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

June 14, 2003 - 12:43 p.m.

Rockin' the Outpost in the Burbs

Rita Houston always says that I�m hardcore. I�m starting to believe her. Last night I saw SONiA at The Outpost in the Burbs. The place is always difficult to get to but without a car it�s a real adventure. I walked to the LIRR, took the train to Penn station, walked up to the Port Authority and took a bus to Montclair. Going there wasn�t actually that bad, the timing of the bus and train was good. Coming home was another matter. I had to wait over and hour for the Bus then a half an hour for the train so it took me three hours to get home. I could have practically have gone to Baltimore in that time.

SONiA (My use of capitol letters in her name is deliberate, it is how she bills herself) is worth it though. I haven�t seen her since last year�s SMAF. After the show and I talked to her and I figured out that I�ve been following her since 1991. Then she was in a band with her sister Cindy called disappear fear. When Cindy had a kid SONiA went solo.

I�ve always appreciated her songwriting but last night I realized how great a singer she is. Most of her songs are pure folk, think Phil Ochs, but one song had jazz elements and I loved it. Now I want to hear her sing Billie Holiday.

She is also one of the sweetest people in the world. When I got there last night my friend Jane, who volunteers at the Outpost couldn�t get over how now she was. I�ve never seen her react that way to any of the performers.

The really missed Carey during the opening act. He is someone we would have been making fun of. He is also an actor and mixes in some performance art in his act. His singing was better but he had already made a bad impression on me. He did get points for being upset that he was missing the NBA finals for the gig.

After the show Jane introduced me to Ahrre (pronounced like the letter �r�). I had spotted him before and knew he looked familiar but I didn�t know from where. He runs the Coffee with Conscience series where I had seen Eric Schwartz. He has really good taste in music, I�m sure I�ll be seeing him series again. In the last year or so I�ve been going to so many coffeehouses in Jersey. I wish there were more out on the Island or in the city. Here�s a list of the one�s I�ve been to.

  1. Outpost in the Burbs
  2. Hillside Cafe
  3. Outta Sights and Sounds
  4. Minstrel Coffeehouse
  5. Randolf Library
  6. Concerts at the Crossings

  7. Ringwood Library

I didn�t give a quote yesterday and now I�ve read so much I�m not sure if I can find a quote, from the Wall, I want to use today. I�ll try. Ah, here it is:

It is nonsense to feel humiliated by the Nazis, because we all know that our faith will survive their persecutions: we are better and stronger than they are, and they already know it�therefore we can regard our death as humiliating to them. What faith was ever wiped out by torture or arms or gags or faggots? Dolek, I am calm because I know that any system that is based upon love and respect will outlive any system based upon hatred and contempt.


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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 June 14, 2003
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