Adding to my journal for the PhD book is like working away at a musical composition, just putting it into words. Explaining to the unseen judges, how improvising works which hopefully cuts me slack in the long run. But for now, causes a lot of sighs. Searching to explain my process, or prove it could be based on someone else even though I am not thinking that way whatsoever. Always has to be credited to somebody elsewhere that published something academic. If Stevie Wonder was in school and wrote Superstition or Boogie On Reggae Woman or Contusion and if any of it just occurred to him because of his constant writing and improvising practise – it would not be legit unless he attributes this or that which Duke Ellington or James Jamerson or Pine Top Perkins previously published. No matter how cool Superstition might sound, it isn’t credible in the academic space. Doesn’t matter that maybe Duke Ellington or James Jamerson or Pine Top Perkins simply made it up. Attributing everything to a previous person in every instance, is another game reminding me of talks with my cousin about religion. No matter what claim by God he makes, whether Hindus or Jews, etc., he can’t see it was all written by people. He gets no pause out of that. Instead focuses on what they wrote that God did. Proof! It reminds me of Michael Snow and I suppose his hero Marcel DuChamp, seeing structure instead of content. Realizing the small Wizard of Oz is at the microphone instead of believing in the importance of his light show and dry ice. Then again, I don’t mind aligning myself with John Cage and Hazrat Inayat Khan and Sun Ra. I guess the only way to mitigate the various stakeholders is diplomacy. Olivia Chow once told me I should run for the NDP. I enjoyed that idea for a couple seconds until I remembered such a job, if one wins, would be more like being the host of a party, checking everyone’s feelings and if they tried the snacks.