2022 Blessings 20 Dec 2022, 6:23 pm

2022 has been a year of loss for so many people, whether sudden or expected. The entire tenor of the year seems to be one of spoilage – we should be getting back to a comfortable new normal and yet so many days have been filled with the disruption of rights, access, and lives. On this darkest day of a year when the light has been too often blotted out – overwhelmingly by men who should no longer be granted the power to do so – it is hard to realize that the light is still there and is even growing in many ways. The desperate voices of those who cling to a past filled with an exclusive type of exceptionalism become more strident because they are losing power. The counterattacks are severe because they are the spasmodic dying throes of an old way of thinking that is not shared by the generations to come. Inclusion is winning in most places, though that is not helpful or apparent to those stuck in the last bastions of shadow. Bringing light to those places will be hard, but it can be done. Charlie Murphy said, “Light is returning, even though it is the darkest hour. No one can hold back the dawn.” We can be the dawn.

My annual blessing to you all, with the help of Callie Hills in giving them their final polish:
– as the sun increases, so may your joys increase.
– as the nights become shorter, so may your sorrows shrink.
– as those you love surround you, feel my love there as well.
– may you be blessed by your Gods, be they within or without.
– may all your dearest dreams come to you in time.

2021 Wishes for Light 21 Dec 2021, 8:50 pm

Well, that – like so many things this year – almost got away from me. But it is still the day of the Winter Solstice, and as such the return of light to our lives is still much on our minds.

Things are a bit better than last year for many, not so much for some. Recovery is necessary but not sufficient, but the thin margin of power in the current dynamic frustrates those who have already been waiting far too long – yet infighting could itself destroy that margin and lead to the obliteration of any possibility of a progressive future.

Given all this, how can we talk about light?

We can talk about it because, despite the best efforts of those who are dedicated to darkness, the light survives. All it takes to make it thrive is the hard work of putting one foot in front of the other on the path of progress, every day, every election, every level.

It is dark now, but the universe bends toward justice. It is we who must come together to make it bend faster.

My annual blessing to you all, with the help of Callie Hills in giving them their final polish:
– as the sun increases, so may your joys increase.
– as the nights become shorter, so may your sorrows shrink.
– as those you love surround you, feel my love there as well.
– may you be blessed by your Gods, be they within or without.
– may all your dearest dreams come to you in time.

2020 Holiday Blessings 20 Dec 2020, 6:12 pm

Seldom does the Winter Solstice so mirror the actual events in our lives. Even in the midst of some of our darkest hours, with increased Covid-19 infections and deaths, continued economic inequality and impact from pandemic-incited unemployment, and isolation from our friends and families we can see a glimmer of light on the horizon. It’s a faint light – sanity returning to government is not going to bring everything needed to fix our problems, and the new vaccines will take time to work as well as still holding some uncertainty as to how long protection lasts and how effective it is at preventing someone from carrying an asymptomatic viral load. But at this point, any glimmer brings hope – and, sometimes, that’s all we need to turn our hearts toward the future.

My annual blessing to you all, with the help of Callie Hills in giving them their final polish:
– as the sun increases, so may your joys increase.
– as the nights become shorter, so may your sorrows shrink.
– as those you love surround you, feel my love there as well.
– may you be blessed by your Gods, be they within or without.
– may all your dearest dreams come to you in time.

May the light that returns fill your hearts and souls, and may the next year be better than the last.

I wish you all the most joyous of holidays, however you celebrate the Light.

St. Patrick’s Day Gigs Updated 9 Mar 2018, 5:47 pm

It’s almost here! We’ve updated the St. Patrick’s Day gigs, so check them out and come join us!

Greetings Of the Season 19 Dec 2017, 4:31 pm

It’s an odd year. Certainly this is the warmest December since moving to Indiana (and the irony of Atlanta getting 6″ of snow when we haven’t had enough to show a rabbit’s tracks yet is neither lost on me nor pleasant). We were late getting decorations up due to weekends spent doing other things – fun things, but we’re still putting up lights and just now getting the tree decorated.

I am missing the Winter Solstice celebration at UUI this year due to other commitments, and the final shopping days before family arrive have rather snuck up on us. So, not feeling the season in spite of starting the holiday music early at my desk (and discovering new carols for Solstice that make my heart sing!)

But my father is in town and is as sharp as he has been in quite some time (and even moving around better for given values of “feet not always working as well as he would like), and we’re expecting the kids to be here in a few days (and I continue to boo retail for not being able to have all of them here). As always, the brightest spot in all things is you – my friends and chosen family in SF fandom, filk, SCA, UU community, and so many other places. You make every day a joy, and here is my annual wish for you (again acknowledging the final polish given to it by Callie – whom I do not have a Dreamwidth account name for so I cannot tag her this year):

– as the sun increases, so may your joys increase.
– as the nights become shorter, so may your sorrows shrink.
– as those you love surround you, feel my love there as well.
– may you be blessed by your Gods, be they within or without.
– may all your dearest dreams come to you in time.

Joyous Yule, Merry Christmas, Blessed Hanukkah, Happy Dong Zhi, and an Inspirational Kwanzaa to you all. May the best of this year follow you into the next.

Gig Schedule Updated 24 Apr 2017, 3:50 pm

Our gig schedule for 2017 has been updated – we’ll be adding more as the summer days approach. Hope to see you there!

California, here we come! 16 Mar 2017, 4:55 pm

We’re so looking forward to spending some time out in the Bay Area as the Music Guests of Honor at Consonance, March 24 – 26, 2017.   It will be loads of fun getting to play with Canadian singer Leslie Hudson again. At OVFF she crammed nine of us on stage, and we had a blast performing her music.  And then…and THEN…we’ll also be making even more music with Weird Sister Dr. Mary Crowell and cellist Betsy Tinney.  This is going to be SO much fun!

St. Patrick’s Day Gigs 16 Mar 2017, 4:44 pm

Bill and Brenda’s Irish pub duo, Bed & Breakfast, performs twice this St. Patrick’s Day. The first gig is a family show from 5pm to 8pm at Pizza Paradise on Main Street in Danville, Indiana. Then at 9pm they bounce across the street to Diesel’s and play the rowdier songs until the wee hours. Come join us for a fun night.

MORE INFO HERE

Set Up reCAPTCHA 21 Nov 2016, 3:19 pm

Unfortunately, with the SPAM inundation, I’ve had to set up some of that annoying “are you a human” stuff. Hopefully this will work.

Le Disque Compact Nouveau Est Arrivé! 27 Sep 2016, 3:59 pm

We are back from FenCon and have the full shipment of CDs on hand.

The first step is to mail the CDs to those who pre-ordered – some have volunteered to receive their CDs at OVFF and this is especially appreciated for those outside the US. I will be conducting a survey to confirm this.

The second step is to get physical CDs available on CDBaby and Amazon. The downloads are available currently on Bandcamp and CDBaby.

The third step will be to contact filk dealers to find out who wants some.

And then we hitch up our Big Musician pants and get busy finishing the Irish CD.