Senator Franken!

Zed & Suz on Tuesday!!! WooHoo!!
Shiza that sneaky neuro snuck in on me!!

good evening, Suzanne.

Hold On, Al’s Coming!

no Z-word for you tonite, buddy!

hey pups – how is everyone tonight?

neuro and nahant- cooler today?

mr why – you have the best songs! forking love that one dood

good, Suzanne. How about you?

Oh yeah … 60’s already!!!

a bit cooler today, I mowed my lawn and it didn’t kill me

Uncle Ludwig… thanks, Suz.

i’m still rubbing chickweed salve on me – skeeters are enjoying all the non-oregon flavor of little old me

SOOOOOOO-zanne!
Classical? Really? Thanks!!
FWDiva

I asked at Lisa’s place, but I’ll ask again… has anyone seen katymine this evening?

well I hope at least they don’t have chiggers up there…

hey bct – my mom sent me a moonlight sonata video (not this one) and i surfed from that one to this one with the lovely eye candy of the moon.

thought it might appeal to you

Are ya sure *g*

today is katy’s chemo day and she usually does not stop by the threads on chemo day

DEZ

hey funny! ready for the 90 degree temps this weekend? i’m forecast to be in the 70’s

oh, have I died and this is Heaven?

we could sure do worse…

I have a new method for relationship advice … Ask Mark Sanford what he would do (not ought to do, would actually do), and do the opposite of whatever he suggests.

hey bb – hows that broken wrist? i was so glad to read that the rest of ya was recovering well

I’m glad I dropped by…

Hi everyone…. looks like the AZ goverment could shut down because there is no signed budget from the Leg…… they are arguing around a 1 cent increase in sales tax which would be temporary but to cover budget gaps….. damn repugs …. 1 cent sales tax…..

No I didn’t go to the health care thing, didn’t get home from chemo until 4:30 and I was looped on benedryl….

if it is cooler then it is not hell

unless, of course, that whole frozen over thing is the truth…

katy – i just said you would not be here since it was chemo day – how ya doing!?!

like tell the whole world your mistress is your soul mate, and besides you have “crossed the line” with a number of other women, and then expect your wife to want to take you back?

NOOOOOOOO!
I may have to pack me bedroll and head your way! Shee-yikes!
FWDiva

Love.

bring anti-skeeter juice

glad ya liked it radhika

Thanks Suz. I’ve got an Oxdown up that she needs to see. I’ve had the impression from some of the things she’s said that she’s been going out-of-network for health care.

There was a Senate Commerce Committee report released vewwy, vewwy quiwetwy last Friday. The bottom line: the insurance industry has been stacking the decks to lower UCR rates for out-of-network care (also applies for traditional indemnity policies). People getting their health care that way have been ripped off by their insurance company.

Yeah, big surprise, right?

bet she is more pissed about the betrayal of his loving another woman than the mere sex act involved.

No, haven’t seen her all day. (((Sweet katymine)))

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

Right. Never, never, never ever do that.

geez bct

hey katy – you see this?

I just saw her. Katy, see my 33.

hey loohoo – how’s the southland tonight?

skeeters

We don’t have no stinking skeeters!!

I gots DEET.
Been wanting to try those Off! Clip-onz, too.
Hmmmm. Guess I’ll ask the neighbors if they’re home this weekend–gotta keep teh kitteh fed.
FWDiva

Hi! California’s going down because the republicans won’t raise any taxes or fees either. It takes 2/3 to pass a budget…

maybe if they boot Sanford out as governor, he could get a job on Fox giving bad relationship advice, sort of be their (evil) Dr. Phil…

From what I’ve heard from female friends, that’s often the case. The sex is forgiveable, the emotional tie (if it exists) is a lot tougher.

Mrs BC and I were going to come visit family next week. Is it safe?

i got bit in boulder creek by big ole fat skeeters dood

a show on cable where he digs holes

[mmm, thoughts for katymine; do not know or interact with her but that’s a tough go]

BEETHOVEN! Suz, you have no idea how much it means to me when LudvigVan get’s pushed back into our culture.

Here’s a for instance: The finale of the opera, “Fidelio”.

Good lord, it has everything in it of concern today. Sexism, FISA, Torture. Here’s the bottom line:

The wife of the condemned, gets him out of jail ultimately by proving the mendacity of the liars, but posing as a male, AND, everybody agrees with her. She has the most poignant arias in the Opera.

And the end is sheer joy. :)

nahant – i heard from egregioius and she said she will be there on the 25th

It’s still cool here, Suz. Heats up mid-day for a couple of hours, but very pleasant still. I know it’s too good to be true for long!

I have the screened in porch!

Ahh but we are in Redwood City… ya know best weather by GOV test!! Oh and no dam skeeters this time of year!!

hey kelly – glad you like the music

hey christine e – how’s ohio tonight?

“How to Dig Yersef’ Outta Dat Hole with Da Guv”
FWDiva

Yes, it’s still safe!

Hi Suz thanks for the note If you don’t get ZED you get DEZ
We advanced our cause at the all day planning commission hearing today. So local political activism got some traction today. Changed my bandaids took my medicine ran to save my freind’s car fron being towed.
The Oregon skeetere are hungry until things dry out…if you have containers with standing water dump them.
Good energy level easing back into normal stuff can unscrew bottle tops now. prepare food clean, garden, do 9 hour meetings, write letters to commissions and SUPS. People should not lose housing over utility bills. No way Jose.

Labs are near normal…. no need for blood…… and my platelets have dropped from 789,000 to 450,000 which is getting closer to normal…. not bad in three weeks…. used 2 Advil’s daily….. Advil interferes in platelet production…..

Just made THE best chicken…… than Emeril

1/2 chicken with skin on
cast iron skillet
1-2 T olive oil
salt & pepper

preheat oven 450 degrees
brown chicken on stove top both sides, put chicken skin side down and put it in the oven for 17 minutes, salt & pepper chicken before frying

Herb butter -
1/2 t fresh thyme fine chopped
1/2 t chopped garlic
1 T butter

When chicken done, pull out, turn over and paint with herb butter and get ready…. it is soooooooo good

Leonore not only got the best arias, she got three extra overtures written for her. Maybe Uncle Ludwig had a thang for her?

I did also … that is great will start whoring about after the 4th!! But if Late Late nighter’s want info they can catch me @ nahanter at Da gmail thingy…

yay! and the sound of my tummy grumbling….

Oh man, Suzanne!
It is so cool (temps 68 here) that we can hardly believe it is summer. Huge rain storms here, and breezes that are beautiful. Wonderful. Ms. CE coming home Thursday night for a wedding party at Kenyon College. We haven’t seen her since Christmas.

way kewl nahant – an email response really is the easiest way to coordinate (at least that is what i found)

Suz, have you tried Avon Skin So Soft? Worked pretty well for me in the everglades.

sounds lovely. and yay for the reunion with ms ce

That’s great news, Katy.

You can improve that chicken by putting it over artisan bread in the skillet before baking.

hey sunny – i tried that stuff at a campout and it did not work for me :(

good cause i’m headed to the bay area for nahant’s meetup on the 25th

Wonderful. It really is nice to see the daughter after she’s been gone a while, no?

I’d love to come, but my tenant in Panama just lost his job so he’s moving back to Hawaii. My house in Encinitas is sitting vacant too. Plus I just retired so I’m in a world of hurt…

Improve… that’s arrogant. I’ve made a similar recipe that uses artisan bread … etc.

Did I read a comment about dryer sheets being great mosquito repellents?

aw crap – will miss ya – next time for sure :)

We adore her, and miss her. But know that she is making her way.

i’ve heard that.

i’ve found out that windex squirted on the bite helps kill the itch. as does soaking in an epsom salt bath

Hi
Never have I gone out of network for care. As someone who worked for many of the big boys insurance companies I know the consequences.

What I have is a consumerism health plan where they want the patient to make wise choices to help them save money…… it is stupid and I’d like the CEO to deal with cancer.

Another angle that happens with fee-for service charges is that SOME companies are sending claim feeds to a company call Igenics which runs this through their computer models (hey I am a software engineer too) and see how they can reduce the charges.

First they set U&C charges for a region is is ridiculously low and then they pay the out of network percentage. Another thing they do is “rebundle” charges. Now sometimes they need to such as they bill for a hysterectomy, removal of ovaries and tubes but if you look at the CPT book a 58150 code includes ALL of that so the doc is trying to get more money.

Cigna got sued in 5 or states for downcoding. It is illegal to do that. By going to another company at least for a while they can get away with it.

Me too! me too! retirement isn’t all that it is cracked up to be…

Oh! Windex, like the movie, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” when the Dad kills all evil with Windex? So funny, may perhaps be some truth?

Dilute ammonia works better than windex. It acts as a counter-irritant (floods the nervous system and that kills the itch). But windex (or anything else with a healthy dose of ammonia) will work.

especially when ya get retired early. i got hit with a 12 1/2% penalty off the top for going at 50 instead of 55. it wasn’t my choice but that does not matter.

i love retirement – i worry about my pension.

WINDEX!!!
Reminds me of the dad in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Wonder if it’s the alcohol or the ammonia…

I do OK with anti-itch cream or ointment on a band-aid. Keeps the goop on the bite, and the clothing, etc, rubs on the band-aid and not on the bite.

And dang, something got me this weekend. Bad, bad bad.

FWDiva

My impression is she’s *most* pissed because he didn’t do precisely what he was told. Her statements reek of authoritarianism.

(not to suggest she’s not entitled to be pissed – big time)

note to katy….. read diary first….. duh

Uh oh!
Guess I owe you a beverage!
FWDiva

the clear vinegar windex works better than the regular blue stuff

Waxman taken to the hospital earlier today.

Okay. You’d said you were dealing with bills upon bills, and thought you might have been forced out of network.

I don’t have words to express how angry I am about this Igenix scam. I don’t believe for a moment that Igenix is an innocent victim in this.

Thank you thank you for your work, bb.

Code enforcement once had our gas shut off because of something not vented according to the new code. For 5 1/2 months we had no stove, hot water, heat, dryer. I couldn’t afford a thousand dollars to have my chimney lined. Finally found an agency to help.

Chris, same here. Just doesn’t seem like usual humid muggy summer in Ohio, this is weird.

oh noz

I guess they think the ‘wise choice’ with cancer is putting your head between your legs and kissing your ass goodbye?

Breaking:
FDA advisors recommend lowering daily max on Acetominophen (Tylenol).
BE CAREFUL! Too much will damage your liver. Seriously. And it’s in LOTS of OTC meds.

FWDiva

hey margot

OH NOOOO!
FWDiva

I did make it to 62 … oh well ya can’t always get what you want!

Well, I like the retirement part, but the rental income was part of the plan, dang-it!

Hiya! FD that’s so hilarious.

great tune nahant …

HAHAHA!
I knew some nerd would know which chemical entity was active!
BCT, ya sound like my kind of nerd: music AND science!

FWDiva

Your pension is safe, I’m pretty sure. It’s not tied to the CA budget, is it? I know the teachers retirement system is totally separate and healthy.

Yeah. So, what am I mixin’ for ya?
FWDiva

Well, why wouldn’t you go over the top for that character? Leonore was fantastic in the literal and operatic senses both.

I think it’s a lesson. Beethoven rejected Napoleon after Napoleon proved he was not as democratic as he said he was. Hence the famous “scratching out”:

Beethoven was attracted to the ideals of the Enlightenment. In 1804, when Napoleon’s imperial ambitions became clear, Beethoven took hold of the title-page of his Third Symphony and scratched the name Bonaparte out so violently that he made a hole in the paper. He later changed the work’s title to “Sinfonia Eroica, composta per festeggiare il sovvenire d’un grand’uom” (”Heroic Symphony, composed to celebrate the memory of a great man”), and he rededicated it to his patron, Prince Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz, at whose palace it was first performed.

FWDiva, it’s the ammonia. It’s in something at the drugstore…Afterbite, something like that. Really works.

Hi Suz and everyone;)

Can’t go wrong getting STONED *g*

She told him in no uncertain terms….

Sounds like my mom when I was 15.

Really Margot,
I love this cool and rain (not a swimsuit gal anymore). And the lawn loves it! Rain, do it!

tis a cal-pers pension – the bastoids in sac have tried for years to get their hands on the calpers money with faux promises of paying it back later.

Oh Loo Hoo, that’s awful.

I had nearly a million dollars of billed charges from the two hospital stays last year….. the issue is trying to match up the processed claim with the billing. Mayo is difficult to understand. Partly it is my insurance companies fault because they just say ppo provider and not who provided services on some of the EOB’s….

Igenix has been out there doing their thing since the 90’s….. they and other insurance companies have been sued for their practices over and over again but it is the same with adjust their budget to cover the loss and also they delay the court date so that they string this out as long as possible. The Cigna legal action took 5-6 years and they lost big time…..

Bombay Sapphire gin and tonic. Ice. Very cool glasses.

sunny – am reading 14 – mooner’s back

LOL. I started out a music major — I wanted a seat in one of the major orchestras. My trombone teacher helped me to understand that I am good, but in addition to being good you have to be lucky. Not that that was a reason to change majors, you can piece together a good career without being in one of the majors.

But I decided that music was a great avocation, and changed majors to biology. I didn’t stop take music courses, just added biology, chemistry and math. Then I changed again in grad school, to statistics. The nice thing about statistics is that I never had to pick among bench biology, field biology, chemistry, behavioral … I’ve been able to do some meaningful collaborations in all of them.

I knew the AI because I’ve got a thing called a Skeeter Stick. It works really well, and stinks to high heaven of ammonia.

Hi Margot. Sorry about the utilities issue. Dang, how did you manage?

wow…. I’m hot again…… may have to reprogram my thermostate

But the courts have told them (that dates back to Pete Wilson, right?) that it’s strictly hands-out-of-that-cookie-jar. My Dad’s on a CalPers pension, too.

Tho I understand that Ahnohd der Governator has been trying to get into it again.

I’m sure the house here will rent soon, but thanks. I guess I’ll just have to lower the rent to what it was before I spent a fortune fixing it all up. Everyone is in trouble right now, it seems.

hey funny – that renton apt building fire is being shown on my pdx news – dang that sucka is huge and burning furiously

I’ll soak ‘em with ice-water first! Gin outta the freezer.

‘fraid I’m too wussy for the tonic, though. I can only take the quinine bitterness at about 1/3 power. Used to like Tom Collinseseses though.

FWDiva

Not to mention Ludwig’s attempt to write the 1812 Overture before Peter Tchaikovskii … Wellington’s Seig (Wellington’s Victory). It’s almost as trite as the 1812.

How about a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster?

The only reason CalPers might be in a little trouble is that they went really heavy into real estate at precisely the wrong time. But they’re still solid.

cal pers was doing mortgages. as a person vested with cal-pers one gotta lower interest rate on the note – and you are right the started doing that at the wrong time.

In truth, I haven’t had one for two summers (when MrCE and I only have them). Going to Canada with big family this summer who love gin! Reports later…

Ooooh! I always called it “sadistics” instead of statistics…mostly because it was a GE&B course, so I was, at 19-20 above all that…

I always knew I didn’t have the talent for a pro orchestra, so I minored in music (also, my Uni didn’t have a BS in Music until after I graduated). I joke that I should have been given 2 minors: one for history and one for performance. Just realized today how much I’m missing the music part of my life. OK, and I’m missing the fully-employed part of my life, too. OK, OK, I’m a mess, I confess…

Oh, and I liked science and thought I was going to be a veterinarian. That didn’t last, but I still love bench science: Bachelor’s in Biochem, Master’s in Immunology.

FWDiva

Time to git tween the sheets… nite pups… be here on the 25th if ya can….

*BURP*
FWDiva

g’nite nahant

Senate committee leaks on healthcare.

Still, the developments on that committee seem to have pleased SEIU president Andy Stern who last night wrote, “HELP Committee working hard on solid public option,” on his Twitter feed.

Mostly out now, but yeah, HUGE!!
FWDiva

Coolio! Time for Forensic Files!

that’s good news loohoo. i sure hope andy is right.

My fave is the 1712 overture by PDQ Bach.
FWDiva

We washed clothes in cold water, dried them with a couple of floor fans. Big stoneware bowl in microwave to heat bath water, took spit baths. Cooked everything in microwave or crockpot. Then it got to be October and finally we got heat again.

Actually, if:
(1) CalPers held onto the mortgages and didn’t slice and dice them in CDOs;
(2) Did due diligence and didn’t issue mortgages without verifying that the applicant was qualified;

then they’re probably in decent shape on them. They’re going to hurt some, but not like New Mexico’s Educational Retirement Board that got into some really shady stuff.

i’m sure atf will be there. they show up at the big ones, especially if they think it may be an ‘domestic terrorist’ type arson.

So work on the music when you’re not working, right? Harmonicas a pretty cheap!

yeah. that’s what i don’t know. couple that with the bastoids in sac always trying to grab the calpers money. its like those congresscritters and wanting to borrow from social security to help with a deficit.

It is pretty amazing what we can get by with when we need to, isn’t it?

I’m partial to the Bach Portrait on the same disc…

I’m torn between Zappa’s “Weasles Ripped My Flesh” and PDQ’s ” My bonnie lass, She Smelleth”

What they’re missing is simple ‘majority rule’. Requiring more than that is basically a conservative trick to fight any change. It’s like giving them extra votes.

I think in honor of our new senator we should have an Al Green song up. Franken is a bit green to the senate.

On the health industry reform debate I think it would be great to have a slick video infomercial with visual comparisons of the present system (with perhaps a few stats on how things were 30-20-10 years ago) and the possible new reform bill with a public option. I remember the work Perot did with simple charts and it was very useful. Now we can do much niftier stuff. Morphius offers the red pill of doing nothing or the blue pill of a Dem reform bill…

I watched Krugman this evening and when it came to pushing the recovery he only said we should have more stimulus. I wonder if getting the health reform into action would stimulate the economy to the extent of employing more people by next spring. I also wonder what fixing California’s political problems would do for the economy in that same 6-9 months. Then there is the energy bill and whatever effects it will have. These are rather huge problems and fixing them should do something for employment. It just has to. Aside from those, what can gov’t do?

Oh btw, cutting back our involvement in Iraq will save us some money. That’s gonna help too. This is a *lot* of change occuring in the next 6-9 months and the stimulus bill is still in the pipeline. It’s hard to judge where we might be in 6 or 12 months with all this.

CalPers got into purchasing huge pieces of real estate at the wrong time. I didn’t know about the loans, but I would guess they’re pretty safe if they’re with people vested in CalPers. It’s the largest retirement group in the world, I believe.

hey mark h – how’s the weather where you are?

Ages ago, when I was an assistant prof and graduate student were not scared to death of me, some of the students (I think it was my design course, but I was never able to prove anything) changed the name plate on my office door to one reading , “PDQ Bargain Countertenor, Assistant Professor of Sadistics.” I noticed it right away.

The department head did not notice it for several days, and I got my ass chewed out for it. I mentioned the change in my classes the next day, and it was changed back.

What is your axe, Funnydiva? Or are you singer, rather than a musician?

When standing erect, he was two feet wide. And this is what he said. This is what Jack Bach said…

La-na-na na-na-na na-na-na-na-na-na…

Yeah. Love that one, too.
FWDiva

yum toasted home made banana bread with vanilla ice cream on top…..

I believe that’s correct. I know that the last time I checked, CalPers was paying pensions out of investment earnings. That is, it’s never touched the contributions themselves.

shit that sounds forking good katy

Oh, good point on the public option creating lots of jobs…hadn’t entered my little brain. That’s huge and not being touted by the dems at all. We might be in shape to rid ourselves of the bluedogs if all goes well. (You know Obama has a plan…)

Watch it, buddy. Them’s fighting words!
I’m a lapsed violist. Get much better return on practice and lessons as a singer. Did 7 seasons with the Seattle Symphony Chorale. One of these times I’ll get re-employed and back to some lessons and back onstage with a major orchestra (only way for me to do that is as a singer, mon!).

FWDiva

tho’ I still think the all-time funniest bit is New Horizons in Music Appreciation.

katy, glad you’re eating so well!

I didn’t know that, FWD. Good for you! And here I was suggesting a harp…

found a banana bread recipe without nuts as Elmore is allergic….. found it on foodnetwork

I hear those are outta this world and any other world too. Heh

OMFG, yes.
A horn player flubs it, and one announcer guy is sure “He’ll be traded next season…”
It’s a total classic. Cracks me up just thinking about it!

FWDiva

Oh. A member of the wirechoir.

I heard a Jeff Reynolds (now retired, formerly bass trombonist with LAPO and one of my former teachers) story a few years ago. For most of his career, Jeff played a 1930-something Conn bass trombone. It looked its age, too.

At a kiddy-concert, Jeff was deputized to do the “this is a trombone” demo, before the orchestra did the Britten. Jeff is supposed to have stood up, and said something like this.

This is a bass trombone. I got it out of a dumpster in back of the Safeway. I use this to wipe out whole battalions of those (pointing with the slide at the reeds and strings).

As I got the story, he played the big ‘bone lick from the Ride afterwards. I laughed my behind off, because it sounded just like him.

What Loo Hoo said, Katy. Really, really glad.
FWDiva

Just to let you know that if I disappear next week it is because Elmore and I are camping up in the 4 corners area….. Monument Valley, Petrified forest, Tony Hillerman country….John Ford/John Wayne country…. there probably won’t be a connection to the outside world…..

HARP?!!
HELL NO! Gotta tune every single one of them strings individually, every few minutes. YUK!
Just tuning the 4 on my violin used to frustrate me to tears. That was before I developed a true sense of intonation when I was 17 or so. That was about 7 years of my parental unit putting up with my tin ear. Poor them!

FWDiva

It’s been nice weather recently…low mid-70s up to mid-80s a little humidity, but with a very nice breeze and enough rain to keep everything very green. We’ve got some flowers and tomatoes growing this year.

Usually in the summer (the last decade) it’s been dryer, hotter, muggier and less breezy. This year it’s much nicer.

OH, stay cool and have a great time!
FWDiva

Wait a minute. What’s that? An oboe cadenza? Does he think this is an oboe concerto?

True story. Our local town-and-gown is now mostly ringers brought in from outside. The MD programmed Beethoven 5, but didn’t rehearse it sufficiently for everyone to know the road map. Everything goes fine through the exposition, they get to the first ending and half the orchestra takes the repeat, the other half goes on to the development.

Oooopsie.

thanks for the heads up katy – ’cause we would be worried

Hey, you know that Four Corners is misplaced, right?

sounds lovely markh – we could use some rain – i was noticing today when i walked down to the mailbox that stuff is starting to look a little dry. no rain in the forecast for the next week or so.

Ooopsie nothing. That was OUCHIE! Supposed to get that outta yer system at the first rehearsal. DUH!
Sheesh. The local science nerd pick-up orch I was in at least managed not to do that!

I mean, don’t people, like, listen to recordings or anything?!!! Fork, mon! That’s how I kep’ from getting lost in my 2nd violin/viola parts in orchestra. I never understood why horn players, flute players, etc, with lots of loooong rests didn’t seem to do the same, at least with the very standard, widely-recorded repertoire.

FWDiva

I think she meant blues harp, a/k/a harmonica. They’re even less tunable than an oboe.

A really dear friend has been taking fiddle lessons (he’s a retired adult, I admire his dedication). At one lesson, he says his teacher asked, “What exactly is your concept of D?”

Or, how are a violinists fingers like lightning? Neither ever strike the same place twice…

Elmore is a jewel, isn’t he? Have a wonderful trip next week!

that area is called “high country” because of the altitude, Flaggstaff is 7500 ft…. the grand canyon rim can be over 8000ft….

The temps will be in the 70-80’s, I’ve experienced snow at the end of May at the canyon

Where are you guys, Mark? General area.

what do you mean?

Cool! I’m falling behind :-(

I have a roll-on 1% hydrocortisone anti-itch stick that really does the job.
Non-prescription, called Cortaid. (had it forever, dunno if still available)

i played the viola when i was a young teen. i’ve made inquiries at the music shop in town about prices etc for a beginner. have been thinking about trying to pick it up again.

The MD is not a very well-liked guy… I was wondering if it wasn’t deliberate at least one some people’s part.

The rest counting champions of the orchestra are MY section, the trombones. Flutes, horns … none of ‘em come close. Well, the tuba, but that’s an honorary trombone anyway.

I always got the score and studied the score along with listening to good recordings. It really helps to know what’s supposed to be going on around you.

Yep.
definition of dissonance or minor 2nd? 2 oboes playing in unison.

What’s the difference between a trampoline and a viola?
.
.
.
.
.

You take off your shoes to jump on the trampoline.

FWDiva

Jewell was my first husband’s last name….. I was Katy Jewell….. have some elderly lady patient say to as she patted me…..”you are such a jewel”….. she had no idea how much….

The marker’s in the wrong place. Some geographer was dinking around with his GPS and claimed that the real intersection is a quarter mile east and a bit south of the marker.

What’s the difference between violin and a viola?

i’ve used cortisone ointment (OTC) before. am trying the chickweed salve which does help a lot. but then i start to get the itches and i get itchy all over. i’ve got very delicate skin – allergic to most soaps. i figure i must be considered a delicacy based on the # of bites on my right hip.

Yup, I did mean harmonica. You and Funny WD will be glad to know that I can play O’ Suzanna if I’m sitting in a 50’s yellow Ford pick-up.

Oh, if you’re serious, you can borrow mine. I still have it. Hasn’t been played in ages, but I don’t have the heart to sell it. Too many hours together through college. It even got burgled once…it was the only thing I ever got back from that stinking thief.

FWDiva

the viola burns longer.

Speaking of which, which half of a string quartet should you take camping with you?

Mrs. BC (a flautist) has gone to bed, so I can type this safely.

How do you get two piccolos to play in tune?

Shoot one.

How do you get the remaining picc in tune with the ensemble?

Shoot that one, too.

That’s one answer. The other is:

None. It’s an optical illusion, violinists all have swollen heads.

Do you know the makeup of a string quartet?

Wait…has the US Govt dispensed with the “fudge factor” in non-military GPS units? As in, it used to get you close, but not bomb-targeting precise…

FWDiva

OMG, what a perfect name. Katy Jewell.

kinda like that busier than a one armed piccolo player joke

I always think of Viola Swamp.

OK, I really REALLY like that one!
Now I have to call my 1st violinist friend. The one who looks like he could be in ZZ Topp. The one who usually has a really baaaaad joke for me.

FWDiva

Yup. Several years ago.

There have always been statistical ways around their induced imprecision. Basically, set up on your point for five or ten minutes and average the results.

are you serious? really?

??
There’s something viola-related that I no not aught of?
Do tell!

The answer:
The viola because it burns longer and the cello because it holds the most beer.

FWDiva

If you had a really valuable Cremonese violin and needed to store it overnight, where could you put it that would leave it safe from thieves?

thanks for the info….

Suzanne, I am starting on my bucket list…… 4 corners and all it has to offer…. and just start traveling while we can….in the fall I’m going to change my chemo day to Wednesday to match Elmore’s monday night football schedule ….. then I can travel where the games are if it is close….. San Diego…. Denver… ESPN pays for the hotel already

Yes to both the loan and the burglary.
It’s time it had a happy home again.

FWDiva

viola case.

that’s wonderful news katy!

Hope you get to Seattle again!
FWDiva

a borrow. if i decide i can play i’ll get one and return yours funny.

Bing, bing, bing…

But what about the string quartet?

Yes, I’ve always thought knowing what the whole thing sounds like was kind of the point!
You sure the percussionists don’t count at least as well as you trombones? Really?!!

In honor of your not very well-liked MD: What do you call an assistant conductor?

Oh boy, the Palin article is getting the republicans bulldogging!

You take the lower half because the viola burns longer and the cello holds more beer!

A semiconductor?

What’s the difference between a bull and an orchestra?

I’ve been teaching too long. A young teacher has a class of kids misbehaving. She dresses up as Viola Swamp and pretends she’s a substitute teacher. She’s horrible to the kids, and the next day they appreciate their teacher!

Oh, I missed this one.
“makeup” of a string quartet?
No idea, mon.
New joke for me?

AH, hadn’t heard that answer before.

A string quartet consists of a good violinist, a not-so-good violinist, a really bad violinist, and someone who hates all violinists.

hahahaha

Have to because my oldest son lives there and my three granddaughters ….

Noooo, silly! A Mouse trying to become a RAT!

The bull has the horns in front and the Asshole in the back. Other way ’round for the orch.

Percussionists? Count? You’re kidding me.

You know what they do with kids who can’t handle musical instruments? Give them two sticks and make them percussionists. Do you know what they do with the kids who can’t cope with two sticks and a drum?

I love it … I’ve got a friend who’s an assistant conductor I’ve got share that with.

they take away one stick and make them conductors.

All in good fun.
My fave conductor to work with was Gerry Schwarz’s assistant/assoc for 3 years. Man’s a complete GENIUS!!!

FWDiva

Of course all in good fun. Or mostly in good fun.

In HS, our concertmistress was bitching about the G-string on her violin. So we changed it for her a few days later… I never did find out where that thong we put on her fiddle came from…

Ok I’m heading out….. have a good night……

dammit, that coffee was hot! hahahahahaha

g’nite katy

A good conductor is a real joy to work with. Someone who schedules rehearsals so the tutti stuff comes first (or last, I prefer first) and then the orchestra pares down (or builds up). Someone who isn’t a screamer (that’s the prob with our current MD), who programs appropriately, who is willing to stretch himself and the ensemble.

Someone who knows the score, and knows the instruments or at least listens to the people who know the instruments. I was doing Don Gillis’ Tulsa a few years ago. It opens with an octave unison sfzp in horn and first trombone, trombone in cup mute horn stopped.

I had fits giving the conductor what he wanted. If I stung it as marked, “No… not so hard.” If I gave him the attack he wanted, “No… you have to sting it.” I finally figured out the problem was the mute I was using. In orchestra work I use metal mutes unless otherwise marked — it’s how I was taught. So I was using a metal cup. He didn’t want that sound, he wanted a softer mute sound, a fiber mute. I changed mutes and he was happy.

So I went up to him after the dress (I’m slow, it took me too long to figure the problem out) and said, “You need to tell your trombonist to use a fiber cup on Tulsa: that’s the sound you want.” I heard from a friend a couple of years later that she’d had the same problem, same piece. I said, “Wait a sec… thus-and-so conducting?” “Yeah, how’d you know?” “I had the same issues — solved it with a fiber cup.” “Why the hell didn’t I think of that?”

‘night Katy.

Night, Katy!

Sweet dreams katy.

Well, I have individual meetings with my students all day tomorrow, so I’d better get betwixt the sheets.

Good night, all.

Yes to all you said.
The guy I mentioned? Would’ve remembered about the fiber cup. I guarandamn-tee it. Oh, and he would’ve thanked you sincerely for the info.
He learned “don’t take it apart if you can’t put it back together again” from observation and applied it working with the Chorale (used to be part of the assistant conductor’s job).
We loved that guy. One of my colleagues used to say she’d crawl through broken glass to work with him. I used to say “what she said.”

FWDiva

Oops!
Night, BCT, it’s been way fun!
FWDiva

g’nite bct

I knew it was going to come up again, because the guy didn’t make a note in his score. That’s why serious conductors buy their own f***ing scores to their repertoire, that’s why publishers sell scores separately from the ensemble parts.

Well, that and so that geeks like me who want to know what’s going on in that 117 measure rest can use the money we’re making from the gig (if any) to buy a score…

Speaking of music, has anyone seen Ed*ard Teller?

Hahaha!
I just sit on the risers and watch the orchestra to figger out what’s going on while I’m “tacet”!
Night!

loohoo, he was around a couple nites ago – i usually check his blog to see what he has been up to – wow is he ever busy!

time for me to head out pups. been a long ass day for me and i’m tired. g’nite all and thanks so very much for such an enjoyable evening.

Thanks, bookmarked.

Nighters, all. It’s been fun!