Hungry for indie rock, I had Stephen Malkmus for breakfast this morning.
I'm reading Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird again for some inspiration on fictional character writing. I came across my favorite story last night, which seemed fitting to my state of mind. Anne tells the story of a defeated, frazzled wife of a drunk who complained to her Al-anon group that each morning she had to drag her husband from the lawn before the neighbors saw him. And a saucy southern woman gave her this advice:
Honey? Leave him lay where Jesus flang him.
I smile in recognition. I'm learning that I can't control other people's actions or reactions and it's not my job to make excuses for their behavior.
I'm moving to Seattle August 31st of this coming year. I am going to work at a café and volunteer at KEXP Radio as a slave to John in the Morning, who has begun to outrank even WGBH's Eric in the Evening on my DJ worship scale.
I know one more year in Boston will serve me well, and although there is much about New England I will miss, friends included, I feel the need to begin new adventures in hi-fi. Nine years in this town is a long time. So I'm going to Seattle to make love to the music scene, drink lots of good coffee, and keep three silver Italian greyhounds.
I did a Tarot card reading for myself last night. It's been awhile. But the cards in the middle spoke of a journey -- both physical and mental. There was also the Knight of Cups, who is the intelligent and creative lover; the final outcome was the Ace of Cups, which is considered the best card in the entire deck; it represents the birth and fulfillment of absolute love. Huh.
So did I mention I spent Saturday night alone?
In other news, I'm taking a break from Diaryland for a week or two. A fast, if you will. This site was originally a way for me to practice writing, get used to producing regularly whether I wanted to or not, and acclimate myself to criticism and the ripples created when one thrusts written words out into the atmosphere. I'm hoping that concentrating my creative endeavors elsewhere will be a good use of this practice.
I've discovered that playing piano scales and playing Tetris stimulate the same mathematical part of my brain that rests the creative side so it's refreshed when I return. I've heard that if you play Tetris and then dream about it, your brain is learning while you sleep. I have procured the piano sheet music for Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" -- the complete 21 page version -- and committed myself to learning it. Hopefully I can improve that in my sleep as well.
Save my seat, okay kids? I'll be back soon. I will have an exposition on the Bright Eyes show that brought me to my knees in so many ways, as well as some other photos… we'll see how the pics from Saturday's Kendall show with the Daniel Barrett Group came out. I shot in a club sans flash for the first time, using insanely fast film. I have no idea what to expect, but I'll share the results if they're worth it.
In the meantime, read my current favorite Diarylander, Genghis-jon, who is hysterical, juvenile, irreverant and offensive. He makes me feel better about my enthusiastic use of the word "fuck."
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