Up 6. Breakfast.
Idly tried to watch a Hulu drama called Little Fires Anywhere, but couldn’t hack it, won’t continue. Watched 30 of The Green Years (Os Verdes Anos, Rocha 1963) instead; much better. (Coincidentally, my dad mentioned an autobiographical book by A.J. Cronin recently w/ the same [English] title.
Worked at E77 9-11:30. Slow, but coalescing.
Somewhat aimless afternoon, couldn’t get going on podcast prep, kept finding something else to “do.” Eventually read 1/2 of Nella Larsen’s Passing (it’s very short), b/c I want to see the current film adaptation in the next few days.
Roasted butternut squash and poached salmon. Watched Rocha to halfway point, made more coffee, finished Unmark. “The woman is divided into an arctic region and a subarctic region.”
Prepped for podcast interview 6-9 pm; ended up learning the guitar part to Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Getting Back Together,” looking up sheet music for “Tracks of My Tears,” and refamiliarizing myself w/ several recordings of “I Ain’t Got Nobody.” Had a phone call w/ Elizabeth, about 30 min.
Finished Passing in the evening. Will try to get back to Mackey and Lakatos (and Charters on Bert Williams) after the recording is done tomorrow.
Lights out 11.
11.8.21
Up 7:30; slept through. Weight 205 (was lower yesterday, but lost about 2 lbs. last week.)
Breakfast, coffee, watched Last Week Tonight.
Did a bunch of tasks/chores 9-10:30. Started passport renewal procedure (have to get photo); several emails; took out trash/recycling and replaced roach traps; got mail. Had a Jackie Cooper movie called The Abe Lincoln of Ninth Avenue (1939, William Nigh) on. Very “East Side”/Bowery Boys; the other newsboys were named Spike, Jiggsy, and Flatfoot.
Talked to Bree briefly about where to get passport photo. Spend the next few hours doing that, getting everything else for the application together, and finding a FedEx, which took 90 min. Of walking around Jackson Heights, as 2 drop-offs were closed; finally found one that seemed mostly to be shipping large boxes of fufu flour. Had to call my dad during this quest to postpone our call. Listened to rest of the Claudia Quintet album; quite good.
Ate steamed momos in Diversity Plaza, as they call the no-cars block of 37th Rd.
Therapy 3-4.
Remembered other small tasks: got an invite for the KSPC Discord, looked for something in Queens Library catalog (but I think I need a new card). Tidied desk.
Put some turkey and Brussel sprouts in the oven before I called my dad, 5:30-6:30.
Ate, then worked at E77 About 7:45-9:15. Ken Lauterbach came in, chatted briefly but he saw I was working (and Macgregor was outside).
Half-watched a British TV suspense drama, didn’t have the energy to read. Lights out 10:30.
11.7.21
Up about 4:30 (after the time change); but on a boring academic lecture about Dogen, got back to sleep until 7:30 or so. Breakfast, coffee. Cleaned kitchen.
Watched La Reprise du Travail aux Wonder/Return to Work at the Wonder Factory w/ subs. (Recommended; on YouTube. It’s short.)
Went to a new Starbucks (b/c E77 doesn’t allow laptops on weekends), worked on chorus section about 10:30-noon.
Listened to Claudia Quintet w/ Eileen Myles (whose poetry is mainly interstitial; I only heard one track where she’s speaking over music) while walking.
Read a little bit of Ann Charters’ biography of Bert Williams on the train.
Saw L’amour Fou (1969 Rivette) at MoMa. I guess I think it’s about failure. The play seems to get worse with more rehearsal; maybe that’s not true in the end, but the director doesn’t show up for the performance. I stan Bulle Ogier, but tbh I thought her “madness” was a little hammy. The guy who introduced it said this print had come from Paris and was about to be retired.
Read Mackey on the train back, finished a chunk over Himalayan food (soup and a small, Indian-style omelet) near home; also a section of Unmark. Got off train a stop early to get my steps in. Otoh, got a pastry for dessert on the way home.
Home a little after 7, couldn’t do anything productive.
Lights out 10:30 pm.
11.6.21
Awake for a while at 4. Went back to sleep, had a long terrible dream (in the losing something genre), up at 8.
Talked to Bree 8:30-9:30.
Read 30 p. Mackey, 10 p. Lakatos.
Badly needed nap, 10:30-noon
Would have liked to go out to write, but realized I’d scheduled grocery delivery from 2-4. Went out at 12:20 more briefly for a bite of lunch (& to get some steps in).
Came back, ate, worked 1/2 hr before delivery.
Unproductive 2:30-4:15, except that I closed some tabs.
Finally went out at 4:30, worked 2 hrs. Starting to get involved in this section.
Came home, zoned out for a while, got into a couple twitter exchanges, tried to do a couple of other online tasks. Trackpad was acting up, a restart seemed to fix it but it made me nervous.
Read EN’s comments on the Adorno section of my intro chapter; helpful. Wrote her back on a couple points.
Read another 10 p. Lakatos:
— “Heuristic is concerned with language-dynamics, while logic is concerned with language-statics.” (93)
— “For any proposition there is always some sufficiently narrow interpretation of its terms, such that it turns out true, and some sufficiently wide interpretations such that it turns out false.” (99)
— “Gibberish is safe from refutations.” (102) [A bit Popperish, that.]
Read another section of Unmark; some post-apocalyptic prose poems. Watched some SNL clips. Lights out 1.
11.5.21
Up 7. Watched some late-night clips. Breakfast.
Read 10 p. Mackey.
Worked on chorus section at E77, 10:15-11:30.
Got some groceries for lunch on the way back. Ate, skimmed chapter to date marking notes/citations I have to nail down, about 45 min.
Therapy 1 pm.
Took a bit of a rest, called my dad 2:30-3:30.
Pretty tired and quiescent until about 6. Watched the end of that Madonna of the Desert movie at some point.
Made some zucchini and onions for dinner, wrote to EN about podcast; we’re going to record next Wed.
Put on a YouTube stream of Itsurah Shimoda - Love Songs and Lamentations (1973), which is a very pleasing acoustic + orchestration record, the Japanese version of something between Nick Drake and Sea Change. Did 30 more min. on the footnotes.
Bandcamp Friday haul:
Scarlet Drops 1984-1992 (complete reissue of old Boston band on a friend’s label)
Vladimir Ussachevsky, Electronic And Acoustic Works 1957-1972
V/A, Seven Skeletons Found In The Yard : Trinidad Calypsos 1928-1947
David Lance Callahan, English Primitive I (solo album by the guy from the Wolfhounds)
The Claudia Quintet with Eileen Myles, Evidence-based
KOKOKO, Fongola + “Donne Moi”
Read to end of section in Mackey (102), 20 p. Lakatos.
Bed about 11, read a few poems in Rotholtz, Unmark
THE DUPLICATE BRIDGE
It arrived at dark beside the other.