i am disappointing the dogchildren because i can’t make it stop raining

in

68ºF, rain: a calmer Derbz than yesterday, having either reached an acceptance of inclement weather (he really, really hates rain) or increased hopes of at least one game of DerbzBall today – until it rains again (and again) because I really don't want him to slip and tear something; another fortnight in the cone of shame isn't in the cards. I'm sorry, dogchildren, but I'm not Halle Berry in a bad wig. Stop looking at me like that.

More TD-1K fiddling yesterday: the included songs keep the tradition of charmingly lame playalong accompaniments that are, nonetheless, useful for improv: fond memories of having to come up with things on the spot, working to get that independence of feet and hands and right and left back – and better than before, given that I'm not (as much of) the undisciplined jackoff of my previous musical iteration.

The rower has founds its new home: my back no longer screams every time it enters that room; in the rower’s place, the punching bag will rise later today – undoubtedly with the aid of a bored Derbz and much impatience.

i am their revolving doorman

in

68ºF, rain – and yet: inside and outside and inside and outside, one dogchild after another, sometimes solo, sometimes a duo, sometimes a trio / inside and out and inside and out: this is my day, already; Derbz-meltdown potential rises as DerbzBall likelihood dwindles.

I'll probably likewise be inside today; should've gone to pick up that punching bag yesterday, shit (my days of rowing are over as it's proven to be murder on my back (my back, my fucking back) and I've decided to cut my losses and try something I've always wanted to try). Yoga/HIIT? Try out K’s recumbent bike? Run around in circles, etc etc? IDK.

The TD-1K is hooked up and sounds great. Better than my acoustic kit, surprisingly enough. Still have to get the pads and cymbals in the right spot: still a bit claustrophobic.

Cool uncle (maybe) cred reupped by getting my niece hooked on GOAT SIMULATOR. Victory is mine – kid can even get the goat to stick onto the donut-car: impressive. Note: need to buy a switch so I can practice on MARIO KART, still: I can't let her reign of terror against my gamer's pride continue – no matter how proud I am that she can kick my ass.

THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (Wiene, 1920)

in

(rewatched: fri/20220902 via Kino Lorber Blu-ray; directed by Robert Wiene from a screenplay by Carl Mayer and Hans Janowitz; starring Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Fehér, and Lil Dagover. Released 26 February 1920 )

First time watching CALIGARI in at least 20 years, and it's even better than I remember: madness, manipulation, and murder wrapped in a sublime and unsettling package – save the frame story, see below –, one of the first and finest horror films made even more stunning through Kino's 4K Blu release (now I'm excited to watch the latest Blu versions of NOSFERATU and METROPOLIS), from the intertitles – I don't recall having seen the original German ones in the version I saw years ago – to each brushstroke of the beautifully warped set design to the grit and filth between Caligari's teeth.

While I adore CALIGARI, I agree, fully, with the vituperation of the films' writers over the frame story and twist ending to a twist ending: it does subvert CALIGARI's anti-authoritarian message, a message made even more potent when considering the context and time of the film's making and release in post-WWI Weimar Germany, a message that remains all-too-relevant 102 years after its release, not only across Europe, but on this side of the pond as well: we are nothing if not a land populated by easily-manipulated sleepwalkers at the beck and call of a madman, history's penchant for repeating itself (or rhyming) the great horror of the day.

(Definitely read the whole Wikipedia page: fascinating stuff.)

Random aside: I wonder how much of an influence CALIGARI played on Tim Burton's look for Danny DeVito's Penguin in BATMAN RETURNS: once I saw the similarities, unseeing them was next to impossible – though maybe I'm seeing things. Wouldn't be the first time.

wires wires wires and more wires

in

68ºF, clouds: if I ever learned that my end was imminent, I might consider adding this as one potential avenue of going out, scrumptiously, on my terms.

A struggle to stay awake and get anything done but here I am. The TD-1K has arrived and I managed to assemble the kit itself (first new kit I've ever assembled of my own; I did assemble a few when I worked in a music shop for two weeks): today's job will be to get all the electric bits hooked up and running – and to get The Sanctum back to a general ordered and comfy cluttering befitting my preference for toiling in an antique mall booth – though I would rather it not feel as though an estate shipment came in. Getting there.

That festival challenge on MAKING THE CUT was bullshit: they didn’t have enough time.

i am/will be drumming again and only for myself (unless EJK asks) for the first time in 20 years and other auditory news

in

60ºF, sun: yes, Scott, I ordered the electronic kit (Roland TD-1K) and it's due to arrive today. VERY excited: can already tell that my informal workings with a regular practice pad are helping to reduce hand pain and increase wrist strength. Movement, movement, movement: working to get my main problem from previous drumming life – too right-hand dominant (even though I'm left-handed; have a feeling that the drumming past explains my ambidextrous acumen in all things but writing – efforts at writing with my right hand look even worse than with my left) and a blind spot for flams – ameliorated before I let myself move forward: cobweb and rust dust-off/pressure wash via metronomic warm-ups and flam accent (without terrifying the dogchildren) variations for FTW. If nothing else, it helps me think.

In other audio news: Phone-maleXLR cable arrived so I'm ready to continue fiddling with the next part of the Vocaster Two: so far I love the thing. The gain feels right, and the auto-enhance/gain is perfect: while I can do the production side of things, I prefer to focus on the conversation - anything that lets me focus more on the conversation is worth the expenditure. Test run this weekend then first for-real conversational trial on Tuesday evening. Sorry, Maud.