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 ...
May 14, 2017 - 11:51 a.m.
The weather yesterday was three steps below miserable. It was raining. It was cold. It was grey. The very last thing I wanted to do was go out. I went out. What lured me out of my comfy warm dry house? Music of course, two of my favorite bands, The Lords of Liechtenstein and Cassie and Maggie. Didn't I just see Cassie and Maggie the night before? Yes, but this was 23 hours later. That is far too long to go without seeing them.
The show was at Lovecraft's on Avenue B and 4th street. That's not convenient from any subway line. It was an 18-minute walk from the Astor Place station. I told Dan to arrange it so the weather would be better but he didn't listen to me; Dan never listens to my great advice. I had to make the trek in the cold and rain.
I did not get there as early as I usually do, must 15 minutes before the Lords went on. That's unusual for me. I meant to leave earlier but just missed the bus. I found the Lords and Ladies (Cassie and Maggie) sitting in the back and joined them. I dressed for the occasion; I had on my official Lords of Liechtenstein Argyll sweater vest, Argyll socks, and my Clan Gordon tartan scarf. Cassie and Maggie McDonald are, as you might guess, Scottish, and one of them usually wears a tartan when performing. Moreover, they are from Nova Scotia (New Scotland) and their musical roots are Scottish and Irish.
I did some research on our Scottish roots; the clans, MacDonald (Donald) and Gordon, and the Shire of Argyll. We are all tied together. The following factoids are from Wikipedia.
- In 1594 the forces of George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly defeated the forces of Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argyll at the Battle of Glenlivet.
- The Norse-Gaelic Clan Donald traces its descent from Dòmhnall Mac Raghnuill (d. circa 1250), whose father Reginald or Ranald was styled "King of the Isles" and "Lord of Argyll and Kintyre"
- The Battle of Bloody Bay took place in 1480 where John MacDonald of Islay, Lord of the Isles and chief of Clan Donald was defeated by his son Aonghas Óg.[30] The Battle of Skibo and Strathfleet took place in 1480 where John MacDonald of Islay, Lord of the Isles invaded Sutherland but was defeated by the Earl of Sutherland and the Clan Sutherland.[31] Aonghas Óg's son Domhnall Dubh rebelled against James IV of Scotland and made an alliance with Edward VI of England in an attempt to regain the Lordship of the Isles and although various attempts were made to restore the lordship, by 1545 all had failed.[15] The ultimate victors were the Crown's hard men in the north and west: Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly (chief of Clan Gordon), Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll (chief of Clan Campbell) and John MacIain of Ardnamurchan.
- In 1642 on Rathlin Island, during the Irish Rebellion, Covenanter soldiers of the Clan Campbell who formed Argyll's Foot were encouraged by their commanding officer Sir Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck to kill the local Catholic MacDonalds. This they did with ruthless efficiency throwing scores of MacDonald women over cliffs to their deaths on rocks below. (Watch out for the Lords, Cassie and Maggie)
- Through cunning tactics the Royalist force of James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, which included the MacDonalds under Alasdair Mac Colla, defeated the Scottish Covenanter forces led by Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll.
Good things The Cassie, Maggie, Dan, Noah, and I get along better than our clans. If that lesson in Sottish history amused you at least a tenth as much as it did me you're happy you read it. For the record, Dan, Noah, and I are Jewish and not genetically Scottish. We are Scottish by choice.
First up were the Brothers Rauchwerk aka The Lords of Liechtenstein. This was a full band show and the best one I've seen. The balance between band and vocals was better, you could hear every word. They were more relaxed the feeling was closer to their duo shows. They were silly. There were even dancing girls. Sure, it was their mother and their sister, but that still counts.
Cassie and Maggie's music has little to do with the Lords. The Lords are clever, lyric driven, often weird, folk-rock. The sisters are virtuoso musicians that play many instrumentals, songs in Gaelic, and step dance. Yet the fans of the Lords, the Argyll Army, loved Cassie and Maggie. So many people came up to me and said they couldn't believe how good they were. Did I mention that I was selling the merch? Did you doubt for a second that I would be selling the merch? These are my people.
I was smart on the way home. I kept on my sweater vest and scarf. I appreciated the warmth. It was still nice when I got home and into my sweats and fuzzy socks. I should just go to shows dressed like that. Or I could just bask in the warmth of the great music and people.
I have more live music tonight; Folk Fights Back For Women: A Benefit for Safe Horizon at Jalopy. The performers are: Rachael & Vilray, Hite, The Brother Brothers, Maya Sharpe, Taylor Ashton, Alec Spiegelman, Jean Rohe, Keren Or-Tayar, and Lily Henley & Duncan Wickel. The Brother Brothers are of course brothers so I'm keeping up with the sibling theme of this weekend's music.
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 May 14, 2017
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