MIND HIVE

Mind Hive, Wire's seventeenth studio album was released on 1/24/2020. My copy arrived in the mail today, so I settled in with my stereo after work to listen to it and take some initial notes.

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Track 1 > "Be Like Them" I'm surprised by the opening since it defies my expectations of Wire. It has an Asian flavor countered by growling guitars.

Track 2 > "Cactused"
First single. What I think of as the classic sound of Wire when I consider all of the albums after Send. There's a perfectly wiggly guitar riff that anchors this track, as well as Colin's robotic delivery on vocals. A bit of menace lurks in the lyrics.

Track 3 > "Primed and Ready"
Second single. I hear an echo of "Being Sucked in Again" from Chairs Missing, which then gives way to a beast all its own. Drums and bass really propel this forward.

Track 4 > "Off the Beach"
Jangly guitar. Upbeat music. Driving beat. And then the lyrics sink in because they don't fit the mood of the music. They are paranoid, somber, sad in their "embrace" of modern capitalistic society.

Track 5 > "Unrepentant"
Slow. Dreamy. Something that feels like it came from one of Colin's early solo albums. Percussive bass and guitar as cymbals mix with keyboard washes. Strangely beautiful in its electronic waves. Is this what it's like to be swallowed whole by some strange beast? Nice electronic noodling at the end.

Track 6 > "Shadows"
This album's ballad? Sparse and sprawling instrumentation allows the semi-whispered lyrics to standout. Simple and haunting.

Track 7 > "Oklahoma"
The odd hurdy gurdy leading into the shout of "Oklahoma!" throws me off-kilter. The throb of bass, guitar, and drums interrupted by the synthesizer chirps keeps me there. In its three-minute run I couldn't count how many times the song shifts in tone. Yet it doesn't really. Intriguing. Funky, thrilling, and threatening.

Track 8 > "Hung"
Car alarm dirge. This song feels like a sneer. It scares me a bit. "In a moment of doubt, the damage was done." Indeed. (Cousin to "Sleep-Walking" and "Harpooned" on Wire?) Feedback and drone for the finish. At the end: Are those vocals? Machinery? Blend of both?

Track 9 > "Humming"
Off to church we go. Another ballad? A song about memory that seems to mirror what it's grasping at with the tone of the music. The shift from Colin's vocals to Graham's brief vocals at the end is slightly jarring but it works.

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Overall, Mind Hive is a much quieter album than I expected. It also feels like a(nother) "leap forward" in what a Wire album can encompass. The current lineup has really caught their stride here. Brilliantly familiar even as it isn't. Perfect.

MEET ME in the FUTURE

To be honest, I initially picked up this collection of stories because of the cover design. The bold colors and mechanical beetle attracted me and caused me to pull it off of the shelf. Skimming through the table of contents and a few random passages cemented the idea that I was taking this book home with me.

These stories take place in apocalyptic futures filled with "plastic" bodies, fluid genders, organic starships, and communities teetering on the edge of collapse. These futures are filled with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse—famine, pestilence, war, and death—metaphorically rather than literally. And yet these futures are likewise filled with hope and possibility.

Some of the short stories in Kameron Hurley's Meet Me in the Future are related to one another. For instance, both "Elephants and Corpses" and "The Fisherman and the Pig" feature "body mercenary" Nev, who has the ability to jump into the corpses of the recent dead. Others echo elements of sister stories—six-legged dogs, warrior women, and sentient spacecraft making more than one appearance.

Kameron's strength is creating strong, (mostly) likable, and relatable characters. Likewise, she is a great world-builder, immersing me in each future she places before me as a reader. I wholeheartedly believe in the main character of each sci-fi short story, the environment and setting they inhabit, and the tales that Kameron weaves around and about them.

It won't be too long before I delve back into these stories. Likewise, I will be seeking out her novels.

DEAR CHURCH

I read Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the U.S. by Lenny Duncan as part of my long-distance by-telephone book club. My reading partner chose the book for us based upon recommendations from fellow church members and friends. I've never yelled at a book as much as I did this particular book.

Dear Church is eleven chapters gathered into three major sections—"Dismantling White Supremacy Is the Way of the Cross," "Grace Is an Ever-Widening Circle," and "The Church Can Lead the Way." As I read the first eight chapters of the first two sections, I wondered what Reverend Duncan was doing. He would start to build a rhythm and have me cheering him on and then tear it down with an over-the-top statement or two. I kept waiting for the hope and Good News to arrive. I wanted more of Pastor Lenny's personal life on the page.

I was frustrated. I kept waiting for some answers from Pastor Lenny. Then, section three arrived.

Chapter nine, "Dear Church, I Love You," is what I had been waiting for. In fact, it is indeed a love letter to the church. It reminded me of the Apostle Paul writing to the church of Corinth and hammering them with the law for their lack of faith, scolding them for their errant ways, but then providing them absolutely loving and Gospel-filled lines that show how much he cares for them. This love letter from Pastor Lenny is beautifully written and rendered.

And, as if he read my mind, in chapter eleven, "It's Time for a Revolution," he wrote the following: "Dear Church, this nation is on the brink. I don't write these words lightly, but I want to reassure you, this isn't hyperbole." Which was good to finally see in print, especially since I felt I needed to hear that many times during the first hundred pages of the book.

The hope that appears toward the end of the book is ultimately a hard pill to swallow. Spoiler alert: Pastor Lenny's words of advice, grounded in the Word, are difficult to hear. "Stop waiting for some sort of transformative leader to arise from the body politic or the body of Christ. It is you." Grace becomes our cross to bear. Action becomes our watchword. Love is our guide. All done in the name of Jesus the Christ. His example is the sweetness that helps us to swallow the pill.

All of that being said, the first eight chapters of the book and the final three chapters feel a bit disconnected from one another. The first chapters feel like something that Pastor Lenny needed to write, but perhaps didn't need to be published. I felt like the final chapters could have incorporated a few of the key points of the earlier chapters. But, ultimately, it is those final three chapters that sing to me. I could (and will) read Pastor Lenny's love letter and the two following chapters over again and again. Likely this time with less yelling!

FRECKLES and CASPER

I met Freckles, a female giant Pacific octopus (top), and Casper, a male giant Pacific octopus (bottom), at the Seattle Aquarium. Each octopus was mostly dormant, spending time sleeping in their shared tank (although separated by a divider), except during lunchtime. But, as often happens when I visit octopuses, each of them reached out the tips of tentacles toward where I stood watching them after a few minutes.

Additionally, we were able to go on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Aquarium. While back near holding tanks that contained octopuses that will appear during the upcoming Octopus Week, one of those octopuses came up to see me and reach out to me when I peeked at it through the dark glass of its tank. When I departed, it swam back into the darkness of the back of its tank.

DOG SELFIE

Dog selfie with Wrigley (sleeping sitting up) and Banjo.

CREATIVE COLLOQUY OPEN MIC

Troy reads three related poems during Creative Colloquy's Open Mic. Photograph by Creative Colloquy.

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The soundtrack prior to the reading: Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age. "A Song for the Dead," "First It Giveth," "God Is in the Radio," and "A Song for the Deaf."

The beverage for the reading: Coca-Cola made with real sugar (instead of high fructose corn syrup) in Mexico.

The location: Honey at Alma Mater.

The host: Creative Colloquy.

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There were five featured readers at the January 2020 Creative Colloquy event, followed by about a dozen or so people signed up for five-minute slots during the open microphone portion of the evening. I read three related poems based upon the death of King Saul on Mount Gilboa at the hands of the Philistines. A few lines from each of the pieces I read follow.

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from "Gilboa"

"Saul stands atop Gilboa // and Samuel’s words clamber / up the mountainside // following its rivulets and ravines // like dark demons summoned / forth from the land of the dead // seeking the retreating king."

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from "Ahinoam"

"weaver of a world that unravels / upon the blades of Philistines // esh meets flesh become ash / baked into our daily bread // your tears as though those cried / by the Lord your God"

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from "Psalm for Gilboa"

"I will pluck a tender twig from the Tree of Life / and plant its ferny flag on the peak of Mount Gilboa— / at the exact spot where Saul fell upon his own sword / when I withdrew my favor, my spirit, from him."

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My poems felt a bit out of place, when I considered some of the other pieces read during the evening, but I read them as though they were meant to be there.

HOLIDAY GOSE

Holiday Gose by Reuben's Brews.

12 ounce can served in the Lagunitas glass.

4.3% abv.

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It's pink! It's sour! It's a bit briny! It's beautiful!

Hay. Biscuits. Tartness. Cranberries. Orange peel. Lightly salty. Drying tart puckery finish. Excellent.

DOUBLE RAINBOW

"Oh, my God, it's a double rainbow!"

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Double Rainbow Red IPA by Iron Horse Brewery.

12 ounce can served in a pint glass.

7.0% abv.

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Dark fruits. Biscuit. Alcohol. Cocoa powder. Bitterness. The faintest hint of pine resin?

Excellent!

This is easily one of my all-time favorite beers.

***** (out of 5).

NITRO CHOCOLATE ORANGE STOUT

Nitro Chocolate Orange Stout by Breckenridge Brewery.

13.6 ounce can in Samuel Adams glass.

6.0% abv.

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Chocolate-covered orange sticks, but mostly on the nose. Bark. Roasted malts. Cream. Hint of campfire. Oily mouthfeel. Nothing really takes center stage. The flavors are too subtle.

Good, but I won't seek it out again.

*** (out of 5).

ADVENT BEER CALENDAR • THE LAST 12

The last twelve beers of the 2019 Kalea Advent Beer Calendar.

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I'm really enjoying my Advent beer calendar. It's allowed me to try beers I normally wouldn't otherwise (mostly German lagers) and even allowed me to discover a new favorite style (rauchbier). Here are the first twelve beers, ranked from my favorite to least favorite on a scale of one (no thanks) to five stars (excellent), along with brief tasting notes.

1. Zwönitzer Rauchbier. Smoked and cured meat. Campfire. Roasted malts. Dark chocolate. Cream. Bark. Sweet then long drying and smoky finish. Excellent. (Day fourteen.) *****
2. Loncium Vienna Style Lager. Caramel. Cranberries. Crackers. Carbonation. Citrus. Complex. Solid body. Light nuttiness. Excellent. (Day nineteen). *****
3. Turbo Prop Imperial Pilsner. Fruity. Buttery bread. Caramel. Blood orange. Hint of pretzel. Nice balance of sweet and dry. Intriguing. Excellent. (Day twenty.) *****
4. Kartäuser Doppelbock Dunkel. Fruit. Broth. Brown sugar. Booze. A bit like fruitcake in a pint glass. Some bitterness. Excellent. (Day twenty-four.) *****
5. Herrnbräu Jubiläums-Sud. Molasses. Bark. Dark bread. Hint of pepper. Earthy. Roasted malts. Excellent. (Day thirteen.) ****½
6. Schloßbräu Rheder Original Pils. Wheat. Grains. Biscuit. Hint of lemony citrus. Clean. Mostly dry. Very good. (Day twenty-two.) ****
7. Wittmann Urhell. Clean. Hay. Light lemon. Grass. Lightly floral. Hint of spices. Very good. (Day twenty-three.) ****
8. Edel Bayer Urtyp Hell. Lemon. Biscuit. Light saltiness. Clean. Grass. Light sage. Very good. (Day fifteen.) ***½
9. Hallertauer Hopfen-Cuvée. Fruity. Berries. Grass. Flowery, almost perfumy. Apple juice. Hint of grains. Drying finish. Very good. (Day sixteen.) ***½
10. Schwarzetinte Collab Stout. Roasted malts. Light coffee. Chocolate. Bark. Body a bit lighter than I expected. Nothing wrong with it; it just has a lot of competition. Okay. (Day seventeen.) ***
11. Kurpfalz Bräu Helles. Grains. Grass. Spices. Yeast. The slightest metallic edge. Okay. (Day eighteen.) ***
12. Bären Weisse. Agressive banana. Cloves. Metal metal metal. Off-kilter and unbalanced. Halfway through = drain pour! Bleh. (Day twenty-one.) *½