May 25, 2009 11:56hrs. --- I'm at my folks's place in Jefferson, so I have momentary access to a television. “The Price is Right” came on at eleven o' clock in the morning, making this the first time in years that I've seen the show. In my fuzzy, croaking, just-out-of-bed brain state I found the show completely undignified and repulsive. The Price is Right is a depressing microcosm of a too-large portion of most Americans' lives. All that tacky glitter, the flashing light bulbs, the stylized games... it's like an ugly retail labyrinth in which everyone is hopelessly, hopelessly ecstatic to be wasting their time.
Would I try to guess the prices of six grocery items for a chance to win sixteen grand? Sure. But why does everybody soil themselves jumping up and down when selected as a contender? Are we really that excited about being on-camera and having a chance to win a billiards table? Come now.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
May 24, 2009. 2315 hrs. --- Today was a frenetic day at the corner cafe; if you were there this afternoon you already know that. I enjoyed the frantic pace.
Less than an hour after getting out, I played at The Mad Dog for two hours. If anyone present there is reading this now, thanks for hanging out and making it such a great time. Look for me on the streets and at the Gardiner Farmers' Market next week!
After The Mad Dog I finally managed to reach Nicole via telephone. It's always great to hear that voice. We talked for almost an hour; at one point she cheered me on for my recent vegetarianism, cardio, and lifting routines. After we said goodbye I sallied forth to hit up the grocery store for heaps of vegetables and smoked salmon, and as soon as I'm done writing this I will eat with barbaric gusto, knowing that my friend the beguiling nurse approves. I'm beginning to feel some power in my body, and I'm enjoying it very much. Can't wait to lift again.
Spinning Dinosaur Jr.'s "Without a Sound" at the moment. I've got to add some of these songs to my songbook.
Been studying Jason Martineau's The Elements of Music and taking intense notes. It's a beautifully succinct, intense little book with surprising reach; it even serves as a springboard into linguistics as they relate to songwriting and composition.
Currently reading Chambers's weird classic The King in Yellow. It is free on Project Gutenberg, so you can easily check it out if your eyeballs can handle reading on a computer screen. The stories are of mixed quality, but I found the better ones quite satisfying. You will especially enjoy them, I think, if you have read and enjoyed the 1920's American horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. Chambers was one of Lovecraft's inspirations and several themes common to Lovecraft are present in The King in Yellow: forbidden books that wear away the sanity of their readership, for example.
There is more to say, but I am too hungry to say it. Thanks for reading this. See you on the streets, in my e-mail, on the commons, or in my mailbox.
Less than an hour after getting out, I played at The Mad Dog for two hours. If anyone present there is reading this now, thanks for hanging out and making it such a great time. Look for me on the streets and at the Gardiner Farmers' Market next week!
After The Mad Dog I finally managed to reach Nicole via telephone. It's always great to hear that voice. We talked for almost an hour; at one point she cheered me on for my recent vegetarianism, cardio, and lifting routines. After we said goodbye I sallied forth to hit up the grocery store for heaps of vegetables and smoked salmon, and as soon as I'm done writing this I will eat with barbaric gusto, knowing that my friend the beguiling nurse approves. I'm beginning to feel some power in my body, and I'm enjoying it very much. Can't wait to lift again.
Spinning Dinosaur Jr.'s "Without a Sound" at the moment. I've got to add some of these songs to my songbook.
Been studying Jason Martineau's The Elements of Music and taking intense notes. It's a beautifully succinct, intense little book with surprising reach; it even serves as a springboard into linguistics as they relate to songwriting and composition.
Currently reading Chambers's weird classic The King in Yellow. It is free on Project Gutenberg, so you can easily check it out if your eyeballs can handle reading on a computer screen. The stories are of mixed quality, but I found the better ones quite satisfying. You will especially enjoy them, I think, if you have read and enjoyed the 1920's American horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. Chambers was one of Lovecraft's inspirations and several themes common to Lovecraft are present in The King in Yellow: forbidden books that wear away the sanity of their readership, for example.
There is more to say, but I am too hungry to say it. Thanks for reading this. See you on the streets, in my e-mail, on the commons, or in my mailbox.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
May 17th, 2009. 1210hrs --- Had an interesting gig last night; I sang “Sexual Healing” to the chef of the A1 Diner, who came out with some friends. It was good to have company; last Saturday I went out with Nicole and I've been missing her very much ever since. Hurry home, Nicole.
If there's a word for seafood-eating vegetarianism, that word now describes one more skinny white boy's diet. I've also been running and working out for a month. I've already developed some endurance, already developed some muscle. The discipline does me good. I'm being strategic about my life as a whole: cleaning the apartment, budgeting my money, budgeting my time. I want to get a hold on all that loose sand, all those loose minutes that aren't spent constructively. I know from rolling my spare change that small quantities of money add up over time; seconds and minutes add up the same way. I am a healthy, mentally sharp young person with access to many books and musical instruments---I'm streamlining everything in my life so that no moment, no resource is wasted if it could be spent well. When you've got a curious mind and something to exercise it on, life is good.
You might've noticed that I made a photographic appearance in the Kennebec Journal on Wednesday, in the Gardiner insert. It was great to see all these hardworking business owners getting attention throughout that section of the paper; I am a patron and a fan of all those establishments, I crack jokes and trade stories with their owners on a daily basis. My only gripe with the insert is that there are a lot of people missing from it, but many of the town's unique gems were covered, so I suppose I should shut up and be grateful.
A few weeks ago I went to a wine show with my boss to figure out what wines we want to bring into the cafe to sell. While there, we found a bottle called “Red Right Hand,” after the famous song by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. The cafe is looking good, by the way; we've got over 250 labels of wine and probably more than 100 microbrewery beers at this point. I still think we need more dry Rieslings. I don't drink wine often, but when I do I love dry Riesling.
Got some music in the mail this week: Dinosaur Jr.'s albums “Without a Sound” and “You're Living All Over Me,” Sam Cooke's “Ain't That Good News,” John Zorn's “Mysterium,” and Phantom Orchard's “Orra.” Also received Jorge Luis Borges's box of lectures that Harvard found in their archives recently. What an amazing man. Later today “Pillow Wand” by Thurston Moore and Nels Cline should arrive. Meanwhile I listen to even more Marvin Gaye. I can't get enough Marvin Gaye.
I hope you're happy, healthy, and productive. Thanks for reading this.
If there's a word for seafood-eating vegetarianism, that word now describes one more skinny white boy's diet. I've also been running and working out for a month. I've already developed some endurance, already developed some muscle. The discipline does me good. I'm being strategic about my life as a whole: cleaning the apartment, budgeting my money, budgeting my time. I want to get a hold on all that loose sand, all those loose minutes that aren't spent constructively. I know from rolling my spare change that small quantities of money add up over time; seconds and minutes add up the same way. I am a healthy, mentally sharp young person with access to many books and musical instruments---I'm streamlining everything in my life so that no moment, no resource is wasted if it could be spent well. When you've got a curious mind and something to exercise it on, life is good.
You might've noticed that I made a photographic appearance in the Kennebec Journal on Wednesday, in the Gardiner insert. It was great to see all these hardworking business owners getting attention throughout that section of the paper; I am a patron and a fan of all those establishments, I crack jokes and trade stories with their owners on a daily basis. My only gripe with the insert is that there are a lot of people missing from it, but many of the town's unique gems were covered, so I suppose I should shut up and be grateful.
A few weeks ago I went to a wine show with my boss to figure out what wines we want to bring into the cafe to sell. While there, we found a bottle called “Red Right Hand,” after the famous song by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. The cafe is looking good, by the way; we've got over 250 labels of wine and probably more than 100 microbrewery beers at this point. I still think we need more dry Rieslings. I don't drink wine often, but when I do I love dry Riesling.
Got some music in the mail this week: Dinosaur Jr.'s albums “Without a Sound” and “You're Living All Over Me,” Sam Cooke's “Ain't That Good News,” John Zorn's “Mysterium,” and Phantom Orchard's “Orra.” Also received Jorge Luis Borges's box of lectures that Harvard found in their archives recently. What an amazing man. Later today “Pillow Wand” by Thurston Moore and Nels Cline should arrive. Meanwhile I listen to even more Marvin Gaye. I can't get enough Marvin Gaye.
I hope you're happy, healthy, and productive. Thanks for reading this.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Cancellation
Gig was cut short this evening because of a bad scene involving bad drunks. All this week's hard work, for nothing!
Sorry to everyone cool who was just trying to enjoy themselves. We'll rally again next week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)