Blog

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Casey lent me Ursula K LeGuin's Tehanu, one of the books from The Earthsea Trilogy-turned-cycle. I've always been attracted to science fiction, but rarely fantasy (although they both fall under the clumsy term "speculative fiction"). However, the Earthsea Trilogy engaged me the whole way through.

Tehanu was written many years after the original trilogy, and is a very different type of book. Where the other books tell of adventures, Tehanu is much more reflective and conversational on the world the characters inhabit. Still fantastic, but fantastic in the way that the real world is already fantastic.

The world of Earthsea is infused with the power of words; it's appropriate that while reading I recorded words that I didn't know how to use well. (For example, I understand the word "ire", but wouldn't use it myself because I know there was more of an implication than just "anger".) Below are the words and definitions, mostly as a reference for myself, but maybe you'd like one as well.

Definitions from Princeton Wordnet (I think)

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ire

anger: a strong emotion; a feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance wrath: belligerence aroused by a real or supposed wrong (personified as one of the deadly sins)

Usage: "the witch accepted her due with unending ire"

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wheedle

influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering

usage: "a wheedling kindness"

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gnomic

relating to or containing gnomes

This definition is a little disappointing. I thought it would be more explicitly about the earth rather than just about gnomes.

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sagacity

the mental ability to understand and discriminate between relations

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exigency

a pressing or urgent situation

Usage: "the indifference of a man towards the exigencies that rule a woman"

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larder

a supply of food especially for a household

Usage: "living off his larder"

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calumny

noun: a false accusation of an offense or a malicious misrepresentation of someone's words or actions

Usage: "casting calumny and lies"

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candor

fairness: ability to make judgments free from discrimination or dishonesty

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rebuke

an act or expression of criticism and censure

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auspice

a favorable omen

Usage: "and it sounds as if all auspices and events were fortunate"

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diffident

showing modest reserve

Usage: "he said it in a diffident way"

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I'm subscribed to the Wordsmith Word-a-day mailing list. I like a bunch of them, but rarely use them. I'm keeping ones I like here as a reference for myself.

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This past weeks words were all religious. I liked one particular:

eremite (AIR-uh-myt) noun

A recluse, especially for religious reasons.

[From Latin eremita, from Greek eremia (desert), from eremos (solitary).]

I hadn't known that the word "hermit" was based off of a different word.

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Before that, the subject was fear and desire. I often have this desire.

onomatomania (on-uh-mat-uh-MAY-nee-uh) noun

An obsession with particular words or names and desire to recall or repeat them.

[Via Latin, from Greek onoma (name) + -mania (excessive enthusiasm or craze).]

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I like this from reading Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation. I don't know if I understood a word of it, but it left an impression.

simulacrum (sim-yuh-LAY-krum) noun

1. An image or representation.

2. A vague resemblance to something.

[From Latin simulare (to simulate), from similis (like). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sem- (one) that is also the source of simultaneous, assemble, simple, Sanskrit sandhi (union), Russian samovar (a metal urn, literally, self-boiler), and Greek hamadryad (a wood nymph, who lives in a tree and dies when it dies).]

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Something I fear being.

nihilarian (nih-i-LAR-ee-uhn) noun

One who does useless work.

[From Latin nihil (nothing).]

"You may find yourself worrying that you're turning into a nihilarian." Sian Prior; Ineffable; The Age (Melbourne, Australia); Dec 16, 2002.

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A word using roots of a word I'm familiar with

cacography (kuh-KOG-ruh-fee) noun

1. Bad handwriting.

2. Incorrect spelling.

[From caco- (bad), from Greek kakos (bad) + -graphy (writing). Caco is ultimately from the Indo-European root kakka-/kaka- (to defecate) which also gave us poppycock, cacophony, and cucking stool http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucking_stool . Opposites of today's word are calligraphy (beautiful handwriting) and orthography (correct spelling). A related word is cacology http://wordsmith.org/words/cacology.html ]

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ugh

dibs (dibz) noun

The right or claim on something.

[From shortening of dibstones, a children's game played with pebbles.]

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I went to Guitar Center after a rehearsal last night. My guitar has an icon of JR "Bob" Dobbs stickered to it.

The guy who checked my guitar said to me, "So are you in the church of 'Bob'?"

It was the first time anyone commented on it, so I was caught off guard. "I'm a reverend in the Church of the Subgenius."

"I'm more of a pastafarian myself." Pastafarian's believe the Flying Spaghetti Monster is our creator.

I sort of felt like he was challenging "Bob". But I don't really think this makes sense. These higher powers aren't fighting each other. They're likely all working together. I doubt "Bob", the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Eris, or W Alan Yankovic would waste any of their time fighting among themselves. I tell him this, but without all the names and hyperlinks.

He responds: "I guess we shouldn't talk about religion at this point." I'm not sure why he said this.

"I don't know. I'd like to but I might be too distracting while you're on the job." I rarely get to talk to other weirdos who know about these fringe religion-cults, but he didn't seem as enthusiastic to talk as I was.

So I moved on to look at some guitars that I wouldn't buy. This one is dedicated to you, Guitar Center Pastafarian.

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About two weeks ago a bunch of the bookclubbers descended upon the ASCAP offices and recorded a podcast. We each played a song, and there's a little interview happening.

You can check out the ASCAP Podcasts but it'll probably fall off when the new podcast comes up. So you can:

Download the podcast

Discover what the Village Voice called the "Best Literary-Musical" Crossover of 2009 - songwriters inspired by books. Download and listen to a special podcast featuring an ASCAP in-house recording session with members of the Bushwick Book Club, including Susan Hwang (pictured left), Dibson Hoffweiler, Corn Mo, Laura Brenneman (pictured right), Phoebe Kreutz and Duck and Swallow's Lillie Jayne, and also listen to selected tracks from the upcoming Bushwick Book Club CD release.

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For months, Cheese On Bread has been hearing that Japanese label Moorworks would be releasing our last record, The Search for Colonel Mustard. Matt just sent an email saying that it's going to be released December 26! And it's true, it's on their site too! Check out this image:

I really like seeing this stuff from the past crop up. It was funny to see Matt's email about this last night, because last night I was at Casey's apartment with Dan listening to the record Dan has been slowly working on for the past few years. The recordings sound really great, and I'll be playing guitar on a handful of the tracks.

It was a bit surreal to be listening to the tracks - some of them are about 4 years old. Four years that have seen a lot of change within and around me. But the recordings haven't changed. It feels like I have the chance to go back in time and record parts for my 23 year-old self. I'm really excited to show my younger self what I've been up to, and my future older self what I was up to.

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Old Hat performed at Northeast Kingdom last Friday. Kevin Armento from BushwickBK.com was there and he thought something about us. He thought so much that he wrote about us and put our picture on the website in an article called Folk and Frenzy at the Den. Below is the photo and excerpt about Old Hat:

(photo missing)

The second act of the night is Old Hat, and what can one say? Two men and two women take the stage and proceed to give us songs divined from their spiritual leader W. Alan Yankovic (who has a blog, and unconfirmed connection to the musical parodist of similar name).

Songs in Friday night's set included "Dominic the Donkey," "Uncle Pat's Pig Roast," and "Fucking Morphine," which was described as "the song about the time we took drugs and nothing happened." They take breaks in between songs to auction off a macabre painting, and end up taking a collection from the audience twice, because they weren't satisfied with the results of the first go-around.

All this, and the music itself was fun, spectacularly entertaining, and very often witty. I don't know that I've ever seen someone play the acoustic bass with intensity, but that is what Old Hat's bassist Preston Spurlock did. Besides being a talented musician, his violent outbursts with and towards this usually-docile instrument were perhaps the most entertaining part of the show. I don't know if his rage-fueled bass-playing was part of the act, or just part of an artist's passion in the moment and I don't care, it was fucking fun.

These musicians (the others are Dibson Hoffweiler on guitar, Deenah Vollmer on mandolin, and Fran Agnone on drums) smile out the side of their mouths throughout the set, as though they're getting away with something. Indeed, at one point Hoffweiler (their sort-of lead man) remarked that they must be doing something wrong, because not nearly enough people had walked out yet.

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All these courtesy Deenah!

(videos missing)

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I don't know what The Rumpus is. But The Rumpus mentions Old Hat's show which is happening tonight.

Old Hat and Kung Fu Crime Wave at The Debutante Hour's Telethon Bash. The accordion/drum/cello power trio, presents a variety show with folk-rock group The WOWZ, Phoebe Kreutz and new cult phenomenon Old Hat. And magic too! The Ukranian National Home. 140 2nd Ave. 8:00pm.

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You should probably come see Old Hat Saturday and Friday. Old Hat got mentioned in the New Yorker, check it out:

Variety Show Telethon Bash The Debutante Hour, a lively female vocal trio whose members play the accordion, the cello, and the drums, needs money to record a new album, so they're putting on a show, with performances by other bands, jugglers, puppeteers, opera singers, and comedians. (The roster includes Jonathan Wood Vincent, the Wowz, Phoebe Kreutz, Old Hat, Kung Fu Crime Wave, Rachel Feinstein, Michael Richter, Victor Varnado, Herb Scher, Marti Newland, Sweet Soubrette, Grits and Harmony, and the Orange Teardrops.) Donations will be accepted on twenty old "allegedly Soviet" rotary phones, and there will be a silent auction for such prizes as a private show in the winner's living room, cupcakes baked by the Debutantes, and a canoe trip with the group down the Gowanus Canal. (Ukrainian National Home, 140 Second Ave., between St. Marks Pl. and 9th St. 212-529-6287. Dec. 5 at 7.)

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