Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

[Laxie]

Let's put it this way - It's close to Christmas and you're debating a small DIY job Mrs. Red has pointed out?  Yer a brave man.

[RED-DOG]

Let's put it this way - It's close to Christmas and you're debating a small DIY job Mrs. Red has pointed out?  Yer a brave man.

Small? I have to use hammers and saws and my extension cord and everything, and I have to go to B&Q.

[tikay]

Will you leave a Chrissie present out for the moles? You ought to, really. We are all God's creatures.

BE NICE to them.

>3 Moles

[RED-DOG]

Will you leave a Chrissie present out for the moles? You ought to, really. We are all God's creatures.

BE NICE to them.

>3 Moles

I wish it was less than 3 moles.

[Laxie]

Will you leave a Chrissie present out for the moles? You ought to, really. We are all God's creatures.

BE NICE to them.

>3 <3 Moles

FYP  (note how it now looks like a sideways heart?)

[RED-DOG]

Will you leave a Chrissie present out for the moles?

[RED-DOG]

Wow! They've actually finished painting the Forth Bridge.

Apparently it took 10 years and cost £130m, but it won't need painting again for 25 years.


They used 4,000 tonnes of scaffolding and painted  over 230,000sqm of steel and 6.5 million rivets.

Now that it's done, I wonder who gets to clean the brushes?

[Karabiner]

Will you leave a Chrissie present out for the moles? You ought to, really. We are all God's creatures.

BE NICE to them.

>3 <3 Moles

FYP  (note how it now looks like a sideways heart?)

 

[leethefish]

Let's put it this way - It's close to Christmas and you're debating a small DIY job Mrs. Red has pointed out?  Yer a brave man.

Small? I have to use hammers and saws and my extension cord and everything, and I have to go to B&Q.

http://www.ljwcarpenterandjoiner.co.uk/

[RED-DOG]

Let's put it this way - It's close to Christmas and you're debating a small DIY job Mrs. Red has pointed out?  Yer a brave man.

Small? I have to use hammers and saws and my extension cord and everything, and I have to go to B&Q.

http://www.ljwcarpenterandjoiner.co.uk/

Excellent opportunistic spammage Mr Fish.

[kinboshi]

One for the cultured thread:



"In Washington DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After about four minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.

About four minutes later, the violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

At six minutes, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

At ten minutes, a three-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.

At forty-five minutes: The musician played continuously. Only six people stopped and listened for a short while. About twenty gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

After one hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.

This experiment raised several questions:

In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

If so, do we stop to appreciate it?

Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made…
How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?"

[RED-DOG]

That item is perfect for here Kin.

If this diary was a TV programme it would be BBC4.

[RED-DOG]

"In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty"?


I do. I'm soppy like that. Ask anyone who knows me.

[Jon MW]

I'm pretty sure all it shows is that most people couldn't recognize the difference between him playing and any other random busker playing the violin.

The question is  - if you substituted his playing for somebody who was merely competent - at one of his $100 a ticket concerts - how many of the audience would be able to tell tell difference there?

[Geo the Sarge]

I'm pretty sure all it shows is that most people couldn't recognize the difference between him playing and any other random busker playing the violin.

The question is  - if you substituted his playing for somebody who was merely competent - at one of his $100 a ticket concerts - how many of the audience would be able to tell tell difference there?

That wasn't the question, the question was would someone of no prior knowledge of this music (or even the instrument) recognise how good it was.

Geo