Music Banter - View Single Post - The Saturday 6-Pack

innerspaceboy · 12-31-2022, 10:27 AM

1. What will you be doing at midnight tonight? Any plans to see in the New Year?

I'm so grateful. My car broke down last night but my oldest friends from my home town are driving to my city to pick me up so I can celebrate with them. That means the world to me.

2. What was your greatest musical enthusiasm this year? A genre you explored? An artist you discovered?

Publishing my collected writings from the last 12 years of record collecting was an astonishingly satisfying and rewarding endeavor. I'm presently working with a national publisher for a potential print edition as well.

3. Have you personally noticed any effects of climate change where you live?

I'm in Buffalo and we made international news for the worst winter storm in more than 50 years leaving least 39 dead. And 2022 marked Buffalo's record for the highest annual snowfall since 1939 with 179.4" of snow. My family is begging me to sell my house and move back to their city but I can't imagine moving an entire house of possessions, (to say nothing of the records).

4. A lot of people stick to scientific facts for what they believe in. How far do you drift away from that position, believing in things without needing clear evidence?

I'm an active member of The Center For Inquiry, a nonprofit promoting secular values and rational thinking. Their national headquarters is in my city and I attend several of their events each month. I love being able to critically engage rational skeptics in a dialogue to help keep my thinking in check and to avoid logical fallacies, the Dunning-Kruger effect, and cognitive biases wherever possible.

5. Tourists or escapees? Do many people come and visit where you live, or are the locals constantly talking about how they want to leave? Why?

Buffalo is the second-largest city in NYS. We have an incredible independent art and music scene, a ton of art and music festivals, and an awesome antiquing and thrifting community. We're known as "the City of Good Neighbors." We also have a killer antiquarian literature scene which draws collectors from around the world. The snowstorms aside, I really like it here. I'm not too sure about tourism, but those who reside here are steadfast and committed to their city.

6. My favourite person in my family is.... because....

I don't have a very strong family. We don't celebrate the holidays together or anything. But I phone my mother every Sunday which provides a bit of comfort through the isolation of winter.