The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 02: A Comma (is a Restful Pause)

[Handley_Page]

Mountain Dulcimers: folk-rock, Gregorian chant

Any examples of that gregorian chant stuff on a Dulcimer ?
Have you considered the Crumhorn ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8w7KJznei7I

~I rather like this:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oskYL3VlIq4

 

[Hypoxia]

Any examples of that gregorian chant stuff on a Dulcimer ?

Hmmm, I'm not big on uTube so I haven't looked for any. A couple books of plainsong infest my library somewhere. I generally pick a mode, tune the dulcimer accordingly, and recall a melody more-or-less well.

Mea culpa: With drones, it's no longer strictly monophony, but it sounds fuller. It works just as well on my 3-string fretless electric cigar-box guitar but with a bit more sliding into and out of notes. Bluesy Gregorian chant FTW!

Modes are fun. Bent modes are a fun cheat. I've done a bit with Western (church) modes on the above instruments and open-tuned guitar, banjo, and 'ukes, and Arabic modes on my Turkish lute. Indian classical modes are a bit beyond me, with rather different ascending and descending microtonal scales. Oriental and other pentatonic scales aren't really modal but can be treated as such.

Have you considered the Crumhorn ?

My bagpipe chanter is rather similar except the double reeds are flakier. I've never really liked that. I trained (badly) on clarinet, not oboe, which requires better embouchure. I'm somewhat comfortable with flageolets, tinwhistles, recorders, and ocarinas.

Okay, I'll search eBay for a cheap crumhorn. (A new Chinese flageolet was under five bucks, shipped.) [/me searches] Eek! Beyond my budget. Maybe I'll try the chanter again.

 

[Handley_Page]

Hmmm, I'm not big on uTube so I haven't looked for any. A couple books of plainsong infest my library somewhere. I generally pick a mode, tune the dulcimer accordingly, and recall a melody more-or-less well.

Mea culpa: With drones, it's no longer strictly monophony, but it sounds fuller. It works just as well on my 3-string fretless electric cigar-box guitar but with a bit more sliding into and out of notes. Bluesy Gregorian chant FTW!

Modes are fun. Bent modes are a fun cheat. I've done a bit with Western (church) modes on the above instruments and open-tuned guitar, banjo, and 'ukes, and Arabic modes on my Turkish lute. Indian classical modes are a bit beyond me, with rather different ascending and descending microtonal scales. Oriental and other pentatonic scales aren't really modal but can be treated as such.

My bagpipe chanter is rather similar except the double reeds are flakier. I've never really liked that. I trained (badly) on clarinet, not oboe, which requires better embouchure. I'm somewhat comfortable with flageolets, tinwhistles, recorders, and ocarinas.

Okay, I'll search eBay for a cheap crumhorn. (A new Chinese flageolet was under five bucks, shipped.) [/me searches] Eek! Beyond my budget. Maybe I'll try the chanter again.

I'mn having trouble with 'modern' stuff; there seems little difference between a flageolet, a recorder and a tin whistle.

 

[Hypoxia]

I'mn having trouble with 'modern' stuff; there seems little difference between a flageolet, a recorder and a tin whistle.

That's because a tinwhistle is a sort of flageolet, which is a sort of recorder without the thumb hole. But I also have plastic versions of whistles and their ilk WITH thumb holes. (I always carry a steel tinwhistle to deter menacing dogs.) Thumbhole whistles blend into tonettes, ocarinas, and other fun fipple flutes.

All those are nominally diatonic, like a piano's white keys, although sharps can be reached by partially uncovering a hole. I also have a couple of pentatonic flutes, one Native American (a pricey gift), one Indonesian bamboo (good and cheap). Bending notes is quite common on such.

Then there are the pipe and tabor, a three-hole whistle played one handed and a small drum beaten with the other hand. Yes, a one-person fife-and-drum corps, now associated with Morris dancers.

One of these days I may modify a wood or bamboo whistle, replace the fipple with a reed mouthpiece as from a cheap clarinet, and possess a 'bamboo' saxophone. Hmmm, maybe I can swap mouthpieces on my alto recorder. Hope I won't need duct tape.
_____

Oh damn, I must be up in six hours, ready for the next cardiac consult. This cardiologist, an ablation specialist, must think I'm in fairly serious need, else they wouldn't schedule me for a Saturday morning. I need to preload the Krups espresso machine to provide me with the need boost. COFFEE!

 

[ishtat]

Cricket The Ashes.

Australia are 549 for 4 in Perth today against England. And tomorrow I have to attend and present the trophy to the winners in a local competition. I will be the only non Aussie there. They will be queuing up to remind me of my countrymen's inadequacies - life can be cruel sometimes.

 

[TxRad]

Someone actually wins at Cricket! Who would have thunk it.

Morning all,

The only music around here this morning is the buzzing in my ears but i do have fresh coffee and more fritters. You guys didn't devour enough yesterday.

Already got my morning writing out of the way. Now the question is, do I sneak in the bedroom and snuggle back in or wait until Housemate gets up and ambush her in the shower. I think hot water and a slippery body will win out.

 

[Handley_Page]

Ah, the rain doth fall upon the wet ground.
I figure we'll be ok provided the temperature stayss high enough to preclude snow.
Now, as it's still bloody cold, I feel the need for coffee.

 

[TxRad]

Saturday afternoon and I'm feeling lazy. I guess I should make some coffee. The weather is supposed to get wet and colder as the afternoon and evening wear on.

As I finish up this last book, I'm beginning to understand why Star Trek and Star Wars have hung on and around for so long. Authors make characters and then fall in love with them. After a while you get used to having them around, if nowhere other than your own head.

 

[Handley_Page]

Saturday afternoon and I'm feeling lazy. I guess I should make some coffee. The weather is supposed to get wet and colder as the afternoon and evening wear on.

As I finish up this last book, I'm beginning to understand why Star Trek and Star Wars have hung on and around for so long. Authors make characters and then fall in love with them. After a while you get used to having them around, if nowhere other than your own head.

I know that feeling. I have a number of [very] short stories (as yet un collated) which feature characters I like.
There's absolutely no sex in them whatever. . . . .

Time for tea, I think.

 

[TxRad]

I know that feeling. I have a number of [very] short stories (as yet un collated) which feature characters I like.
There's absolutely no sex in them whatever. . . . .

Time for tea, I think.

One cuppa coming up.

Since what I'm writing is aimed at the young adult reader, I'm very limited by what I can write where sex comes in. Not quite Laurel's no sex before 18 rule but damned close. And since there are ten books, the characters have aged in some cases well past 18, but there can still not be any sex.

It is to say the least, a strange universe that publishers, site owners, and lawyers live in.

 

[NotWise]

I have pinon (pinyon) burning in the chiminea to add a distinctive scent to the patio. The horse next door is gone and the wall is repaired. The air is crisp and clear and it feels like the holidays.

 

[Hypoxia]

A chilly, windy, but not precipitous day here in the central Sierra Nevada range. Winds rage throughout the state, fanning the Thomas fire into California's biggest. Shit. And we rose early for a fairly distant medical consult that raised more than answered questions. I seem to be a puzzle surrounded by a mystery wrapped in a riddle or something similar. Nobody's sure what's wrong. So, more meds, another restart, and see what happens. So says the expert cardio-electro-physiologist.

Enough. Some of you may be relieved to hear that I'm running out of 'uke and mando talk. Running out of steam engines, too. And I'll try to avoid gyroplanes, except as plot devices. I've seen this before: I write a bunch of techy crap, then turn to fiction. Yes, I may write stories again soon. Probably no more tales of humans turned into incestuous banana slugs. But hey, ya never can tell...

Dang, this morning's quadruple espresso didn't last. Unconsciousness calls. Coffee? Later.

 

[MagicaPractica]

A chilly, windy, but not precipitous day here in the central Sierra Nevada range. Winds rage throughout the state, fanning the Thomas fire into California's biggest. Shit. And we rose early for a fairly distant medical consult that raised more than answered questions. I seem to be a puzzle surrounded by a mystery wrapped in a riddle or something similar. Nobody's sure what's wrong. So, more meds, another restart, and see what happens. So says the expert cardio-electro-physiologist.

Enough. Some of you may be relieved to hear that I'm running out of 'uke and mando talk. Running out of steam engines, too. And I'll try to avoid gyroplanes, except as plot devices. I've seen this before: I write a bunch of techy crap, then turn to fiction. Yes, I may write stories again soon. Probably no more tales of humans turned into incestuous banana slugs. But hey, ya never can tell...

Dang, this morning's quadruple espresso didn't last. Unconsciousness calls. Coffee? Later.

Ever tried writing Steampunk? All of that unusual information could fit right in.

 

[TxRad]

MP, glad to see you popping up. I was almost to the point of worrying.

Fresh coffee for the night crew.

Cold and raining here.

 

[_Lynn_]

The temperature made it into the thirties today after way too many days in the teens. I'm over the cold weather. Give me spring.

 

[sr71plt]

The temperature made it into the thirties today after way too many days in the teens. I'm over the cold weather. Give me spring.

We have fall for our more days.

 

[Hypoxia]

Ever tried writing Steampunk? All of that unusual information could fit right in.

I've a story plotted where a clumsy time-and-space-machine inventor mistakenly forays into wrong timelines and alt.uinverses, including a Brit-ruled dystopian steampunk world.

How his episodes go: He searches for Eve but finds primordial Lucy and later lovely Yeti, both of whom rape his pale pole. He searches for Maria Magdalena but winds up with Cleopatra and the damn asp. He seeks Jean d'Arc but lands in bed with black widow Lucretia Borgia. And he aims for Queen Victoria but arrives early at Victoria Station in a Two-Georges scenario awash in steam-powered prosthetics, static-electric dildos, trained Hindu tantric-yoga hookers, and supreme dominatrix Mary Todd Lincoln. Something like that.

The technology will just have to handle steam-turbine gyroplanes, hey?

Meanwhile, decaf returns to the evening rotation. A big cuppa decaf espresso (depresso) dashed with cocoa, vanilla, and a drop of orange essence. Just to tide me over till morning.

 

[Handley_Page]

My morning coffee wasn't the usual tasty brew; I think I got something wrong.
And it is gloomy beyond belief this morning; leaden sky and trying to rain (again).
Gnash, Grrrr

 

[TxRad]

Happy Sinday, one and all.

Fresh coffee and powdered donuts. Have at it.

 

[MagicaPractica]

MP, glad to see you popping up. I was almost to the point of worrying. .

Just haven't been feeling very chatty. I have gotten some writing and submitting done though.

The temperature made it into the thirties today after way too many days in the teens. I'm over the cold weather. Give me spring.

We apparently need some more cold weather, just found a full size flea on the cat, who already has a Seresto collar on.

I've a story plotted where a clumsy time-and-space-machine inventor mistakenly forays into wrong timelines and alt.uinverses, including a Brit-ruled dystopian steampunk world... Meanwhile, decaf returns to the evening rotation. A big cuppa decaf espresso (depresso) dashed with cocoa, vanilla, and a drop of orange essence. Just to tide me over till morning.

Both the story and the coffee sound interesting.

My morning coffee wasn't the usual tasty brew; I think I got something wrong.
And it is gloomy beyond belief this morning; leaden sky and trying to rain (again).
Gnash, Grrrr

Same here, coffee tasted very weak.

Happy Sinday, one and all.
Fresh coffee and powdered donuts. Have at it.

Made soft molasses crinkle cookies last night for Christmas but we've indulged in a few. My great grandmothers recipe.

 

[Hypoxia]

I hate my old Samsung Galaxy Prime Duos phone. It must be near me always because its clock hosts my 8:00 AM and PM alarms for pills. Wherever I am in my twisted sleep cycle, that damn Bug's Story snippet tortures me into something like wakefulness.

Stagger into the bathroom. Open the twice-daily per-week meds dispenser AND clip the bubble-wrap on that oh-so-costly (seven bucks each, twice daily) mustn't-get-moist capsule. A slug of water. A slug of mouthwash. An inspection of my mirrored visage -- am I fit to walk to the kitchen? More sleep is impossible.

Stagger across the house. Dry the soaking Krups espresso-machine parts. Fill the metal cup with Café Bustelo dark roast. Carefully, technically, pour a Krups beaker-full of slightly chlorinated tap water down the machine's throat. Tighten down, switch power on, stick floral Mexican ceramic cup under the spout, and await the magic elixer.

I assemble my solitary breakfast while that gurgles. (My partner doesn't bother rising this early.) A Quaker Chewy granola bar, chocolate and peanut butter. (My next med must be taken with a tablespoon of nut butter.) A small tub of Dannon light Greek yogurt, cherry today. A supposedly 'organic' Guatemalan banana.

Ah, the quadruple espresso is ready! Into it go a sugar cube and a splash of 'organic' Humboldt County milk, straight from Ferndale, one of our favorite Victorian towns, just south and inland from foggy Eureka. You saw Ferndale in that old plague movie with Dustin Hoffman and Morgan Freeman. An earthquake shook the whole stick-built town off its foundations some years back but it's pretty much put back together now.

Plop into the recliner couch with the edibles tray on one side, next to a mandolin, and go-juice on the lamp table. Lean back, laptop in position. Browse the Google News feed whilst munching and sipping. Yeah, that's one way to ruin an appetite. Focus on science news, which doesn't cause gastrointestinal distress as political news does.

Slap on the electronic wrist cuff and check my blood pressure and pulse. Not too bad but still way too damn arrhythmic. Grab the handmade mandolin and fingerpick BLUE SKIES pizzicato. Huff and puff a bit at the effort.

Welcome to my morning.

The Krups machine has cooled down. Stop on by and I'll brew y'all as many single, double, triple, or quadruple espressos as you can stand, unleaded or high-test.

When the day warms we can sit on the covered porch, maybe with a splash of rum or tequila in the dark brew, slowly ride the wicker rockers, and watch deer or turkeys rummage across our meadow. The bears and puma probably aren't around. If they show up, my tinwhistle playing should drive them off.

Okay, enough of that. Time to surf LIT forums while my subconscious cooks stories I should be writing. Voices in my head are starting to mumble. Beware.

 

[Handley_Page]

That is a regime well-fettered, and no mistake.

"A Quaker Chewy granola bar, chocolate and peanut butter. (My next med must be taken with a tablespoon of nut butter.) A small tub of Dannon light Greek yogurt, cherry today. A supposedly 'organic' Guatemalan banana. "

That reads like a weekend magazine piece. A posh one at that.

 

[NotWise]

I assemble my solitary breakfast while that gurgles. (My partner doesn't bother rising this early.) A Quaker Chewy granola bar, chocolate and peanut butter. (My next med must be taken with a tablespoon of nut butter.) A small tub of Dannon light Greek yogurt, cherry today. A supposedly 'organic' Guatemalan banana.

You wouldn't want that to be an inorganic banana, would you? My wife has a couple of those in a bowl on the coffee table, along with some other inorganic fruits.

 

[Handley_Page]

WTF is an 'inorganic' banana ?
Or have Monsanto (??) been playing again ?

Would this be zolved by a Quadratic sum ?

 

[NotWise]

WTF is an 'inorganic' banana ?

Decorative wax fruit, for instance.