music – Ahuva’s Blog

Music Town

Saturday was a beautiful fall day. I wasn’t in the mood to do chores. I wasn’t in the mood for college football. I can’t make up my mind about college football – should they be playing, should they have cancelled the season. I think that probably the majority of the people involved with college football want to be playing, so I guess it’s a good thing. I’m just glad that no one I care about had to decide whether or not to participate. ANYWAY – it was a beautiful day so my sister and I decide to walk and talk.

We had only gone a few blocks when we encountered a trio playing cool jazz in the driveway. They had chairs set up, and there were perhaps 10 people or so scattered about listening. We smiled and thought “well, that’s another great way to spend this lovely afternoon.” We listened a bit and then walked on. Several blocks later we came upon another group playing outside. This group (Axelband) was playing rock. There were between 15-20 people gathered here in chairs, standing, and perched on the low stone wall opposite the group’s driveway. We started thinking that this might be a “thing”. We did some searching and discovered posts about 2 other groups playing. It did not appear to be sponsored by the town. We don’t know if it was something the musicians set up on their own, if it was spontaneous, or if it will be happening more weekends. It was a great idea and certainly livened our walk!

2 Faces of Ahuva

relaxing at The Vault — Relaxing after a long day at the spa

I am having NO difficulty getting into the vacation mind-set this week. Let me clarify that a little – MY vacation mind-set. As you know, I spent Monday at Spa Ahuva. That night I sat down and made a list of all the things I needed to get done this week, things I’d like to get done this week, things that at some point need to get done around the house, and the list of this month’s donations. I had everything written down – 4 separate pad pages. Impressed with how industrious I was going to be, I treated myself to logging in to SL to hear Calli DJ’ing. She was at The Vault, doing a set of sultry tunes. It was the perfect end to a lovely day. I relaxed, chatted with the friends who were there, listened to the tunes, and savored the moment. I went to bed and slept a good sleep – the result of spending the day at the spa and the wonderful music.

Always good to hear DJ Calli spin the tunes

I woke up the next day and stayed in bed, listening to my husband puttering about (he’s VERY noisy in the morning). There was no BC to come and cuddle. She hadn’t ‘tucked me in’ last night, either. So really – it was all HER fault. I was relaxed, thinking no need to move, let my husband feed the cats, when all of a sudden I realized: IT’S TUESDAY!!!!! I need to make 100 sandwiches this morning. It was about 10 to 8 in the morning. Lately I’ve been getting there about 8:05. I jumped out of bed yelling “It’s Tuesday – I need to make sandwiches”. I threw on my clothes, brushed my teeth, made a to-go cup of iced coffee, called to my husband – take care of the cats and raced out the door. I made it there by 8:20. 🙂 The other 3 were already there. When I walked in, Helene called out “The Birthday Girl!!!!” It’s true – they were 2 days early, but I’d already said I was taking off Thursday. Jay had baked me cookies, and they had prezzies for me and my brother-in-law, who also makes the sandwiches on Tuesdays. They had face masks from the soup kitchen we are supporting. They also brought the Birthday Crown for me to wear. 🙂 I need to return it next Tuesday because Helene’s birthday is the following week and SHE needs the crown then. 🙂 As you can see – I look stunning.

birthday princess — I have taken better pictures. Please remember that is unwashed hair. Was not intending to have the “off the shoulder look” – just part of the total being off-balance

We got the sandwiches and lunch bags done and out the door by 9:30. The stupid squirrels had dug up my dill, and my radishes had died, so I had 2 empty pots that needed flowers. I decided to give up on herbs and vegetables for the rest of the season. I’d planned to go way down to my favorite nursery, but was too lazy and befuddled at that point. Missing the morning routine had me completely off balance. I went to the nearest big box store to find something that would supply bright color and survive the sun (the temps have been in the 90s now for over a week). Well, I saw some canna lilies there at a very reasonable price. They looked so neglected. They looked like they deserved to be rescued. I did what had to be done – I bought 2 canna lilies and 2 pots of yellow marigolds. They were sooooo root-bound. Let’s hope they flower.

canna lily 1 — I do hope it flowers – it was so root-bound

I came home, still somewhat off-balance. I looked at my many lists. I made it to the chiropractor that afternoon, before he left on vacation. The nerve! Who said HE could take a vacation??? I made a few phone calls (on my list, unlike making the sandwiches), crossed off buying flowers. I paid the bills, made the donations, and decided the rest of the chores could just wait until tomorrow. 🙂 I have to say, this is the first vacation where I am truly not thinking about work. I see the emails come through on my phone, but I just delete the garbage, mark others as read, and then stop thinking about them. I’m not at all tempted to just send one email, just do one thing. I have a password that is going to expire this week. I’m trying to decide if I should logon and deal with it or just let it expire and deal with it when I return. This vacation is proving a point that my dear friend Honour has been making for years: There is so much to DO if you are not working. I’m NOT going to be bored. Okay, most of my lists are what some would call ‘chores’, but for me they are very satisfying. I’m finally fixing and changing things around the house that have annoyed me for years. There might be something to this whole concept of ‘retirement’.

canna lily 2 — This one looks in better shape. Gorgeous leaves even if it doesn’t flower

Rock n Roll Time

There really is a difference between hearing music live, and hearing recorded music. I’ve mentioned in the past that I love being in high-energy crowds. Whatever is the music equivalent of a vampire, I am that. I feed off the energy. Yet getting to the crowd is often complicated enough that I pass on the opportunity.

Back in the spring on a day I was feeling a bit low, I saw an advertisement for an upcoming Heart concert. I clicked through and saw it was scheduled for a venue about 90 minutes away, it was a double-bill with Joan Jett, it was my birthday week, and I love Heart’s music AND Joan Jett’s music. I had no idea who’d want to go with me, but I bought 2 tickets. Not only 2 tickets, but I made sure they were center seats, under the roof (it was a pavilion venue – BB&T Pavilion in Camden). And then I pretty much forgot about it.
joan jett and the blackhearts

Well last week was birthday week (as well as kidney stone week) and the concert was Friday. I invited my sister to use my other ticket and join me and she agreed. Outdoor venues are tricky – you never know if the weather will cooperate or not. Even if you are under the roof, it it’s raining the air is uncomfortable. I’d never been to BB&T so I tried to get as much information online as possible. Well. I guess it’s true that mostly cranky unhappy people post reviews. “Too Expensive” “horrible view” “traffic was ridiculous” “I’ll never go back”. Oh dear, too late for ME – I already bought my tickets AND my VIP parking. I’ve reached the point that if I’m going to treat myself, I’m going to treat myself and I’m not going to park a zillion miles away and hike in.
joan jett aug 2019

The more I looked at the pictures, however, and read reviews, I realized that the complaints were nothing more than what I consider to be realities of concert going. Yep, the prices for EVERYTHING at a venue are outrageously expensive. Part of how they make their money. Yep, trying to get hundreds of cars (if not thousands of cars) out AFTER the event means you WILL be sitting there for a good 30 minutes or more before you should even try to start your car to move. That’s why you bring enough food to tailgate before AND after. 🙂 (And of course you go in your red convertible which makes everything better.)

My brother-in-law packed us a fantastic tailgate: home-grilled seasoned chicken on home made flat bread, and his delicious macaroni salad. We each brought our drink of choice (vodka & tonic for my sister, wine spritzers for me). I had brand new chairs-in-bags and a brand new pop-up table in a bag. My cooler is always stocked with paper goods, plastic wear, cutting knives and napkins. I always have my Swiss Army knife. I packed a cooler of ice cubes and a bag of limes. We were good to go!
tailgating at bb&t

Getting down to Camden was not a problem – no traffic on the NJ Turnpike for a change. Our biggest issue was finding the correct place for VIP parking. We waited in a parking line to get into the venue parking, only to be told we were in the wrong lot. We needed to go out and go right-right-right to get to the VIP parking. 🙂 We found the lot and asked WHERE the venue was in relation to the entrance to the lot. The attendant pointed over to her left, said we could park anywhere. I headed left and there were LOADS of spots. This concert was obviously NOT a sellout. We picked a spot next to a no-parking area so we’d have room to setup our tailgate. It was lovely. The online descriptions of the lot indicated it was across the road from the venue. The “road” was barely a road – it was more a driveway. It was a very short walk, probably the closest we have ever parked to a venue. (Yes, it was expensive, and yes, the people parking for $10 less were parking in the same huge lot we were but on the other side of the orange cones. So what – it was one less worry for me in my planning.)
Heart Aug 2019

We had a lovely tailgate and then headed in to the venue. It was very much like the pavilion up on the Garden State Parkway in Holmdel, NJ, where we’ve gone many times. This one was better, however, because the concession stands were INSIDE, which meant air-conditioning as well as protection from the rain if necessary. The drinks were extremely over-priced but of course I indulged in the summer cocktail special. It came in a BLINKING GLASS!!!!!! How could I resist? Obviously I couldn’t. 🙂 The only disappointment was the lack of anything that could be considered dessert – we’d forgotten to pack any cookies. 😦 They won back those ‘points’, however, at intermission when they changed the men’s bathroom into one for the women and directed the men to the facilities outside. *grin* They said the ratio of women/men was so skewed they knew they had to address the matter. 🙂
Light up glass

The music was, of course, fantastic. Despite stating that I wouldn’t take any pictures because they never come out well, I took pictures. 🙂 I took videos of some of my favorite songs. The opening act was Elle King (you know – EX’s and Oh’s). The sound crew did a poor job. My sister and I both stuffed tissues in our ears because it was so loud and almost distorted. (Ah yes, we ARE getting old, how tacky of you to mention it.) Joan Jett and Heart both had much better sound quality and no tissues were necessary, thank goodness! 🙂 There were many open seats in front of us so we had great sight, except of course for the couple 2 rows ahead of us who NEVER sat down. *grin* We shifted over so my sister could see something besides their backs. I love the light shows. 🙂 The music is great without a light show but I do like bright shiny glitter and light shows are that and more. There was also a bubble machine at one point.
Heart 2019

Leaving WAS a bit of a nuisance. We did sit there the expected 30 minutes waiting for the line of leavers to lessen. Once we joined the departures it was probably only another 15 minutes of moving forward slowly. The annoying part was the inability to get back on the road we used to get there – Rt 38. We were blocked from that direction and had to keep going south onto Rt 676. I have to say that I absolutely loath trying to drive around Philadelphia and Camden – it’s a real form of torture for me because the roads are terrible, they all merge, the signs are terrible, I don’t do enough driving there to know the secrets and you just can’t get THERE from HERE, no matter the ‘there’ or the ‘here’. We ended up driving south for easily 15 minutes or so before we could finally hook up to the road that would go north. I find that annoying. I suppose it’s possible that as far as TIME goes, it took the same amount of time as I’d have spent on Rt 38, but it’s the PRINCIPLE of the thing, you know???? I want to go where *I* want to go. 🙂

All in all it was a great birthday present – great music, great company, great food, AND a blinking cup souvenir!!!

Yet More Headlines – and a TWEET

It’s been awhile since I last shared with you the headlines that cause me to stop in my virtual tracks, shake my head, and wonder why people do what they do. Here they are, in reverse chronological order. I keep a running list, and I put the most recent at the top. Sometimes I go back and look at them to judge if they have aged sufficiently for posting. But the first one in the list made me realize this morning that, seriously, we need to have a chat.

People are putting tampon-shaped speakers in their vaginas so their unborn babies can hear music
I can’t even begin to write what I want to say about this. There are SO MANY things wrong with this from MY perspective. Let me say only that Beethoven’s mother did NOT shove a speaker up her vagina and Beethoven (and Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Hayden, et alia) seemed to learn and appreciate music without any difficulty.

A company called Music In Baby says its Babypod device, which it sells for $150, is designed to help unborn babies “perceive sounds like we do” since it’s placed in the vagina, where tissue and material from the womb normally prevent fetuses from hearing sounds as humans do.
It’s true that babies hear sound differently from inside the womb, but research has not found that unborn babies benefit from hearing sounds, like music, the way we do.

A woman’s infection turned out to be bees living in her eye, feeding on her tears
This is pure science fiction horror, except it’s real. I can’t even think how to describe my feelings about this one, except to say every time I see the words I shudder.

…such bees nest near graves and in fallen trees, so chances of coming across them while hiking in the mountains are high,
Assuming that sand or dirt had gotten into her eye, she said that she cleaned her eye with water at the time.
During the press conference, Dr Hung said: “I saw something that looked like insect legs, so I pulled them out under a microscope slowly, and one at a time without damaging their bodies.”
sweat bees are attracted to perspiration and have a tendency to land on humans to obtain moisture and salts from their sweat,

Naked protesters showed up to Parliament and glued their bums to security glass
I have a friend and former coworker who posts this kind of headline all the time – of antics in Florida that are “only in Florida”. I think this article qualifies for that collection.

The week is young, and there have already been bare-assed protesters in the U.K.’s House of Commons.
To be sure, the 12 protesters that showed up for a Brexit debate Monday night had nothing to do with debates surrounding alternative proposals to leave the EU. They came, instead, to highlight climate change.
Monday wasn’t much better, with MPs attempting to debate a deal while the protesters glued their buttocks to the security glass walling of gallery visitors from politicians. They were removed about 30 minutes after they arrived. In some circumstances, security officers had to use soap and water to remove the glue. One MP seemed relatively pleased with the ordeal.
“Parliament just got a little more nuts,” Tory MP James Heappey wrote on Twitter Monday.
All 12 protesters were arrested for “outraging public decency,” according to the Mirror.

Why you should never release your pet goldfish into the wild

Goldfish are invading lakes and streams worldwide, and it’s all our fault.
For starters, goldfish are smarter than you might think. They have a memory span of at least 3 months which means you can teach them tricks like this. They also can tell the difference between Stravinsky and Bach.

Please note that the goldfish can appreciate the music without having speakers in their mothers’ vaginas.

And for some of these headlines – you need to click through on your own. 🙂

A woman was shot at close range, but it was her underwire bra that nearly killed her
I lied – I have to share these sentences from the article with you: The surgeon thought it might be “some kind of detonation device” and summoned a nearby police officer, Duggan said. “We’re always thinking in medicine of worst-case scenarios,” she added. … “There’s no question in anybody’s minds … that [wearing an underwire bra] was what just exponentially increased her injury pattern,” Duggan said.

Tooth pulled from inside man’s nose after losing sense of smell
You’ll have to click through to see if it was the man or the tooth that lost sense of smell. *grin*

Singing mice could offer clues about how human brains manage conversation
High in the cloud forests of Costa Rica, there’s a species of mouse that sings call-and-response duets, similar to the high-speed back and forth humans engage in with conversation.

I leave you with this final observation:

The bushtucker trial meal of sauteed testicle from a bull called Boris was tastier than Theresa had expected…

Almost Like Old Times

If you’ve read this blog from its inception, you know it began as a chronicle of my adventures in Second Life. Although I still maintain my (premium) account, I’ve not logged in for well over a year, maybe even longer than that. But for several years Friday night meant hanging about in SL, and listening to live music. I could always count on hearing Komuso Tokugawa, Von Johin, Taunter Goodnight, Keeba Tammas, Euterpe Queller, and Noma Falta. I loved them all but 2 of my best buds were friends with Noma. Friday nights would find me hanging with them for an hour, rocking out with Noma, who covered a lot of the strong women rockers, with a lot of Melissa Etheridge’s work. I loved my Friday nights filled with music, whether the live performances or hearing my favorite DJ Calli spin the tunes.

It’s been a very long time, as I said, and not only do I not get inworld anymore, I rarely get out for live music in the RL (is that outworld?). When my husband asked me a few weeks ago if I’d like to hear Melissa Etheridge I couldn’t say YES fast enough. Last night was Melissa-night.

We headed out for dinner in town first. We love catching an easy meal at the bar of one of the local restaurants. We love the bar (I mean the physical tangible wood, shape, look), the bartender (we’re on our 2nd bartender there), and the bar menu. I’m less thrilled with the dinner menu – the chef is enamored of pork in all forms and I don’t eat treyf. We were in luck all night long. There was room in the parking garage with a spot right near the exit door we needed. We walked to the restaurant and it wasn’t too cold nor was it raining. Given the weather lately, that was extremely lucky. There were seats at the bar (often come the holiday season the bar is full). When I told Matt (the bartender) I wanted something that would be warm and comforting he mentioned they had hot mulled red wine. PERFECT!!! My husband and I both ordered our favorite selections and sipped our drinks, chatted with each other, with Matt and had a great dinner.

We headed up to the theater and although it seemed like it might start raining, it stopped after just a very light sprinkle. We were warmed up from our meal so I have no idea if it was cold or not. *grin* Funny thing happened as I went through the bag check. The usher was looking in my bag and saw my lip gloss (really a lip moisturizer). She saw the brand name and got all excited saying she had wanted to try that brand, how did I like it? *laughing* So I stood there discussing cosmetics with her before being waved on through.

Perhaps my memory is faulty, but I seem to remember that when someone went to a concert there was no food or drink allowed in the theater, people listened to the performance and being there was about enjoying the performance, NOT about having conversations and wandering all over the theater. Times have changed. I admit I like being able to take a drink to my seat. But I noticed the gentleman in front of me reading recipes on his cell phone (I was standing, he was sitting and I happened to glance down). Really? Melissa is rocking the joint and you’re reading your cell phone?

I’m old enough to remember folks lighting cigarette lighters or matches as appreciation for the artist. I do not find folks holding up their cell phones to shine that light to be anywhere near as intimate and compelling as the fire. 🙂 I also marvel at the people who spent most of the night filming Melissa instead of putting down the phone and WATCHING her DIRECTLY and moving to the music.

It was a great night, don’t mistake me. Melissa has such energy, such passion up there. As my husband said on our way out “she has energy like Bruce” and I agreed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone who has Bruce’s energy but she may have come the closest. Oh really, you need me to tell you who BRUCE is??? Shame on you.

But there I was, rocking out to Melissa Etheridge on a Friday night. It was like SL, but better. 🙂

Grace O’Clock

I used to post about Grace McDunnough regularly. I made a point of making it to her regular gigs. I love to sit and listen to her melodious voice, her excellent song selection and to listen to my friends chatting. Then life got more complicated and it got harder to get to the regular weekend shows. So I’m always thrilled when I get to hear Grace during the week. This past week offered up another such treat. The word went out that Grace was performing and I could make it!!! I find her voice so pleasant. I like to get lost in the sound. (Yes, it’s true, I’m very partial to female vocalists I’ve noticed. Check out my iPod: Judy Collins, Joan Baez, Laura Nyro, Maria Muldaur, Jennifer Warnes, Pink, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and more. But you know I like to rock it on out too. I’ll spare you THAT list.)

I had an additional pleasure this Grace O’Clock. Oh – for those of you who might not know, the Grace regulars refer to Grace’s performances as Grace O’Clock. *smile* I think that has a warm sound to it. Anyway, this time besides the usual pleasure of Grace and friends, I made a NEW friend. Another Grace “regular” was there – a blogger whose blog I enjoy tremendously. I IM’d a hello. Of course, being somewhat spacey, sigh, I confused THIS blogger with another. *grin* How humiliating. But I DID manage to redeem myself and get my people straight. We had a lovely chat about virtual worlds and real life and building and even cats (another favorite topic of mine). I was pleased and flattered to be friended.

For me, it’s often these little moments that are the times that make SL so precious to me. Music, friends, conversation. These are the experiences that tie us together and forge community.

Beating the Blahs

Now is the summer of our discontent
Made glorious autumn by Nickelback live
And all my gloom of this morning commute
In anticipation of the fall show gone.

Keyboard Dancing

I never get out on my own. Once I login, I start chatting with friends. I’m usually hanging about at my house chatting. Or I head off for live music and dance and chat. But I rarely go exploring on my own. So it’s a very good thing that I have friends who drag me out to fun places. I have learned that when Calli, Panacea or Oura IM me and say: Come here NOW! that it’s best for me to listen. *grin* And you all thought I was so headstrong. Panacea finds me Peep racing, musicians and carousels. Oura takes me shopping and to good music and to cool builds. Calli takes me to revivals and trains and music. I am soooooo far behind on my blogging, believe me.

So I was hanging about relaxing the other day. Yes, relaxing. It was post-deadline day. Calli sent the familiar IM: Come here now! Even as I typed “where is here?” I was hopping in the taxi. As I rezzed, I found myself on a giant keyboard. Of course, as has happened lately, Calli and I exchanged hello, how are you and then she crashed. *grin* Really – I bathe regularly. I waited for her to return, but this appeared to be one of those “the whole machine has gone pfffft and needs to be rebooted entirely” crashes. So I wandered up and down the keyboard. As you strike a key, whether by walking on it or touching it, the note plays and a musical notation appears. I love it. But the graphical notes fade so quickly I wasn’t sure that my pictures were capturing them. So I sent the taxi to Oura and Jonah to join me. More SL strangeness – Jonah could tp in but Oura could not.

I had Jonah walk up and down the keyboard while I snapped pics. I tried to play a tune, but either I’ve forgotten everything I once knew about the piano and playing music, or that keyboard is not tuned as I expected. *grin* The keyboard is in Floyd. It looks to be a lovely community. I’m wondering if there is a barbershop quartet to sing beside the barbershop poles. I didn’t have time to do much exploring, as RL was calling. But I think you can see from the photos that Floyd deserves an encore performance. 🙂