Music Week

Expanded blog post, September archive (finished).

Tweet: Music Week: 33 albums, 2 A-list

Music: Current count 44927 [44894] rated (+33), 20 [17] unrated (+3).

New records reviewed this week:

• JD Allen: Love Letters (The Ballad Sessions) (2025, Savant): [sp]: B+(**)
• Mulatu Astatke: Mulatu Plays Mulatu (2025, Strut): [sp]: B+(***)
• Decius: Decius Vol. II (Splendour & Obedience) (2025, The Leaf Label): [sp]: B+(***)
• Doja Cat: Vie (2025, Kemosabe/RCA): [sp]: B+(**)
• Dave Douglas: Alloy (2025, Greenleaf Music): [sp]: B+(**)
• Baxter Dury: Allbarone (2025, Heavenly): [sp]: B+(*)
• Robbie Fulks: Now Then (2025, Compass): [sp]: B
• Geese: Getting Killed (2025, Partisan): [sp]: B
• Gao Hong/Baluji Shrivastav: Neelam (2025, ARC Music): [os]: B+(*)
• Jade: That's Showbiz Baby! (2025, RCA): [sp]: B+(**)
• Sofia Kourtesis: Volver (2025, Ninja Tune, EP): [sp]: B+(**)
• Harold López-Nussa: Nueva Timba (2025, Blue Note): [sp]: B+(**)
• Maruja: Pain to Power (2025, Music for Nations): [sp]: B
• Mark O'Leary Group: A Simple Question (2025, TIBProd.): [bc]: B+(**)
• Linda May Han Oh: Strange Heavens (2025, Biophilia): [sp]: A-
• Kassa Overall: Cream (2025, Warp): [sp]: B+(***)
• Sam Prekop: Open Close (2025, Thrill Jockey): [sp]: B+(*)
• Rent Romus/Tatsuya Nakatani: Uplift (2023 [2025], Edgetone): [sp]: B+(**)
• Cécile McLorin Salvant: Oh Snap (2025, Nonesuch): [sp]: B
• Shame: Cutthroat (2025, Dead Oceans): [sp]: B
• Martina Verhoeven/Luis Lopes/Dirk Serries: Invincible Time (2023 [2025], Raw Tonk): [bc]: B+(**)
• Vlure: Escalate (2025, Music for Nations): [sp]: B+(**)
• Webber/Morris Big Band: Unseparate (2024 [2025], Out of Your Head): [cd]: B+(***)

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

• Mark O'Leary Quartet: White Album ([2025], TIBProd.): [bc]: B+(*)

Old music:

• Decius: Decius Vol. I (2022, The Leaf Label): [sp]: B+(**)
• High on Fire: Cometh the Storm (2024, MNRK Heavy): [sp]: B
• Mark O'Leary/Mat Maneri/Matthew Shipp: Chamber Trio (2002 [2005], Leo): [sp]: B+(**)
• Mark O'Leary/Tomasz Stanko/Billy Hart: Levitation (2000 [2005], Leo): [sp]: B+(***)
• Mark O'Leary/Mat Maneri/Randy Peterson: Self-Luminous (2002 [2005], Leo): [sp]: B+(**)
• Mark O'Leary/Uri Caine/Ben Perowsky: Closure (2003 [2005], Leo): [sp]: B+(**)
• Mark O'Leary/Steve Swallow/Pierre Favre: Awakening (2000 [2006], Leo): [sp]: B+(*)
• Sam Prekop/John McEntire: Sons Of (2022, Thrill Jockey): [sp]: A-

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Rick Keller: Heroes (Vegas) [08-11]
• Jussi Reijonen: Sayr: Salt/Thirst (Unmusic) [10-24]
• Laura Taylor: Think I'm in Love (Vegas) [08-18]
• UNLV Jazz Ensemble 1: Double or Nothing (Vegas) [08-25]

Daily Log

Exhausted again last night. Went to bed around 2:30. Woke up before 7, and read some in David Graham's The Project: How Project 2025 Is Reshaping America. Early pages, which appear to have been written before Trump's inauguration but touched up a bit in the following first weeks, are brutally accurate about how Trump seized power, while lacking the gory details of what he did with it. The longer (probably written earlier) sections on policies and rationales in the document will help explain why. Short book. I picked it up when I had trouble finding the Zach Beauchamp book I was expecting to provide more concrete political history following the ideological ferment of Hayek's Bastards. Went back to sleep a bit, and got up around 11. Came straight down, and started with the cutover for Music Week: 33 albums, 2 A-list.

That's probably the big project for today, but I'll also need to call the insurance to report the storm damage.[*] I should get the part for fixing the bathroom sink. When I get that leak-proof, I have some more work to do: some trim around the flooring I put under the sink, and pull-out baskets. Might be a good idea to finally put some shelves in the front bedroom closet, which has been empty since I refinished it. Also need to swap out the toilet seat, and some air filters. But I expect to mostly be at computer today. Aside from Music Week, I've almost set up the Jazz Critics Poll website: all of the mechanical files are done, but the documentation is a neverending job. And I want to start on the next Substack post. I'm going to shift gears there and do something on cooking Chinese.

Email (23 messages):

• Someone named Devon Church ("ex-Exitmusic") has a new album, title from Marx (All That's Solid Melts Into Air), hype sheet refers to Mark Fisher's Capitalist Realism, and mentions "fuzzed out guitars that recall the VU and Eno's 'Needle in the Camel's Eye.'" They also mention Blaze Foley, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, and Louvin Brothers.

[*] Insurance notes: Big hail storm was September 3. Two storm cells passed through Wichita, from NW to SE. The first one mostly missed us, passing to the east, but the second one hit us pretty hard. Hail looked to be about 1-inch diameter. Not sure how long it lasted like that (15 minutes?). Knocked a lot of small tree cover off, so the flat roof in the back was covered, as was the driveway to the garage. Also a fair amount landed on the west half of the top roof, and some on the garage. Ever since then we've been getting calls from roofing companies looking for hail damage, and I've talked to a couple who stopped by, offering free inspections. I didn't see any real structural damage, but couldn't properly assess the situation until the detritus got moved away. Doug came over on Saturday, and we got the roof all cleared. Flat roof looks good. I saw a couple of possible hail impacts on dark shingles. One guy went around the house taking pictures of all the dings to gutters and fascia, and enquiring as to whether the insurance included "soft metal" (presumably to replace the lot). But he didn't actually get up on the roof, so didn't see the high spots where some shingles were ripped up, exposing the decking. That was probably done by tree branches, but that should still count as storm damage. That's what I need to get the adjuster out for. Then if the roof isn't totaled, I'll still have to line up someone to patch the damage. I have leftover shingles, so that should be relatively easy, but is not something I feel competent and/or able to do.

PS: Got claim filed. Adjuster coming out Oct. 6.

Daily Log

Exhausted last night. Went to bed by 2:30. Got up once, then finally around 10. Read the last of the Slobodian book, which noted Javier Milei as one of Hayek's Bastards, and commented on how what may seem to some like a backlash against new capitalism is really more of a frontlash of something even worse. He shows how these "thinkers" converge on three hards: hard borders, hard money, and hard-wired culture.

I spent some time last night shopping Amazon for sink drains. Two things I hated about my old one: the whole assembly seemed to fit under the sink, with just a small bit of thread poking up into the hole, with a small flange screwing in from the top, but no way to tighten it with a wrench (this may very well have been my misconception, and is probably the source of my leak); it has a very thin brass nut to tighten the cast base unit snug against the sink (very hard to get a wrench on to tighten). I found several units that seemed to rectify these problems, most also having push-down, pop-up stoppers. While it seems likely that I can fix what I have by taking it all apart and reinstall it, making sure that everything is tight, I took the caution of ordering a replacement part ($13) that I'm certain will work. Things I like about it: the whole assembly fits through the hole from the top; it has a silicone washer on top, instead of needing plumber's putty; it has a silicone washer on bottom, and an aluminum nut that has at least a 1/2-inch hex face to put a wrench on, as opposed to those brass nuts that are 3/16 (or less, and tapered at that). Arrives Monday, so I'll wait until then.

Still have lots of worrisome things looming over me. I should check attic to see if any roof damage is visible from below. In any case, I need to contact insurance and get an appraiser out to see what (if anything) they will cover. Car situation is still unsettled. I don't know what to do about that. Maybe I should shop for another? I also have to renew my driver's license. I should take care of that next week, while we still have a valid license tag (expires 10-03).

I was going to write a NOEL piece on building computers next, but I may just do one on Friday's Chinese dinner instead. I have a picture, and can expand on yesterday's notes. Facebook post got 13 likes, which is much more than any of my political stuff ever gets.

Email (11 messages, nothing interesting other than Mazin Qumsiyeh's daily cry/scream, which I will save for when I finally feel like looking at Loose Tabs again). Need to work on jazz poll directory today. Get that wrapped up, and ready to go. I've been wasting time on metacritic file instead.

Daily Log

Woke up at 6, still dark. Went to bathroom, then back to bed, where I slept until noon.

Sore and tired after making dinner yesterday. Two dishes required rescue efforts:

1. I wasn't happy with the "light peanut-lime sauce" on the noodles, wanting a heavier peanut taste. Part of the problem may have been that I substituted or faked many of Tropp's separate-recipe components (e.g., I didn't have "serrano-lemongrass vinegar," so used rice wine vinegar; I did find some "pickled ginger juice," but it wasn't as strong as hers; I didn't have the "goop" from her chile sauce, and went sparingly on the heat anyway; while I probably had plenty of lime juice and zest, that didn't help much). So I made up a short batch of Tropp's standard peanut sauce, using 1/3 cup of peanut butter, 1/3 cup of double dark soy sauce, a bit of wine (and vinegar? balsamic?), and a little less than a tsp of chile oil; I dispensed with the chopped garlic and cilantro, but used powdered garlic, and added some five spice. That worked out fine.

2. Bigger problem was the tart shell dough. It came out of the refrigerator hard as a rock, and started crumbling when I tried to roll it. I let it warm up a bit, put it in a bowl, and broke it all up into fine crumbles. I then added the leftover 2 tbs of butter (melted) and another egg yolk, and mixed by hand (literally). I wound up adding maybe a tbs of half & half, until I finally got something I could work with. I rolled it out, with some extra flour. I couldn't pick it up, but used a pastry scraper to loose the edges, and slid the flat plate of the tart pan underneath. I could then lift up the dough, and fit it into the pan. The edges tended to break off, so I had to piece them back together, but eventually got the whole surface covered, and the edges trimmed. I chilled the dough for a half-hour, then baked the shell. When I took the foil and weights off, I found several fissures around the edges. I should have reserved the extra dough and patched them up, but let them go, and finished to the "partly baked" stage. I toasted the walnuts during that period.

   The recipe called for 3 oz. of chocolate, promsing leftovers that could be piped over the top. I had doubts about the quantity, and wound up adding an extra ounce of semisweet. While I had more than the 1/4 cup the recipe called for, I used it all, coming up with not much more than a 1/8-inch layer of chocolate, which was then topped with 2 cups of black walnuts, and the custard. I put the tart pan on a large cookie sheet. It leaked profusely, but the edges of the sheet caught the mess. I had neither time nor chocolate left to decorate the top. (I could have melted more chocolate, but time was the bigger problem.)

That rework threw me off my schedule, although I was moving through routine items pretty slowly as well. My idea was that I'd do the prep and most of the cooking well in advance, then would only have to rewarm things at the end. But when the guests showed up, I only had the noodles and tart done, leaving everything else to be stir-fried:

• Fried rice: I had this started, with the onion and bacon cooked, the rice added, some curry powder, garam masala, salt, pepper, and splashes of chicken stock (for sort of a risotto effect). I had the adds prepped: red bell pepper, zucchini, sausage, mushrooms, egg, scallions. I found a nearly empty bad of pine nuts, added them, and some sliced almonds to make up the deficit. Also added some garlic chips.
• Soft-shelled crabs: I had them pan-fried, and a pile of aromatics. I still needed to mix up the sauce. To finish: fire the aromatics, add the sauce and thickener, get it bubbly and add the crabs.
• Scallops: I had them velveted, the water chesnuts ready, the spinach deep-fried, the aromatics piled up. Still had to mix up the sauce. Same basic drill, reserving the spinach for garnish.
• Bok choy: I had them parboiled. Just needed to stir-fry with some ginger, adding sesame oil.
• Eggplant: This I had done, so I just had to warm it up.

So I basically had two sauces (with thickeners) left to prep, and then a bunch of stir-frying. Gretchen read me the ingredients, and helped with the stirring. Probably took 15 minutes for the final fire drill. Left a huge mess, but wasn't all that hard to do. Rice could have used a bit more attention, but was fine. I've done better on the scallops in the past: fresh water chestnuts would have helped, the bay scallops were a bit freezer-burnt, and the sauce could have been sharper. Everything else was really superb.

Leftovers of everything, especially noodles (I only served half of what I made). Kitchen was an exceptionally huge mess, but I got it cleaned up before going to bed.

No significant email.

Doug came over to work on lawn today. Big thing I wanted him to do was to clear the detritus off the roof that came down in the big hail storm a couple weeks ago. This involved the back room roof, which is nearly flat, and visible from the 2nd floor, as well as the 2nd floor roof, which is much higher and steeper. The big elm has some high branches that come close to that roof, which makes it hard to see, and is a potential source of damage. We did finally make it all the way to the top, and cut off the impinging branches. That revealed several patches where the shingles had broken away, exposing some of the deck wood. I don't think anything has leaked yet, but thereis about a 6-foot square patch that needs to be fixed. I have roofers chasing me ever since the storm, looking for hail damage to repair. I've been skeptical, but now I have to call the insurance company and get an adjuster out. Not clear whether they will cover anything, but that patch needs to be repaired. I feel like I ought to be able to get up their and repair it myself, but I've never done anything like that before, and it is pretty treacherous. Still, another nasty job to have to deal with.

I talked to my brother, and he suggested a fix for the bathroom sink leak. I tried it tonight, and while he may have been partly right, it didn't fully work. Since then, I've looked as some possible replacement parts, and it occurs to me I didn't install the top drain piece correctly. So my next idea is to take that whole assembly apart, and reinstall it. Basically, there is a stainless steel collar that fits above the sink, a brass casting that fits underneath the sink (with a washer and nut that clamps up against the bottom of the sink), and a brass tube that passes through the sink drain hole and into the drain pipes below. The latter should screw into the casting and seal tight, but it also should screw into the top fitting. Having gone over everything else, I wonder if the latter connection is the source of the leak. At least some alternative parts work that way. This one I'll have to disassemble to figure out.

Got nothing done on the jazz poll website today. Also nothing written (beyond a couple mediocre records).

Friday, September 26, 2025

Daily Log

Got up before 9, when the CPAP turned off, sleep score 75. Read a bit, tried going back to bed, couldn't sleep, got up again, showered and came down by 10. Cooking today, so I have an excuse to do nothing else, and to listen to old music (started with the Ace New Orleans compilation).

Started work on Jazz Poll website yesterday. I got bogged down in trying to go over the various files carefully. I wound up with a new "install-notes" file to track my changes. Took another look at the sink leak, and found where the water was coming out. Steve suggested how to tighten it up. I'll try that next time I feel like scrunching up and crawling under it.

Did shopping for dinner yesterday. Big disappointment was that Thai Binh didn't have fresh water chestnuts. Decided to go with canned, which won't be nearly as good, but less work. Got fish at Blalock's, so blew my diet. Will do that again today. Menu for dinner tonight (mostly Chinese):

• Velveted bay scallops with water chestnuts in a spice orange sauce, garnished with deep-fried spinach (Tropp)
• Shallow-ried soft shell crabs, in a sweet & sour sauce (Kuo)
• Stir-fried baby bok choy (Kuo)
• Dry-frieid eggplant nuggets (China Moon)
• Thin wheat noodles in a lime-peanut sauce, with shredded carrots, cucumber, and daikon
• Fried rice, some ad hoc variation on Tropp although it will wind up more like a biryani: start with bacon and onion, add rice and some stock and curry spices, fold in previously stir-fried red bell pepper and zucchini, as well as the Chinese egg and sausage (instead of ham) combo, scallions, pine nuts
• A chocolate-walnut tart, served with a choice of vanilla or mint chocolate chip ice cream

Seems like a lot for 5 people, but the prep can be spread out, and the final stir-fry is anti-climactic. Last night I: put the scallops into the velvet marinade; made the noodles; made dough for the tart shell. I'm not real happy with the noodles. One idea is to make another batch of peanut sauce, using a more conventional Chinese recipe, and add that. I'm more worried about the tart shell. Dough strikes me as dry and crumbly, and I worry that it will fall apart when I try to roll it out. Will find out soon.

Email (39 messages: Friday is new release day):

• Stats from Substack post: 80 views, 1 comment, 0 subscriptions.
• Eric Levitz: The big contradiction in progressive thinking about Trump: The Democratic debate over whether "moderation" works is very confused.

Daily Log

Got up before 10, 90 on the meter, and read the rest of Slobodian's chapter on "IQ racism." Next up is "Goldbugs": I've been known to decry the gold standard as "the dumbest idea ever," so I expect everyone in the chapter (which probably includes Ron Paul) to come off as morons. I should concede that the original idea wasn't so dumb: it allowed states to base currency on something more tangible than trust, but once it sunk the world economy in 1929-33, it was not only no longer needed but was actually dead weight, which virtually everyone quickly came to recognize. Goldbuggery only persisted among libertarians who sought to dissolve the state -- as Michael Lind put it, to bring back feudalism -- although even there they've mostly moved on to crypto scams.

Posted notice for the Carola Dibbell memoir piece last night, but it's only a thin vignette which raises more questions than it answers. I didn't manage to set up my writing directories, so I need to work on that today. Got up thinking about the "weird" book, composing whole sentences to kick off the first chapter. It's been a tonic writing these fragments first thing every morning, but at some point I need to transition to using this time to write into the directories.

Email (25 messages):

• NOEL post ("More Thoughts on Loose Tabs"): 1 comment (no response necessary), 1 new subscriber; "shareable assets" message for posting notice on Instagram, TikTok (I have accounts to neither).
• TomDispatch: Rebecca Gordon: The Death of Civil Rights in the Age of Trump
• LG Electronics has a "Radio Optimism" program, a "creative platform inspired people globally to create more than 700,000 personalized songs. These AI-generated tracks - listened to and shared over 1.5 million times - underscored the enduring importance of human connection across cultures."

I've been frequently annoyed by my "CAPS LOCK" key, which is easy to hit by accident, and reverse cases whatever I type, until I notice it and go back and fix everything. Supposedly, there is a gnome-tweaks tool that can fix this. I installed it yesterday, but couldn't figure out how to run it (it didn't appear in Settings menu). After getting hit again, I looked up how to run it from command line, and did (command line: gnome-tweaks; produces a lot of error messages about "error getting shell mode" before putting up the window. I did finally find an option for "Caps Lock behavior," under Keyboard/Additional Layout Options, and set it to "Caps Lock is disabled" as a dozen other options only seemed likely to make things worse). There is also an option for "Alt and Win behavior" which might be useful, but none of the options seem obvious. I do occasionally hit the Win key and get a message about "Sticky keys are turned off," as if I ever wanted them turned on in the first place, or had any idea how to turn them back on again. I don't see anything else I need the tweaks tool for. [PS: Tool seems to have had no effect.]

I suppose several things are possible here, including that the xwm window manager isn't GNOME-based so the tweaks have no bearing, or that it has to be rebooted, or? Further research shows that someone solved this problem by running this command at startup:

xmodmap -e 'keysym Caps_Lock = '

I did, and it worked immediately. I added that to my .profile. Presumably that's run every time I login, before the window manager kicks up, but in any case I always open at least one terminal window.

Daily Log

Posted on Notes on Everyday Life (Substack) tonight: More Thoughts on Loose Tabs. Archived version is here.

Tried tightening up the bathroom sink drain. Hard part was getting a wrench on that thin flange nut under the sink. I bought a wide-jaw adjustable plumbers wrench for that purpose, but the nut is very thin, so it's hard to get anything on it squarely, and the wrench is heavy and clumsy, and has a lot of play unless you really tighten down a set screw. I wound up getting better results with adjustable pliers. Hard to tell how tight I actually got it. I opened up the slip joint nuts, and found that I had one of them the wrong direction. I reversed that, and for good measure dabbed some pipe joint compound on the threads, then tightened them up as hard as I could by hand. I put a new pan underneath, in case anything still leaks. Haven't checked it yet.

We also did some work in the pantry, and wound up throwing a lot of old beans and lentils away. The bag was very heavy, so there may have been some full cans as well. We still have quite a bit to do there, but made a good start.

I started thinking about dinner Friday, and came up with a rough plan. From the freezer, I have a pound package of bay scallops, and 10 small soft-shelled crabs. The former will go into Tropp's orange sauce recipe, with water chestnuts and deep-fried spinach. Kuo has a sweet & sour recipe for the latter. I need to shop at Thai Binh tomorrow for the water chestnuts, so I'll also pick up some eggplant (Tropp has a good recipe) and baby bok choy (Kuo) for sides. I can do fried rice, but I'd also like to use up some Chinese noodles, so I'm thinking lime-peanut (Tropp). I was undecided about dessert, but Tropp has many tarts in China Moon, and the chocolate and walnut seems like a good choice, along with some ice cream.

Woke up shortly after 8, sleep rating 80. Read a bit about the intellectual precursors of Charles Murray, stopping just short of a section on Murray himself. Little reason to take these people seriously, as they were racists first, rationalizers later. I'm about half way through, and should pick up the pace to get it over with. Might go to Beauchamp next, or David Graham's book on Project 2025. Went back to bed around 9, and lay there thinking until 10. Counts on the machine as sleep, and does rest me a bit.

I am thinking I should open a file to keep track of right-wing idiots. I wrote a bit in Loose Tabs yesterday on Charlie Kirk, including a list of his five books. I probably have more than a hundred similar tomes in my book roundups, and they reveal a lot just through their titles. Also wrote a few more paragraphs for the Loose Tabs recap post. Laura sent me some corrections, so I'll go over those and post it later today. Other main project for today is to set up directories for the various writing projects. I'll write that up in one of the planning documents. Basically, there will be one directory for each pile of documents. I can then write one file for each topic in the pile. The files will be coded as PHP, but I can make use of "heredoc" to embed chunks of text that can both be picked up by the PHP code and independently scanned by shell scripts to create index files. First use will be to build a directory index, but I should also create a keyword index, and stick that information into the HTML head. I want a pretty minimal design that I can refine and rebuild later. I wake up every morning thinking of files to add to piles, so there's some urgency to get going.

I also need to update Christgau website for his/Carola's Lookback. Another near-term task is to build the 2024 jazzpoll directory. Once I do that, I'll send email to the admin and voter lists, and get the ball rolling there. Another thing on my mind is that I'll be cooking dinner Friday for Mike, Gretchen, and Rannfrid. That will be the fun part of the week. I'm thinking Chinese: I have bay scallops (which go with water chestnuts in an orange sauce) and a few soft-shell crabs (shallow fried with a sweet & sour sauce) in the freezer. I'm also thinking I should use up some of my wheat noodles (peanut sauce). I need to do a bit of shopping for this tomorrow. I haven't settled on a dessert yet.

Email (25 messages):

• RiotRiot: The 50 Best Albums of 2020-2024.
• 3-song EP from Deena Shoshkes.

I've probably heard everything in the RiotRiot 2020-2024 list, but let's checklist it (wound up 48/50, 2 A, 16 A-, 8 ***, 12 **, 10 *, nothing lower):

1. Billy Woods, Aethiopes (#1 of 2022) [***]
2. Billy Nomates, Billie Nomates (#1 of 2020) [A-]
3. Beyoncé, Renaissance (#3 of 2022) [A-]
4. Fiona Apple, Fetch the Bolt Cutters (#2 of 2020) [A-]
5. Wednesday, Rat Saw God (#1 of 2023) [*]
6. 100 gecs, 10,000 gecs (#3 of 2023) [*]
7. Olivia Rodrigo, Sour (#5 of 2021) [A-]
8. Sam Prekop/John McEntire, Sons of (#66 of 20222) [] - later [A-]
9. Kalie Shorr, I Got Here by Accident (#1 of 2021) [A-]
10. Charli XCX, Brat (#29 of 2024) [A-]
11. Emperor X, Suggested Improvements to Transportation Infrastructure in the Northeast Corridor [EP] (#2 of 2023) [**]
12. Billie Eilish, Happier Than Ever (#3 of 2021) [A-]
13. JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown, Scaring the Hoes (#4 of 2023) [*]
14. Newjeans, Get Up [EP] (#25 of 2023) [**]
15. Dehd, Flower of Devotion (unlisted in 202)0 [*]
16. Mach-Hommy, Pray for Haiti (#4 of 2021) [***]
17. Alvvays, Blue Rev (#26 of 2022) [**]
18. Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers (#2 of 2022) [***]
19. Gouge Away, Deep Sage (#2 of 2024) [**]
20. LL Cool J, The FORCE (#3 of 2024) [A-]
21. Sabrina Carpenter, Short n' Sweet (#1 of 2024) [A-]
22. Run the Jewels, RTJ4 (#4 of 2020) [A]
23. The Paranoid Style, The Interrogator (#4 of 2024) [A-]
24. Ashley McBryde, Ashley McBryde Presents Lindeville (#6 of 2022) [***]
25. Dry Cleaning, New Long Leg (#6 of 2021) [A-]
26. Pissed Jeans, Half Divorced (#7 of 2024) [*]
27. Haim, Women in Music, Pt. III (#5 of 2020) [**]
28. The Mountain Goats, Bleed Out (#8 of 2022) [A-]
29. Ashnikko, Demidevil (#10 of 2021) [**]
30. Yo La Tengo, This Stupid World (#8 of 2023) [A-]
31. Chubby and the Gang, Speed Kills (#8 of 2020) [*]
32. Olivia Rodrigo, Guts (Spilled) (#5 of 2023) [A] - my grade for original ed.
33. Ice Spice, Y2K! (#8 of 2024) [***]
34. Jeff Rosenstock, Ska Dream (#8 of 2021) [*]
35. High on Fire, Cometh the Storm (#9 of 2024) [] - later [B]
36. Noname, Sundial (#6 of 2023) [A-]
37. Tyler Childers, Rustin' in the Rain (#15 of 2023) [***]
38. R.A.P. Ferreira, The Light Emitting Diamond Cutter Scriptures (#60 of 2021) [***]
39. Ari Lennox, age/sex/location (#80 of 2022) [**]
40. NLE Choppa, SlutSZN [EP] (#10 of 2024) [*]
41. Armand Hammer & the Alchemist, Haram (#57 of 2021) [**]
42. Ken Carson, A Great Chaos (#28 of 2023) [**]
43. Emperor X, The Lakes of Zones B and C (#5 of 2022) [**]
44. Kampire, Kampire Presents: A Dancefloor in Ndola (#5 of 2024) [A-]
45. Liv.e, Girl in Half Pearl (#7 of 2023) [**]
46. Bad Bunny, YHLQMDLB (#6 of 2020) [**]
47. Soul Glo, Diaspora Problems (#9 of 2022) [*]
48. Doechii, Alligator Bites Never Heal (#11 of 2024) [***]
49. Speedy Ortiz, Rabbit Rabbit (#17 of 2023) [*]
50. Pusha T, It's Almost Dry (#4 of 2022) [A-]

Daily Log

The road work happened fairly quickly once they got started. It looks like they did several other blocks: not Stackman, but further up Faulkner, and onto Murdock. People are driving on the gravel, which is much noisier than before. I put trash and recycle out. I got my kiosk built yesterday, and rolled it into place. It basically took three days to build, although that's on top of the months it took to get the wood sorted. It turned out to be pretty easy to find all the wood I needed. In some cases I fudged the design to match the material: e.g., the original 42x24 base became 42.5x22. I wound up buying new wheels, and some extra screws, but the latter were probably unnecessary. I've made some progress toward organizing the screws, but still need to work on that. That will be part of the broader tool/hardware sort, which I will move on to.

I have a basket of recyclable electronics, so put that on the kiosk. I want to hold off on books and CDs until I get some accounting set up. I want to keep lists of what I'm getting rid of, if only for a bit of memory. The next sort job will be the pantry. I have a table set up. We'll pull everything out, inspect it, throw out some, and put the rest back. Would be nice to keep a list there, too. I'd like to have an inventory of spices and such. I'm not very picky about keeping them fresh, but I do hate it when I run out of something. We could extend this to the refrigerator and the freezer. At some point, I want to get an appliance repair person to try to fix a couple problems with the refrigerator. I have new wheels to install, but the thing is huge, so it's not an easy repair.

Posted a brief Music Week last night. Working on a Substack post, which will partly reprise the last Loose Tabs, but make a few more points, especially about Israel. I should wrap that up today. Another priority is to set up directories for my writing projects. I haven't figured out exactly how they will work, and may have to just rough in some bits. But the idea is to sort the writing tasks out into several bins, each of which can be added to willy-nilly, as the spirit moves me. I probably need to return to the planning framework. The old documents there should be rewritten (although I could just treat them as disposable, as the easiest thing would be to discard them).

Email (32 messages):

• Vox writer spotlight: Bryan Walsh ("I try to write the kind of stories that recalibrate your gut"). Most of what he writes doesn't interest me, but he did write one exceptionally bad piece about' "5 bigger stories" that were being neglected due to whatever the hot topic was at the moment (Epstein-Trump, I think). He has a newsletter called "Good News," which (like his bigger stories) isn't.
• Robert Christgau: "The Big Lookback: Janis Joplin: An excerpt from Carola Dibbell's memoir "Young Me: Travels With an Old Self 1967-1970." I'll need to post this, but its existence suggests there's more in the works.
• Tim Walz hit up The Nation's email list to beg for funds to run for a second term as governor of Minnesota.

Made whitefish salad for lunch. Laura bought a chunk of smoked whitefish from Whole Foods. I didn't have celery, used a shallot instead of onion, mayo (but no sour cream), a bit of horseradish, dried dill (instead of fresh), other dried spices (chives, black pepper, celery seed, "everything but the bagel"), capers. Spread it on a toasted sandwich thin. With chips, 216 calories (assuming mine is equivalent to commercial spreads). Also made some Spanish cabbage salad to snack on.

Music Week

Expanded blog post, September archive (in progress).

Tweet: Music Week: 37 albums, 6 A-list

Music: Current count 44894 [44857] rated (+37), 17 [21] unrated (-4).

New records reviewed this week:

• Adult Mom: Natural Causes (2025, Epitaph): [sp]: B+(**)
• Apathy: Mom & Dad (2025, Dirty Version/Coalmine): [sp]: A-
• Lucian Ban/John Surman/Mat Maneri: Cantica Profana (2022-23 [2025], Sunnyside): [sp]: A-
• Lucian Ban/John Surman/Mat Maneri: The Athenaeum Concert (2024 [2025], Sunnyside): [sp]: B+(***)
• Jon Batiste: Big Money (2025, Verve/Interscope): [sp]: A-
• Big Thief: Double Infinity (2025, 4AD): [sp]: A-
• Johnathan Blake: My Life Matters (2025, Blue Note): [sp]: B+(**)
• David Byrne & Ghost Train Orchesrtra: Who Is the Sky? (2025, Matador): [sp]: B+(**)
• Ethel Cain: Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You (2025, Daughters of Cain): [sp]: B+(*)
• Cardi B: Am I the Drama? (2025, Atlantic): [sp]: B+(**)
• Loyle Carner: Hopefully! (2025, EMI/Universal): [sp]: B+(**)
• Double Virgo: Shakedown (2025, Year0001): [sp]: B+(***)
• Kathleen Edwards: Billionaire (2025, Dualtone): [sp]: B+(**)
• Anat Fort: The Dreamworld of Paul Motian (2024 [2025], Sunnyside): [sp]: B+(***)
• Luigi Grasso: La Dimora Dell'atrove (2024 [2025], LP345): [cd]: B+(*) [09-26]
• Michael Hurley: Broken Homes and Gardens (2025, No Quarter): [sp]: B+(***)
• Josiah the Gift & Machacha: The Happening (2025, BarsOverBs): [sp]: B+(**)
• Kirk Knuffke/Stomu Takeishi/Bill Goodwin: Window (2025, Royal Potato Family): [sp]: B+(***)
• Lizzo: My Face Hurts From Smiling (2025, Nice Life/Atlantic): [sp]: B+(*)
• The Oxys: Casting Pearls Before Swine (2025, Cleopatra): [sp]: B+(**)
• Vinnie Paz: God Sent Vengeance (2025, Iron Tusk Music): [sp]: A-
• Carmen Staaf: Sounding Line (2024 [2025], Sunnyside): [sp]: B+(***)
• Peter Stampfel, Friends & Daughters: Song Shards: Soul Jingles, Stoic Jingles, Vintage Jingles, Prayers and Rounds (2025, Jalopy): [sp]: B-
• Craig Taborn/Nels Cline/Marcus Gilmore: Trio of Bloom (2024 [2025], Pyroclastic): [cd]: A- [09-26]
• Natsuki Tamura/Satoko Fujii: Ki (2025, Libra): [cd]: B+(**)
• Tyler, the Creator: Don't Tap the Glass (2025, Columbia): [sp]: B+(*)
• Us3: Soundtrack (2025, Us3): [sp]: B
• Milan Verbist Trio: Time Change (2025, Origin): [cd]: B+(*)
• Wild Iris Brass Band: Way Up (2025, Ear Up): [sp]: B+(*)
• Saul Williams: Saul Williams Meets Carlos Niño & Friends at TreePeople (2024 [2025], International Anthem): [sp]: B+(**)
• Simón Willson: Feel Love (2024 [2025], Endectomorph Music): [sp]: B+(**)
• Gaia Wilmer & Ra Kalam Bob Moses: Dancing With Elephants (2023 [2025], Sunnyside): [sp]: B+(*)
• Yoko Yates: Eternal Moments (2024 [2025], Banka): [cd]: B

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

• Charlie Rouse: Cinnamon Flower: The Expanded Edition (1977 [2025], Resonance): [cd]: B+(*)

Old music:

• Chris Cacavas: Chris Cacavas and Junk Yard Love (1989, Heyday): [yt]: B+(*)
• Chris Cacavas & Junkyard Love: Good Times (1992, Heyday): [yt]: B+(***)
• Mary Halvorson/Kirk Knuffke/Matt Wilson: Sifter (2011 [2012], Relative Pitch): [sp]: B+(***)

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Todd Herbert: Captain Hubs (TH Productions) [10-01]
• Andy Nevada: El Rumbón (The Party) (Zoho) [08-08]
• Premik Russell Tubbs & Margee Minier-Tubbs: The Bells (Margetoile) [10-15]

Daily Log

Woke up around 9:30, bothered by leaks. The Slobodan book is trying to build a case that is rogues gallery of racists are intimately bound to the Mont Pelerin economics ideology (Mises perhaps more than Hayek), but it's hard to find much coherency. I read (actually typeset) a lot of early Murray Rothbard, but never suspected his post-Koch political turn. On the other hand, the most striking thing about Nancy McLean's book on James Buchanan was how much his economic thinking was rooted in the defense of Jim Crow.

The street is supposed to be closed today for road work, making it impossible for us to drive in or out. The fliers said they would start by 8AM, but no one showed up until after 11. They're supposed to apply a surface sealer, then cover it with gravel, which will be swept up tomorrow (although supposedly we can drive on the gravel). They'll return in a couple weeks and put down a thin asphalt layer. They say it's a quick and cheap process. Not clear to me that we needed it.

I got considerable work done yesterday on the kiosk. I halted work after dinner, and packed up. I had used some old 2-inch wheels: two rubber, two plastic, all fixed. But one of the plastic ones cracked and chipped. I didn't find any suitable replacements, so went to the store and bought four new 2-inch swivel rollers, plus some screws and 1/8-inch drill bits. Not clear that I needed the latter, but I've been hard-pressed to find 2-inch screws, and I've been going through the 1.5-inch package fairly rapidly. At some point I need to get the whole stash of screws sorted. I'll resume work on it this afternoon, and expect to get it more/less done today. I'll probably wait until tonight to knock out Music Week. I'm also working on a Substack post, which I'll probably hold back until tomorrow.

Email (27 messages):

• PR for Eric Bibb : One Mississippi, which matters mostly in that the release date is 2026-01-30. I've recently started adding some new releases to the tracking file based on email hype. Bibb would qualify as notable, but to do this I had to set up a new m2026 file. Even if I were to shut down my review writing completely, I'd probably keep some level of tracking file, so sooner or later I'd have to bite this bullet. I did so today: basically a grep -v of all the entries in the 2025 file, followed by an s/2025/2026/. I'll add it to the music index later (like when I set up y2026).
• Amazon delivery of book: From the Flag to the Cross, by Chris Hedges, Richard Wolff, et al. (OR Books). I'm thinking of doing a Substack post on fascism these days, and thought it might be useful.

Daily Log

Email (7 messages):

• Mazin Qumsiyeh on: "day 775: genocide, use of banned weapons, climate, ACTIONS and more"
• 1 new substack subscriber
• Vox articles: Trump asks the Supreme Court to give him total control over the US economy; Let's be clear about what happened to Jimmy Kimmel; "AI will kill everyone" is not an argument, it's a worldview"; "The cheapest way to stop animal cruelty"; "A self-driving car traffic jam is coming for US cities."
• Project Syndicate articles: "Lawless state capitalism is no answer to China's rise"; "Trump the useful idiot" ("Nina L Kruschcheva sees in the US president a Soviet-era archetype, enabling and emboldening authoritarian bad actors").

Daily Log

Rained last night. Had barely registered when I went to bed, but was 0.25-inches this morning. Cloudy now, and most likely all day, until it clears a bit tomorrow afternoon, before more rain again through Wednesday. I got a good start on the kiosk yesterday. Idea is to take a 42x22 base board -- I found and cut an old piece of heavy plywood for that -- and mount it on rollers. I have some small ones I used for a dolly rig, although I could pull some bigger ones off an actual dolly. Then, facing out on the left, I wanted to build a CD case out of 1x6. I built that yesterday, with no top or bottom, but it has 5 spaces with 5.5-inch space, and 3 with 9-inch space, which can hold small books as well as CDs. The CD case will then sit on top of one end of the base. The other end will have poles, which will reach the same height as the case, with another 42x22 board on top. I cut a second piece of plywood that would work for that, but it's heavier than I wanted for the top. In between, I figure two full-sized shelves, with the top two spaces divided by book shelves toward the back. I had quite a few new 1x6 (mostly 6-foot) on hand. Other than that, I'm trying to use up scrap, so, for instance, I made the back to the CD rack from two different pieces. Hopefully, I'll be able to work more on it today. Depends on weather.

Got up in middle of night, then again after 10. Street work didn't happen yesterday, and looks like it isn't happening again today. Weather shows rain possible today and tomorrow, cloudy on Monday, more rain on Tuesday and Wednesday (mostly latter), then clearing up. Annoying that they're doing this, and that we're at the mercy of whatever schedules they want (sticker on door says Monday).

Speaking of the city, they sent out a letter enquiring whether we have lead water pipes. Turns out we do: about 2 inches of lead coming out of the basement wall, connected to copper from there. Creekmore was out to estimate replacing the floor drain -- we're looking at $2400 to $2600 there -- so I asked about replacing the water line. Looks like that will be a similar bill, mostly to the guy who runs the line from the meter to the house (about 60 feet?). I also found some lead coming off the upstairs sink, but that's on the drain side.

Having trouble with Eddy's Toyota over the car registration. We were told that the state would be sending us the title in 4-6 weeks, which we could then take to the tag office to order a permanent tag. We were given a 60-day temporary tag to cover this time. Turns out they lost the paperwork -- the car had been transferred from another dealer -- and never notified us of the delay. I asked whether they just sold us a stolen car? Estimate now is 7 days to get the paperwork, after which the usual title/tag delays kick in (4-6 weeks for title, 30 days for tag). The current tag expires in less than 2 weeks (10-03). Nothing yet on how they plan to deal with that.

Virtually no email (2 messages).

Started work on a NOEL post, reviewing my recent Lost Tabs.

Daily Log

Got up a bit after 9, when my light sleep was interrupted by the CPAP shutting off. Seems like it does that once every couple weeks. I'm usually immediately aware, but not always. Read the first chapter of Slobodan's Hayek's Bastards. Not really what I was hoping for, which was a discussion of right-wing fringe economics. No doubt we'll get more of that with the goldbugs, but that's like the dumbest idea in all of economics. First chapter focused more on Charles Murray, which is to say new trends in pseudo-scientific racism. I suppose it says something about Hayek that Murray is attracted to him. As for the AfD theorists, maybe I should read Beauchamp instead? Another book I have lying in wait.

They were supposed to start resurfacing the street today, but no activity by noon. We got a flier yesterday that amended the original plan to extend into Saturday, so they may still show up later this afternoon. We're not planning on going anywhere. Upstairs sink has developed a minor leak, so I need to righten up the place where the brass down spout enters the plastic. I never got the top nut as tight as I wanted, so I should start there. That special wrench I bought is really hard to adjust properly. Maybe I should get the callipers out to measure the nut and lock the wrench at the right size? Beyond that, main project today will be to work on the kiosk.

Thinking about two NOEL posts: one is an debrief on Loose Tabs, although thus far I haven't had the stomach to look at it again. The other is a piece on building Laura's computer. I have some pics, and can look back on previous computers, and open source software. I should probably do them in that order, but right now I don't feel like writing about anything. I did pick up some links to the Kimmel ban for next Loose Tabs.

Email (44 messages, usual stuff):

• Christian Iszchak: only unheard A/A- is Double Virgo.

Daily Log

Got up early, but getting going takes some time. Read the first few pages of the last chapter of Cassidy, where he starts to get into AI, and also talks about "degrowth." Four pages to go, so I'll finish today. I got the Slobodan book on Hayek's Bastards last night, so that will be next. Nationwide called yesterday, so I got an order in for CPAP supplies, changing Medium to Large. Got the receipt today, and they're sending extra stuff I doubt I need, but no point fighting with them now. I have a plumber coming over at 2 to give me an estimate on the basement floor drain. As it's already 1, I'll put off working on other projects until that's over. I found a bunch of unsent email drafts, so polished off a couple, and deleted the rest.

Email (39 messages).

Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Daily Log

Had a depressing day yeserday. Laura flagged a couple bits in Loose Tabs as confusing. I added a couple more tweets, but nothing important. Couldn't stand to read much more news. Really thinking about giving it up. If the world wants me, I can be found, but banging on isn't helping. As for domestic projects, at least I got dishes and laundry done. I also finally scheduled someone to come over and give me an estimate on the basement floor drain. I'll get the bad news on that Thursday. I also approached Cablecom about the door camera. No help there, but at least that spurred me to doing some research, mostly under yesterday's log. Looks like I need to do more, and figure out exactly what I need/want, then rebuild the system from scratch, starting with a new hybrid video recorder (one that can handle both analog, which I have, and IP cameras (including wireless, but they still need power). But before I plunge in, I should look at the broader picture, which ranges from subscription cloud services to home automation all over again. All, basically, because the one little connector I need doesn't seem to be available anywhere -- which again raises the question of setting up a proper electronics bench.

Not a good night's sleep, although eventually I did top 6 hours, with AHI 4.5, and what seemed like a lot of leak. Finished the Piketty chapter, and started the final one, before being interrupted by door bell. Just a sticker left. They're going to resurface the street on Friday, so we won't be able to leave the driveway all day. Putting down some kind of sealer, followed by some gravel, which they'll sweep up the next day. Then a couple weeks later they'll put down another surface treatment. We'll probably just sit tight.

Raining right now, so no point going outside. Projects for today start with sweeping out the back room, sorting the pantry, and fixing the sink drain in the bathroom. Latter should be straightforward: rip out the old pipe from sink to wall, measure the pipes, go to hardware store and get the right replacement parts, put it all back together. I have the down spout (probably came with a faucet), and should have plumber's putty. Old stuff is horribly corroded. Will probably turn to dust as soon as I put a pipe wrench on it. Then I want to do some more work on and in the cabinet. I have some leftover flooring I could cut to line the bottom. And I have some pull-out organizer racks to install. With plumber coming for estimate on Thursday, I also have backup.

Email (21 messages):

• OR Books has new compilation: From the Flag to the Cross: Fascism American Style.
• Umair Irfan "field notes" from Texas.
• Xgau Sez: September, 2025.

The previous, as usual, was written when I got up. I meant to follow with an evening note, but got interrupted or distracted, so let's fill it in the next day. I managed to get two things done. First was to pick up and sweep the back room. That started with moving the rest of the old computer things out: the box to a corner of my office (where I already have at least 4 old tower boxes). KVM went to the basement. We had spread all the stuff collected from the old car out on a table, so we finally sorted that, putting some items into the new car, others into the trash. I moved the folding table to the pantry, for another sorting project. I swept. There was some drooping plastic conduit, where the two-sided tape that held it in place has lost grip, so I fixed that.

Then I moved on to the bathroom sink. Should have been straightforward: replace the downspout and p-trap with new plastic. But it got ugly pretty quick, and wound up taking all the rest of the day. The old pipes were badly corroded, with minerals built up on the joints. One nut has all but dissolved. When I put a wrench on the other one (the back end of the trap), the joint immediately sprung a leak. With a little more pressure, the pipe tore open. I had a pan to collect all the gunk and pieces. I tore more bits out, and finally popped the sink drain out. On the wall end, there was a black nut on the wall, barely visible through a hole in the back of the cabinet, and a couple inches of 1.25-inch lead pipe protruding. I had old parts from a previous faucet for the sink drain and stopper lever, which was also 1.25-inch, so all I needed was the plastic to fit in between.

I took some measurements. I went to Ace, talked to a guy there, and came home with a p-trap and a 6-inch extender. There was no way to fit the trap pipe to the lead pipe, so I went back, and he sold me a coupler, designed to fit 1.5-inch, but supposedly usable with 1.25-inch with an oversized washer. I kind of got it to work, but it seemed loose. Then I found I was missing another washer, so another store trip: this time to Lowe's. I didn't find anyone to talk to there, but came back with a package of two rubber washers, and a rubber coupling that supposedly worked for both 1.5- and 1.25-inch pipes. (I was surprised that they actually had very little 1.25-inch parts.) I came home, and pieced it together. It seemed to roughly fit, so I started tightening it up. I bought an adjustable wrench for the nut under the sink, but never could get it adjusted right, so I doubt I got it fully tightened, but it seemed solid, and shouldn't leak. The stopper was tricky, but in the end worked. I ran some water. No leaks. By then it was 10PM, and I was done for the day. So success, but hard earned.

We watched the first episode of an old British crime/police show, Rose & Maloney (2002), with Sarah Lancashire and Phil Davis, both much younger than we're used to. Wikipedia notes that the Criminal Justice Review Agency is "fictional." But is such an agency ("assessing whether there are grounds to reopen old cases") even conceivable in the US?

Daily Log

Woke up about 9. CPAP was off the hook. I tried going back to sleep, but couldn't really, so got up about 10:30. Read the rest of the Amin chapter, a brief summary of the 2008 financial crisis, then the first couple pages on Piketty. One more wrap-up chapter after that one. I ordered Slobodan's Hayek's Bastards to read next. I'm recalling Keynes' line about all political figures being slaves of some defunct economist. One doesn't read these histories of economic thought to learn about economics. One reads them to learn about how and why so many people have such distorted ideas about how the world works.

I woke up thinking about the 2004 election. I think Kerry made a massive mistake in trying to play up his military service record and even more so in playing down his antiwar activist. There was already a deep feeling that the Iraq war had taken a wrong turn, and voters wanted to see a way out. Of course, it would have been easier had he shown the foresight of voting against the war. (Obama got a lot of mileage in 2008 from an old speech opposing the Iraq war, enough to overcome his greater, and more fateful, folly of dubbing Afghanistan "the right war.") But what Kerry really needed was a story that could explain why Bush was such a massive fuck up. (Also one to show that he's learning from his own mistakes: indeed, his evolution from enthusiastic volunteer for Vietnam to antiwar veteran is one such example.)

It occurs to me that one way to attack Bush is psychological. While his father was famously mediocre -- Jack Germond liked to call him "an empty suit" -- GW wasn't even a "chip off the old block." His obsession with invading Iraq can easily be viewed as a vain attempt to first ape and ultimately redeem his father's own failures in Iraq. His "compassionate conservatism" was also modelled on his father's attempts to softball the harshness of the ideology, although he made it seem even more phony. Then there was his delegration of authority to father-substitute figures like Cheney and Rumsfeld. Sure, Americans wanted to believe that he would provide dynamic leadership after 9/11, but after his "mission accomplished" stunt who could believe in him? He had been a failure and a fuck up all his life, good fortune smiling on him only when more powerful others found his name useful and his face disarming. So why didn't Kerry expose him for the fraud and the simpleton he was?

Mail (45 messages by the time I got to them), again nearly all promo stuff.

I tried contacting Cablecom about the front door camera. He replied, "I'm not going to have anything like that, those plugs came on the camera and to my knowledge they don't make replacement plugs. You could possiblyl use the cabling to power a Ring type video doorbell, that would cover your camera and intercom needs." I doubt that, but let's sort it out. I don't see a brand name on the camera, but three blocks of type: 2D56A 620066 NTSC. There is also a wiring diagram, from left to right:

1. GND
2. Audio Out
3. +12V In
4. GND
5. Video Out
6. GND

This takes a six-pin plus, which is wired to a 6-wire cable (3 pairs). How this outside-visible cable hooks into the DVR wiring isn't clear. The DVR end has a BNC connector, which implies a coax cable. I think they used siamese coax cables, which combine a coax (RG59 or RG6) cable with a pair of power wires (18/2). The power wires are then separated from the coax near the DVR and plugged into a power supply. I don't yet know what the voltage is on the power supply. (Almost certainly 12V DC.)

As the coax plugs into the camera 3 input on the DVR, I assume that Video Out from the camera goes there. The Audio Out pair may run separately into an Audio In on the DVR -- I'll have to look into that. (We haven't been using the audio for some time now.)

All I've seen so far for Ring (or similar) wired doorbell cameras just has two wiring connectors (black or red for live, white for neutral; green for ground is also possible). Voltage is what? Seems variable 8-24V, or 10-18V, or 16-30V, and AC instead of DC. (Ring requires 8-24VAC, but some models come with DC power supply. Also looks like 100-240VAC is an option.) There is probably old doorbell wiring in the wall, but the it's not used by the current camera (or anything else; the intercom has its own Cat-5 cable, which I think is all it needs). Presumably the Ring camera sends audio and video via some wireless connection, but to where? The DVR doesn't seem to have any wireless inputs, but I need to look into that further.

FWIW, the DVR is a TruVision DVR 12, supporting 4 analog cameras. Back panel has: Loop Through; RS-232; Video Out (for CCTV); USB; Audio In (RCA); Audio Out; Ethernet; HDMI, VGA, RS-485. I don't see any wireless support. I'm not sure if I hooked up the infrared repeater for the remote control. I have it plugged into a monitor in the basement, but it doesn't seem to be responsive there.

When I look for pinhole cameras, I'm finding a fair number, but interfaces are often not clear. Some use PoE cables (Power over Ethernet). Looks like these are called IP cameras, and can be interfaced to a DVR which supports them. Hybrid VRs can interface both to analog and digital (IP) cameras, in various combinations. All the HVRs I've seen only have a single RJ45 ethernet connector, which they use to interface to all IP cameras: wireless ones would connect through your wireless router; PoE ones would have to be wired through an "injector," which plugs into an AC outlet, and has an ethernet cable input and the PoE cable to the camera. (The first ones I saw only had two sockets, but larger switches are also available: I'm seeing a 4-port switch for $40, 8-port for $70), The HVR (or NVR) doesn't seem to distinguish between PoE-wired and wireless IP cameras.

Little clear about the 6-pin connectors. The one that looks closest is CA-MIC6-SH-NC, but also CA-MIC6-W6-NC, CA-PCL6-SH-NC. Pinout on the former is different. Looks like connectors are only available attached to cables, so neither the connectors nor crimping tools are readily available. That suggests that the old camera cannot be repaired.

Music Week

Expanded blog post, September archive (in progress).

Tweet: Music Week: 39 albums, 8 A-list

Music: Current count 44857 [44818] rated (+39), 21 [21] unrated (-0).

New records reviewed this week:

• Africa Express: Africa Express Presents . . . Bahidorá (2025, World Circuit): [sp]: B+(*)
• Amaarae: Black Star (2025, Interscope): [sp]: A-
• Fly Anakin: (The) Forever Dream (2025, Lex): [sp]: B+(*)
• Blood Orange: Essex Honey (2025, RCA/Domino): [sp]: B+(*)
• Blueprint: Vessel (2025, Weightless): [sp]: A-
• Chance the Rapper: Star Line (2025, self-released): [sp]: A-
• Charley Crockett: Dollar a Day (2025, Lone Star Rider/Island): [sp]: B+(***)
• Orhan Demir/Neil Swainson: Wicked Demon (2024-25 [2025], Hittite): [cd]: B+(**)
• Mark Ernestus' Ndagga Rhythm Force: Khadim (2025, Ndagga): [bc]: B+(**)
• Evidence: Unlearning Vol. 2 (2025, Rhymesayers Entertainment): [sp]: B+(*)
• Fatboi Sharif & Driveby: Let Me Out (2025, Deathbomb Arc): [sp]: B+(*)
• Ingebrigt Häker Flaten/(Exit) Knarr: Live at Artfacts '22 (2022 [2024], Sonic Transmissions): [sp]: B+(*)
• Ingebrigt Håker Flaten/(Exit) Knarr: Drops (2024 [2025], Sonic Transmissions): [sp]: B+(**)
• From the Dirt: Colored Edge of Memory (2025, self-released): [sp]: B+(***)
• Freddie Gibbs & the Alchemist: Alfredo 2 (2025, ESGN/ALC): [sp]: B+(*)
• The High & Mighty: Sound of Market (2025, Eastern Conference): [sp]: B+(***)
• Kaytranada: Ain't No Damn Way! (2025, RCA): [sp]: B+(***)
• Knowledge the Pirate: The Round Table (2025, Pimpire/Trouble Chest Entertainment): [sp]: B+(**)
• Lex Korten: Canopy (2024 [2025], Sounderscore): [cd]: B [09-19]
• Rocío Giménez López/Franco Di Renzo/Luciano Ruggieri: La Palabra Repetida (2025, Blue Art): [bc]: B+(**)
• Mahotella Queens: Buya Buya: Come Back (2025, Umsakazo): [sp]: A-
• Lili Maljic: The Nearness of You: In Loving Memory of Jim Rotondi (2024 [2025], Pacific Coast Jazz): [cd]: B+(**)
• MindsOne: Stages (2025, Fort Lowell): [sp]: A-
• Nils Petter Molvaer: Khmer Live in Bergen (2023 [2025], Edition): [sp]: A-
• Nourished by Time: The Passionate Ones (2025, XL): [sp]: B
• Nova Twins: Parasites & Butterflies (2025, Marshall): [sp]: B+(**)
• Panic Shack: Panic Shack (2025, Brace Yourself): [sp]: A-
• Preservation & Gabe 'Nandez: Sortilège (2025, Backwoodz Studioz): [sp]: B+(***)
• Margo Price: Hard Headed Woman (2025, Loma Vista): [sp]: B+(***)
• ShrapKnel & Mike Ladd: Saisir Le Feu (2025, Fused Arrow): [sp]: B+(**)
• Earl Sweatshirt: Live Laugh Love (2025, Tan Cressida/Warner): [sp]: B+(*)
• Zach Top: Ain't in It for My Health (2025, Leo33): [sp]: B+(**)
• UFO Fev & Body Bag Ben: Thousand Yard Stare (2025, 1332): [sp]: B+(**)
• Jubal Lee Young: Squirrels (2025, Reconstruction): [sp]: A-

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

• Bar-B-Q Killers: Part 1: The Last Shit (1986, Chunklet Industries, EP): [bc]: B
• Marshall Crenshaw: From the Hellhole (2012-16 [2025], Yep Roc): [sp]: B-
• Woody Guthrie: Woody at Home: Vol 1 + 2 (1951-52 [2025], Shamus): [sp]: B+(*)

Old music:

• Body Type: Expired Candy (2023, Poison City): [sp]: [B+(***)
• The High & Mighty: Home Field Advantage (1999, Rawkus): [sp]: B+(***)

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Tom Cohen: Embraceable Brazil (Versa) [10-10]
• Juan Pastor's Chinchano: Memorias (Calligram) [10-03]
• Natsuki Tamura/Satoko Fujii: Ki (Libra) [09-19]

Daily Log

Posted Loose Tabs after 3AM last night. Came to 287 links, 18682 words. I figured if I didn't, I'd be stuck wading through shit all day today, tomorrow, who knows how long? I woke up this morning hating my life, hating the world I live in, and wanting nothing more than to separate and isolate myself from all of it. So one resolution is to just stop when it gets out of hand. Do something else. Settle down.

Woke up around 8:30, at 85% on the meter. Took the book to the bathroom, and read about Samir Amin and Dani Rodrik. Tried going back to bed after an hour or so. Switched back to the large mask, and noticed that the big difference wasn't the fit but the extra volume of air it enclosed. Eventually did drift off, and didn't get up until after noon. Read some about Joseph Stiglitz. Plan for today is to work on Music Week. Need to go to grocery store. Do some house cleaning. Maybe sketch out a design for the kiosk. The latter is the big project for the week. I'm also thinking about Jazz Critics Poll: obvious first step is to set up the 2025 directory, so I can start working on the background doc, and take another stab at the invitation list; second option is to create a subdomain, and install WordPress on it (prep for a new website). Terry Gross promised to get back to me in August re Francis Davis website, but hasn't. I haven't bugged her yet, feeling pretty unsettled myself, but I will do that when I have something to show and tell.

Email (18 messages): I jotted a bunch of new records down, but nothing else of interest. Almost 3PM, and still haven't gotten to breakfast. (Spent the last hour kvetching with the CPAP supplier.)

Loose Tabs

See blog file.

Daily Log

Didn't sleep well. AHI up to 6.5 when I woke up at 8, although I'm more suspicious of the leak. I switched back to medium mask, slept uneasily to 11. AHI was down to 4.5. Read the rest of the Federici chapter, then a bit about Thatcher and Hayek. Federici has a point -- that domestic work is real, substantial, and underappreciated -- but no solution: there is something to be said for the exception of some forms of work from the price system. I would like to see more unpaid work, not least because profit isn't a good measure of what's worth doing.

Cassidy emphasizes the overreach of labor unions as a cause/excuse for Thatcher/Reagan. There's a cautionary lesson there, but it should not be the one the right-wingers exploited.

No significant mail (5 messages), but I heard from Rachel last night, and she signed up for NOEL. Did the caulking around the carport pad yesterday. Kind of sloppy, but should work. Cooler today, although it will probably still top 90F. Main thing today is to try to wrap up Loose Tabs. Incredible amount of shit to document these days.

Daily Log

Woke up 7:30, went back to bed without reading, slept past 11. Re-read the page on Minsky before going into Nicolas Georgescu-Roegen (1906-94) on the limits of growth, his major work The Entropy Law and the Economic Process. I've been thinking that my "models & methods" chapter would include a bit on the application of natural science models to my political analysis: entropy is an obvious case in point.

Saturday, so trivial email. I posted my long Sanders piece last night. So far got 2 likes (one from Laura). Although I spent most of Friday doing the post, I did manage to get the foam bumpers glued up in the carport. It's been hot the last couple days, so I put work off until the evening, then found I didn't have enough light to finish caulking around it. So I should do that today. Otherwise, the main goal will be to wrap up Loose Tabs by tomorrow. First step is to move the draft to a blog post file. Then look through it and my sources and see what else it makes sense to add. Mail from Intercept and Nation suggests that there will be a lot of Charlie Kirk. As a leftist, I'm opposed to bad things happening, even to bad people. But in practical politics, it's vital to identify enemies, and do what can be done to separate them from power. That shouldn't extend to killing them, and very few of us would go that far, but as Todd Snider put it, "in America we like our bad guys dead." It's hard to be an American (and it's hard to appeal to other Americans) without picking up some of that. No doubt that Kirk was a bad guy. I wouldn't say he had this coming, but he had something coming. How to say this? Malcolm X tried "the chickens come home to roost." That didn't go over well at the time, but I'm recalling it 60 years later.

Before switching over to work on Loose Tabs, I thought I should update the website, adding a PS to last week's Music Week. I followed that up with social media notices.

Daily Log

Woke up twice, staying up after 9AM. Read the end of the Latin American dependency theory chapter, which covered Allende in Chile, and the beginning of the chapter on Milton Friedman, who had such influence in Pinochet's Chile. Friedman's presence in a book on Capitalism and Its Critics seems anomalous, but there is little doubt he was disgruntled with the capitalism of his times. That he was important in clarifying its ideology is clear, and he offers a way to advance the narrative. His critics will return in later chapters.

Email (39 messages). Looks like a lot of the usual crap. I was interrupted when the software updater failed and wanted to do "a partial update." I let it, and rebooted (in part because it was slowing down considerably, so restarting the browser was in order. Played Nova Twins while that was going on. Working my way through Chrisgau's Consumer Guide. I was surprised to find three lower-graded albums landing A- grades (Amaarae I already had; add Chance the Rapper and Panic Attack to that). Meanwhile, aside from Haim (which I already had) and the obvious Mahotella Queens, his A- picks are falling a bit short (Body Type, From the Dirt, S.G. Goodman [previous **], Jubal Lee Young [could do with another play). The William Elliott Whitmore turned out to be a previously graded (**) 2018 album, and the Marshall Crenshaw is a dud. Still unavailable: The Oxys, Peter Stampfel.

• I downloaded Rodrigo Amado's new Bridge album.

I got less than half way through the edit of the 2nd Sanders NOEL piece. That needs to be my priority today. I should send it out through Substack by end of day. Beyond that, probably Loose Tabs. I started to put the carport bumper up yesterday. I had some trouble matching drill bits, screws, and screwdriver bits, but eventually got the base board attached before it got too dark. After rechecking, I need to attach the foam using the built-in adhesive, then caulk around the whole unit. Shouldn't be hard. Next project is probably working on kiosk. I can hold off on doing the upstairs sink until next week.

I've been meaning to reply to a letter by Kurt Aschermann about the Christgau website. It occurs to me that this could be phrased as an Xgau Sez question:

Q: I had a simple question. I read robertchristgau.com a lot, great site, but I also. would love to know how it's made. What I mean is, I'm a writer and would love to have a site that displays my work just like that. Simple but easy to access and find everything. If it is easy to explain, what do you use - blogger, wordpress ?? - to put this site together?

The site was built in 2001, right after the World Trade Center fell. It was, and still is, hand-coded in PHP, which is a scripting language run on Linux-based Apache web servers. The articles are just flat hand-coded HTML files with PHP markup that calls functions to uniformly format the pages, using CSS for style. PHP provides an interface to a MySQL database, which we use to store the Consumer Guide data and additional indexing. The original website used a search tool, ht://Dig, but it hasn't been maintained since 2004, so I eventually replaced it with a form that does a Google site search. Aside from Google, all of this is open source software. The code has been updated only as necessary, and we still don't use cookies or JavaScript or (more regrettably) UTF-8 (all of which I knew about at the time, but didn't feel the need to use).

The basic design is unchanged. Early on, we made a decision to use minimal graphics, no sound, and allow for no advertising. At the time, I was very conscious of performance limits, and wanted to keep the website affordable. And I've always hated advertising, and didn't want the hassle. Another way I simplified the work was that I kept a local copy of the website, and only occasionally updated the public copy. That meant that only I could work on the website, and I took advantage of that to put up everything I could get my hands on: I started with a copy of Christgau's computer files, and retyped clippings I had stashed away, including some 1969 files I found in our old attic, while a few others submitted their own scans, and I added new writing as it appeared (and eventually the news feed and the Q&A section). I hoped this might be a model for other critics, but I didn't get much response in 2003 when I floated the idea of building a website system for other rock critics. I shelved my early redesign plans, largely gave up on software development, shifted in to a minimal maintenance mode, and focused more on my own writing.

It's not hard to build a website like this, provided you can navigate through the jargon I listed above and its reams of technical documentation. But unless you have special programming needs (like the CG database), it's easier to use (and perhaps more importantly to maintain) a modern content management system. There wasn't much to choose from in 2001, but I've used several for minor projects later on, including WordPress, which is open source, popular, good enough for most purposes, and has some nice features I'm missing (and can't easily implement) in my hand-coded websites. You can find fairly cheap hosting -- I'd stay away from WordPress.com's "free" service -- and lots of help online. On the other hand, it might not be a lot of work to separate out the key code blocks from the website and turn them into something reusable. I'd be game to talk about that project.

Notes:

• Blogger was founded in 1999 as a service, and acquired by Google in 2003. Their software seems to be proprietary.
• WordPress is an open source CMS (content management system), written in PHP, and initially released in 2003. It is reportedly "used by 22.5% of the top one million websites as of December 2024." The service site based on it, WordPress.com, wasn't launched until later, in 2005.
• PHP (acronym for Personal Home Page, or later for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is an open source, server-side scripting language for generating web pages. It was created by Rasmus Lerdorf and released in 1995. PHP 4.0 was current in from May 2000, with 4.1 introduced in December 2001. The current release is 8.4.
• MySQL is an open source relational database management sytem (RDBMS), originally written by Michael Widenius and first released in 1995. SQL stands for Structured Query Language, which has been commonly used with RDBMS since 1973. MySQL was one of two popular open source RDBMS programs available by 2000. The other was PostgreSQL, which at the time had more advanced features (like triggers), but seemed like overkill for simple applications.

Daily Log

Slept until 11. Woke up thinking about cooking. Read some about an Argentinian economist named Raúl Prebisch. This dovetails with work by Hans Singer discussed here. This article also mentions Dutch disease, which occurs when a bonanza in one sector -- the classic case was a new natural gas field -- renders other parts of the economy less competitive, ultimately hampering development (while increasing inequality, which adds to the problems). The page has a long list of examples: most recent, but the import of gold to Spain and Portugal in the 15th century is a pretty close fit. Not on the list but similar is how the increasingly dominant US finance sector lobbied to keep a strong dollar, which undermined the manufacturing sector, increased inequality, and tilted American politics hard to the right -- mostly by leading Democrats to strong neoliberal/globalist policies, which allowed Republicans even more room to tack to the far right.

Email up to 33 messages before I got around to it. I jotted down a couple upcoming albums. I should look at several Intercept articles for Loose Tabs.

Daily Log

Got up early again, 8 something. Read about half of the Eric Williams chapter, which also touches on WEB Du Bois and CLR James. I probably should have gone back to bed, but lots of stuff weighing over me today. Main one is a 2:15 orthodondist appointment, to "retreat" a root canal that has been causing me discomfort for the better part of the year. I was surprised to find out that the dental insurance wouldn't help -- not that it's ever been much help -- and that the out-of-pocket cost will be over $1500. I managed to talk to my regular dentist yesterday, and he convinced me that the specialist would be more able to operate in this specific case. More evidence that capitalists won't be satisfied until they get it all. Of course, they won't be satisfied even then.

I spent nearly all of yesterday writing out 11 bullet points in a capsule history of US politics leading up to the "revolutionary moment" that brought us to Trump and Sanders. I see them as tapping into a common discontent fermenting against a center which can barely cope with the contradictions of capitalism. I've neglected the question of whether Sanders can be blamed for Trump. It's kind of like blaming light for dark, truth for lies. That the "centrists" could blame the former as wanting something unrealistic is one of the great conceptual follies of our time. It occurs to me that I could add another section on that. Piece is pretty long as it is, but I need to re-read it today before posting. That's part of the reason for staying up.

It will be hard to stay awake all day. Laura wanted to start watching a mini-series last night, Prime Target, about a math prodigy researching prime numbers. We watched the first two episodes up to 11:30-1AM last night, and I struggled to stay awake. The "thriller" bit only kicked in at the end, which should make the rest more entertaining, albeit even less plausible. Oh, well. (Wikipedia quotes "website consensus": "(Goofy concept + likable ensemble) ÷ sludgy pacing = an attractive but mediocre globetrotting series.") I still had Music Week to post after that, but didn't need to write any more. It's up now, but no feedback. Replaying Amaarae this morning, and will bump the grade up, but still don't have much to say. I'm pretty useless as a reviewer these days.

Email (27 messages): all deleted excepf for one download delayed. No Consumer Guide yet, but it appeared shortly after 11. Not much there I've heard: Haim (A, my grade is A-), Amaarae (*, elevated this morning to A-), S.G. Goodman (A-, **). Starting with Mahotella Queens, which is pretty surefire, although I'm unlikely to stream it more than the A- takes.

5:20 PM: Back from dentist trip. They called to move the appointment up, so we started at 12:45. Probably took close to 2 hours. Dentist thought it went well, but warned that retreatments are usually more painful than initial root canals. But he thought it went well, and should heal up over the next few weeks. I'm left with a hole in the crown, and a temporary filling, which I'll need replaced in 2-4 weeks. He didn't think the crown had to be replaced, but noted that it showed signs of age. I picked up antibiotics and pain pills on the way home, and got flu and covid shots. I also picked up my new glasses at WalMart. With Medicare picking up a bit on one pair, and reusing old frames for the other, they came to just under $400. I did some more shopping there, for the first time in years. Lot of stuff there, some cheaper than I'm used to.

I bought two plastic storage units: a small 3-drawer, and a larger 4-drawer (2 deep, 2 shallow). I have a lot of stuff like that: probably more than I actually need, but I figured a couple new empty units could help me move stuff around to get it better sorted. I didn't do much that evening. Laura wanted to watch a movie, so I joined her for a Ken Loach film on Ireland, The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006). I had only the vaguest sense of Irish history from 1919-23, especial of the Civil War phase that this film turns on. That's probably because I've never had much interest in or sympathy for the Irish nationalist cause -- not that I have any doubt as to the cruel nature of British rule, there or anywhere else, but I've never believed in nationalism, and I probably harbor deep-seated reservations about the dogmatism of catholicism. Still, I wonder here whether the Britain's terms for independence, in Ireland as well as later in India and Palestine, weren't designed to leave the nations they departed in disarray and civil war: acts of gleeful spite meant to save face for their former rule.

Music Week

Expanded blog post, September archive (in progress).

Tweet: Music Week: 38 albums, 10 A-list

Music: Current count 44818 [44780] rated (+38), 21 [22] unrated (-1).

New records reviewed this week:

• Baths: Gut (2025, Basement's Basement): [sp]: B
• Marilina Bertoldi: Para Quien Trabajas Vol. 1 (2025, Sony Music Argentina): [sp]: B+(**)
• The Beths: Straight Line Was a Lie (2025, Anti-): [sp]: B+(***)
• Sabrina Carpenter: Man's Best Friend (2025, Island): [sp]: A-
• Chicago Jazz Orchestra: More Amor: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery (2024 [2025], Chicago Jazz Orchestra): [sp]: B+(*)
• Chicago Underground Duo: Hyperglyph (2024 [2025], International Anthem): [sp]: B+(***)
• CMAT: Euro-Country (2025, CMATBaby/AWAL): [sp]: A-
• George Coleman: George Coleman With Strings (2022 [2025], Savant): [sp]: A-
• Hannah Delynn: Trust Fall (2025, self-released): [cd]: B+(**)
• Dijon: Baby (2025, R&R/Warner): [sp]: B+(*)
• Fieldwork: Thereupon (2024 [2025], Pi): [cd]: A-
• Folk Bitch Trio: Now Would Be a Good Time (2025, Jagjaguwar): [sp]: B
• Ghostface Killah: Supreme Clientele 2 (2025, Mass Appeal): [sp]: B(*)
• GoGo Penguin: Necessary Fictions (2025, XXIM): [sp]: B+(**)
• Omer Govreen Quartet: All Things Equal (2024 [2025], J.M.I.): [sp]: B+(***)
• Haim: I Quit (2025, Columbia): [sp]: A-
• Ill Considered: Balm (2025, New Soil): [sp]: B+(**)
• Ill Considered: Live at Eye Film Museum (2024, New Soil): [bc]: B+(**)
• Ill Considered & Rob Lewis: Emergence (2024, New Soil): [bc]: B+(**)
• Ill Considered: UnEvensong (2024, New Soil): [sp]: B+(***)
• Larry Keel/Jon Stickley: Larry Keel & Jon Stickley (2025, self-released, EP): [cd]: B
• KRS-One: Temple of Hip Hop Global Awareness (2025, R.A.M.P. Ent Agency): [sp]: A-
• Laufey: A Matter of Time (2025, AWAL): [sp]: B+(**)
• Billy Lester Trio: High Standards (2017 [2025], Ultra Sound): [cd]: B+(**) [09-12]
• Christian McBride Big Band: Without Further Ado, Vol. 1 (2025, Mack Avenue): [sp]: B+(**)
• Ashley Monroe: Tennessee Lightning (2025, Mountainrose Sparrow): [sp]: B+(*)
• Ned Rothenberg: Looms & Legends (2024-25 [2025], Pyroclastic): [cd]: A-
• Superchunk: Songs in the Key of Yikes (2025, Merge): [sp]: B+(**)
• Sunny Sweeney: Rhinestone Requiem (2025, Aunt Daddy): [sp]: A-
• Teyana Taylor: Escape Room (2025, Taylormade/Def Jam): [sp]: B

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

• Larry Stabbins/Keith Tippett/Louis Moholo-Moholo: Live in Foggia (1985 [2025], Ogun): [sp]: A-

Old music:

• Hannah Delynn: The Naked Room Demos (2021, self-released, EP): [bc]: B
• Hannah Delynn: Making Friends (2023, self-released, EP): [bc]: B
• Evan Parker/Ned Rothenberg: The Monkey Puzzle (1997, Leo): [bc]: B+(***)
• Ned Rothenberg Double Band: Overlays (1991, Moers): [bc]: B+(***)
• Ned Rothenberg: The Crux: Selected Solo Wind Works (1989-1992) (1989-92 [1993], Leo): [bc]: A-
• Ned Rothenberg Double Band: Parting (1996 [2004], Moers Music): [bc]: B+(*)
• Ned Rothenberg: Ghost Stories (1999-2000 [2000], Tzadik): [sp]: B+
• Ned Rothenberg Sync: Harbinger (2001-03 [2004], Animul): [bc]: B+(***)
• Ned Rothenberg/Satoh Masahiko: Decisive Action (2003-04 [2004], BAJ): [bc]: B+(**)

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Mike Clark: Itai Doshin (Wide Hive) [10-03]
• Orhan Demir/Neil Swainson: Wicked Demon (Hittite) [07-14]
• Wadada Leo Smith/Sylvie Courvoisier: Angel Falls (Intakt) [10-03]
• Mark Turner: Reflections On: The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man (Giant Step Arts) [10-10]

Daily Log

Got up at 9, sleep score 90, everything else worse than usual, especially leaks. Rained all day Monday, accumulating 1.57 inches, almost surely an understatement. I spent all day working on a Substack post, giving up in the middle of a bullet list that started with revolutions and will presumably end with why Trump got away with his but Sanders (and Mamdani) cannot. So lots of thoughts rattling around. Read about an Indian economist, J.C. Kumarappa (1892-1960), who was close to Gandhi.

I didn't touch Music Week yesterday, but should post it later today. Initial count was thin, but after acing Sabrina Carpenter (big Dan Weiss huzzah) I have a bounty of A-list, and I'm probably close to 30 rated. Got the news that my dental insurance is done with me for 2025, so I'll have to pay up over $1500 to fix my old 1980s root canal. Schedule is for Wednesday, so that's sure to shoot a hole in the middle of my week. Eyes especially bad this morning, so I keep having to use the magnifying glass to read the screen. Should get the new glasses this week.

Email (30 messages): noted some upcoming records, Nick Turse articles I should add to Loose Tabs, Rachel Booth articles that might be interesting but probably say things I don't want to hear. Not in the mood for that today. Replayed Sabrina Carpenter today, and watched a couple of her videos, which I don't like much. Music is still good. Dan Weiss panned my endorsement of Sumac & Moor Mother: stick your neck out and get it chopped off. I've panned his Sumac picks in the past.

Daily Log

Got up shortly after 10, so barely cleared the 6 hours mark, for a 100% sleep rating. Read about half of the Joan Robinson chapter. Found considerable support for my ideas about using the state for directed capital distribution -- although I would do it somewhat differently, in that I'm still as wary of concentrations of power as I am of concentrations of money. Weighed in at 197, so the bulge of a couple weeks ago (when I hit 202) seems to have receded. Still above my low point (194?), but under control -- not that I couldn't do with losing a bit more.

Email (14 messages): Allen Lowe rant (with correction). Also have a Brad Luen from last night, with a "countrypop" section.

Daily Log

Slept 95%. Looks like I turned the machine off one minute short of six hours, which would probably have moved me to 100%. AHI was 0.0, and P95 was 9.0. Read about Sweezy and Kalecki. Minimal email (9 messages). Spent most of yesterday on the new computer. I set up the old computer, and got ftp working one way. I archived and copied Laura's old home directory, which was almost all private program data (mostly Firefox and Thunderbird). One approach to importing the previous settings is to simply copy the old trees to the appropriate spot on the new machine. But for Firefox, I tried setting up sync, which worked reasonably well. I haven't done Thunderbird yet, but did create an export file, so I can try importing it today. One problem is that the old machine wasn't connecting to Yahoo right, so that will take some debugging.

Meanwhile, my own work is languishing

Saturday, September 06, 2025

Daily Log

Woke up once in the middle of the night, then again shortly after 10. Read the rest of the Polanyi chapter, and stayed up. Next chapter is on Sweezy, so looking forward to that. I read some of Monopoly Capital 50+ years ago, and was quite impressed, but no telling how much stuck with me. One point I do recall was his speculation that the work week could be greatly shortened if we only did work on necessities. Only much later did I discover Keynes (and Gorz and Frase) writing along those lines. Of course, it didn't happen, as innovations created more necessities, and as services turned out to be an insatiable pit of desire. I've only recently changed my views on this, in part because "leisure" has turned into as much of a hell hole as "work" used to be, but mostly because good works give our lives meaning and purpose. The quest is not so much to free us from work as to free our work from the evils of capitalism.

Email (6 messages): a reply from Jan to my suggestion that she should store her prized cooking equipment with her kids, so she can still do some cooking (mostly baking) when she visits, which she should do more often than is probably the case. I wrote her back, with a photo of Uncle Clagge's pans. I also sent out a photo of Laura's new computer.

Daily Log

Woke up around 8, but went back to sleep, and slept to noon: 503 minutes, low AHI and leak, low pressures. Rained earlier, and was still 55F when I got up. Read about Polanyi, Red and White Hungary, Red Vienna, Fascist Austria, up to his move to London. Woke from a dream where I had made a nice chicken main dish, but evidently nothing else, so I was rumaging to try to fill out a dinner menu while guests were waiting. I found frozen shrimp I could sautee, dried pasta (for a gorgonzola sauce, or a puttanesca), romaine (could make a Burmese tea leaf salad), only vegetable I could think of was stir-fried lima beans. Now that I'm awake, I can think of more options. The dream mostly consisted of searching through drawers and bins. Friday is peak email day (47 messages):

• Vox's highlight article is "Why are single men so miserable?" Sounds like me . . . fifty years ago. Now I'm what? Used to it?

Daily Log

Got up before 9, sleep score 85, but was thinking too hard to even consider going back to sleep. Yesterday's total wipe out may have left me wanting to work. Still, tired as I'm writing this, and bewildered by all the things left to do. Yesterday's hail has literally carpeted the back yard, much of the front, and any flat surfaces (carport, flat roof above the den) with small branches and leaf clusters. I haven't gone out yet to fully assess the damage, but it is considerable.

Email (24 messages):

• Notice that my Corsair support ticket has closed, as I haven't responded in a week (but they're allowing another week in case I wish to reopen it). As the computer build is essentially done, I should hook it up today and install Xubuntu. Then I can reply with good news (or bad).
• Mail from Cadence features pictures of old issues. I still have a box of old issues, which should be of some value to someone somewhere, but not much to me anymore. I've long wished they would put their back issues up on the web, where they would be a valuable resource, but the response has always been, "how can we make money from that"? Since then Bob Rusch has died, leaving Slim in charge (and she's a jazz poll voter), so maybe I should approach her?
• New Rodrigo Amado Bridge album coming in October.
• Notice from Vox that I can share up to 10 gift links per month.

Daily Log

Woke up abruptly at 10:15, realizing I have an 11:45 appointment out west (Wichita Endodontics) to evaluate teeth 18-19, which have been a source of persistent, low-grade pain since I had a root canal and crown in February. I was preoccupied with eye surgery at the time, but complained on my next cleaning, and Dr. Tsao wrote up the referral as one of several ways of dealing with the problem. I did a round of antibiotics, which had no effect. I finally followed up yesterday, and got the appointment today.

So my morning wake up ritual is very compressed today. I read a bit about Kondratiev, the Russian Revolution, and the NEP. Ate breakfast. Found a playlist on Spotify for Tougher Than Tough (original box set not available), and kicked it off, figuring that my phone will pick it up and continue playing in the car. Not the degree of control over music control I want in the car, but should beat silence (let alone radio). After the appointment, my plan is to go to WalMart and see if I can get new glasses. They seem to have the sunglass clip-on frame I wanted, and otherwise to be cheap enough. Then I'll probably hit a grocery store.

Email (23 messages):

• Substack stats: 61 free subscribers (+33 for August); 223 post reads (+205); subscribers come: Substack App: 48%; [www.]tomhull.com: 27%; Facebook: 6%.

I didn't get back home until after 6. Orthodontist thought the root canal/crown looked fine, but detected a problem in the tooth next to it, where I had a root canal back in the 1980s. He saw a dark spot at the base of one of the three roots. The tapering of the root canals was very uneven, and one had a large metal post, which he felt couldn't be removed without cracking the tooth, and didn't need to as that base looked to be in good shape. So what he proposed was drilling through the crown, refinishing the other two roots, and filling in the holes. We scheduled that for next Wednesday. It sounded like it's not certain to work, but it makes sense that it could help.

Trip out there was rather unpleasant. I had to maneuver around some repaving on our block. I couldn't get any music to play, although my phone did connect through bluetooth, and music sources displayed the next song in my Spotify playlist. I did get the GPS maps, and asked for the destination to be set to the orthodontist's office. It did that, but I didn't believe the left turn off 21st until I saw it -- I was expecting somewhere further out west. After the appointment, I took a bit more time to get Spotify working, and eventually managed. I felt like lunch, so drove over to McAllister's, which was close to my Walmart destination.

I saw an AT&T store in the same strip mall, so went in to ask them about the car internet connection -- a short free trial came with the car, and is scheduled to expire tomorrow. I've gotten a bunch of email from AT&T about this, but none that explained why I might actually want their service. The guys in the store were helpful only in the sense that they were pretty sure I should just let it lapse and be done with it. Even if I wanted it, they couldn't sign me up unless I already had an AT&T account (and there was some doubt even then). I thought there was a T-Mobile in the area, so I might go over there and try talking to someone. (T-Mobile has a similar service, but little if any information about it online.) Turned out it was a Cox store, so I didn't bother.

I did stop in at Lowe's, and spent considerable time looking around for various things: a broom and dustpan for the garage; some granite surface cleaner; a couple motion-sensor nite lites; a bracket I could use to repair a gap in a fence; another (smaller) component box; some 2-inch angle brackets; some 6-foot stick lumber: 1x3 (2), 1x2 (4). I've been using the smaller sizes quite a bit recently, so felt it would be good to have some surplus on hand. When I got back, I unloaded into the garage, but figured I wouldn't have time to work on much, so closed up. Good thing, as a pretty severe thunderstorm hit an hour or so later We got 0.57-inch rain, and some pretty serious hail, which knocked a lot of leaves down -- I'll have to look for further damage tomorrow.

After Lowe's, I went to Walmart, and ordered two pair of glasses. For distance, I wanted to get a frame with a magnetic clip on to double as sunglasses. I found an Easy Clip frame for $124 that seemed ok, and they wanted $185 for the lenses (standard progressive with anti-glare). For computer, I didn't find a frame I liked better than some of my old ones, so I gave them the old glasses agreed to a $20 service charge. Should come out to $514 plus taxes, minus whatever insurance pays (not much, I gather). That's less than half the price I was looking at with the optometrist's side-business, but a bit more than I was finding for mail order. Should be ready in a week. That's a fairly large item to scratch off my checklist. (As is the dental issue, but that too will take another week to play out.)

Afterwards, I got no real listening or writing done. I did take a look at the bathroom sink cabinet. I pulled everything out a few days ago, a side-effect of trying to clean the floor (which had a half-dozen items one would normally stash under the sink, but there was no room). I need to replace the sink drain pipe, which is badly corroded -- and after I finished sweeping out the cabinet, I had knocked enough gunk off the pipes to open up a small leak. I'm torn between fixing it myself and hiring a plumber: should be pretty easy, but I suspect that when I take a pipe wrench to the fittings, the whole thing is going to crumble. I've been saving the job up to add on to whatever else I need a plumber for next. (One candidate is fixing the basement floor drain. Another is rerouting the water inputs to a new basement sink/cabinet. I basically understand how to do both of those projects, but they involve special equipment as well as expertise. I really should get that floor drain taken care of, as the other basement projects depend on it.)

Meanwhile, I started looking for some kind of organizer for the bathroom cabinet. I didn't find anything usable at Lowe's, but Amazon has a dozen or more options for two-tier slide-out units that can easily fit inside a 30-inch cabinet. (The two door openings are 12w x 17h, with about 21d back to the wall, but more like 16d to the shutoff valves. Most of the units are 7-8w and 11-5d, usually about 12h but taller items would rise above the unit. I eventually decided to splurge a bit with this Toyear unit (black metal, wide bottom basket, narrower top basket, $36 for 2).

I also looked for something I could attach to the doors, but found very little of interest. I may try making something, once I get an idea of how much depth I have left after installing the interior units.

Daily Log

Didn't get to bed until after 4, but slept well enough. Rained quite hard yesterday afternoon, 0.70 inches on gauge, which knocked some more branches down in front. I packed the bigger ones into the trash. Still unseasonably cool: 65F, overcast. Nothing much I have to do today, so the smart thing would be to wrap up last week's big projects: computer, upstairs light, carport pads, wood pile final sort, maybe even start building the kiosk. Alternate would be to write a NOEL post on "More Thoughts About Sanders and Capitalism." Or just piddle away with Loose Tabs. Morning music is the new Fieldwork album.

Email: 23 messages: nothing special.

Music Week

Expanded blog post, September archive (in progress).

Tweet: Music Week: 35 albums, 8 A-list

Music: Current count 44780 [44745] rated (+35), 22 [24] unrated (-2).

New records reviewed this week:

• Gino Amato: Latin Crossroads 2 (2025, Ovation): [cd]: B+(*)
• Oren Ambarchi & Eric Thielemans: Kind Regards (2023 [2025], AD 93): [sp]: B+(**)
• Oren Ambarchi/Johan Berthling/Andreas Werlin: Ghosted III (2024 [2025], Drag City): [sp]: B+(***)
• Apollo Brown & Bronze Nazareth: Funeral for a Dream (2025, Escapism): [sp]: A-
• Rodney Crowell: Airline Highway (2025, New West): [sp]: B+(***)
• Jesse Daniel: Son of the San Lorenzo (2025, Lightning Rod): [sp]: B+(**)
• Matt Daniel: The Poet (2025, self-released): [sp]: B+(**)
• Joe Ely: Love & Freedom (2025, Rack 'Em): [sp]: B+(***)
• Colin Hancock's Jazz Hounds Featuring Catherine Russell: Cat & the Hounds (2024 [2025], Turtle Bay): [cd]: A-
• The Hives: The Hives Forever Forever the Hives (2025, PIAS): [sp]: B+(***)
• Cody Jinks: In My Blood (2025, Late August): [sp]: B+(*)
• Olivia Ellen Lloyd: Do It Myself (2025, self-released): [sp]: B+(***)
• Tony Logue: Dark Horse (2025, Jenny Ridge Productions): [sp]: B+(***)
• Roberto Magris: Lovely Day(s) (2024 [2025], JMood): [cd]: B+(***)
• Juliet McConkey: Southern Front (2025, Soggy Anvil): [sp]: B+(*)
• Brad Mehldau: Ride Into the Sun (2025, Nonesuch): [sp]: B
• Nerves Baddington: Driving Off Cliffs (2025, Apt. B Productions): [sp]: B+(**)
• Cam Pierce: A Thousand Lonely Horses (2025, self-released): [os]: A-
• Ken Pomeroy: Cruel Joke (2025, Rounder): [sp]:
• Queen Herawin: Awaken the Sleeping Giant (2025, Matic): [sp]: A-
• Ravita Jazz: Alice Blue (2025, Ravita Music): [cd]: B
• Steve Rosenbloom Big Band: San Francisco 1948 (2024 [2025], Glory): [cd]: C
• Gonzalo Rubalcaba/Chris Potter/Eric Harland/Larry Grenadier: First Meeting: Live at Dizzy's Club (2022 [2025], 5Passion): [cd]: B+(***)
• Jaleel Shaw: Painter of the Invisible (2022 [2025], Changu): [cd]: A-
• Sam Stoane: Tales of the Dark West (2025, Cloverdale): [sp]: A-
• Turnpike Troubadours: The Price of Admission (2025, Bossier City): [sp]: B+(*)
• Molly Tuttle: So Long Little Miss Sunshine (2025, Nonesuch): [sp]: B+(**)
• Vega7 the Ronin/Machacha: The Ghost Orchid (2025, Copenhagen Crates): [sp]: B+(***)
• Hayley Williams: Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party (2025, Post Atlantic): [sp]: B+(**)
• Miguel Zenón Quartet: Vanguardia Subterranea: Live at the Village Vanguard (2024 [2025], Miel Music): [cd]: A

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

• John Lee Hooker: The Standard School Broadcast Recordings (1973 [2025], BMG): [sp]: A
• Steve Tintweiss and the Purple Why: Live in Tompkins Square Park 1967 (1967 [2025], Inky Dot Media): [cd]: B+(**)
• Zulu Guitar Blues: Cowboys, Troubadours and Jilted Lovers 1950-1965 (1950-65 [2025], Matsuli Music): [sp]: B+(**)

Old music:

• Brad Mehldau: Après Fauré (2023 [2024], Nonesuch): [sp]: B
• Brad Mehldau: After Bach II (2017-23 [2024], Nonesuch): [sp]: B
• Brad Mehldau/Ian Bostridge: The Folly of Desire (2022 [2023], Nonesuch): [sp]: B-
• Perico Sambeat: Ademuz (1995 [1998], Fresh Sound New Talent): [sp]: B+(**)

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Armen Donelian: Stargazer (Sunnyside) [10-03]
• Phil Haynes & Free Country: Liberty Now! (Corner Store Jazz) [10-17]
• Rubén Reinaldo: Fusión Olivica (Free Code Jazz) [06-04]
• Jovino Santos Neto Quartet: Mais Que Tudo: Live at Kerry Hall 1995 (Origin) [09-19]
• Craig Taborn/Nels Cline/Marcus Gilmore: Trio of Bloom (Pyroclastic) [09-26]
• Milan Verbist Trio: Time Change (Origin) [09-19]

Daily Log

Well, August is done. I suppose I should count surviving it as some kind of accomplishment, but I have little more to show for the month, or for that matter for all of summer. I'll probably write about that in Music Week later today, so I should skip that for now. I did get a reasonable night's sleep, until 11:10 AM, 411 minutes, using the large mask, AHI down to 1.0, average pressure 8.5, high pressure 12.0. Got up and read about John Hobson, the paradox of thrift, and the economic folly of imperialism. He also appears to have been one of the first to discover what was later dubbed the military-industrial complex. There is a line about when a nation reaches a certain level of "development, inequality, and rent-seeking." We've been there for a long time, but it does seem to have continued getting worse.

Mail: 11 messages, but nothing much. Brad Luen's "Odds & Ends 148" suggests some listening.

Aug 2025