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 25, 2018 - 2:50 p.m.

Until the Blogs are Gone

My only adventure yesterday was going food shopping. I have a very low threshold for adventure. Hey, every time you leave the house you run the risk of getting run over or dying in a crash. That's a lot bigger risk than people obsess over; like terrorist attacks, mass shootings, and that thing you read on Facebook is unhealthy. I won't leave you in suspense, I did not die in a car or bus accident. I did fall victim of another kind of accident; on the way home, the milk started leaking. I'm environmentally conscious so I eschew plastic bags, the canvas did not do a good job of containing it. There was milk spreading over the floor of the bus on the ride home. I thought of carrying a plastic bag with me next time I shop in the event of it happening again but as this is the first time it's happened in my life I'm not going to worry about it. When I got home I poured the milk into a pitcher.

Do you need a breather after the excitement of that story? If you do take a break from reading and come back. I'm going to move on to something even more important than spilt milk.

Our main story tonight is a review of Amy Kucharik's new album, Until the Words are Gone. If your mind works like mine, e.g. correctly, all you need to hear is the title of one song and one detail about it, to know that you need to buy the album, see Amy live, and perhaps marry her. The world might be better off if everyone didn't express approval by proposing; we'll leave that as a personal quirk of mine.

The song in question is For Frogs and & Oscar Wilde and the fact is that it's a Kermit reference without ever mentioning his name or Muppets. Don't run off to buy it; it won't be available until June 1. I was lucky enough to get an advance copy; I am assuming it's because I'm cute. Stop giving me that look every time I say that. I will post the link the day it becomes available. What I can do now is embed one track.


You can take a minute to add buying the album on June 1 to your calendar. That's important and I'll wait for you to come back. What are you still doing here? Add it to your calendar. That's better.

You might have noticed that I'm a bit enthused, this is one of those albums that might have been made specifically for me. Some of the songs are lyrically dense, filled with word play and references. Amy lives in the Folk World but that's not where the music is. She is not someone that strums a guitar and sings songs or social conscience. She is not a sensitive singer/songwriter singing lyrically about her feelings. She never ever drones. Everything Amy writes has swing. 99 Bottles is rollicking Honky-Tonk blues. It could be covered by a rocker or country artist. My female musician friends should be lining up to cover Catcallin' Blues. I never understood catcalling; I think it's what the boys that didn't know how to talk to girls they like so they punched them in the arms do when they grow up but don't mature. That song is wonderfully snarky.

Everything But Love is from the point of view of a love shy nerd. It's a rollcall of nerd topics including Cephalopods, German Expressionism, robots, Batman, and Kermit the Frog. Kermit is clearly Amy's spirit animal. She throws in some mouth trumpet for good measure.

My general feeling about Amy is that she's fun but Broken is thoughtful and mournful. It just does it without being a dirge. Usually a song with so many words is funny or angry, this is introspective.

It's been a year and a half since I discovered Amy and she has not played in New York yet. Which of my presenter friends is going to change that? I'm going to tag you on Facebook. I expect some of you, not just one, to come through and book her.



I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge:
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 25, 2018
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