To be precise, this is actually a dream from 4/2/2023:

I witnessed a plane crash into a body of water in a cold northern region, as it looked like a fjord of some kind. The bearded pilot survived and swam to the shore. His doppelganger, who looked exactly like him, swam to save him. In another fragment a phone rang and I answered it and the person said, "New North".

The Short

The Song:

12/29/1966

(From The Complete Beatles): "Interviewed in November 1965 Paul McCartney mentioned that he'd been toying with the idea of writing a song called "Penny Lane" because he like the poetry of the name. Penny Lane was, and still is, the name of the road in this suburb immediately to the south of Liverpool city centre, close to where the Beatles grew up. It took another year for Paul to actually write the song but with its description of the shops and the people and the "blue suburban skies" his Penny Lane was a fine counterpoint to John's "Strawberry Fields Forever".

12/29/1999

A friend asked me what I thought the world would be like in the year 3000. This question was probably asked a thousand years ago. By 3000 there will be new terms that will redefine nature. By 3000, many will be still waiting for the end of the world.

Story idea set in 3000, with facts derived from life in 1000.

Panel of experts talking on TV about the potential Y2K problems with US and Russian nuclear arsenals. Some looked extremely worried. (A call to release 7500 nuclear bombs would be made in just 3 minutes after a false reading).

I feel excited about this new age, but trepidatious feelings now winning.

12/29/2001

Photographer on radio talking about when he saw certain photos, it influenced his career decision and changed his life for the better. When you take photos of people you have to get their trust—what they are thinking will show on their face. (Show films or stills that cause emotional responses).

12/29/2004

Tsunami disaster dominates news. The pathos is incredible and pervades your day. 80,000 now estimated dead. They project it will double if disease breaks out.

Interesting: Only 3,000 people died on 9/11 with the consequence of a misbegotten war against Iraq where 1,200 Americans were killed. Pales in comparison.

12/29/2006, Friday

Saddam Hussein executed by hanging. In the Islamic world, this is the first step to martyrdom—he'll be even more powerful in death.

12/26/1997, Friday

Film: Mother with Albert Brooks. Very accurate depiction of boomers' relationships with their parents, especially the preoccupation with food. Also, an interesting scene where the son finds old manuscripts that his mother wrote, discovering that she had a talent that she ignored because she was under pressure from the father to be a housewife.

Began archiving my music. Went to Kinko's and saw people doing the same thing.

***

12/26/1999

What about all the people that will die immediately before 2000?

The year 2000 will make synchronistic events even more interesting.

Curtis Mayfield died at 57.

***

12/26/2004, Sunday

Massive tsunami hits Indonesia and other countries bordering the Indian Ocean, after largest earthquake in 40 years, Richter 9.5. Thousands dead and counting following 30 foot surge of water traveling at 500 miles per hour.

***

12/26/2006

Gerald Ford dies at 93. ( The only President not elected by the people). He was also the first president to be lampooned on Saturday Night Live, specifically the clutzy pratfalls and assassination attempts. But the biggest part of the legacy is the Nixon pardon and the fact that it turned impeachment proceedings into mere censure.

***

12/26/2021

What draws me to music most strongly is the tactile: I simply like the feel of vibrating strings across a slab of wood, and is so much more satisfying than a computer keyboard or a piece of glass. I have my instruments all out of their cases and make a point to play them and incorporate them as much as possible into my songs. (That's why I think country music sometimes gets folded in to my music because a lap steel will definitely suggest it). Also, we don't really need that many instruments: Musical instrument collections might have their own Dunbar number. An instrument only used once becomes more of a passing acquaintance.

Podcast: On the tactile in music

***

12/26/2015

It's always interesting to think about embedded objects in photography or film as a chronicle of technology. Here Cindy's lonely character waits for the phone to ring to resolve her emotional dilemma. It's a prop, but the only one that existed in 1980. Loneliness now inhabits the world of the smartphone, and I must admit would be less interesting in this tableau. Imagine that in another 20 or 30 years, there would be no visible device to cling to for that same emotional connection: She'd be staring into space.

A very early demo from December 2021--one of the first ideas for Nostalgia Galaxy. (Guitars Added)

(Anthony Townes Diary)

Took a stroll around hospital floor overlooking Gates Park. Large crowd at the Memorial for the solstice celebration. Nice—just as it arrived sunlight beamed from the glass curtain of Central Tower, bathing the Memorial in silver light. 2046-12-21 Gates Park, Masdar: "Sun Landing"

12/20/2012

The eve of the end of the world by the Mayan calendar. It is a reminder that singular events are a fixture of life. Things begin and end on their own, but are tethered to our understanding of time. Was the calendar ubiquitous and followed or even known by all the Maya? Interesting: all the various cycles within the Mayan calendar don't just abruptly end—they come back in sync. That is something to celebrate, not fear. It's a New Downbeat, the "One".

12/20/2019

Warhol show at Art Institute. It's interesting to watch the crowds react. You can tell the people that perhaps it is their first time seeing Warhols on a wall. I'm always amazed at the work ethic and the sheer size of some of the pieces. Loved seeing the Tunafish Disaster live—all of the silks in fact.