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 ...
July 14, 2013 - 10:53 a.m.
I'm going to stop looking for something to waste time and start writing. Yes this is my new mechanism to start writing. I always need something. I'm a smart guy, it's tough outsmarting myself.
I had a long day yesterday even though it only had two stops. The first was a wedding! I was asked to not write about it before hand so I didn't. See I can keep quiet, I'm not going to write much about it. At the wedding we were told to not tweet or post pictures. That's real time and this is after the fact but I'll err on the side of respecting my friends' wishes. If I had something brilliant to say I might feel differently. Now I have the problem of being a minimalist and I think I nailed it. The wedding was Jeremiah and Pam's. It was held in a garden in the East Village. Jeremiah and Pam were beaming. The rest, as Hillel said, is commentary.
I will right a bit about myself. I had a lot of friends there but I ended up spending a lot of my time talking to strangers. Yesterday I said I am no longer afraid of people. That's not quite true. I get nervous in front of people. I have to make an effort to talk to strangers. Maybe I'm wrong but I think that's true of just about everyone. Based on my and their actions I have less fear than most or at least I overcome it easier. That is the point I'm trying to make It's totally manageable. If I could get over my crippling anxieties like that I'd be very happy.
OK I'll say one other thing about the wedding. Until I ate chocolate it wasn't official. Chocolate is necessary to consecrate things. That's why I'm a theobromist. Just look up theobroma if you don't know what I'm talking about.
My next stop was the Third Annual Roots Family Music Festival. Roots is a tiny caf� in Brooklyn that has live music and is the center of a music scene, the aforementioned family. The caf� is far too small to host a festival so it was at Littlefield a larger venue not that far away. I had never been there before so I put the address, 62 DeGraw st in Google Maps and did what it said, take the 
to Carroll Street and walk for 15 minutes. That address is in Red Hook, not that far from Jalopy so I know the area., I got there and heard some music sounding from what looked like a garage or loading dock. It didn't sound like the right type of music. 62 DeGraw is a private home. I checked on the Facebook instead of my Calendar for the address. It was 622 DeGraw, Have I mentioned that I'm an idiot? I was already late and didn't want to be late but there was no fast way of getting there. I could go by bus but it would be very indirect. Walking was no better. I started to walk and decided to take a cab. I used UBER a phone app that calls cabs. It works! One came in six minutes and drove me. I got there while there was still barbecue left. If I had come 10 minutes later it would have been gone. You know I can't resist barbecue.
I went because Alex Mallett invited me. I know Alex from the Union Street Preservation Society. He is shall we say musically promiscuous, He plays with lots of bands including half the bands playing at the Festival. Union Street even provided the barbecue.
The first thing I did when I got there of course was eat. Then I headed to the bathroom. And who was right behind me in the bathroom line? Seth. It's a small world. He was there with some other friends. I knew he'd be there as he was listed as going on the Facebook event.
It was basically a standing venue with seats along the wall. I stood with Seth till he had to go see another friends at another venue and then I split my time between standing and sitting.
It was not the most conducive place to listen to music. People were talking loudly. You heard the music over the din, One of the singers said how she was going to sing a soft song but that people should just keep talking. The audience didn't quite get the irony and took her at her word.
If I heard them at Roots the performers might have made a bigger impression on me. As it was they hit me as talented people who weren't special. Now of course that is what the vast majority of musicians are. It's what the vast majority of any kind of artist are. It's hard to be special. That's part of what made it special. They were also for the most part just as good as some stars in the acoustic music world that are also not special and whose stardom I find puzzling. Part of it is that there's a certain level of artist that work if they connect with you. They aren't overwhelmingly talented but if it fits your brain right you'll enjoy them as much as anyone.
When Alex came out with his band it as different. Even the crowd acted different and got much quieter. I stood for him and was far more engaged. Is it just a matter of connecting with him? It could be. I connect with him conversationally. He is very much one of my people, someone I took an instant liking to. But it isn't just that. His music has life, it has an energy that the others lacked. Maybe it's the banjo. Maybe it's that his mother was standing next to me.
The show went on for hours afterward but I was too tired to stay. The trip back to bag end wasn't easy. The 
was running express and skipped the stop. I walked over to the and took that back, Unfortunately I walked to the wrong stop. I went back to Carroll Street but Smith 9th Street was actually closer,.
I'm over a thousand words but I'm still going to write about George Zimmerman's acquittal. I'm upset about it but it isn't an indictment of American Justice or much of anything. It was one legal case and these things happen,. Look at the OJ trial. It doesn't much affect anything else, It was also not unexpected. The one issue that goes beyond the individual is how friendly Florida is to self-defense defenses. I expected him to be acquitted because the legal experts thought the prosecution hadn't overcome the burden of proof by Florida standards. Frank Bruni of the times directed me to this analysis, State never proved its case, legal analysts say. I'm not saying I agree with the verdict. I'm not saying it wasn't a miscarriage of justice, I'm just warning to not read too much into it. I'm far more upset when the state denies someone his rights. It is better that ten guilty people go free than one innocent man is convicted.
I had the date for something wrong and now have no plans for the day. I have to figure out what to do.
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 July 14, 2013
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