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
May 14, 2017 - 11:51 a.m. The weather yesterday was three steps below miserable. It was raining. It was cold. It was grey. The very last thing I wanted to do was go out. I went out. What lured me out of my comfy warm dry house? Music of course, two of my favorite bands, The Lords of Liechtenstein and Cassie and Maggie. Didn't I just see Cassie and Maggie the night before? Yes, but this was 23 hours later. That is far too long to go without seeing them. The show was at Lovecraft's on Avenue B and 4th street. That's not convenient from any subway line. It was an 18-minute walk from the Astor Place station. I told Dan to arrange it so the weather would be better but he didn't listen to me; Dan never listens to my great advice. I had to make the trek in the cold and rain. I did not get there as early as I usually do, must 15 minutes before the Lords went on. That's unusual for me. I meant to leave earlier but just missed the bus. I found the Lords and Ladies (Cassie and Maggie) sitting in the back and joined them. I dressed for the occasion; I had on my official Lords of Liechtenstein Argyll sweater vest, Argyll socks, and my Clan Gordon tartan scarf. Cassie and Maggie McDonald are, as you might guess, Scottish, and one of them usually wears a tartan when performing. Moreover, they are from Nova Scotia (New Scotland) and their musical roots are Scottish and Irish. I did some research on our Scottish roots; the clans, MacDonald (Donald) and Gordon, and the Shire of Argyll. We are all tied together. The following factoids are from Wikipedia.
Good things The Cassie, Maggie, Dan, Noah, and I get along better than our clans. If that lesson in Sottish history amused you at least a tenth as much as it did me you're happy you read it. For the record, Dan, Noah, and I are Jewish and not genetically Scottish. We are Scottish by choice. First up were the Brothers Rauchwerk aka The Lords of Liechtenstein. This was a full band show and the best one I've seen. The balance between band and vocals was better, you could hear every word. They were more relaxed the feeling was closer to their duo shows. They were silly. There were even dancing girls. Sure, it was their mother and their sister, but that still counts. Cassie and Maggie's music has little to do with the Lords. The Lords are clever, lyric driven, often weird, folk-rock. The sisters are virtuoso musicians that play many instrumentals, songs in Gaelic, and step dance. Yet the fans of the Lords, the Argyll Army, loved Cassie and Maggie. So many people came up to me and said they couldn't believe how good they were. Did I mention that I was selling the merch? Did you doubt for a second that I would be selling the merch? These are my people. I was smart on the way home. I kept on my sweater vest and scarf. I appreciated the warmth. It was still nice when I got home and into my sweats and fuzzy socks. I should just go to shows dressed like that. Or I could just bask in the warmth of the great music and people. I have more live music tonight; Folk Fights Back For Women: A Benefit for Safe Horizon at Jalopy. The performers are: Rachael & Vilray, Hite, The Brother Brothers, Maya Sharpe, Taylor Ashton, Alec Spiegelman, Jean Rohe, Keren Or-Tayar, and Lily Henley & Duncan Wickel. The Brother Brothers are of course brothers so I'm keeping up with the sibling theme of this weekend's music. I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge: please hold me accountable.
Memories: Not that Horrid Song - May 29, 2018
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