12/24

Up 8. Worked about 10-1, same section. Inching along - this might be another one to send. Participated in a holiday call w/ Bree’s parents and a neighbor (in their pod, I guess/hope?) who played some Xmas songs we sung along with, latency be damned; after he got tired, I played “The Christmas Song” and “White Christmas.” Tried to read a bit w/o much luck. Sitting meditation 15 min. 

Spent about 3:30-5 pm working on getting this new audio interface (Scarlett Focusrite) working w/ Logic and my digital piano. (I’m talking about this mundane stuff b/c this is the ‘process’ page.) D/l’ed relevant software, watched some instructional videos, was able to get audio throughput and hear myself playing along w/ the Superchunk track, but didn’t actually get anything recorded — not sure I understand the various track input settings in Logic, so that will be the next step. Other issues: the interface I got, I think the model is called 2i2, let’s you record 2 inputs at once, e.g. a vocal and an instrument, but doesn’t have a way to record one instrument in stereo, which is really what I should do for the piano. So I probably need the next step up. Also considering recording MIDI so they can replace the sample when mixing; also need some cords for that. I should talk to Ron about some of this. Emailed Mac an update. 

Spent an hr. organizing office and updating to-do list before dinner. Watched half of a 1963 Judy Garland Xmas special w/ Bree. Not much in evening. Crossword, 1 p. poetry notebook, 2 short JA poems: “I used to be a slightly handsome boy, then/this happened.” Lights out 11:30.

12/23

Up 9, breakfast/coffee, read a few p. Baiser. Worked on Adorno section about 11-2. Not sure what to do. Made a phone video w/ Bree, singing one of my dad’s Xmas songs at the piano, to send him. Not a “performance,” so it didn’t take as long as Bree’s benefit song. Also sent it. Read maybe 20 p. of Beiser. Cleaned stove before Bree made bok choy/mushroom soup; had some, visited. Watched another piano lesson, practiced - a bit of ear training (rolling intervals are hard, need more practice) scales, more blues. I should write down the blues scale in, e.g., Ab, but working on it by ear is worthwhile too. Played a couple of “Stella By Starlight” w/ metronome, fairly quick - less forgiving than what I’ve been doing. That’s really about it - I’m sort of surfeiting myself on Zen videos, so that will free up some time. Walk outside, crossword (about 20 min.). 1 p. poetry notebook. Lights out midnight.

12/22

Up 9. Worked 11-2, finished “Transition and Retransition” section, looked more at Adorno section — maybe I really do have to slash it by half. Made some sauce (from canned tomatoes, still better than jarred). Read another 10-15 p. of Beiser’s Hegel. Watched a piano lesson and practiced - scales, blues in Ab (hard) and Bb (not hard). Also went through one of the 2-part inventions I’ve played off and on for the last 3 years w/ metronome. Still 2 bars that I’m not reliable on, so I did separate hands a few times. I’ll get it. More Beiser. Good, plainspoken book, so far. Wrote Christmas card to my dad (won’t get there until after Friday, but we’ll talk before that). Took out a lot of trash and recycling; took card to mailbox; crossword; short walk outside. Wrote 1 p. In notebook (more song lyric than poem). Lights out 11.

12/21

Up at 10. Breakfast/coffee. Had to change a delivery order for Bree. Worked about noon-2, almost finished w/ this section, though tempted to add something. Practiced “Music In My Meals” for a bit waiting for Bree to get ready. Interrupted that for therapy, 3-4 (which I thought was cancelled for Xmas this week instead of next week). Resumed, finally got an acceptable take, helped Bree send the file from her phone, finished about 6. But then it took at least an hour to get the video from Bree’s phone to the recipient (b/c of size and her email server). More time than I wanted to spend on all that, but it’s done. 

Not much to say about the evening; didn’t get down to any meaningful reading. Crossword, short walk outside. Promised myself I was going to start writing a daily notebook poem (1 fairly short page, about 20 lines?) on the solstice, made myself do that. Lights out about 11, listened to an audiobook of Dogen (the eds. Introduction, actually). 

12/20

Up before 6, watched last night’s SNL. Took laundry down w/ Bree before 7. You’ve heard our every-3rd-Sunday routine before. Played “Stella by Starlight” again in between trips downstairs. Done around 9, 9:30; ran into our neighbor Christine while unloading the drying. Wrote a fairly long personal update for a listserv I’m on. Remembered to post about tomorrow’s radio show on Facebook and twitter.

Several online tasks I’d been putting off. Ordered a couple things for Bree from Bob Baker Marionette Theater, and wrote to our contact there about make an end-of-year contribution. Checked in on a record ordered from Holland - got a quick response, but the package showed up this morning. Couple of other things I’ve immediately forgotten, but they were on my mind. Played “Music w/ My Meals” a little more, called my dad about 1:45-2:30.

Worked on the song more w/ Bree; it’s wordy, so a slower tempo is easier for both of us. Recorded the piano part w/ metronome so she can work on it alone. Folded laundry. Napped for an hr. Got up and listened to last night’s Kenny Barron stream for the Vanguard while online. Immanuel Wilkins sax, Kiyoshi Kitagawa bass, Jonathan Blake drums. Largely originals, feels pretty different than the set I saw last year. Good bass solo on a fast salsa-ish tune; closed w/ “Footprints.”

Read first 10 p. of Fredric Beiser, Hegel, a Routledge introduction someone recommended on twitter. Starts w/ some biographical basics, and more polemical comments on the impossibility of turning Hegel into a non-metaphysician, and on the need to combine, somehow, “analytical” reconstruction with historical context. Seems pretty lucid. Later, read to p. 100 of the Blesh jazz book - gets into some very basic comments on AABA form re Lester Young. Opened a package I ordered from the Brooklyn museum - 3 Ideal brand notebooks, which for some ineffable reason have a vibe I like. Crossword, short walk outside. Lights out 11.

No writing today - always hard on laundry day. But I noticed tomorrow is winter solstice, which always makes me feel like things are on upswing (at least re season affect). Lights out 11. Sayers.