Up for a while around 3. Did the Spelling Bee and listened to a reading of Dogen. Got back to sleep - up 9, felt quite tired. Breakfast, coffee. Got into a couple twitter things I probably needn’t have (what Fred Moten and Adrian Piper think about Kant, for instance). There might have been a nap in here somewhere. Sat 20 min. Read a bit of How to Raise and Ox. Edited for an hr. Had a call w/ Evan Kindley, ostensibly to talk about his book proposal but really just to catch up. Therapy w/ Bree. Watched just a bit of the Ronald Colman version of Kipling’s The Light That Failed. Spent a couple hours ripping CDs/picking songs for next radio show - it’s come up quickly. Managed to get the USB interface on the turntable, ripped 3 songs. The physical set-up in the living room is not convenient. Discovered I had somehow signed up for a year of Amazon Prime, I’m really not sure how. So I watched, in between other things, an episode of some show from last year called The Affair - kind of a Big Little Lies vibe. Took out trash, short walk outside. Read the last few poems in Commotion of the Birds. Watched (really, listened to) the end of the show while doing the crossword.
12/29
Birthday; 52. Up at 8. Somewhat hard to get going. Managed to read 25 p. of How To Raise an Ox, but also napped off and on. Said hello to Bree’s mom on Zoom. Edited for an hour at 1. Had put a birthday post on Facebook - spend some time on replies/liking comments. Called dad around 2. Piano practice - scales, rhythm changes in F, “Dancers In Love.” Matt (HH drummer) called, hasn’t caught up in a while. Laura C. dropped by w/ some late Christmas baking, Bree and I chatted for while w/ her in the hall. Good too talk to people. Read a few more p. Ox, watched a few minutes of an Ida Lupino movie w/ Bree, ordered dinner from Louie’s. Sat 15 min - though interrupted by the delivery call. Ate w/ Bree, listened to disc one of a “mod” jazz comp - interesting vocal version of “Moanin’,” by coincidence. Laid low for a couple hrs, short walk outside, did the Wed. crossword. A few JA poems, 1 p. poetry. Forgot to take out trash. Lights out 11.
12/28
Up about 8. Breakfast/coffee. Played “Stella By Starlight.” Spelling Bee. Retrieved a recycling container I’d left downstairs. Printed out “Dancers In Love” and tried to sight read it. I think it’s playable if I work on the trick opening run. Ellington’s original has an ending I have to work out.
Read to p. 50 How to Raise an Ox. 7 JA poems. (Would like to finish both books before New Year’s.) Sat Zazen 15 min. Got to writing about 3-6:30; finished revising Adorno section - didn’t cut as much as I’d have liked, but put the current state in the chapter draft. Shaved for the first time in several days. Started looking at conclusion of chapter. Read ch. of Blesh on Lester Young and Billie Holiday, both told tragically, the latter a rehash of Lady Sings the Blues. Spent some time w/ Bree. Watched a piano lesson, practiced about 30 min. — scales, brief ear training, rhythm changes voicings, played through Bobby Timmons’ “Moanin’” (nice voicings in B section), tried the Ellington w/ metronome. Played a few oddities from a big fake book - “At the Codfish Ball.” Took a box of bottles out to recycling, short walk. A couple more JA poems. Crossword (under 6 min.). 1 p. Poetry notebook - would like to get out of the habit of doing this last. Watched a couple cooking videos, lights out 11:15, w/ 2nd disc of Private Lives.
11/27
I was up again early, listened to a couple of podcasts, went back to sleep, not really up until 10. Texted someone who thought I was upset w/ them (b/c they hadn’t seen a previous message). Subscribed to above/ground press for 2021, ordered 2 new books from Edge. After remembering to take care of those things, just failed to launch for the day w/r/t writing, reading, music. It happens, but I don’t like it. Called my dad after 2, talked l onger than usual, more than an hr. I’ll be calling him Tue. for my birthday as well. Noodled on the piano, but nothing really. Started making chicken soup w/ Bree around 5, my part of it was mainly chopping a ton vegetables, and then making rice. Did manage to listen to first disc of a Dave Bartholomew compilation, Jump Children. You can hear a blues side, a Louis Jordan side, and some more smoothly arranged jazz (“Stardust”). Also cooked the livers/gizzard from the chicken. Everything came out well, should last us a few days. Got me thinking about the King/Sendak Really Rosie - found the LPs, but just played “Chicken Soup with Rice” and “Pierre” (which I like but Bree didn’t) on YouTube while helping clean up (did the stove). Assembled a bunch of recycling, took it out around 10 (after Mon. crossword, <6 min.), short walk. Read introduction to Francis Dojun Cook, How to Raise and Ox (on Dōgen). 1 p. poetry notebook. 4 JA poems. “Kids, this is Moloch. He’ll be taking over in study hall.”
11/26
Woke up 4 am, continued an exchange (w/ people in diff. Time zones) on Facebook, went back to bet, got up for real around 10. Spent a couple hours trying to close open tabs — listened to part of a dry podcast/talk on Marxist theories of history. Ended up working after all, 1-3 or so; revised a couple graphs, trying to condense last 1K of the section. Listened to an (entirely different) talk/Q&A on Capital by William Clare Roberts of Marx’s Inferno, which I’ve meant to read. Took out trash. Read 3 JA poems. Listened to some Stanley Cowell - he’s pretty great, and eclectic; his version of “Dancers in Love,” w/ Jason Moran’s rhythm section, led me to Ellington’s. Great tune, would love to learn it. (Found a pdf later.)
We were going to make chicken soup today, but Bree petered out, which freed up some time. (Did make some Brussels sprouts.) Did some basic piano practice - scales at 116 bpm, and root-shell voicings on rhythm changes. Watched the end of a Loretta Young movie, Ladies Courageous, w/ Bree, noticed that Janet Shaw was in the credits; need to go back and spot her. (“Need” is strong.) Also watched the 2nd 1/2 of the Judy Garland special, w/ Mel Torme; whatever you think of the style, he’s a musician - impressive on harmony parts. Read just a few pages of Beiser; need to ramp this up Short walk outside at 10. Did Sunday crossword in about 45 min while listening to Zen talks. Almost forgot about poetry notebook. 1 p. Lights out 11.