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

July 25, 2013 - 10:20 a.m.

Below Low C

I'm not in good shape. I have unread emails and texts and voicemail to listen to. I hate when I get like this. Please forgive me.

After spending yesterday paralyzed I went out to see Rebecca Loebe (two syllables) at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 1. I never heard about the gig by email or Facebook. I saw it on the Rockwood calendar and immediately put it in mine. Becca doesn't play that often around here which plays some tricks on my brain. I never remember how funny her songs are till I hear them. She's not primarily a writer of funny songs but she has a number of them. It's a basic part of her repertoire. I never remember how good she is. That's actually a good thing as it always feels like I'm making a major musical discovery. It might be because she's hard to characterize. She's not a funny songwriter but she sings funny songs. She's not a folkie but many of her lyrics are great folk. She has a great voice, she was on the TV show "The Voice" but there's so much more than that. Because I met her through Anthony and she played Gene and Isabel's house I know her on a personal level much better than I would someone else I see so infrequently. All these things pull me in different directions.

One thing that really strikes me is her stage manner. It's as good as anyone I know, It clearly isn't all off the cuff, when she says "I'm in itinerant musician, that's another way of saying well dressed homeless person." It's clearly a prepared line but she comes off so natural, Her enire demeanor is not studied. Even when the lines are standard they aren't studied. She sounds genuine and sincere. When she sings about a tree you can really feel the tree. Like Ellis part of liking the show is simply liking her. But don't think that her music or stage manner is like Ellis's. It's wonderful in totally different ways.

I find myself making lots of comparisons like that. They are meaningful to me but I know that anyone hearing them will get the wrong impression. She's like one tiny slice of another person, not like that person. Except in looks. She and Heather Lloyd from ilyAIMY could be sisters.


Becca is on the right

Like Kat Quinn there's always the danger that someone not paying attention will think she's a pop singer,. Then you listen and realize pop singers don't use that many words. There's a lot of substance there. But the songs are catchy. I could totally see Linda Ronstadt singing some of them. Sorry I can't get more current than that. Picture a pop singer that can really sell a song with a great voice and capable of substance.

She's another one that I wish I wasn't seeing alone. She isn't one of those she fits in my quirky brain artists. She has mass appeal. You'd like her. You should come see her next time she plays. She should publicize the shows better to help me. She needs a Facebook event that I can invite you too. I'm a social media kinda guy.

I was clearly not the person in the audience that knew her best, Her ex roommate was on my right and her brother on my left. I kept thinking I knew her brother, not knowing he was her brother, but I had never met him before. And it wasn't that he looks like Becca, he does but he has a beard and I'm not going to get a feeling of "I know this guy" from a guy with a beard because he has a family resemblance to a beautiful woman.

After the show I talked to her and her brother for a bit. That entire family is my people. Their mother is a huge Star Trek fan and passed that down to the children. He got whatever ST:TOS reference that I made. That's what got us talking about that.

I grabbed an andouille sausage from links before the show. It was overcooked. They need to get their act together. When they are good they are so good.

After the show I stopped at Shake Shack in Brooklyn for fries and a shake. I couldn't resist as I walk past it going from the to the .

I got home to get things done but didn't. I am not happy with my paralysis. I want it to go away now. If any of you have a magic wand please wave it. It's affecting other people and that's the worse. And of course that raises my anxiety.

So let's change the subject to something less stressful. Cold-brewed iced coffee. It's my new obsession. My Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker which makes iced coffee too is in storage. Last summer I did without home made iced coffee. Now thanks to Seth and Jill. I don't. They gave me the tips to make cold brew. So I'll pass it on to you. Here's the secred, it's easy. Don't worry about things. I used the amount of coffee I use to make two quarts of iced coffee in Mr. Coffee. That's two grinders full. I put it in my French press and fill it with water. I stir it well. Then I put the lid on but don't push the plunger. I let it sit for some time. That's the thing, it isn't crucial how long. I've done it between 12 and 24 hours. It just isn't that sensitive to it. There is lots of wiggle room. Then I push the plunger, pour it into a large pitcher and add water to make it between a quart and a half and two quarts of coffee. And that's it. I just stir it that once. It comes out great; just as good as at a fancy coffee bar.

of course today I could use hot coffee. It's 65˚ F. How did that happen?

I forgot to post this. It isn't easy not having a brain.


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 25, 2013
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