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

November 05, 2014 - 7:31 p.m.

Katrina (not the hurricane) Took Me By Storm.

No I did not jump off a ledge because the Republicans too control of the senate. I was busy with something far more pleasant today. Katrina was in New York and I spent much of the day with her and her friend Joseph. Yes Joseph you have achieved the ultimate honor a mention in Wise Madness.

Katrina lives in Manchester NH and Joseph near Trenton. New York is a good meeting point for them. They went to a concert last night. I won't who they saw as I don't want anyone to think I'd have friends who would go to see Baby Metal. Well OK they did write my theme song.

That this exists and the world's head hasn't exploded is disturbing.

Today Katrina and Joseph went home but Katrina said she couldn't come to New York and not see me Yes I rock We met for brunch and had something very New York, Murray's Bagels in Chelsea. They had bagel lox and cream cheese. I had sausage eggs and cheese. You can tell I'm the Jewish one. Know why I am not going to hell? There's no such place.

After brunch we did something I've been meaning to do, walk the new section of the High Line. We entered at 23rd street and headed north. I should have taken a zillion pics but I just took a few. There's this great bizarre playground area that is like something out of a video game. No I didn't get pics of it but I got this.

What is that?

Joseph crawled through a child-sized passage and ended up there. Katrina took his picture. I took a picture of Katrina taking the picture.


The Empire State Building looming over the West Side Yards


A More normal pic of them.

High Line ends right where Katrina had to catch her bus. Too bad we were nearly three hours early. First we walked to a Japanese bookstore by Bryant Park that had a book that Katrina wanted to by then up to Central Park. What did we do all that time walking? Had geeky conversations. Yes these are my friends. We analyzed art on the highline, the Japanese language and the the astronomical sculpture at the McGraw Hill Building.

Katrina wanted to go to the Bethesda Fountain. She didn't know that's what it was called but when she said the big fountain I figured it out. On the way we saw the cool statues of authors and the Bandshell

Why do I love New York? Not because these people were taking advantage of the acoustics in the tunnel leading to the fountain'

But because this woman took advantage of them making music.

Katrina wanted a shot of the fountain.


And another shot of them together.

Then we hit the Ramble. I usually enter it on the east side of the lake. This time I tried the right size. We walked through almost at random like I usually do Somehow when we emerged I was disoriented. I thought we were on the Eest end of the park. We were on the East We needed the west to get back to the subway to get back to the Jacob Javitts center where the bus leaves I had to find Belvedere Castle to set myself right But we did it's Central Park. You can't really get lost You can see where you are.

We got to the bus with plenty of time, 10 whole minutes.. Joseph and I said our goodbyes to Katrina and headed back to the subway. Joseph's car was at his friend's home in Forest Hills. We took the same subway in opposite directions. The walk back could have been awkward but it wasn't' at all. we didn't need Katrina as a buffer.

I then headed home and that's where I am. I might head out again to buy something for dinner. I'd like a chicken breast but all the ones I have are frozen I'll pick up plantains too. I am going to be good and cook myself.

OK I guess I need to address the election. I hated he results but expected them and I'm confident the country will survive. Just not as well. Nothing is ever the end of civilization. we survived two terms George W Bush. We'll survive this. There will be major problems and things will get worse. Their might be some crises but the Republicans want to look like they can govern for the 2016 elections so I'm hoping they don�t' shut down the government again.

I do get an I told you so which comes with a lesson. When Wendy Davis did her filibuster someone said, "The Republicans handed her the governorship." I said that's insane. It's an overwhelmingly Republican State and the electorate is NOT on her side. Which is of course exactly as it turned out It was a landslide against her She lost by 20 points. The lesson is to realize you live in a cocoon. Sure all the friends of the person that said that thought Davis was great. That is not a fair cross section of the population of Texas. The people I know are in favor of a singer payer system of health care. Most people aren't. Your peers are not a random cross section.. You associate with people like yourself It's how Republicans fooled themselves into thinking Romney would win in 2012 despite the polls showing otherwise. Don't have the same disregard for fact that they do..

I had a scare on my computer last night. While I was talking to LORi AVG posted on my computer that I needed to update Web Tuneup to protect my computer while browsing. I did. it took over my browsers and I couldn't say no fast enough. It made AVG the default browser and changed my homepage and the appearance of the browser. I lost the search box with all my different searches in it, IMBD, Baseball Reference, Amazon, etc. I deleted the extension but nothing changed back. It took me forever to get back where I wanted to. I found something that said restore defaults and that did it. I love AVG and swear by it but the web tuneup acts like malware.

OK now to post this and make dinner. Katrina has reached Boston.


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 05, 2014
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