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

October 22, 2013 - 1:26 p.m.

Masterpiece by Michael Angelo

I guess I should write now. I guess I should have written three hours ago. How did it get to be so late? I hate when I do this. I have places to go and things to do.

Yesterday was busy and I didn't hear live music, but I wanted to and planned on it. It didn't happen.

I got up and raced to school. I have been getting there too late. Yesterday I was there by 9 like I like. My class is at 9:30, My routine is that I stop at the food cart and get my sausage egg and cheese sandwich. Yes I always get that on days I teach. I love that I don't have to order. He sees me and knows what I want. I pay immediately and things move very smoothly. Then I'm off to the school's snack bar where I get my coffee. I often don't have to order there either. Then it's up to my office. I turn on the computer and listen to the Question of the Day on FUV while I print out whatever I need for class. Sometimes I do prep. That reminds me. I have to do some major prep today. I'm teaching rational equations and takes some effort to make the problems come out nice. I'm always tempted to save the topic till after I do quadratics. Maybe I will. I don't have to follow the book.

After school I went to the post office and had three pieces of mail! I felt so popular. One was from Amazon and had two things I bought, Terry Pratchett's Pyramids and a book light so I can read at home in bed. Then I raced down to therapy. For once I didn't really have to race. I had enough time to read before she came for me.

Usually my shrink has to throw me out. You know what it's like talking to me. I never want to stop but yesterday I was getting picked up right afterward and needed to leave aat 4:20. I was very good. I told her that if I looked at my watch that was why. She said that she'd let me know when it was time and I didn't look at my watch once. I'm strangely not neurotic for someone with an anxiety disorder. If it isn't one of my hot buttons I can just turn off thinking about it.

The person picking me up was Jim and that was to go to the WfUV supervisors dinner meeting. I could have taken public transportation and as it worked out that would have been faster, but it's a lot more fun hanging out with Jim. It's been a while since we've seen each other. We actually had a fairly easy trip going from Union Square to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx during rush hour. We got there in an hour and then minutes. We weren't even the last to arrive, Brian was.

This time I really did know everybody there, from WFUV were Linda, Cara, and Laura. The volunteers were Rona, Lori not LORi, Bob, Me, Jim, and Brian. Can you tell that was the order moving around the table?

OK this is me so what will I talk about first. Come on you know me well enough. Yes the food. That's what's important. When we arrived there were appetizers on the table but nothing that I liked other than the garlic bread. Of course I could eat a meal of garlic bread. I'm sorry anyone that eats calamari is a sucker. Don't groan, you know that's funny. My main course was Chicken Francaise and roasted potatoes. It was not good. It was not great. It was magnificent. I should say the name of the restaurant,. Michael Angelo's. Yes two names. It was the best I ever had, the platonic ideal of Chicken Francaise. OK I'm done salivating.

We talked about the mechanics of the drive. One thing that was not aimed specifically at me but I know is a problem is that I don't suffer fools gladly. But it isn't even really that. It's fools that are stubborn about their foolishness, you know like Bush and the Republicans in congress. I have been getting shall we say gentler towards them. I will try and be even more so � and then rant about them here. NEVER cross a blogger. Or a songwriter. Or an author. Or anyone else than is armed with words.

That made me feel good.

You know that as much as I talk about the food and rant about thing what I really care the most about is the people. The best part of the dinner was the company. I'll even admit that Lori doesn't hate me. She's just mean to me. But I love her and everyone else there. I wish I could have talked to Linda and Cara more but they are at the opposite end of the table. I did get to talk to Laura the new student volunteer coordinator. Sam how come you never got us a dinner? Sam was the old one. I love her too. Brian brought me pretzel m&ms. I was supposed to share. But then everything broke up and I was forced to take them home. What a tragedy. Oh I'm back to food. I'm supposed to be talking about people. Want to know why I volunteer at wFUV, that's a huge part of it. Linda told me she had to pick up peanut butter because she knows I love it. I told her that when I sse that jar I see love. And I see appreciation. and that's even better than the swag I get.

After the dinner Jim drove me to the subway. Now I had to go shopping so I could eat my breakfast this morning. But I wanted to see Raina Rose and Rebecca Loebe. I realized that not only did I not have time I did not have the energy. I was running out of gas. So I went to Trader Joe's and got home at 9:30 and crashed.

At the meeting were were given the FAQ about the changes to WFUV's format and song repetition policy. Here's a link to them. What You're Hearing on FUV. That generated discussion at the dinner and on the WfUV question of the day group when I linked to it there. I have of course been writing about this. And I've been thinking long about it. People seem to think it's about my rejecting variety. It isn't It's about me NOT hearing the music I love. Yes I love Bowie's Young American but I've heard it a zillion times and I can hear that in shopping malls and sports arenas. It's totally commercial music. What WFUV doesn't do for me now is discover music that's hidden. The music that doesn't get press or attention but deserves it.

So much of what's played at NERFA and Falcon Ridge isn't folk music. So why is it played there,. Because "the folk" world has become the "serious music that isn't commercial" world. it's not quite that. There pretty much has to be melody and if there is usually an emphasis on lyrics and it won't be heavy metal. But it can be electric. It can be blues. It can be weird in a zillion ways and still find a home. I made a playlist to highlight the variety. These are almost all acts I've seen recently other than Snehasish Mozumde. He's in because something he posted is what inspired me to make the playlist. I wanted to include something from Carolann's Solebello's Steel and Salt but could't find a video with the full electric sound. That's what I was looking for.

I hope that works. YouTube has been a bit wonky since it got assimilated into The Borg Google +.

OK now I really have to eat and do laundry, Tonight I�m going to Jean Rohe's CD release party.


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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 October 22, 2013
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