this is your wake-up call

Part of me was looking forward to making Alex, because I can't think of anyone else who might read this and have easy access to Harvard Books, eat a big bowl of spiderwebs but most of me is very glad to have Through The Heart. I also got Sandworld by Richard Lupoff. I thought about buying a Michaela Roessner novel about the Dreamtime, which is an Australian myth that Richard Lupoff wrote about once and I thought about some books that I know nothing about. Orion's Dagger and The Crystal Keep. They're both part of a series. Plot descriptions on Amazon are non-existent, as is Amazon's wont.
The Coop is not Harvard Books. It's great for new general fiction and SFF that is ingratiated into Literature like High Rise and Slaughterhouse-Five, and it's great for non-fiction, but they don't have Attanasio novels. The most important thing they have going for them over Harvard Books is a public bathroom, even if it is a mere one person bathroom.
J.P. Licks has a wall covered in paintings. Also, the cow mascot has almond eyes.

I sneezed and had to swallow all the post-nasal gunk. I don't think I sneezed because of a cold, I think I sneezed because the sky is full of pollen.

I mistook someone for Brigitte.

There were 10 stages at Cambridge's Make Music Festival and around 125 artists. Since nobody was handing out maps of the event, I only noticed these ones: the one in front of Harvard Books, the one in front of the Coop, the one behind the main entrance to Harvard T Station, the one in Brattle Square, the one near the other other entrance to Harvard Station. The one I mean is "if you're at the front of the train on an Alewife-bound train, take the first stairs." There was also Charlie's Kitchen, Grafton Street Restaurant, Follow the Honey where Scubaphone was playing, and Palmer Street where Elisabeth Lopez was playing. I don't know where those places are.

Here's a full schedule. Out of the stuff that I didn't get to hear either because I didn't get there until 3:20 or so or because I didn't know they were playing or I didn't know where they were playing or I was busy listening to something else and will probably check out over the next few weeks, the stuff that sticks out to me is Savasha, Citizen Hobo, The Imaginators, Los Border Coyotes, Cloud 4, Ticklejuice, Natalie Quevedo, Gillian Grogan, Violet Kairos, Kathleen Hailey, Still Willow, and Jack & Katie.

A lot of these bands are just starting out and don't have proper material released.

Florie Namir was actually born in Tel Aviv but lives in Boston now. Mithridates would be proud, had he not been trapped in the basement of the toppled over ruin of the Burj Dubai. She sang a song about keeping in touch with faraway friends.

Seth Wonkka and Friends is a folk band with a guest saxophonist. Wonkka has two Ks, not like Willy Wonka. Sasha, guest vocalist, wore a ring that many people including me thought depicted a praying mantis but she's not actually sure and it's open to interpretation.

Lily Black is a pop-punk band. The singer is named Lily, just not Lily Black. They played some originals and a few covers including When I Come Around originally by Green Day, London Calling originally by The Clash, and as a grand finale, Killing in the Name Of, originally by Rage Against The Machine. When Lily saw her portrait, she said she wishes she could be artistic but two of us said that music is a kind of artistry.
Here's your cock, her bandmate said to her. She had a rubber chicken handbag.

Newfane: Indie rock.

Grace and Katie and friends are exactly like me: they see a dog and have to pet it. I bet they burn inside with violent anger when they see a service dog and can't pet it.
A Boston terrier was jumping up and trying to lick the nose of a black lab.

One of them had a foxglove tattoo on her arm. I'm not sure if that was Grace but it definitely wasn't Katie.

I ran into Kerry, a friend from high school, and her beagle getting pizza or something. The beagle wasn't super into music. I couldn't quite remember if her name was Kerry or Kelly. I got it right but I'm not sure if her name is Kerry or Kerri, but that doesn't matter if I'm speaking. Keri? No, not unless this is actually Irth. I wracked my mind to think of some specific memories but came up with nothing. She was really nice, though. Probably one of the nicest people I've met.

I write things down so I don't have to remember them.

I believe I've heard of Mei Ohara through Vanyaland. Her music is like if you took some Hamauzu violin and amped up all the electric distortion, and then set it to the beat of a Project Skyward song. She doesn't sing, she just plays the violin and writes the beats. Her violin is decorated with various feathers. She reminds me of Vivian Luo, except she doesn't have a disco ball. On her Tumblr, she calls herself Neptunian. Her hair was blue, the color of sapphires, deep water, skies, loyalty, and melancholy. It segued into brown on one side and into purple, the color of amethysts, pageantry, royalty, and death, on the other side.

Sultans of Sax sounds like jazz klezmer.

Hemway: As far as they know, they're the only Hemway in existence, not including a British manufacturer. They just got the number one spot on Google when searching for Hemway.

Had I known Scubaphone was playing, I'd probably have looked for them but I'm glad I stumbled upon Hemway.

I, Pistol - a kid asked why he wasn't wearing shoes and I think it's to show off his foot tattoos. At times, they reminded me of Pearl Jam. One guy was really into it.

There was a woman with green hair, the color of hope, youth, joy, spring, and victory. Not quite the color of emeralds, more like pale peridot.
Another woman had pale violet hair.

A woman with hair dyed red, the color of rubies, wine, revelry, furnaces, courage, and magic, said "when you make an assumption, you make an ass out of you and and mption." I think he got it from Samuel L. Jackson.
Barry doesn't like that either.

The Opera Guy - he sang Ave Maria to a piano recording. It would probably be better if he had actual accompaniment, but what are you going to do?

Joe Froeber and the Drunk Monkeys - their first song, Sundays, reminded me of a dreamier Morphine, with lead guitar and an alto saxophone rather than a baritone saxophone. The next song was not intended to be a metaphor. So it goes. Hannah Wilson (I know it started with a W, at least) joined them later. They were giving away half-melted orange creamsicles, and as any Dopaz-drone will tell you, orange is like, the colour, of, like, orange is, you know, orange, orange is, like, orange. He tossed one, which was probably a bad idea but the woman sitting next to me caught it. There was a guy watching who looked like Dr. Vink with a Va Va Va, and a kid with a toy lightsaber.

There's a sign for a public bathroom at Harvard Station. The door was of course locked and I'm pretty sure it's related to either budget cuts or someone flushing a hand grenade down the toilet.

This guy made paintings of Doug Funnie as the Vitruvian Man, the Ninja Turtles in Edward Hopper's Nighthawks. The only Star Wars ones he has are American Gothic with a red lightsaber and C-3PO standing in a lake. He had a Monet parody depicting Yoda getting married in the woods but he said it's not as good as it sounds (of course, nothing can be as good as that sounds): it's just Yoda's head slapped on a human body. I can't find out who the artist is but I now know he's been doing this for a while and I found someone's set of remarks on the people of Boston and I found Drawception's take on American Gothic, Star Wars Style.
Speaking of Ninja Turtles, I have learned that house sparrows like pizza so much they don't freak out and fly away when someone gets within a meter of their presence.

Another guy, I believe his name was Ming, was drawing portraits in flesh-colored chalk pastels and charcoal using photographic references.

Peter Pobodry wasn't officially part of the make music festival but he played all day anyway.

The conductor sounded excited. More agitated, actually. There was a schedule to keep and there was a train right behind us so don't block the doors. The model UN, either Mozambique or Azawad, were back in town so maybe things were running behind schedule due to grapefruits and bananas on the tracks.

Erin, Haley, Lily, Olivia, possibly Julie but she wasn't really dressed for it or who knows, maybe she was dressed for it, were in the North End getting dinner.
Erin was amazed at two guys' ability to walk so well while drunk but they made up for it by missing their station. Lucky for them it wasn't at Kendall or Central, or worse, anything past Symphony. I don't know what his name is but I hope it's Jim.
Erin asked for a full portrait and Haley wanted to be in it too, though I think that Erin and Lily would have contrasted better; Erin was in white, Lily in black.
Erin remarked that she uses the exact same sketchbook I do in her art class.


burning question: What was the name of the fantasy creature with the neck of an owl and the body of a Bratz doll?