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 24, 2014 - 12:08 p.m.
My shoulder arthritis is back with a vengeance. It was totally gone. I hate when things like that happen. It actually interferes with writing this.
So what did I do yesterday? Heather is going back to Maryland for Thanksgiving and I escorted her to her Bolt Bus on the far west side. It's practically Jersey. Don't you need a passport to go past 10th Avenue? This time went smoother than last. I got there early and we had no trouble with the trains. We weren't as early as I liked as we had to make a few stops to buy things but everything worked out fine. Then since I was in the City and the weather was nice I took a walk. I went to Union Square with a stop at Fairway for peanut butter and clementines. Here are a few pics from along the way.
Three landmarks, The Empire State Building, the Main Post Office, and Madison Square Garden.
That's two architectural masterpieces and one crime against humanity.
I can't resist pictures of the Flatiron Building
Art in Madison Square
Art in context
When I reached Union Square I met someone that I figured should be friends with Carey.
The holiday market was open. I didn't buy anything but I like to look around. I make some once a year friends there. I couldn't find the puzzle guy and someone new was at the Irish shop but I never miss my chocolate guy. They had hot chocolate. It's expensive but worth it. I like the way I put it on Facebook, "A cup of orgasm." I showed it to the guy.
The rest of my exciting day involved more food shopping. I then cooked some of it up for dinner.
That' a bedder cheddar sausage and a hasselback potato. This was the best the potato has come out. I made it with a Yukon Gold, what I usually used for mashed or boiled in soup ot baking. My recipe recommended it and I loved it. See how nice and browned it is on the edges. But I cannot tell a lie, I committed a crime against foodieism. That' velveeta on there not real cheese. I thought that might work well. I was right. What else did I do different. I basted it with a mixure of butter and olive oil. I brushed the hot dog rolls with some of the excess and poured the rest over the potato. Wow that was good. Apple pie was on sale and I warmed it up and had it for dessert. It was a treat.
I have so many CDs to catch up on dating back to way before NERFA. My current living conditions are not conducive to listening to music. I have to listen on my computer. Last night I did some NERFA homework. This is the good kind of homework, listening to music. I listened to Mark Allen Berube's Sticky. I have to be honest, Mark had me at Hello. His mind is so wonderfully warped. He gets you seeing things in ways that are not off-the-shelf. I have heard him do all the songs live but was still surprised. Hell I had the title of my favorite song wrong, It's Higgs Bosong not Higgs Boson. That title tells you that Mark is so much my people. Not only is he writing about geeky science stuff but he turns it into a pun. The song is Steven Hawking meets the Muppets. But there's so much more. the Girl with Frankenstein Hair manages to simultaneously be ridiculous and romantic. If you've seen Carolann Solebello's white streak in her hair you know it's about her. But despite comparing her to a movie monster it's a love song, true and sincere love. I don't know anyone else that could pull that off. Mark is lucky that hell doesn't exist or he'd be going there for writing Holy Guacamole. Of course if I were the one making the decision it would earn him a place in paradise. My Left Arm is a classic song of a genre that has no name and no easy description. The words and music convey different things. It uses a figure of speech then hits you over the head, it literally hits the protagonist over the head, with the literal meaning. I see that I forgot to write about the production. If you've heard these songs performed live you'll be surprised. This is not just Mark with a guitar. There are backing vocals, harmonies, and instrumentation. I don't want to leave you the impression that all the songs are funny. This isn't a comedy album. Charter Arms Bulldog is dark and disturbing. OK here's the thing Mark funny songs are often dark and disturbing AND funny. Who else would write a song from the point of view of someone lying in his coffin and not make it a funny song. Know what Mark does? He makes you think
Right now I'm listening to Bobtown's History of Ghosts. It' gem after gem. I really should be listening to something I haven't heard yet but John Platt played Across the River yesterday and whetted my appetite for it. I got it right before NERFA. It does not have a genre. I shoehorned it into folk but it doesn't belong there. Across the River also sounds traditional and could have come from the same area as Shenandoah. Right now I'm listening to "Darlin'" and it' sounds like something you'd be singing in a parlor around a piano. Rumble Seat has a similar feel. They take you to the intimate recesses of your heart. The challenge is to write about the title track A History of Ghosts without using the word "Haunting." I fail that challenge. It is haunting, I'm not good at writing album reviews. Well I used to suck at writing about concerts and I learned. So I'm sticking to it.. Fosse Grim has nothing to do with Bob Fosse, you'd never hear it in one of his shows. It sounds like a true folk song passed on and refined from generation to generation. You can hear echoes of the Scotland in the melody. The way Katherine's voice breaks singing "win" will break your heart. I still laugh at Kentucky Graveyard the spooky comic relief. It has the makings of a Halloween classic. OK I'm not even doing the songs in order anymore. Why does Our Lady of Guadalupe Street strike me as funny? It doesn't have jokes. Is it just memory of the choreography when they do it live? The lyrics aren�t funny but somehow the music is. There' a cleverness going on that I can't dissect. OK I am going to stop now. I said I wasn't going to write about every song.
If I were to use one word to describe the album it would be nostalgic. So many of the songs evoke the past, or better or for worse.
What do I do? I don't want to write about all the songs and I don't want to leave any of them out. I feel bad for the the songs I haven't written about. It isn't for lack fo love but lack of words.
I love these two albums with totally different parts of my brain. There's a lot to my brain. There's a lot to yours too. I also listened to Kaia Kater's Sorry Bound but I'm ot ready to write more about it than I loved it. It appeals to yet another part of my brain.
So now to appeal to my tummy and eat breakfast.
I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge:
please hold me accountable.
Memories: Not that Horrid Song - May 29, 2018
Wise Madness is Now In Session - May 28, 2018
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 November 24, 2014
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