That was a big weekend of playing.

Both Rosie and Bill are playing so well I feel like I am standing next to them playing a triangle.

It appears I need to go on a spirit quest for some new harp action.

Mean while, the final proof art for the retail pressing is coming in, thank you to Mark S for arranging the run.

You know where to find'em. (hint: come to a show)

With the art done and a busy weekend behind us, it was Tidal Downtime.

We're coming into that part of the year, down here in Oz, and after Melbourne Cup (next week) the thoughts of the nation turn to Christmas Holidays and Cricket.

Yeah, you heard me, Cricket.

We still have a few things ahead of us this year. For example, the Cooma C.R.A.B festival.

Plus we're still in production on videos for the Sydney Identity Project.

Oh.

And planning for 2019.

So yeah.

To be fair, we're not doing this all at once. we're moving at a steady pace with the benefit of regular rests.

Tide comes in, tide goes out.

Following pace with these rhythms is why, 11 years on, we're still at it.

A choice to be a calmer place

We often say 'we don't judge here in the stormcellar' because in a way, it's part of the ethos of a place of safety.

When we see the killings in Pittsburgh, the emergence of what can only be described as the American Cold Civil War, when we regret and watch our own wars of choice these last 18 years, it's a bit overwhelming.

If we don't write about it too much here, it's because we're choosing, for you Dear Reader, to try and offer a respite from all that stuff.

We can acknowledge the sadness and perhaps even the banal, ridiculous, incomprehensible actions of our species, of our kind, against what is really now, one large family of humans.

But how can we help? What difference can we make?

When we started this blog, 11 years ago, it was because Big D and X and (REDACTED) were overseas, far from home.

The simple things we did - going to a gig. Arranging a PA. Looking out the window on a trip.

These were moments of comfort we could offer, like a letter sent to Vietnam.

That's what Big D taught me. that it was the simple things from a calmer place that they missed.

So that's what we concentrate on here.

The things that go on in the whirlwinds are still there, the battle rages.

Yet there's more to the world than just its tempests.

More than just fury and ignorance.

You are honoring the thought of those people who have passed, forming it in your mind even as you read.

We stop to remember and think of those who were killed in Pittsburgh, to extend our heartfelt empathy to the members of the L'simcha Congregation.

For want of better, we light a candle, in thought.