My preciousssssssssss.......

[an seanduine]

I managed ´far speak listen box´.

EDIT: **'far speaking and listening box' seems a little cleaner**

Yes, that does sound cleaner. I think it´s those pesky iambs. I was ´thinking chinese´ when I tried mine. The Chinese have iambs too, but don´t love them.

Bob

[david_h]

Is this the wrong place to talk about an empty stick that we make music with? We breath into the end of the stick then use our fingers to open and close some of a line of six little mouths to make different music notes. We breath harder for the same notes higher and louder.

It is like talking in a strange tongue when we only know a few words, except harder because we do not know which words we know. If we were only allowed ten hundred words we would not have many of these words and pick instead some words that were of more use.

It is easy to quickly lose interest.

(and to make some people cross by putting words where they believe they are not allowed )

[DrPhill]

That is very good. I take my head clothes off to you.

[Nanohedron]

Aw, fercryinoutloud ... now they're throwing COVID parties where the first to get infected - or rather, it would have to be the first who shows symptoms - gets prize money.

"Yay!"

*cough cough*

x_x




"Uhhh ... we'll spend the money on some nice flowers for you, okay?"

[DrPhill]

Make America Grate Again

[Mr.Gumby]

All this hasn't done much for the US' standing in the world, let's put it that way and leave it at that.

Meanwhile over here we've moved into the third phase of easing of lockdown restrictions, pubs cafes and restaurants cautiously re-opening. At the same time the three months of glorious weather ended two weeks ago and the driest spring on record changed into a typical Irish Summer: a string of wet and windy days with temperatures mostly stalling at around 14-15 C. Cabinfever hasn't arrived just yet but it can be seen approaching on the horizon.

Part of yesterday was fine though and I made my way to the next town over for supermarket visit and I spent an hour sitting in a socially distant cafe/creperie enjoying coffee and crepe and a degree of normality, watching other people doing near normal things.

Overall social distancing seem to have been left behind by some people, which is a bit worrying but in fairness Ireland has been doing fairly OK with only 1-3 new cases a day countrywide and no new cases in Clare for nearly three weeks. Keeping the borders closed to travellers from badly affected countries though (sorry guys, you're out, as I am sure you'll understand).

The fine weather in spring has brought on an abundance of black/red/white currant, raspberry, strawberry and gooseberry. Usually we have the Willie Clancy week and find after the birds have eaten the berries, the blight has gone into the potatoes but not this year (given up on growing potatoes). The recent high winds have taken a fair amount of apples from the trees though. I am expecting a man to get a load of turf from the bog for me this week and drop it over. Summer jobs, keeping going.

[PB+J]

Our county, small geographically and semi-urban, has done an excellent job with masking and social distancing and has steadily declining cases, but the rest of the state is a different story. We went on a nice hike a few days ago in Shenandoah National Park, and lots of people out there not wearing masks. We saw a large timber Rattlesnake, which was fun

We have been practicing social distancing weekly dinners with the neighbors. Everybody brings their own food and drink and we meet in our backyard, which is large-ish and well shaded. Tonight there is a plan to screen the film of Hamilton, the musical, outside, and then set up individual tents. The kids will sleep outside.

But we are getting into the intense summer heat, where we will routinely have temps of 95 (35c) and extremely high humidity, and rampant mosquitoes. That will be the end of socially distanced gatherings probably till September.

I miss being able to concentrate at home. The house is always busy. In normal times I'd go to a cafe or a library to work. But neither are open. I can't practice the flute as much as I'd like. The claustrophobia is tough, but I can't complain--we are both still getting paid and have avoided the virus so far.

[PB+J]

inexplicable double post

[Mr.Gumby]

Hehe, country girls, that takes me back. I read it n my late teens. My wife read it last year, there was some resurgence of it due to the 60th anniversary of the first publication. I couldn't bring myself going back there. Haven't read much O'Brien since 'In the forest'. That felt a bit too exploitative.

There were a lot of young people out in Lahinch last weekend when I went for a walk and an ice cream, they didn't seem to be worried. But the supermarket yesterday seemed to have let restrictions on entry number go and a fair few people were going about like everything is back to normal. In fairness, a lot of people are cautious as well, keeping distance and wearing masks. I am still cautious. Have barely talked to anyone in months and am suffering lockdown brain.

Was asked to do a video for ITMA but couldn't face hearing myself talk, I hate that. Did the piping one in May, that'll do me for a while as public appearances go. They settled on a few images which they turned into a blog post instead. More dispatches from the bunker.

[Tunborough]

Our local public health district was the first in the province to mandate masks in all commercial establishments. Other places have left it up to the municipalities to legislate. Compliance is good, although they've been deliberately light on enforcement. Distancing is still shaky. Some small towns in the province have closed their beaches because of overcrowding. After a shaky start, though, conservation areas here are opening up more.

We're facing a heat wave too. Here that means temperatures of 30 C or more, no rain. It looks like it will be a week or more; usually we escape after 4 days or so. In this weather, rain means thunderstorms and chance of a tornado.

[Nanohedron]

All this hasn't done much for the US' standing in the world, let's put it that way and leave it at that.

We're not all braying idiots, if it's any consolation. We're just not the ones running things, if "running things" is even the right word for it.

What I find utterly repugnant are those who verbally abuse and even physically attack shop workers who ask customers to wear masks. These employees are just doing their jobs, as required of them. Businesses are private property, after all, and it's their right to require masks, and since almost every business in the States has a "No shirt, no shoes, no service" policy, and everyone's on board with that, what's so different about requiring masks during a health emergency? Well, we all know the answer to that one, don't we. And, of course, racism's been rearing its ugly head in those situations, too. No surprises there, either. One thing's for sure: people's true colors are coming out.

People are blaming stress for their acting out and abandoning prophylactic measures such as social distancing and masks, but it's hard for me to be sympathetic when they make it all about themselves. It's a very narcissistic point of view, and all I can say is I'm glad I wasn't brought up that way. There are a lot of folks in the US who seriously need to learn how to chill out and get over themselves.

My weather situation very much mirrors Tunborough's. But the birds are not only back, but in force, so I take comfort in that; last autumn I noticed that I hadn't heard any - ANY - birdsong whatsoever in quite a while - for all I knew it might have been all spring and summer as well until I finally noticed - and I was deeply troubled by the ongoing silence. So there's that positive note, anyway.

Due in large part to the pandemic, one of my fellow tenants has a wee little raised garden in the back of the property; she's growing veggies. I'm not the best gardener in the world, but I had to point out that you don't plant peas in June. Now she knows.

We'll probably have a zucchini plant spreading out over the yard like an octopus. That's "courgette" to you Right Ponders.

[An Draighean]

They settled on a few images which they turned into a blog post instead. More dispatches from the bunker.

Thanks Peter, I enjoyed those.

[Nanohedron]

They settled on a few images which they turned into a blog post instead. More dispatches from the bunker.

Thanks Peter, I enjoyed those.

Same here. The little stories were polish to the gems.

[Mr.Gumby]

We're not all braying idiots

I know that, ofcourse. But you're in deep trouble with the ones who are and who are running rampant at the moment. And the consequences for how you're seen internationally are dire.

We'll probably have a zucchini plant spreading out over the yard like an octopus. That's "courgette" to you Right Ponders.

Do you have trailing 'zucchini' over there? They don't go 'octopus' here.

Thanks Peter, I enjoyed those.

It was a bit of a lazy pick and nothing I haven't posted here in the past. It was about the people, and their music, more than anything else. There are other ones on the ITMA site as well, in various galleries.

Na Piobairi Uilleaan asked for a selection yesterday, to coincide with the 'Virtual' Willie week, old Willie week lunchtime recitals. These are fun, lots of people in them, memories and sadness for the ones that have died since, all that stuff. And they're snaps that don't get out often, or at all. And for all the ease, quality and all that of digital photography, there's something about images from 35mm negatives.

[bwat]

All this hasn't done much for the US' standing in the world, let's put it that way and leave it at that.

As opposed to from where you or I hail?

The USA doesn't need me to defend it. As a country they've chosen a nobler path than most. They teach their kids well and each generation beats that noble path. You can't expect them to react like the rest of us. A good chunk of 'strange' American behaviour can be put down to something Thatcher said:

Europe was created by history. America was created by philosophy.

Another English thinker on Americans:
https://youtu.be/Lr7bKYMuerA