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July 13th, 2008
01:39 am

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let me tell you 'bout my /good/weird day
“My life has been very surreal recently, I think I said that.”
“You did.”
“You’re not helping.”
- Denice Castanaveras and Terry Shawmac, from DKM's _The Last Dancer_

I have had an odd day on Saturday. The oddness was in three separate instances:

* a morning incident with a troll - not on the Internet, but on a real and actual bridge on my property,
* having a complete stranger call me the Devil (ok, this has happened before and more than once so it's not unique, but not for a long time and this time it was unprompted, I promise), then
* seeing the Cloverfield monster eating a mall.


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* troll bridge
My day started with shouting: a fellow was standing on the Crabtree Creek bridge located at the corner of my property shouting "GET THE HELL OFF MY BRIDGE", "twelve hundred dead" and other fragments. He was loud: I could hear him relatively clearly from over sixty yards and I was inside. Did I mention this was at 9am? I assumed whatever it was would likely end quickly, but he kept on spewing his fragmentary tirade. By the time he had continued for a full thirty minutes I was concerned he might escalate and do more than shout at the joggers, cyclists and strollers crossing the bridge I called 911. Surprisingly the police response time was less than five minutes before an officer was speaking to him, and he stopped soon after.


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* moving
After 911 it was time to drive. [info]maegwynn and I spent the next eight hours driving half of that time to the north Triad area of NC and the other half helping a nonagenarian relative move.


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* timescapes
For my show tomorrow night (bottom half of that post) [info]maegwynn & I stopped at MoJoe's for a fast dinner (since CharGrill is closed for a few weeks), then we went to the venue I am performing at tomorrow evening to record ambient foundsound from the locale, the building, and environs to use in tomorrow night's performance during which I will loop and process tonight's sounds for the audience in order to take them on a twentyfourhourlong timejump to yesterday. The problem with time travel is you have to be there for it. See _Primer_. Also see Ian Watson's _The Very Slow Time Machine_.


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* YOU'RE THE DEVIL
I set up the rig in the back lot of the building



and left it recording while I walked to the front, scouting the area for noisy exposed pipes or anything else that might make interesting sound samples for the timescape. As I came around the corner a woman sitting on the front steps got up and walked away, then turned back to loudly ask me for a match. When she came over while I was checking my pockets (I normally have a matchbook or lighter on me), she stopped, looked me up and down, and said

"I don't like your hat. It looks mean. Your suit, the hat, all the black, what ARE you? You the Devil?"
"I am not."
"You're the Devil!"
"I am not."
"Are you the Devil?"
"I am not."
"How do I know you're not the Devil?"
(playing along here hoping to reassure her) I can't lie when I'm asked that question."
"You're the Devil!...I don't like cats. Cats are the Devil too."

She then called on Jesus Christ to be here now to kill me and defend her as she walks off.
Passing a jogger coming my way, she turns to point at me and shout

"Stay away from him he's the Devil!
*jogger turns the corner instead of coming my way*
"Yeah, you better stay away from the Devil!"

My field recorder was in the back lot of the building recording cicadas, heat pumps, and building creaking. *Not* in the vest pocket of my suit coat, turned on and live recording the surreal and compressed conversation of perhaps a minute's length. I had thought of bringing the recorder with me to the front but decided that in the interests of time I would walk around front and scout for noisy external water pipes or other sonically interesting sources to attach the contact mics to while I left the recorder running in the back lot. What a *lovely*, lovely missed opportunity. I really could have used that conversation in a Steve Reich "IT'S GONNA RAIN!" way for tomorrow. Ordering a spare field recorder immediately.


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* Cloverfield sequel
On our way home from food, timescape recording, and being called the Devil we were further surprised by a Cthulhu-esque creature crawling across Crabtree Mall:






At first I thought it was a giant mutant coconut crab (wikipedia), the cloverfield sequel being filmed locally, or some spawn of Cthulhu, but then realized it was a giant inflatable.

Yes, a new upscale seafood restaurant has opened in the mall. But with such a giant creature I am not certain what is doing the eating. Dining in such a location for me might well involve a Barrett M107CQ in place of the salad fork.


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* party and METAL!
Stopped in at a party for a few minutes, then went to Chapel Hill to see Daylight Dies and Soulpreacher at Local 506. Good melodic melancholy metal. I had a fellow with a new label hustle me about his newly signed band, but that's actually sort of normal.


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And so to bed.


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P.S. Happy birthday, John Dee.

Current Music: Red Dragon
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[User Picture]
From:[info]dr_scholl
Date:July 13th, 2008 06:41 am (UTC)

Maybe *I'm* the Devil?

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Hrm. I had something similar happen to me today. Must be accusatory day. Only mine was slightly more general. I had a homeless (and obviously mentally ill) man follow me for a block across from the KaDeWe shouting that women like me were evil and that others should beware. Of course, this was in German, and he was mostly ignored. (Yes, I'm in Berlin....)

As for the giant crab - yes, I was at Crabtree (ironic?) just before I left and the thing startled me when I came out of the parking garage. I wonder if its permanent.
[User Picture]
From:[info]badger
Date:July 13th, 2008 12:29 pm (UTC)

Re: Maybe *I'm* the Devil?

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I doubt it's permanent - it's an inflatable. If it was permanent it's large enough to violate the Raleigh sign ordinances.
From:(Anonymous)
Date:July 13th, 2008 10:54 am (UTC)

Fight The Devil! Fight The Devil! -- Tackhead Sound System

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You should of just told the freak "no, I'm not the devil, I'm The Badger.... wiggle wiggle woom wiggle wiggle woom...". Of course she'd mistake the wiggle room dance for some satanic summoning ritual but then thats what experimental music is for!

Or you could of said "Not this week, I forgot about the signup sheet...You can go ahead and take my turn this rotation if you like."

Now I would of just said, no, I'm Lucifer, get it right or I'll smite you!

The Devil? Thats kinda generic lady, Ah, What demon did you have in mind?

..... and I said into the Microphone "This is a dangerous place"...KC.

L.

Thinking about taking up a sniper position with the paintball gun across Glennwood from the giant radioactive air crab monster. Oh wait, that doesn't even stop a Dalek anymore, Now where am I gonna find a classic toygun like that?
[User Picture]
From:[info]badger
Date:July 13th, 2008 12:32 pm (UTC)

Re: Fight The Devil! Fight The Devil! -- Tackhead Sound System

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Not those damned commercials again. And I thought you had an LJ account even if you don't use it.
[User Picture]
From:[info]deftly
Date:July 13th, 2008 03:10 pm (UTC)
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I'd been wondering when that place was going to open. Guess that answers that.
[User Picture]
From:[info]badger
Date:July 13th, 2008 04:06 pm (UTC)
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I received an email a few weeks ago for a big opening or pre-opening dinner party there - the email went to anyone who has a current membership at the NC Museum of Art, so there's some vague connection I didn't bother looking up. But yes, a giant crab at Crabtree.
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