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
August 17, 2013 - 11:10 a.m. Why am I looking for something to do? It's time to write. I might actually have the nerve to write something I've been planning for weeks. But then again I might not. We'll see. I spent most of yesterday vegging out. I've been doing that a lot lately. I did manage to finally do my laundry. I meant to do it right after Falcon Ridge. It was a beautiful day so while I was waiting I explored the neighborhood. First I walked down Utica Ave. Not much there other than fast food restaurants. When it was in the drier I went to Lincoln Terrace Park. Not much there but it's a patch of green in the inner city and that makes it a good thing. I so wanted to insert Cadence Carroll's song "A Little Bit of Green" here but I can't find it anywhere online. Last night I decided that I had to get out of the house and do something. I went to the movies. Can you guess what I saw? It's obvious if you know my taste in film. I'll give you a minute to check to see what's playing. Yes you got it. Wood Allen's Blue Jasmine. I saw it at BAM, which is convenient and the place where I watched To Rome With Love last summer. Except it wasn't. I got to the theater at 7:58 for an 8 o'clock show and saw it wasn't listed. It's because BAM has a second theater a few blocks away from the others. The usher was nice and told me where it was but did a terrible job of it. He said, "See the red sign that says 'Harvey' that's it." the thing was you couldn't see it from there and it wasn't just because of my eyes. It was not in my line of sight. You might have been able to make out a tiny piece of the sign but only if you already knew what to look for. I as saved from a big mistake at the food counter. I didn't have time to get dinner first and I craved popcorn. Yes the worst food for my Crohn's. I have had it and just make sure to chew it to bits but I shouldn't. I ordered it then said, "with butter." And was told there was no butter. I said "no thanks then." I raced inside and there was still an ad on. The theater was crowded but I got the exact seat I like best, fourth row center. Yes I have a specific seat I prefer at movies. I'm not compulsive, if I'm with someone else that feels strongly I'll sit elsewhere but given the choice that's where I sit. From there the screen exactly fills my field of vision. The film announced that it was a radical break with cinematic convention the first shot. It was an airplane in flight. In film a plane moving to the right is going east. A plane moving to the left is going west. This plan started moving down! that should be south but then it pivoted angle and moved right, then up. That should imply heading east. but it wasn't! It was going from NYC to San Francisco. You might not think that's radical but it is. Look out for that in movies and let me know if you find another one that breaks the convention. I'm talking commercial flights not military battles. The genius of the film is that it breaks so many rules yet still works. The story unfolds nonlinearly jumping in time without being at all confusing. Most importantly you don't like any of the characters, you hate the title character, but you still care what happens to her. Imdb calls it a drama but it's not. It's a comedy, a very dark disturbing comedy. You laugh, a lot. You laugh out loud. You also feel pain. There's a lot of Jane Austen in it, love as commerce. Woody always gets great performances out of his actors and that carries the film. If Cate Blanchett isn't nominated for an Oscar there is something wrong with the Academy. I didn't know most of the other actors other than Alec Baldwin. I recognized some from TV without known from where. I didn't recognize Andrew Dice Clay. I see now that I know Bobby Cannavale from the various Law & Order series. There's one other huge break with convention that I can't tell you without ruining the film for you. Just go see it. After the film I went to eat at Burger 67. I only lived there for three months but I think of Fort Greene as my neighborhood. I just fit there so well. I explored it so I know it. When I went there I was wondering if I'd run into Marjorie She lives right there and I have seen her in the restaurant. I didn't. I actually spent my dinner talking to Katherine on the phone. When I finished my burger I went outside where it was quieter. I found a good quiet spot on Hansen street. And who walked by? Marjorie! Like Seth she is someone I run into. I love running into friends in the street. I went to Pathmark for some things but could not find andouille sausages for my soup. They used to carry them and I'm guessing they still do but I didn't know where they are. Once again I wrote too much and can't write what I wanted to write about. Now I'm going to give myself a treat I haven't had in a while. I'm making an omelet. I hope the pan I have is good enough for it. It is far from ideal. Still I feel much more like a person when I make my own breakfast and nobody that is eating three egg omelets with Taylor ham and pepper jack cheese can think he has it so bad. I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge: please hold me accountable.
Memories: Not that Horrid Song - May 29, 2018
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