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 ...
April 14, 2013 - 11:23 a.m.
I have a lot to get done so I better start writing.
I had a lot of uncertainty about what I was going to do yesterday Originally my plan was to see Honor Finnegan, Mark Allen Berube, and Carla Ulbrich at Concerts at the Crossing in Titusville. I was going to go down there and crash with Lori and Steve or Paul. I checked the date and I was free so that was it. Then a week or so ago I realized that I had plans for Sunday, I'm going to Gene and Isabel's to see Raina Rose. Then I saw that the The Yayas and Carolann Solebello were playing out on the Island on Saturday That's a nice symmetry as Honor is on the Falcon Ridge Preview Tour with the YaYas and Carolann is married to Mark. When I asked them for a ride I discovered that it would take me as long to get here as to Concerts at the Crossings so I went back to plan 1. Lori and Steve were going to be near Metuchen earlier in the day and I could just take the train there and they'd drive me the rest of the way so I'd have my meeting of the Budgiedome executive committee, Lori, Steve, Paul, and me. With all this I forgot that Bobtown was playing closer on the Island. There were too many things to see at once. It really isn't fair. So in any even I took the subway to Penn Station and NJ transit to Metuchen then drove to Titusville. Oddly the only problem was that the train trip was too short for me to get much grading done.
So here's a question about grading. is it ever justified to take 20 points off a question worth only 10 points. Can you be more wrong than wrong? This isn't what happened but here's one analogy, What if there were an arithmetic test and the question was; What is 1+1? And the student answered C-A-T? Lori thought the answer should be "Tolstoy." I thought any student that was clueless wouldn't know Tolstoy Here is an actual better analogy to what happened. On the first history test Presidential elections were covered and a question went, "What Year was Barack Obama first elected president?" and the student answers 2008. On the next test Vice Presidents were covered and the question was. "Who is Barack Obama's Vice President?" and the student answers "2008." It shows absolutely no understanding, just an attempt to memorize random associations.
When we got to the venue we Met Paul and he gave Lori and Steve pie and me chocolate. Everything after that was lost in a cocoa fog. I'll make things up and make believe I remember them. If you were there just go along with it. When people ask, 'Did Mark really dress in drag and do the Can-Can just say "yes."
The name of the show was night of A Thousand Guffaws, though the performers modified it to guffaws, laughs, giggles, etc. Personally I guffawed. They are three of my favorite singer/songwriters and people, I never saw Carla that often but I'm used to seeing Mark and Honor often though in Mark's case it's been more socially than performing for a while. But I have seen them both far less often than I'm used to. I needed my fix and I pretty much always need a Carla fix. The first thing I ever said to her was "Will you marry me?" I could tell that she's get that it was a joke and get it. She did. I tried it on one other funny singer and she seemed to get creeped out. I actually asked myself why I didn't propose to Honor when I met her but I realized it's because I was introduced to her socially first. It's only funny if it comes out of the blue from a stranger. Or to an engaged man as when I proposed to Ethan because his smoked steak was so good.
While they are all funny Carla, Mark, and Honor have very different approaches. Carla approaches it as almost a Borscht Belt comic, which is funny as she's a southern schicksa and that's part of her schtick. But that makes it even funnier. She had comic routines that lead to songs which are often parodies. Those started when she was ill and couldn't play the guitar and so she had a lot of time on her hands. Her health is part of her show. She often calls herself the singing patient and wrote a book, " How Can You NOT Laugh at a Time Like This?: Reclaim Your Health with Humor, Creativity, and Grit."
My one line blurb on Mark is that he writes the songs that I'd write if I could write songs. Or is that if a woodchuck could chuck wood? You know how I say that some musicians are too earnest? Nobody is ever going to say that about Mark. The thing is he is earnest as in honest, he just says things in a unique way. He wrote a beautiful love song about his beautiful wife Carolann, he just called it, "The Girl with the Frankenstein Hair."
Honor says she isn't a funny songwriter and yes most of her songs are not funny. But when you write Internet Junkie it's hard for people to remember that. Just being a petite woman with a big voice has comic overtones. Honor is sweet not the first word that comes my mind when describing Carla or Mark.
The show works. I can see them going on tour together. In the second half they sung together. I told Mark he isn't allowed in the Budgiedome without backup singers. I should have said without cute backup singers. It just wouldn't be the same with Scott Wolfson.
During the break I didn't get the snacks. I love the snacks. The snacks are the reason I go to coffeehouses but I was too busy talking to my friends. I don't know why we didn't all walk down to the room with the coffee and cake.
Would it be egotistical to point out that I got a nice shoutout from Scott who books and hosts the series? Yes it would be. So I won't do it. I'm glad I thought this through.
I somehow heckled Carla and Honor and neglected Mark. I always heckle Mark. I blame the massive solar flare that was supposed to cause an spectacular aurora that never happened.
I wasn't looking forward to the train ride home from Trenton so I asked Mark for a ride home. He lives a half mile from me,. He threatened to put me in the trunk but I got to sit in the back seat. Honor was up front. the upshot is I got home at a reasonable hour.
Now I have to get today going. I need to get some grading done then I'm off to see Raina Rose at Gene & Isabel's.
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
creative commons
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Horvendile April 14, 2013
| site search by freefind | advanced |
Follow on Feedly
