DoctorGRAW

Bookmail yesterday with @lividian.bsky.social release of 1st Matthew Corbett novel by Robert McCammon. Gorgeous signed limited edition splitting the housebrick sized beastie into two smaller books in a slipcase. Reread this earlier this year and just about to start #3 soon

From last night's book event in Fargo with @stephengrahamjones.com. Great casually off the cuff speaker and got a signed copy of his latest book which I will start once I get done with my 300 kid science event tomorrow

Not often we get authors of this caliber coming through here so I hammered through exam grading so I can make it to @stephengrahamjones.com book signing in Fargo. Only good Indians was great so loooking forward to getting a copy of the sequel with additional squiggles

Escaped briefly from the lab and pick up new @stephenking.bsky.social - i think since It came out a very long time ago, I've always managed to get the new one in week of release and happy to continue the tradition. Musing on not jumping in as i read other 2 a while back (2001?) so maybe a reread 1st

Got home to new music in the mail with the latest releases from The Beatles (Rubber Soul deluxe 4CD), Anthrax (latest album Cursum Perficio) and Swans(a final live album of the big sound)

Movie number 2/3 for today. Not too bad, I can see it was going for more of the playing the game experience than the over the top bombastic narrative of the original movie series which I do have soft spot for (they are good looking bad movies). Dinner and movie#3 next

Getting away from it all and triple bill at the cinema. Surprise start since didn't expect an upper Midwest US cinema to show a quirky Scottish piece like the Incomer. Absolutely fantastic movie, shades of Local Hero meets Iain Banks The Wasp Factory and just so well done

I was todays years old when I was educated to the fact Dave Frohl used to be in a band called Nirvana. Drunken buffoon sat next to me at Foo Fighters gig seems to think he is like a rock and roll missionary and has to educate me - My Foo Fighters tally - this is show 11 and 3 times for Nirvana...

Excellent gig last night from Swervedriver at Thalia Hall in Chicago with Raise album playthrough and a second set from other albums. Great sound and whoever was doing projection/visuals did an amazing job expanding to cover the front half of theater beyond stage

Quick to the bookstore with what I was going to say shiny new releases by @chuckwendig.bsky.social and @aptshadow.bsky.social but they are both rathef goth and moody instead of shiny :-) Also arrived just in time before I'm hitting the road for a conference

Spent the day dealing with reports and committee work for upcoming conference with new Sparks album on continuous play - absolutely superb album, highly recommended and glad I got to finally catch them last year at Riot Fest

Today's cinema excursion. Not expecting a masterpiece but hoping for something fun and escapist

Enjoying the last few weeks with no students on campus so cranked this beast up on lab stereo. Catchy hooks and an insane sound production - the US bonus tracks on the CD - Never Lose That Feeling/Never Learn still sound amazing 33 years after this came out...

Yesterday's bookmail was this brick. Still one of my favorite novels of all time and maybe time for a reread but while its a nicely done book and retains inside illustrations, I'm still partial to original hardcover which I have both black and white copies of which I think is an iconic look

Avoiding writing script for a science on stage performance so doing a movie double bill. Spiderman: Brand New Day and why not a second trip to the Odyssey

Long lunch and hit up the 50% off Arrow Sale st B+N. Didn't get much in recent Criterion sale but a few must haves here - Soylent Green, Mouth of Madness, Salems Lot and Excalibur. Also picked up the physical Stranger Things box on regular BluRay as well.

Not quite as insanely hot as last weekend where weather app was crying and saying 'feels like 110' so venturing out to book thrift and cinema..

Fisherman's Blues was expanded to a 2CD and then we got a 6 (7 really CD box set) of sessions so do we really need another 3CD + a separate EP of more sessions from that period. OH HELL YEs and so today, the office soundtrack is the new 3CD of alternate takes by @waterboysmusic.bsky.social

Weather app is saying today's high will feel like 42C or 108 F when humidity is factored in. So plan is avoid the heat Dome and catch up on TBR. First up is gorgeous @thebrokenbinding.bsky.social Railsea by China Mieville aka what if Duncton Wood and Moby Dick had a weird twisted child 😀

Road trip for Rush at the United Center in Chicago. Made it as far as Eau Claire, WI last night so rest of the way today for the gig. I think this is around my 10th Rush show - first was Roll tye Bones at SECC in Glasgow a very long time ago..

I've been watching Fringe on Bluray of late after picking up complete series box. Loving the weird science - now on S2E6, the sketch of an unknown molecule is the same class of compounds I have my PhD in. And like early grad school me. They can't draw a porphyrin and get the aromaticity right 😀

Too damn warm, air quality has gone from unhealthy to hazardous so 3+ hours including trailers in a cooled theater is prescribed

A wee bit of @thebrokenbinding.bsky.social in the mailbox this week. Signed Railsea and my subscription copies of Malice and Valour (liking having some copy with UK spelling 🙄) finally made it - time for a reread

Today's listening throws back a few decades to end of undergrad and start of grad school. I got a copy of the Bullet Lavolta album as a trade from an American exchange student in my dorm and the Bad religion on a recommendation from a student I was the lab TA for after starting grad school

Venturing back into the Backrooms since they added extra footage. Plus weather is best described as an armpit so 2 hrs of maxed out air conditioning is a bonus

Introduce yourself with the last 10 concerts you attended: 1. Sunless / Kostnateni 2. Reverend Horton Heat 3. James Grant 4. Super Furry Animals (2nd night) 5. Super Furry Animals 6. Twilight Sad 7. Emperor / Blood Incantation 8. Richard Thompson 9. Maul 10. Acid Mothers Temple

Today was mentoring students to present on their research then knocking out a letter of recommendation for another. Writing soundtrack was Sugar, two incredible albums in terms of both insanely catchy songs and an amazing production /sound. So psyched to see them in a few months at Riotfest

because it's fun, here's a list of ten horror movies that i deeply love that i feel are still under-appreciated - Ravenous - Stage Fright - Night of the Creeps - Horror Express - Razorback - Quatermass and the Pit - Dust Devil - The Long Weekend - In the Earth - Girl with all the Gifts

Today is a day for the 'Big Music' and so cracked open the 1985 box by The Waterboys which is an amazing 6CD box of material from the making of This is the Sea

Not sure if it's a good or bad thing when the music synchs up perfectly to road construction outside my office and the subsonic vibrations from them drilling concrete align with the beat. Digging this dissonant Death metal by Minneapolis's Sunless and looking forward to seeing them on Friday.

A little surprised by this relatively svelte volume (at least compared to volume 1) that I just picked up. Been reading Peter Hamilton's stuff since gifted a hardcover of Reality Dysfunction when it came out and really enjoyed1st vol of this

Today's office soundtrack is the amazing Krautock /spacerock groove of Folkazoid. Don't know much about the band but it has that pulsing repetitive drone that just stretches out. We'll worth checking out on bandcamp

Nice wee bit of bookmail yesterday from @subpress.bsky.social and another title on the vandalized by @aptshadow.bsky.social stack..

Today's dealing with emails and writing a committe proposal skews more Dark with doom metal band Paradise Lost. Saw them play Edinburgh a very long time ago on Shades of God tour (still my favorite of their albums) in early 90s and a few times since

Writing day as I try to crank out a small grant for science outreach activities. Soundtrack is the mighty Swervedriver whose first two albums make me feel old on realizing they are both now more than 30 years old and which are accompanied by the recent and excellent 3CD reissue of 99th Dream