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

September 23, 2015 - 12:50 p.m.

Young Novelists and Young Trachtenburg

My alarm didn't wake me up this morning. That never happens, at least not since college. I find that a bit worrisome. But at least now I'm starting to write before 11. My actually goal is to finish by 10. I'm grading myself on a curve.

Let's start with an idiot story. I bought eggs on the way home last night. I just remembered that I didn't put them in the fridge. I just go up and did that. If I die of salmonella you'll know why.

I know the equinox was yesterday but today is the true first day of fall, I just had to put a hoodie on in my room; the hood is even up. I slept in shorts the night before, last night it was sweats. This morning the hoodie.

Yesterday I had a musical and social doubleheader, my second of the week. First up was The Young Novelists at Rockwood Music Hall. Actually first up was dinner with Young Novelists, aka Graydon and Laura and I had the added treat of being joined by Karyn. Graydon and Laura are form out of town, Toronto and I gave them a choice of where to eat on the block. There's a lot of choices. They went for the grilled cheese place. I have never been there bur everyone raves over it and it's almost next door to Rockwood.

Here's a good question, how did Laura and Graydon who I've only met a few times become people I ask to eat with before a show and the who say yes when I ask? I didn't say I have a good answer. It helps that they are very geeky. Geekocity even came up in conversation and not by me. The grilled cheese was good. It was Yom Kippur so I had mine with ham. That is my Yom Kippur tradition. For breakfast this morning, or maybe afternoon I'm going to make myself sausageeggandcheese but not on a roll, not on a bagel, but on eggo waffles! I'm inordinately looking forward to that.

I wish I actually had more to say about dinner. I love eating with friends and I don't get to do that often. And this was not the end of it … that's foreshadowing.

After dinner we went over to Rockwood and caught the end of the previous artist. We were soon joined by Fred. When the set was over we grabbed a table and were then joined by Dan and then by Carolann.

Once again I'm going to be lazy and use Fred's pictures rather than edit my own.


Graydon James


Laura Spink

When they play in Canada and not too far afield the Young Novelists are pretty much a full rock band. When they come to the states it's just the duo of Graydon and Laura. But they still have a band mentality. Before the show Graydon said he hears the missing parts in his head as he's playing. That was perfect because once I heard their album I knew that they conceived the songs for a band. There's a difference, some people add a band to song written for one or two people, I usually prefer the solo version then. When it's written with the band in mine I prefer it with the band. The arrangement is part of the conception as much as the melody and lyrics.

They have fun arrangements even as a duo, you have to love a band with a melodica and a glockenspiel especially when the glock is played with a bow! The only other person I saw do that was Jean Rohe's vibraphonists. How do I not know the names of the musician's in Jean's band? Oh right, I'm an idiot.

The young novelists hit my sweet spot, they do it all, lyrics, melodies, harmonies. They don't make music on autopilot, everything is thought out and done for a reason, not because that's the easy thing to do.

I met Graydon and Laura at NERFA. I was told to look out for them by Shawna who always tells me which Canadians I need to see. What I love is that even though they didn't have a formal showcase somehow they ended up connecting with so many of my friends, and not through me, Karyn, Carolann, Dan, and Mya. So how about some of my presenter friends? Who is going to book them?

After the show we went out again! Graydon wanted a milkshake so we went to the diner on Houston. I should know its name but I just call it the dinner on Houston and everyone knows what I mean. I of course also had a milkshake. We was Graydon, Laura, Carolann, Karyn, Amy, and myself. Amy is a Chick with Dip that I hadn't met before! I got both the preshow and post show eating with friends. That's as good as it gets. As Fred went home from here on the pics are mine


Laura, Graydon, Carolann, Karyn, Amy, me in the mirror

I had to leave early. I was going to say unfortunately but I had to leave for a good reason, to get to my second round of music with friends. This time it was Rachel Trachtenburg at the Sidwalk Café. The friends were her family. I see her mother Tina all the time, she's the pigeon lady of Union Square. She makes felt pigeons, rats, and a few crows and sells them. Her father Jason has a jazz big band Pendulum Swings that I've seen. This was a special event as they were joined by her Jason's parents. If you are my Facebook friend you've seen his father Milton commenting on my posts. I haven't seen Milton in at least 10 years. They live in Florida.

I've seen Rachel performing since she was 9 when she played drums in the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow players. Then she had the teen pop band Supercute. For a while she played drums in the Prettiots, I never saw them. Now she's doing rock with her band. She plays electric guitar and uke. I just noticed something the other day. I was watching a video by Carey. on YouTube. YouTube now keep playing recommended videos after the one you want to watch is done unless you stop it. The one it played next was by Rachel. Something struck me that should have struck me years ago, they have a similar singing style. It's not their voice ir's their phrasing. I think of it as using negative space. It's like each line, sometimes each word has a frame around it.

I called it rock, perhaps pop/rock but as I always say about musicians I love that sound pop, it's pop unless you pay attention. Then you hear the irony mixed with sincere beliefs. I'm not even sure if the music can be called pop, it's too eccentric for that.

Rachel went on at 11:15 so it was a late night. I hung around for a while schmoozing of course. Then I bought the aforementioned eggs and came home. I got back a little after 1 AM. My parents would call me a dirty stay-out-late. .

I spent a lot of time with friends tonight. I've been spending a lot of time with friends the last week and a half. I often say that I'm lonely which seems odd for someone with a many friends as me. It's because there are all sorts of friends and there are important niches in my emotional ecosystem that are not filled. When they are I'm content to spend most of my time alone reading and watching TV. If I am totally alone for days that can be relaxing. When they aren't filled I have a great need to be with people. So last night when I was with so many of my favorite people it was great and much needed.

Now it's time to be a bad Jew. Oh I forgot the best thing about my Yom Kippur sausageeggandcheese, I'm cooking it in bacon fat. Good thing there's no such place as hell.

If there were a heaven, which there isn't Yogi would be there. He just died. He deserves more of an obit than I could write now but i had to say something. He's Yogi.

This entry isn't over till it's over.


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 September 23, 2015
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