Listening again to @mikeduncan.bsky.social 's 'Revolutions' and the Martian Revolution of 2247 is such a bittersweet allegory on the Russian one (The Revolution devours its children..). Or the French. Or, well, all of them except that it does have a better ending after the Terror. #longlivemabeldore

F@rage next, we hope. Although I fear that, as with Trump, his followers will not give a damn if he's proven guilty.

A useful reminder...

youtu.be/gYvoN2qO_VA 'Pavana Muy Llana Para Tañer' / Diego Pisador, 1509?- 1557?) Flavio Matani, guitar - live in concert at the Kentish Town City Farm, 17-10--25 Guitar is a Yulong Guo Chamber Concert. #guitar #classicalguitar #vihuela #renaissancemusic #kentishtowncityfarm

youtu.be/-V-7ulWlGwg 'A Moment's Thought', one of my own little pieces, played live at the @kentishtowncityfarm on 17-10-25 Guitar is a Yulong Guo Chamber Concert #guitar #classicalguitar #kentishtowncityfarm #kentishtown #livemusic

Moopsie!

Thank you again to those lovely people who came to see me play tonight 🙂 it was a lovely evening for me*, I hope it was for you * apart from the toothache, which was a bit distracting but I hope that wasn't noticeable.

Just in case: playing tomorrow (17th October) - it would be very good if you joined us. #guitar #classicalguitar #kentishtowncityfarm #kentishtown #neighbourhood

Watching (very belatedly) Star Trek Voyager and just ran into Cylon Simon in it. As in BSG, he's a complicated/complex baddie, although his character is not much more than an extra.

Hi. Playijng next Friday (17th October) at the @kentishtowncityfarm - it would be very good if you could be there with us. Kentish Town City Farm Cressfield Close, London, NW5 4BN Admission £10 #guitar #classicalguitar #kentishtowncityfarm #kentishtown #neighbourhood

FFS

One of my pieces, played at a recital at @cafepalestina in @kentishtown on 25/09/25. Playing at the @kentishtowncityfarm on Fri 17/10. Would be good to see some of you there. #guitar #classicalguitar #flaviomatani #kentishtown #cafepalestina #yulongguoguitars www.instagram.com/flavioplaysg...

Cory Doctorow has more to say about the enshittification in modern world goods and services corporations. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

A reminder that I'm doing this on Thursday: An evening of Classical Guitar - works by J S Bach, Sor, Mudarra, Pisador,Lauro and Flavio Matani. Thursday, 25 Sept 2025 7:00 pm Café Palestina, 53, Fortess Road NW5 1AD Admission £10 Info and tickets: [email protected] - [email protected]

A refusal to mourn is not a celebration. A refusal to eulogize is not an endorsement of murder. A refusal to canonize a horrible human being is not a declaration of war.

I really really should stop reading the news at breakfast. There wasn't anything specific today, just the usual, the rise of the right, media inflating Reform and his buffoon mouthpiece, war and genocide much further down in the news. But that's quite enough.

Listening again to @mikeduncan.bsky.social 's 'Revolutions' podcast, the part about the Spanish American independence wars. Again, so much that I wasn't taught in school in my native Venezuela. And getting now to the breathtaking story of the con-man Gregor McGregor -just wow #history #venezuela

Vance was born in 1984. What did Orwell know?

Do not try to fuck with the Quakers - you will not win: www.quaker.org.uk/documents/re... #trans #queer

GOOD MORNING www.theguardian.com/environment/...

When Michael Jordan felt boxed in by his success in basketball he tried baseball. When Gary Brooks became synonymous with country he created Chris Gaines. And when JK Rowling created the most successful kids books of all time she reinvented herself as a petty, weirdo transphobia influencer.

Me playing one of my pieces, 'A Moment's Thought', at the Garden Summer Concert at Rustique the Literary Café in Tufnell Park, Camden, London #guitar #classicalguitar #livemusic #rustique #tufnellpark #kentishtown #london youtu.be/mAEX9yLfFvw

Thank you to all who came to my little gig at Rustique tonight -it was a sell-out! (ok, so it's a small garden, but still). Next will be at the Kentish Town City Farm in October and possibly before then at Café Palestina on Fortess Road.

Watching the Star Trek Enterprise episode with the Terran Empire theme. Gets a little bit tiresome, the only thing that can rescue it for me is that at some point it has Michelle Yeo.

Like every year, I'll be playing a Guitar Garden recital at the Rustique in Tufnell Park. #guitar #classicalguitar #recital #rustique #tufnellpark #london #neighbourhood #spanishrenaissancemusic #classicalguitarmusic #antoniolauro

A quiet day practising scales, bits of the program I'm going to play on Thurs 24 and watching bits of Star Trek Enterprise and Lower Decks. Also reading Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.

If true, the climate crisis could get a whole, whole lot worse. Echoes of the end-of-Permian extinction event.

Last super-early rise until September (context: I teach guitar one day each at two secondary schools, today's in Watford).

My latest cartoon for @theguardian.com books

Something in the news reminded me of that quote of Calgacus re the Roman Empire: "The Romans create a desert and call it Peace..."

Congratulations to Zohan Mamdani and the New York Democrats. Here’s hoping that New York gets its first Muslim mayor, like London with Saqid Khan, which will continue to annoy all the right people.

Little private gig went very well. People liked my playing and a few asked for my card - doesn't mean anything but you never know. I hadn't done that in a while, -should try to get more; shame that I'm hopeless at 'selling the product' .. enjoyed doing it and getting the vibe that ppl were, too.

Sunday. Today, again, banjo lesson in Australia, then electric guitar lesson somewhere in East London -both on Zoom. Playing private gig in the evening. They asked for a Spanish theme so probably lots of Tárrega, etc (I do not play flamenco!). #sunday #guitarlife

Listening again to the 'History of Rome' podcast by @mikeduncan.bsky.social . We would seem to be somewhere between the Little Boots (Caligula) and Domitian stage of the proceedings, with Congress is totally ignored,bizarre policies enacted. Hoping I'm wrong but the world looks very unsafe right now

Doing my Sunday banjo lesson in Australia, the guitar lesson following this was cancelled by the pupil. Last night, very good couple of hours at Catacombs at Aces & Eights. Trying to avoid looking at the news, although the posts by people reporting on the #nokings protests were encouraging.

I want to take a moment to share an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence's grievances against King George III. Sound familiar?

When we voted for the face eating leopards we didn't think they would eat our faces...

A fictional character reminding us: "There's a reason we separate military and the police: one fights the enemy of the state, the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people." --Commander William Adama,

So, the bromance is over. Bring the popcorn! :D

If it's losing mass we need an orbital mechanic but if it's a problem with core fusion we'll need a quantum mechanic xkcd.com/3096/

Star Trek Voyager in the background, while I practise my diatonic scales with m, a using rest stroke: - ARTURiS: Ah. Here it is. It's a simple matter of extracting the iconometric elements, and triaxilating a recursion matrix. - JANEWAY: Now why didn't I think of that? ... now.. why didn't _I_?

The village had been evacuated 10 days ago. Remember folks: we are _already_ past 1.5º C of global warming, which the tame, conservative IPCC said would destroy civilisation. This is coming to every mountainous region in the world. The Paris accords failed -- they were ignored.

I agree with James Wallace. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Happy WGD to those who celebrate. Here's a snapshot of a few lovely people at Whitby Goth Weekend October 2005 -a few months ago...- Where are they now? I'm still in touch with some of them; others, alas, have disappeared off my radar; hope they are well... .