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 15, 2015 - 9:27 p.m.

Long Days and Wrong Trains

I try to get eight hours of sleep a night. I have to get up in eight hours. I got only four hours last night. How much do I love My Gentle Readers? I'm sacrificing sleep for you. That's sacrificing my health for you. I am martyring myself to blogging.

What is the cause of this lack of sleep? The WFUV pledge drive of course. Thanks to the joys of anxiety I didn't give them my hours till Monday, two days before the drive. My new thing is anxiety putting things on my calendar.

I just realized how much I have to write about. I have to write about Monday. Well as I don't want to martyr myself too much I'll try to keep things short.

Yesterday was John Platt's On Your Radar. This month's performers were Bluebirds of Happiness, Cariad Harmon , and Robert Sarazin Blake. Regular readers should know which one is my people.

First up was Robert. I can't write this without tipping things off. He's my people. He went to NERFA this year and I encouraged everyone I know to check him out. He's someone that there's no question why you need to see. There's nobody like him, nobody like him, nobody like him. It's not his earthy baritone voice, earthy baritone voice, earthy baritone voice. It's not his subject matter. It's not his subject matter. It's not his subject matter. It's the nature of what he does. The nature, the nature, the nature of what he does. Many of his songs or not songs per se but beat poetry. They're beat poetry, beat poetry, beat poetry, performed to a groove. Forgive me Robert for trying to and not succeeding in echoing your style. He mesmerizes you with the cadence but keeps you thinking and often keeps you laughing. Well not laughing outside but chuckling inside. Though when he gets everyone quoting Walk on the Wild Side without him mentioning the song you pretty much have to react somehow. All while still singing Do dah do dah do. I got my validation when Fred leaned over and said, "He's the real deal." He is.

Which reminds me I am not following my own style. I raced into this without discussing commuting or who was there? I'll skip the commute. All the mass transit fans just left the room. Let's make fun of them now. I got there early, well duh. I walked down Orchard Street and as I approached I saw Karen. She asked me where we walked in, the door was locked. I told her just where she came from. She's from Idaho. I’m from New York. I take the direct approach. I don’t accept a place not being open yet. I knocked on the door. Who walked over from inside but John Platt. Too bad he doesn't have a key to the door. He got the bartender to let us in. I usually go right downstairs and lord it over the peons that have to wait to go in but I stayed and hung out with Karen. See Richard if you were a cute woman I'd stay and talk to you too. Who else was there, Lisa, Richard, Viki, and Dan. I'm not sure if Phyllis was there yet. Oh and of course Fred who always sits with me. Other people beat us downstairs but Dan saved our usual seats for us. We always sit in the front corner house left. It's the best spot for photography. Oh wait, Loyse was up there too. I didn't see Gidge till I got downstairs. Linda sat in the table behind us. Yes this was a home game. It's On Your Radar it's always a home game. I help promote the show which is why I get to go down early.

The Bluebirds of Paradise are Ari Hest and Chrissi Poland. I'll be honest, they do not resonate with me. They do Brazilian inspired music which is pleasant and fun and some other people loved and were quite vocal about. I will quote someone else in the audience again, this time. I heard this person say, "They were cute."

Cariad was more interesting. Not my sweet spot. Not someone who knocked me out, but someone with talent and not out of a cookie cutter. She also had very vocal support.

I don't know how to handle this when there's someone I'm so enthusiastic about and then have to write about others. Being sleep deprived means I'm not making the effort to be more creative about how I go about it.

I of course wanted to make a quick exit because I had to get up so early today. So of course the show ran quite a bit late. Then walking out I saw Karen had been joined by her Bobtown bandmate Katherine. I stopped to talk to her for a while. I stopped to talk more to Robert. I talked to a few more friends. I left a half an hour later than I wanted to.

I wanted to make great time getting home. My strategy is to take the first in either direction. Both hook me up with trains that will take me home. The uptown train came first. That means taking it one stop and transferring to the or . If the comes first I can even take that downtown. I just missed a and wasn't sure if the was still running so I hopped on the which arrived right before I got on to the platform. I just ran down the stairs and into the train. I started reading things on my phone and not paying attention and found myself on the bridge. If you live in New York that's a tip off. I heard the next stop announced, Marcy Ave. NOOOO it wasn't the it was the ! Ugh. I was in Williamsburg. I got off took the bus home. Of course it took way longer than if I hadn't made the mistake. The bus ride alone takes longer than the entire trip could take if things go well on the trains. That's why I got so little sleep.

Today I went to WFUV. There was only one other volunteer there for the first shift. Two students helped out. I was kept very busy. I had to take a lot of calls and I had to deal with start of the drive issues. Jim wasn't in today. I could have used him there. Don't tell him that.

More volunteers came the rest of the day and things were easier. I spent much of the day talking about Doctor Who with Laura the volunteer coordinator. That's our bit bonding thing. And this is someone who loves bluegrass and fiddles.

When Rona and Bob came I thought of making an early exit. I thought about it but things kept coming up so I didn't. I was once again anxious to get home. And I once again screwed up my commute. I was supposed to take the bus to the train that takes me all the way home. But I couldn't really see where I was on the crowded but and thought I counted three stops an got off. I was by the and train stop not the . Not sure how much time that cost me as it's a more direct route and I didn't have to wait for the https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zMYKqqxuWak/UPruRYwHaYI/AAAAAAABiT0/JdbvY4vnesg/s800/4_16.gif">

OK now I am finishing this up and going to bed so I can at least get over six hours of sleep. ">

OK now I am finishing this up and going to bed so I can at least get over six hours of sleep. If I'm lucky closer to seven.


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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 15, 2015
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