Someone's house, Los Angeles. I feel certain that somewhere between palm trees and starlight, Marlene Dietrich is about to glide through those doors in liquid satin and pause just long enough to accept applause before vanishing into a waiting Mercedes Cabriolet. (Photo courtesy Tom Biddison.)

I'd really love to see the letter that prompted this response from Shirley Jackson. 🤣

Man-eating butterflies.

Happy 122nd to Cornell Woolrich, shadowy godfather of noir. From The Bride Wore Black to Black Angel to Black Alibi, his “black” novels evoke a world where dread seeps through every doorway and cast a spell that crime fiction never escaped. His influence still coils through the genre like smoke. 🖤

Today’s installment of my extremely serious mission to give old paperback covers their own soundtracks. 🎧 📚 Just a little composer–nerd side quest...

Here's some news @slimyswampghost.bsky.social and I have been dying to share! ENCOUNTERS WITH CRYPTIDS will be out 02/14/26! Featuring stories by @xavilawrites.bsky.social, @calebbethea.bsky.social, @cavaterra.bsky.social, @authorlevai.bsky.social, @ttmaddenwrites.bsky.social and many more!

Early selfie experiments with my father's antique Rolleiflex 😄

OMG Google did NOT get sassy with me this Monday 😮

Caturday mood... 😼

The artist who painted this cover must have just seen The Bandwagon...

☘️ There aren't many great non-dirty limericks, but there are a few... There was an old dame named McBride Who ate a green apple and died The apple fermented Within the lamented And made cider inside her inside.

📢 Some good news to start the week: My first horror story, "Scrapiron Jack," has been accepted for publication in the Encounters with Cryptids anthology! Many thanks to editors @andrewcull.bsky.social & @slimyswampghost.bsky.social. Looking forward to sharing this weird beast with the world soon. 🐟⚓️

🎃 Happy Halloween all! Trying to summon the spooky spirit, with a little help from a couple of spook-complices... 😼 🦇

🚨 Re-up! 📣 Since it was unclear to some who asked about this little pet project, yep, this is my own original music. Once in a while I get a kick out of "scoring" book covers that spark my musical imagination. This one cried out for it! #hitchcock #cavaterra #composer #cinemusic #noir #scoredcovers

💀 A few "Grimericks" from my Halloween Treats, verses for spooky tots. If you dig the spooky season spirit and would like to support a humble composer who moonlights as a wannabe Edward Gorey knockoff, both volumes can be found here! www.amazon.com/Halloween-Tr... www.amazon.com/Halloween-Tr...

🏆 Runner-up in the 1978 Cornflower Heights County Fair “Molded Monstrosities” category and still banned in 14 states. This Jell-O mold jiggles AND judges. From the Bumphrey House test kitchens to your nightmares! 🍽

Seen on IG. Why are Meta's programmers such morons?

Bon appétit from Bumphrey House! 😋

Picked up an old fragment from 12 years ago, the start of a 2nd movement for my Piano Sextet (originally one movement). Fits my current mood. Looks like ABA form; this is the “A” section. I rarely share works-in-progress, but here goes. Art: Hudson Valley at Sunset, by Frederic Church (1826-1900).

🎃 Spooky season calls for verse! 👻 Hey foolish mortals, my 2 volumes of Halloween poems (under pen name E. J. Carver) are packed w/macabre rhymes & playful chills. Perfect for readers of all ages who crave the uncanny! Check 'em out: www.amazon.com/Halloween-Tr... www.amazon.com/Halloween-Tr...

😢

Thinking about which note would sound good after the note I wrote an hour ago...

Best rehearsal number ever.

Belinda was a woman with a dream

Smoky rooftops, intrigue, shadows on the move... a little suspense music stitched to Hitchcock’s Sinister Spies (Random House, 1966). 🎶🕵️‍♂️🔥 Cover art by Paul Spina. #hitchcock #cavaterra #composer #cinemusic #noir

Another good G-rated limerick of yesteryear... Hurrah for Madame Lupescu, Who came to Romania's rescue! "It's a wonderful thing To be under a king -- Is democracy better, I esk you?"

Good non-dirty limericks are rare. Here's a golden oldie: A curious family is Stein: There's Gertrude, there's Ep*, and there's Ein. Gert's poems are bunk, Ep's sculptures are junk, And nobody understands Ein! *(Jacob the sculptor, not Jeffrey the scumbag.)

The white cat is blind and has a best friend, a black cat, who is always by its side to guide it.

Musictionary™ word of the day.

Night walk attire. Heading out for my nightly "Creative Constitutional." Nothing like a moonlit ramble to reboot body & brain! Highly recommended (if your neighborhood's after-dark vibes feel friendly). 🌙 🚶‍♂️ 💡 ✨

Excerpt from "The Aquarium": 3rd movement of Monterey Suite, to my knowledge the first and only symphonic work about Monterey, CA. This movement evokes the luminous, otherworldly life of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. montereybayaquarium.org @montereyaqpr.bsky.social

Launching a new series: stray musical sketches paired with paintings that spark my imagination. First up: 16 swashbuckling bars alongside Montague Dawson’s "A Smuggler Under Pursuit by a Revenue Cutter". Next it needs a sweeping B‑theme, so the main theme can storm back in. 🎶 🏴‍☠️ ⚓️ #MusicAndArt

Musictionary™ word of the day.

R.I.P. Tom Lehrer (1928–2025) 💔

Musictionary™ word of the day...

My potato phone is turning me into... the Buck Moon Killer... 🦌 🌕 😈

Overture & Path of History from Monterey Suite The first (and only!) symphonic work celebrating the beautiful Monterey bay area on California's central coast. Young People's Symphony Orchestra David Ramadanoff, conductor Chan Centre for the Performing Arts Vancouver, B.C. #monterey #california

The double flute is twice as seductive as the regular flute. Poor Jessica never stood a chance. 🥵

A new neighborhood friend.

✨ 👶 Hanging out with my adorable little great-nephew! 🥰 ✨

✨ 🥧 Happy π Day! 🍴 ✨ (Why does Bing look more baked than the pie though?) 🤔

Happy birthday Angela Morley (1924–2009) Wonderful composer, arranger, and mentor Always remembered with love ❤️

Night walk through the park creek trail. What music do you hear?

Variations 4–5 from my Capriccio Concertante. Superb playing by The Salastina Society. youtu.be/ru4j4T4b4UY

Blue Winter (2019) Kevin Kumar, violin solo Maia Jasper-White & Hana Kim, violins Meredith Crawford, viola Yoshika Masuda, cello Bernard Gordillo, harpsichord Jason Yoshida, archlute youtu.be/8EUBWf3CBTM