Go to Making Light's front page.
Forward to next post: Have you ever wondered…
Subscribe (via RSS) to this post's comment thread. (What does this mean? Here's a quick introduction.)
Crooked Still perform the classic earworm “New Railroad.” Bluegrass needs more cellos!
(It's not the hanging that I mind, it's the being in the ground so long.)
I popped this into the end of the last open thread but thought it worth mentioning again since that one closed down not long after.
The Making Light indexing is going faster than I thought it would, so I've taken the indices live over at Wyrdsmiths.
They're linked in the upper right-hand corner under Writers' Resources as "A Writer's Index to Making Light" and "Making Light General Index." At this point they're both running from the beginning of Making Light through to mid 2004, but I'll continue to update until I've got them current and at some point I will probably go back and add in Elctrolite as well.
Carrying over from #93... "Brush Up Your Shakespeare"
In the wake of the current firestorm, San Diego area fans have set up a couple of check-in sites.
Wiki: http://www.conrunner.net/wiki/
Yahoo! newsgroup: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sdfans2007fires/
(Zak and I are not in danger. I'd like to say we are in no danger, but that's an impossible statement to make given this weather.)
Quick, before it gets pulled - check out Robot Chicken's 300 parody.
Friday is October 26th, the full moon, the start of MileHiCon, and the Anniversary of the Creation of the World. Mark your calendars.
...paraphrased from John McPhee's Basin and Range:
According to conventional wisdom at the end of the eighteenth century the earth was between five thousand and six thousand years old. An Irish archbishop, James Ussher (Primate of the Anglican Church!), counting generations in his favorite book, figured this out in the century before. Ussher actually dated the earth, saying that it was created in 4004 B.C. Shortly after Ussher's publication of Annales Veteris et Novi Testamenti, Vice-Chancellor Lightfoot of Cambridge University confirmed the year, and refined the calculations and determined that the Holy Trinity had created the earth on October 26th, at 9.am.
Geologists today will give parties on the twenty-sixth of October. Some of these parties begin on the twenty-fifth and end at nine in the morning.
Bluegrass needs more cellos!
Heck, the general case of that is also true: 'most everything needs more cellos.
Mary Dell @ 5... Is this better than Mel Gibson's tale of the Revolution?
Did you know that the Battle Hymn of the Republic has six verses?
(For some reason, even the hymnbooks that include it these days don't often have the sixth verse...)
Carrying over from the previous open thread ...
Steve C. @ 947
Damn right, "Damn Yankees"! I have a DVD that I take out every three years or so. Between Ray Walston and Gwen Verdon, I don't know which I prefer to watch*.
But that brings up another issue when talking about dancing. No question that Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly are two of the finest dancers who ever lived. But would anyone disagree with me that (and I'm just talking about males here, so I won't trip over too many things that are hard to compare) Bob Fosse deserves to be up there too?
* Actually, I do; Gwen Verdon moves much better, and besides, I'm het, what can I say?
Not only does most everything need more cellos, but most everything needs more banjo, too. Harmonica's missing from too much modern music, also, for that matter.
Was it just me, or were Celtic roots especially clear in that particular tune? I was beating out the rythym on my knee, and recognized it as *very* similar to a bagpiping rythym...
Skwid @ 12... most everything need more cellos
Personally, I think there's too much violin in modern movies.
Best use of cello in popular music: Nirvana's version of "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" aka "In The Pines."
and too much sacks at the grocery store....
Skwid @ 12... most everything needs more banjo
Serge @ 13 -- that's sax and violins.
Skwid @12, It's not just you. Some of the many roots of American folk / bluegrass music incorporate those hardy celts who wandered up into the Appalachians and have kept modally tuned instruments and harmonies alive a few more hundred years.
Cellos, yes! I have a particular fondness for a recent album, Fire & Grace, by Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas, having gotten to hear them live in CA one year either just before or after the annual string-music workshop he runs just north of the Bay Area in the Valley of the Moon. She seriously fiddles! that cello, even standing up! Yum.
Other cello fiddlers of note, without recordings, alas, are Fred Nussbaum in the Portland, OR area, and a genial fellow whose name I don't know yet who has recently moved to the Berkeley area and showed up at open band night a couple of months ago at the local English Country Dance series, much to everyone's delight.
One cello-fiddler of note with recordings: there are a few splendid albums out by Mark O'Connor (fiddle), Edgar Myers (Bass) and Yo-Yo Ma (cello) exploring American Appalachian country and bluegrass rootways -- Appalachian Journey, Appalachian Spring, and there may be another I'm forgetting just now.
O, Joy: those bigger boxes are splendid fiddles, too.
Thanks for linking this tune, Patrick. Love it!
Knitting!
Speaking of completely other forms of fiddling with one's hands, how many readers of Making Light who also knit have found themselves over at Ravelry (yet) ? This couple went and had an idea that turns out to be much like a LibraryThing for fiber arts, and did a slow rolling beta-opening this summer to (wisely) keep from breaking things as it scales up. They opened to beta testers, think they'd get maybe a hundred volunteers or so and immediately had a line packed with tens of thousands of folks! They're building a very nice database structure using Ruby on Rails, have their core structure in place, excellent beta-testy whacking goodness going on, secured some funding and purchased servers, and are rolling out the invites very quickly. There are already hundreds of affinity groups, in the way of such things, and -- well! -- come on in, the water's fine. http://ravelry.com is where to start. The wait's tremendously worthwhile (and gettin' shorter daily).
An off-topic question for the military types: when you deploy to other countries as part of a military operation, do you need passports and if so, do they get stamped with entry and exit stamps?
Obviously, an invading force wouldn't need them, but if you were deployed to a base in Europe, would you get stamped in and out?
Popular music? More cellos?
I've been told that Apocalyptica is only the 2nd best cello group/Metallica cover band. Not sure who #1 might be.
dave @ #19, I dunno about now, but back in 1972 I was sent to Japan for 20 months; no passport required. I came back to the US for leave in January 1974; still no passport required when I went back to work.
Now, I flew into Yokota AFB both times, so the Status of Forces Agreement might have stated that service personnel didn't have to have passports if they were flying from one AFB in Hawai'i to another one in Japan.
Did you know that John Boorman originally wanted Deliverance to show dueling xylophones?
Jonathan Cohen @ 17... I can't believe I missed that one. I am so ashamed. Just don't harp ("Honk!") on it.
Bruce Cohen #11
I think Fosse was one of the all time great showmen, but I'm not that familiar with his own dancing - I'll have to see what I can find. Certainly as a choreographer, he was tops.
Comparing Kelly and Astaire is interesting. It seemed that Astaire was the more sophisticated and urbane, while Kelly displayed a more down-to-earth style. On the whole, I like Gene Kelly more, but they both moved with a physical grace that is bestowed on very few.
If I could have for just a few hours a show-business talent or two, I'd like to dance like Gene Kelly and sing like Sinatra in the 50's.
On the Battle Hymn of the Republic in #10:
Was the sixth verse shown in Wikipedia ever published widely in Howe's lifetime? The song's first publication, in the Feb. 1862 Atlantic, doesn't include it, and neither does the version at the start of Florence Hall Howe's 1916 book _The Story of the Battle Hymn of the Republic_.
Of course, it's not uncommon for there to be extra verses in manuscripts or in performances of songs. (Woody Guthrie created lots of verses, original and variant, for "This Land is Your Land" over his lifetime, for instance.)
Long-time lurker here. I know that here at Making Light there is a lot of discussion about publish-on-demand services and scams. In my hometown a bookstore that carries almost nothing but Author House books just opened. The manager said that they have a contract with Author House to carry their books. I've never heard of a physical bookstore carrying almost exclusively POD books... has anyone heard of this before?
I am of the opinion that everything needs more violas. More orsinos might be nice too.
#26: Never heard of such a thing.
#18, Ruth Temple: Teresa has been rhapsodizing about Ravelry for some months now. She just recently (finally) made it up the waiting list to get an actual account, but I don't think she's had time to do anything with it. She's described the site as "crack for knitters." It does sound brilliant.
On one of the Tor podcasts, Patrick is talking about recent & upcoming Tor releases, and he discusses one I hadn't heard of that sounds interesting to me: an alternate history / world walking book in which the alternate universe has a stagnant Soviet-dominated Europe; the teenage protags open a gaming shop in Rome. The cover has a Soviet Realist arm grasping a 10-sided die. Unfortunately my hearing isn't what it used to be, and I can't make out either the author or the title -- anyone recognize this?
There's always room for Cell-o.
I thought it was October 23. (At 9:00 in the morning. No word on whether that's Jerusalem time or GMT.) To quote Gaiman and Pratchett: "The Earth's a Libra."
Cello, cello.... Any Rasputina fans about? They're a rather peculiar cello trio with a bit of a steampunk aesthetic. Heretical of me, but I like their cover of "Wish You Were Here" even better than the original. (Don't get me wrong: Pink Floyd's managed a number of unmatchable songs. I simply thought that was one of them until I heard the Rasputina version in a cafe.)
#29: It's Harry Turtledove's The Gladiator. Edited by TNH. A fun read.
Didn't the credits theme from "Angel" feature a 'cello?
Dave @ 34, I am almost positive that it does, but I haven't seen the show in years. I used to just watch the intro and then change the channel.
AJ Luxton @ 32, I love Rasputina! The world needs more all-girl cello bands. If you like them you may want to check out Emilie Autumn; she's a violinist-singer-songwriter with a style she describes as "Victoriandustrial," and is sometimes accompanied by her corseted cellist Lady Joo Hee.
I know it's classical rather than modern, but my favorite cello part ever comes from the Brahms Concerto in A Minor for violin and cello. The Vivace non troppo, the third movement, is fantastic.
Apocalyptica is number 2? I can't imagine who number 1 is...unless they count S&M, which would be absurd.
Rasputina is *very* fun. Been a fan of theirs for a while, now. Also: Nigel Kennedy's Hendrix interpretations. I saw him perform "Hey Joe" at a Dallas Symphony Orchestra event accompanied only by a stand-up bass...blew the house away.
Ooh yes, Rasputina. Did you see this? Rasputina does Baby Got Back.
What the world needs is more banjolellies.
Fishtank Ensemble -- Turkish March
(And shaimsans (and punk accordions)).
Rasputina: Oh hell yeah. And speaking of their covers, I have a theory that if listening to their version of "Brand New Key" doesn't make you feel like doing something naughty, you might not actually be alive.
Zoe Keating, one of the former members, is now doing solo work using loops and improvisations; she's on one of the same looper mailing lists my brother is. It's deeply cool stuff.
Also, those of you who are banjo fans (as I have become in the last few years) ought to check out the catalogue at somedarkholler.com, making available some of the best underground/dark folk/wyrdfolk music around. It's run by Timothy Renner, himself a fine banjo player (formerly of Stone Breath and several other acts, now a founding member of Crow Tongue along with Shane Speal, the self-proclaimed King of the Cigar Box Guitar) and is probably one of the best mailorder labels on the web; they're reliably fast, the prices are more than reasonable, and they don't charge shipping.
(No commercial interest of my own in plugging this stuff, other than a deep desire to see it stick around for a while so I can keep getting my creepy folk music fix every so often.)
I'll see your Apocalyptica and Rasputina and raise you a Great Kat, who, apparently, is the dominatrix shredder of the classical world, which I for one am happy to know, as I wouldn't have been at all suspicious one even existed in the first place.
And then, of course, I'd call the bluff with Lorraine and Malena. Because, seriously, could Neil possibly be associated with people any cooler?
I just don't think so.
"Just Me & Eve" remains one of my favorite songs ever.
Patrick, thanks for the link to Crooked Still's vids. They accompanied my evening's work. I was sorry to see that Rushad is leaving the group--it's notable that they're replacing him with two musicians, a cellist and a violinist. No surprise that others heard Celtic sounds in there. O'Donovan's breathy delivery and the group's love of jazz-orchestral arrangements always reminded me of the New Age/Celtic groups like Clannad.
There was also a vid in the collection by Kerfuffle, an Irish group of prodigies. I hadn't heard of them, but I'll be seeking out more of their music. Don't get much Celtic accordion in these parts!
A.J. Luxton #32: Hooray, Rasputina! Their version of Barracuda (and Brand New Key, and You Don't Own Me, and Wish You Were Here, and All Tomorrow's Parties, and every single other cover they've done) verges on better than the original. Not to belittle their own orginals--The New Zero, f'rinstance, might be in my top 20 favorite songs ever. Three times now I've missed my chance to see them live, and it saddens me.
Bluegrass couldn't have less cello, after all, but yes..
Thank you, thank you Patrick - now I have to go out and buy Crooked Still CDs. I thought I'd been Bluegrassed out at Hardly-Strictly-Bluegrass a few weeks ago. I was wrong.
Pretty amazing pedigree for this band; I'd wager there aren't many professional bluegrass musicians (or non-bluegrass - yea, I know about Brian May) with Phd.s (from MIT, no less).
I saw (new fiddler) Brittany Haas playing with Dave Grisman at a Bay Area fundraiser while she was still in high school, I think - so I'm going to have to pay attention to when they play around here. Their tour dates seem to be mostly east coast, though.
Generally, everything could use more cellos. But the world could definitely use less Apocalyptica. I wonder what kind of pickups they use...?
Jeralyn Merritt digs up some Joan Didion writing about Santa Ana Winds.
Kevin Drum says he's lived in Southern California all his life and doesn't recognize the phenomenon Didion describes.
Whether Didion or Drum is correct, her prose is gorgeous.
Steve C. @ 24
Fosse could do all of the things he choreographed, and for a number of years his primary dance partner was Gwen Verdon, just so you know who he could keep up with.* For images of him dancing, start here
* The only thing he couldn't do with Verdon was stay married to her; but, married or not, they were great dancing partners.
Access to YouTube is, rather understandably, blocked from my workplace. Thus I can't tell whether the link at #46 is to a clip from this film. But Bob Fosse was one of the dancers in Kiss Me Kate, which I remember was mentioned recently in the discussion of musicals for, for instance, "Brush up your Shakespeare". I do remember noticing him in the "It's too darn hot" dancing.
I'm quite fond of Singin' in the Rain as a musical, apart from other reasons, due to something I share with Donald O'Connor. I don't remember it being mentioned in that discussion. I once watched it (while doing other things) with the sound off. It certainly gives you a different perspective. Interesting.
The Fosse clip, according to the YouTube poster, is:
"...from a 1955 movie called "My Sister Eileen," which starred Betty Garrett and Jack Lemmon. There are a few more numbers from this movie on youtube available from other users."
A friend of mine plays pop song on cello. Apparently he's doing original stuff now, but my favorite was when he did Johnny Cash covers in a country bar near Osaka.
Mez @ 47... My understanding is that, when O'Connor did his solo number (OK, not quite solo, since a dummy was involved), they basically let him loose, and what you see is what Inspiration had him think of as he improvised. I think. What? You callin' me a lyre?
Ruth Temple @18, Patrick @28 -- re Ravelry. I've been on for awhile, and "crack for knitters" and other fiber folks isn't an exaggeration. Remember how cool Windows once seemed? (C'mon, admit it.) And how MSDOS all of a sudden felt clunky and primitive? That's an analogy for comparing Ravelry to other tools used by internet-oriented knitters such as googling, bloglines, yahoo groups and wikis. Not only are the features great, the basic atmosphere there is welcoming and constructive.
I've been wondering if Ravelry will inspire similar sites for other hobbies, and if so, which ones. One attractive aspect of this format is the sheer scope of the enabling possibilities, but the potential for social cross-pollination makes it just as interesting.
Yeah, the last discussion I had about the different styles of Astaire and Kelly led to the conclusion that Donald O'Connor was a better dancer than either - it's worth watching Singing in the Rain again just to watch him instead of Kelly. I don't suppose he really improvised the 'Make 'em Laugh' routine, but I am pretty sure he designed it.
Michael Wood in America in the Movies has a nice (and light) discussion of the Kelly/Astaire question, where he concludes that Kelly's dancing shows more obvious effort - as if he were forcing himself to be in high spirits, where Astaire just moved like that naturally. It seemed an interesting reading. (I recommend the book, by the way - I'm afraid the link is only to purchase rather than to read it.)
Meanwhile, in 'My Stepmother is an Alien', Kim Basinger turns on a TV showing 'The Man Who Came to Dinner', and there is a quick clip of Jimmy Durante doing a routine (I think the song is 'Ever Had The Feeling That You Wanted To Go'). Has anyone seen the clip online - the Durante one, not the Basinger one - or will I have to rent the whole movie?
candle @ 52... Maybe that's what I remember hearing, about O'Connor, that he came up with the "Make 'em laugh" routine all by himself. (Apparently, Irving Berlin wasn't happy at first that its music was, more than a bit inspired by his "Be A Clown".)
Interesting, the comparison between Astaire and Kelly's styles. Kelly always went for the more athletic approach. I think he was from a working-class background. Must have been fun, growing up loving dancing and being 5'7 tall...
I'd take Astaire over Kelly and the Castles over either.
#18 #28
Yep, Ravelry is totally crack for knitters. I'm signed on there as "Miss Print" which is the name I blog under.
What I like best is the ability to drool over everyone else's finished projects, and dream about making them for myself some time...
Susan @ 54... I personally prefer Kelly, but the important thing is that theirs were different approaches to something they all loved in their own way (*). My understanding is that Astaire and Kelly respected what they each did. It was interesting watching Astaire in 1953's The Band Wagon, where he poked fun at his older movie persona, starting with an auction where nobody wants to buy his character's top hat. Later on, he and Cyd Charisse launch into a Mickey Spillane pastiche where he got to be more physical, like Kelly would have been, I think. Me, I can't dance to save my life. But I enjoy watching people who can.
(*) says Serge, hitting the obvious on the head with a jackhammer.
I thought it was October 23. (At 9:00 in the morning. No word on whether that's Jerusalem time or GMT.) To quote Gaiman and Pratchett: "The Earth's a Libra."
Barely... my birthday is also today, but I was born so late that the conversion to GMT pushes it into tomorrow morning, thus placing me smack on the cusp of Scorpio. (Yeah, I once did my "chart".)
Open thread.
From this morning's Washington Post, the lead paragraph of a review by Tom Shales of the CNN documentary "Planet in Peril":
Wasn't "Planet in Peril" one of the chapter titles from the original "Flash Gordon" serial? Thus another way to define the good old days, back when perils to the planet seemed almost entirely the stuff of science fiction.
Bob Fosse and Carol Haney in the specialty dance in Kiss Me Kate, and, of course, Carol Haney in "Steam Heat"... sigh I wanted to be Carol Haney as a dancer. I want to be Carol Haney as a singer -- who am I kidding?
But yes, Bob Fosse was an amazing dancer as well as choreographer.
I love Crooked Still -- "Shaken By a Low Sound" is brilliant. Thanks for posting the video!
For those that care, there's a new Tracy Grammer EP due out soon, with a couple of Dave Carter songs on it.
My current obsession is L.A. Guitar Quartet. Aaron Copeland's "Hoedown" sounds pretty damn cool on four guitars.
For cello fans out there, Rasputina, the hard rocking cellists have a spectacular new album.
It just sort of boggles the mind that this is happening: a Naruto/Star Trek cross-over convention.
The only thing I can imagine that the two fan groups have in common is that they both like to wear costumes. I'm just fascinated by what a potential train wreck this might be.
In the laurel, birds
Compete with leaves for space. They
Sing: "New day! New day!"
Language Hat pointed me to a cool vocabulary game named Free Rice, where correct answers accumulate microdonations to the United Nations against world hunger.
Thus another way to define the good old days, back when perils to the planet seemed almost entirely the stuff of science fiction.
WarMing the Merciless?
Catching up on this thread has resulted in a brainworm of the Cronos Quartet's version of "Purple Haze."
Worse things could happen.
#64 David, I tinkered with FreeRice for over an hour then realized it didn't matter what vocabularly level or how many words you had missed --- they were still going to donate rice. I spent entirely too much time stressing over my vocabularly prowess on that one... charity IS stressful.
David @ 64 This is fun.
One of the words I got was "rugose." Got it right, too. :-)
Faren @ 65... WarMing the Merciless?
"No! Not the Bore Worm!"
From today's Tomato Nation:
I don't know about you, but if I were in the fire zone in SoCal and I heard that Governor Schwarzenegger had called FEMA for aid, I'd be like, "You know what actually, we're good. No, it's fine, seriously. No, we'll just…dig a moat or something, really, don't get up. Please."
Ah, Crooked Still. Such a pity Rashad (the cellist) is leaving the band ... even though they are replacing him with a cello *and* a fiddle (which should tell you something right there), I fear Crooked Still is about to become Just Another Newgrass Band. Such a waste.
I loves me some Rasputina, too.
For those looking for something different in their cello-playing, might I recommend checking out Lindsay Mac. She straps on her cello like it's a guitar and strums away. She's truly something to watch (and hear).
Caught a few minutes of "Brigadoon" on TCM the other night--the "Almost Like Being in Love" number--and was struck by how balletic Kelly's dancing was. I used to characterize Kelly as more obviously athletic than Astaire, but now I'd add that Astaire looks more ballroom-and-tap, while to my untutored eye, Kelly took quite a few moves directly from classical dance. My wife's reaction was, "Wouldn't you love to see Bob Fosse doing this dance?" Actually, Kelly doing Fosse choreography would be really interesting. . . .
As for singing--Frank is terrific, but I'd give a lot to be able to sing like Astaire. (Try to do "Cheek to Cheek" sometime and make it sound easy.)
I love both Kelly and Astaire, but my favorite bit of dance from a film is Cyd Charisse dancing on the volcano in "Sombrero."
(The choreographer was Hermes Pan.)
That Free Rice game is fun. Infuriating, because it and I don't agree on some things, and its presentation isn't exactly what I would like, but fun. And I like any vocab game that knows more words than I do.
Lori Coulson @ 73... Wasn't "Sombrero" the short film where Cyd and Ann Miller danced with Ricardo Montalban?
re: banjos + cellos, no discussion could be complete without mention of Munly and the Lee Lewis Harlots. Mmm, southern gothalicious! (You can see crappy videos on youtube and they've got some tracks on myspace, neither of which I can get to from here, or I'd provide the links myself. Sorry.) And Dwight from Slim Cessna's Auto Club is the reason I couldn't listen to anything without banjos in it for an entire year. (It's still difficult, but I managed to wean myself off with mandolins and have safely recovered to standard guitar-tolerance.)
#72
Richard Schickel said about Fred Astaire that, ""He made us feel if we could sing at all and if we could have sung to a girl, we'd probably imagine that we would sing a little like Fred Astaire."
I love that.
JKRichard @#67: I spent entirely too much time stressing over my vocabulary prowess
Hey, even if you poke randomly, the rice still trickles in. The vocabulary level is just a nice touch, I guess they're trying not to bore or intimidate people.
Diatryma @#74: Infuriating, because it and I don't agree on some things
Yeah, the "meanings" aren't always exact matches (a vole is not a field mouse!) but I haven't yet seen anything that couldn't be waved away as a "fuzzy match".
It occurs to me that all the answers seem to be the same word-type (noun, verb, adjective) as the challenge -- the way they present words in isolation, they could easily make things even tougher by offering fake-out answers of different word-types.
Freerice:
I just did 500 grains of rice worth of vocabulary. I can thank the Modesty Blaise books for being able to recognize "ecdysis" and was amused to have to pick out the meaning of "grok".
If you poke randomly, the rice does flow in — but only about 25% as rapidly as if you choose the correct answer. Choosing a wrong answer returns the message "Sorry, not quite correct. Please try another word." Only a right answer gets "You have just donated 10 grains of rice."
"ecdysis"... I came across its derivative "ecdysiast" in the Hulk comic-book. You see, Rick Jones was about to tie the knot, so the superguys decided to give him a super bachelor's party and hired a stripper. Captain America actually blushed.
Serge #81:
Shows up in Heinlein's "The Year of the Jackpot", too.
For the record, I usually sit at 49. I may improve on this now I've figured out that if I have a hunch and then go pick another definition for logical reasons, the hunch is the correct one.
I hover between 44 and 46, with occasional bursts of 49. I'm good at words relating to science-- 'ecdysis' and 'flocculent'-- but go with hunches if I can't figure out the root. It's a much more interesting way to kill ten or fifteen minutes than Solitaire.
I I remember a PBS special where Donald O'Connor talked about Cagney's dance style and did it, then talked about Kelly's style and did it, then talked about Astaire's style and did it. Which proves the old line about Kelly having been the bravest dance arranger in film history, because who else would have risked being on the same stage as O'Connor?
joann @ 82... Shows up in Heinlein's "The Year of the Jackpot", too.
A classier source than the Hulk. Comic-books will rot my brain. ("Will?") Shush.
serge,
that's where i knew "ecdysiast" from, too. i'm not sure if that should reasssure you or not....
miriam beetle @ 86... i'm not sure if that should reasssure you or not....
Not sure that it does, but I feel slightly less alone in my rotten-brain state. Did I ever tell you where I learned to speak and write in English? Sure, there were mandatory classes in high-school, but I did most of my practice from watching Bugs Bunny cartoons and reading comic-books. ("Why am I not surprised?") Behave, ethan.
Serge, "Sombrero" has three storylines, and Montalban is in one of them. I don't remember Ann Miller being in that one. Heck, I think I'll go look it up on IMDB...
My dad taught me ecdysiast. My dad is cool.
JESR @ 66
Gak! You started one up in my head, but it's not the Kronos Quartet, it's Bobby McFerrin, announcing in a plummy voice that he's going to do Bach, and then diving into Purple Haze. I saw him do that live a few years back with a full symphony behind him, and now it's on full video loop in my brain.
Red Cross donation link for Southern California Wildfire mess:
http://www.redcross.org/news/ds/profiles/disaster_profile_CAWildfires.html
Astaire was grace itself, Kelly was strength and courage and intensity, O'Connor was quite possibly one of the greatest dancers of all time, any style (I'd love to see him do something really modern, beyond the Kelly style; anybody ever seen that?).
But to my mind, there are two things that made Fosse the most interesting of them all to watch. First, he was a really fabulous choreographer, in a style that speaks to me even more than Kelly's or Astaire's, though I love to watch them.
Second, Fosse was a very atypical male dancer. Watch him in a pose, or a slow move. He had as much strength and control as most male dancers*, but he had far more flexibility, as much as many female ballet dancers. When he held a pose, his line was absolutely gorgeous. It's not exactly dancing, but you can see his flexibility in "The Little Prince" where he plays a snake.
* Granted he wasn't a leaper, but that's a specialized talent.
I love cellos. I have a thing for rich, dark, low tones; cellos fit that jones perfectly. When I started watching "Inspector Morse" I would always switch the channel well before it started because I didn't want to miss that lovely theme music. I found a CD of the composer, Barrington Pheloung, and worked hard at wearing it out. He's quite good, not a raving modern, but not a throwback to the 18th century either.
My friend's ex-marching band husband feels most bands are way under-tubaed. He feels a proportion of five to one's about right -- and he's a trumpet man.
Yes, Ravelry!
The Angel theme has cellos too (also windchimes! I had an mp3 of this on my computer for ages). I had a cellist boyfriend at the end of high school. He was stark staring mad, but the cello serenades were wonderful.
Not only does the Angel theme have cellos, but the Forever Knight theme included a fakey synthesized cello. Vampire = Cello.
I for one think there should be more uillean pipes and low whistles - in just about everything.
For either learning to read or for gaining vocabulary, there's the same three methods: Practice, practice, practice!
Comic books, sappy romances, whatever... one of my stepbrothers was borderline LD for reading, but AD&D gave him enough motivation to push through and gain proficiency (so he could read the rulebooks). Now he's a jet-setting executive....
Same deal for cartoons, soap operas, etc. and listening proficiency. Anything goes!
Somewhere in the category of very common words just not processing correctly on some days--
I've grown accustomed to all those symbols on the car in front of me, and sometimes it's fun to puzzle new ones out. Darwin fish, Jesus fish, FSM, etc., and an unfamiliar one caught my eye today. After studying it a moment, I groused to my husband, "What the hell is that, now? The Church of the Dowsing Snowman?"
"Er...no, that's a V8."
An open thread question for the fluorosphere (aka, please help me scratch this linguistic itch):
The phrase "big girl's blouse" - sometimes "useless as a big girl's blouse" - I've always understood from context to mean very useless indeed.
But why? Why is a big girl's blouse so useless? Why would it be more useless than the blouse of a small or medium sized girl?
Bonus question: "safe as houses", meaning very safe indeed. What? Why? Investment advice that escaped into the wild?
I think you may be parsing that wrong. At least, I've always taken it as big (girl's blouse), not (big girl's) blouse.
rams @ 94... You bring up music and Ravelry in the same post and I find myself thinking of Ravel's Bolero. Thanks. Truly.
Jen Roth @100:
Could be - but either way, why would girl's blouse be the equivalent of very useless?
In #14 Robert Thornton writes:
Best use of cello in popular music: Nirvana's version of "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" aka "In The Pines."
My brother John set out to collect every performance of that song he could find, on tape, LP, and CD. He liked the spookiness of it.
You inspired me to punch "In the Pines" into Youtube. Wow. Lots more covers John never collected. Plus a nine-minute clip that is claimed to be the only film ever shot of Leadbelly. (He's humming "ITP" under the credits, but, alas, it's not one of the three songs we see him perform.)
I just looked at the particle "Use lethal force before you're fully awake".
Words fail me. I thought they had laws, even in the USA, against crazy people owning firearms?
Serge #87: Hey, I have nothing but respect for comics and Bugs Bunny. Now, if you said that you learned English from Kevin Costner and a dragon with Sean Connery's voice, that'd be different.
Bill Higgins #104: Did your brother acquire the spooky Snakefarm version? That somehow managed to be the first version I ever heard, though these days I prefer the Leadbelly.
Dave @ #105, I'd like to think that was a spoof, but I doubt it.
Guns under the pillow are fine for 007, but for the average householder?
Nice music; too bad it was so poorly-mixed that the lyrics disappeared into the background. Reminded me of the way Howard Shore used wordless human voice as an instrument in the LOTR soundtrack.
Dave, #34: Yes, it did. And now I'll have it as an earworm for the next few days.
I played cello from 4th grade thru high school. My music teacher wanted to put me on the violin, but I heard someone playing the cello just once and was hooked. I tend to prefer low voices to high ones as well -- bass/baritone is more appealing than tenor, and alto/contralto more so than soprano. The tenors get all the glory on the opera stage, but give me Samuel Ramey any day!
Anybody else planning to be at MileHiCon? If you are, come look me up at the Pegasus Publishing booth!
The strangest story I ever heard about exercising the Second Amendment while caffeine-impaired concerned a man who woke up in the middle of the night and mistook his own erection for an intruder. Grabbing his pistol, he shot the intruder.
I'll let you google for this if you want to find the story.
Odd synchronicity -- I've had "Make 'Em Laugh" stuck in my head all night, alternating with The Decemberists' "Chimney Sweep" for maximum genre shear.
Fans of cellos *and* esoteric instruments might enjoy the French SF-horror film Delicatessan, which features an extended cello-musical saw duet.
The aforementioned Decemberists also have a penchant for using unusual instruments in modern-ish music. I went to a concert of theirs in Boston with a friend who plays Irish music, and after the first number the lead singer traded his guitar for another stringed instrument, and she nudged me and said, "That's a bazuki!"
I wish the Crooked Still site had more, longer samples of their songs... I like the sound, but there's no particular song or songs that really grabs me yet.
*tries to convince himself he doesn't need more CDs right now anyway*
I have nothing but respect for comics and Bugs Bunny. Now, if you said that you learned English from Kevin Costner and a dragon with Sean Connery's voice, that'd be different.
Not sure what that means, but I think the kid is again making fun of where I get my cinematic pleasures.
Meanwhile, last night Turner Classic Movies showed Louis Malle's Elevator to the Gallows. In French. With subtitles. As far as I could tell, Jeanne Moreau is in love with one of her hubby's employees. Moreau's boyfriend of course bumps off the hubby when the latter stays at the office late one Friday night. The boyfriend then gets stuck in the elevator all weekend while Moreau wonders where he is. And there's a subplot about a young couple stealing the boyfriend's car that was parked in front of the office. I think. The whole thing made me want to watch the "Fromage Grand" skit from Monty Python's Flying Circus. The latter was also in French with subtitles, but it had the virtue of being mercifully short. And it had Carol Cleaveland sitting in the middle of a dump with a head of lettuce in her lap.
I don't know the origin of "big girl's blouse" but I've always heard it used* to mean unmanly i.e. not willing to do very silly or dangerous things, rather than useless. In other words, if you fail to (for example) down your pint at the required time you're not a man, you're not a girl, you're just a girl's blouse** that's been grown to the size of a man.
* Including by me
** Because a girl can be manly, but girly clothes can't. That's my interpretation.
Linkmeister @ 107... Guns under the pillow are fine for 007, but for the average householder?
James Bond vs the Tooth Fairy in Golddenture?
Ethan #106 wrote Hey, I have nothing but respect for comics and Bugs Bunny. Now, if you said that you learned English from Kevin Costner and a dragon with Sean Connery's voice, that'd be different.
'There's no such thing as a drrrragon'. (Connery as James Bond in Dr No, accent slipping.)
Keith @61, awesome! I will go look that up. The only one I have is Thanks for the Ether (and doesn't it remind me of the weird and fun parts of high school?)
Bill Higgins @ 104, I once went to see a rockabilly band in Quogue. (It is an extremely long story why.) During the break, someone -- I think it was their drummer -- hopped up on stage, grabbed the huge bass, and accompanied himself solely on bass while singing that song. Later he and the band's lead singer delivered one of the most blistering renditions of "Jackson" I've ever heard. It was really fantastic.
I have recently woken up from a long dream in which there was something between a Making Light convention and Viable Paradise. Most of the dream was taken up by convention registration stuff -- people going around checking you off a list and handing you paperwork and nametags. One of the registration folk turned out to be a long-forgotten high school acquaintance, which was fun. There were going to be writing workshops, the first of which was a timed-writing on a prompt having to do with dragons, or perhaps aliens, invading.
The whole thing was being held outdoors, in a beautiful and apparently permanent sunset, but a rather desolate area. Possibly offplanet?
Finally, the registration was over and we all sat down ready to write about dragons (or perhaps aliens). And at that instant my alarm clock went off.
Bah. I want to know what you all would have written. I want to know what I would have written!
Re the Lethal Force particle:
Right at toddler level. **shudder**
Caroline @ 115... There were going to be writing workshops, the first of which was a timed-writing on a prompt having to do with dragons, or perhaps aliens, invading.
What, an ML con without panels about knitting? Or about poetry?
Hey everyone,
WAY off topic interruption looking for intelligence on the ground in SoCal. I'm supposed to travel to LA tomorrow morning to focus group a case. I believe we are staying at the airport, and the conference center we're using for the focus group is at the airport too.
My question is about air quality. I'm a severe asthmatic, well controlled with medication, but very sensitive to pollutants with particulate matter, like, for example, smoke. I'm trying to find out how bad the air is right now in LA near LAX.
I really just need to decide if I think it's safe for me to be there, because if I'm likely to end up in the ER I should probably duck out of this trip.
Thanks to anyone who knows.
Serge @ 117, I'm sure those were coming, if the *&!@#$ alarm hadn't gone off.
You see, I hadn't actually pulled out the schedule to look at it yet. It was in a folder.
I also had a "Making Light" dream, a few nights ago. I was looking through a catalog of crafts items (probably beading stuff), and all of a sudden there was a big section with luscious yarns, threads, etc. (Hmm, "yarns" and "threads" sound like what ML has even without knitting discussions.) I planned to tell everyone here about it, but then the alarm went off....
Aiiii! You're taking over our dreams! What next? Mind control?
Sidelight: "Might as well face it, you're addicted to Civ"
Hello, my name is Greg, and it's been six weeks since I've played Civilization.
(together) Hi, Greg.
Low is usually better than high-- it's more forgiving, certainly. I was a first soprano in high school, properly shrieky (and too loud, but I have a bigger voice while singing than while speaking). I was a little sad, because in children's choir, I was an alto, like all the cool older girls.
There's a reason you don't hear a great deal about female a capella groups. Men just sound better. Or feel better, when the basses come in. You can feel soprano voices too, but that's in your teeth, not your ribcage.
Faren... Aiiii! You're taking over our dreams! What next? Mind control?
BWAHAHAHAH!!!!
#118--According to the folks at www.noaa.gov (go to their site, type "air quality Los Angeles" into the search box, and select the forecast link from the list you get--then, when you get to the forecast map, select the Air Quality tab--using the normal forecast link on the home page doesn't give air quality.), smoke levels are high, and ozone levels are elevated.
I understand from the news on CNN that they're advising people living in the area who have breathing issues to stay indoors with the windows closed.
According to the Weather Channel website, the air in unhealthy.
Perhaps a teleconference would be in order.
Caroline @ 119... I'm sure those were coming, if the *&!@#$ alarm hadn't gone off.
At least the alarm spared you the agony of sitting thru the puntest. Wait. That last was a pun, albeit a lame one. Are you sure you're awake, and that this is Reality?
Caroline #115: The only one I have is Thanks for the Ether
Get How We Quit the Forest. Right now. I find it exponentially better, if only because the production feels more sympathetic to their goals--but I also think the songs are better.
I also did not know there was new Rasputina. I must rush out and purchase.
Is there a band out there called "Ethan and the Ethers"?
The airport area (90046 or El Segundo or Marina del Rey) is usually not too bad for that sort of thing. The Santa Anas don't usually get there - the forecast is for ENE 0-5mph tomorrow, and the humidity is higher (like, going up to 50% in the afternoon). FWIW.
ethan @ 126, it has gone onto the list (though I need to pay things like utilities before buying music; bummer).
Serge @ 125, I've never been sure of that, now less so than other times.
Caroline @ 129... Enter the Dream Realm of Madame Teresa at your own peril. What is real? What is woven (or knitted) by the Mistress? None can tell - util it is too late. Hahahahah!!!
But I get to sing "Nessun Dorma" and the best bit of "Au profonde du temple sainte", and you don't, so there.
Dave Lucket... "Au profonde du temple sainte"? Is that the actual title? If not, the grammatically correct title should be "Au fond du temple saint" or "Au plus profond du temple saint".
Marilee @103: Thanks - I was hoping there was a why attached, but that's English for you.
Neil Willcox @112: It's a phrase I've mostly read, and I had been assuming useless rather than not-manly. I wonder what changes if I read it that way? Thanks!
The mouseover message for the narcopuppies particle is broken; it contains malnested quotation marks, thus: "Note: that "date rape drug" they refer to is Gamma Amino Butyric Acid." and my browser (correctly) interprets it as "Note: that " followed by some other stuff that obviously isn't important or it would be inside the quotation marks.
Wait, I thought GABA was the actual brain chemical and GHB was the "date rape drug."
I don't know if this is in wide currency yet, but it's new to me, and Google believes it hasn't been mentioned on ML yet:
Hang drum. (youtube)
Invented only a few years ago, according to the notes, and not many musical instruments can say that.
(Cue riff on which instruments can talk.)
Dave @ 105
In this state, it was at one time a crime to have a loaded weapon in a child-accessible location. I'm not sure if it still is, but that would be accessible to a two year old.
I spent all of last night w
Comments on Open thread 94: