Social Getting To Know You Thread... What Did You Do Yesterday?

I spoke with Skiara and decided to attempt a Getting To Know You thread which allows for slightly more descriptive/in depth rambling about oneself. In this thread we can, hopefully, get to know each other better based upon the content of an entire day's worth of activity. Simply share the details of what you did yesterday...

 

I'll offer up:
Yesterday was the first day I was completely settled in up in Cape Cod. When I cannot get home to Ireland, I spend a season in Cape Cod immersed in the Irish community here.
I brushed my teeth. This is significant only because my wife replaced our toothbrushes. New toothbrush = stiff bristles. Next, we had breakfast with our friend Evie, who is the semi-unofficial 'mayor' of all things social in the Irish community on the Cape. She gave us a good notion of what to do for the evening. I drank 3 entire pots of tea during our outing. After breakfast, I unpacked the majority of my studio so i could work. Instead of working, I went to a bookstore. Then, I worked. For dinner, we went to see Evie at a local public house where the odds of finding people who speak Gaelic are much more increased. Ordered some food, because they have a fair vegetarian menu, and was encouraged to ruin other people's meals during open mic night. While my favored styles of music are old jazz, reggae, and hardcore, I opted to do an acoustic cover of Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2. We went home, I finished up a page I had been working on, logged on here while working, and tossed on a film. I opened my mail before bed and another of the records I ordered arrived. I put it on my turntable and listened to it until I fell asleep.

 

I did housework, cleaned the toilets and showers and did the dishes. Washed two loads of washing and hung them out as well as vacuumed the family room. Got a visit from another board member Kooky and did some sewing while she and I talked for a while. Then wrote two pages of fiction before making dinner, cleaning up and writing four more pages of fiction while watching NCIS and Law and Order SVU.....which was tense, again. Then went to bed and slept like a log.

 

Laundry hikes and fiction make for a lovely day. Sleeping like a log is also rather wonderful. Adalia, are you posting the fiction on here when you finish or is it unrelated?

Yesterday I...

Went to breakfast at Keltic Kitchen and decided against tea since I have been 'abusing' it as of late. Coffee, instead. I worked for a brief period, but was having a momentary creative lapse, so I went to the zoo. The zoo on the Cape is small compared to Philly, so I was only there for an hour, but it was a nice visit. Worked on finishing a page and then had a hurling match on the beach with a few of the lads. Hurling is a rather vicious Irish sport, for those of you who are not aware. Took a beating and went to dinner with some friends. O 'Shea's, again. They have a very accomodating vegetarian menu. I live a very strange dual life: I have been an active musician promoting straight edge & vegetarianism since 1988, drumming and screaming in bands, stage dives, mosh pits, that sort of outgoing lifestyle. But, on the other hand, I am part of a very traditional Irish community where I am a quiet, reclusive artist who (soberly) visits with people at pubs and listens to traditional Irish music, speaks Gaelic when required and am borderline monastic in my simplicity. It is a heckuva dichotomy, but I've lived this way for years without it ever remotely bordering on the contradictory. I finished off my evening by watching Creature From The Black Lagoon from my new Universal Monsters blu ray set and suddenly had an urge to burn through a few hours worth of work, so I stayed up the majority of the night finishing a page and a half. I listened to Billie Holiday records the entire time. It was glorious.

 

The web within a web sounds rather grand. Post a pic once Charlotte finishes assisting you in decorating. You sound as though you take Halloween decor very serious, which I commend. I don't decorate for Halloween, because my house looks like Halloween all year round. Cannot wait to see what you come up with.

Silas - I will attempt to answer this without turning it into an overly complicated mess. I listen to absurd amounts of old jazz: Billie Holiday, Ella, Louis Armstrong, Carmen MacRae, Nina Simone, Bessie Smith, etc. But, my primary genre has always been the golden age of Jamaican ska/reggae, which means roots & rocksteady. I grew up in a very diverse, urban neighborhood, so I have an ear toward black "sufferer" music. My favorites would be Jimmy Cliff, Lord Creator, Prince Buster, Alton Ellis, Melodians, that sorta vibe.

BUT... I began drumming in fast straight edge hardcore bands at age 12. I have been in several reggae/ska units, but the majority of my musical output seems to be in the hardcore vein. Most of the bands I idolized became my friends and it was such a tight scene up the east coast. And, since the major talking points were positive, sober living, it made it simple for my mother to allow me to drive all over creation to play shows because the people I was surrounding myself with were all doing the opposite of the negative horror stories that moms think of when their jr. high school kid wants to tour during the summer. I was really into Minor Threat, DYS, SSD, the early pioneers. The biggest influences on me in hardcore (and became my friends and tourmates) were Youth of Today, Shelter, Gorilla Biscuits, Chain of Strength, Bold, Token Entry, Pagan Babies, Flag of Democracy, and countless others. Basically fast, aggressive but melodic bursts of energy with positive lyrics. Generally straight edge lyrics promote abstaining from self destructive behavior. I will post an example below. There was a crop of more methodical, mapped out song structure by people from the scene who created intelligent, intricate bands such as Fugazi, Quicksand, and others, and we went in that direction as well. I screamed in some bands, drummed for others. I now also play the theremin.
Here is a spectacular example of the speed and lyrical content of the music scene I was 'raised' in:


And, here is what my life was committed to in 1996:


ON TOPIC:
Yesterday I...
Was mellow. Worked a bit, opted for a day of laziness, which doesn't happen often. Stayed in, which also doesn't happen too often. Watched some monster films and had a lovely PM chat on here with Natalie

 

Yesterday I...

Went on a reference scouting expedition for a script I recieved. Worked during the day, other than to have a Christmas morning episode when my pre-order of the new Further Seems Forever record arrived earlier than expected. New shirt, posters, and the album on vinyl. It is a really strong, coherent record. Glad the original lineup got back together. Even happier they sound this good. Went out to eat and got distracted by some friends, never really making it home til later than planned. We spent the abnormally unseasonally warm evening on the beach. Got back to the house (early for a Friday night) and decided to watch a film.

 

Yesterday I...

... e-fancied Natalie ... just as I would any other day. It was a mad day, with a lot of variety. Had a lovely breakfast with friends, went to Barnes & Noble, visited the home/museum of one of my favorite artists (Edward Gorey) whose home/memorial I visit often, bloated myself at Panera, went to a Halloween store hoping to find undisappointing selections, caught dinner, went to see a local musician perform, decided to put an hour or so of work in, before viewing 2 films and calling it a day. In between each activity, I posted on here and another site via the technological witchery known as the Cloud.

 

Yesterday, I...

Actually put in a very full day of work on a page and a cover. I stopped to grab lunch with my friend Evie and brought back a scone and some already-brewed tea for the afternoon. I've been running monster films the entire time I've been in the house all month, even if only as background, so I got a few more of the old classics in. Went out for a brief jaunt in the evening to watch some of the local parkour runners do their mad routines. I have a lot of fun stuff planned for the next few days, so I made a preemptive strike on more work in order to be ahead of schedule in spite of not planning on actually working too consistently the remainder of this week & weekend. While putting in a few extra hours, I logged on here to check in on WNU in case anything needed bumping or any newbies were needing a greet or any answers... and also hoping to... you know... talk to Natalie .

 

Sorry about the javascript error. We are glad that you are persistent, though.

Yesterday, I...
Drove back home to Philly for the day. Stopped in the comic book store to hang out and see how the new issues look in print. Ate some falafel and tabouli for lunch before heading over to the drum shop to pick up new heads. I visited my house to check on things and pick up a replacement I need for my turntable in cape cod. I had dinner with my cousin Colleen and then went to the Fathom Events screening of the recently restored Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein at the cinema. I have viewed both films countless times, but in a packed theatre on a huge screen, it felt like seeing these films for the first time. It was grand. I sat at the diner and logged on here for a brief moment, but since I had no messages from Natalie, my site enjoyment was decreased significantly. I then drove back up 95.

 

Yesterday I... Finished helping out some of the less capable in my community prepare to survive death-by-hurricane, took my dog out for a nice long walk in the lull bewteen the rain falling and the wind coming in, had people over for a monster film marathon during doomsday outside, and went out during the first break in the early morning to patrol the area & make sure nobody was stuck out in it with problems. It was a really good night. Philly got pounded, but we made out a lot better than our neighbors.