Kiss and Other Musings

Posted on March 28, 2008 by Gandalfe

kiss_lips I have always embraced the KISS methodology of accomplishing things–when possible. KISS, for the uninitiated, stands for a ruder version of Keep It Sweet and Simple. Many times the simplest way to do something is the right way. And many of us seem to go out of our way to make things unnecessarily complex. The result of this is that stuff that needs to be done may not get done or you may pay exorbitant costs to have someone else do what you could have done for yourself.

My daughter can not afford to pay for music lessons for my grandson. Easy solution? Have grandpa, that would be me, provide the lessons. My son can’t afford an instrument he needs for a band he’s starting up. So he repurposes an instrument that I’m not using to accomplish that. A good family situation can keep things simple and provide other benefits too.

So another thing I was thinking about yesterday as I filled my tank with gas. I glanced at the dials and it said something like 3.something gallons for $12. I did a double take because I still remember when it was 12 gallons for $3. Oh my gawd, I’ve become an old fogey like my grandparents and parents who used to muse about the price of things.

So using the KISS principle, I have moved closer to work (seven plus years ago), travel on a moped and bicycle during the better weather seasons, and try to combine many trips into one trip if possible. I call first more, make sure that the music store has the reeds, or order online for a saving after shipping costs of about 20%. And sometimes I walk to the nearby park to people watch rather than jumping in my car and going somewhere.

Have a great weekend. I know we are planning to.  :o)

Posted in Music, Tips and Tricks | 4 Comments

Is it Friday yet? :o)

Posted on March 28, 2008 by Gandalfe

Except I’d be holding a sax.  :o)

Posted in Humor | 6 Comments

Complaining about Complainers?

Posted on March 26, 2008 by Gandalfe

Complaining Um, not me. But after seeing a news story about a new campaign to stop complaining I got to thinking about my friends. I don’t have many friends who complain. And truth be known, and this is brutal, if a co-worker or acquaintance complains a lot, I just won’t spend time with them. Shocked? You shouldn’t be. Our bodies and minds are probably affected by negativity more than we’ll ever know in our lifetime. Life is too short to spend time with people who bring you down.

This MSNBC article sez, "Experts disagree about whether suppressing complaints is good for one’s mental health. “If people don’t need to complain, don’t want to, then great,” said Barbara Held, a psychologist and author of the book, “Stop Smiling, Start Kvetching.” “But if they do, there are ways to do it more productively and more beneficially and what’s wrong with that?”

I do most of my kvetching  while in the car. But I have taken steps to reduce my time on the road by moving within a mile of my work, moving my parents close to me, helping my daughter find a house close to us, and so on. The rest is about me being cognizant that I am complaining. Maybe I need one of these purple bands? 

However, I have been told by some co-works through the years such things as, "How come you’re always smiling." or "Why are you always so happy." Hmm… don’t know and don’t care. It’s probably genetic, but I’m gonna ride this happy train as long as I can.

Posted in Health and wellness | 8 Comments

Silver (Metal) Clarinets

Posted on March 25, 2008 by Gandalfe

DSC00617 I’ve taken a liking to metal clarinets. Since I only buy the silver ones, I call them silver. Silver clarinets were very much in vogue in the early twentieth century. More durable than wood, you would see them in military bands and such. There are a few out there that are the standard bearers that I’d like to mention. The penultimate sliver clarinet site is here: http://www.silver-clarinet.com/. 

SilverBetLogoI want to to talk about a few instruments that I have found on eBay. The Selmer Paris, is in my opinion the gold standard for this category. It has a built-in tuner in the barrel, sounds as good as any instrument I’ve played and is a looker too. You can see more here. They go on eBay for around a $1000 – 1500 if you need to repair them and higher in good condition.

SilverSonicBellThen there is the almost mythical SilvaBet, short for the old Bettoney SilvaBet Boston clarinet. It is known for it’s fine sound and esquisite engraving. The last one I saw on eBay went for around $1000 as these babies have gotten rather popular.

Finally there is the King Silver Sonic. The bell is marked Sterling and engraved as the King Super 20 Silver Sonic made by H.N.White Ohio. the inside of the bell is a gold wash and this high-end instrument is a looker as well as player. This instrument recently went for over a $1000 on eBay.

You can read more and talk with owners of instruments like these on the Woodwind forum. It should be noted that most metal clarinets are crud, only good to hand on the wall to remind us of days gone by. But the nicer, high-quality silver clarinets well… I luv to pull out my Selmer Paris silver clarinet just to wow people and get them to ask me dumb questions like, is that a soprano sax?  ;o)

Posted in Clarinet | 13 Comments

Peeps, an Easter Icon

Posted on March 23, 2008 by Gandalfe

PeepsPink I was watching CBS Sunday Morning and sipping on my coffee, surrounded by cats, and watched by my dog–an idealic, quiet morning. When what should I see but a piece about Peeps. So I went to the PeepsShow.com site (don’t spell that with only one ‘S’) to see the fine Peeps art created by Zade Ramsey.

GodivaEasterBunny Unfortunately, he doesn’t allow any of his art to be used anywhere, even as part of a teaser blog to get more people to his site. As an artist, I can understand that. But looking for a piece of art to accompany this blog was more difficult than I had thought it would be. So I hit the Wikipedia site for Peeps and was not disappointed.

To read more about peeps there is the http://www.geekbabe.com/peeps/ site that hasn’t been updated since 2004, but there was a lot to explore there. There you have it more about the Easter Icon Peeps than you probably wanted to know. What did Suzy and I have for Easter? Well I had part of a Godiva Easter bunny and some coffee. But I let Suzy bite the ears off my chocolate bunny first.

Oh, I think I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Lord of the Peeps for the fantasy-minded folks out there. Enjoy.

Posted in Holiday | 5 Comments

For my grandson: Jerry Bergonzi gives sax lessons

Posted on March 22, 2008 by Gandalfe

JerryBNicky, check out these series of quick sax lessons by a phenomenal player sponsored by Rico Reeds. He covers articulations, vibrato, and the joy of playing the sax.

There’s a lot more to explore on this site. Enjoy.

Posted in Saxophone | 1 Comment

Are You Ready for Marriage?

Posted on March 21, 2008 by Gandalfe

Some Friday funnies for you that gives you some insight into the thoughts and recommendations from the 1950’s.

Posted in Humor | 2 Comments

Pandora, radio from the Music Genome Project

Posted on March 20, 2008 by Gandalfe

Is there anyone out there in the free world who doesn’t know about the free web radio service called Pandora.com?

pandora

One of my favorite jazz combo’s Fourplay is now playing as a radio station. The way it works is you pick an artist, group, or song and you get music like your favorite including some hits from your favorite. I had forgotten about Pandora.com for a while so you can see some of choices are from the holiday season when I was listening all the time. Enjoy.

Posted in Music | 5 Comments

Boney James: Ride

Posted on March 20, 2008 by Gandalfe

BoneyJamesI’m really enjoying the mellow sax rides of my main man Boney James and gospel-drenched singer Dave Hollister. I tip-toe around the fact that I like many of the jazz lite, aka mellow jazz, aka smooth jazz saxophonists, but there it is in black and white.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t limit myself to smooth jazz, often listening to diverse saxophone greats like Charlie Parker, recently deceased Boots Randolph, or Joshua Redmond. In fact, I probably own CD’s for over a 100 name-brand saxophonists. And the most controversial stack of sax CDs I own would most likely have to be those by Kenny G.

But, I luv stickin’ a Kenny G CD on and trying to figure out the form and tune without music. Some of his stuff is pretty easy, pop music with an AABA form and in an easy key like G. Contrast that with rock stuff that is usually in a key suitable for the human voice but a killer for a sax like C#…minor…augmented.  ;o)

You can check out Boney’s CD titled Ride at Amazon.com, with musical excerpt to whet your taste.

Posted in Jazz | 2 Comments

This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession

Posted on March 19, 2008 by Gandalfe

KCLS A friend of mine at work pointed me to this very interesting book that I wanted to reserve at the King County Library. I went to the library site on the Internet, pulled out my wallet, and discovered my library card was missing! Did that happen last month when I cleaned my wallet as part of my annual New Year’s resolution process? So I asked dad to get it for me and went about the process of ordering a new card, again on line. I got to choose from five or so colors and pick my favorite branch. I picked the larger one rather than the small library that is closer to my house.

Well less than a week later I had my card–way cool! Heck the book dad reserved for me hadn’t even arrived yet! I’ll have to strive to keep tracks of this one as the last one only lasted me 15 years. And I learned some interesting factoids included in the pamphlet that came with with new card.

Did you know…

  • KCLS is second-busiest library in the US (behind Queens, NY)
  • From January through November 2007, library users check out close to 18 million items
  • Each year, close to 10 million people visit KCLS libraries
  • 90% of eligible residents have and use a KCLS library card
  • Patrons visit www.kcls.org close to 24 million times per year

I knew and was very proud of the literacy numbers for the northwest US, but I still am very impressed with the stats when I hear them. Sometimes I wonder if we read so much because of the cool, cloudy, and often rainy weather. But unbeknownst to most of the US, the northwest summers are a best-kept secret with very little rain which creates a Mediterranean climate with lots of great weather for outdoor hobbies. And when it rains, Suzy and I usually think, if we were back in Minnesota, it’d be snowing. :o)

Oh, about the book? I’ll be referencing parts of this excellent study in future blogs. I know my blog posse will stay tuned to this bat station each bat day. 

Posted in Books | 10 Comments