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

January 19, 2014 - 10:29 a.m.

They are aproximately the natural log of 8103

I got very little sleep last night but I'm up early enough to write so I'm going to; I am choosing you My Gentle Readers over my health.

Yesterday I went to Chris and Seth's house aka Church Korner House Concerts to see We're About 9. It just isn't fair that it takes me as long to get there as it does to school in Manhattan. The entire trips is just 3.8 miles driving but by subway and bus it's at least 45 minutes. Last night I tried something different, subway and bus and it took me about an hour. I could have walked it in the same time. I have walked there from here. This is a home game of home games. Chris and I travel in very much the same circles and I bet I knew half the audience. Should I try making a list? Gene, Isabel, Paul, Gella, Alex, Nate, Caroline, Julie, Carolyn, Peter, Coco, Kevin Bill, Aviv, Zev, Anna, Tony, Emily, � . If you are insulted that I forgot you, you clearly don't know me well enough to feel insulted. That's 18 people, plus me, and the three people that live there that makes 22, which is more than half the audience.

This was an official house concert as I made my Choco-Lavinator, French toast bread pudding with chocolate chips. Emily, Seth's girlfriend, made chocolate ganache balls so I'm going to knock off Seth and marry her. As Seth is one of my best friends I paid him the courtesy of telling him to sleep with one eye open as I was going to knock him off so I could marry his girlfriend. I am a really good friend. I almost proposed to the guy that brought the Nathan's cocktail franks but I felt that as he didn't know me he might be taken aback by that so I just told him that I would have proposed if he knew me better. And yet they don't lock me up. I don't really get that.

Paul brought me a Festivus present of chocolate. I did not propose to him. He's relieved. I am insulted.

Oh and for the second time in a month I had a conversation with someone at a party about the plural of platypus being platypodes with someone that knew enough greek to know what I was talking about. Clearly I go to the right parties. Last night it was with Emily. See I'm not shallow, I'm not going to kill my friend to marry her just for chocolate. OK, I am, I planned this well before the platypodes conversation. Emily thought I said "platyponies" at first so we created a new animal, part horse part platypus. It's going to be the sensation of the pet world. Every kid will want one come next Festivus. Oh it lays eggs made of chocolate ganache. See it all comes together.

Like the Kennedys We're About 9 lost their new band smell ages ago. I first saw them Mother's Day Weekend 2002. They introduced themselves to Carey and me and since then have been a favorite band and friends. And like the Kennedys despite being cozy and comfortable they still excite me. How good are they? There are some issues I'm having that I always think about. I stopped thinking about them and concentrated purely on the music till I started writing this in my head. I then went back to total concentration. Now if I could remember what I wanted to write about them. It isn't enough to say they are brilliant. I'll see what I can remember from last night. What I wrote then was absolutely brilliant.

We're About 9 has an amazing data compression ratio. Their songs are dense with content. The most obvious thing is that there are a lot of words, there are a lot of big words. They are good prep for taking the SATs. But it's beyond that. One of my favorite quotes is "the difference between the right word and almost the right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug." They don't just use a lot of words they use the right word. But it goes beyond that. They use exactly the right note, exactly the right harmony, exactly the right lag in when the different voices come in on a harmony. It's the perfect blend between what is expected and what is a surprise. it all seems fresh. You hear things you've never heard before. You hear thoughts you never heard expressed and ones you've heard a million times but presented in a way you never imagined. When I blog I often hold back on writing something till I can come up with a new way of saying it. They do that on every song.

It all sounds very intellectual but they are also very silly. I'd be entertained if they never did a song. They are one of the bands that I feel comfortable heckling. But it's worse, I feel obliged to heckle. It's hard to not join the fun.

The opening act was Seth who brought his usual energy and charisma. We'll he lives there so he didn't actually have to bring it. It was already there. That's why he could bring two guitars. But no electric guitars which is what he uses on the album. That's because he thinks were weren't good enough to deserve them. Yes I heckled Seth too. And yet they don't lock me up. They really should.

I of course did not make a quick getaway. I talked to fun people then started the odyssey home. I took the to the with a stop at the bank in between. So far so good. But when I got the Borough Hall the electronic sign that says when the next train is coming didn't. It just gave the time. I figured the system was out. It wasn't. it just didn't know when the next train was coming. Finally it said the next train was in 24 minutes. I almost got out and took a cab. I should have. The train came. I got on it. And then after the next station Nevins, it stopped dead. The announcement came on that it was because of train traffic but that was impossible as there was no train before it for at least half an hour. Then the real announcement came, there were doing track work and had to wait for workers to clear the tracks. The train did run express from Atlantic to Utica but even with that the trip from Borough Hall to my house which normally takes 15 minutes took well over an hour. I got home at 2:30 AM. That's why I didn't get enough sleep.

Now I have to get ready as I am seeing We're About 9 again and Gene & Isabel's house today. I'll edit the pictures from today and tomorrow tonight and put them up tomorrow.


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 January 19, 2014
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