Up 6. Coffee. Read a ch. of Middlemarch.
Met Kyle for breakfast at 9; hung out for 2 hrs. talked briefly about Emotional Discipline reissue, gave me a list of master tapes he has.
Bought coffee mugs and a White Stripes DVD in Goodwill.
Went to Ontario Library, bought a few things at the book sale, inc. a 1891 edition of James Whitcomb Riley (for a dollar) and a Dum Dum Girls CD.
Browsed the shelves a bit, ended up quickly reading all of a short book by Marguerite Duras, Writing. “Solitude is the thing without which one does nothing.” “One writes by waiting for a fly to relinquish his life.”
Wrote for a hour.
Read another short book of the shelf - Douglas Batchelor, Minimalism, a quick but not facile overview of the big 5 (Judd, Andre, Morris, Flavin, LeWitt) and critical reaction thereto; would have liked something on their relation to galleries/museums/collectors - money, in a word.
Left about 4:30. (I’ve listened to the Staples Singers’ Xmas CD, now on a Bobby Womack best-of, inc. a remarkable funk reworking of “Nobody Know’s You When You’re Down and Out.”
Called my uncle Anthony (I’d missed him when I went out). Read 25 p. Brooks, mainly on Lorraine Hansberry.
Dinner, Jeopardy!, watched about 1/2 of Ingmar Bergman’s Winter Light on DVR. Good, but depressing to the point of self-parody.
Retired to bed. Wasted some time and watched some of Todd Haynes’s Safe (before my Amazon Prime runs out) but then tidied up, found my phone, read another 25 p. Brooks on Ellen Willis. Wrote in poetry notebook. Lights out around midnight.
12.26.21
Up for a while around 3 am, talked to dad.
Back up between 7-8. Weight up around 205 after Xmas indulgences.
After breakfast, read 3 ch. Middlemarch and 25 p. Brooks. Watched an L&O.
Signed up for an online musical-theater class/workshop in Jan. to try and get somewhere on Chomsky/Foucault.
Left at noon, bought a few used recs at Penny Lane in downtown Upland, inc. some early Lester Young collections and a (white) pianist’s recording of James P. Johnson’s notated works.
Sat outside at Lucky’s up the block, tried to work w/o much success for 90 min.
Looked in the little art/comics bookstore; slightly tempted by a book on David Hammons, but fortunately there were other patrons, so I didn’t feel trapped into making a purchase, as I sometimes do. Groceries on the way home.
Napped.
Dinner, Jeopardy! Dad fell asleep; I half-watched another L&O, and a so-so 2020 version of Blithe Spirit while updating finances (creating Excel files for next year) and cancelling a few subscriptions (Hulu, etc.; also paused Mubi). Eventually wrote in poetry notebook. Not sure when I went to sleep.
11.25.21
Up 6 but went back to bed, really got up at 10. Breakfast, coffee. Gave dad his present — an 1918 edition of some Theodore Dreiser stories, and a recent book about Ben Hecht’s screenwriting career. Gave Loretta a card w/ B&N gift-card, as she’s constantly reading romances. Also have one for Margaret.
Talked to Bree again for Christmas, changed my ticket to France for a few days earlier while we were “together.”
Played a little Xmas set at the piano - “The Christmas Song,” “I’ll Be Home…,” “The Christmas Waltz” (which was my mom’s favorite), “Winter Wonderland,” “Silent Night,” “Christmastime is Here.” That was enough. Trying to incorporate some Barry Harris ideas into the harmonization, but I should sit down and figure out the right substitutions for the changes, rather than doing what I can on the fly.
Read 15 p. Middlemarch. 2-3 chapters/day seems about right. Matt Hauser called - he’d actually meant to text me a picture and phoned by mistake, but I called back and we caught up.
Ate dinner w/ my dad - we were going to order in, but couldn’t get what we wanted. We had a couple of steaks in the fridge as plan B, and I made some zucchini - had to borrow an onion from Maude, the caregiver on duty, who sometimes fixes her own food here.
Jeopardy! per usual.
25 more p. Brooks, on Zora Neale Hurston. Page in poetry notebook.
Pretty quiescent after 9 - didn’t feel like getting involved in a movie.
Lights out 11:30. Not what you would call a magical Christmas.
11.24.21
Up 6. Breakfast, coffee. Read to p. 90 Brooks, a few poems in Ric Caddel.
Therapy; off next week.
Called my uncle Anthony for Xmas. Called Bree in France, put Dad on w/ her family.
Read another 10 p. of Brooks, did this and that (dithered) for a while, but digital piano + accessories in car (actually, put the piano in last night, while it was raining; it’s a chore, and I knew it would be on my mind).
Left for Orange County around 2:30; not as much rain as expected. Listened to a CD of James Scott’s piano rags, and then worked on lyrics to Laura’s song in my head. Got somewhere on the bridge.
Filled up gas tank. Visited w/ my cousin Toni and Family in Mission Viejo about 3:30-5. Gave me cookies and focaccia to take back to dad. Went from there to my cousin Lynda’s for Christmas Eve — at this point, it’s more their friends, and some of her husband’s family, than “ours.” Still homey. Set up the keyboard, led the annual singalong of “That’s Amore” and “12 Days,” + played some carols w/ a friend of Lynda’s who took up her high school flute during lockdown. Decent tone, no “time” to speak of. Didn’t deprive myself at dinner, but didn’t go nuts — skipped the cake (but had cookies), didn’t drink after a little cup of punch.
Headed back around 9:30, listened to a rather good old(ish)-school hip-hop show on KPFK, home by 10:30; not much traffic.
Wrote in the poetry notebook. Lights out around 11.
11.23.21
Up 7:30. Breakfast, coffee. Read 5 p. each of Brooks and Eliot. Social media posting about radio show.
Left a little after 9:15. Did my show: playlist.
Stoped at Huntley (the 5 Colleges bookstore); bought some pencils and 2 books on clearance.
Lunch at The Meat Cellar, just for a change in routine. What in notebook while waiting. Probably overate.
Too rainy to feel like going somewhere to work. Picked up a couple of gift cards for the caregivers at CVS.
Went home, watched Bell, Book, and Candle (Quine 1958), w/ catnaps. Made some coffee.
Dinner - kept it light, just salad, vegetables, 1/2 avocado.
Read 15 p. Brooks.
Wrote from about 9-11 pm; fixed up the current graf, on “You Are My Sunshine” and “Pistol Packin’ Mama.”
Lights out midnight.