November 6 - Seeing, Hearing, Doing

Up early with the time change (furtive sun and clouds), finishing off a re-reading of Peter S. Beagle's I See By My Outfit (1965), then catch-up, including pdf re page 6 Aerial Requiem: Agnus Dei (concluding the piece) and composition work for The Cop and the Anthem (40), and Psalm 78  (finishing this as well with pg 6) -- some of this in tandem to watching Carlos Andres Vera's

Taromenani, re the "no contact" indigenous Amazonian Ecuadorians on whose behalf Maria (who gifted the video to us) works.  In the evening, more planning for the Goat Hall benefit shows,

watching Masterpiece Contemporary, in an extraordinarily distracted fashion with Harriet.

November 5 - Obscured

Rain returns

(with the coldest high since 

 
May 17: 57, and that fairly late in the season),

just as stepping out the door for another library video run (picking up

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen [sic, Terry Gilliam, 1988, after the intriguing 18th-century Munchhausen],

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), two versions of

The Alamo [1960 and

2004],

And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself [2003],

Apollo 13 [1995],

Amelia [2009],

Beau Geste [1939],

Captains in the Clouds [1942],

Casino Royale [1967, parody after Ian Fleming's novel, 1953],

China Seas [1935],

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe [C.S. Lewis, 1949 / 2005],

The Day the Earth Stood Still [1951],

Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury, 1953 / 1966], and

The Fighting 69th [1940]), ostensibly for Harriet, who is off to Berkeley while

shopping (love checking out groceries in the garden center) and musical activities (pdf page 5 Aerial Requiem: Agnus Dei and more labors on The Cop and the Anthem [39] and Psalm 78 [5]) take place.

November 4 - Deserted

Fair weather returns, but significantly cooler, the thermometer struggling to reach 61 over the course of the day, while finishing up of re-reading of Peter Reyner Banham's

Scenes in America Deserta, with Harriet off to the City in the evening, while more pdf (page 4 Aerial Requiem: Agnus Dei) and compositional (The Cop and the Anthem [38], Psalm 78 [4]) madness takes place.

November 3 - Deceptive Ends

The daily update of 21st-Century Music, heading out under an illusion of continued summery weather, belied by the front to the north, as we pass the

Vaca and

Lagoon Mountains on the way to

Diablo and

Quiz 11 (with musical examples drawn from Duke Ellington, Olivier Messiaen, Bela Bartok, John Cage, Jester Hairston, and Richard Rodgers) for the Theoreticians.

Errands follow,

looping around on 4 and

80,

with the

rainy

season

upon us.  Home for typical musical tasks, including producing the pdf of page 3 Aerial Requiem: Agnus Dei and composing more for The Cop and the Anthem (37) and Psalm 78 (3).

November 2 - How Sweet

Heroically down the freeway towards Diablo for yesterday's Music Theory content today (on what may be the last day of summerlike temperatures for the season, given the weather report): to wit, Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story: Cool as intervallic and tone-row demonstration, Mark Alburger's San Fernando Hub: I. Fresno to round out round 2 of compositions, and Jester Hairston's Elijah Rock for Dictation / Board-Harmony.

Home to grade papers thereafter, then

back

over

80

and

and 680 for the

evening class, proceeding from Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto: Act III, Storm to Giacomo Puccini's La Boheme: Act II, with South African and Native American Music along the way -- at the same time looking ahead to the

Early 20th Century and back to past weeks via

make-up quizzes.  Home again for typical late-night musical actvities re Aerial Requiem pdf page 2 and composition of The Cop and the Anthem (36) and Psalm 78 (2).

November 1 - Portents of Wonder

Fantastic to be home (a region still teasing out some summer temperatures),

wheeling

off to

Diablo Valley College, continuing Week 11 of content, but with Plan B -- discovering that the visual cable adapter has found a new home (perhaps only temporarily) at Swarthmore -- for a dictation / board-harmony on Duke Ellington's Concerto for Cootie, and the beginning of "voice-leading for keeps."

Afterwards, buzz down to the Apple store to get a new converter (in stock, but only in the back room... ah, the wonders of continued innovation and planned obsolescence),

then homeward,

with errands, including purchase of file folders, toner cartridge, and pencil sharpener... so much for this week's budget...

Exhaust the onhand cash at the store, due to the debit card not being accepted (related situation caused the rescheduling of last week's flight).  Wonder what's up, as know the funds are on hand.  Harriet suggests I check in person with the bank, and we find no response on the third-party help line.  Puzzled and distracted, head home, only to get virtually an immediate citation for not putting on seatbelt completely before turning onto the road.  Decide that this is definitely not an auspicious day to be out and about (yet still glad to be back).  Google the debit card dilemma upon return, and find that the issuing organization discontinued the program several months ago, and that somehow this information was missed.  Fill out a form from a competitor shortly thereafter, and attend to the day's other musical endeavors, including pdf of first page for Agnus Dei movement of Aerial Requiem, and composition of ensuing page for The Cop and the Anthem (35) and beginning of Psalm 78.