The 404 page on my website is headed 404 +++Out of Cheese Error+++ 404. Probably totally baffling to the people who are directed to out of date pages by very old Pinterest pins but it pleases me in a bleak world. GNU Terry Pratchett.
On another subject, I was watching the Paralympics Closing Ceremony last night and noticed one of the musicians had his eyes fixed on something to his right while everyone else was staring ahead or down at their music. What had he seen? Was something wrong? What weren't we being shown? And then I realised he was LOOKING AT THE CONDUCTOR. I mean, who'd have thought it?? It was quite refreshing.
The conductor singing style is so familiar and utilitarian to me as an orchestra player that it’s hard to get my brain to recognize how comical it really is 😆
Yes, I missed this trawl through the outlying areas of really interesting things. The normal really interesting things are predictable and tedious. Welcome back.
Re. English executions: I sing a song Adieu, Adieu, AKA The Flash Lad, AKA Will O'Day (a corruption of Well-a-day, meaning 'alas'). It is a goodnight ballad, i.e. supposedly the last words of a criminal about to be executed. These are mostly one of two varieties: 'I'm so bad, don't do what I done!', or 'Whatever, I don't care, I'm awesome!'. Adieu, Adieu has more of a flavour of the latter.
References in my version date it to the period 1749 - 1753 (Bow Street Runners / Covent Garden).
In those days criminals were taken from Newgate to Tyburn to be hanged. They were transported in an open ox-cart, a distance of three miles, but the ride could take a long time, as the cart might stop at pubs along the way. The condemned criminal was expected to put on his best clothes and meet his fate with insouciance, and a kind of cult of admiration developed around the especially handsome or dashing ones (such as James Maclaine, the so-called Gentleman Highwayman: the timing is right for him to be the inspiration for Adieu, Adieu).
Jasper Fforde, author of the Thursday Next series, wrote Shades of Grey, about a world where people can only see one of the colors on the spectrum: some see only red, some only blue, etc., and all the rest is shades of grey. It's almost as strange as the actual science of color.
Oh yes! I love that book (and all his books, in fact – extraordinarily inventive). And the second Shades of Grey book was published here earlier this year.
In Lois Lowry's The Giver, everyone lives in a world where they can only see black and white. Only one man, The Giver, can see colour and also, not coincidentally, knows what is really happening in this community which seems so perfect.
I didn’t miss you at all because this is my first time here. Signed up after accidentally reading your Tangled Bank book last month, and realising I was in the presence of (a) another massive trivia nerd and (b) a fellow Substacker. Very much enjoyed this first edition. Thank you.
Admittedly, the hiatus also gave me the chance to go back over some previous sixes which were yet to be read, so thank you for your consideration on this front.
The 404 page on my website is headed 404 +++Out of Cheese Error+++ 404. Probably totally baffling to the people who are directed to out of date pages by very old Pinterest pins but it pleases me in a bleak world. GNU Terry Pratchett.
On another subject, I was watching the Paralympics Closing Ceremony last night and noticed one of the musicians had his eyes fixed on something to his right while everyone else was staring ahead or down at their music. What had he seen? Was something wrong? What weren't we being shown? And then I realised he was LOOKING AT THE CONDUCTOR. I mean, who'd have thought it?? It was quite refreshing.
Looking at the conductor? It’ll never catch on.
I know, it's crazy talk.
Thank you for trawling for such interesting bits and pieces of the Net, and sharing with us. Duly enjoyed
A pleasure! Thanks for reading.
The conductor singing style is so familiar and utilitarian to me as an orchestra player that it’s hard to get my brain to recognize how comical it really is 😆
They’re especially comical when shorn of context and placed next to each other like that, I think. Also fun to look at the faces of the players…
Yes, I missed this trawl through the outlying areas of really interesting things. The normal really interesting things are predictable and tedious. Welcome back.
Thanks Bren.
Re. English executions: I sing a song Adieu, Adieu, AKA The Flash Lad, AKA Will O'Day (a corruption of Well-a-day, meaning 'alas'). It is a goodnight ballad, i.e. supposedly the last words of a criminal about to be executed. These are mostly one of two varieties: 'I'm so bad, don't do what I done!', or 'Whatever, I don't care, I'm awesome!'. Adieu, Adieu has more of a flavour of the latter.
References in my version date it to the period 1749 - 1753 (Bow Street Runners / Covent Garden).
In those days criminals were taken from Newgate to Tyburn to be hanged. They were transported in an open ox-cart, a distance of three miles, but the ride could take a long time, as the cart might stop at pubs along the way. The condemned criminal was expected to put on his best clothes and meet his fate with insouciance, and a kind of cult of admiration developed around the especially handsome or dashing ones (such as James Maclaine, the so-called Gentleman Highwayman: the timing is right for him to be the inspiration for Adieu, Adieu).
Or, as John Gay says in the Beggar's Opera,
"The Youth in his Cart hath the Air of a Lord,
And we cry, There dies an Adonis!"
This is excellent. Thanks for sharing.
Jasper Fforde, author of the Thursday Next series, wrote Shades of Grey, about a world where people can only see one of the colors on the spectrum: some see only red, some only blue, etc., and all the rest is shades of grey. It's almost as strange as the actual science of color.
Oh yes! I love that book (and all his books, in fact – extraordinarily inventive). And the second Shades of Grey book was published here earlier this year.
In Lois Lowry's The Giver, everyone lives in a world where they can only see black and white. Only one man, The Giver, can see colour and also, not coincidentally, knows what is really happening in this community which seems so perfect.
Hooray! What a cracker - keep it coming.
Thanks!
I didn’t miss you at all because this is my first time here. Signed up after accidentally reading your Tangled Bank book last month, and realising I was in the presence of (a) another massive trivia nerd and (b) a fellow Substacker. Very much enjoyed this first edition. Thank you.
Thanks Matt – and I’m a big fan of Londonist, too, so it’s very good to see you here.
Definitely missed, and that 404 is awesome 😂
Argh that colour matching game! I'll have to try it again on my laptop, couldn't read the results page on my phone.
Welcome back :)
You were missed!
Admittedly, the hiatus also gave me the chance to go back over some previous sixes which were yet to be read, so thank you for your consideration on this front.
Yoursissimo etc.,
Claire. :)
Thanksissimo.
So glad you're back! Hope you had a lovely break and I look forward to more bird stuff!
Yes, I did miss you!
Aww there’s nice.