Inventing the modern world while pretending not to ...
Between the end of the Middle Ages and the start of the Reformation, society underwent significant changes while quietly laying the foundations for the modern world. Or did it?
Crucial Track 🎵 May 21, 2026
"Green Tambourine" by The Lemon Pipers
Continuing yesterday's 'theme' .. another 'one hit wonder' - same kind of time - same kind of sound and definitely my jam - then and now. It's just that this one is from the other side of the Atlantic.
Zingo Zingo - What you going to do-e-o
Zingo had the idea six to ten years too early. Timing, infrastructure, incumbents and a government willing to let you operate matters more than being first. A lesson for us all.
Funny👁️ how suddenly things just come to mind. Take 🔗🎵 Russ Conway - not thought of him for decades - my mum was a fan (which is why I even know his name), but I still have no idea how he suddenly cropped up in my brain.
🔗 GDS weighs in on the NHS’s decision to retreat from Open Source – Terence Eden
a meeting _without_biscuits.
💬 The UK's Civil Service
😂 Perfect - only the British.
BUT - please don’t ignore this article - particularly if you are in the UK - and as I track the latest moves in New Zealand - also there.
Some people make things happen. Some people watch things happen. And then there are those who wonder, ‘What the hell just happened?"
💬 Carroll Bryant
It’s bad enough being in the second category, but too many people are in the third.
You Don't Get Your Teeth Back
Sartre warned us about procrastination. He was talking about the human condition - but it equally applies to how organizations move, how people engage, and why waiting for ‘perfect’ means you never move. And by then, your bite has gone.
👁️ I occasionally suffer from night-time foot cramps - excruciating at the best of times.
Yesterday I threw my back out.
Word to the wise: avoid a middle-of-the-night foot cramp whilst nursing a bad back.
My answer is not theirs … and i guess i was wrong given the last phrase …“to the left-hand side:”
That said - I rather like my solution …
Crucial Track 🎵 May 20, 2026
"Kites (Stereo) [2004 Remastered Version]" by Simon Dupree & The Big Sound
If you know Stackridge - you may know The Korgis.
I know both. Love Stackridge. Like The Korgis.
In case you don't know ...Stackridge made quirky, melodic English pop-rock that mixed progressive, folk, and vaudeville, whilst The Korgis made highly melodic British pop with thoughtful lyrics, strong vocal harmonies, and irresistibly catchy hooks.
Interesting then that the creative forces of Stackridge were the same as The Korgis - Progressive Rock 70s 'albums' band transitions to melodic harmonies 80s 'singles' band.
I have known the connection forever.
If you know Simon Dupree and the Big Sound - you may know Gentle Giant.
I know both. Love Simon Dupree. Love Gentle Giant.
In case you don't know ... Simon Dupree and the Big Sound blended blue-eyed soul and R&B with a psychedelic-pop sheen, whilst Gentle Giant played highly complex, fiercely inventive progressive rock that fused hard rock with classical, medieval, folk, and jazz .
Interesting then that the creative forces of Simon Dupree and the Big Sound were the same as Gentle Giant - Soul/R&B band from the 60s (just about a one hit wonder) transitions to one of the most avant-garde and influential progressive bands of the 70s.
I never - ever knew this - discovering it just this morning as I was being a squirrel around today’s crucial track. 🤯
I guess you can't hold great creatives down and great creatives are not one trick ponies.
Have a better than expected day (tip o’ the hat to ‘JW’)
📺🔗 The Lincoln Lawyer - series 4 - check. 🚧
I will need to return to finish - but in a nutshell - well worth a watch, but make sure you go through the first three before you start - it will add to your enjoyment.
👁️ If you live in New Zealand .. try this game ..
Talk to your Bolt/Uber driver and discover how many qualifications they have. Note how often they are allowed IN to New Zealand, but once in - somehow they aren’t ‘qualified enough’.
Isolated story? Not really.
I see a pattern.
Crucial Track 🎵 May 19, 2026
"Flowers in the Rain (2007 Stereo Mix)" by The Move
The last song you heard on the radio
Another prompt - but going to bend the rules on this one ...
Radio? What's that Daddy? So long ago that I can barely remember doing it - BUT - my choice would be a Crucial Track anyway - so let's call it a 'twofer'. Except this is a 2007 stereo remix - so it definitely wasn't this track. Mono all the way baby.
The first song ever played on Radio One in 1967 in the UK - and yes I was there on the end of the speaker listening to it. The Move - and their descendants have a permanent place in my heart. Tony Blackburn? Cough - not so much.
Getting there on this redesign ….
Meanwhile - the link on this post is broken - but an archived link is in there.
Why? Because I run the archive plugin by @g - but this is the first time I actually saw it work. Very nice work.
🔗📼 Martin Gutmann: Are we celebrating the wrong leaders?
Spoiler Alert. Yes - but that’s not an excuse not to watch it.
A variation on ‘walk anywhere in a hospital with a white coat and clipboard’.
When you don’t ask for permission, people read it as a sign that something is already underway.
💬 Matthew McConaughey
Charity Is Doomed To Fail argues that traditional charity reacts to symptoms instead of addressing causes of issues like trafficking. The author calls for a proactive, well-funded, business-driven approach as embodied by The Future Found, highlighting Dan Pallotta’s point that new thinking, capital, and strategy are needed for real change - shifting from reactive aid to tackling root problems at scale.
💬 Sadly - unknown - so far
I need to go find the source, because someone talking about Dan Pallotta in the same breath as 🔗 The Future Found is definitely someone I need to talk to.
📺🔗 A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder Season 1
A total surprise and some great twists.
Once again - will return for the formal rating. 🚧