All ye oul wans and oul fellas out there! Wakey wakey, rise and shine!

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

........himself is dying to see dem links to gittorists. He's keen on the gittores made from trees, he hugs it all the time!

Great moon last night too. It rose out of the sea and immediately cast a lovely golden light over the beach.

Anyway, apologies for absense again - dem docs are gett'n fierce serious with dare chemo. I now have side-effects from the remedies for side-effects.

I've attached three links to samples of wooden gittore playing. It's very difficult to pick music for strangers so I've picked three completely different johnraz - you may not like the music much but what they have in common is that the players are technically superb. Mr. Youtube has loads of backup, if required.

And, I know yizzall think that playing a gittore is easy-peasy and, well, strumming a few chords in a pub singsong isn't too difficult, but these players perform miracles while making it look so easy. Indeed, one of them doesn't even have the use of all the fingers on his left hand!!!! Yet he is regarded by most top jazz and rock gittorists as the Master - Django Reinhart. On this link, recorded in the 1930's, he is playing with the marvellous Stephane Grappelli on violin. Remember, one microphone, one take! No mixing, no dubbing, no auto-correction. "Get it right or do it all again."

The second player's soul resides in his battered instrument. I worked in Spain for a year or so - hated every minute of it - but I saw this guy playing live in Madrid. Until then, I thought I was making some progress on my gittore but his level of skill and passion is beyond description - Manitas de Plata.

One of Paul Simon's (Simon and Garfunkel) 1970's solo albums listed the third player as a session musician. Later, I came across an LP by him which was a collection of ragtime tunes ("My Creole Belle" (not available on CD)). I was intrigued by the hand-written sleeve notes which included tunings, chords, his address and an invitation to contact him for hints on how to play the tunes! And yes, I did! And he replied!!! He's no singer and he tends to speak hints over his playing, as if giving a class, but he's a wonderful, clean, crisp player, making something horrendously difficult look effortless - Stefan Grossman.

I hope Mr. Jellybaby likes some of this stuff. I'm fairly confident that he will be unable to keep his feet from tapping. And maybe his jaw will drop, as mine does, every time I listen to these geniuses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpO5xIltlyU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eex1aqbfP08
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMICKJQMldA

Don't know if yiz bother with FaceAche or Twatter but FaceAche informs Mrs. BrensBenz who informs me today that "approx 50 dolfrins" have been spotted swimming (as opposed to strolling) between Skerries and Rush, Co. Dublin (Fingal??), as of like now. I'm guessing that "50" means "maybe 10" but still.........I'm off to meet Flipper and his buddies! Now where's my waterproof camera? Hope the outdoor motor starts.

OldGoat wrote: »

"So, how was your weekend John?"
"Oh you know, same ol' same ol'."

<SNIP>

As yiz know, after a very sheltered childhood, I matured into a delicate flower. So, when I saw that photo pre-snip, and combined it with previous references here to alcohol, burlesque, prescription drugs, disorderly behavior, disobedience, lettuce soup and general naughtiness, I thought "OK, that's it! Unfollow Os and Os."

While waiting for a passing seven-year old to show me how to unfollow, I tuned into an American preacher show, hoping that the shouting preaching would bring calm to my troubled mind. As he cherry-picked snippets from Old and New testament, the minister mentioned "forgive us our trespasses" so I'm postponing the unfollow for now but remain just as disturbed, traumatised and devistayhid as most guests on Jeremy Kyle.

Perhaps I'll spend some hours flower arranging - I may be gone for some time.

OG, please PM details of tour dates, times, locations, dress code, etiquette, secret passwords, etc. of this burlesque scene so that I can..........stand outside with a placard.

looksee wrote: »

As for the injections...rat poison (aka Warfarin) into your stomach can be a nasty one...I have the bruises to show for it.

I know this isn't a competition but, if it was, I'd win. I'm not allowed Warfarin anymore. It's too easy. Instead, I have the DAILY pleasure of injecting MY OWN TUM TUM with Innohep and / or Fragmin. This is an ouchy and unnatural act which I cannot get used to.

However, I have developed some respect for junkies who seem to be able to inject themselves like Martini, i.e. anytime, anyplace, anywhere. Maybe it'd be easier if I wore a grey hoodie ..........

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

Brens, that stuff you are injecting, Innohep, sounds like a Pharaoh I once knew, or was that Amenhotep? I bet he made you say your prayers all right!

Folks, any news of Rubecula? Hope all went well and he's back on his keyboard soon.

Oh oh! You've just reignited my fascination with ancient Egypt. That kept me busy for months in the early noughties. I came across a bewk written by an engineer (not an archaeologist, most of whom appear to be only able to communicate with themselves) describing the actual construction of pyramids in terms that even I could understand. Mindblowing stuff! I had no idea that simply getting a pyramid to stand up is an amazing / surreal achievement or that the flat, featureless exteriors ofter conceal intricate labyrinths of tunnels, chambers, traps, slots pointing towards specific stars that still work, etc!

However, our very own Newgrange, while maybe not as pretty as the pyramids, is also an amazing / surreal piece of work. Precedes pyramids and leaves Stonehenge looking like an abandoned building site. (Crouches behind sofa, with woof, in anticipation of full frontal attacks from Ingerland.)

So, in an attempt to distract possible aggressors, (thank Heavens this isn't AH) may I take this opportunity to recommend info-bewks written by non-specialists. For instance, the best bewk I ever read on physics was a biography of Einstein (and I hate to say this but...) written by a non-physicist journalist. In my type of plain English, he explained the maths, theories and concepts, wrapped in amusing anecdotes, that I just couldn't grasp previously from qualified people. Sorry, no links, I'm afraid. See, these bewks were made out of papyrus - very popular stuff in my youth. This new-fangled vellum will never catch on.

Chucken wrote: »

Rubes got through his operation with flying colours. Last update was Thursday night when he was having fun on his painkillers. Apparently he was talking....A LOT. Not like him at all
I'll give a ring again this evening and hopefully will be able to talk to him.:)

Excellent news, thanks!

If he hasn't had it already, he should demand diamorphine. It's a fancy name for heroine and it's great stuff for what ails ya. Tastes great too, a little like aniseed. The nurses gave it to me for dessert for about a week and I've never even owned a grey hoodie. Mind you, I can remember the week before and the week after but not much of that week except that it was very colourful........like surreal!

looksee wrote: »

I have just stickied a new thread folks. Because everyone ignores Stickies (including me) I am mentioning its existence here so you might go and have a look.

Ta very much!

"I have just stickied a new thread." Ya whoh?? Is that a polite reference to incontinence? Maybe that seven year-old could translate for me? But I might disturb him for life.

"....everyone ignores Stickies......you might go and have a look". Maybe the seven year-old knows what and where stickies are. But, if I asked him, would I have a noisy visit from his parents?

Better not risk it. Safer not knowing nahfing about stickies.