January 1, 2007

I am sad to report that on top of James Brown, Jerry Ford, and Saddam Hussein, someone else has died; I have no idea who, but they lived across the street and their funeral began warming up at eight a.m. with an atonal organ rift played by a tone deaf organist with no rhythm. Quite a start to the new year, this is.

Fortunately, it was a very sedate New Year's Eve and I was actually asleep by eleven. Otherwise, I fear, I would be pouring water on the celebrants.

**UPDATE--It's 11:30p.m. The ceremony across the street lasted for a little over 14 hours today. There were different people praying, a man and a woman singing, keyboards, stringed instruments, and finger cymbals. It's not so bad unless you're trying to sleep. But, I guess that's the point, probably similar in purpose as a "wake." I still have to wonder what happened to the poor souls who died in the days before amplified sound reinforcement.