Home alone.

Home alone in this blogging world, unless Peter can post from Wellington. I suppose he probably can, if he finds the right road to take him to his residential carpark.

Robert seems to have moved over to Facebook.

Ah well, I might as well talk about music.

I did my 1 and 3/4 hours of required violin practice yesterday. I warmed up with long bows, worked for quite a while on my double stops, ran over my four solo pieces and worked on my jazz repertoire. No AI was used. Double stops - 3rds or 6ths? I prefer 6ths. You get a wider sound, but the notes are closer together. I'll need to get that double bass practice going again soon. I'm going to a jazz jam on Sunday with my violin, so maybe I'll get the DB going on Monday. Because it is tuned in 4ths, I think that 3rds would work best on the double bass. Fourths and fifths tuning - the two instruments are like mirror images of each other.

Okay, moving right along.

This post needs a picture or two.*

Cuba Street.

Moera.

Wainuiomata, where the girls are smarter.

There have regularly been three bloggers in this community.

Peter, the oldest blogger (age wise), is returning to Wellington (part time at the moment) from Whangarei. His apartment is on Cuba Street, with his parking space is off a street at the back of the building. He is very close to Alistair's Music. Unfortunately, the shop doesn't have any bagpipes at the moment. Still, Alistair is an old friend of mine and, if Peter mentions my name, he and Alistair can be friends too.

Robert is/was the youngest of the three bloggers. He sort of comes and goes. His blog is vacant at the time of writing. He has been 'leaving his message' on Facebook, using a nom de plume (Testore) that he stole from me. He is presently using lots of AI pictures to present the truth of Catholicism. He lives in Moera.

I am quite a bit younger than Peter (at least a week) and was the first of the three to start blogging. That was in 2007. My blog is the foundation of this community and, I think it is fair to say, both the other bloggers aspire to get their blogs up to the same high level. For them that's a work in progress.

Moving right along again.

It is 3 degrees in the Nui this morning. 

We have had this clear sky, frosty weather for about three or four days. It's better than constant rain. On the days I work, it is quite a job to get the ice off the car windows. 

Moving right along, yet again.

I'm going to a jazz jam tomorrow afternoon at 2pm. It's a jam that's open to all levels of playing and is held in the Aro Street community hall. Maybe Peter might show up with his bagpipes? They have a song list and most people read off the music, which doesn't usually happen at jazz jams. I don't do that. They also normally have two bass players playing at the same time. That's a bit weird. Still, it's a chance to have a play.

On Tuesday evening I'm going to an 'audition' with a folk band. They really want a bassist but I'm taking my violin to the first meeting. It's a chance to try out all my double stops. Though, the main trick on a violin, in a situation like this, is not to over play - leave plenty of room for the singer. Most folk songs work around six chords that come from the major scale. The little challenge I've set for myself is listening for these chord changes. It's a great exercise that I would recommend to any musician. As I say to my violin students, "You should be able to play like a singer sings - listening." Many Classical musicians don't really get this experience because they spend most of their time playing other people's music.

Time is moving on, so I'd better wrap this up.

A little pun there for Peter.

Ciao tutti.

* or three

A bit of advice, please don't wear that hat in Wellington!

 

Peter is heading towards Wellington tomorrow and intends to arrive on Sunday. Actually, Wellington is cold enough for a hat like that at the moment. It could work on Cuba Street. Anyway, your first job is to find your parking space when you arrive. It might not pay to look like you've just flown in from Alaska.

I wonder if we'll get a final post today?

* * *

Robert is an AI fan who would like to be the pope.

After all the supposedly false things that someone wrote about the pope using AI, I thought he'd be avoiding it now. But no. Just like Trump he's using AI to look like the pope.

* * *

I've got to get a lot of practice done today. I only did 15 minutes yesterday - it was a busy day at school. I'll aim at doing at least 1 hour and 45 minutes today. I see that the PBs are having a jam and that Rob is practising blues scales to get ready for it. If he wants to go that way, he'd be better off practising major and minor pentatonic scales, though major scales would do the trick well too. Ah well, it's his business. 

Personally, I'm getting ready for a folk gig. The music will not be hard, but I want to do a good job. Folkies tend to use the first 6 modes from the major scale to find their chords. I'm practising listening for these chords - it's a good exercise. In C major these chords would be C Dm Em F G7 Am, but they could require transposition to any key - remember that folkies like to use a capo on their guitar. One never goes wrong giving one's ears a workout.

* * *

I feel like writing a song about Peter coming to Wellington.

He hopped in his car,

He was going far,

He listened to Duke Ellington

On the long trip to Wellington.

He'd break up the trip, at some mo',

With a night spent in Taupo.

He listened to Duke Ellington

On the long trip to Wellington.

He'd get to the capital before dark,

He had to find his car park.

He listened to Duke Ellington

On the long trip to Wellington.

This long drive required grit,

He had a carload of unnecessary shit,

He listened to Duke Ellington

On the long trip to Wellington.

He'd stop for a pie and

Thought about Rob and AI.

He could always wear a

Silly hat if he popped into Moera.

His jokes would be new he

Thought, if he popped into the Nui,

He listened to Duke Ellington

On the long trip to Wellington.

Ciao tutti.

1 degree centigrade.

I haven't got much time to post because I need to leave the house by about 7,30am to get to work and do my violin warmup.

I need to have a shower, but it will be freezing in the bathroom. Don't worry, I won't be taking my phone into the bathroom. Why would I need it in there anyway?

Today's reading is from Matthew 17:12.

"Matthew was freezing but he knew that God would be warm up in Heaven. God liked the cold on Earth because he liked watching ice hockey. Moses was already at work putting the finishing touches to his Ark. He wished that God would hurry up and invent heat pumps. However, he knew that there was no way to hurry God along. Matthew put on a lot of warm clothing, but God told him that he was a bit of a sissy. Matthew never liked to question the word of God, but he had worked out that all things were relevant. It's fine to sit up there, warm in Heaven, and be smug. Matthew tried not to question the word of God."

Right, it's shower time. Best to get it over with. 

Ciao tutti.

Don't neglect your music practice, unless you play the bagpipes or the drums. Actually. the silly old bloke down the road, who knows everything, told me that drums AND THE VIOLIN should be practised in a shed. He didn't mention the bagpipes.

"Yes, I agree. Richard is a tool."

 

This is a message that was left on my last post by TC.* I'll take that as a compliment. He's obviously trying to say that I'm a handy guy to have around. Well, I do proofread his posts for him.

Actually, I was just back from the hospital. I was told that I have a bowl disease (I changed that 'b' word so that Robert will understand) but that they can treat it over time. This tool has anxiously been waiting for this meeting with the doctor for some time. Today was good news because they also ruled out another thing. Something worse.

Peter is a wash hand basin.

When I need to wash my hands, after dealing to my bowl (Robert's spelling again), it is good to know that Peter is coming to Wellington. A wash hand basin like Peter could be handy to have around.

Well, there you are, you got two posts today.

Ciao tutti.

* AKA Peter the wash hand basin.

A quick post

 because

I'm bzzzzzzy this morning.

I'll be bzzzzzzy tomorrow morning too but, hopefully, Friday will be a quieter day.

Robert will probably chuckle when he sees my 'bzzzzzzy' statement. I see that he's getting quite heavily into AI.

Here's an RI picture that I created.

I know that Peter likes to use TCI. Here's an example.

TCI want (yes, plural) to take over my blog but I'll use RI to stop them.

Here's an example of what RI can do...

I heard a rumour that players want to change the name chess to chest. Then Robert will have to say, "I've been enjoying playing a lot of online chest. To climb the ladder I just have to play lots of matches, a few of which I inevitably win." Is he talking about the same ladder that Peter uses to climb in and out of his attic? If this is the case, Rob, be careful. It seems to be an easy ladder to fall off. Remember too, Rob, not to light those matches while you're playing chest.

Okay, that's enough RI for this morning. Boys, if you decide to try RI, please be careful. It's a powerful tool.

Ciao tutti.

What do you call a man wearing two hats?

 It depends on what his name is. For example, if his name is John, you call him John.

John

John liked to play tennis at his local club. He had been good at tennis as a youngster. Nowhere near international standard, just good enough to win a lot of club games that he played. Now he played amongst the seniors, some of whom showed up on court with a walking stick and some of whom called the ball 'out' when it was inside the line. John often wondered why he still showed up, but it filled in his Wednesday mornings.

The senior players were used to seeing John wearing his two hats and no one commented because he came across as a nice guy and showed kindness to everyone at the club. Normally, in a story like this, someone new shows up who is arrogant and everything changes. This didn't happen at John's tennis club.

* * *

I don't really have much to report about my practice. Let me see what I can think of to tell you. I thought that I might get my second fiddle* out and give it a play. It'll be interesting to hear how it sounds. It has Evah Pirazzi strings on it.

Oops, just got a call from dad and he's bringing my grandson around. 

Better go.

Ciao tutti.

* Not Robert, as he used to be called.

No posts this morning.

 

No comments either.

But where are the bloggers?

Off playing cricket.

I hear that he's best in the field.

Might be at Mass.

He's probably eyeing up the communion hosts.

I had a late night, and I have some jobs to do this morning.

Obviously, there is practice to do too.

If you've popped by the blogs this morning, maybe you'd be better off reading a book.

Though give this one a miss.

Ciao tutti.

Richard goes on a trip.

It was the man from Ironbark who struck the Sydney town,

He wandered over street and park, he wandered up and down.

He loitered here he loitered there, till he was like to drop,

Until at last in sheer despair he sought a barber's shop.

"Ere! shave my beard and whiskers off, I'll be a man of mark,

I'll go and do the Sydney toff up home in Ironbark."

* * *

When I couldn't think of what to write this morning this poem popped into my head. We must have learnt it when I was in 3G or maybe 4G or 5G.

"Ironbark is a rural locality in the City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia." I had to look that up online.

This is not a picture of Ironbark.

Not Ironbark.

So, why am I going on about Ironbark?

Well, I got up to no posts to read from the boys. Nothing new from either Peter or Robert. Hey, that's not really unusual. Robert has probably been playing cricket and is tired - he talks a lot about fielding. Peter? Well, when I rang him at just after 8am yesterday he was still in his Dutch Oven. Hadn't even had time to drop his phone in the bath.

* * *

You probably read the title to this post and wondered where I was going. No, I'm not travelling to Ironbark. I'm actually talking about a different type of trip. The sort of trip that old(er) people have. The sort that Peter specialises in at the golf club.

Yesterday was rubbish collection (and recycling collection) day. The guys usually come pretty early and yesterday was no exception. I had four bins to 'put away', our recycling and rubbish bins and the same two bins that belong to our elderly neighbour whose paper we also deliver. We have had lots of rain and you have to walk on wet grass to return our bins to their rightful place, so I decided to wear my big heavy work boots. As is my normal plan, I do Val's bins first. I grabbed her two bins and took off up her drive. There are three big concrete slabs on her drive and the first two do not sit evenly. These slabs are probably each about 3 metres long. One concrete slab sits about 2 or 3 centimetres higher than the one before it. This is what one of my big boots bumped into. I must have been moving at a bit of a pace because my body was thrown forward, leaving the two bins to fend for themselves. The only memory I have of the fall is the pretty extreme pain I suffered when I hit the stoney concrete. My right hand and my right leg took the brunt. I must have screamed out because Val heard me and came out to help. Getting up was a very hard job. I had to use my damaged hand for momentum until I could get my other hand onto the top of one of the bins - the side of a bin really, as they were both laying on their sides. 

We managed to get the bins up to her garage and I limped home to put our bins away. Then I went inside to inspect the damage. My right knee was bleeding right through my trousers and my right hand was stinging badly and bleeding in places. I seemed to go into shock for a few hours. Shelley patched me up. Thanks darling. Fortunately, I sort of felt much better by mid-afternoon. My recovery was helped by a glass of Cleanskin. As my mother used to say, "It'll either cure you, or make it worth having."

On the up side, I was able to get some good violin practice done later in the day. I guess I was lucky that my left hand seemed to escape injury, though the little finger feels a bit stiff this morning. I'm going to pop into Wellington to get a spare set of those Violino strings while they are available. The music shop is very close to Peter's new apartment. Maybe, in the near future, Peter will be able to get my strings for me? I guess it'd be wise to give him a lesson or two on choosing violin strings first.

Go the ABs tonight!

Ciao tutti.

Pirastro Violino.

 

Take a closer look at my little violin picture today. Something has changed.

Okay, here's a picture to help you out.

The wrappings on the end of the strings are a different colour. I bought these at Alastair's Music yesterday, on his recommendation, and they sound great! They were also not as expensive as other strings I buy.

I'd never heard of this particular string before. Pirastro make lots of differently named violin strings - Obligato, Evah Pirazzi, Tonica, etc.

I do have a funny story about these strings.*

Quite a few years ago I was playing double bass in the Wellington Chamber Orchestra. There was a lady bass player who was one of those people who know everything and don't listen to what you have to say. We both finished up talking to a violinist in a break. I noticed that her strings had blue wrappings and I asked her what they were, suspecting that they were a Pirastro string. She said, "They're Pirastro." I replied, "Yes, but what type?" The know it all lady spoke up in a big voice. "She has just told you!"

Idiot!

Now, finally, I know that they were Pirastro Violino strings. If that know-all lady had simply shut up, I might have found out years ago.

Someone said to me, not long ago, "We have two ears and one mouth." I liked this! It is no fun talking to someone who doesn't listen. Here's a little trick, if you want to be a nice person - SHUT UP AND LISTEN when someone is telling you something that is important to them.

So, what is happening around the blogs?

Peter is back telling tennis club stories. Lynn and him have rented an apartment in Wellington, which Peter will live in at times. I checked it out yesterday when I was out buying violin strings. His new residence is very close to the violin shop. Lucky Peter!

Robert did a short little post that finishes by telling us to 'stop sin'. Actually, to be more accurate, the message is written more like this...

Stop.

Sin

Notice where the full stop is. That could mean to stop what you're doing and go sin.

I just rang Peter to talk about how to get to the car park for his new apartment. Fortunately, he hadn't dropped his phone in the bath. Actually, the lazy bugger was still asleep. We had a quick conversation where I said, "I'm not rich, but..." He interrupted me to say, "But you are, that's your name!"

No one has ever made that statement before. I was very impressed by his quick humour. Maybe 'impressed' is not the right word to use here? Knowing Peter, and his incredible wit, next he'll be calling me Rich Shit! How can I possibly compete with this guy?

I'm off to try and think up jokes that are almost as good.

Ciao tutti.

* Though obviously not as funny as TC's tennis club stories.

A new form of intelligence is sweeping blogging sites.

 It is known as RI and it is already making changes to the way things were and making predictions.

For Example:

The capital of Thailand will now be known as Whackdick.

This blog recently changed its name but where are the posts?

"When a blog stops putting comments on other blogs, 
its end is near." says RI.

I suspect that you're beginning to see the power of RI.

Okay, back to my practice.

My music practice is easy now because I'm using RI. I can even get bagpipes sounds out of my violin. All I have to do is play one of the notes in the one available scale a bit flat. Sometimes I make two notes a bit flat and that sounds even better!

On my bass playing tunes is now easy. Music theory is a waste of time. RI tells me that there are only 12 different notes in music, using the tempered system. Play any note and you have a 1 in 12 chance of picking the best note. Those are pretty good odds. Who knows, if you pick a 'bad' note, you might sound like a jazz musician?

I'm also using RI to make humerous pictures. Check out this one:

I took this picture

and look what I did to it!

Pretty unbelievable, eh!

One blogger has contributed to RI by showing how we can successfully change our language.

Read this:

"Yestoday I went to the Wearhouse to by one of there sellphones."

Hey, it works, eh! Everyone can understand it!

Thanks to RI English language is now becoming easier for the slower members of our community.

I mean, whatever you write, you have a choice of there, their and they're. You can also freely choose between to, too and two!

If a word sounds the same as another, just choose whichever one you like!

Go RI!

The parable of the ancient 'blogger' who didn't update his blog.

He was in one of those countries in the ancient Middle East and Jesus walked among the people in a market that smelt a bit of two or three day old fish.

Obviously, there were no computers in these days but the fishmongers liked to spend their time writing things on small pieces of wood, with sharp little fishing knives, that they later tried to get written up on scripts or in the few books that existed. Most of them had heard of a new book, called The Bible, that some guys were getting organised and they tried to write things that could work in that book. Consequently, they weren't spending as much time as they should have selling fish. Hence the smell.

The locals called these fishmongers 'bloggers' because they wrote what was often called 'bullshit' on their little 'logs'. Although it was said in a foreign language, this is the first time that the concept of the word 'bullshit' was defined. 

Jesus stopped and asked one of the fishmongers what he was writing. The man replied, "Well mate, I have a pair of balls so I call my little stories 'pair of balls'. I suspect that, as history has its effect and languages change, the spelling of my little writing miracles might change too."

"What is your name?" asked Jesus.

"Well, the fish that I sell are called Bass, so I write under the name of Vikard's Bass Bag. See that guy over there? He spends more time trying to sell his fish than writing. He calls himself The Chondrichthyes. You can see his little piece of log sitting by him, unused. That other guy, a bit further down, sells fish one day, then he spends time boring holes in things. He calls his writing Dod's boring snapper."

Jesus thought for a while and had a quick prayer with his Father in Heaven. Then he approached the guy named Dod. Jesus spoke to him. "Hello Dod, I have friends who are working on a book that will change the way people go through life. This book will be called The Bible. To cut a long story short, we're going to need bloggers to contribute. I hear that your writing efforts are inconsistent. We don't need holes bored in wood, we need words. Also, your fish are starting to smell."

Most historians agree that this is how parables started.

"I remember this day. Everything
written here is true."

Back to work.

 

I play this instrument at work.

That's why I'm up early.

Since everyone around here is writing parables, I thought I'd write one too.

This is a little known parable that the powers that be are thinking of adding to The Bible.

Brent's decision.

Brent had been teaching himself guitar. He'd read several times, on Facebook, that music theory was a waste of time and stood in the way of being a successful player. He eventually subscribed to one of these sites. He was shown a pattern, by a guy named Archibald, and told that this would make the need to learn any music theory obsolete. Archibald didn't seem to know that this pattern was actually the three possible fingerings for a major scale, in one position, on the guitar. A three octave major scale.

Anyone who had studied a bit of theory would have known that you could pull seven modes (like scales) out of these fingerings. If you understood the modes, you would know which chords to play them over. Brent did cheat a little and learned to play four chords - E, Em, A & Am. A friend also showed him how, by turning these chord shapes into barre chords, you could play in any key. 

Brent soon started to see Archibald like a Christian sees Jesus. He learnt to waffle around Archibald's notes and was happy with the sounds he made. Brent felt liberated and praised Archibald to everyone he knew who was interested in music. Brent knew that it would only be a matter of time before he would become a famous guitarist.

* * *

I hope you liked that parable. These sites that run down music theory in regard to playing the guitar pop up quite often on Facebook and the authors give just enough information for me to see what they are talking about. The next step is that you have to give them personal details and sign up. Then you are a member of the flock.

Closing down sail.

 

Hey, bad spelling is popular around here!

I popped into confession at our local church today. The priest on duty told me to fuck off. I thought of Rob. I was going to ring Peter, but then I remembered that he is probably still too pissed to make much sense.

Hey, no comments on my last post, except from me. Peter found time to comment on Robert's latest post. He didn't have time to visit my blog. To be fair, maybe he dropped his phone in the bath again.

I think I'll give posting a rest tomorrow.

I'll leave Robert and Peter to read each other's blogs. 

Go sin the fuck boys and don't worry, boys. Priests don't really give a shit.

See you sometime soon; perhaps.

NTTPT.*

 * No Time To Post Today.

No, I'm not rushing off to mass or confession. I just have people coming to lunch. I sat up until 10pm last night after watching the All Blacks win. Then I slept in until after 7am.

The French came second.
They'll be pleased with that.

Robert got to confession to find that it was closed. He would have been better off watching the rugby. I guess he can also afford to add a few more sins as he is evidently already a sinner. It doesn't sound like the priests care.

Peter got a bit pissed and left silly messages on my last post. I'm not talking about the one I play on ANZAC day. I'm sure he wouldn't talk through that. I wouldn't mind betting that he'll drop his phone in the bath this morning. 

I'm off.

Make Aotearoa Great Again!

Rain, rain, go away,

Come again another day.

The All Blacks and French want to play, so

Rain, Rain, go away!

When the All Blacks win everyone is happy! 

Well, probably not everyone. Many years ago, I remember watching an All Blacks game with Shelley and she asked, "Which team are the All Blacks?" This wasn't one of those days when they were wearing white, as they sometimes do if they play another team with a dark uniform.

I suspect that Rob would rather listen to Hayden's cello concerto No. 2 than witness the All Blacks making Aotearoa great again. 

At least, I know that Peter will be in front of his TV in his shorts and t-shirt, with his phone drying out by the heater and a glass of Cleanskin Chardonnay in his hand.

He'll probably be wearing his favourite cap too.

We had VERY HEAVY rain last night, but soon I'll deliver that paper to my elderly neighbour and get into some violin practice - long bows first. I'll try not to think too much about the All Blacks as I get my habits done. Hopefully I'll get an hour of double bass done too before we have to head out. Today is the 30th. anniversary of the Karori Op Shop. My daughter works there (it's all for free), as does my wife. My mother worked there too! I never have and never will, but that place has quite a family tradition. I'll see my oldest brother there because his wife works there too and is one of the organisers. Their older daughter works there too. I can't miss that!

Sorry, not much about what I'm practising was mentioned. Should I mention the tritone substitution? That's where you play Db F Ab Cb (B) instead of G B D F for the middle chord of a Dm7  G7  Cmaj7 progression. I don't think you'll hear this progression being used by folk musicians. It's really a jazz thing. It is actually very easy to do on a guitar or a bass guitar. It's pretty easy on a double bass too. Hey, but I'll leave the tritone substitution there for today.

In fact, I'll leave you there for today too.

Ciao tutti.

I'm late.

Posting after 9am!

Peter is probably up and having a bath. I hope his phone is dry and okay!

Robert tells us, in his latest post, that he's back to loving god and three people. I'd put the nice looking lady at the top of the list if I were him. Ah, but Jesus won't let him.

I'll keep up my two hours of practice today. On the double bass I'm practising listening for chords, like when you're playing with a folk band and they don't give you any chord charts. I'm not saying that this will be the case when I go for a 'try out' with that folk band. I feel that it's just a really good thing to practise. There is really no need to practise this on the violin because you can just use harmonic approximation. I've been playing along with lots of folk tunes. The choice of chords is really coming from the major and minor pentatonic scales, with a IV chord thrown in for major tunes. It's good practice.

I know Robert will be fretting (nothing to do with guitars) about the All Blacks and how they will go on Saturday evening. Peter just thinks they're a bunch of grown men kicking a ball around and touching each other. I hope I got that the right way around. I think this All Black team will do very well. I'm also looking forward to seeing the ladies play. They're VERY GOOD!

I think I just heard a splash.

Was that Peter's phone being dropped into the bath?

"Oh no!" as my elder grandson likes to say.

Peter, why do you need to take that phone into the bathroom? You can always ring people back when you are dried up and dressed.

A demonstration, by me, of how
Peter looks when he is dried up and dressed.

Well, that's it from me.

Don't forget to support the ABs.

Ciao tutti.

Giovedì. Una bella giornata per l'italiano.

Buongiorno. Mi sono alzato presto.

In realtà Shelley è ancora a letto. Non è la mattina più fredda che abbiamo avuto quest'inverno. Se voglio che i ragazzi leggano questo post, forse dovrò scriverlo in inglese.

I just read Robert's latest post. I see that he is worried about the possible return of the Moa. He seems to think that Moa were carnivores and that they weren't 'wiped out'. I heard that settlers wiped them out because they were eating their crops. If this is true, they don't sound like carnivores. Anyway, I'm no expert on this topic.

I'd rather talk about the tritone substitution. Okay, okay, Peter and Robert wouldn't be interested in that.

I wonder if Peter will change his name to Perry McMason if he gets accepted onto jury duty?

I practised my instruments for two hours yesterday - one hour each. I'm still doing the Atomic Habits. Within those habits I include work on four solo pieces on each instrument. Robert said that he's getting a sore hand if he bows the cello for too long. Generally speaking, if you're getting a pain while practising, it's time to examine what you are doing and how you might fix it. 

Look at this lady's right hand.

Look particularly at her little finger. A violinist normally has the tip of this finger sitting on the bow. This lady is holding her bow more like a double bassist would. Like her other fingers, the little finger is over the stick. Remember that the bow is in a different position to that of the violin. Rob, stop worrying about Moa and put more thought into how you hold your cello bow.

"Yeah. Think about how you're holding 
that cello bow, Rob."

Okay, that's enough for this morning.

Ciao tutti.

Return of the bow.

 

Oops, using it on the wrong instrument!

I was practising my double bass the other day and my bow was sounding a bit scratchy. I suddenly thought of my other bow that has been sitting in my 'strings drawer' for a long while. This bow has an interesting history, even more interesting than Peter doing jury service. It was originally a French or Bottesini bow. The two frequently used double bass bows each have two names. I swapped it off my youngest sibling Daryl for a bass guitar - hey, it's a very good bow! Daryl had switched to a German / Dragonetti bow. Soon after I got interested in using a German bow too, so I took it to a luthier to get it changed over. The French bow is held much like a violin bow, but the German bow has an entirely different grip. It has a much larger 'frog' - the bit that holds the hair at one end.

I was a bit pissed off when I discovered that the luthier had designed the frog in a slightly different shape to that of a German bow. However, it turned out that he really knew what he was doing, and I was wrong. He had done some research and found that the 'weight point' on a French bow was different to a German, so he had slightly changed the design. Clever fellow!

I've started using this bow again and it sounds great! The other bow is now in the 'strings drawer'. Hey, I'm lucky to have these two bows. They're both good bows.

* * *

So, what are the boys up to?

Peter thinks he is in the Perry Mason TV show.

Robert has had to postpone his trip to Taupo.

In his post, 11 MORE ANGRY MEN, Peter gives 8 reasons why he is the ideal juror.

1) He was in 3P in 1966 and knows the term 'mea culpa'.
2) He is quite old.
3) He has sold wine and is a great fan of Cleanskins.
4) He sat in on a law class at university because there was a nice girl in the class.
5) He got kicked off a jury once before.
6) He has read a few books, as well as Playboy magazine.
7) He upset a guy at the local tennis club and often fell down a bank at golf.
8) He's trying to sell his house so that he can get out of this community.

Sounds like he's the man for the job.

Well, at least he's not having to sleep outside like Robert.

Ciao tutti.