Only then when I am

January 13, a traditionally significant day.

Re-recorded my poor first attempt at Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, with more success.

Hornets wail by children stung

Still cold here. Luckily the Nunnery has a fireplace (four, actually), and buying wood is cheaper than death by freezing. I recorded a poor version of Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun today.

No heat

The Nunnery has no heat again today. For the fifth time this Winter. Which begs the question, WTH? Someone came out to look at it today, someone who isn't one of the people who's looked at it the previous four times. He thinks I need a new control board, which of course he can't replace until the stores open on Monday. What gives?

Meanwhile, I have a small coterie of space heaters encircling me wherever I go, looking up at me like sycophantic devotees.

Cold as it is, I did manage to record a rough draft of Cirrus Minor in Ableton.

Bigger fish to fry

A very busy day at work followed by a mediocre dinner at the famous Carroll Street Cafe. The dinner was not helped by the public argument between a mother and her (30-something) son sitting directly to my left. The son's girlfriend looked quietly on and didn't say a word. She did pay the bill, however - perhaps in more ways than one.

I'm now moved back into my old, "real" office, which is an absolute mess. Everything is in boxes. There's dust everywhere from the drywall recently torn down/put up. The heat doesn't work. There's no place for students to sit. Absolute mayhem.

They probably use sonar

Caught the 7:00 showing of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button tonight with L. I like David Fincher, especially Fight Club and Zodiac, but I don't know how I feel about this new one. Strangely, everybody I've talked to has the same three things to say:

1. It's long - it's almost three hours long - but it didn't feel long, you know what I mean?
2. It kind of reminded me of Forest Gump.
3. I can't believe how they made Brad Pitt look so old/young!

I get suspicious when everybody gives me the same opinion, verbatim, down to the very phrasing. This happened with The Dark Knight too. Everybody I talked to said the same things. Here's what they say every time, with my responses:

Q. What do you mean you didn't like it? It was awesome!
A. No, it wasn't. It was sloppy. And retarded. And it was made by cynical people who think you're dumb.

Q. But don't you think Heath Ledger was amazing? He totally became the Joker! It's like he got so deeply into the character that he died!
A. Listen to yourself. That doesn't make sense. But yeah, he was fine. He did his job. No need to gush.

Q. Well, okay. It wasn't perfect. I mean Batman's voice was kind of irritating. (They imitate Batman's voice.) It was hard to understand what he was saying.
A. Mm hmm. Yeah.

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After the movie, L & I parked in the driveway of the Nunnery and debriefed. After a minute we saw a possum walk in front of the car.

Sabitathica: Hey, watch this. Did you know that possums are blind? (I flash the car headlights at the possum several times. It doesn't react.) See? Blind.
L: (looks doubtful)
Sabitathica: Heh, but I bet if I make a noise, it'll run away. Watch this. (I open and close the car door loudly. The possum still doesn't react.)
L: (looks at me questioningly)
Sabitathica: Huh. That's weird. I guess they're deaf, too. I didn't know that. I wonder how they navigate...
L: (shakes her head and looks at me like maybe I don't know as much about possums as I think I do.)

So happy we can hardly count

* The amnemonic chiropractor was unable to relieve the pain in my back.

* I'm moving back to my old, "real" office tomorrow. I will miss having two harpsichords and a piano in my office.

* I'm having trouble extracting video from the mini-DVDs which hold some footage from the Northern Holidays.

Memento Mori

Went to a viewing tonight for Tracie's father, who died on 1/3/9 at 11:40. L met me there. We returned to the Nunnery (after she walked Cupid) and ate pizza from Fellini's. Work is very busy. There is pain in my back.

Heat

* Yesterday was a travel day. The flight was full except for the seat next to me, which was unoccupied. Almost no sleep for 36 hours.

* The heat at the Nunnery has mysteriously turned itself off four times so far this season. It has also been repaired four times. This is becoming something of a theme.

1st problem: unidentified. The repairer did "something" (he didn't know what) and heat spontaneously returned.
2nd problem: faulty gas valve, replaced.
3rd problem: faulty motor of some sort, replaced.
4th problem: the replacement for the faulty motor was, itself, faulty. And it was replaced.

* My annual holiday trip north was a success. Lots of good times with family and friends.

* First LBC of the new year earlier.

* Music school began today. Very busy.

Cirrus Minor

To Vlindinhauer's one last time for music and to light what remained of the fireworks, only half having been ignited New Year's Eve. Then to Logan Hilton to sleep 1.25 hours before boarding a flight back to Bedlam.

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The evening's progression, in impressionistic triptych form:

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New year's day

Woke, showered, and didn't brush because we didn't bring the toothpaste. A forty-five minute sitting before ckeckout.

Back to Vlindinhauer's for conversation, a light brunch, and a sampling of the video footage shot over this holiday season so far. I'm compiling/editing the material this year, and though I don't have it all yet, I sense there's more quality audio than video. It would be nice to have a volunteer for dedicated videographer. Much of the video recorded by my laptop and the two handhelds I was using are dark and/or still. No wonder Josh - I mean Number Six - was so eager to pawn this project off on me.

Back to the South Shore for dinner and drinks with family.

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Never twice the same

Christmas at The New Great Hall by the Sea:


The llamas were cold:


And Brenevin (aka Black Death) flowed like wine:

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Later there was scotch over ice made from Iceland water.

In which we examine the events occurring on the eve of the new year

The company was nine:

Vlindinhauer Haverhast
Vlindinhauer's wife, M
Josh who has again asked to be called Number Six
Oleg
Julia
Ryan
Rose
L
Sabitathica

The food was wonderful as usual. M is a very good cook. The setting was different this year, a table having been arranged in the Hall, the former diningroom functioning for the night as a conservatory.

Libations included Brenevin aka Black Death, armagnac, a fountainful of sparkling wine, and Turkish coffee.


The banishing of worldly desires:

All present participated in a ceremony found in Buddhist tradition in which a bell is struck 108 times over the course of an evening to hold at bay the 108 worldly desires in 2009. If you're interested, I happened to sound notes 31, 32, and 33.


The auguries:

We read the patterns left by the grounds of our Turkish coffees, bound by the intent of the moment to portend what 2009 has in store for each of us.

My grounds told of:
a man who worships the sky,
possibly the same man being struck by lightning,
a burning tree,
towards the end an event which was unclear to me but which looked significant.


The music:

In addition to the, what, 17-hour playlist? there was live music. We as an ensemble repeatedly performed (some would say "rehearsed") the song In the Court of the Crimson King. For those who aren't familiar with this song, it figures in the upcoming film A Robert Browning New Year. And we sang Auld Lang Syne near midnight.


The fireworks:

Nearer still to midnight there were fireworks by the jetty. It was cold and windy and the flame wouldn't take for what felt like several minutes. The year began for me with a baptism of sorts when the sea rose from its own deeps to lap my feet, wetting me to the ankle.


The walk:

After the evening wound down, L & I walked to our hotelroom in the biting cold. My father said he'd heard it was -43 degrees that night. My guess was -20. It was so cold I thought there was a chance L might not make it, and the next morning after talking about it we discovered we'd both had thoughts of me carrying her and knocking on the doors of perfect strangers asking for warmth.


Projects unfinished:

1. Tannhauser, in its entirety;
2. Ferreting out the Then Yesterday Society mole who infiltrated the upper echelons of the Now Today Society. There seems to be a strong case against Josh - I mean Number Six - maybe even enough of a case to skip the formality of a trial. We shall see.
3. There remain more good times to be had, more good times to be had.

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