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

April 18, 2014 - 11:10 a.m.

Are you Redding for Lipbone?

I am always late on Fridays. I'm going to try and get out of here earlier today which means starting to write earlier I'm only a half an hour later than planned. OK some insight into being me. I love writing, that's obvious I do it for an hour every day. But I find it so hard to get started. It's a major effort. I'm still feeling the anxiety but I know it will ease once I get into the flow. That's what these introductions are for. Well part of it. Part is because I like this style of writing Art comes first.

I called an audible in finite math, I threw out my lesson plan and jumped ahead many chapters. we are so far behind I have not chance of finishing half the material we are supposed to so I'm skipping all the algebra that they've seen before and failed to learn and moving on to probability and statistics which they haven't but which are useful. I'm not even sure what statistics are in the book. I never got past the beginning of probability. The freedom to do things like this is part of what makes teaching in college better than high school. And the fact that because high school teachers can't because they have to teach to the tests is part of what's wrong with high school teaching.

My therapy is usually on Monday but both my therapist and myself had Seders to get to so we rescheduled for Thursday. I have been having a rough time and needed it. I'd actually have preferred to blog about it but that would only work if I could then erase your memories. Would you let me do that?

No matter how bad I am I enjoy observing myself. Even when I'm having a total anxiety attack I don't show it on the outside, even when I'm with my therapist. She had me do some relaxation exercises and I couldn't raise my shoulders to my ears because of my arthritis or whatever it is that is wrong with my shoulder. And I couldn't resist joking about that while in pain and having an anxiety attack. That's me. There's always another layer. Of course perhaps everyone is like that and they just don't talk about it.

I wanted a nice dinner but didn't have time as I had to be in Ditmas Park at 7 PM to see Lipbone Redding. Too bad both my friends that live in the area had other plans so I went by myself. I got there at exactly 7 and hardly anybody was there. That included Lipbone. I asked where the music was and was told it didn't start till 9:00 I don't know if Lipbone posted it wrong on his website or I got it wrong when I put it on my calendar. Though it isn't that far it's a pain to get home from there. I was going to skip and either stay home for the evening or go home and then go to my planned second half of my musical double header seeing The Prettiots, Rachel Trachentburg's new band at 10 on the Lower East Side. For that I'd have time to get home and relax first.

I figured no matter what I'd head home but I couldn't miss Lipbone. When he lived here I saw him all the time. He's played the Budgiedome. He played my house! So I got off the train in Fort Greene and was going to eat but didn't find anything quick but still exciting other than foo foo ice cream, I had it but it was nothing special. Then I headed back to the Bar Chord. I was bundled up so it took a second for Lipbone to recognize me but he did and gave me a warm welcome. I knew he would I grabbed the closest stool and caught up with him till the music started.

Lipbone is simultaneously one of the most unusual singers I know and one of the most accessible. I can recommend him even to friends that don't take music seriously and they'll love him. He gets his nickname from his use of mouth trombone. He does that better than anybody. And as I always point out, it's not a gimmick. He uses it as a real instrument to play great songs. Most of what he does is bluesy and often swampy even when the setting is a New York fire escape. They tell real stories with great music.

He had a few other friends in the audience. Wait, I think I remember ones name, Maya. Hey that's good for me,

I didn't get much sleep the night before and I was tired. I couldn't make it through the entire set. I stayed an hour and a half till 10:32. Yes I know to the minute because I used Google Maps to plan my exit. It told me that the next train left at 10:40 and I wanted to leave myself a margin of error. Google said I should leave at 10:35. I got to the station and waited 3 minutes for the train. Google is good. It pulled out at 10:40. I chose that train because it connected perfectly with a shuttle which would connect to the . Google nailed it. I actually got home a few minutes earlier than it said. I walked in the door at 11:03. A half an hour isn't bad.

Tonight I'm seeing Ruth Gerson. This is blast from the past week. Ruth also played my house, in fact she was my first house concert. I didn't even know house concerts were a thing then. I think that was 2002. Here's the list of everybody that played my house and the blog entry about the show.

  1. Ruth Gerson
  2. Deirdre Flinth
  3. Jim Infantino
  4. Lipbone
  5. Zo� Lewis
I wish I had done more while I had a house. Of course it was tough because there is just me. Cleaning up by myself was not fun.

If anyone would like to host a house concert but doesn't know how to get the artist or get people to go, ask me. I'd love to organize a house concert at your house. I have lots of musician friends that would love to play and they are great.

OK not too bad I don't have to leave hear for an hour and 20 minutes. Enough time to post this, make breakfast, shower, before I go.


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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 April 18, 2014
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