I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity.
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.
Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so
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 ...
November 20, 2011 - 11:53 a.m.
I'm back in the swing of things and getting pretty busy. Yesterday afternoon I met my friend Pam and her friend Joey for lunch. Why is that a big deal? Pam is from Australia. What is the best thing about the Internet? It allows me to meet and befriend an opera singer from Tasmania. If you had asked me as a kid, where in the world would you most like to meet somebody from I'd have said "Tasmania." I just loved reading about it in the animal encyclopedia. And she's an opera singer! You can hear her sing on her blog The Fairy Soprano. I have a remarkable group of friends. They are definitely not a random sample of humanity.
This is her first time in the US and as we didn't have a lot of time I wanted to choose a real New York dining experience. If you know me you know that means Katz's Deli. Here she is doing me proud eating pastrami and knobblewurst. She proved adventurous, more so than me, she had Cel-Ray tonic. After lunch I gave her the mini walking tour of the East Village. I somehow walked right past Alphabets. Good thing actually as I would have been late if I hadn't. When I found out she liked Rent I showed her the Life Café. This is what we saw when we got there.
I forgot that it closed. I'm sure that Saburah told me that. Like our sad faces?
We then walked through Thompkin's Square Park and made out way to the subway. They were headed down to Ground Zero and I went up to Grand Central Station. We somehow fell a bit behind schedule and I had to run to the subway to catch my train. I had a bit of a wait for the subway so the running was useless. I made it to the platform at Grand Central with 20 seconds to spare. I could have actually taken the next train and arrived just in time but I wasn't sure of that till I got there.
Where was I going? Urban H2O in Yonkers to see Pesky J. Nixon and Barnaby Bright. It is absurd that I hadn't been there before. It is a music series run by my friends Mark and Beth and so many of my friends have played there. It has just never worked out before. I know it won't be my last time.
It is only a couple of blocks from the train station so it wasn't hard to get to. There was not a good sign marking the name of the building the Beczak Center but I knew that it had to be the right place. When I saw Becky and Nathan walking to their car I didn't have to see a sign. After confirming that they weren't running away because I was there, I went inside.
It was like a continuation of NERFA with Pesky and Lisa, David Goldman three quarters of Spuyten Duyvil and two thirds of The YaYas. Catherine and Jay were there but they didn't go to Rent-a-Paul so the other third was once more an imaginary bandmate. Who am I forgetting?
I was joined by Gene and Isabel and sat with them. I knew as high a fraction of the people there as I would at a party. I love having friends.
Before the show there is a song circle, musicians playing one song a piece. Then it was on to Barnaby Bright. Time works strangely between them and me. Becky said, "It's been so long since we've seen you, ... September." It's only been a few months but we feel we should be seeing each other more. Then I realized that we had met almost exactly a year ago and NERFA. That just doesn't seem possible. We've known each other forever, not a year. That's how it feels. It's great when you can find people like that.
Have I told you often enough that you need to hear their music? What don't they do great? Great songs, great musicianship, great voices and harmonies; none of it off the rack. Their music is folk but it reflects their jazz and classical backgrounds. Somehow their complex techniques convey folk simplicity. If you listen casually all you know is that you're feelings will be taken to magical places. If you listen closely you'll marvel at how they bring you there.
Becky and Nathan
I think I'm out of things to say about Pesky J. Nixon, I used up all my words writing about that at NERFA. I've only known them two years and I've known them forever too. Ethan treats me the way I treat Catherine. He insists on an immediate hug when he sees me. Everyone is always struck by their sense of community. They are committed to that but it shouldn't overshadow their music. It's easy to think of their songs are folk party music but there is so much more. They also write moving thoughtful songs. What's best is that they don't think that one is more important than the other. They aren't afraid of making the party crowd think or having the "serious" people think them light.
Pesky J. Nixon
Whenever I take pictures of them Dan, the drummer, gets short shrift. He's always hidden behind Jake and Ethan. I had a good angle last night and made up for lost time.
It's late so I'll try and wrap this up. I'll go with the slideshow. If you click on it you'll be taken to the album.
After the show I did a lot more socializing. Barbara was able to make it for the last few songs and I said hi to her. I was disappointed that she wasn't at NERFA.
I almost forgot to tell you, I had a beer! One feature of Urban H2O is that one of their sponsors is a brewery and they have, free beer. That isn't what made me have it though. It is that they had chocolate beer. It wasn't actually very chocolaty but I couldn't resist. It was good.
Gene and Isabel gave me a ride home. That was nice. I always love driving home with them.
Now my bacon and eggs are beckoning.
I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge:
please hold me accountable.
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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 November 20, 2011
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