Live in Absentia 2026

Concerts

00:00 / 51:21

Hi, chat 00:00

When the call for NHAMFest 2026 came out 00:02

I was already committed to a conference 00:04

But I wanted to participate anyway 00:07

So what I’m giving you here 00:10

Is a recording that I made last week 00:12

Of some new stuff 00:14

As well as some of my favourites 00:16

I hope you enjoy it 00:18

See you in the comments 00:20

Recall when the pandemic 00:28

Had been on about a year? 00:31

I don’t mean the polemic 00:34

But the thing that brought us near 00:36

It helped us to restore our pluck 00:39

Rejuvenate our cheer 00:42

I mean, of course, the big boat stuck 00:45

A memory to revere 00:48

There’s trouble in the Suez 00:56

Claustrophobia for real 00:59

Between the shore and you is 01:02

Ninety thousand tons of steel 01:04

Don’t let yourself be thunderstruck 01:07

Both hands upon the wheel 01:10

We’d hate to get the big boat stuck 01:12

So keep an even keel 01:15

Perhaps you want to turn about 01:23

(A thing you might desire) 01:26

Be cautious, on your best lookout 01:29

Lest all your plans backfire 01:32

We had to ship our stuff by truck 01:35

Our straits were truly dire 01:37

And all the while, the big boat stuck 01:40

A maritime quagmire 01:43

whistles 01:51

Now, everyone should be aboard 02:14

The dangers of daydreams 02:17

When sailing a Norwegian fjord 02:20

It’s harder than it seems 02:22

Another ship has run amok 02:25

They’ve even got livestreams 02:28

I’m glad we’ve got the big boat stuck 02:31

To generate new memes 02:34

Now, you might think you’re clever 02:42

And that you won’t run aground 02:45

But nothing lasts for 02:47

ever given 02:49

time enough you’re bound 02:50

To think you can save a buck 02:53

Forgoing that depth sound 02:56

You’re beached as 02:58

With your big boat stuck 03:00

That gulf’s not so profound 03:02

Oh, we won’t be acting captain 03:10

On a sandbar unforeseen 03:12

And we won’t end up trapped in 03:16

An imploding submarine 03:19

And we won’t have to test our luck 03:21

In hotel quarantine 03:24

We’ll always have the big boat stuck 03:27

Some things are evergreen 03:30

Now, here’s a tale of horror 03:54

Egotism and conceit 03:56

Prepare yourself, be sure your mind is steeled 03:59

You navigate the space 04:04

Between the abstract and concrete 04:06

Your academic publishing debut 04:10

It doesn’t know surrender 04:14

And it doesn’t know retreat 04:16

Its villanous identity concealed 04:19

Here’s a sordid introduction 04:23

To the world of peer review 04:26

Meet your nemesis, its name: 04:29

Reviewer 2 04:31

It wouldn’t recognize you 04:44

From a random bar of soap 04:46

It doesn’t have the background in your field 04:49

It thinks infallibility 04:53

Is wasted on the Pope 04:56

Its primary objective: misconstrue 04:58

You blindly thought 05:02

the scientific method was your hope 05:04

You thought that Occam’s Razor was your shield 05:07

But the razor cut you open 05:12

And the pencil ran you through 05:15

You’re another victim of 05:17

Reviewer 2 05:19

The very definition of insanity 05:31

Expect the same results each time you do 05:36

Oh, we could be advancing humanity 05:41

No! 05:46

One more turn of the screw 05:49

It’s fading, now 05:56

As if emerging from a fever dream 05:57

They say that, given time 06:01

All wounds are healed 06:02

And that’d be the end 06:06

Of the discussion, it would seem 06:08

But then appears some upstart ingenue 06:11

A preprint so preposterous 06:16

You can’t suppress a scream 06:18

The sleeper in your consciousness revealed 06:20

For the only inescapable 06:25

Conclusion is that you 06:27

Inadvertently became 06:30

Reviewer 2 06:32

Now, peer review’s anonymous 06:36

That’s nominally true 06:39

But if you have an inkling 06:41

Just a shadow of a clue 06:43

Then disregard your preferences 06:46

The only form of deference is 06:49

To pepper through your paper 06:51

Lots of references 06:53

To Reviewer 2 06:55

beeps piano music starts 07:07

Hey, Void, are you there? 07:10

Yes 07:12

Could you turn your camera on? 07:13

I already did 07:15

But I’m not seeing anything 07:16

I think that’s kind of the point 07:18

piano music ends 07:20

I hope this letter finds you well 07:31

The page is small but I’ve so much to tell 07:39

God, we did some dumb things 07:46

Still, you’ve got the sense that something’s 07:48

Got to bend 07:50

We played, we fought, we laughed, we cried 07:56

No care, no thought, no blame, no path 08:03

And no guide 08:08

Longing that someone’ll 08:10

Help to navigate the tunnel 08:12

To the end 08:14

You, my friend, should see me now 08:17

I’m standing strong and regal 08:21

No regrets to leave a furrow in my brow 08:23

Don’t ask how 08:27

I’m soaring like an eagle 08:30

Riding thermals just as high as they allow 08:32

Just see me now 08:37

Another time, another place 08:48

Another roller-coaster ride 08:55

To brace 09:00

All defences buckling 09:02

Are you just the ugly duckling 09:04

Woebegone? 09:06

They gave you rage, they gave you hell 09:12

They set the stage for you to break 09:19

That shell 09:24

Know that it gets better 09:26

So go on, go out and get her 09:28

Carry on 09:30

Be the swan and see me now 09:32

I’ve conquered every summit 09:36

Climbed the treetops 09:38

Right up to the highest bough 09:39

Don’t ask how 09:42

My enemies can come at me 09:44

They’ll dissipate like waves beneath my prow 09:47

Just see me now 09:52

And so the tide is turning 10:18

Better hurry, send this bottle on its way 10:21

And though inside you’re burning 10:27

Never worry, thinking what’ll others say? 10:29

They should see me now 10:34

I’m free and independent 10:37

Unassailable, impossible to cow 10:40

Don’t ask how 10:43

My planet is ascendant 10:46

I’m determined to reiterate my vow 10:48

Just see me now 10:54

I’m on hold to Telecom 11:20

I’m on hold to Telecom 11:27

Wait a minute 11:34

And advance by a micron 11:36

I’m on hold to Telecom 11:41

All the operators gone 11:48

Off on long lunch breaks 11:55

For godsakes talk to me 11:57

This is me on hold to Telecom 12:05

I’m barely half awake 12:09

And I think I’m running purely on glucose 12:14

Shall I take another capsule of No-Dōz? 12:21

This is Telecom to me on hold 12:28

We’re stepping through our calls 12:33

And we hope you like the music that we play 12:38

Have we told you just how good we are today? 12:44

For here am I nibbling on a Tim Tam 12:51

Slowly growing old 12:59

Planet Earth is, too 13:05

I’m behind them in the queue 13:07

Now I’ve waited half a thousand hours 13:44

And yet I’m waiting still 13:48

And I think I’ve worn my ear down to the bone 13:53

All my life I’m spending waiting on the phone 13:59

I’m on hold to Telecom— 14:06

The line’s gone dead 14:10

There’s something wrong 14:11

Can you hear me, Telecom? 14:13

Can you— 14:22

Here am I choking on my Tim Tam 14:23

Slowly growing old 14:29

Planet Earth is, too 14:35

I’m behind them in the queue 14:37

beeps piano music starts 15:19

Void, when I speak, my lips move 15:22

Yes 15:26

And when you speak, my lips move 15:27

Yes 15:30

Why? 15:31

Einstein was right 15:33

Huh? 15:35

Spooky action at a distance 15:36

Very spooky 15:38

piano music ends 15:39

I was still fresh out of school 15:55

You were the homecoming queen 16:00

Didn’t have money, but what did we need? 16:04

Lived on a farm in Racine 16:07

Everyone called us a fool 16:11

Yet we still dared to believe 16:15

Learned to make honey, and then to make mead 16:19

Drunk on joie de vivre 16:23

Then the elation of youth 16:33

Faded, like so many things 16:36

Drove me to drink, and then drove me to smoke 16:40

Trying to fend off the stings 16:44

When I uncovered the truth 16:48

I found that I lost my way 16:51

Now, how I think about your masterstroke 16:55

Much to my dismay 16:59

So tell all your girlfriends how I did you wrong 17:02

Write to the papers, compose a sad song 17:06

You’re your own boss, you can do as you please 17:10

But don’t— 17:14

Don’t tell the bees 17:15

After the thrill of it all 17:56

Now we lead separate lives 18:00

You got the land 18:04

And the dog 18:05

And the horse 18:06

I got the wrong kind of hives 18:08

Now I know I was in thrall 18:12

Playing the part of the drone 18:15

How did you stand to go through that divorce 18:19

High up on your throne? 18:22

You can tweet it on Facebook, or toot on Bluesky 18:25

Start doing voodoo, or hope that I die 18:30

Curse me to catch an infectious disease 18:34

But don’t— 18:39

Don’t tell— 18:40

Be a good parent, maintain the façade 18:41

You ought to know that deception is hard 18:45

Give my last bottle of honey a squeeze 18:49

But don’t— 18:53

Don’t tell the bees 18:54

Not for the first time, I’m down on my knees 18:58

Don’t 19:02

Don’t 19:04

Don’t tell the bees 19:05

Yes, Princess, I’ll let you out 19:31

I’ll send you outside 19:35

Because now you want to go outside 19:38

“Mum, I wanna go out!” 19:46

Come here, you! 19:48

kiss 19:51

No. 19:56

Don’t, get your foot out 19:57

meows 19:59

Yeah yeah, gimme a break, Oscar 19:59

Are we good? 20:10

OK 20:12

Out we go! 20:14

Everybody outside! 20:15

There you go! 20:18

Oh! Why not you too? 20:28

Sure. 20:31

Imagine you’ve a tanker 20:46

I’ll endeavour to be brief 20:49

A cyclone nearly sank her 20:51

Left her crudely on the reef 20:54

What happened to that load of guck? 20:56

Suspend your disbelief! 20:59

The front fell off, the big boat stuck 21:02

A timeless leitmotif 21:05

When they ask how I get my knight’s 21:20

Armour to gleam 21:22

I say, “Brillo, spit-Brillo, spit-Brillo” 21:24

He parades round the courtyard 21:29

His plate a sunbeam 21:31

That’s my Brillo, spit-Brillo, spit-Brillo 21:33

Does he need it for more 21:38

Than to wear in the keep? 21:40

Would it hurt him to know 21:42

That I scrub in my sleep? 21:44

And I toss and I turn 21:47

And awake with a leap 21:50

Crying, “Brillo, spit-Brillo, spit-Brillo!” 21:52

Now, I’m steeled to continue 22:02

This daft masquerade 22:04

Buying Brillo, spit-Brillo, spit-Brillo 22:07

I expectorate 22:11

Then every surface abrade 22:13

With more Brillo, spit-Brillo, spit-Brillo 22:16

All these extra expenses 22:21

Were making me skint 22:23

Till I stumbled upon 22:25

The back door of the mint 22:27

I can take what I want 22:30

And leave no fingerprint 22:32

Thanks to Brillo, spit-Brillo, spit-Brillo 22:35

He commands your regard 22:45

With his radiant smile 22:47

Is it Brillo, spit-Brillo, spit-Brillo? 22:49

You can see where he stands 22:54

For at least half a mile 22:56

It’s the Brillo, spit-Brillo, spit-Brillo 22:58

When he stood unadvisedly 23:03

On the rampart 23:06

Took an enemy archer’s bolt 23:07

Straight to the heart 23:10

So I’m taking my fortune 23:12

To make a new start 23:15

With my Brillo, spit-Brillo, spit-Brillo 23:18

beeps piano music starts 23:27

Void? 23:30

Yes 23:31

Are you playing music? 23:32

... no. 23:34

Well, neither am I 23:35

Where’s it coming from? 23:36

... Music of the Spheres 23:38

mmh, I guess Bach was right after all 23:40

piano music ends 23:42

It’s true, I keep a tidy home 23:55

I don’t mean to toot my own horn 23:57

Between my nature strip, my house 24:00

My veranda, garden, and lawn 24:02

I’ll clue you in 24:06

My secret should be no surprise 24:07

A cornucopia of cleaning supplies 24:10

I went to check my next delivery 24:14

Posted yesterday morn 24:16

That’s when I felt my optimism 24:18

Begin to sag 24:21

Seems the parcel’s stuck in South Kiama, darn! 24:24

Looks like it’s a trip to Hammerbarn! 24:27

I only need a cleaning-up rag 24:29

And so I headed for the click and collect 24:34

Assembling all the things to buy 24:38

Punched in my credit card 24:42

And all was correct 24:44

Except— 24:46

I never bargained on the busted AI 24:46

I was too in the zone to see 24:50

An unbidden dialog warn 24:52

“We’ve put two tons of fertilizer 24:55

Into your bag” 24:57

Tried to close, but due to human error, missed 25:00

Now I’m a suspected terrorist! 25:03

And I’ve still got no cleaning-up rag 25:06

Climbed in the attic as a final resort 25:43

I’d sooner find the Holy Grail 25:48

Did my sciatic and I had to abort 25:52

And caught 25:55

My favourite T-shirt on a rusty old nail 25:56

And as I held my tattered shirt 26:00

I had an epiphany dawn 26:02

Triumphant smile across my face 26:04

I don’t mean to brag 26:07

Won’t you come for brunch 26:09

And share a sip of tea? 26:11

What a spot of serendipity 26:12

I’ve got the perfect cleaning up rag 26:15

This song has been the Cleaning-Up Rag 26:20

Welcome to my humble domicile 26:26

Nice of you to come 26:29

Believe me, guests are not my style 26:31

Misanthropic? 26:34

—There’s a topic— 26:35

I don’t need no shrink 26:36

It started in the playground 26:39

Let me pour myself a drink 26:41

Look at all those active girls and boys 26:44

It’s as unattractive 26:48

As the Hatfields and McCoys 26:50

Not phys ed 26:53

I’d fain be dead 26:54

I’ll hide out in the john 26:55

Unrepenting, longing for the holidays 26:58

Roll on, December 27:01

I still hear your mocking jeer 27:03

Of how I never tried 27:06

You say it’s second nature 27:08

But it’s not so cut and dried 27:11

I won’t join your team 27:14

A kid can dream 27:16

I’ll always have my pride 27:17

Know you failed to break me 27:21

Don’t make me choose a side 27:24

Out of all the brothers I’ve amassed 27:29

If I had my druthers 27:33

You’re the one I’d kill the last 27:34

Just my BFF and me 27:37

And then you tagged along 27:39

And then you fell in love, well 27:41

What could possibly go wrong? 27:44

First you were inseparable, but 27:47

Then it turned irreparable 27:50

Punched me in the gut 27:53

Papers filed, but reconciled? 27:55

You can’t untie that knot 27:57

And not to put it lightly, bro 27:59

You’ve put me on the spot 28:02

Remember: 28:04

You’ll still be my family 28:05

My arms are open wide 28:07

But she was my companion 28:10

Long before she was your bride 28:12

I won’t hear “It’s black-and-white” 28:14

Or accusations that she lied 28:17

And though you might forsake me 28:21

Don’t make me choose a side 28:24

Oh, 28:49

“Choose your tribe till kingdom come 28:51

Refuse and you will feel our thumb” 28:53

J’accuse! It needn’t be that someone 28:55

Lose for me to win 28:58

Oh, 29:00

“Woe betide you if you fuss 29:01

They’ll throw you underneath the bus” 29:03

Hello! Your “them”, they’re also us 29:06

I know, I grew up in Lakemba 29:09

Hear my vow, I’m onto how 29:13

You conquer and divide 29:16

It’s the arrogant dishonest 29:19

Bleeding hearts I can’t abide 29:21

I won’t swear your oath 29:24

A box on both your houses 29:26

You’re denied 29:29

No matter how you shake me 29:33

Or over coals you rake me 29:37

The devil, he may take me 29:41

But don’t make me choose a side 29:45

beeps piano music starts 30:03

Void. 30:05

Void! 30:07

Sorry, I was in the bathroom 30:09

The bathroom?! 30:11

You’re a singularity! 30:12

Wha— how does it work? 30:13

When you go, where does it—go? 30:15

Well, have your scientists discovered white holes yet? 30:18

... nnnnnoo? 30:21

Y— You’d best keep it that way. 30:23

piano music ends 30:25

I’ve got an admission 30:37

An odd superstition 30:39

Deep in my cognition inhabits a sign 30:40

It lives without rental 30:43

It flips incremental 30:45

Until, accidental, I cross a red line 30:46

Avoiding regression 30:50

Has been my obsession 30:51

I hope this confession will bring the point home 30:53

Now, hear as I chronicle 30:56

Somewhat sardonical 30:58

Like the mnemonic 31:00

All roads lead to Ro— 31:01

Oh. 31:03

Clank! 0️⃣ I just thought of the Romans again 31:04

Wiping my streak at the stroke of a pen 31:08

Reset it to zero, I burned it like Nero— 31:10

Clank! 0️⃣ I just thought of the Romans again 31:14

I make no apology 31:23

Ancient mythology 31:25

All etymology I can accrue 31:26

But the Mediterranean 31:29

That’s my uranium 31:30

Sticks in my cranium stronger than glue 31:32

I’ll always remember 31:35

Why nine is September 31:36

Why twelve is December, it’s easy as pie 31:38

The facts I’ve got on ’em is 31:41

Stuff you don’t wanna miss 31:43

Like the eponymous month of Jul— 31:44

Oh. 31:47

Clank! 0️⃣ I just thought of the Romans again 31:49

Stumbled right in on the wolf in her den 31:52

There ain’t no justice, like Caesar Augustus— 31:56

Clank! 0️⃣ I just thought of the Romans again 31:59

This counter tyrannical 32:08

Psychomechanical 32:10

Grips like a manacle onto my thought 32:12

Immune to persuasion 32:14

It spoils the occasion 32:16

It tips the equation till all comes to nought 32:18

It blunts my sagacity 32:20

Strains my tenacity 32:22

Curse its audacity! Need I go on? 32:24

And despite mental flossing 32:26

And turning and tossing 32:28

I’m soon to be crossing my own Rubico— 32:29

Ohhh— 32:32

Clank! 0️⃣ I just thought of the Romans again 32:34

I was just having a moment of zen 32:37

Try and say that in colloquial Latin— 32:41

Clank! 0️⃣ I just thought of the Romans again 32:44

My quest for perfection 32:52

Evading detection 32:54

I’ve turned to deflection to stay in the game 32:55

I’ll act all imperious 32:58

Frown like I’m serious 33:00

“Not that Tiberius, Kirk’s middle name!” 33:01

I’ll start to get manic 33:04

Then go all volcanic 33:06

Erupt in a panic for something to say 33:07

And not to sound drastic 33:10

Too enthusiastic 33:11

Explode pyroclastic like over Pompe— 33:13

Eh— 33:16

Clank! 0️⃣ I just thought of the Romans again 33:18

Take a deep breath and then count up to X 33:21

Gets a bit hazardous quoting from Tacitus 33:24

Clank! 0️⃣ I just thought of the Romans again 33:27

To talk of Egyptians 33:36

There are no proscriptions 33:37

You’ll get no conniptions, the impudent whelps! 33:39

Please! Share your opinions 33:42

On outer dominions 33:43

We love Carthaginians! (Don’t mention the Alps) 33:45

Of Grecian theocrasy 33:48

Smell the hypocrisy 33:50

Watch “meritocracy” counterattack 33:51

And the smug cognoscenti 33:54

Will hurt you aplenty 33:55

They’ll stab at you twenty-three times in the 33:57

Can’t stop now! 34:00

Clank! 0️⃣ I just thought of the Romans again 34:02

Surely we all do a bit now and then? 34:05

I know a ripper ’bout Marcus Agrippa 34:08

There’s nothing so naughty as reading I, Claudius 34:10

(Fun bit of trivia: grandson of Livia) 34:13

I’ve a particular thing for Caligula 34:16

Not so much “if” as a matter of “when”— 34:19

Clank! 0️⃣ I just thought of the Romans again 34:23

Nobody spoke to Noah 34:35

They all laughed at him instead 34:37

The good Lord had him stow a 34:40

Whole zoo in a floating shed 34:42

A ram, a ewe, a drake, a duck, 34:46

Four pandas (two were red) 34:48

On Ararat, the big boat stuck 34:51

A mountainous beachhead 34:54

How you doin’, buddy? 35:06

beeps piano music starts 35:12

Void, you’ve met Snowdrop, haven’t you? 35:15

But Snowdrop’s here with me 35:18

Aaahhh, don’t think so... 35:21

Oh, well, it’s hard to tell 35:23

In the dark, all cats really are grey 35:25

piano music stops 35:28

Weeping melaleuca, you were then when I was small 35:38

Deep at extra cover, you were there to catch the ball 35:45

Through all my misadventures you were there to take the fall 35:51

Counting rings each year since I was born 35:57

Tower in the backyard, a perpetual mainstay 36:04

Oh, weeping melaleuca, you were constant as the day 36:09

You were ever olive-green as life grew up and down 36:23

Sunny cheer, and then the year the black dog came to town 36:28

Despondent in the darkness, deep despair enough to drown 36:34

You had the grace to look a mite forlorn 36:40

Shelter when I doubted just who I was meant to be 36:46

Oh, weeping melaleuca, you would always weep for me 36:52

Summer brought a feast for every possum, bat, and bird 37:49

And every Christmas I’d return and share a festive word 37:55

And I’d confide my secrets, sure that no one overheard 38:01

You’d sprinkle scarlet tinsel on the lawn 38:06

Patiently accepting all the things I had to say 38:12

Oh, weeping melaleuca, you were never hard to sway 38:18

And though you’re left behind 38:30

I hope the years were kind 38:34

There’s just this picture in my mind I’ve drawn 38:37

Today I got nostalgic, so I scheduled a house call 38:45

Standing on the footpath, there’s no sign of you at all 38:51

What took you in the end, was it a dozer or a squall? 38:56

I thought that you’d outlive me, I’d have sworn 39:02

Driving home tomorrow I resolve to plant a tree 39:08

Oh, weeping melaleuca, you are always part of me 39:14

Weeping melaleuca, thank you for the memory 39:21

beeps piano music starts 39:41

Hey, Void. 39:44

Void? 39:46

Void, you’re on mute 39:48

piano music stops 39:50

I got a car that’s nearly twenty years old 40:18

Won’t even start up when the engine is cold 40:22

I got a television old as can be 40:25

It’s black and white and only gets Channel 3 40:28

The roof’s got holes in it, it lets in the rain 40:32

I gotta leave before it drives me insane 40:35

Some day I’d like to trade the lot of it in 40:39

By entering the lottery and hoping I win 40:41

I’d like a Lamborghini Countach 5000S 40:45

A stereo TV would be sufficient, I guess 40:48

I’d like a fancy mansion in the best part of town 40:52

But beggars can’t be choosers, I’l endure it for now 40:55

I’d like a telescope to look at the stars 41:13

To view the surfaces of Venus and Mars 41:16

An ocean-going yacht would sure have its use 41:20

With its supply of beer and fresh orange juice 41:23

I wouldn’t mind a set of Ray-Bans to wear 41:27

It isn’t true when people say I don’t care 41:30

Some day I’d like to knock the lot of them flat 41:33

But when you’re unemployed it’s not as easy as that 41:36

And cosmic insignificance is causing me stress 41:40

The last time we went sailing I was sick on your dress 41:43

My glasses make me look as though I constantly frown 41:47

And beggars can’t be choosers, I’ll endure it for now 41:50

It’s not that I’m a dreamer 41:55

But I’m sure that helps 41:58

It may be just a fantasy 42:02

But maybe it’s just as well 42:05

Sometimes it just happens 42:09

It gets to my soul 42:12

I really shouldn’t worry 42:16

But it’s something I can’t control 42:19

I’d like to think possessions are the key to success 42:51

I’d like to fix society, ’cause, god, it’s a mess 42:54

I’d like to buck the system that was holding me down 42:58

But beggars can’t be choosers, I’ll endure it for now 43:02

It’s not that I’m a dreamer 43:06

But I’m sure that helps 43:10

It may be just a fantasy 43:13

But maybe it’s just as well 43:16

Sometimes it just happens 43:20

It gets to my soul 43:24

I really needn’t worry 43:27

But it’s something I can’t control 43:30

Season’s Greetings, my old friend 44:07

Goodness knows, it’s been a while 44:12

It’s been great to see you smile 44:17

Now your heart is on the mend 44:22

You don’t have to hold a torch 44:27

For relationships that you’ve been stuck in 44:32

Why’d you have to bake a whole turducken? 44:38

Now there’s vultures on your porch 44:43

It’s a complicated business with your stuffing and your roast 44:47

Three veg, potatoes, ravy and a bun 44:52

I’m staying home this Christmas with a couple bits of toast 44:57

A trifle burned but never overdone 45:03

Now I’ve sworn off big to-dos 45:09

Mostly for my mental health 45:14

I don’t have to travel stealth 45:19

Now I know that I can choose 45:24

Here’s my digital hometown 45:30

I’ll admit that that sounds kind of hokey 45:35

We are also bad at karaoke 45:40

But we’ll try to keep it down 45:45

Their lack of tone and rhythm has you abandoning your post 45:49

They’re butchering We’ve Only Just Begun 45:54

I’m staying home this Christmas on the radio, engrossed 45:59

And cheering as Tendulkar scores a ton 46:05

It’s hard to be the isthmus bridging coast to fragile coast 46:31

Shields up, defensive, phasers set to stun 46:36

I’m staying home this Christmas with some Dickens and the Ghost 46:41

Of Christmas Present, that’s my kind of fun 46:46

Another messy schism as your drunk uncle overdosed 46:52

And brazenly misgendered your stepson 46:57

I’m staying home this Christmas with the folks who matter most 47:02

Found family, a tapestry homespun 47:07

I’m staying home this Christmas I’m not anybody’s host 47:13

I ain’t no Scrooge God bless us, every one 47:19

I have to stand up 47:39

I have to be strong 47:43

Every day was so long 47:46

I gave it my best 47:55

I gave it a try 47:59

I won’t stay 48:01

But this doesn’t mean goodbye 48:06

Leave the light on 48:09

I’m off to touch some grass 48:18

Far from the astrodome 48:22

These troubles, too, shall pass 48:27

Finding my way back home 48:30

I’ll find my way back home 48:34

I couldn’t admit 48:46

I couldn’t explain 48:50

Should I leave or remain? 48:52

I’m healing my heart 49:02

I’m healing the scars 49:06

Please don’t grieve 49:08

I’ll be underneath the stars 49:12

Leave the light on 49:16

We’re concentrated class 49:25

Brighter than polished chrome 49:29

Step through the looking glass 49:33

Finding my way back home 49:37

I’ll find my way back home 49:41

Leave the light on 49:51

Leave the light on 49:59

Leave the light on 50:07

I really could not give a 50:15

27 August 2026

Recorded August 2026, first screened 27 August 2026 at NHAMfest 26.

Live in Absentia 2026

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