The thread about nothing

[wishful thinker]

You get time to practise, AND write all this stuff 

Are your children being neglected? Do you forget to feed them/ take them to or from school?

[dnephi]

But that is something? So surely, if you meant to post nothing you would post

[ahinton]

if we were to meet together as musicians - i can assure you that i would not bring up the bible.

I had hoped that you wouldn't but also did not really expect that you would.

i never really attempted to convert my piano teachers

Thank God (woops - sorry!) for that; this is surely not what they were there for.

now, in religion - the arabs and jews are probably WAY above our levels being that they are forced three times a day - and possibly more to pray - no less - either prone, or nodding back and forth.

Why? How? Iam not in any sense seeking to undermine Arabs and Jews here (or anywhere else, for that matter), but on what justifiable grounds can you believe such a thing?

in any case, with piano - the knee bending is given over to mind bending.  you wrap your mind around concepts so deeply that you cannot help but remember the music.  it is PARt of you.  that is what i get from my teachers.  it was so much a part of their nature - they could remember things from three years ago.  the thing is, with performers, this ability of memory and recall is extrememly important.  and, for me - is my downfall.  i cannot remember unless i practice every day very diligently. 

therefore, nothing comes when you don't practice.

This is, of course, very true for all performing musicians; however, it is so because the way that we are all designed does not, unfortunately, allow for the storage of muscular movements once learnt in any one practice session; give the scientists time - after all, if they successfully get to manage a full facial transplant, the muscle movement memory bank idea may eventually come to be a reality.

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

You get time to practise, AND write all this stuff 

Are your children being neglected? Do you forget to feed them/ take them to or from school?

I must confess that I'd occasionally wondered about that, too - not that it's any of my business, of course; indeed, quite how it could be that "pianistimo" would also find the time to install a windmill on her car roof similarly puzzles me...

Best,

Alistair

[wishful thinker]

No, I think that the windmill is a good idea.  Of have one on my barn and it works very well at running the lights 

It depends how far and for what purpose that one needs to use the car.  We know that Merkins have very large cars, and travel hundreds of miles in them at a time.  In this case, the windmill might not get them very far.  But if it was a short run to the shops then it might.  Might I suggest in that case building your house on the top of a hill?  In that way if there was not wind overnight, the trip down the hill might generate enough leckie to get you back up the hill again.

You could be onto something Pianistimo 

[ahinton]

No, I think that the windmill is a good idea.  Of have one on my barn and it works very well at running the lights 

As I indicated, it may have some use in certain places where high winds are of sufficient strength and frequency, but it is hard to envisage the possibility that wind power may come to have anything like a universal application and benefit.

Best,

Alistair

[wishful thinker]

Must say, I do wonder whether these windmills will ever generate enough energy to actually cover the usage in the manufacture and installation of the wretched things.

But, won't Wales and the English Channel look so much better with thousands of these things wining away?

What a wonderful legacy it will be to Tone and Two Shags 

[dnephi]

_

[jas]

Speaking of windmills it's bloody windy here today. I have a leaf print on my cheek where it was hurricaned into me...

(That might not have been "nothing", but anyone who lives/has lived in Britain should know that whenever there's nothing to say, we start talking about the weather. It's some kind of genetic defect, not our fault.)

[pianolist]

I live in Kent 

That grin is a terrible challenge! I had already discovered your location this morning, because it's in your statistics.

Beyond that, I have found avid browsing on Google helps in the detective work. But, alas, I have no more time tonight. Tootle-pip!

[pianistimo]

dear wishful thinker,

my children are neither neglected nor hungry in outward appearance.  of course, last night when the little one fell asleep by the computer and was accidentally stepped on by her sister (i think her arm or hand or something) - it was then that i did have some feelings of remorse for being on the computer so late. 

i think my temperament varies from day to day.  one day - i am super mom.  another day - i tell them to go play downstairs.  it's just a matter of what needs to be done.  i feel that i am quite efficient on most days and usually put dinner/homework/exercise - taking them to either ymca or whatever activities they are going to - first.  then, i come home and take a break.  sitting at the computer helps me unwind.

she went on a field trip today to a pumpkin patch.  i told her that she was going to have all the fun today.  she said, 'don't worry mom.  i'll bring you something back.'  i hope it's not her ice cream.  she's so sweet though - i can't imagine her not being here - so i don't care if i don't practice all day.  when she's in first grade next year - it'll be easier.

i do like reading stories to the little one, though.  she is beginning to read and write words.  i think she's going to be inbetween her sis and bro.  her sis is a straight A student - her bro barely wants to go to school and i have to rouse him each morning as though he's just returned from a long exhausting trip.  the little one just goes along with whatever is happening and likes to chime in and just generally make everyone feel good.  she is known for hanging her head out the car door like a puppy and saying hello to the entire neighborhood - even strangers.  she also is a very enthusiastic type of little girl and i have to sort of calm her down in the evening.  she's sort of like a wind-up toy.  she just gets busier and busier until 'bam' she's out cold on the floor.  then, pick her up and carry her to her room. 

[pianistimo]

.

[pianowolfi]

This thread is about absolutely nothing 

No religion, no piano playing, no washing up machines, no jogging, no nothing.

So this is one place that Pianistimo won't post.  Right? 

Maybe there is no nothing. Because nothing negates itself.

[ada]

This thread is proof that PF members can crap on forever about nothing.

It's also proof that nothing, but nothing, can keep pianistimo or god from rearing their heads in this forum.

And on that note I take mah leave.

[pianowolfi]

This thread is proof that PF members can crap on forever about nothing.

It's also proof that nothing, but nothing, can keep pianistimo or god from rearing their heads in this forum.

And on that note I take mah leave.

Stay.

[ahinton]

This thread is proof that PF members can crap on forever about nothing.

It's also proof that nothing, but nothing, can keep pianistimo or god from rearing their heads in this forum.

And on that note I take mah leave.

We have yet to see ANY post from God on this forum, as far as I am aware; He is not included in the member list in any ID manifestation that would be recognisable as Him and, whilst I would be the last to disagree with what I also assume you to mean here in that He appears to have some representatives among the fourm membership, He himself does not actually post here himself.

Now, go have some vegemite - go on, you LOVE the stuff! While you're enjoying it, I'll make every possible effort to avoid a cup of Ovalhorlicks back here in the old (and damp) country.

To return to the thread topic, I guess that its initiator either assumed or hoped - as you so elegantly put it -
"that PF members can crap on forever about nothing"
- so one supposes that disappointment with the affirmation of this assumption is not the most obviously appropriate reaction thereto...

I need a glass of Grange after that...

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

Stay.

Seconded.

Best,

Alistair

[dnephi]

Seconded.

Best,

Alistair

Said Der Erlkonig before he ate the little boy.

[ahinton]

Said Der Erlkonig before he ate the little boy.

Which translation of whose transcription did you get that idea from then?(!)

Best,

Alistair

[ada]

Stay.

Es geht mir aber auf dem Wecker immer endloss von Gott zu horen. I' kann es nimmer hinnehmen 

[pianowolfi]

Es geht mir aber auf dem Wecker immer endloss von Gott zu horen. I' kann es nimmer hinnehmen 

  Yes i just opened a topic in the pf board including the suggestion to arrange a separate child board only for religious debates. Good German, haha!

[emill]

hhhmmnnnn...... 

An attempt about Nothing and nothing to discuss about Nothing; nothing at all!
Makes one wonder why Nothing can be interesting if one can't say nothing and
nothing at all about Nothing. ....  hhhmmnnnn...... Nothing can be more absurd
about not being able to talk about Nothing and Nothingness.  I wonder how this
came about from nothing?

[pianolist]

Nature abhors a vacuum, while Ada abhors a vacuity.

I don't think I have much of a Wecker, so that God just rolls off. Chin up, sport!

[johnny-boy]

I guess there's nothing else to say...

[ahinton]

Nature abhors a vacuum, while Ada abhors a vacuity.

As in Much Ada About Nothing?

Best,

Alistair

[ada]

one more joke like that and I'll report you to Nils to have you banned 

[ahinton]

one more joke like that and I'll report you to Nils to have you banned 

Don't you shake your spear at me like that! - especially since I was, after all, trying to return the thread to the topic of "nothing"...

Best,

Alistair

[wishful thinker]

So this is the seventy somethingth reply to a non-subject post. 

So what have we learned so far?

1.  Nothing is, but what it's not.
2.  Pianistimo rather recklessly allows her small child to put its head out of the car window,  thereby exposing it to terrible danger of windmill blades.
3. The Sudan seems to be a rather racey place
4.  God moves in a mysterious way: he is clearly not revealing his Piano Forum identity.
5. Mr Hinton needs to investigate why God is the most shameless self publicist, getting his name mentioned in EVERY non piano board thread (does he also do this in the other boards, Mr Hinton?)
6. Vacuum cleaners are not natural.

Any many other things, whose true meanings have not yet revealed themselves to me at this time in the morning. 

[ahinton]

So this is the seventy somethingth reply to a non-subject post. 

And in only about 24 hours, too...

So what have we learned so far?

Oh, we were all supposed to LEARN something, were we? How stupid of me not to realise that sooner! Ah, well...

2.  Pianistimo rather recklessly allows her small child to put its head out of the car window,  thereby exposing it to terrible danger of windmill blades.

I have a suspicion that we would not have needed a "thread about nothing" in order to learn all kinds of things about what goes on between "pianistimo" and her children...

3. The Sudan seems to be a rather racey place

Try telling that to the war-torn and famine-stricken Sudanese in general and those in Darfur in particular...

4.  God moves in a mysterious way: he is clearly not revealing his Piano Forum identity.

"God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform
Those wonders, though, do not include
Belonging to this for'm".
While those such as "pianowelsh", "pianistimo" and others would seek to have us all believe that God is everywhere (even in the company of born-again atheists and true unbelievers), I'm pretty certain that He is not a member of PianoStreet; only Nils will know for sure, however, so it's over to him to tell us (if so he chooses) whether or not he has an Almighty member (if you'll pardon the expression)...

5. Mr Hinton needs to investigate why God is the most shameless self publicist, getting his name mentioned in EVERY non piano board thread (does he also do this in the other boards, Mr Hinton?)

Why would I need to do that? and, for that matter, why would you assume that I would need to do that? As it happens I do not in any case believe that God is the shameless self-publicist that you seem to think I should investigate Him for being, nor do I think that He has any need to self-publicise when he clearly has at his disposal ("Man proposes, God disposes", remember) PR firms like "Pianowelsh plc" and "Pianistimo Inc." to do it for him.

6. Vacuum cleaners are not natural.

But then what is? and are they sharp or flat instead? This remark "sucks". "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust" (except that one should not use a vacuum cleaner in an attempt to "dispose" of the former while they're still hot, unless the machine is specially adapted for this purpose). Anyway, vacuum cleaners serve a useful purpose. I happen to have a Miele one...

Best,

Alistair

[wishful thinker]

Nature abhors a vacuum, and I abhor those terrible "volcanic" Dysons, purchased at vast expense, which breakdown after a short time and spew ash and dust all over the  Royal Doultin with its hand painted periwinkles 

[johnny-boy]

I guess there was something about "nothing" left to say.

[aliena]

I dunno Tinks.. I simply dunno.

There's a lot to be said for Dysons - v - Hoovers and other sucker uppers you know.

What about stickykeyboards?

I dunno Tinks.. I simply dunno.. wetwash vac systems or Henry?   

[pianolist]

Dysons are rotten for cleaning out the insides of pianolas, because the sucker hose stolidly refuses to bend where you want it to. It always leaves something behind, instead of nothing.


There was a young man who said, "God
Must find it exceedingly odd
  That this tree that I see
  Continues to be
When there's no-one about in the quad."


Dear Sir,

Your astonishment's odd.
I am always about in the quad,
  And that's why the tree
  Will continue to be,
Since observed by

Yours faithfully,

God


Wry PM sent to thread owner at 12.45 BST or thereabouts.

[pianistimo]

sooo, the thread about nothing has turned to dust and vaccums.  this is a good topic of which i know plenty.  you see - i am allergic to dust.  severely allergic.  just going out in the sun - and experiencing the dust which inevitably is collected along ray lines makes me sneeze once.  it must be a sort of lucky sneeze - because after that one sneeze - i'm fine.

music libraries send me into canniptions.  usually after an hour.  that is because people are continously pulling books off the shelf and or sticking cd's in and out of machines with dust on or around or near.  now, if i was the head librarian - i would make sure part of the duties of caring for the library was dusting (and not just brush the dust here or there) with some kind of wipe that collected the dust and made it disposable.  also, the air vents in library and concert hall are GROSS.  to think that the air we breath goes through those makes my heart do double flips backwards.   

now, in terms of using a wet vac on sticky keys - i wouldn't do that!  especially if you have ivory keys.  but, most people don't - and have those plastic (whachamacallit) keys which only need a little bit of wipe with a cloth that has been dipped in dishwater( little dishwashing detergent - for some grease fighting capabilities) - another one that is simply slightly damp - and a dry cloth.  the three steps prove effective to cleaning my own kawaii keyboard.  not too much dampness, i might add, as it could warp the wood underneath if you poured a bucket. 

imo, to teach piano, also means to not only keep the keys clean and disinfected occasionally with those 'disinfectant wipes' - but also the inside of the piano free of dust by keeping the lid down when not in use (and a cover on the piano).  the reason is - when a person plays the piano - all sorts of dust (if collected) will then shower into the room from the tops of the hammers.  also, i think that if one carefully vaccums the little holes in 'soundproofing material' in m ost studios - that one rids the place of the ransid smell that often accumulates. 

i think my wish for perfection in dusting came from a french piano teacher who always kept his studio immaculate.  it smelled good when you entered and you weren't blown over with the sandwich that had spoiled last week in the trash bin.  also, he kept his pencils all in one spot.  we won't get into that.  well, you have the pencil sharpener which can also cause a lot of stuff to fly hither and yon.  perhaps that is why he carefully used a handheld pencil sharpener and only sharpened to the point of sharpness.  he did not have a pencil sharpener inside his studio. 

[ramseytheii]

I discovered a new technique for reading pianitisimo's post.  Read the paragraphs in contrary motion; start with the first, proceed to the last; next the second, then the penultimate; and so on and so forth.  You may find that the posts make more sense.  Perhaps you don't want that to happen.  In that case, just read it straight through as you have been doing!

Walter Ramsey

[pianistimo]

ramseytheii,  i think you're right.  i'm always graded down for this.  i wish i had help writing.  scatterbrain that i am.  at least in the past several years i have attempted to read my own writing from a perspective of pretending someone else is reading it - and at least correcting spelling and grammar as best i can.  the flow can be debilitating to try to order.

[dnephi]

-

[wishful thinker]

dnephi,

is your " - " a representation of nothingness, or are you just being "negative" 

Please tells us.  We know you can because you have used words in this thread before. 

[dnephi]

dnephi,

is your " - " a representation of nothingness, or are you just being "negative"

Please tells us. We know you can because you have used words in this thread before.

Negative,

-

[wishful thinker]

No, no, you must not be negative.   Someone round here will try and lay hands on you, and you don't want that, now do you 

BTW, Messrs Hinton and Pianolist, I in no way regard myself as the "owner" of this thread.  Threads, like umbrellas and park benches, don't really belong to anyone.

Bit like music too, really 

[dnephi]

No, no, you must not be negative. Someone round here will try and lay hands on you, and you don't want that, now do you

BTW, Messrs Hinton and Pianolist, I in no way regard myself as the "owner" of this thread. Threads, like umbrellas and park benches, don't really belong to anyone.

Bit like music too, really

+1

[ahinton]

No, no, you must not be negative.   Someone round here will try and lay hands on you, and you don't want that, now do you 

BTW, Messrs Hinton and Pianolist, I in no way regard myself as the "owner" of this thread.  Threads, like umbrellas and park benches, don't really belong to anyone.

Bit like music too, really 

I didn't intend to suggest that you are; if I used the term "your thread" anywhere (and I cannot now be bothered to look back and check), my intention was to indicate that you had yourself thought up the thread topic and initiated the thread rather than that you perceived yourself to have any specifically proprietorial interest in it.

However, umbrellas belong to their purchasers until those purchasers lose them (as so often happens), whereupon their ownership passes into the hands of whoever assumes it by picking them up (if anyone), unless the original owners reclaim them; park benches usually belong to the park owners.

Best,

Alistair

[wishful thinker]

And what of music?  Are the pieces that you have composed still yours, or do they now belong to mankind (careful how you answer this one  )

[pianolist]

I in no way regard myself as the "owner" of this thread. Threads, like umbrellas and park benches, don't really belong to anyone.

Amen to that. After all, nothing belongs to everyone. Ol' Man River could testify to that; like a Duo-Art dinner medley, he just keeps rollin' along. Play it again, Wishful.

[dnephi]

Amen to that. After all, nothing belongs to everyone. Ol' Man River could testify to that; like a Duo-Art dinner medley, he just keeps rollin' along. Play it again, Wishful.

+1

[ahinton]

And what of music?  Are the pieces that you have composed still yours, or do they now belong to mankind (careful how you answer this one  )

You do not make it sufficiently clear if it is me that you're asking, but I'll assume that it is, since no other composer seems to be contributing in this thread. The answer is one that needs not only care but due consideration, for it is not necessarily as simple as you may assume.

One has first to define what is meant by "the pieces I have composed". Now, before you think of complaining that I appear to be trying to dodge the answer by hiding behind semantics, I'll explain myself. Some years ago, the composer Anthony Payne made a brilliant realisation from the sketches that Elgar left for his Third Symphony. At the time Elgar died, there was some confusion as to how much of the work had been "composed" and the written sketches alone might appear to suggest that not much had been done; it is very probable, however, that Elgar had actually "composed" most if not all of the work, or at least gotten it to a certain level of completeness, in his mind. This, however, could not "belong" to mankind or anyone else except him, as there was no written evidence to support his thoughts so far and therefore, as "mankind" could not listen, respond to or evaluate the work that Elgar had "composed", it could not "belong" anywhere other than in the composer's head.

Having said that, we now turn to what happens when a piece has been not only composed but also written down in final draft by the composer yet which still awaits public performance; this, likewise, cannot realistically be deemed to "belong" to anyone other than its composer either, since no one else can get anything from it until they can hear it.

In the case of pieces that are available for general public consumption in the sense that they appear on currently available recordings and are performed at public concerts, broadcast and so on (and these, I think, are the ones to which your question is principally directed), the benefit of the music belongs to whoever wants to get whatever they can from it, whereas the music itself belongs to the composer. Now I suspect that your reason for warning me to be careful how I answer your question is because you either don't - or do(!) - want to witness me tripping myself over in matters relating to copyright. We are, however, dealing with two entirely different types of concurrent value here - the value of the music in terms of what the listener gets out of it and the value of the music to the composer in terms of the royalties he/she may derive from public airings and/or publication of it; accordingly, I see no problem in distinguishing between them and, after all, the value to the listener will always vary from one listener to another, whereas that to the composer will be quantifiable and definable in currency from time to time (for all its unpredictability).

Sorry for the length of this answer, but I hope at least that you can see that I have endeavoured to take it seriously and deal with it as comprehensively as I am able.

Best,

Alistair

[pianistimo]

dear alistair,

is that why free samples are nowhere to be found of your recordings?  amen to getting the money first.  unfortunately, in this era - so much is found for free that people are put off by not getting something for nothing.

only the music from porgy and bess remind me of the satisfaction that once was had from having nothing and not wanting anything more.  'i got plenty of plenty- and plenty's plenty for me...got my song'

[pianolist]

Aha! The other day I uploaded a Porgy and Bess selection to my Editing of Piano Rolls threads (which belong to everyone, of course, although perilously few people download the recordings). The recording is free, young lady, and can be accessed here:

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,20642.0.html #msg236042

It includes "I Got Plenty of Nothin'", which means that dnephi can give it a positive rating.

[aliena]

I told ya Tinks.. I dunno about this lot.. I simply dunno

My auld Ma always used a Hoover..

[ahinton]

dear alistair,

is that why free samples are nowhere to be found of your recordings?

Is what why they are not to be found? - I don't understand. In any case, there are a few such samples around somewhere (someone on this forum identified a couple of them a while ago but I can't now remember who or when - try having a browse!)...

Best,

Alistair