Month: February 2015

This is Blackwell’s House. I pass it by each time I go to the Roosevelt Island Historical Society. Some day I will go inside. Some day I will walk around the perimeter of the Island, but I am waiting for nicer weather.

Building started on Blackwell’s House in 1796 and finished in 1804. Must have been exciting times, except for all the yellow fever. But the war was now firmly in the past and everything was on the way up. Mostly. God, I really do wish we had time machines. But would anyone stay in the present when there is all of time to visit?

I’ll post about these events when we get a little closer but I have two events coming up where I’ll be one of the speakers.

The first will be at NYU, at the April 17th event titled: Mistakes Were Made: Computer History, Decompiled. This event is being produced by Laine Nooney, a computer and video game historian in the Media Studies Department at NYU, who seems like the nicest person in the world and she was very kind to invite me.

The next will be a June 16th symposium at the Yale International Choral Festival. I was invited to speak by the Artistic Director of this event, Dr. Jeffrey Douma, Professor of Conducting, Yale School of Music Director, Yale Glee Club and Yale Choral Artists, who also seems like lovely person.

I sound calm don’t I? I’m terrified. Talking in front of VERY smart people. ACK!!

I took this shot on my way to my doctor’s appointment. There was some sort of medical emergency in the subway at Union Square. FDNY to the rescue!

My first post was 15 years ago, on January 22, 2005. Here’s what I said at the time:

It’s so rare when you like a photograph of yourself! I love this one. This is me and my friend Ellen Cooper (much better drummer), drumming at her party. I’m actually drumming on a ottoman, I think. Because drumming on the drums was too loud.

A relatively quiet beginning to my blogging life. I was just talking to myself, basically.

I only drum rarely these days, maybe once a year. And I still own those glass! Although I converted them to bifocals to wear at choir practice. I still have that sweater but I never wear it.

I’ve had a stressful week so I’m really looking forward to completely indulging in Oscar frenzy. I’m going to go out and get some delicious snacks and park myself on the couch for the 5:30 pre-show and onwards for the rest of the day and night.

Another picture from the recent Best Friends adoption event. What is cuter than a man and a cat? Only a man with any other animal. (I love them all.) Thank you for existing Best Friends, and for all you do.

I’ve been missing because I’ve been online and on the phone trying to find doctors who take my insurance, and then my printer broke, but I can’t really replace it with what I want without upgrading the operating system of my computer and won’t that be fun, and Bleecker might be sick, and I had some problems installing a new webserver on Echo and removing some old ones, and what is hell is going on with my ear?? I just want to work on my new book.

The picture below is of the choir before a performance of the off-Broadway play The Events. That’s the back of the lovely and charming music director Magnus Gilljam. There’s a different choir for every performance and it occurred to me that is must be quite the trick wrangling all new people who you’ve never worked with before, night after night. I’m with the house choir, we fill in on nights where they don’t have a choir so we’re the one group he has worked with before. I’ve sung for this play twice now. A bright spot in my stressed-out weeks.

The play has only two actors, Clifford Samuel and Neve McIntosh, both of whom were amazing. Clifford went back and forth between scaring me, making me laugh, and finally evoking compassion. He’s very charismatic. He moves around a lot on the stage, and I kept wanting him to move by me, which he did one night. Sat right next to me. I was terrified. (You’ll have to see the play to understand.)

The New York Times loved it by the way, “a solemn, searching and ultimately very moving play about a faith-shattering act of violence.”

Neve had me riveted because I’ve struggled with all these questions (again, you’ll have to see the play, but 9/11, Sandy Hook, Boko Haram, Isis, and on and fucking endlessly on). She portrays conflict exquisitely. In every section there is always at least two emotions present in her face and demeanor. And openness. This was important because in certain key moments in the play I didn’t know where she would end up or what she was going to do.

I only recently found out Neve McIntosh plays the Silurian detective Madame Vastra on “Doctor Who,” a character I love on a show that I adore. When she stood by me on Thursday night the whole time I was thinking, ‘Holy Shit! Madame Vastra is listening to me sing!’ Also, ‘God damnit, how can I get a picture of this??’