I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity.
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.
Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so
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 ...
November 17, 2015 - 12:19 p.m.
I have to figure out how to write about both what I'm currently doing and catching up on NERFA. It doesn't help that I have a sinus headache. It started yesterday, I wonder if it's from the conditions at the Hudson Valley Resort. It's odd, my nose isn't running, I'm not sneezing, but I'm congested. This is not a set of symptoms I have had before.
Yesterday was Monday so I had therapy. I was late because of signal trouble on the 
. After sitting at Brooklyn Bridge I switched to the local. I lost 15 minutes of my session. Good thing NERFA is better than therapy.
I then attempted to buy a battery for my phone. It seems you can't go to a store and get one, you have to order it online. At least that's what every store I went to said. I did get bagels and by a total miracle I remembered to cut and freeze them when I got home.
I then walked down to Rockwood Music Hall to meet Shawna Caspi for dinner. She was playing there at 7 and the plan was to meet at five. I got there early and so did she so that worked out great. I gave her a choice of places to eat nearby and she chose the one I hoped for, Katz's Deli. It is a part of the New York experience. Oh I guess I should explain who Shawna is. She's a Canadian musician. We knew each other peripherally through Moxy Früvous fandom. We had never met or talked directly. But years later when I befriend David Hein and she saw a comment I made on Facebook she asked if I was the Frühead Gordon and I pleaded guilty. We've been friends since. When I started going to NERFA she'd recommend Canadian musicians to me then she started going herself so we finally met in person. This was her first time playing in the City and I was not going to miss it. The fates were kind to me, Jean Rohe had a gig last night where I knew she was doing new songs; I was afraid I'd have to miss it. I didn't, she was on right after Shawna! So I invited Shawna to stay for Jean. And it made it easier for me to get friends see Shawna. Fred and Howard both came early to catch Shawna before seeing Jean. It was a double feature!
During dinner Shawna asked about another musician at NERFA that she loved that I didn't. I liked but didn't love her and said it was because what she does it not a style I'm find of. Shawna then said that she plays the same style, and she does. And that was awkward. The thing is I could never figure out why I liked Shawna's music. But last night I did figure it out. The way I put it then was I like the emotive power of her singing. Now I think passion is a better word. I feel obliged to say sincerity so I can then add, when she sings about a tree you can really feel the tree. Raise your hand if you got that. Another way to put it is that Shawna can sell a song. It's at least in part because she writes of things she feels passionately about.
When she was onstage I sat with Howard and Fred and sold the merch. More of you really should have shown up. I liked telling Shawna about how Rockwood works and its history. I also like that she couldn't quite believe me about how dark the bathrooms were till she went in it to change for the show. There was a new bartender in Rockwood 0, Sam, yes I remembered her name! She couldn't believe how dark it was either.
Shawna is also a painter. She paints scenes from where she tours. She brings them to shows and sells them. Even in dark Rockwood she made a sale. That's pretty cool. Her paintings are pretty cool too.
For the past year or so Jean has been primarily performing as Robinson & Rohe her duo with Liam Robinson. This was a band show, not quite a full band, only four other people, and as I said she had new songs. They were a bit departure from her last band album. They were also amazing. She even wrote a pop radio hit, at least if you don't pay attention too much to the lyrics or musical sophistication. She doesn't play on it and looked on stage like a pop star. Well she did till they blew a fuse and lost power to the lights and the PA. They got them back on at the end of the song. She handled it well as did the band and it became a laugh. She also did a song that sounded like 70s Art Rock. That's where my musical heart lived in the 70s and part of it still resides there. In other songs she plain out rocked. The way I put it is "how many people does she have inside her head?" Fred said, "This is a new Jean Rohe." Great minds think alike.
Shawna had to go right after the show. I helped her get her stuff to the car and to plan the route to where she was staying. I hope her trip there went fine. She was a bit taken aback by the narrow outer lanes on the Willamsburg Bridge on the way to the show. I would have told her to avoid them if I had realized that's how she was coming.
After she left I said goodbye to Jean then went back to Rockwood 0. I was dying of thirst and my water bottle was empty. I asked Sam to fill it for me. We ended up talking for quite some time then Liam and James from Jean's band came in and I talked to them. Then Sam called me over to meet her boyfriend Zach. Yes I remembered his name. I loved that Sam and I just met but I was already in the "you have to meet my boyfriend" club. I told them that Zach and Sam sounds like a couple in a Nickelodeon or Disney show.
After all that I finally headed home. It wasn't too late. I did fall asleep while trying to do other things. I still have not recovered from NERFA. I have started NERFA homework. I've made a lot of Facebook friends and listened to some of the music I got. Ok now to make breakfast and buy acetaminophen. That’s the only time I intend on leaving the house today.
I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge:
please hold me accountable.
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Horvendile November 17, 2015
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