Posted by Jerry on July 9th, 2004 — Posted in Journal, Music
Amazing violinists
I guess one of my favourite violinists is Vanessa Mae – an incredibly talented Thai/Chinese violinist who made (and continues to make) a huge impression on rock violin. Her site also has links to many many other violinist sites – one of whom is the similarly amazing Midori – for those who also enjoy the classical side of the instrument.
And then there’s Ashley McIsaacs – a cape Breton fiddle player of extraordinary power – the punk folk enfant terrible noted for his stage dress of tee-shirt, kilt and bovver boots. He is a player in my own style: folk with attitude! I was introduced to his music by a late dear friend – now deceased – called Rose Mulvale. I had described my playing style to her, and next thing, this CD arrives in the mail… and I’ve been hooked on Ashley McIsaacs’ music ever since!
While I don’t wear a kilt on stage, I have been known to play in formal tails, tee-shirt, bow tie and jeans 😉
One other tale I should relate is when I was a young novice fiddler, busking with the Celtic Music Club in Adelaide on North Terrace – just down from the Festival Centre. It must have been mid-late 1970s (perhaps 1978?) – A group of about 15 of us were playing Irish tunes to the passers by. Then this bloke strolls up – late in the evening – and stops to listen for a while. He is dressed in formal evening wear and leant on his walking stick. We played for a while and decided to have a little break. The bloke came up to me – he had a somewhat foreign accent that I couldn’t quite place. And he asked if he could have a go at my fiddle. I shrugged and said ‘sure… do you know how to play?’ he was non committal, but asked if I had anything to sit on. The only thing I had to hand was my square fiddle case and invited him to sit on that. He grasped the bow by the wrong end, and I said, ‘you might find a better balance if you hold it at the other end’. Well he sat and gripped the bow between his knees with the point upward facing towards him. He then proceeded to play the most amazing gypsy-Hungarian style music by running the violin up and down the stationary bow. He kept us spell-bound for about 20 minutes, and when he finally stopped, he stood up and thanked me while handing back my fiddle, we shook hands and he walked off. It was only later as I headed home past the Festival Centre that I saw his face plastered over the posters – Was it Itzhak Perlman? I was stunned! I think he got a kick out appearing from nowhere as a mystery person and totally spinning out a young musician, but doing so with real warmth and humour. I hope he got some inkling of the joy his spontaneous action brought to me!
cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on July 8th, 2004 — Posted in Journal, Writing
Someone got wrapped up talking about “after 9/11, what’s the next big world event?” And he was thinking of all these negative things… so I said: “what if the next big thing were POSITIVE?” and in quick succession came up with three:
1. next big world event: viral song gets loose from the Eurovision song contest and gets stuck in 400 million heads at once. Police called to ensure massed joggers crossing the Brooklyn bridge don’t jog in synch with each other…
2. crazed moped riders swarm onto the freeways making a mockery of speed limits…
3. Bio-terrorists release a cure for the common cold – western
economies stagger under the weight of increased productivity…
Of course we all know that the next big world event will be the Olympic Games in Athens – May this one be just about sports and spectacle
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on July 7th, 2004 — Posted in History, Journal, Travel
Herodotus writes of the disappearance of some 10,000 members of the Persian Army in the Western Sahara around 2,500 years ago. According to Herodotus a fierce sandstorm engulfed the army and they disappeared without trace.
I was drawn to this story by a TV program on the ABC last night called “The Lost Army of King Cambyses” It would seem that three years ago an Egyptian archaeologist named Aly Barakat found ancient arrowheads and a dagger in an isolated spot near Siwa. The arrow heads and dagger were consistent with ancient Persian design – yielding the tantalising possibility that the remains of the lost army might be nearby.
The story remained tantalising, however, but there were plausible explanations as to why it is reasonably likely that the remains of straggler groups from the army might yet be uncovered. The arrowheads, and some human remains were found near the oasis town of Siwa, which appears to be the site to which hey were heading when they ran out of luck – and food – and water.
Other campaigns of King Cambyses suggest that logistics was not his strong point – as his aborted attack on Ethiopia proved. So it is reasonable that, in an effort to travel light and fast, the Persians carried insufficient supplies – sacrificing logistics for mobility, perhaps hoping to find provisions along the way. (source: http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/herodotus/cambyses.htm).
The Western Sahara is forbidding country, and with food running short it is likely that the troops first ate the pack animals and then perhaps started on each other – driven progressively mad by thirst and hunger. Fatigued and confused and with little sense of where they were heading, it is likely they began to split into smaller groups, and then were overwhelmed with a ferocious sand storm.
Groups may have huddled close to the base of the great butte formations in a last effort to find shelter, and there became buried. However they died, it was almost certainly not as a massed army – not with a bang but a whimper.
But the finding of a dagger and some arrow heads lends weight to the view that Herodotus was not so unreliable an historian as some would suppose. He almost certainly relied on dubious sources such as travelers which may or may not have been corroborated by independent multiple sources, but it now appears that – in the case of the disappearance of Cambyses’ army – the source had some credibility.
A fascinating, if tragic story.
Download Herodotus’ history of Egypt from project Gutenberg here
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on July 5th, 2004 — Posted in Journal, Music
More recording
Yes I have neglected my blog over the past two nights! But it’s all in a good cause – honest!
We have been recording more tracks – this time of some Scottish tunes:
- Athol Highlanders’ March
- Stirling Castle – a lovely strathspey
- Redhaired Boy, Merry Blacksmith, Mason’s Apron (reels)
- Gay Gordons, 79ths Farewell to Gibraltar (marches)
- Dashing White Sergeant, Scarter Glen, Staten Island (polkas/reels)
So it’s been a bit busy lately – still need to add guitars and bass on most of them and do some post production. But I’d have to say that the Tracktion software i’m using is great – very easy to use and intuitive for the amount of information it displays. I highly recommend it. The software works great on my four-year-old iMac dv – even though it does sometimes push the CPU limits a bit in the post-production phase.
Anyhow I’m learning heaps and enjoying it thoroughly!
cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on July 2nd, 2004 — Posted in Journal, Recipes
Has someone thrown you a challenge by saying they love scones, but are gluten intolerant? This recipe will be no good if you are sensitive to eggs and milk, but will produce lovely gluten free scones. And here’s how to make them:
Gluten Free Scones
Ingredients
1 x cup rice flour
1 x cup cornflour (ensure it is 100 percent maize and certified gluten free)
1 x teaspoon gluten free baking soda
1/2 x teaspoon guar gum
2 x generous table spoons margarine
4 x tablespoons castor sugar (or three of castor sugar and one of brown sugar)
2 x eggs
1 x tablespoons milk
tools
1 x oven
1 x baking tray
1 x bowl with electric mixer (with beaters and dough hooks)
1 x sheet baking paper
1 x flour sifter
1 x round pastry cutter
Method
Prepare a baking tray with baking paper, and pre heat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade
Sift the flours, baking soda, and guar gum into a bowl using a sifter that is scrupulously clean or that has not seen wheat flour.
Add the margarine and beat with the beaters until the mix resembles bread crumbs
Add the sugar and mix well. Remove the beaters and insert dough hooks into the mixer.
Add the two eggs and the milk and mix with the dough hooks until the mix has a satin sheen and is elastic. Add more cornflour if the mix is too sticky, or more milk if the mix is too dry.
Turn the mix out onto a bench top or clean board floured with cornflour. Knead lightly and pat down to a about one and a half inches and cut rounds with a pastry cutter dipped in cornflour and place onto the baking sheet.
Lightly brush a little milk on the tops of each of the scones, then place the tray in the top shelf of the oven and bake for about 15 minutes.
By the time I took this photo there were only two left!
Fresh Scones
Cheers
Jerry
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