With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.
The good life, as I conceive it, is a happy life. I do not mean that if you are good you will be happy - I mean that if you are happy you will be good.
Too much sanity may be madness and the maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be.
The only way to find the limits of the possible is by going past them into the impossible.
October 11, 2009 - 12:25 p.m.
I'm writing this entry less than 12 hours after I finished my last one. I skipped a day and have to make up for lost time. I know that my Gentle Readers worry about the missing 24 hours of my life just as they worried about the missing 18 minutes on the Nixon Whitehouse tapes. There are probably discussion lists filled with wild theories about what I did on Thursday. Was I picked up by aliens in a flying saucer? Perhaps I became unstuck in time. Was I on a secret mission to Afghanistan hunting Osama Bin Laden? Maybe I was making mad passionate monkey love to Jennifer Love Hewitt. How about a secret meeting with President Obama on foreign policy; you don't think he won that Nobel without my help do you? I won't leave you in suspense any longer. I'll write about how I spent my Thursday. This isn't what really happened but it is my official cover story. The true story is one of those listed above.
And you might have noticed it was more like 36 hours after my last entry. My computer acted up and I was out all day after that so I've fallen further behind. This is the story of Thursday. I'll write it then after brunch I'll write the story of Saturday.
Thursday was the second to last day of the WFUV pledge drive and my last day volunteering. I got there extra early, I just made great time. I always like being the first one there. I can set things up in peace. I make sure every phone is on and every station has what it needs. I even took a pledge at a quarter to six, before the phones were officially open. That proved a good omen. This was by far the busiest day of the drive till then. We not only met our goals we exceeded them.
I had my usual fun time hanging out with the other volunteers and staff. Too bad it's been two days since then so I don't remember any details. I'm sure I had some great stories. There was something about an orgy in Studio A that I vaguely remember. Lori do you remember the details?
I do remember that just as I was leaving I discovered that one of the new volunteers, Paul (yes I remembered his name) was a magician. Not only that but he studied under the greatest magician I have ever seen, Slydini! He gave me a quick private performance. Next time he's going to teach me some tricks!
I had to leave a little early. Instead of staying to six I left at 5:30. I was there for only 11 ˝ hours. I'm such a slacker. I had to make it to Babylon, out on the Island, to see the newest addition to the list of bands I stalk, RUNA. They are an Irish band that I know through their drummer, the wonderful Cheryl Prashker. Yes, she's a Jewish Canadian, that's the beauty of music. The music is Irish, that doesn't mean the musicians are. The fiddle player was Japanese. The lead vocalist, Shannon Lambert-Ryan is an Irish American and Fionán (feh-non) de Barra, the guitar player and other vocalist, is from Ireland.
I saw them only once before, they played in Cheryl's It's All About The Drums concert. I love Irish music and I love Cheryl, so it was love at first sight for the band. I raved about them enough to Cheryl that as soon as the gig was booked she sent me a email to tell me about it. There aren't a lot of bands I'd drive for an hour and a half to see after volunteering for 11 ˝ hours, RUNA is one of them.
The venue was one of the most neuro I've ever seen, a bank. Not a classic old style bank in a beautiful building with a vaulted ceiling. It was a typical suburban branch building. As you can see the auditorium is right next to the teller's windows. 
The first one I saw when I got in was Cheryl. I was of course one of the first people there. After giving her a hug she ran to get equipment from the car and I grabbed my seat down front.
There were quite a few of my Long Island music friends there including Mike and Gary. I met some new people I was in my usual social milieu.
The music blew me away. I told Cheryl that now she's been in two of my favorite bands, The Strangelings and RUNA. She's also played with Pat Wictor. There was someone else too. Now I'm blanking. I not only love the music she makes but the people she plays with.
Shannon has a voice that makes me melt. I immediately thought of Annie Haslam and not just because I was seeing her the next night. Instead of describing the music I'll play it for you. You can see for yourself. This is the title track of their album Jealousy.
I took three more videos. Check them out on my Runa Playlist
Runa has an open invitation to play The Budgiedome. I'm an official stalker.
Rose runs the series and was going to take photos. Her camera batteries were dead, as were the back-ups, so she asked me to send her mine. I became the official photographer after the fact. So here are a few of them.
Here they are in sound check.
Here they are decked out for the show.
Shannon
Cheryl
Fionán
The Fiddler
After the show
Take a look at the rest of the photos. The lighting was great so the colors are natural.
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| RUNA in Babylon |
I wish I could write about shows better. Of course I think it's something that most people don't do as well as they think. I am bored by most reviews and don't learn anything substantial from them. Perhaps there is a virtue in keeping it short and writing about my emotions.
There is something more I can say. Their songs cover a wide range. They have songs that would fit in perfectly in all three Irish shows on WFUV. They have some in Gaelic, perfect for Mile Failte. They have some that are traditional sounding perfect for A Thousand Welcomes. They have one that is a story of the Irish immigrants that would be perfect for Ceol na nGael. They even cover Cher! A great version of Gypsy's Tramps and Thieves. That could be played on WFUV during the week.
Now it is time for me to eat. When I'm done I'll write about Saturday without visual aids.
Can't Trust This Day - October 16, 2009
Discover my Superpower - October 15, 2009
Charity Can Begin at Home but it Can't End There - October 13, 2009
One Bitchin' Babe - October 12, 2009
How to Get to Carnegie Hall - October 11, 2009
Email me: GordonLew at gmail
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. Horvendile October 11, 2009
