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jmyersgoucheredu

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Posts posted by jmyersgoucheredu

  1. ECD in America is most often used in the way way we in England might say Playford or Playford-style.
    Then that's a change from when I learned the term a generation ago. To me ECD has always included contemporary English dances, including the rowdier (barn dance?) types.

    Perhaps because we have such a strong contradance community here (Baltimore/Washington area), I've always appreciated the clear distinction between what we call English (mostly Playford and similar dances) and contras. When we've had ECD callers visit from England and call what they clearly considered "rowdier" dances, I've found them to be disappointing neither-fish-nor-fowl kind of dances, losing the stateliness of Playford and not achieving the vigor of contradances. On the other hand, the dancers who do mostly or entirely ECD seem to appreciate these rowdier dances much more than I do.

     

    By the way, there are two contradances at Glen Echo. Unfortunately, the Sunday Night dance takes place in the bumper car pavillion. Last Sunday, while we were dancing contras there, there was a line of about 50 people waiting to get into a swing dance in the Spanish Ballroom. :angry:

     

    Jeff Myers

  2. Way to go! :)

     

    My wife swears that when she was pregnant the girls loved to hear my button box (red PS B/C at the time). Now, however, they both play fiddle. I can't figure out what happened (about the fiddle, that is).

     

    Jeff Myers

  3. On the subject of Sci-Fi, someone posted a link to a photo of 'Lt. Worf', the Klingon Security Chief from Star Trek, playing an anglo, so obviously they do have uses beyond Planet Earth.

    Surely not Lt. Worf! There is little music in that man. The two pictures I have seen have been of another Klingon whose name I don't know.

     

    Jeff Myers

  4. In Annie Proulx's "Accordion Crimes," there is a concertina playing Irish ranch hand.

    The focuses mainly on the various owners of a small green button accordion.

    The book is very interesting, it seems quite well researched, but Proulx's characters

    are really the stars of the book. Proulx's voice has a nice immediacy.

    I found this book extremely depressing. The poor instrument [button accordion] goes through a number of harrowing experiences, including a metaphorical sexual molestation, before finally and mercifully being run over by a truck. I'm not sure what larger goals Proulx had with this book, but I found it gratuitously disheartening.

     

    Jeff Myers

  5. you believe that some things might deserve censorship, but a demonstrably false rumor which could damage two reputations is not among them

     

    The rumor needs to be dealt with, not hushed up. I got an e-mail this morning from Steve himself saying he is by no means out of business!

     

    Jeff Myers

  6. It would be a good idea to delete from concertina.net the original mistaken post and any references to it (including this thread), so that internet search engines can't backtrack to a statement which includes the rumor and thus recreate it and spread it across the net.

     

    Such censorship is ridiculous and only defeats the purpose. Had the original thread not been deleted, I would have seen the denial of the original report (which cited, correctly or not, a respected member of the list as source and was thus certainly not anonymous rumor) and had no reason to reintroduce the topic.

     

    Jeff Myers

  7. I can't seem to find the thread about whether or not Steve Dickinson Wheatstone was still in business. Were there any conclusions? Since I have placed an order with him and he has not responded to my e-mail, I'm very interested in what is happening (or not).

     

    Jeff Myers

     

    P.S.--Do threads just disappear suddenly? Perhaps I'm just missing it somehow.

  8. And no, I'm pretty sure Morris dancers in the Elizabethan era did not wear hi-top Reeboks, either, lol. But my one season dancing at the Maryland Faire, that's what I wore!

     

    Has anyone, in fact, played their concertina at a Faire and gotten in trouble with the authenticity police?

    I played a couple Irish tunes on the concertina at the Maryland Renaissance Fair last Sunday. My kids and I also played some Renaissance tunes on fiddle and pennywhistle. No one gave the slightest hint that there was anything wrong. And with the hodgepodge of non-Renaissance clothing and instruments and food...they really couldn't say anything. Most people don't have a clue about historical accuracy, and the Maryland fair, at least, seems a big scam to charge people to enter a kind of a goofy mall in order to buy more junk. I find the whole thing idiotic but went because a niece was having a mock-wedding there and asked us to attend. B)

     

    Jeff Myers

  9. I am less likely to participate, in the future. The forum was usually a short, but daily event in my day. I will miss it as such.

    Frank, I was put off by the new format at first, but I now find it easier to use than the older format. I get e-mails about responses to my posts. When I visit the discussion page, all of the topics with new listings are first in line. One click takes me to the most recent entry, and the others are right above it on the same page. It seems much easier to navigate to me.

     

    Jeff Myers

     

    P.S.--Hope you'll try it a bit longer, for your contributions are (IMHO) among the most valuable!

  10. You know, I didn't like it at first, but after using it a few times, I like it very much. Not having to scroll to find unread entries is very convenient, as is not having different messages flagged as new at home and at the office. Actually, I can't at the moment think of anything I don't like about it.

     

    Thanks to our fearless leader!

  11. Be sure not to play around cats as well. I did at my sister-in-law's house and scared the hell out of her Siamese. It first gave me a strange look as if I must have been mad and then sprinted out of the room and hid under the bed for the next 12 hours. I know my playing isn't that great, but... :)

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