Daily Log

Woke up after 8. Read some. Tried to go back to sleep, but didn't manage much. Came down shortly after 10. Need to wrap up Loose Tabs today. I should open up a Substack draft file and take notes so I can kick that out with the big file. I should finish up the last of the birthday dinner today: one dish full of ravioli, with a repeat of yesterday's prosciutto-cream sauce. I started that off with a diced chunk of guanciale, and have just enough left for today, along with some of the prosciutto slab. I threw the fruit out yesterday, also the potatoes. Counterpunch should publish "Trump's Greatest Hits" today. That's something of a milestone.

Email (137 unread, mostly old):

• Substack: Music Week (10:5): stats: 4 likes, 0 comments, 0 restacks, 141 email views, 19 other views (my note yesterday was that my non-music posts drop roughly 20% in views, from 150 to 120, so that held up)
• Today's word: pogonotrophy: the act of cultivating or growing a beard. That's one I'll never use.
• Brian Morton: Bonus Record Picks: Irène Schweizer; Rachel Spencer; John Hollenbeck; Matt Wilson; Myra Melford; Rebekah Heller.
• Jacobin (Branko Milanovic): What comes after globalization?
• Susan Hamilton hype on Miko Marks. I sent her a note.

Daily Log

Well, shit, November already. Got up shortly after nine, but didn't get around to opening this file until nearly noon. I posted Music Week (10:5) last night, but screwed up and omitted the Marc Ribot review (album cover included; I figured this out when I tried to count the reviews, and kept coming up with 7, even though I had six A− cover pics and two lower-graded albums). I've edited the Substack post. First thing today will be to post the full Music Week, backdated to October 31. Second thing will be to whip Loose Tabs into shape. Probably too optimistic to think I can finish it today, but that will be the aim.

Mid-afternoon, I tripped over the stool in the kitchen area, and fell. I twisted around, and landed pretty solidly on my rear, and really nothing else. I was stunned, bit my tongue. I didn't bang my head, but it got a good shaking. After a few minutes, I got up, not with much difficulty. I chilled out for 15 minutes, then made lunch. I seem to be ok.

Email (146 unread, mostly old):

• Substack: Trump's Greatest Hits: stats: 1 like, 0 comments, 0 restacks, 0 subs, 125 email views, 17 other views, +3 likes (1 in old mail); Music Week (10:5): shareable assets, 4 likes; 2 new subscribers.
• Jeffrey St Clair: agreed to reprint Trump's Greatest Hits in Counterpunch. He wants to cut the intro. I may try to rewrite it, eliminating mention of my previous "Elections" piece. He also wants a 2-3 line bio, so I'll need to gin up something there. [9:00 PM: I sent this in.]
• Project Syndicate: Can Bond Vigilantes Prevent the Next Debt Crisis? (Nouriel Roubini); When the AI Bubble Bursts (William H Janeway); Public Control for a Purposeful Economy (Mariana Mazzucato/Anna Hope Emerson); Lula Killed the Donroe Doctrine (Jeremy Adelman); The Specter of an AI-Driven Slowdown (Dambisa Moyo); A Tale of Two Chinas (Kenneth Rogoff)
• Jacobin: Politics after literacy
• Brad Luen (Semipop Life): My 69 favorite restaurants in the USA. I think the only ones I've been to are (and at that, just 1 time each): Katz's, In-N-Out. I was told by my host that In-N-Out was a big deal, but I wouldn't have noticed on my own.

Oct 2026