A word of advice to young readers

Enjoy your pre-forty-ones.

My life until I turned forty-one was one giant seamless bliss. Looking back now, it was as if I was forever running through a big green field and flying a kite like I was in an allergy commercial, at the end, when everything's awesome. I didn't know how good I had it.

Life before forty-one is as good as it gets. Your best days are behind you, that's for sure, so enjoy it while you still can. When you turn forty-one, just accept it and shamble quietly towards your ruin and your death. It's not like you can do anything about it anyway.

Third Annual Family Redsox Outing

Participants:

father
sister
wonderniece
L
myself

The gameday consensus among various weathercasters was that there may or may not be precipitation, and that something definitely might happen.

Traveling to and from Fenway (via the red and green lines) was uneventful, except for L getting hit by a car and thereby somehow almost embroiling us all in a front-page incident. She wasn't hurt and the situation sort of evaporated as the driver pantomimed looking through the trunk of his car for some sort of weapon - the family consensus interpretation of his fumbling and ultimately cowardish approach to a what was a stressful situation for all involved. May we all find peace.

Before the game L bought a pink RED SOX zippered hoodie, lapsed into post-traumatic shopping disorder.

We lost. It wasn't ever gonna happen, even with a rally in the ninth. L and I were both cold.

Very good pizza with family afterward, then back to Marshfield to play music with mr o.

the Now Today Ensemble

A lovely dinnerparty, managed by Persephone Haverhast, complete with coffee ground forecasting.

We finally got to see Now Today Week, a film by Vlindinhauer Haverhast. Now Today Week is not only immensely enjoyable, it is also a true representation of what it was like to be there at the time. Experientially, isomorphically exact.

I premiered three pieces of music I finished over Memorial Day weekend.

We had the first runthrough of side one of Pink Floyd's The final cut as a septet.

Vlindinhauer Haverhast ~ bass and voice
Persephone Haverhast ~ handclaps
Mr why ~ atmospherist
Sabitathica ~ hello
L ~ sound synthesis modules no. 1 - 6
Tech Support ~ a contractual obligation to facilitate compliance with the Now Today Society Event Rider (Standard)'s Technology Quota Clause. Also, voice.
MPM ~ heroic historian


The ensemble watched a strange new film by Tech Support, who I should mention is the vocalist and front man for my new project The Darkness of Stars. He's in one of his dangerous creative phases (or he'd better be) so check him out at Eyedrum on August 6. But don't take my word for it:

Atherton Flux: "Seeing Tech Support onstage is like watching a wild animal wither and despair and ultimately fall under the weight of age and responsibility, but over and over again really fast, and the background music is the most beautiful soundtrack to self-destruction you've ever heard."

Vlindinhauer and I had a stand by the ocean, with the dark tide lapping our bare feet. The women looked on adoringly from a distance.

Persephone produced sparklers. We lit them all, and it was the happiest any of us had ever been in our lives.


A patrol car showed up and slowed down and communicated to us with his reverse lights his stance on victimless crime. But he must have decided the paperwork wasn't worth it.

The Hotel Suburban had no heat. After a phonecall we learned the hotel can supply either air conditioning or heat to its rooms. It can't do both and it can't treat any room individually. And so not for the first time and not for the last, Elizabeth and I were cold. A no-heat pattern is presenting.

3 am to sleep, early to rise, Bob's muffin shop to eat. Rendezvoused with family for a fieldtrip to Fenway.

The darkness of stars will perform at eyedrum

Rising to the challenge presented by Number Six (a.k.a. Tech Support)'s visit to the Nunnery in August, we have committed to a gig at eyedrum on the evening of Saturday the 7th. The ensemble is called The Darkness of Stars.

From an email I sent Thursday afternoon:

The Darkness of Stars is a clandestine collective of pioneering provocateurs who play dark, mystical, atmospheric dreamrock, with generous notes of cocoa, pepper and black cherry.

Tech Support, Sabitathica, and L are all card-carrying members of the famed Now Today Society. Mark Baker performs with Atlanta's own Z-Axis. Christopher Mont is a drummer.

Tech Support, the mysterious underground nyc vocalist / misanthropic recluse, is typically found ruining computers and pretending to be an actual artist.

Sabitathica prefers dimly-lit rooms. He was the guitarist for The Trench Sisters.

Mark Baker knows many things. He lays down the ambiance. You will not be able to stand so much beauty.

L plays the Moog, and occasionally the cello and flute. She is also learning to knit.

Christopher Mont is a drummer.

For more information visit http://sabitathica.blogspot.com/

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Come one, come all. Tell a good friend.

This rare live appearance will feature the world-premier of several beautiful pieces, including Autumn 4: the satyrical way and Bring me the head of Vlindinhauer Haverhast.

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it's true...

so.


much.


beauty.

Arthur and Pat's

This morning, L & I breakfasted at Arthur & Pat's on Ocean Street in Brant Rock.

She had the bananabread french toast, which she hasn't had since the last time we ate here (Ocotber 2008) and has been pining for ever since.

We were Pat's last customers of the season that October. She closed down the restaurant that day after we left.

It was good to be back.

back pain

Upon arriving in Massachusetts and after greeting the family, I visited a chiropractor. My Atlanta chiropractor was not able to replace my rib, so I made an appointment to see one up here.

I've seen this new chiropractor only once before, two years ago. But when I called him to ask for an appointment he remembered:

1. my name.
2. which rib he'd set for me two years earlier.

He adjusted me, but I'm not convinced he quite reset the reluctant rib.

We shall see.

Arrival scan

A traveling day.


The hardest part of traveling is the part which involves traveling. Planes and buses and taxis and walkways and cars and waiting and rushing and putting up with other travelers... I prefer the arriving part.

We are here now.

Atherton, take me away...

Last night: a visit post music-prison to the amnemonic chiropractor so that he might coax a prodigal rib to reconspire with its long-suffering colleagues. Success was moderate.

His bizarre memory was in top form: he greeted me by name. A first! And later when I told him I was traveling soon he responded "Oh, France?" which surprised me, b'c we've only spoken about France once, last summer.

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El secreto de sus ojos, ftw! L and I saw it at the Tara. Four thumbs held high. It is a story well told.

The audience was terrible. Bustle-y and food-obsessed. Who are these people?

The man across the aisle ate for an hour and a half, I'm not exaggerating, stopping only occasionally to wheeze and cough on the backs of the necks of the people in front of him. And me. Do they ever feed him outside of theaters?

I don't know how popcorn and plastic-wrapped candies became gastronomical de rigueur for quiet (?) cultural gathering spaces.

Q: Why are some people so cluelessly incareful while others are doomed to believe that everything they do, whether intentional or not, affects sensitive things in their environment?
A: Unknown

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Packing begins tonight for the northward trek. The team is ready, the plan loose-fitting.

There's music, old friends, family, and the ocean all to see. We may visit the Vineyard. We will congregate on the Fenway and incite the Red Sox to athletic transcendency. Or at least to victory. Hooray! And there are at least two formal social gatherings on the docket.

Enough for good times and to spare.

album release!

We're excited to announce that The Autumn Series will soon be available on the iTunes store and elsewhere. This will be the first release from Saint in Shadow Records.

Updates will appear on the new NEWS page.

Tannis, anyone?

Sabitathica: spring 5 (tannis, anyone?)

L: cello

the future

A painting by the wonderful Julian de Narvaez:

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weekend:

* friday night listening party (x2)
* work on new flute/sitar piece
* work on Number Six's song
* brunch (x2)
* much ridiculous shopping
* L finished knitting my scarf (photo coming soon), though it still needs to be wet-blocked
* finished twin peaks, (season 1)
* homemade margaritas last night

several new developments are in the air. stay tuned for details...

Crayon monster

You: put more of your crayon drawings on this blog, please. and be quick about it!
Sabitathica: go away and leave me alone.

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Here is a drawing taken from an ongoing series of celebrity crayon portraits. This is Cookie Monster: