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

January 05, 2014 - 1:07 p.m.

Kristin the Night Away

I'm have a lot of options to write about. I can't decide which way to go. I'll start with talking about my day and see if that leads me somewhere. But first I have to edit the photos I took. Done. I don't have time for the videos. Those will have to wait.

So once again I wasted the day and didn't get out of the house till it was way too late to play in the snow. Not only that but I got to creative in my route to Prospect Park and never got into the actual park. I walked around the periphery from the Botanic Gardens to Grand Army Plaza. What I did do is get some nice crepuscular pictures. Do you know what that means? Of or having to do with the twilight. When I was young I was afraid of the dusk. I preferred the darkest night. But now I think it can be beautiful.

The first stop was the parking lot of the Brooklyn Musuem. No I'm not nuts. Take a look.


Do you see the tiny crescent moon above the central tree?


Did they move the Statue of Liberty?

Then I went into what I thought was Prospect Park but was a tiny park next door.


Doggies!

And now on to Grand Army Plaza

It was much warmer than I thought it would be so I was actually too warm. I wore new wool hiking socks I just bought under my shoes and my totes galoshes over them. That was fine as I needed the galoshes to keep dry. What was overkill was the sweater under my jacket. I have a very war jacket. When I went out I was nervous because I can�t wear my warmest sweaters, One is in storage and the under needs a button. I'm not good at buttons and it needs a thick thread. I wish it were colder. I like dressing for it. I wore my silk long johns but if it were really cold I could wear two pair! It's amazing how effective they are while still being so comfy even indoors where it is warm.

After that I ran to the bank and Trader Joe's. They were out of spiced apple cider! Woe is me. I'm addicted to it. My timing was a bit tight. Kristin Andreassen was playing at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 3 at eight and I wanted to eat dinner and get there by 7:30. It was after six when I finished shopping. I went home, dropped off my groceries and was in such a rush I forgot to take off my sweater. I got back on the subway but didn't get to Rockwood to 7:40, so much for dinner. The problem was that the was running local. That slows things down.

Of course when I went in I found that things were running late and the doors weren't open. They didn't open till just after eight. OH and I was the first person there. Even when I run late I'm early.

I got a seat right down front. Kristin said hi and I'm pretty sure she wasn't surprised that I was the first one through the door. The room was not full, the table next to me was empty, but that was the only one. That was lucky for me as I slid over to it to take some pictures and videos.

She started with a song that she wrote for an indy movie that was released last year. It doesn't have Kristin's usual distinctive style. She's one of those writers, like Brian Gundersdorf of Dave Cantor that writes songs that nobody else could write. This one sounded like something Emmylou Harris would write. It was simpler and gentler. I'm guessing that was deliberate. And it is NOT a criticism. Emmylou Harris is a goddess. And if you listen closely you hear Kristin's personality coming through. Who else would say as a sign of love, "I'll name a goldfish after you" Well maybe Carey would. She named a goldfish after Oliver Steck. The fish's full name was Oliver Sexnose. No you don't want me to explain that. That is actually a hallmark of Kristin's writing, the line that makes you take notice and rethink the song.

There were three songs that I really wanted to video, "Thirteen Wolverines," AKA the greatest song every written, The one whose name I don't know about God doing things over, and her solo rendition of Crayola. There were technical difficulties with each of them. Me being an idiot is a technical difficulty right? She gave the introduction to 13 Wolverines so I should have known it was coming but I didn't get the phone's video ready so missed it.

On the God song her uke went kablooey out of tune and she had to stop and tune it.

I noticed I was running out of memory and deleted all the old pics that have been uploaded from the camera but that takes time and it was still deleting when she started Crayola I caught the end of it because it includes her clogging. If it came out well I'll show you tomorrow.

Kristin was joined by the usual suspects, Stephanie Coleman on fiddle and Chris Eldridge aka Critter. You might know him from the Punch Brothers.

So here's the thing. I have loved Kristin from the first time I saw her but she's taken to a new level. She went to the crossroads and sold her soul to the devil in exchange for musical genius. She might regret it when the bill comes due but the rest of us benefit. The other people I feel that way about are Jonathan Byrd and Amy Speace. They are all artists I knew for years that seemed to all of a sudden get great. I love when that happens.

Wow I wrote enough that I don't really need to write more. I guess I can take a day off from writing serious things. But I will write the one thing I took notes about. It's just a line of thought from the shower. It's not as much what I was thinking but the devices I used to frame them. I took notes as soon as I got dry.

When I think about things I usually picture either saying it to someone or writing it here. I have been doing that at least since college. It's a great honor to be the person I mentally talk to. It shows I care what she thinks. If I think something and know she wouldn't approve I rethink them. There's generally only a few people I put in that class at any time. I will also have mental therapy sessions. That is of course only since I started therapy. It's actually of more recent vintage. I had to know her well enough to know how she's react.

So this started with mental therapy. I was telling her about someone from my past that I used to name but now feel that isn't write. What I write is not flattering. Let's' call her Crazy Mary. She was crazy and not in a good way. Why did I stay with her? I listed her faults and ended with, and she wasn't even intelligent enough for me. Which let me to think about how intelligent the people I care most about are. And I came to one friend that is really frightening smart. She has what Isaac Asimov calls "the malevolent look of someone with a 250 IQ. The funny thing is that I usually use that with women who are totally adorable. Then it became a conversation with the totally adorable archfiend where I told her about the mental conversation with the therapist. And then it became a mental blog about telling the adorable archfiend about the mental therapy. Now I'm really blogging it and the world will explode in a self-referential feedback loop.


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 January 05, 2014
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