HUBERTUS SCHMIDT = horse-rider? who knows =
208 = 0 = THEATERPACK = theatre =
209 = 0 = GUNTHARD STEPHAN = Wanderkino =
210 = 0 = TOBIAS RANK = Wanderkino =
211 = * = MIDGARDS BOTEN = weird experimental. Some year I might actually go and see this just to have seen it = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFBBVhK98HY
212 = 0 = CLAUDIA GR_F = classical =
213 = 0 = TILO AUGSTEN = classical =
214 = * = Ab Inferis = tootlethump = http://www.abinferis.at/
215 = ** = Arcturus = weird mashed-together WURRRG metal with big-hair vocals = https://arcturus-no.bandcamp.com/
216 = 0 = Daemonia Nymphe = plunkwarble = https://www.youtube.com/user/DaemoniaoNymphe
217 = 0 = Echo West = like bad 80s goth but considerably stranger = https://soundcloud.com/echo-west
218 = * = Ensemble Origo = early music ensemble = https://www.ensembleorigo.org/
219 = 0 = Karin Sherret = classical =
220 = ** = Kid Dad = emo shading into punk = https://soundcloud.com/kid-dad - I can only find this one song online
221 = 0 = Konkurs = not terribly comprehensible techno = https://soundcloud.com/konkursband
222 = ** = Les Fragments de la Nuit = classicalish = https://lesfragmentsdelanuit.bandcamp.com/
223 = ** = Magadan = sometimes metallers doing Donald Duck impressions, sometimes prog rockers = https://soundcloud.com/magadan-2
224 = *** = Metusa = bouncy pirate rockfolk = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=metusa (beware, >1 band with the same name I think)
225 = *** = Myrkur = Clannad meets black metal = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaX-xAhTIcY&list=PLXcY2aT5ToEUD2Mo_3hLvvfznUNrd89p2
226 = * = Nachtwindheim = bog-standard tootlers, exceedingly tootly = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-LK0xpOMRY&list=PLgs6ogYObupxUW5MmnhsX92pFlVFmLfg0
227 = * = Nicole Sabouné = would like to be Kate Bush but cannot hit notes = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Nicole+Saboun%C3%A9
228 = **** = Stahlmann = gothic/industrial rock; like a less silly ve/rsion of Gothminister = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Stahlmann
229 = * = The Breath of Life = out of tune wetgoth = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o25iC05fxpI
230 = * = Wyrdamur = they're the bagpipiest = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Wyrdamur

Sixtina:
= *** = Neocoma = passable wavey electropop = https://soundcloud.com/neocoma-1
= ? = Dusterpiano = horror film music on piano =
= = ? = =
= *** = Versus = das erste Ahoi-Pop-Album der Welt, which means I have no idea what it's supposed to sound like. Seems to be bouncy and slightly annoyed electropop = https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGNTNAfXu0r-4p3539Sc0Jw
= ** = Time and Space Society = prog, bit like a less angry Scaramanga Six = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=time+and+space+society
= ** = Oberer Totpunkt = talky trance = https://soundcloud.com/oberer-totpunkt
= *** = Koraktor = mellow, extensive, and intense goth metal = https://koraktor.bandcamp.com/
= 0 = Arise X = hyperactive retchy trance = https://soundcloud.com/arise-x
= **** = Molllust = yay! opera metal = https://molllust.bandcamp.com/
= *** = Eigensinn = chunky rock/metal with strident female vox = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp8hG7N84DA&list=PLmCd3F-eBX5JA5bt5w4cYkjkfvlE8MX4F
= **** = Die Meystersinger = weird melodic electro = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQKR5gldcn8&list=PLzmIHM8jjlQOhY2egECjDGXxj_dfg2Fz-
= = ? = =
= 0 = Vicki Vomit = comedy (presumably auf Deutsch) =
= * = Daniel Malheur & the Heaven-and-Hell Trio = Monokelpop with an orchestraette =
= ** = Under The Tongue = lugubrious rock = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SefxO2GK51E (I think, bit of an awkward name to google for)
= * = BB Blackdog = allegedly steampunks but actually a poor imitation of a 60s supergroup = http://bbblackdog.reverbnation.com/
= * = Moran Magal = wet = https://moranmagal.bandcamp.com/
= ** = the Snatcher = bleep bleep bleepy bleep = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg4-CXC3r-M
= **** = Mechanical Horizon = infectiously bouncy electropop = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVQEyKwbQD8&list=PL2f1ZRAq_haotxdpkIGwNnVR1Q_at2sAy
= * = System Noire = uninspired trance = https://soundcloud.com/systemnoire
= * = Cabaret Bizarre = annoyingly imprecise synthpop = https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cabaret+bizarre+synthpop (NB not all the band, some is burlesque/cabaret)
= ? = Fylgia = some kind of dance thing that's impossible to google for =

comments at Dreamwidth

2016

ceb — Sun, 01 Jan 2017 20:08:17 GMT

The least said about 2016 the better.

However, some good things that have kept me quiet and busy recently:

* I was unexpectedly promoted to Division Head for next year's Worldcon in Helsinki (this is the main cause of business).

* I've been helping with Yuletide modding, and wrote 4 things for Yuletide.

* I'm the BSFA Awards administrator and have been putting together the longlist for the next stage of voting and working on shiny trophy plans.

Also I made quite a lot of Christmas dinner, and two cakes. To follow (hopefully before I go back to work), posts about cakes and Yuletide.

Hopes for next year: that the world will still be here this time next year; that I will still be officially European this time next year; that I will find time to make some things.

comments at Dreamwidth

Paying it forward meme

ceb — Sun, 01 Jan 2017 19:57:07 GMT

From rmc28

Let's start 2017 off in a positive way with a Pay It Forward meme. The first 6[*] people to comment (and more if I can manage it) will receive a surprise from me at some point in 2017 - anything from a book, a ticket, something home-grown or made, a postcard, absolutely any surprise! it will happen when the mood comes over me and I find something that I believe would suit you and make you happy.

(If you don't like surprises and would rather have something off a wishlist and/or some warning, let me know in your comment. The goal is to make you happy.)

If you can, post this in your own journal and pay it forward. Let's do more kind and loving things for each other in 2017, without any reason other than to make each other smile and show that we think of each other.

[*] NB This is cross-posted to LJ and I probably can't manage 6 for each site! I'll see what I can do.

comments at Dreamwidth

Exciting book swap

ceb — Sun, 04 Dec 2016 18:52:49 GMT

Cheer up your January self by joining in with ghoti's book swap: http://ghoti.livejournal.com/804124.html

comments at Dreamwidth

Things I have now that I didn't have 24 hours ago

ceb — Fri, 04 Nov 2016 23:23:43 GMT

- another Worldcon staff recruit

- a copy of the new Manuskript CD (technically still in Whitby with D)

- 2 runes in Crawl!

- the top score on crawl.develz.org (for 0.19, which has only been installed there for about 6h, I just play/die faster than everyone else, but I take what I can get)

- some progress on a Yuletide treat

comments at Dreamwidth

This week

ceb — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 11:46:24 GMT

I am in total Stuff Overload; I've managed to double-book myself 4 times this week already. I feel very disorganised. Things are happening, it's just a bit haphazard...

(Note to K that this doesn't mean we should put the film off on my account!)

comments at Dreamwidth

Film Festival Plans

ceb — Tue, 18 Oct 2016 12:09:24 GMT

Reading

ceb — Sat, 08 Oct 2016 23:14:26 GMT

Good grief, I haven't posted this in ages.

* Nnedi Okorafor - The Book of Phoenix
Clarke nominee; the story of an altered human who escapes from captivity and wreaks revenge. It's OK? but it didn't grab me hugely.

* Adrian Tchaikovsky - Children of Time
This is FANTASTIC. Humanity sets off into space to colonise other worlds, but there are wars and politics and what was supposed to be a planet of uplifted monkeys actually becomes a planet of uplifted spiders, watched over by a mad AI/scientist. Many years later they meet the last survivors of Earth, who need somewhere to live. The world-building in this is fantastic. Spider society is very different to ours and yet has many parallels. This book won the Clarke Award, and very much deserved to.

* Ryonosuke Akutagawa - Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories
Classic Japanese stories. I really enjoyed the ones in historical settings. The autobiographical ones were full of wangsty, self-indulgent "oh woe is me why must I be such a terrible father" and I lost interest.

* Lin-Manuel Miranda & Jeremy McCarter - Hamilton
Squeee, that is all. If you love Hamilton you will love this. It is full of facts and pictures and amusing stories.

* Charlie Stross - The Annihilation Score
A Laundry novel, told from the point of view of Mo. Mo remains a completely excellent character and this is a very well-paced and well-told story about her demon violin. I enjoyed it very much.

* Charlie Stross - The Nightmare Stacks
Another Laundry novel, introducing a new protagonist. It's not nearly as good as _The Annihilation Score_, though being a Laundry novel it's quite fun and pretty readable. The plot centres round an extra-dimensional invasion by elves. Sadly much of it consists of variations on the theme of "what would happen if you had a fight between a dragon and a <insert specific type of fighter jet here>?" "what about between a dragon and an <insert specific type of ground-to-air missile here>?" "what about..." &c. And it's well-written, but it's a bit samey.

* Mira Grant - Feedback
The latest Newsflesh novel, which tells the story of the blog team from the other side of the presidential race in _Feed_. Very readable. If you like the other Newsflesh books you will like this.

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Making things - September - another Lego story

ceb — Sat, 08 Oct 2016 16:46:09 GMT

One of the story prompts from Yuletide last year stuck in my head, and I found myself writing Lego noir:

The Danish Connection (2310 words) by molybdomantic
Fandom: Lego - All Media Types, Lego modular buildings, LEGO Detective's Office
Additional Tags: Detective Noir, Baked Goods, cheap plastic imitation Philip Marlowe, perfectly innocent cookie-smuggling operation
Summary: On the mean streets of Lego City, Ace Brickman is on the trail of the shadowy Cinnamon Whirl Crook.

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Dear Yulegoat

ceb — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 17:38:14 GMT

Dear Yuletide author,

Thank you for writing for me! I love hand-made presents and I am easy to please. I hope you will find something you enjoy writing here. This is me at AO3.

General likes/dislikes:

DNW: I've been finding real-world politics massively depressing recently, so please don't include real-world stuff. Invented politics, especially if played for black humour, are fine.

No RPF for preference, please, I feel kinda conflicted about it.

I would strongly prefer gen fic for all the fandoms I've nominated, though plot-relevant sex is OK if that's where your plot needs to go. I don't mind whether I get a happy ending or not. This is normally where I say I prefer bittersweet to crushing doom, but actually crushing doom would fit all my requests pretty well this year, so if that's what you want to go for then knock yourself out. Bittersweet and/or ambiguous endings are still a thing I love very much though!

I like competence and the ability to think things through; I am annoyed by plots where a character does something out-of-character stupid just to advance the plot. I have no problem with in-character mistakes and if written well they can make the story. Obviously if you're writing Paranoia then this can be quite a fine line to walk!

I adore unusual formats (and, apparently, lists). Please, if you want to, tell me a story as a game or a series of drabbles or a shopping list or a puzzle or a 1-line fic with a very large set of intertwined footnotes or a poem or an ASCII map or half of a scribbled note exchange... if there's some crazy thing you've been wanting to try to write forever but aren't sure if it would work or if your recipient would get it, I am the right person to send it to. If you're not that person and just want to write a story, I will also be delighted, so please play to your strengths and don't feel you need to reach for a weird format if you don't want to.

All my specific suggestions are intended as idea sparks, I don't have my heart set on any of them and I will not be even slightly disappointed if you have a different idea you'd like to pursue. Run with them, or not, as suits your story.

AO3 Name: molybdomantic

Fandom 1: Pandemic (Board Game)
Characters: any

Fandom 2: Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 (Board Game)
Characters: any

I would be delighted with any story set in the Pandemic or Pandemic Legacy universe, whether it features the role characters, world-building, or board-game meta. I'm lumping them together in this letter because a lot of my prompts could apply to both. I've played Pandemic a lot and am familiar with the base game and with the On The Brink, In The Lab, and State Of Emergency expansions. Edit: I've just finished Pandemic Legacy Season 1 (we won!).

I have many suggestions to offer... The diary of a field operative. The many and varied logistical headaches of a dispatcher. The operations expert's promotion on the release of On The Brink. What's it like to be an air-drop pilot? Or a victim of one of the diseases? The story of an outbreak told in overly-sensational tabloid headlines, or press releases from the CDC, or a shopping list of lab supplies, or the academic write-up for the Lancet afterwards, or as choose-your-own-adventure from the point of view of the diseases... I love unusual story formats and I love meta-analysis of the game elements of the situation. Also I recently finished an epidemiology degree, so if you want to give me something hugely technical like the speculations on the transmission mechanism and reproduction number of the different diseases, or the lab book of the poor technician who has to try to isolate the infectious agent from a small blue wooden cube then I will be over the moon.

Pandemic Legacy massively spoilery prompts here, highlight to read:
We lost our Generalist when the EVIL EVIL plot twist came and I am still traumatised. We shared a birthday and everything! I loved her very much. How have the army and the CDC ended up on such different sides of the battle? I would love to hear how we got into this situation. Give me all the sinister machinations :-)

(PS Our Coda was black.)

Fandom 3: Dwarf Fortress
Characters: any

Oh how I adore this game, with its ludicrous combination of simulationism and gaping holes. It is my very favourite spectator sport. (Possibly my favourite thing is the way that dwarves can brew dozens and dozens of specific types of alcohol from dozens and dozens of specific types of plant, but the process doesn't involve water.)

The game's most recent contribution towards simulating Knowledge (yes, all of it) added poetry and poetic forms. Dwarven bards roam the fortresses, declaiming poems with incredibly complex auto-generated forms. For an example see footnote [*]. Bards can learn from each other and invent new forms. I would love a story that's something to do with this new development. Maybe the travels and education of a Bard? One-up-dwarf-ship and conflict as bards compete to create the next hit poem-form? Or a long epic poem describing a notable fight (elephants slightly grazing the right upper forelimb of an antelope &c. - I literally never get tired of DF combat descriptions). Or the history of a fortress in a new song form that menaces with spikes.

Alternatively, here is my prompt from last year, and although tuesday wrote me a completely fantastic set of book excerpts for Yuletide last year (An Incomplete Compendium of Magma Use in Dwarven Problem-Solving), there are SO MANY books I still don't know about. So in case you find this more inspiring:

Fortress libraries are full of such inviting tomes as 'Visions Of Steamfaces' and 'Civilisation: Or Else' ... but they're all blank. I NEED TO KNOW what's in these books. You have quite a lot of leeway with this request. You could write me a specific book on any Dwarf Fortressy subject you feel like (quest records? autobiographies? stone-carving manuals? the mayor's diary? bestiaries? cook books?), or the reviews section of the local fortress newsletter, or fic about the fortress librarian's job, or some sort of meta about how the game world changed with the sudden appearance of libraries that have retroactively always existed.

Fandom 4: Paranoia (Roleplaying Game)
Characters: any
I adore this game also, and the re-release has got me excited! I'm happy with any of the flavours of Paranoia; original/XP/recent re-release/whatever really. I love the Brazil-esque computer bureaucratic ludicrousness, the Catch-22 logic gotchas, the constant secrecy and doublethink, the accusations and the in-fighting and the pointlessness of trying to achieve anything sensible.

Ideas? The computer's daily to-do list. The top secret recruitment manual for a secret society. The complex machinations required to do even such a simple task as making a sandwich. An insight into the life of an Alpha Complex filing clerk or the person who runs the morgue. Some great work of literature after it has been through the Computer's censorship programs. Ingenious solutions to impossible problems set by the Computer. Fun! Adventure! Mystery! Dead clones!

Thank you again and I hope you have a fun Yuletide!

[*]
Here is an example of a DF poetic form, provided as a curiosity to the reader and an example of why I love DF so much. My DF correspondent writes:

Here is the description of a poem currently being recited in my fortress:

The Lines and Hands is an example of The Vines of Nature. The work has no particular subject. The writing takes frequent interesting tangents and it has some particularly crisp changes in topic. Overall, the poetry is passable.

The Vines of Nature is a solemn poetic form concerning the hunt, originating in The Ashen Tours. The rules of the form are applied by poets to produce individual poems which can be recited. The poem is divided into a series of quatrains and a tercet. Use of internal rhyme and ambiguity is characteristic of the form. A form of parallelism is common throughout the poem, in that certain lines often share an underlying meaning. Each line has ten syllables.

The first part is intended to express grief over the subject of the poem. Certain lines present different views of the same subject. The third line of each quatrain reverses the word order of the first line. The rhyme scheme respecting the full poem is ABBB.

The second part is intended to refuse consolation. The third line of the tercet reverses the word order of the second line. The third line of the tercet presents a different view of the subject of the first line. The rhyme scheme respecting the full poem is CDC.

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