32 GB memory stick

[choro]

With a little thought, that above sentence is priceless.

I'm slow; I don't get it; please enlighten me, but how much do you
think I could get for it. I'm willing to let it go for a ridiculous
low price, and since you laughed, I'll even give you a discount.

[]

BTW, it's Dvo?ák.

(That's the one that appeared as a ? to me.)

Me too.

That's strange! Because Stumbling Block's correct rendition of the name
appeared OK on my screen. Something must be wrong with your settings if
you get ? instead of those European characters.
-- choro

 

[choro]

In my newsreader, both in the original post and as I see it above as I'm
typing this followup, I see Dvo, then a lower case o with a slash
through it, then a acute, then k. In a followup from one of the other
conspirators, the a acute remains, but the o slash is replaced by a
question mark. (I know it's really Dvo r-inverted-circumflex ak, at
least I don't know if there is an accent on the a. Dvo?ak in other words
- though as I pasted that in, it changed to a question mark in this
software, so I don't know if it's going or not.)

Well, I'll be damned if I can follow what you are trying to say.

You almost sound like Beethoven "dicktating" music to his
"secretary bird"!

It would have been far easier to do a Prnt Scrn and saved the result as
a jpg file which you could then have cropped before attaching it to your
post.
-- choro

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Ah, good old Leonard Vincent. (SF short story - I forget title or author
- that he was a 20C student, transported back in time and unable to
return.)

Geez, I had forgotten about that!

I read it too, maybe a half century ago, and no, I don't remember the
title or author (or the magazine) either :-(

 

[choro]

For the correct spelling of Dvorak, with those funny characters, see
http://www.procantare.org/images/march04_prog_notes.pdf

This I copied from Stumbling Block's posting and it shows up properly on
MY screen...
"BTW, it's Dvořák"

If you can't see it properly you must set your News Reader to use the
Western-ISO-8859-1 for your Default Character Encoding. At least that's
what I have got mine set to.

You'll find it under...
Tools>Account Settings>Server Settings -- at least in Thunderbird.
-- choro

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

(That's the one that appeared as a ? to me.)

I put in an r with a haèek (hachek) using Character Map - which I got to
by typing ch in the search box (it was time to pull a chain about using
the Start Menu!).

 

[choro]

Not if you're a groupie


I moved beyond the "pub" stage of life about twenty years ago.

Ah, but I live in a posh part of town where the local pubs, or at least
some of them, are really posh with nice gardens patronized by a
"sophisicat" clientèle. Definitely not your standard ran down "working
class" pub, I can assure you.
-- choro

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

In my newsreader, both in the original post and as I see it above as I'm
typing this followup, I see Dvo, then a lower case o with a slash
through it, then a acute, then k. In a followup from one of the other
conspirators, the a acute remains, but the o slash is replaced by a
question mark. (I know it's really Dvo r-inverted-circumflex ak, at
least I don't know if there is an accent on the a. Dvo?ak in other words
- though as I pasted that in, it changed to a question mark in this
software, so I don't know if it's going or not.)

It is Dvo, then r with a haèek (hachek), followed by an a with an accent
(which in Czech is a long mark), and then a k.

Given the variability of character set support here, I'll have to give
up on using the correct characters

A few American dictionaries have an entry for hacek, with or without the
eponymous hacek The a in hacek is long also, háèek in Czech. The
word looked OK as I typed it, sorry about the variable character sets...

 

[Mack A. Damia]

On 19/11/2011 22:16, Ed Cryer wrote: []

Two images of Beethoven;
Beethoven the bad;

Beethoven the good;

Ed

The first clip probably does reflect the essence of that event but is

Oh, was it based on a recorded event then?

(The bridge looked very modern to me: from the bridge design rather than
the costumes, I'd have put it at early 20th century rather than
Beethovenzeit. Even if the event is recorded, is the bridge design also
authentic? [I don't mean the little eagles.])

I found hearing him speak with a pronounced American accent hard to
accept, but that is of course cultural - I would certainly understand if
an American audience found him hard to accept with a British one.

definitely over-dramatized. But I couldn't help myself laughing seeing

Yes, I suspected it was overdone.

the second clip. "Dicktaking" a musical work in that fashion would take
forever and I dare say it would have been an easier task for Beethoven

Same thought occurred to me. Though the young woman had some concept
("an octave higher?") of what he was doing.

to write it down himself rather than dictating it in that fashion. Or
he could have written the basic stuff and left it to some assistant to
fill in the fluff!

This is really comical. It is something like taking instructions on the
phone to paint a Mona Lisa. I have a theory that Leonardo da Vinci
instructed his blonde secretary over the phone to create the Mona Lisa!
;-)
-- choro

Ah, good old Leonard Vincent. (SF short story - I forget title or author
- that he was a 20C student, transported back in time and unable to
return.)

Are you thinking of Manly Wade Wellman's "Twice in Time"?

 

[choro]

On 19/11/2011 23:25, Mack A. Damia wrote: []

Lard is still the favorite choice of cooking oil/fat in Mexico; yet,
Mexicans have one of the longest lifespans among all the peoples of
the world.

Go figure.

Southern Europeans use a lot more oil in cooking than we do (and yet
live longer). Some nation (I forget which) smokes a lot more than we do,
and yet live longer. Etcetera, etcetera - I forget the other examples.

The conclusion is that it's speaking English (of the rightpondian or
leftpondian variety) that dooms us (-:!

It's the lifestyle and the pressures of life. Had a serious heart
operation years ago, and was chatting with one of the doctors and he
said that heart problems are hardly known in the Far East, yet when Far
Easterners come to the UK they become susceptible to heart problems.

I doubt that Zorba ever got a heart attack. South Europeans have a
different approach to life than Northern Europeans. But their lifestyles
are also being eroded these days. Pity!
-- choro

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Here's another 9:8, but this time it's Q-S-Q-Q, accented on the S; it's
Macedonian, IIRC (and it sounds Macedonian). It's called Shto mi e milo.

Here's a fragment of the same melody with a different title and lyrics,
showing the dance as well (it's the only one I could find under the
alternate name):

I had forgotten about this guy, Simon Trpèeski[1], a Macedonian
classical pianist and composer, who incorporated the above tune in this
piece:

The melody appears clearly at around 30 seconds into the clip.

[1] Seeing that character codes are varied, let me point out that Simon
Trpèeski = Simon Trpcheski, where ch means the c with a hachek.

 

[Mack A. Damia]

Ah, but I live in a posh part of town where the local pubs, or at least
some of them, are really posh with nice gardens patronized by a
"sophisicat" clientèle. Definitely not your standard ran down "working
class" pub, I can assure you.

I've been to both. Stanley's Tavern on Laurel Street was workingman's
depression-era bar that Stanley opened up in the 1930s.

When I lived near the bar in the 1980's, you could get a meal for
less than $1.00 and get change to boot. Porter on tap, too.

Across the street in the working class neighborhood was "Joe's" - one
of the most exclusive restaurants in the nation. A la carte meals
started at $100.00 - he specialized in mushrooms that he picked
himself and a Beef Wellington.


"I'm really sorry to see that close," said McMahon, Reading mayor.
"It's an institution. It's a great piece of Reading history. You had
Stanley's (a working man's tavern) down the street and Joe's (a famous
restaurant); what a juxtaposition."

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=345121

I've haunted the fancy joints , too. My late friend, the cocaine
dealer, would drive in his new BMW, and we'd hit all the fancy hot
spots in the area - southeastern Pennsylvania. This was in the late
1970s - early 1980s. He owned a condo in Ocean City, NJ and died of
an overdose while speedballing. His identical twin brother had died
just about a year earlier doing the same thing.

Made the rounds at both types of places in the Pittsburgh area about
ten years later. Got bored with the scene after a while, so I gave it
up for TV, a book and maybe a beer or two.

It's much safer, too.

 

[Mack A. Damia]

On 19/11/2011 23:25, Mack A. Damia wrote: []
Lard is still the favorite choice of cooking oil/fat in Mexico; yet,
Mexicans have one of the longest lifespans among all the peoples of
the world.

Go figure.

Southern Europeans use a lot more oil in cooking than we do (and yet
live longer). Some nation (I forget which) smokes a lot more than we do,
and yet live longer. Etcetera, etcetera - I forget the other examples.

The conclusion is that it's speaking English (of the rightpondian or
leftpondian variety) that dooms us (-:!

It's the lifestyle and the pressures of life. Had a serious heart
operation years ago, and was chatting with one of the doctors and he
said that heart problems are hardly known in the Far East, yet when Far
Easterners come to the UK they become susceptible to heart problems.

You and me both. I'm 64 and last year in March and April I guess I
had a couple of heart attacks. Walked into the hospital on May 30
and had a triple bypass open heart procedure done on June 3.

Did your operation give you a different perspective on life?

 

[choro]

I've been to both. Stanley's Tavern on Laurel Street was workingman's
depression-era bar that Stanley opened up in the 1930s.

When I lived near the bar in the 1980's, you could get a meal for
less than $1.00 and get change to boot. Porter on tap, too.

Across the street in the working class neighborhood was "Joe's" - one
of the most exclusive restaurants in the nation. A la carte meals
started at $100.00 - he specialized in mushrooms that he picked
himself and a Beef Wellington.


"I'm really sorry to see that close," said McMahon, Reading mayor.
"It's an institution. It's a great piece of Reading history. You had
Stanley's (a working man's tavern) down the street and Joe's (a famous
restaurant); what a juxtaposition."

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=345121

I've haunted the fancy joints , too. My late friend, the cocaine
dealer, would drive in his new BMW, and we'd hit all the fancy hot
spots in the area - southeastern Pennsylvania. This was in the late
1970s - early 1980s. He owned a condo in Ocean City, NJ and died of
an overdose while speedballing. His identical twin brother had died
just about a year earlier doing the same thing.

Made the rounds at both types of places in the Pittsburgh area about
ten years later. Got bored with the scene after a while, so I gave it
up for TV, a book and maybe a beer or two.

It's much safer, too.

I tend to like quiet pubs where one can sit down and relax with a drink
or two, or maybe socialize over a steak dinner or steak and kidney pie
or something like that. Don't like noisy places.

One of my favorite places is the garden restaurant at Kenwood House in
North London at the top of Hampstead Heath which is not far from where I
live. It is always civilized there for some reason. Other similar places
not all that distant from Kenwood House just seem to attract the wrong
crowds who thankfully tend to shy away from Kenwood House. They must be
put off by the genteel atmosphere of the place.

I even listened to a whole symphony orchestra rehearsing there for the
evening concert. Nothing special really as I prefer to listen to music
either at home on my hi-fi or live in the concert hall. Definitely not
in the open air on loudspeakers with the orchestra sitting on the podium
across the lake. Stupid if you ask me, at least from a musical and
acoustical point of view.

In winter you can sit inside in the restaurant in a large room more like
a huge barn with very tall ceilings which I just love. That place has
got a life of its own. It seems alive almost. I just love it.
-- choro

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

This I copied from Stumbling Block's posting and it shows up properly on
MY screen...
"BTW, it's Dvoøák"

There are no k's in Stumbling Bloch

 

[Mack A. Damia]

I tend to like quiet pubs where one can sit down and relax with a drink
or two, or maybe socialize over a steak dinner or steak and kidney pie
or something like that. Don't like noisy places.

One of my favorite places is the garden restaurant at Kenwood House in
North London at the top of Hampstead Heath which is not far from where I
live. It is always civilized there for some reason. Other similar places
not all that distant from Kenwood House just seem to attract the wrong
crowds who thankfully tend to shy away from Kenwood House. They must be
put off by the genteel atmosphere of the place.

I even listened to a whole symphony orchestra rehearsing there for the
evening concert. Nothing special really as I prefer to listen to music
either at home on my hi-fi or live in the concert hall. Definitely not
in the open air on loudspeakers with the orchestra sitting on the podium
across the lake. Stupid if you ask me, at least from a musical and
acoustical point of view.

In winter you can sit inside in the restaurant in a large room more like
a huge barn with very tall ceilings which I just love. That place has
got a life of its own. It seems alive almost. I just love it.
-- choro

There are some very fancy restaurants in Ensenada; it being a resort
town. I've eaten in a few but don't like spending a lot of money for
food that I can cook just as well myself. On Christmas and sometimes
New Year's Eve, I'll go to the fish market (called the "Black Market")
and get myself a big lobster tail - maybe some shrimp and raw oysters
which I love. A nice fillet from Costco -which is U.S. beef rather
than Mexican. Mexician beef tends to be flavorful but tough and
stringy. I don't enjoy drinking that much anymore; my desire just
faded away, and since I have been diagnosed with gout, beer is bad
because of the yeast, and shellfish and red meat are among the worst
foods I could eat.

What's a body to do?

 

[choro]

I love this type of Balkan/Macedonian music. I think this can be
described as fusion music. But what is the Imam doing in the shop?

No, I don't dig this version. Too much like shows laid on for tourists.
Technically a good recording though!

I had forgotten about this guy, Simon Trpèeski[1], a Macedonian
classical pianist and composer, who incorporated the above tune in this
piece:

Nice piece actually, but the actual recording is not a very
professional. Pity! He is obviously a fine musician but not such a fine
pianist which is not unusual. I am sure this piece would sound a lot
more polished in the hands of a top notch concert pianist but as a
composition it has a lot of going for it.
-- choro

The melody appears clearly at around 30 seconds into the clip.

[1] Seeing that character codes are varied, let me point out that Simon
Trpèeski = Simon Trpcheski, where ch means the c with a hachek.

 

[choro]

On 19/11/2011 18:59, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
[]
But still, I am what I am and cannot go back.

Ah, that song about the giant vegetable, of which I think Shirley Bassey
gives the best performance.

I like(d) Shirley Bassey especially when she was younger and used to
appear in that low cut dress at the back; cut down to her you know what!
But can't recollect the song that is on your mind.

"Hey, Big Spender" was one of the songs where she wore such a dress.

Hey, of course I remember that one! Who doesn't?
You could see her "cheeks" in that dress! And what "cheeks"!
-- choro

These days I love listening to Edith Piaf. Incredible chanteuse of
French chanson! But if you like singing you should also listen to
Cantaloupe, Songs of the Auvergne, sung by Vittorio de Los Angeles. I've
got two other versions on CD but her version is best.

Also Google for...

Schubert lieder Peter Schreier Hermann Prey Gerald Moore

Dietrich Fischer Diskau will also show up, of course. And Gerald Moore
is a superb accompanist of the highest calibre.
-- choro


However, there is one thing I can say and that is that being engaged
in this exchange of views on these two unlikely newsgroups has given
me a lot of pleasure.

Me too. Though I can't help wondering what the other denizens are
thinking, especially of the Windows one!
[]

Many of the classic performers are on uTube.....

This is of course a classic. Need to say any more?

Ian Bostridge sings superbly but I have got just one niggle! His voice
lacks gravitas. But the pianist, the pianist!!! Who is that pianist? He
is superb! Incredible.

& look at this... (wait for the fugue.)

Sorry. No. Not my cup of tea. Second rate piano. Too much sustain.
Second rate recording. You can't beat Glen Gould for this type of music...

I know I am a hard taskmaster. But then that's me. But listen to Glen
Gould and how the notes come out nice and crisp and the melody sings
even when the melody line is in spaced out chords. You can discern the
melody in the chords whereas with a lesser pianist those chords would
lose their melodic line.

You know what the secret is? More than technique it is the player
singing the melody in his head as he plays. You can't play or rather
play well what you cannot hear and it is that ability of a player to
hear the melody before he actually strikes the notes that brings out the
melody. It's all in your mind's ear, is what I say. I know this is a bit
like the idea behind that book, Zen in the Art of Archery, but it is
true. It is the secret of the old cowboys shooting from the hit and
never missing. Yet someone who takes careful aid misses the target. It
is strange and difficult to understand but as the Zen Archery Master
said after reading a few books on Western philosophy, "Now I understand
why. But you've got everything wrong", or some such words to that effect.
-- choro

 

[choro]

[]
Lard is still the favorite choice of cooking oil/fat in Mexico; yet,
Mexicans have one of the longest lifespans among all the peoples of
the world.

Go figure.

Southern Europeans use a lot more oil in cooking than we do (and yet
live longer). Some nation (I forget which) smokes a lot more than we do,
and yet live longer. Etcetera, etcetera - I forget the other examples.

The conclusion is that it's speaking English (of the rightpondian or
leftpondian variety) that dooms us (-:!

It's the lifestyle and the pressures of life. Had a serious heart
operation years ago, and was chatting with one of the doctors and he
said that heart problems are hardly known in the Far East, yet when Far
Easterners come to the UK they become susceptible to heart problems.

You and me both. I'm 64 and last year in March and April I guess I
had a couple of heart attacks. Walked into the hospital on May 30
and had a triple bypass open heart procedure done on June 3.

Did your operation give you a different perspective on life?

To be honest with you I don't think it did. I was the coolest customer
in the hospital, so the nurses told me. They had never seen anybody as
cool as I was, waiting for a hear operation. So they told me anyway. But
I had the attack at a time when my whole life was in great turmoil and
may be being confined to a hospital bed was one solution for me. But
mine is a long story which I'd like not to divulge in an open arena like
the Usenet.

Anyway, you are a baby compared to me! ;-)
-- choro

 

[choro]

There are no k's in Stumbling Bloch

I get it. No K. But the B is a V. No??!
-- choro

 

[choro]

There are some very fancy restaurants in Ensenada; it being a resort
town. I've eaten in a few but don't like spending a lot of money for
food that I can cook just as well myself. On Christmas and sometimes
New Year's Eve, I'll go to the fish market (called the "Black Market")
and get myself a big lobster tail - maybe some shrimp and raw oysters
which I love. A nice fillet from Costco -which is U.S. beef rather
than Mexican. Mexician beef tends to be flavorful but tough and
stringy. I don't enjoy drinking that much anymore; my desire just
faded away, and since I have been diagnosed with gout, beer is bad
because of the yeast, and shellfish and red meat are among the worst
foods I could eat.

What's a body to do?

Eat plenty of oily fish like herring, mackerel, anchovies etc. Not only
cheap but also very tasty and damn your gout! Me got gout too. Me royal
too! So, I got gout, as Zorba would have said. When the boss aske him:
Are you married? Zorba says: Am I not a man? And is not a man stupid? Of
course I married. Wife, children, house... the full catastrophe! And
then he does the Zorba dance!

Read the book in translation after seeing the film but that was in the
mid 60s. The book is superb actually. And one can learn a lot about life
reading that book.

I am good cook too and I actually enjoy cooking as well as -- but wait
for it --- I love doing the washing up as well. The sound of water
soothes my soul. Psychologically the sound of water has the greatest
calming effect on me. The sound of water flowing in a stream... Nothing
can beat it. My father had a pool with water jetting up and cascading
into the pool with goldfish in it which he had built under the pergola
behind the house.

Actually the back of the house was also the front, if you see what I
mean because it was built on top of a couple of shops and a small
village bakery on a sloping hillside with access from the road going up
the hill so there was no front access but an access from the side with
the front of the house actually at the back!

Sitting or dining under the grapevine and listening to the sound of the
water cascading into the pool was next best thing to being in heaven.
-- choro