Here we are again...

Happy as can be.

All Good friends and

Jolly good company.

The heater is on. I've seen that Rob has posted and Peter hasn't. That's what I'd expect to see.

Rob tells us he's up early, "... to clean the creche which RBB says isn't a kindergarten." I didn't actually say that. There are childcare centres and kindergartens. Quite a few of these places fulfil both functions. Ah well. He also tells us, "Those in purgatory desperately need our prayers." I don't know how he knows who is in purgatory. He has got to be guessing. Never mind. 

Rob also left a comment on Peter's blog saying, "Did you hear me beep at 12.40? I drove passed to show K your house." Rob, you drove past Peter's house, and there you are criticising (in a comment) my lack of vocabulary! Gsus!

I practised for two hours yesterday. Not too bad. 1/2 an hour on the double bass and 1 1/2 hours on the violin. I won't tell you what I practised because I know that no one is really interested.

Moving on.

No gigs coming up but the PBs are having a play on Sunday. Oh, yes, I told you about that in my last post. What else have I got to tell you? Nothing really. I really need some biblical quotes like Rob likes to drop into his posts.

Derek 23:7 Gsus was walking through a town and he spotted a group of people praying. He walked close to them and listened. "Lood, please save the people in Purgatory and don't send them to Hell." "Who is Lood?" Gsus asked. "He is a fourth person who missed out on getting into the Blessed Trinity. He's the older brother of God the Son." a man told him. "Well, that would make him my older brother and I've never heard of him." said Gsus. The people ignored him and carried on praying. Gsus walked on, looking for someone else to bother.

I hope you enjoyed that biblical quote. I hope you learned something from it. 

What a wonderful chord the dom7b9 chord is! Oh, that's right, you're not interested.

Hey, I feel like a banana toasted sandwich. I should eat something before taking my pills. It might mean another trip to the bathroom, but what the hell!

I was told, at Peter's place on Saturday, that I'm not allowed to use the 'c' word. I'm talking about the word that has 'u' as its second letter. I think it is troia in Italian. I did get called tonto when I was in Italy. That's pretty close too. 

Okay, okay, I've run out of things to say.

I think I'll leave it there for today.

I'll go and make that banana toasted sandwich and take my pills.

Ciao tutti.

No coffee this morning.

 Today is Rest The Bathroom Day.

RTBD

It was great to see Peter and Lynn yesterday. They have plenty of bathrooms, so it was a relaxing visit. Thanks guys. I found a good park too!

Today is Mother's Day. I always think that it should be Mothers' Day because there are a lot of mothers out there. I gave Shelley a gift, even though she is not really my mother.

I must make sure that I get some double bass practice done today. I only did half an hour's practice on my violin yesterday. Ah well, that sort of makes it like a rest day. I'll endeavour to make up for it today. I probably should record my six original double bass unaccompanied pieces, not that anyone really cares. Well, I do. Recording is a very good form of practice. You certainly find out what you need to work on. 

The PBs are having a play next Sunday. I'll take my violin. There will already be basses at Daryl's place. He has converted his large garage space into a music room. It'll be interesting to see the finished product. It has been functioning as a music room for quite a while, but he has put in some finishing touches. 

Well, that's it from me for this morning. Hey, I forgot to tell you that Lynn and Peter have some amazing art on display in their residence. I didn't see anything that I didn't like! Well done, you two.

Oh, and judging by the comment he left on my last post, I think that Robert wants it known that he does believe in sin and will continue going to confession. Ah well, that's his problem. 

Ciao tutti.

Saturday and I'm heading out for lunch.

 

Good morning. I did two hours of violin yesterday. I didn't do any double bass. Well, it's unlikely that I'll ever get another double bass gig. Though I do have six original pieces that I constantly practise. I worked on a few of my violin pieces yesterday, with particular effort put into two Bebop tunes - A Night in Tunisia and Anthropology. Anthropology has the subtitle 'Thriving on a Riff'. As I've told you before, it uses what are referred to as Rhythm Changes. A common thing that pops up in quite a few of my chosen jazz tunes is the progression m7b5 to dom7b9. I practised playing over this progression yesterday. The b5 and the b9 in this progression are the same note and it opens things up for substituting with a diminished triad. That gives a really nice effect to your solo. Talking about double bass gigs, or lack of them, I'm hardly inundated with violin gigs either. For example, May is Music Month. In past years I have been asked to play at libraries. Nothing this year. Never mind.

I'm off to see Peter and Lynn today.

I couldn't find one of these at the supermarket
yesterday, so I had to buy a different bottle.

I've been told that I can't bring pies. Ah well, it'll be great to see them. Shelley is coming too. Finding a park could be interesting. Peter suggested, in a comment, that I park in Mount Victoria. That's helpful advice. Not.

I read Rob's latest post this morning. He has been practising his bowls and has gotten rid of his golf clubs. He also said that he sees my point about sin. He implied that he'll stop wasting his time by going to confession to tell stuff to paedophiles. Good on you, Rob!

It has been very windy in the Nui. I've just been out looking for our elderly neighbour's newspaper which we deliver to her door. The person who delivers it throws it on her drive. I don't know why it can't be put in her letterbox. I even hopped in my car and drove around adjoining streets. No sign. I'm having a coffee to settle down my lungs. Yes, I know what will be required next. [Bathroom.]

While I'm at it, another thing that annoys me is that on wet rubbish collection days the people who empty the bins always leave the lids open. It would take half a second to close them, then the bins wouldn't fill with rainwater. I don't think they give a shit.

Well, it's nearly time to think about getting some practice done. No gigs? Who cares? I enjoy the challenge of getting better.

[Bathroom is calling.]

I'd better go.

Ciao.

Banana Toast.

 

    I woke up just before 6am this morning. I looked at my phone and checked Richard's Bass Bag.* No new messages, but I saw that Rob had written a post. Nothing new from Peter, as expected. Rob showed that he doesn't know the difference between a Kindergarten and a Childcare Centre.

"Had an early call out to work yesterday. It was to help clean a creche. In RBB's day they were called by a German word...kindergarten."

Ah well, he can work out that one for himself. He tells us that he spent time, when he could have been practising, praying to an imaginary group of people. He finished up with, "Don't listen to RBB. Sin does exist." Well, I suppose that sin exists for him, thanks to his silly church.

Actually, I only practised for an hour yesterday, but I certainly didn't waste time praying. I'll make up time today. Though the practice I did yesterday WAS good practice. I worked on a Bebop piece (among other things) that uses the Rhythm Changes. I see that Evil Doctor Richard mentioned the first 8 bars of those changes in a comment on my last post. When I mention my 'last post' I'm not talking about ANZAC Day. Also, half of my practice yesterday was double bass practice. That's good.

[Bathroom visit. The banana toasted sandwich has moved on.]

SIN.

We hear quite a lot about sin around here (our blogs). I read a definition that defined the word as, "An immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law."

Let's look at the word 'divine'. "Of or like God or a god."

So, sin is linked to some godly entity. Without a god there is no sin. Okay, we still have a sense of right and wrong. We use the word 'morals'. I've heard religious people say, "But, why worry about right or wrong if there is no sin?"

This is where they get it very wrong. Morals are decided on by what is fair, or best, for the greatest number of people. Morals give us a safer environment, when they are followed, and give us respect for how others get to live. Morals are really common sense. Don't hurt others. Don't take things that are not yours. Hopefully others apply the same 'rules' to how they treat you. 

Sin is tied up with a set of rules that some imaginary entity has made, along with a set of punishments.  The worst of these punishments is suffering forever. Remember that 'forever' is a VERY LONG TIME! VERY LONG!

Yes, we have designed punishments for people who don't follow morals that give the best chance of people having a happy life. Here we are working on what can make life best for everyone. 

Please understand that there is a difference between morals and sin.

Well, that's just about me for today. It's nearly time to take my pills and start my practice. The new strings on my violin are sounding good and the shoulder rest is back in my strings drawer, where it will hopefully stay.

It's a wet old day in the Nui. I guess that it's wet in Thorndon and Moera too. 

I'll have a quick shower and then get the day underway. Don't worry, I don't take my phone into the shower. 

Ciao tutti.

* the original bass bagging site

Late start.

 

Well, at least I'm writing a post, unlike the two old chaps who should be posting.

I had trouble with my computer this morning. Shelley had moved it out of Harrison's reach and didn't realise that she had knocked the plug out. The computer lost its internet connection and its battery was flat. All fixed now. I don't know why Robert hasn't posted this morning. I can understand Peter not posting. You see, he bought a new lamp and is still trying to work out where to put it. 

Shelley and I have been invited to Peter's place for lunch on Saturday. We're not allowed to bring pies or eclairs. I'll probably take a Cleanskin.

I know he likes these.

The Evah Pirazzi Gold strings are sounding good on my violin. They have a big sound. I must get some double bass practice done today. Obviously I'll be doing violin practice too.

Well, I'll leave it there for this morning.

Time is getting on.

Ciao tutti.

No shoulder rest.

 

What tune is this improvisation from?

Yep, the shoulder rest has gone again. That video was a solo from Oh Lady Be Good. I was just doing a warmup. However, you can see that there is no shoulder rest. 

Still warming up here.

I'm off to work soon. (Though these videos are from last night. Maybe I was warming down?)

After that there will be time for a bit more practice, then it's grandson minding time. 

I'm still looking after my hands. They are sometimes good and sometimes not so good. I guess that's just part of getting old. Peter will know about that because he is older than me.

There is not much happening around the blogs this morning. TC is evidently getting into the harmonica and has found a new friend in the Cuba Mall. Ah well, that keeps him out of trouble. 

Robert has written a post. Same shit, different day. It seems that Gsus has given up on becoming a shepherd and is now becoming a gardener. Silly bugger.

I'd better leave you there for today. I'll get into work early so that I can do some violin practice before the troops arrive.

Ciao tutti.

Evah Pirazzi Gold