I’ve been listening to a lot of KLOUD lately which I recently described as “lizard-brain levels of hard techno and I am here for it.” I know next to nothing about the artist behind the skin-tight full-head black latex mask, and I think both he and I prefer it that way. His music is simple (positive) and relentless. Perfect for background music while building plastic robot models, driving too fast, or filling a room full of mostly white dude-bros (see above). A lot of the tracks are pretty interchangeable, but “Synthetic” is one that I keep returning to.
PHOTO: What’s He Building In There
My wife and I have fallen back into the grip of Gundam/Gunpla building. We more-or-less straight built a few of them decades ago, and this time around we’re learning more about painting and detailed finishes. I have to admit that I don’t enjoy painting nearly as much as building them, but it’s been an interesting new process to learn about at least.
Unsurprisingly I’m drawn to the more esoteric models, like the one pictured here, the XM-X9999 Crossbone Gundam Maoh. Obviously it’s all about the giant shrieking laser skull for me (although at 1/144 scale it’s laughably small.) I have big plans for a completely different paint job, and if it works you’ll see it here first.
I promise this (probably) won’t turn into a gunpla blog. But I do have…a few more waiting in the wings.
PHOTO: Sky Lines
As seen on our cemetery dog walk.
PHOTO: Dog Jail
PHOTO: Numbered
Working.
ACQUIRED: Brianna Ashby – “Damn Fine”
“Watercolor, gouache, a wee bit of colored pencil, and the added self-imposed challenge of not using any black.”
A percentage of the proceeds went to the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (www.ilcm.org)
PHOTOS: 3/6/26 Frosted
PHOTO: 3/4/26 In the Studio
LISTENING: Laura Cannell – The Medieval Drone Society II
“Fragmented sounds of a medieval world are channeled through Cannell’s re-interpretion and improvisation on Cello, Violin, and her signature ‘Overbowed’ Violin playing.”
ACQUIRED: Drone Not Drones 2026 T-Shirt
Recently received the new 2026 DRONE NOT DRONES t-shirt. According to their site: “ALL PROFITS [GO] TO MINNEAPOLIS legal/rent/resources MUTUAL AID orgs in response to the DHS armed occupation of our city.” That city being Minneapolis and surrounding area. Abolish ICE.
I’ve played at the 28-hour drone festival a couple times over the years. It’s an extraordinary occurrence featuring dozens of participants taking turns playing a small part of one unbroken performance across two days. Recordings of my own sets from 2014 and 2017 are available in THE ENDLESS COMPENDIUM.