Archive for Music
Sorry I’ve missed the past week of Rumor Tuesdays and Friday Mailbags. The cold had me set on slow for longer than I like and certain things had to get cut out. Now I’m back, tall in the saddle, so tall I’m at risk for a nosebleed. And now we’re returning to our regularly scheduled truths, half-truths, white lies, and total fabrications. This week, we’re going underground.
Rumor has it… The sewers of Paris contain many of the long-lost treasures of the Templar Knights including King Solomon’s crown, a piece of the True Cross, and the actual Shroud of Turin (as opposed to the more famous fake residing at the Vatican).
Rumor has it… At one point in the 14th century, there were more people living beneath Cairo than above it.
Rumor has it… The band The Velvet Underground got its name after Andy Warhol did an exploratory photoshoot in the sewers beneath Greenwich Village and commented that all the moss growing on the sewer walls made it look like “a velvet underground.”
Rumor has it… The story of full-grown alligators being found in the sewers of New York originated from the discovery of dinosaur bones–specifically a Velociraptor mongoliensis which were stolen from The New York Museum of Natural History and stashed there by thieves.
Rumor has it… An underground chamber maintained by the US National Security Agency is so large that a small twin-engine plane can take off on one end, cruise for ten minutes, and land at the opposite end.
Rumor has it… Speaking of sewers, Edgar Allen Poe was a big fan of the Providence’s and once found a route leading from his rooming house to the Athaneum that was nearly all underground. Author H.P. Lovecraft was aware of this route and claimed it as part of the inspiration for his story “The Shunned House.”
Rumor has it… More people are lost and killed in Carlsbad Caverns than are kidnapped and killed by serial killers nationwide.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Today’s link goes to a short history of the Irish banjo by famed player Mick Moloney. Did you know Irish warriors in the 5th century preferred the Irish tenor banjo as a club? It’s not true, but would’t that be something?
Filed under: Blogosphere, Humor, Music, Rumor | |No Comments
Welcome back to Monday–post-hiatus.
Time well spent, by the way. I got a decent amount of work done over this past week–and looking forward to getting more done. But it was nice to get some projects off the table–even if they’ve just gone out for proof. The Sondra Lee autobiography went off to the printer. Dracula’s Daughter (edited by Phil Riley) is off to the printer. The Dead End Kids/Bowery Boys book is off to the author for proof, as is still the Janet Gaynor/Charles Farrell book. Also out now is the second proof of The Musical Comedy Films of Grigorii Aleksandrov: Laughing Matters by Rimgaila Salys for Intellect Books. Nearly ready for the press–just awaiting one page of data–is the August-September issue of the SFWA Bulletin.
This week I’ll be focusing on some the next proof of the medical journal, some book covers, the movie book, a Hollywood gossip book, and a collection of letters by Louise Brooks.
All good stuff.
But that’s not to say it was all work and no play this past week. Friday we went to the Washington County Fair–something we try to do every year. Usually we only go for a few hours–plenty of time to check out the animals, various vendors, food, music, midway, and 4-H exhibits. This year we stayed closer to ten hours as we were joined by a bunch of friends–most of whom had never been to the fair before.Much fun was had and I’ve taken up the Teehan tradition (started by my father) of finishing off a Fair visit with a heaping bowl of strawberry shortcake. I didn’t see the Irish salt potatoes this year. Just means I’m going to have to make them myself, I guess.
And last night I played out again at Ward’s Pub. A fun night for tunes and friends. I’ve been trying to mix up my style of play a little bit–experimenting with dotted notes and trying to get some more “swing” into my rhythm. One thing I noticed as I was playing last night that as I found myself thinking about how I was going to play a certain set of notes later in the tune–I’d lose my place where I was currently (in the tune). Fortunately I recover quickly, but it’s not often I’m so conscious of a process like that.
And we’ve been dog hunting. No, you don’t get more explanation than that other than… “Tom Cruise’s performance during the closing credits of Tropic Thunder is an amazing piece of work. I’m just saying.”
-=-=-=-=-=-
-=-=-=-=-=-
Today’s link goes to 2009 Hugo award winner for Best Fanzine: Electric Velocipede. (Actually, I’m not sure how this qualifies as a fanzine–as it seems more like a semi-prozine. I’m sure the topic has already been debated hotly and I’m coming into the discussion very late in the game… but life is a banquet and I’m sometimes still down by the appetizers.) Anyway, check out the free fiction you see here, and if you like–consider subscribing.
Cheers!
Filed under: Blogosphere, Book layouts, Fanzines, Layouts, Magazine layouts, Music, Publishing, Writing | |No Comments
This week’s mini review is actually going to be made up of five mini-mini reviews of iPhone apps I find myself using the most.
Twitterific: I’ve been getting addicted to Twitter lately. The recent Comic-Con in San Diego really highlighted for me how entertaining the whole Twitterverse can be given the right circumstances. Seven or eight of the folks I “follow” on Twitter were at SDCC as either attendees or guests and I got an interesting perspective of the cultural event from the point of view of folks on the floor–as they were happening. Pretty cool. I’m also using Twitter to keep abreast of local and national news, traffic reports, and what certain publishers are up to. Then there are the folks I know from facebook–some of who have Twitter accounts–and I’m seeing a whole different level of social networking in action. Fascinating stuff, but probably not for everyone.
Facebook: There is a specific app for Facebook users on the iPhone that integrates smoothly with your Facbook account and is a lot faster than trying to access Facebook through the browser. Granted, the news feeds and such aren’t as complete, and navigating some of the thread conversations are a little awkward, but it handles the photos real well and I love the feature where I can use the iPhone’s camera to take a photo and immediately upload it to Facebook. I don’t know if you can run Facebook’s plethora or games and quizzes, but those aren’t something I do anyway.
Simplenote: I’d been looking for a simple To Do sort of program that was a.) free and b.) something I could sync with a desktop computer so I could use a real keyboard instead of trying to key everything in on the iPhone’s keyboard. Simplenote pretty much fits the bill. It wasn’t free, but 99 cents is almost free, and it comes with free registration to the webpage which allows you to compose your notes online (so you can use any computer anywhere so long as there’s web access) and your notes sync online. There’s no “check box” feature where you can easily check off or cross out items–but you can edit your documents on the iPhone and come up with your own system of checking off items. And you’re limited to To Do lists. I’ve loaded a few short stories and other useful documents. Good stuff.
Guitar Tab: This program is very similar to Simplenote although the connection isn’t through the Internet, but via a WiFi connection to your desktop computer. It’s also designed more for readers of tabulature. While the name denotes guitar, you can use pretty much any kind of tab text file such as banjo, tenor banjo, mandolin, fiddle, and so on. You can rotate and zoom which is a nice feature.
Stanza: I’m not ready for Kindle. Too expensive, for one thing. And it sounds like Amazon is still working out some bugs internally. For a portable book reader, though, I’m enjoying Stanza. There’s a great online browser for books–both free and fairly cheap. It integrates well with my Fictionwise account, and by using a separate program on your desktop, you can download other book files directly to the iPhone. The default setting for text size and lighting make for easy reading. There are settings for different lighting conditions, bookmarking features, and a neat little page flip. Oh, and it’s a free download. Gotta love that.
-=-=-=-=-=-
Today’s link takes you the Mandolin Cafe, a website devoted to all things related to the 8-string instrument. This is a fine site for folks looking for bluegrass and Irish tabs (note that many can be easily converted for use for the tenor banjo or fiddle). Lessons. History. Loads of articles. Much fun to be had here for mandolin and other related-instrument players.
Cheers!
Filed under: Blogosphere, Music, Ogre's Pick, Reviews, Writing | |No Comments
What did we do to deserve it being Monday already?
I suppose we went through Saturday and Sunday–that’s what. It was a pretty good weekend overall. Relaxing, which is good. We did a few social things, but for the most part relaxed and tried not to think too much about the upcoming real estate closing. I went to the Ward’s Pub session last night and had a very nice time. There were only three of us playing last night, but we sounded great, if I do say so myself. I’m no Gerry O’Connor or Seamus Egan, but I’m getting the hang of this whole banjo thing, and even my bodhran playing is improving to the point where I’m getting compliments. Not bad.
Otherwise it was a pretty quiet weekend. I’m sitting here Monday morning at the ole dek getting ready to attack the new week. I’ve got my work cut out for me. Many e-mails to catch up on. Some phone calls to make. Faxes to send. And layouts to continue with. Busy week, which is good. I can’t wait to get started. So without further ado…
Plus, it looks like The Dark Knight has hit HBO.
Cool.
-=-=-=-=-
Today’s link takes you to Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo, and Zeppo - The Marx Brothers webpage, a fan site dedicated to some of the funniest and smartest comic geniuses in film history. Wouldn’t it be great if some of their old movies got cleaned up and re-mastered? Anyway, it’s a pretty comprehensive set of pages with loads of info on film and TV appearances, quotes, merchandise, histories, and more. Well worth checking out. More fun than shaking a stick at.
If that’s your idea of a good time.
Cheers!
Filed under: Layouts, Music, Writing | |No Comments
It’s been a pretty good week for the Irish tunes. Sunday night was that real killer session at Ward’s Pub where everyone just clicked and got into the groove. Then last night was the first session at Patrick’s Pub at the new 7pm starting time. As is typical for a Patrick’s Pub session, the first half hour or so were basic tunes for beginner players–something that really helped me out a lot when I was starting, and then it progressed a bit up through some of the more intermediate standard tunes which is where I tend to sit at the moment. By the time I had to leave, the advanced tunes started rolling out as more advanced players arrived.
Something for everyone. And the crowd was very receptive the entire time. I like the earlier start time as it works better with my schedule. I think that was the point in that weeknight sessions can run kind of late for people who get up at 3:30 in the morning to start work. It’s also pretty close to me right now. I could take a bus there and back if I needed to. In a few months, after the Big Move, it won’t be so easy, but for now it works out pretty well.
Now I just need to learn some new tunes. Well, new to me. Old standards to most. One of these days I really need to get “Kid on the Mountain” down. It’s embarrassing that I don’t have this in my repertoire yet. Then again, it took me over a year to get “The Earl’s Chair” down. Weird how some tunes get blocked.
My bodhran playing is getting better. I’m even getting compliments on that…and if you know bodhran players–you know that’s a rare event.
-=-=-=-=-=-
Character Kings by Scott Voison heads off to the printer this morning. I love seeing jobs head out the door. This is a particularly fun book of interviews with Hollywood faces you know–but might not recognize the names of. Tobin Bell, Ronny Cox, Jeffrey Combs, Keith David, Daniel Roebuck, and more. Trust me. You know these faces. It’s a fun book on acting and the acting biz.
The medical journal should be about ready to head out as well. I’l putting in the ads today and should have the okay for press in time for tomorrow morning. Then I can get started on the July issue. The Design Integrations book is nearly done. I just need to track down one of the authors for some updated photos. And there’s a new book called Lucky Stars that I recently finished the text layout on, and now have to get cracking on adjusting and placing over 100 photos.
Busy as the letter B if the letter B also had wings, a stinger, and made honey.
-=-=-=-=-=-
In keeping with the first topic of Irish music sessions, today’s link goes to one I’ve put before you before: TheSession.org, a fine site for Irish session musicians featuring discussions, tips, tunes, and times and places for sessions all over the world. This really is one of the very best sites ever made for folk music–and it’s all user-created content. I’d love to see something like this for bluegrass players.
Anyway, check it out…whether beginner or advanced. You won’t regret it.
Cheers!
Filed under: Layouts, Music | |No Comments
Some people get three-day weekends. Well, if those people work in Massachusetts and they get Patriots Day off. Pretty Maggie is one of them and I wish I had had the presence of mind years ago when she first encountered the holiday to try and convince her it was in celebration of the football team. Coming from the South where football is a religion, this might have worked for a short time, but maybe not. She’s much smarter than I am.
So she has a three day weekend, but I’m hitting the grindstone, being a good little freelancer and sticking to a schedule. Just the same, it’s a relatively light day and if things go well, mayhaps I’ll break later in the day and we’ll go bowling. Did a little Saturday and I did better than the last time, but it’s still pretty inconsistent on my part. Just means I need more practice. Last night I did my whole “playin’ choons” thing at Ward’s pub. ‘Twas a pretty good night although the fingers on my fretting hand are a little sore from over-practicing over the weekend. I’ve been trying to get down “Little Liza Jane” on the five-string banjo and “Swinging on the Gate” on the four-string. I made good progress, but I’m paying for it now.
We get incrementally closer to becoming homeowners. A lot depends on a phone call I’m expecting today, and then I visit my accountant later this week for some paperwork, then we hit the loan officer again for the official pre-approval. Once that happens, we tell our real estate agent that we’re kosher enough to make offers and we get to follow up on looking at some houses we’ve have our eye on this past month.
In an ideal world, we’d close by the end of May. Wish us luck. It really is time to get the hell out of Providence.
-=-=-=-=-
A light-ish day. Mostly editing and uploading final files to the printer. I’ll be attending Comic Book Day at Sarge’s Comics in New London, CT on May 2. Hopefully I’ll have some TumbleTap items on hand, but at the very least it’ll be a fun day to meet and greet and check out what’s what. I’ll be tagging along with the Strange Eggs pair, Chris Reilly and Steve Ahlquist.
-=-=-=-=-
Today’s link goes to one I think I’ve shared before, but as I’m currently enjoying the archives, I figured I’d share it again. Welcome to Least I Could Do, the webcomic. Made by the folks who give us Looking For Group, Messrs Sohmer and Desouza relate the comic misadventures of Rayne and his friends. It’s kind of like the TV show Friends only people actually have sex and are funny. Big warning though…it, at times, could be considered offensive to some. It kind of pushes the envelope when it comes to political incorrectness. Do not come crying to me if you don’t have a sense of humor. Otherwise, enjoy!
Cheers!
Filed under: Comics, Layouts, Music, Publishing, Webcomics | |No Comments
I love the word whisps. Don’t ask why. I’m sure the answer would unsettle us all. I like the word so much I created an alien race called the Whisps and the story after them. Try saying whisps, but whisper it. Now say whisper whisps five times fast while whispering. Try whispering whisping whisper whisps.
Makes your lips go on strike, doesn’t it?
Fascinating, I know.
Not a bad weekend. I got in some needed relaxation. It was a busy week last week, and will prove to be a busy week coming up. For this weekend, however, aside from reading a really excellent book, we went out with friends a few times, did a game night, napped aggressively, hit the bookstores.
Last night I did my weekly thing at Ward’s pub with the old banjo. Another, and better, bodhran player was sitting in, so I kept my percussion contributions limited to the spoons, which I’m actually getting pretty good at. I’m even getting the finger-sweep trick down. They even got me to sing. Sing. I don’t sing in public. I don’t carry a tune well and don’t know how to sing in tune with instruments. For some people it’s natural. For me it’s work and work I’m not good at. Still, someone had requested “McNamara’s Band” (yeah, I know) and they were going to sing it themselves, but couldn’t remember the verse about Uncle Julius. Because Uncle Julius is about the big Swede in the band, and I happen to be of both Irish and Swedish extraction, it’s the one verse I know very well… so I got dragooned into singing that specific verse.
So I belted it out, more reciting than singing, in a goofy Swedish accent which probably sounded more German than Swedish. Ah well.
Aside from that, my revelation for the evening was that it’s time to learn some new tunes. I’ve picked up some new bluegrass ones for the five-string banjo. Now it’s time to pick up some new Irish tunes for the four-string banjo.
Wish me luck.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I’m working on a number of interesting projects right now. One that’s particularly fun is Growing Up With Monsters: My Times at Universal Studios, in Rhymes! by Carla Laemmle and Daniel Kinske, with foreword by Ray Bradbury and illustrated by Jack Davis and Hermann Mejia. It’s pretty much the definition of delightful, and I’m having fun with the layout. I get to be a little more creative than usual. The cover is going to be tricky as I have to integrate some very fine art with cover type. But the inside? Yeah, that’s rocking.
A number of other projects are either out for proofs or I’m awaiting further materials. I have a book on Design Integration for Intellect that is also in the works. That’s more of a text-book style book and it’s coming along very well. That will ikely go out for proof this week, a week ahead of schedule.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Last week I mentioned Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s new series at her website about freelancing. Today I offer up the link to the second post in that series: The Freelancers Survival Guide: Priorities. She discusses the prioritization and balancing of such factors in the freelancer’s life as Family, Health, Work, and Leisure. It’s important stuff. I think a lot of us, at one point or another be it for reasons of school, work, or some other obsession, has let things get out of balance at one time or another. Ms. Rusch offers some good insights. Well worth checking out.
Filed under: Book layouts, Music, Writing | Freelancers Guide, Kristine Kathryn Rusch|No Comments
I’m not going to turn this into an official facebook meme entry. You good folks deserve a rest, but one interesting one I saw floating out there–a shame no one tagged me–was the top 15 albums that changed your life. I thought it was an interesting idea… so let’s see…what would I choose? Can I do 15? Let’s start easy and do just ten, and maybe next week I’ll think of 5 more.
the Chieftains 4 (The Chieftains) - My dad used to play this in his bookstore and it’s what first turned me on to traditional Irish music
Steam-Powered Aereo-Plain (John Hartford) - A Friend turned me on to this one afternoon and I’ve not been the same since. I consider it one of the best bluegrass albums ever made.
The Ever-Popular Tortured Artist Effect (Todd Rundgren) - Maybe not his best album, but one of his more popular. It was my first Rundgren album and it made me a lifelong fan of the rainbow-colored demon.
Never Mind the Bollocks (The Sex Pistols) - Okay, the Sex Pistols were a little silly, but nine out of ten punk fans started with this album. It’s the preschool of punk to which we listened to, got excited about, then graduated on to much better stuff like…
Damaged (Black Flag) - this was more like it. And from there I went on to Fear, X, the Circle Jerks
Rock and Roll Heart (Lou Reed) - My first Lou Reed album which was quickly followed by Transformer and then the whole Velvet Underground catalog
Blue (Joni Mitchell) - Changed the way I thought about listening and enjoying female singers. I could still put this on and be carried away.
…from the Hungry i (The Kingston Trio) - Early Greenwich Village folk music at one of its finest hours. “Zombie Jamboree” remains one of my favorite songs to this day
Newport In New York ‘72: The Jam Sessions Vols 1 through 4 (various artists) - I wore my vinyls of this out and I really wish this would be released on CD. I’ve only found copies on vinyl and I don’t have a turntable anymore. This is probably one of the best live jazz album sets anywhere and it turned me on to a lot of folks too numerous to mention.
The Bothy Band (The Bothy Band) - These guys took trad Irish music out of the concert hall and into the kitchen. Gotta love ‘em for that
And that’s ten for now. I know five minutes after I post this, I’ll think of more, but we’ll just have to wait and see if I decide to share further.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Rumor has it… Cracked magazine is the only publication to have once been owned by the Unification Church and then sold. Lawrence Kim, then head of the church’s publishing division was quoted “We’re nuts, but come on now. We’re not that nuts. We thought we were buying Mad Magazine.”
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The last two books that have been currently-in-progress are now out the door. There are some fun projects coming up including the autobiography of the Amazing Kreskin, the letters of Louise Brooks, and a history of Cracked magazine. I expect a new quiz book by Mel Simons to be appearing soon, and there’s an interesting book on the creative process coming up featuring interviews with actors, directors and writers.
Another issue of The SFWA Bulletin isn’t too far off, the medical journal steams along, and the TumbleTap Presents: 2009 preview will be done soon. I just need to rescan some items and write some copy.
So good stuff. And a good week for getting things out the door. And a good week’s start on the spring cleaning. This heralds a decent weekend.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Today’s link goes to a review of the Venture Bros. season 3 that I wrote for Forces of Geek this week. The third season comes out on DVD and Blu-ray on March 24th and I’m psyched. Even if I didn’t think that this was the show’s strongest season, I’m still looking forward to picking this up.
Check out the review, then hit the top banner and scope out the many other fine pieces at ForcesOfGeek.com.
Cheers!
Filed under: Music, Publishing, Rumor | facebook|No Comments
We revisit the world of Facebook memes. This one is kind of a hit or miss, but was fun to do just to see what would come up. Further commentary at the end of this list.
1.Put Your music player on Shuffle…. windows media player, ipod, itunes…etc
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write down the name of the song no matter how silly it sounds!
4. Put any comments in brackets after the song name.
(5. Tag at least 10 friends.)
6. Anyone tagged has to do the same, because fun pointlessness spreads like a virus (and none of us really want to do our work).
If someone says, “Are you okay?” you say?
“Los Angeles Is Burning” (Bad Religion)
How would you describe yourself?
“One Hundred Years From Now” (Velvet Crush)
What do you like in a guy/girl?
“American Errorist [I Hate Hate Haters]” (NoFX)
How do you feel today?
“Castle Kelly/Juju Reel” (Pendragon)
What is your life’s purpose?
“Fast Fiddle and Banjo Tune” (Alison Krauss)
What is your motto?
“Anarchy Camp” (NoFX)
What do your friends think of you?
“Clampdown” (The Clash)
What do you think of your parents?
“Freak Magnet” (The Violent Femmes)
What do you think about very often?
“Haul On the Bowline” (The Foc’sle Singers & Paul Clayton)
What is 2 + 2?
“Do My Johnny Booker” (The Foc’sle Singers & Paul Clayton)
What do you think of your best friend?
“Joe Cooley’s/Tulla Reel/Flaxen Bloom” (Ivan Smyth)
What do you think of the person you like?
“Philly Dog” (Herbie Mann)
What is your life story?
“The Magnificent Seven” (The Clash)
What do you want to be when you grow up?
“The Secret Set” (Toucan Pirates)
What do you think of when you see the person you like?
“Mirror In the Bathroom” (Fifi - punk cover of the song by The English Beat)
What will you dance to at your wedding?
“Just a Bum” (Greg Brown)
What will they play at your funeral?
“Way Over Yonder In the Minor Key (Billy Bragg doing Woody Guthrie)
What is your hobby/interest?
“The Nine Points of Roguery” (Conor Long)
What is your biggest fear?
“Vanilla Sex” (Rancid & NoFX)
What is your biggest secret?
“Christmas Eve/Bodhran Solo” (Mance Grady)
What do you think of your friends?
“Sweet Jane” (Lou Reed)
What will you post this as?
“Fire Maringo” (Pirates of New Providence)
What does this reveal about me? Not much except most of my iPod is taken up by various representatives of punk and folk. The punk tends toward old school, but not entirely. The folk is mostly either Irish traditional or sea shanty, but not entirely. I expected more bluegrass to show up, but it’s random and I’m sure if there were maybe ten more questions, there’d have been several representatives from that genre.
I wonder what would happen if I listed the first ten books in the bookshelf to my immediate left. I don’t keep books in any sort of order… so it’ll be fairly random. Lessee…
- Marque and Reprisal by Elizabeth Moon
- Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
- Quentin Tarantino: Interviews
- A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by David Eggers
- Peking Diary by Derk Bodde
- The Earliest English Poems (Penguin Classics)
- 1066 and All That by WC Sellar & RJ Yeatman
- Drinking With Bukowski edited by Daniel Weizmann
- Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze/The Land of Terror (double novel) by Kenneth Robeson
- The Amorous Busboy of Decatur Avenue by Robert Klein
And what does this reveal? Not much. Ah well.
Can’t win them all.
-=-=-=-=-
RUMOR HAS IT…
As a nod to this weekend’s New York ComicCon, I did a little research and discovered that its origins date back to the 1939, two weeks following the World’s Fair in New York City. Attendance was a mere 53 and that the furthest any single attendee traveled was from Ronkonkoma on Long Island. The banquet cost a whopping $2 and only ten attendees could afford the banquet. Everyone else convened at the local automat.
-=-=-=-=-
Today’s link is entirely unrelated to everything else on this page. I was a big fan of the original 70sConnections 10-part miniseries by James Burke. I’ve been re-watching them lately thanks to Netflix, and this morning I offer up a link to Palmer’s JAMES BURKE Fan Companion - a site with loads of info on the various Connections series, episodes, and writings and appearances of James Burke. If you’re a fan of the history of science and technology, you’ll want to check this out.
Cheers!
Filed under: Blogosphere, Music, Rumor | Burke, facebook|No Comments
Ever wake up with a poem stuck in your head? This morning was one I’ve not thought of in years… Wallace Stevens’ “Emperor of Ice Cream.” Check this out:
Call the roller of big cigars,
The muscular one, and bid him whip
In kitchen cups concupiscent curds.
Let the wenches dawdle in such dress
As they are used to wear, and let the boys
Bring flowers in last month’s newspapers.
Let be be finale of seem.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.
Take from the dresser of deal,
Lacking the three glass knobs, that sheet
On which she embroidered fantails once
And spread it so as to cover her face.
If her horny feet protrude, they come
To show how cold she is, and dumb.
Let the lamp affix its beam.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.
A collage of images set to music.
-=-=-=-=-=-
My banjo habits are weird. I’ll spend months practicing the same tunes over and over, unable to learn new tunes, then bam.. I’ll pick up three or four new bluegrass tunes in the space of a week or so. I’ve recently picked up “Red Wing,” “Lonesome Road Blues,” “Down the Road,” and the first parts to “Liza Jane” and “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.” You watch….those will be the last new tunes I learn until May. Instead, I’ll suddenly pick up half a dozen new Irish tunes for the tenor banjo instead–which is fine with me. I haven’t really picked up a new tune for the tenor since “The Gravel Walks.”
Why does it work that way? I suppose with the five-string banjo, it’s a question of internalizing fingering techniques and roll patterns. I get some down so I can do them in my sleop, and only then am I ready to move onto to something else. Maybe something more complicated. With the tenor, where there aren’t roll patterns to internalize, maybe it’s more the rhythms and intonations. It’s been over a month since I’ve picked up the guitar. I wonder what will happen then?
Hell, why question it at all? It’s not the fact that the bear dances a waltz, but that he’s dancing at all.
-=-=-=-=-=-
Lots of work still to do, and miles to go before I sleep–figuratively. The February issue of Medicine & Health/Rhode Island has been delivered to the printer. Issue 181 of the SFWA Bulletin will likely go to the printer tomorrow morning. I’m continuing with the extensive edits and changes to the Hardcastle & McCormick book and really need to get the new cover finished. Lewis Stadlen sent me some new text for his book, Acting Foolish and Lonnie Burr has sent me some new photos and edits for An Accidental Mouseketeer. On top of that we’ll be putting out a new edition of Spotlights & Shadows: The Albert Salmi Story. Plus some little errands here and there. Contracts, promo copy and such.
Busy busy.
And prepping something for this weekend. Still intending on announcing Project X for February 2.
-=-=-=-=-
Today’s link goes to a time-waster… a page of old, corny computer geek jokes. Newer jokes appear at the top, which means as you scroll down, the jokes get older and more obsolete. Fun for classic fans such as myself…and archaeologists.
Filed under: Book layouts, Humor, Magazine layouts, Music | banjo, geek, poetry|No Comments
« Previous Entries||
