The Met: Week Three!

Wow, The Met just keeps giving! I just saw that there's going to be a third week of free opera streams...and it's the best week yet!

Check this out:

Monday, March 30 – Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites

Conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, starring Isabel Leonard, Adrianne Pieczonka, and Karita Mattila. Transmitted live on May 11, 2019.

Speaking of Isabel Leonard...

(from her appearance on Sesame Street)

If that doesn't make you want to see some opera, I don't know what will. 

Tuesday, March 31 – Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia

Conducted by Maurizio Benini, starring Joyce DiDonato, Juan Diego Flórez, and Peter Mattei. Transmitted live on March 24, 2007.

Wednesday, April 1 – John Adams’s Nixon in China

Conducted by John Adams, starring Janis Kelly and James Maddalena. Transmitted live on February 12, 2011.

Thursday, April 2 – Verdi’s Don Carlo   

Conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, starring Marina Poplavskaya, Roberto Alagna, Simon Keenlyside, and Ferruccio Furlanetto. Transmitted live December 11, 2010.

Friday, April 3 – Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles  

Conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, starring Diana Damrau, Matthew Polenzani, and Mariusz Kwiecien. Transmitted live January 16, 2016.

Saturday, April 4 – Verdi’s Macbeth

Conducted by Fabio Luisi, starring Anna Netrebko, Joseph Calleja, Željko Lučić, and René Pape. Transmitted live October 11, 2014.

Sunday, April 5 – Bellini’s Norma

Conducted by Carlo Rizzi, starring Sondra Radvanovsky, Joyce DiDonato, Joseph Calleja, and Matthew Rose. Transmitted live October 17, 2017.

Coronavirus Numbers

I would very much like to stop thinking about Covid-19. I'm already doing all that I can do to keep myself and my kids safe, and knowing how bad it is in other cities doesn't do me a damn bit of good. But I keep coming back to it. Like the dog in Proverbs 26:11.

Yesterday (3/27) when I saw the Total Cases and Deaths numbers in the corner of the screen on CNN, I had the intuitive sense that there was something odd about what I was seeing:                 


Total Cases     Deaths
World            585,040         26,819     
USA                97,028           1,475     

So I applied my admittedly limited math skills, and found what was tickling my ventromedial prefrontal cortex. 

The death rate for the world at large was 4.58%, while for the USA it was at 1.52%. And even more shocking, the number for the USA would probably be even lower if we had an accurate count of the cases.

That means USAmericans are dying at about 1/3 the rate of the rest of the world. (In fact, if USAmericans were dying at the same rate as the rest of the world, we would now be looking at 4,444 deaths.) I would think that this would have to be due to the superior healthcare of the USAmerican system. Is there any other explanation? If there is, I'm not seeing it. Which is a subject worth returning to at some point...though I doubt that it will be me who does that bit.

Anyway, I checked the numbers again this morning (3/28) and they were unfortunately much worse:

World      607,965+    28,115
USA         102,702+      1,590

I don't know if I didn't notice + marks before or if that was a new addition, but it was chilling...suggesting that the numbers were rising so quickly that they could no longer be accurately reported. I also found that the numbers reported by CNN (above) were different from the numbers being recorded on MSNBC:

World        594,525    27,233
USA         102,074       1,605

And neither set of numbers matched what I found online @ worldometer:

World    614,158     28,239
USA       104,256       1,704

Last night I tried to watch Rachel Maddow and Chris Cuomo (jumping back and forth between the two), both of whom I have great respect for, and I just had to shut it off. I started feeling like there was no chance for me to survive this crisis. And I'm living in Kentucky, where there have been 302 cases recorded and 8 deaths. And in Jefferson County, of which Louisville is a part, there have been 103 cases recorded and as of 3/25--the only reference I could find--there have been 2 deaths. I can't even imagine the fear that must be gripping people who live in New York City or Los Angeles or New Orleans or Detroit. 

The news came on and it seemed to me — impression, not memory — that the coronavirus numbers had grown quite a bit. I checked, and they indeed had, so I went over to the worldometer site to see what their current figures were. It was astonishing.


World     650,913     30,299     4.65%
USA       116,448        1,943     1.67%

And once again, if USAmericans were dying at the World Rate, we'd be at 5,415 deaths right now. A chilling thought.

Again, Haymarket Books

That's a fake button, by the way...for illustrative purposes only. If you wanna, click the link below. Interested in what? I'm glad that you asked:

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Hey, Kentucky!

If you're being good and staying home, then you have some time on your hands, right? Here's a way to spend some minutes and get some bang for your buck: check out the Democrats who are running against Mitch "Trump's Bitch" McConnell.

I am politically aware, but not astute. A fact which was brought home to me when I had a conversation with my next door neighbor --from significantly more than six feet away, I hasten to add--in which she asked me if I was decided about the Senate race. I said that I was, thinking that she was asking me if I was going to be voting for Amy McGrath...who, to be honest, I thought was the only viable opponent to face down Moscow Mitch. Exerting no pressure whatsoever, neighbor then told me that she was excited about a fellow by the name of Mike Broihier. Knowing that we are of like ilk with respect to political perspectives (lawn signs, previous conversations, and one chance meeting at a rally at a baseball park a few years back), I asked for some details. And hey...I immediately started to like Mike.

So I got on the internet to do some due diligence. 

There's a questionnaire available at https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_Broihier which is worth checking out. It's not immediately obvious on the page...you have to scroll down until you see "Ballotpedia survey responses"...and then it's in a smaller window that you have to scroll through, so whoever designed this thing should really retire from web page design. If you don't feel like going to the trouble, here are a few of my favorite bits:

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty. Integrity. Moral courage.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?


Honesty. Integrity. Moral courage.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

What legacy would you like to leave?


"Here lie the mortal remains of the man who saved the Republic by ridding the nation of Mitch McConnell."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?


Huck Finn. He decided he'd rather go to hell than return his friend to slavery.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?


Wrong 'em Boyo-The Clash

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Well...THAT was unexpected. Mr. Broihier was also a Lieutenant Colonel with the United States Marine Corps (retired in 2005)...and I am coming around to the opinion that we should not allow anyone to take political office unless they have first served for at least a decade in one of the branches of the Armed Services. Just think about all of the problems we would NOT have if that rule had been in place for the past few decades? No Donald Trump, no Mitch McConnell, no Devin Nunes, no Jim Jordan. And oh, what a wonderful world it would be.

Anyway...I need to do some more looking, because my default setting on this upcoming election was Amy McGrath...but when I think about it, I know very little about her. When it comes down to the the general election, of course I would vote for my cat before I'd vote for Bitch McConnell, but it'd be nice to have someone who can do a little bit more for Kentucky than Jet i. 

Coronavirus

I don't publish pictures from other websites unless they're identified as being in the public domain. But in this case, I feel compelled. When I opened up my Facebook account this morning, I had a story fed to me from George Lakoff. (If you don't know George, this is an excellent time to get acquainted. His book Don't Think of an Elephant -- https://www.amazon.com/All-New-Dont-Think-Elephant/dp/B00ODI4G82/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=don%27t+think+of+an+elephant&qid=1585129271&sr=8-2 -- is one of the most important books I've ever read...and I've read a whole lot of books.) And it included this illustration:

I don't think this can be said often or loudly enough: Donald Trump does not give one gram of shit about everyday people in the United States of America. We are cannon fodder to him. Can you imagine the horror that would be unleashed if our hospitals became so overwhelmed...which is already happening in several places, of course...that people are just left to die from Covid-19 with no treatment? Have you ever had a hard time catching your breath? Can you imagine dying that way? I watched my father die that way. It was a horrible death...and it wasn't quick. The only blessing for him was that he was unconscious. And he was unconscious because he was in a hospital where they could at least give him that comfort. If the hospitals fail, you won't get that comfort.

And get this: if we would all just stay the fuck away from each other for two weeks, this would all be over. Are we really such spoiled fucking brats, so completely lacking in discipline of any kind, that we can't do that? 

I hear you, sister.

"I think there may be something wrong with this world. Something hiding underneath. Either that or… or there’s something wrong with me. I may be losing my mind…."

WESTWORLD

Season 1, Episode 4

"Dissonance Theory"

written by Ed Brubaker & Jonathan Nolan

I Was Just Thinking About How We Could Limit the Damage Trump Does in the Coronavirus Briefings...

...and then it came to me: Liberty Biberty!

And all I can say is "If only...."

Jet i's Message For The Day

"In times of trial, on top of the history must you stay."



The news has really been getting to me. The scenes of disease and death. Shortages of vital medical equipment. The absolute ineptitude and stupidity and arrogant contemptuousness of the Trump administration. The horrific predictions of just how bad the Covid-19 Pandemic could become. 

I don't really worry about myself and my kids at this point. We're isolating ourselves, and my kids are young enough and healthy enough that the chances are that even if they contracted the virus, they would come through it okay. Me not so much. I'm in four high risk categories: age, heart disease, former smoker, and male. But I'm very careful, doing all that I can do. No, my worry is for the world. For people who have lost their jobs. What the fuck is a $1,000 check going to do for them? And the idea that some people are literally being left to die because there isn't enough room for them to be hospitalized...or that there isn't adequate medical equipment to treat them...that they are literally drowning in their own fluids with no one to help them. We've all got to die, but it is obscene to die that way in the richest country of the world in the 21st century.

And of course now we're finding out...no surprise...that there were plenty of warnings early on, that the worst of this could probably have been avoided if Trump's head hadn't been so far up his ass that he could talk to his own uvula. 

And yesterday I happened upon (certainly wasn't looking for it) a Paulina Porizkova post in which she was posing topless (with an arm across her chest) in a pool, and my first thought was, "For fuck's sake, you're rich as Midas and your social isolation includes an Olympic sized heated swimming pool and a house big enough to get lost in without a map...and while people are gasping for breath and dying in hospital corridors, you're doing THIS?" And I read a few of the comments, and there were several other people who felt the same way that I did.

And when I went to bed last night, I was just feeling nothing but despair.

I had a dream in which I was lost in New York City and was desperately trying to find my way back to my car, and I was looking for a place where I could buy a smart phone so that I could have access to Google Maps. I woke up without having found my way.

And I couldn't eat breakfast, but I got my kids fed and cheerily asked them how they'd slept, allathat, and then I sat down on the sofa with a cup of coffee and turned on the news...and it was despair and death and fear. And I looked over at my cat, Jet, and she was sitting on top of my copy of Fernand Braudel's The Mediterranean: And the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II (Volume I), and it made me happy for a few seconds. First, because she has this weird propensity for lying on top of the books that I read, but only on the ones that I read every day. And not just because they're lying about...I have lots of books lying about. I think it's because I touch them every day and they have my smell on them. But whatever. 

But also because that cat's life has not changed one iota since The Lockdown began. And you know what? She's pretty fucking happy. She looks forward to her meals. She supervises while I scoop her shit out of the litter box. She comes to me when she wants to be petted or to play. And if I lay down to read, she sits on my chest and goes to sleep.

It's a good life.

So I thought I'd Tweet a picture of her...with a li'l caption doing a play on her name: giving her the last name "i." Which made me think of Yoda, so I did a little caption utilizing Yoda-style diction. And sent it out, meaning to share the little happy I had felt.

And then I thought, "Maybe that's what Paulina was aiming for." I don't know, maybe that's giving her too much credit...and I still feel a little pissed, because I really would like to be in a heated Olympic sized swimming pool right now...but hey, what the fuck.

Free the Opera Now Week 2: All Wagner!

Have you been enjoying the Met's free opera broadcasts? I've found it difficult to watch them at 7:30 pm...because it's Jeopardy! time, and Jacqueline does not miss Jeopardy!...and we're a one screen family here. And it's story-time after that, and usually a tv show with Joe after that, and then allofasudden it's 9:30, time to check on Rachel Maddow, and then oh my, it's time for bed, isn't it?

But I usually get a little start in the mornings, then finish up in the afternoon. I'd rather watch straight through, of course, but with two autistic adult children stuck in the house for most of the day, it's pretty hard to find 3+ hours of uninterrupted time. Well, actually that's not true...it's impossible. But I've managed to watch all of them so far (4)...and they have been deLIGHTful. The only bad thing about it was that I figured the jig was up come Sunday night with Eugene Onegin.

But guess what?

I just found out that The Met is going to be doing a second week! Here's the schedule:

Monday, March 23 – Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde
Conducted by Simon Rattle, starring Nina Stemme, Ekaterina Gubanova, Stuart Skelton, Evgeny Nikitin, and René Pape. Transmitted live on October 8, 2016.

Tuesday, March 24 – Wagner’s Das Rheingold
Conducted by James Levine, starring Wendy Bryn Harmer, Stephanie Blythe, Richard Croft, Gerhard Siegel, Dwayne Croft, Bryn Terfel, Eric Owens, and Hans-Peter König. Transmitted live on October 9, 2010.

Wednesday, March 25 – Wagner’s Die Walküre
Conducted by James Levine, starring Deborah Voigt, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Stephanie Blythe, Jonas Kaufmann, Bryn Terfel, and Hans-Peter König. Transmitted live on May 14, 2011.

Thursday, March 26 – Wagner’s Siegfried
Conducted by Fabio Luisi, starring Deborah Voigt, Hunter Morris, Gerhard Siegel, Bryn Terfel, and Eric Owens. Transmitted live on November 5, 2011.

Friday, March 27 – Wagner’s Götterdämmerung
Conducted by Fabio Luisi, starring Deborah Voigt, Wendy Bryn Harmer, Waltraud Meier, Jay Hunter Morris, Iain Paterson, Eric Owens, and Hans-Peter König. Transmitted live on February 11, 2012.

Saturday, March 28 – Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Conducted by James Levine, starring Annette Dasch, Johan Botha, Paul Appleby, and Michael Volle. Transmitted live on December 13, 2014.

Sunday, March 29 – Wagner’s Tannhäuser
Conducted by James Levine, starring Eva-Marie Westbroek, Michelle DeYoung, Johan Botha, Peter Mattei, and Gunther Groissböck. Transmitted live on October 31, 2015.

Yup, it's an ALL WAGNER specTACular.

I have a few thoughts on that.

1. Most excellent! I don't know if there are a lot of people who are going to be down with Wagner...he's not nearly as accessible as Puccini and Verdi and Donizetti and Tchaikovsky...and he tends to be a lot longer winded...but hey, it's not like there's anything else to do, right? You can only walk so much each day.

2. When I saw that The Met and Lyric Opera of Chicago were both doing The Ring Cycle this year, I started looking at both of their schedules to see if I could scratch this one off of my bucket list. I finally decided that Chicago was the better option for me and got down to nailing up the details...tickets for me and Jacqueline and Joe (I made them watch a video of Das Rheingold to make sure they were woman and man enough --respectively--for it, and they knocked it out of the park; who says autistic people can't focus for long periods of time?)...and then I started to look for a hotel that (a) I could afford for the six days we would need to be there (b) was close enough to the opera house that transportation costs wouldn't be insurmountable and (c) was in an area wherein we'd have access to affordable food, museums, etc. And I couldn't find anything. But I guess it's a moot point now, isn't it? Everything is cancelled. But now...ta da! I can see The Ring Trilogy from my own living room...and I don't have to wait until intermission for a bathroom and / or whiskey break. 

3. If you're a fan of The Lord of the Rings, you will probably enjoy the story of The Ring Cycle. It looks to me like Tolkien pretty much just lifted the plot from Wagner. Who, of course, lifted it from Norse Mythology. There's even a Gollum guy. Plus Thor and Odin and allathat.

4. When I went to Germany in 1982, I wore a Wagner t-shirt. The image on it was based on this photo:

But it was cropped a bit, more like just a head shot...and a little bit washed out in terms of detail...and blue...kind of like this:

And I remember that a lot of people asked me if it was John Wayne. Even some people in Germany, which I thought was kind of funny. I mean, FF'sS, he's just one of the most famous composers in the history of the world, y'know? (#5 according to Britannica.com,#8 according to ClassicalMusic.com--but what the fuck do THEY know?). 

So there you have it. I'm anxious to have another week of free opera (Thank you, The Met! I'm going to make this up to you in the near future!), and I'm delighted that I'm going to be able to see The Ring over the course of four days. Only one thing bothers me: No Der fliegende Holländer? I mean...I know there were some hard choices, but how was this even on der Tisch?

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Foundation's Harumph

Veni, ego legere, et ingemuerunt.

I wanted to re-read Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy before I died. But it had grown a bit since I'd first read it as a teenager. There were sequels and prequels by Asimov...and there was another trilogy by men whose last names started with the letter B. And it was even more tangled than that, as now all of the Robot stories and all of the Galactic Empire stories were supposed to be part of the mesh. 

Well...I didn't know if I had enough time for all of that. I mean, I am getting old. And I have a lot of other stuff to read, too. So I decided to draw the line around the Foundation Books Proper--the seven by Asimov and the new trilogy...which I don't like referring to as the second Foundation trilogy for obvious reasons. So ten books. A heaping helping, but do-able in a relatively short amount of time, I thought.

I got going with a bang, really enjoying Asimov's Prelude to Foundation. And my momentum didn't slacken a bit as I began Forward the Foundation. But then I was told to stop after section I and read the first book of the new trilogy. And I really struggled with that one--Gregory Benford's Foundation's Fear. Benford's writing was not my cup of tea, and the story just seemed to churn in place. It was sheer will power which allowed me to finish this book. Well, will power and my decision to make F'sF my bathroom book, so that I was only reading a few pages per day. And when I finished it, I breathed a sigh of relief and went back to FtF. Unfortunately the dislocation caused by Benford's writing made it difficult for me to reconnect with the Asimov book, but after a bit it kicked in and I was out of the bathroom with it. Then it was time for book two of the new trilogy, Greg Bear's Foundation and Chaos. I was dubious, but I thought it was slightly better than F'sF.... But not better enough to move out of the bathroom. But I managed to finish it, and then I heaved a sigh of relief, as my reading order directions told me that I could go back to FtF. And I really enjoyed it. And then...the main course. It was time to begin Foundation. I have to admit that I didn't sink into it right away, but I think a lot of that was the dislocation of going from Asimov to Benford to Asimov to Bear to Asimov...and with the knowledge that I would be heading for Brin in the near near. And then I started getting into Foundation. Finished Part I and...shit. It was time for the third (and thank you, Lord, the final) book of the new trilogy. Foundation's Triumph. To be honest, I wasn't expecting to feel triumphant. But I had read David Brin before...Existence...which wasn't my favorite read, but it did have some cool concepts. Not the least of which was utilizing autistic people as experts. And? Well, it was a long slog, but it was the least painful of the three new Foundation books, so at least there was that.

I finished F'sT this morning. In fact, when I saw how close I had gotten, I took it out of the bathroom and read it in bed from about 5:00 am on, waiting on my early morning phone call from Joe.

And now I'm ready to go back to Foundation...and henceforth it will only be Asimov's books until the end of the series. Which is quite a relief for me.

As for this so-called second Foundation trilogy...I have to say that it would be better not to have read it, actually. None of these three writers is in Asimov's league as a storyteller...or at least not when they're playing with the Good Doctor's toys...and while the books do add to the storyline, (1) none of the additions are necessary and (2) many of the additions seriously violate some of the things that Asimov set up. In fact, I don't think a "How dare you?" was ever far from the lips of my mind (and knocking hard on the doors of my face). So I would have to say Don't Bother. If you're as OCD as I am and feel that you HAVE to do it anyway, then at least find them in the bargain bin (as I did) so you only have to pay a few bucks for the privilege of hearing me say, "I told you so." I'd be glad to give you my copies...it's useless to take them to Half-Price, since I know they won't give me any money for them...but if I don't hear from you in a little while, I'm going to take them down to The Little Library on Shelbyville Road (you know, the one that's close to the U of L Shelby Campus? Yeah, right in front of that house, that's the one) and drop them off there. See how long it takes for somebody to pick them up. If ever. (That copy of Heinlein's I Will Fear No Evil has been in there for fuckin' ever!) 

Also...I just have to say a word about the brazen husyness of this series...or at least of the editors at HarperCollins who approved the back cover copy for Foundation's Triumph. Check this out:

"Now...three of today's most acclaimed authors have completed the epic The Grand Master left unfinished."

Okay. First off, The Grand Master didn't leave the series unfinished. Asimov's seven books = The Whole Shebang. Maybe he would have written more Foundation books if he'd lived longer...who knows. But the story is complete as is.

Second off, Benford, Bear, and Brin haven't completed anything here. They've interpolated. And they've ignored story elements in order to create their own version of a part of the Foundation story. Which is pretty obvious just by the fact that the trilogy is structured the way it is...jumping in and out of Asimov books instead of coming before or after what Asimov had written. Which is no way to write a series, for fuck's sake. I can only hope that these books sold so poorly that the publisher won't be tempted to try again. Enough is enough.

Now I've got to get back to Foundation. I think I'm just going to start over so as to wipe the taste of those other three books out of my mouth.

ADDENDUM: Well, it's been four days...and four days under Social Distancing / Self-Quarantine is equal to about a month...and I haven't heard from any of you...so ahmo walk these books down to The Little Library.

And how do you like your Foundation-Eyed Roomate, Mr. Heinlein?

UPDATE: The Next Day

Heinlein seems to be dancing a bit, but no takers for the Foundation Trilogy The Second yet. Maybe mañana. 

UPDATE: Mañana

Was it one of you? If so, then thanks...it made me happy to see that the second Foundation Trilogy had found a new home. Poor Heinlein, though...seriously, that book has been sitting there for at least six months, and maybe twice that. But unless I hear from you on this topic, that's the end of the road for this one. 

Nos vemos más tarde, bebé.

Free the Opera Now. Do it do it do it do it do it no-oww.

Just in case you get all of your information from this blog (which is, by the way, a seriously bad idea), here's some Breaking News:

The Metropolitan Opera is streaming free operas this week. Last night was Carmen, and here's how the rest of the announced schedule looks: 

Puccini’s La Bohème (March 17) 

Verdi’s Il Trovatore (March 18)

Verdi’s La Traviata (March 19)

Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment (March 20)

Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor (March 21)

Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin (March 22)

I tried to tune in last night for Bizet's Carmen, and I had some trouble: the website wouldn't load on my computer, and the Met Opera App on my tv just kept spinning in circles. No doubt the demand exceeded the system's capacity, and Opera broke the Internet for a little while. Which is good. I mean...who knew? Even better, though, is that by 8:30 I was able to get onto the website via computer...and when I tested the App out on my tv, it was working, too. So be persistent. And keep it mind that you can watch any of the performances anytime from the 7:30 pm "premiere" showing until 3:30 pm the next day. After that, though, it turns into a pumpkin, so pace yourself accordingly.

As for Carmen....

Well, I've seen this one a few times. And the music is superb. In fact, even if you've never listened to an opera before, I guarantee you that you will know at least two of the tunes contained herein. And the story is pretty good. Opera plot lines tend to be a bit WTF? at least in part, but this one holds together pretty well. 

But there were two extraordinary things about this version of Carmen. First, the scenery was amazing. You just don't get sets like that in Louisville, Kentucky, friends. In fact, even though I've been to New York City eight times...and swore that the last time would be The Last Time...as soon as the curtains opened on that first set, I turned to Jacqueline and said, "We're going to see an opera at the Met." 

Second, the woman who plays the title role...Elīna Garanča...is...well, there's just no polite way of saying this...hotter than a magnesium flare in the desert. On Mercury. During the summer. The hottest day of summer.

If your image of a female opera singer is still Brynhildr...

...then you are in for a big surprise. (No reverse pun intended.)

At risk of stating the obvious, I will add that (1) you can pause, stop, and restart this playback anytime. It is not a live stream...and (2) there are sub-titles available, but you might have to turn them on with your remote. So do that.

Enjoy!

If You Like Music, You'll Love Braden Urevick

So far as I know, Braden Urevick has only released two EPs to date:

The Willow, which you can listen to and / or download for free from NOISETRADE / PaStE (HERE) 

and 

From A Hotel Room (Demo)--which you can listen to and / or download for free from /bandcamp (HERE).

There's also this video single, which I just found a minute ago...

...which has such a different sound that I wasn't sure it was the Braden Urevick I was looking for until the vocals kicked in. And I mean that as a compliment. Big props to an artist who can evolve stylistically and explore new sounds. *

And I wish there was more Braden Urevick music out there, because the 8 songs spread across these two EPs and one video are not just good, they are superb. And I'm not just saying that because my #1🌞 plays fiddle on three of the tracks on that first EP...though I will confess that that is how I came to know of Mr. Urevick. But one listen to those songs was enough to make me a true fan. I don't know how he does it, but Braden, who is a young feller, writes with the gravitas of a fifty year-old man...know what I mean? The guy has wisdom in his bones. And in his voice as well. If I didn't know that he was a college athlete, I'd think that he was putting down two packs of Winstons and a quart of Jim Beam every day, 'cause his voice has that depth and texture. 

So I wish that I could tell you to go buy some Braden Urevick tunes, but that doesn't actually seem to be possible right now. But if you listen to his stuff, like his video, allathat...that helps, too. And follow him on /bandcamp.

He's on Spotify, by the way, so you can check him out there, too.



BTW, in my quest for completeness (fueled by an anal retentive heart and an OCD brain), I found this video, in which Braden plays guitar and does some back up vocals. It's Jeri Katherine Howell doing one of her own songs (with Nathan Link on bass), and I have to say...it's one of the best live performances I've ever seen. And I've seen a whole lot of live performances...starting with David Bowie in 1975, and including Roy Harper, Tom Jones, Iggy Pop, Bob Dylan, Tom Verlaine, Alice in Chains, and lots of other Really Famous People!

* And OH! Late Breaking News! You can buy the single of "Can't Help Myself" iTunes for 99¢. So do that.

Acts 5: 1 - 10...or Why You Should Keep Up With Your Tithe

Acts 5 

(👑King James👑 Version)

1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,

2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.

7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.

8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.

9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

Coronavirus Band Practice

Live from Vermont, it's Jimmy and Phil!


ADDENDUM: Since quite a few of you out there (beyond the footlights's glare) seem to be enjoying this, let me add that you can hear more of Jimmy here

https://www.amazon.com/You-Like-Things-Youll-Love/dp/B00B2TU0AI/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?keywords=if+you+like+music%2C+you%27ll+love+me&qid=1584473778&s=music&sr=1-1-fkmr0


or here

https://www.amazon.com/One-That-Got-Away/dp/B07JN1K1Y3/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Miss+Guided+Angels&qid=1584473917&s=dmusic&search-type=ss&sr=1-1


or here

https://www.pastemagazine.com/noisetrade/music/bradenurevick/the-willow-ep




And if you want to here some more of Phil, you can go here

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Phil+Henry&i=digital-music&search-type=ss&ref=ntt_srch_drd_B000S2EPKG

for some one stop shopping...though not everything on the page is Our Phil.



And somewhere between most to all of this stuff is available via Spotify, if you want to check it out before you lay that money down. But lay some money down if you have it to spare. 

Foundation, The Jolly Roger, & Covid-19 Things

I'm nearing the end of the third volume of the second Foundation trilogy (Foundation's Triumph by David Brin), and I was thinking: this is a series about dealing with a disaster which is absolutely unavoidable. The great hope here is that the effects of the great disaster (hi, Kamandi) can be mitigated.

Which is pretty much what we're dealing with right now with Covid-19, isn't it? It can't be stopped. Many people...I've heard estimates that go to 50% and higher...are going to contract the virus. Many of them will get sick. Some of them will die. I am myself in three different high risk groups (age, heart disease, and former smoker). So...well, we all do what we can do. I don't go out much. In fact, in the past week the only place I've gone is Kroger's for food and medicine. Other than my kids, I've only had face to face contact with two people...and haven't been in close proximity to either of them. I have been washing my hands. I've been trying to be conscientious about not touching my face.

And, of course, I have thought several times a day, "Oh, my God, I've got it and I'm going to die." 

I've watched the news on the three main national channels and two of the local ones. I've been reading articles in The Washington Post and The New York Times and The Atlantic. None of them give me much information beyond the most rudimentary stuff: wash your hands, sneeze into your elbow, self-isolate. That may be what it takes, but it's not very comforting, is it?

But even with all of that information for context, it still took my breath away when I saw this post on my Facebook page this morning:

I have never set foot in The Jolly Roger, but I came close when I visited Sherkin Island a few years ago. I can't remember if I didn't go in because I was in a hurry (it was just a quick trip to the island) or because it wasn't open at the time. But I follow the pub on Facebook and I have often thought that if I go back to Baltimore, Ireland, I will most assuredly at least have a pint at The Jolly Roger. And I would very much like to spend a night or two on Sherkin Island. (In fact, if I were a young man, I would be attempting to enroll in the visual arts program based on Sherkin. But that ship has sailed, hit an iceberg, sunk, and had a billion dollar movie made about it.) Short version: I have great affection for both the island and the pub. It represents something dear to me.

But here's the thing: The Jolly Roger is a small pub on a small island (population 111)...

...which is part of a small country...

...in this great big world...

And it has to close down for at least two weeks because of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

That kind of says it all, doesn't it?

I just sneezed twice. 

Into my elbow, of course. That made me feel a lot better.

Still...it's going to be a long couple of weeks...months...who knows? You haven't really lived a full life until you've socially isolated with two autistic adults, my friends.

Hoping to hear from you, Moss.