I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity.
Edgar Allen Poe

The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.
- H. L. Mencken

Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so
-Bertrand Russell

What I have been telling you, from alpha to omega, what is the one great thing the sigil taught me — that everything in life is miraculous. For the sigil taught me that it rests within the power of each of us to awaken at will from a dragging nightmare of life made up of unimportant tasks and tedious useless little habits, to see life as it really is, and to rejoice in its exquisite wonderfulness. If the sigil were proved to be the top of a tomato-can, it would not alter that big fact, nor my fixed faith. No Harrowby, the common names we call things by do not matter — except to show how very dull we are ...
-James Branch Cabell

March 08, 2014 - 12:49 p.m.

Carole of the Belles

Wow running late today. It is almost noon,. I should be posting now and eating breakfast. Well that means I should concentrate and write fast.

Yesterday after school I was good and finished grading the precalculus test. I still have to tally the grades and enter them in my grade book so I don't know how they did. I am not optimistic. I did something I never did before, checked on the records of a few of my weaker students. What I found was disturbing. I wrote my chairman and discussed them with her. Some sort of intervention is needed.

I had a choice of several things to do last night but I went to The Garden Stage for the Carole King Songbook. Carole is a fellow Queens College alumna but I have never been a big fan. My favorite songs by her are from her Brill Building days. So why did I go? Look who was performing the songs; Brittany Ann , Natalie Acciani, Kat Quinn, Anna Dagmar and Meg Braun. the only one that isn't my friend is Natalie. I should have figured from the Marblehead roots of Kat and Brittany Ann that Kathy was behind this. It started as a Me and Thee show and became a mini-tour. All of the performers are my friends and favorites other than Natalie so this was hard for me to resist. What is unbelievable is tht I didn't merch. I wasn't sure I was going to till the last day as I'm not a Carole King fan. I told Joanne and Stephen who run the coffeehouse that it might have been my first time there as a paying customer. I always seem to merch there. Back when I was in Bayside it was one of the two closest venues to me. Now it's a trip.

I screwed up getting there. I wanted to get there for doors but mixed that up with the time the open mic starts so there were lots of people there when I arrived. I not only couldn't save a seat for Fred & Linda but they arrived before me! fortunately the front row by the piano was mainly empty so I sat there with Mike and Robert. I was right in front of Bob & Stephanie. John came a bit later. I knew a few other people there but it was not the typical crowd. I think Carole King brought out pop music fans, the general public, in addition to the hard core folkies.

After I grabbed my seat and talked to the people I knew then went to the green room to say hi to the performers. Meg was getting ready but I said hi to the rest and met Natalie.

The open mic had three acts and four friends performing in it.


Lois Morton

Mike

Josh Joffen and Joanne

It was presenter turns performer night!


John Platt introduced the show

Here's the performers all together the start.

I will forego my usual analysis as you know I love the singers. Natalie who was new to me was great too. And it isn't that Carole King is bad. She's a great song writer but her brand of pop is not my cup of tea. I was of course disappointed nobody did Pleasant Valley Sunday. The Monkees give it gravitas.

I was in a good position for photos.


Meg and anti-Meg


Natalie and anti-Natalie


Brittany Ann


Kat


Anna


A Line of Strong Women

The show ran later than usual and we'd have had to leave immediately to make the train but the performers had to wait to take a group photo. Kat had a car and drove back to Queens but Anna, her mother, Meg, and I were all taking the railroad. We worked things out by Kat driving Anna and her mother back to Queens where they could take the subway back to Manhattan and Mike drove Meg and I to Mineola where there was a later train. It was an odd one. I was an express that went straight to Jamaica where we switched to the train to Atlantic Terminal.

As you know I enjoy train trips with friends. Actually I enjoy train trips by myself too but for totally different reasons. I haven't seen Meg for a while so it was nice to have a long talk with her. I almost wrote "really nice" but then I remembered that I said last night that I try to avoid "really" when I blog. I have to remain true to my word and writing guidelines.

How I finished this in about 40 minutes. That is faster than usual. Of course it is also shorter than usual.


I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge:
please hold me accountable.





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The NFL and the First Amendment - May 27, 2018
On The Road Again - May 26, 2018
Oliver the Three-Eyed Crow - May 25, 2018



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Horvendile March 08, 2014
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