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[TCB]

Four

[TCB]

It's October 15th, the end of the day today will be end of the extension tax busy season.   

Oh shoot, is that today?

[TCB]

So how far apart do DR George and DR TCB actually live?

20 to 25 miles.

[George]

Well, speaking of cars...yesterday, I left work and drove downtown to the call-backs for "The Head That Wouldn't Die."  As I got off the freeway and stopped at the first stoplight, I noticed smoke coming out from under the hood of my car!! It smelled like something was burning! As I started driving again, the smoke dissipated, but the next time I stopped again, there was the smoke and the smell.  Fortunately, I was able to get to the theater without my car exploding (I was imagining the worst case scenario all the way).  Actually, the day before, I checked my oil and it was low.  I got some oil, but I didn't get a chance to add it.  After the audition, I was able to add the oil.  I called my sister who only lives a couple of miles from where I was, and was able to drive my car to her house.  She let me borrow her car and today, I'll drive back over and try to drive my car home.  My sister's boyfriend will drive behind me in case it starts to smoke again, but I won't drive the freeway.  I'll take the main streets through town.  I don't know if the oil was the cause of the burning smell and smoke, or if it was something else like a belt.  Whatever it turns out to be, hopefully it won't be too expensive.

You shouldn't leave your belt under the hood.

Too late.

[George]

~ ~ ~ ULTRA CAR VIBES ~ ~ ~ for DR George!!!

Ditto!

Thanks, Larry!

[TCB]

DR CHAS SMITH when you program a keyboard....do you not play that section during performance and just let the keyboard do it?

"Programming" can mean any number of things.  What you suggest can be one of them, but that's not it.  (I haven't yet tried anything in which I'm not physically doing all the playing.)  Typically, when somebody who's playing a musical says they're "programming" the keyboard, what that usually means is finding all of the various "sounds" called for (pianos, other instruments, sometimes sound effects), and getting them set up and stored in such a way that you can seamlessly switch from one to the next, in order, during the performance.

In traditional shows, the keyboard might only need to "be" a piano and one or two other instruments in a few passages, such as organ, celesta, accordion, or harp.  More contemporary shows call for the keyboard and other electronics to be a much larger component of the show from the get-go, the setup and execution of which can get pretty complex.  In some modern-day scores, the number of setups, or "patches", called for, from overture to exit music, can reach a few hundred; i.e., in some sections, you might be changing your setup, or sound, every few bars.  So, this kind of programming can range from the very simple to something demanding considerable skill.  I'm no genius at this.  I have a professional level but not state-of-the-art keyboard, on which I've managed to learn enough to decently execute certain scores.  (I don't get into things I can't handle.)

The bitch about this RAGTIME book is how lacking and inconsistent the instructions and notations are.  It's maddening when one must guess at, rather than read and do one's best to faithfully execute, the arranger's wishes -- especially when it's obvious that critical information is simply missing.  But BASICALLY, once I'm done with this prep work, I'll be able to play this book -- starting with the first "Heintzman Upright Piano", then switching to grand piano, harp, alto flute and clarinet, honky-tonk piano, organ, accordion, strings and brass support, and more -- all in order, instantaneously, by tapping a "switch pedal" with my foot so my hands never have to leave the keyboard.

That's sort of it in a wee tiny nutshell.  Sorry that was so long, and I left a LOT out, but did I answer the question?  You might as well say yes because that's all yer getting. 

That explanation was much more interesting than either version of 1941!

[singdaw]

Thanks, DRs George and TCB. I knew you weren't too far apart.     

[singdaw]

Is one supposed to recognize the person on the left?

No. The point was the hair.

[singdaw]

That explanation was much more interesting than either version of 1941!

 


And shorter, too.  Apparently.       

[singdaw]

I do my best proofreading after I hit "send."       

[George]

The only movie that I know has a "director's cut" that is actually SHORTER is Darling Lili. Original running time was 143min. Director's cut is 107min

"Alexander" with Colin Farrell is another example.  The original theatrical release was 175 minutes.  The first director's cut was 167 minutes.  There was a "final" director's cut called "Alexander Revisited" that was 214 minutes.  IMDb also lists an "Ultimate cut" at 206 minutes, but I don't know what's different about that, or if it was actually released on DVD.

[elmore3003]

The only movie that I know has a "director's cut" that is actually SHORTER is Darling Lili. Original running time was 143min. Director's cut is 107min

I believe the directors' cuts of Tom Jones and Apartment Zero are shorter than the theatrical releases.

[ChasSmith]

The only movie that I know has a "director's cut" that is actually SHORTER is Darling Lili. Original running time was 143min. Director's cut is 107min

I believe the directors' cuts of Tom Jones and Apartment Zero are shorter than the theatrical releases.

Likewise, the Coen Brothers' Blood Simple.

[TCB]

So how far apart do DR George and DR TCB actually live?

Around 30-35 miles, I'd guess.

George is probably closer to being correct than I was.

[elmore3003]

So how far apart do DR George and DR TCB actually live?

Around 30-35 miles, I'd guess.

George is probably closer to being correct than I was.

It seems longer when you're in a wheelchair instead of a car.

[Jane]

[Laura]

Good afternoon. Wae-Ling and I went to the river today. When I got the text from the airline that my Birding Buddy's flight was on time, we headed for the airport. Perfect timing.

The highlight of Wae-Ling's day was catching a cricket-sized toad.

[Jane]

According to mapquest:

37.1 mi, 42 mins 
In current traffic: 46 mins

[George]

According to mapquest:

37.1 mi, 42 mins 
In current traffic: 46 mins

Are you stalking us, Jane??

[Jane]

Good afternoon. Wae-Ling and I went to the river today. When I got the text from the airline that my Birding Buddy's flight was on time, we headed for the airport. Perfect timing.

The highlight of Wae-Ling's day was catching a cricket-sized toad.

That is so cute Wae-Ling, your little birding buddy, went with you to pick up your Birding Buddy. 

[KevinH]

Hello from rainy Northern Virginia!

[Jane]

According to mapquest:

37.1 mi, 42 mins 
In current traffic: 46 mins

Are you stalking us, Jane??

No, procrastinating drying my hair. 

[Laura]

Wae-Ling went on a couple of trips with us when she had a day off of school. My Birding Buddy loves her, as you can imagine.

[Jane]

I would love to go hiking with you and meet your sweet Wae-Ling.

[Laura]

That would be fun, Jane.

[bk]

Watching what is, despite the usual cheerleaders for this sort of thing, surely one of the worst movies ever made - well directed in certain ways, good effects, but a script that is beyond bad and a film trying so hard to be funny and failing and flailing so monumentally that it beggars belief.  I saw it at the opening show at the Dome and the audience and I sat there with our mouths agape at its awfulness.  This film, "critic" Jonathan Rosenbaum calls an Essential Movie, which tells you all you need to know about THAT guy.  It's called 1941.  The fact that they released an even longer version, with twenty-six more monumentally unfunny stuff is chutzpah of the highest order.  Sometimes it's just a fail. 

[Jane]

You didn't like the movie when it was originally released yet you wasted your time watching the longer version!?!?

[Jane]

Never having seen 1941 I looked it up.  Now I want to watch THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING.

[TCB]

In the mail was a notice of new regulations for when I renew my driver's license.  I will need to take my passport, along with license, to prove legal US residence.  Odd is that anyone over 50 has to take a vision exam.  WHAT!  Shouldn't everyone have to pass that regardless of age?  I remember I was in my early twenties when the eye doctor looked at Keith and said "Don't let her drive until she gets her new glasses".

There was no mention of a test.  I wonder if they dropped that.  I hope so, otherwise I will have to study for it. 

They make you take a test to renew your license?  They probably should offer a stupidity test, but other than that, no.

[TCB]

Dublin!

See that little man in the green suit, standing by the river bank?  Is that elmore?