Measuring how much you participate... a sticky wicket

[Cayden]

When someone rebuked me for dumping on Generation whistles, I thought about it for a long time, and discovered that he was right. I was trashing whistles people loved, THEIR whistles! Since then I have learned to be more cautious; not out of fear, out of courtesy.

That's another running gag on the forums. I appreciate your attitude, not because I particularly love any type of whistle but because I think it's a particularly cheap attitude to rubbish something you may not quite understand or are able to manage (yet?). In recent days I have seen 'I am at a level above Generations' 'I don't understand why the pros bring a pocketknife to a gun fight' and probably a few more. I never quite get what that means.

Even when confronted with soundclips to show the type of whistle rubbished plays quite nicely, people don't believe it. They don't want to. They seem to like to think they can throw money at it and sound well instead of putting in the work. It is not so.

To be honest I am not particularly interested in what whistle anyone plays or not. If it works, it works. And if you don't play very well, no whistle is going to save you. It's the mindless rubbishing that goes on continuously that rubs me the wrong way.

Ah, riding the old hobby horses (or beating the dead ones, if you like), there's nothing quite like it.

How many of you can really distinguish between the sound of your average off the shelf cheap whistle and it's cousin twenty times the price? I wonder.

Watch the forum over the next couple of days.

[anniemcu]

... I have learned to be more cautious; not out of fear, out of courtesy.

Now that is a great lesson to have learned!

[Denny]

Which is why I make absolutely no secret of who or where I am. I've got nothing to hide.

Me too....'course you're on a boat and can be somewhere else tomorrow, I'm under the 3rd rock west of the old tree.

[FJohnSharp]

that's where Tim Robbins buried the box with the money for Morgan Freeman

[WhistlingArmadillo]

How many of you can really distinguish between the sound of your average off the shelf cheap whistle and it's cousin twenty times the price? I wonder.

Playing my own whistles, I can tell a big difference -- my favorite for most tunes is my Humphrey (though most of them have qualities that recommend them for certain situations).

But if I were blindfolded and a really good player picked one at random to play, I really doubt I could say whether it was a cheapo or an expensive one -- the equation really seems to be weighted toward the skill level of the player!

[Tommy]

Watch the forum over the next couple of days.

Hmmm... . . . OK!

[Ceili_whistle_man]

Pheeew!!!
There's lot's of civilty starting to starting to rise to the surface as this thread matures.
Words, we are bound by them and we get hung or liberated by them.
If I say "grow up, get a life" how are you all going to take it?
If I say "Grow up, get a life " will you see it differently again?
If I say "Grow up, get a life " will you see it even more differently?
We at times tend to read what we think is being meant rather than knowing for sure what was really meant.
As much as emoticons 'get on my wick', they are a handy little thing to have to show intent.

Peter Laban poses a great teaser,
How many of you can really distinguish between the sound of your average off the shelf cheap whistle and it's cousin twenty times the price? I wonder?.
I know there will be lots of people out there kidding themselves thinking they can tell the difference!
Also From Peter is this, and very true too,
To be honest I am not particularly interested in what whistle anyone plays or not. If it works, it works. And if you don't play very well, no whistle is going to save you.
Couldn't have put it any better myself.

[Ceili_whistle_man]

Whoop's, there's that old double post trap again!

[sbfluter]

if you don't play very well, no whistle is going to save you.

This is very true.

I don't play very well, but I play better than I used to. And that Generation Bb that was all squonky and sounded terrible is now the best whistle I have.

[anniemcu]

if you don't play very well, no whistle is going to save you.

This is very true.

I don't play very well, but I play better than I used to. And that Generation Bb that was all squonky and sounded terrible is now the best whistle I have.

Yup. There is no substitute for practice. (listening and playing)

[Emrys]

It's fascinating to hear people's feelings and opinions about all sides of this matter, Peter's, Eve's etc. Everyone has something valuable to say here. For me, there is a bottom line about relating to others that has taken me nothing short of a lifetime to begin to understand and live... and I find it equally useful whether I am dealing with my husband and friends, the person who just put me on hold at the phone company, or C&F-ers.

My bottom line (to the extent that I'm capable of practicing it) is to assume that the other person means well, and to act accordingly. That's it, it's very simple. For example, Mr. Laban, had he done that might have gotten the creative realization that he could just PM me and ask: are you a seller of high end whistles?

It's really a matter of one's intention behind the comments. I've spent a lot of my life exercising a covert agenda based on being royally pissed off at God knows what... and the results really and truly speak for themselves. As I said in my response note to all this, I actually found it more interesting than upsetting. Basically, I decided that if I could clarify who I was enough to recover the status of "OK C&F-er" then I would. That's why I wrote back.

I figured that the attacks on my sales post for the Sindts pretty well destroyed the possibility of moving these babies out for Christmas, and that was disappointing. But in the end, living well did seem to be its own reward, since I sold them all to a gentleman who certainly had no problem affording them, and who was absolutely thrilled to buy them days before Christmas to give his wife one doozy of a Christmas present this year!

Personally, I don't want to have a thick skin. I'm not an alligator, I'm a human being who perforce, lives in a world where we are all very, very close together these days. But I will say this: in the end putting out ignorant, mean-spiritied, judgemental word junk has much greater liability for the purveyor than the target. (Heck, I can actually watch my whole body chemistry shift gears when I get hot under the collar about anything--justified or otherwise).

Because if Peter had had the heartspace to simply ask me what I was up to--and, if indeed his intention was to inform the C&F public--then he would have been greatly relieved by the answer.

[anniemcu]

My bottom line (to the extent that I'm capable of practicing it) is to assume that the other person means well, and to act accordingly. That's it, it's very simple.

I've also found that's a good frame to work from, and goes a very long way to keeping such things civil. Bad in the used car lot, maybe, but very good on web forums.

[Emrys]

Hey Eve, you really have a way with words. Seconds after I posted this I thought to myself, "well yes--it's good to assume the best ... and ya still gotta keep your eyes wide open." So I love your used car lot analogy.

Well, it's a lovely pre-Christmas day night and I think I'll get back to practicing my carols. Best to you. LE

[BrassBlower]

How many of you can really distinguish between the sound of your average off the shelf cheap whistle and it's cousin twenty times the price? I wonder.

And if you don't play very well, no whistle is going to save you.

Ya, if I gave Joanie one of my Clarke Woodstocks and took one of her O'Riordans, you could probably listen to us playing and still tell who was who.

[peeplj]

How many of you can really distinguish between the sound of your average off the shelf cheap whistle and it's cousin twenty times the price? I wonder.

And if you don't play very well, no whistle is going to save you.

Ya, if I gave Joanie one of my Clarke Woodstocks and took one of her O'Riordans, you could probably listen to us playing and still tell who was who.

I betcha Joannie would sure be able to tell the difference in the whistles, whether the listener could or not...

--James