Sunday 11/13 into Monday 11/14/22
Just another slog of a weekend, trying to hang in.
Went to the Brattle tonight to try and just take a couple hours to decompress. Saw Dead Reckoning (1947). First time I've seen in on the big screen. The plot doesn't make a lot of sense in the way of some noirs, but that's okay. It's not a deterrent. Plot isn't a huge factor with noir. A lot can be happening. You don't need to make sense of all of it. You just need to be caught up in it.
On the subway out to Harvard and back I saw quite a few people sleeping at the station--the Harvard station--and many people screaming into the air. When I go out now, I notice more of that than before. When before? A few years ago.
There were about a half dozen men sleeping at the Harvard station. A guy on the train on the way out was yelling, making threats. Everyone looks at their phone or their book and pretends not to notice. A man coming back on the train was saying how he'd punch people in the face. He was quite specific about that.
A T employee approached one man who was sleeping on the ground at the Harvard stop and started talking to them. They commented on the person's new sneakers. He was, I think, homeless. I don't want to jump to a conclusion, but it looked that way. The T employee said, "You have to try and find some hope, man."
It hit me rather hard, actually. The situation for this man hit me hard. The plight. But also the idea about hope in my own life. I feel like I haven't known the faintest glimmer of hope in so long. The man woke up fully after the T employee moved on. He looked around him at the people on the subway platform. Then he started calling people--but no one in particular--cunts.
I did 200 push-ups each day, ran 3000 stairs yesterday and walked three miles, ran 5000 stairs today in the rain. I didn't do a good job, though, and was disappointed in myself because I didn't go to Charlestown and do the Monument.
I worked more on "A BETTER MAN THAN YOU" yesterday. It's very good. The closest I ever come to experiencing hope is when I'm working on something that good. Printed out There Is No Doubt and mailed it to someone. Yesterday I wrote a friend to see if he'd maybe like to do a podcast with me in which we discuss cool music but not obvious cool music that has been done over and over.
This would be in addition to that other podcast where it's just me that I've been thinking about. I have ideas about about ten music episodes with my friend. He's really the only person I could do this with. He has the background and has done a lot of this kind of thing. He's a good man. Which is important to me if I'm going to work with someone on something I've come up with. I've been thinking about ideas for the name of this second podcast. I already know the name for the first. It'll go under the Many Moments More heading. These are some early show ideas for the music podcast: Little Willie John, the Rolling Stones tour of 1969, Arthur Alexander, the Five Royales, early concept albums, Village Green era Kinks, Hank Mobley. Each episode would have a primary focus like that. Smart conversations about very cool music for very cool people.
I've been getting notes about a Billie Holiday piece from five years ago. I'm not sure why that's coming up this weekend.
I'm creating like the fifth version of an essay right now in hopes of selling it and salvaging a lot of work. Somewhat salvaging. I'm not sanguine. It's probably dumb to keep trying and I should just write it off. I pitched something on M.R. James's "Count Magnus," but I don't expect anything to come of it.
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