On my way down the canyon this evening just before sunset I was passed
by two teenagers in a small black sedan who were doing circa 90 MPH
when they went around me. ("YEEEEEHAAAAWW!!" they chorused.) The
driver almost didn't manage to slow down enough to make the next
curve, and *did* slide into the oncoming lane as he exited the turn,
causing an oncoming bicyclist to bail out onto the dirt shoulder of
the road. By that time I was too far behind to get the sedan's plate
number, and I *wasn't* going to try and catch him because I was
reasonably certain that he was going to crash in the near future and I
didn't want to be part of it if/when it happened.

Sure enough, two miles further down the canyon as I exited a blind
corner I saw skid marks going straight across the oncoming lane and
terminating at a large granite boulder, next to which which the
sedan's rear suspension and wheels were sitting.

The car itself had come to rest upright some 100' or so further down
the road in the (fortunately unoccupied) oncoming lane, and the road
surface between the boulder and the car itself was *liberally* strewn
with both large and small car parts that had come adrift upon impact.

For a wonder, both the driver and his passenger were out of the wreck
and standing by the side of the road, although one of them was bent
over and throwing up; probably from shock.

I took quick stock, and realised that (A) I didn't have my cellphone,
(B) there's no reception in the canyon anyway, and (C) they'd crashed
directly in front of one of my neighbor's homes. (It was *his* boulder
they'd hit: he put it there to keep speeding cars out of his front
yard. It works.)

Having thought it through, I threaded my way through the wreckage and
continued on my way.

Despite the fact that there wasn't much I could have done at the crash
site, later on I wondered whether or not I should have stopped
anyway.

What say you?

"Twibil" <jose.noway6@gmail.com> wrote

> Despite the fact that there wasn't much I could have done at the crash
> site, later on I wondered whether or not I should have stopped
> anyway.
>
> What say you?

A critical piece of information is missing: Were you the first (or second or
third) to arrive after the crash?

If so you probably could have been helpful with:
1) Getting the injured parties (had to be SOME injuries), to sit down and
(try to) remain calm until the medics arrived.
2) Make sure that somebody called 911 (aforementioned neighbor?)
3) Help direct traffic around the mess.
Not to mention being there to give the LEO your account of the way they were
driving.

On Aug 15, 6:59*am, "Who Me?" <hitchhi...@dont.panic> wrote:
> "Twibil" <jose.now...@gmail.com> wrote
>
> > Despite the fact that there wasn't much I could have done at the crash
> > site, later on I wondered whether or not I should have stopped
> > anyway.
>
> > What say you?
>
> A critical piece of information is missing: Were you the first (or secondor
> third) to arrive after the crash?
>
> If so you probably could have been helpful with:
> 1) Getting the injured parties (had to be SOME injuries), to sit down and
> (try to) remain calm until the medics arrived.
> 2) Make sure that somebody called 911 (aforementioned neighbor?)
> 3) Help direct traffic around the mess.
> Not to mention being there to give the LEO your account of the way they were
> driving.

Agreed. Especially that last point.

In article
<3d0267a7-b61a-4ec8-b858-f467324e356e@r15g2000prh.googlegroups.com>,
Twibil <jose.noway6@gmail.com> wrote:

> On my way down the canyon this evening just before sunset I was passed
> by two teenagers in a small black sedan who were doing circa 90 MPH
> when they went around me. ("YEEEEEHAAAAWW!!" they chorused.) The
> driver almost didn't manage to slow down enough to make the next
> curve, and *did* slide into the oncoming lane as he exited the turn,
> causing an oncoming bicyclist to bail out onto the dirt shoulder of
> the road. By that time I was too far behind to get the sedan's plate
> number, and I *wasn't* going to try and catch him because I was
> reasonably certain that he was going to crash in the near future and I
> didn't want to be part of it if/when it happened.
>
> Sure enough, two miles further down the canyon as I exited a blind
> corner I saw skid marks going straight across the oncoming lane and
> terminating at a large granite boulder, next to which which the
> sedan's rear suspension and wheels were sitting.
>
> The car itself had come to rest upright some 100' or so further down
> the road in the (fortunately unoccupied) oncoming lane, and the road
> surface between the boulder and the car itself was *liberally* strewn
> with both large and small car parts that had come adrift upon impact.
>
> For a wonder, both the driver and his passenger were out of the wreck
> and standing by the side of the road, although one of them was bent
> over and throwing up; probably from shock.
>
> I took quick stock, and realised that (A) I didn't have my cellphone,
> (B) there's no reception in the canyon anyway, and (C) they'd crashed
> directly in front of one of my neighbor's homes. (It was *his* boulder
> they'd hit: he put it there to keep speeding cars out of his front
> yard. It works.)
>
> Having thought it through, I threaded my way through the wreckage and
> continued on my way.
>
> Despite the fact that there wasn't much I could have done at the crash
> site, later on I wondered whether or not I should have stopped
> anyway.
>
> What say you?

I'd have done two things.

I'd have stopped by my brother's house for a quick phone call. Someone
needs to secure the accident scene before some other yahoo becomes part
of it.

I wold not have emphasized *liberally* in the scene report; it takes the
emphasis away from the much more poetic and descriptive. "The road Š was
strewn with car parts large and small that had come adrift upon impact."
:-)

To add insult to injury, I might have gone back up the road to check on
the bikie who bailed out. He might have some words for the police. }: )

--
Timberwoof <me at timberwoof dot com>
faq: http://www.timberwoof.com/motorcycle/faq.shtml
Ten Steps to Fascism: http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2064157,00.html

On Aug 15, 5:59 am, "Who Me?" <hitchhi...@dont.panic> wrote:
> "Twibil" <jose.now...@gmail.com> wrote
>
> > Despite the fact that there wasn't much I could have done at the crash
> > site, later on I wondered whether or not I should have stopped
> > anyway.
>
> > What say you?
>
> A critical piece of information is missing: Were you the first (or second or
> third) to arrive after the crash?
>
> If so you probably could have been helpful with:
> 1) Getting the injured parties (had to be SOME injuries), to sit down and
> (try to) remain calm until the medics arrived.
> 2) Make sure that somebody called 911 (aforementioned neighbor?)
> 3) Help direct traffic around the mess.
> Not to mention being there to give the LEO your account of the way they were
> driving.

Actually, you can find that you're the tenth or twentieth
person on the scene and none of the above has been
taken care of yet.

The fact that there's a small crowd milling around is
not always indicative of any cluefulness in the crowd.

On Aug 15, 5:59*am, "Who Me?" <hitchhi...@dont.panic> wrote:
> "Twibil" <jose.now...@gmail.com> wrote
>
> > Despite the fact that there wasn't much I could have done at the crash
> > site, later on I wondered whether or not I should have stopped
> > anyway.
>
> > What say you?
>
> A critical piece of information is missing: Were you the first (or secondor
> third) to arrive after the crash?

First. But there were two cars directly behind me and two cars and a
UPS truck coming the other way and already slowing for the accident
scene.

They *couldn't* have gone past without stopping because the road was
effectively blocked by the various sharp metal thingies that I
threaded my way through on the bike.

> If so you probably could have been helpful with:
> 1) Getting the injured parties (had to be SOME injuries), to sit down and
> (try to) remain calm until the medics arrived.

Maybe. But my first instrict was to yell "YEEHAWWW!!" back at them as
they'd done to me a couple of miles before.

I didn't. But I'll admit to thinking about it.

> 2) Make sure that somebody called 911 (aforementioned neighbor?)
> 3) Help direct traffic around the mess.
> Not to mention being there to give the LEO your account of the way they were
> driving.

I thought about that too, but I sort of figured the skid marks and the
disintegrated car would speak for themselves...

On Aug 15, 9:14*am, Timberwoof <timberwoof.s...@infernosoft.com>
wrote:

> I'd have stopped by my brother's house for a quick phone call.

You have a brother who lives in Live Oak Canyon? (That was my
*neighbor's* home, not my brother's. And it's surrounded by a 6'
spiked iron fence and the gate was closed. But if anyone was home,
they *had* to have heard the crash.)

> Someone
> needs to secure the accident scene before some other yahoo becomes part
> of it.

True, but I don't carry flares and so forth on my bike.

> I wold not have emphasized *liberally* in the scene report; it takes the
> emphasis away from the much more poetic and descriptive. "The road Š was
> strewn with car parts large and small that had come adrift upon impact." *
> :-)

"Editor": a parasitic life*form that makes it's living by sucking the
blood out of writers. :-)

> To add insult to injury, I might have gone back up the road to check on
> the bikie who bailed out. He might have some words for the police. }: )

I thunk of that, but I figured that he'd likely be long gone by the
time I got back there.

"Twibil" <jose.noway6@gmail.com> wrote

>First. But there were two cars directly behind me and two cars and a
>UPS truck coming the other way and already slowing for the accident
>scene.

So here we go again. What's the point of even posting the "question" in the
first place........if you are going to argue and try to justify your choice?

You don't need to justify it.......to anybody but yourself. There is no law
requiring you to stop and morality is a very personal thing. If you are
wrestling with your own morality, do it in private........or don't dismiss
out of hand the opinion(s) that YOU asked for.

Some people are really not capable of rendering any useful aid and just get
in the way and inhibit the real help. IMHO, in the situation you were in,
that would be the ONLY thing that should have prevented you from
stopping.........if you "lose it" in situations like that. Even that is no
excuse for not making a phone call.

If you COULD have helped, you should have. Getting a little justice in the
process would be a bonus.

On Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:14:00 -0700 (PDT), Twibil
<jose.noway6@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Aug 15, 5:59*am, "Who Me?" <hitchhi...@dont.panic> wrote:
>> "Twibil" <jose.now...@gmail.com> wrote
>>
>> > Despite the fact that there wasn't much I could have done at the crash
>> > site, later on I wondered whether or not I should have stopped
>> > anyway.
>>
>> > What say you?
>>
>> A critical piece of information is missing: Were you the first (or second or
>> third) to arrive after the crash?
>
>First. But there were two cars directly behind me and two cars and a
>UPS truck coming the other way and already slowing for the accident
>scene.
>
>They *couldn't* have gone past without stopping because the road was
>effectively blocked by the various sharp metal thingies that I
>threaded my way through on the bike.
>
>> If so you probably could have been helpful with:
>> 1) Getting the injured parties (had to be SOME injuries), to sit down and
>> (try to) remain calm until the medics arrived.
>
>Maybe. But my first instrict was to yell "YEEHAWWW!!" back at them as
>they'd done to me a couple of miles before.
>
>I didn't. But I'll admit to thinking about it.
>
I can relate. It's always nice when justice prevails. As far as
stopping goes, I once failed to stop for a woman with children in need
during the winter because I was not equipped to help her and felt my
stopping would give the other vehicles behind me the mistaken
impression that she had help. I felt so bad about it I went out and
got myself a cell phone.

With no other traffic around, I definitely would have stopped to ask
if they were alright. I know a person can throw up due to a
concussion, so perhaps the one person had his head slapped up against
the door. With plenty of other traffic around in this age of cell
phones, you might have increased the odds of help arriving quickly by
not stopping. It's a toss-up as to what's best. Certainly stopping
removes all doubt they'd receive help if they needed it, provided you
were willing to track down a phone. I doubt I'd offer one a ride.

Robert

On Thu, 14 Aug 2008 23:02:43 -0700, Twibil wrote:

> Despite the fact that there wasn't much I could have done at the crash
> site, later on I wondered whether or not I should have stopped anyway.
>
> What say you?

Well, since they crashed at your neighbor's place, you could have stopped
by and had him make a phone call, done some of the other things suggested
by other posters, and had a beer and a laugh with your neighbor later.

On Aug 15, 5:40*pm, "Who Me?" <hitchhi...@dont.panic> wrote:
> "Twibil" <jose.now...@gmail.com> wrote
>
> >First. But there were two cars directly behind me and two cars and a
> >UPS truck coming the other way and already slowing for the accident
> >scene.
>
> So here we go again. *What's the point of even posting the "question" in the
> first place........if you are going to argue and try to justify your choice?

Uh, (A) this is Reeky, (B) whatever made you think that I thought I
made the wrong decision just because I wondered what others might
think about the subject?

> You don't need to justify it.......to anybody but yourself.

You seem to think I do.

See your paragraph above.*

> If you are
> wrestling with your own morality, do it in private........or don't dismiss
> out of hand the opinion(s) that YOU asked for.

Sorry, but nobody put you in charge of deciding what other posters
should -or should not- post to Reeky.

But there's name for people who think that it's their job to run
unmoderated newsgroups: it's "net-nanny", and it's *not* a compliment.

On Thu, 14 Aug 2008 23:02:43 -0700 (PDT), Twibil
<jose.noway6@gmail.com> wrote:

>Despite the fact that there wasn't much I could have done at the crash
>site, later on I wondered whether or not I should have stopped
>anyway.
>
>What say you?

It seems obvious they were going to be in hell for a while (unless it
was a stolen car and they were able to get away,) so I think telling
your side to the police is unnecessary, besides being unChristian.)
Puking is also a side effect of inebriation, which might account for
the driving skills. If they weren't in physical danger, you didn't
need to stop.

One time I did stop was when I pulled up next to a couple of cars at a
stop light. Both cars were going straight. When the left turn light
went green, the car in back (full of teenagers) rammed into the car in
front. It then took off, trying to get away. I followed it, and a
couple of blocks later it pulled over. A cop showed up almost
instantly. The cop asked me what happened. I felt obliged to explain
that the driver and one of her passengers exchanged places before the
cop showed up. The cop gave me an "Oh hell" look and I left.

--
Turby the Turbosurfer

On Aug 15, 11:09*pm, Turby <turbosur...@beach.comber> wrote:

> It seems obvious they were going to be in hell for a while (unless it
> was a stolen car and they were able to get away,)

I wondered briefly if the car might have been stolen, but I don't
think they could have made it away from the crash scene unless they
were armed and highjacked another car right on the spot.

Live Oak Canyon is pretty rough foothill country, the road only goes
east-west for around 5 miles, and they were stranded roughly at the
half-way point. And besides; the home owners out here tend to be armed
and suspicious of rough-looking trespassers. (Believe it or not,
people still rustle cattle and horses out here occasionally.)

> I think telling
> your side to the police is unnecessary, besides being unChristian.

Oh, *that's* okay: I'm not a Christian.

> Puking is also a side effect of inebriation, which might account for
> the driving skills. If they weren't in physical danger, you didn't
> need to stop.

I figure if they could both exit the smoking wreckage, walk 30 feet or
so across the road, and then remain standing afterwards as opposed to
collapsing, they didn't really need me telling them how lucky they
were.

On Aug 15, 8:59*am, "Who Me?" <hitchhi...@dont.panic> wrote:
> "Twibil" <jose.now...@gmail.com> wrote
>
> > Despite the fact that there wasn't much I could have done at the crash
> > site, later on I wondered whether or not I should have stopped
> > anyway.
>
> > What say you?
>
> A critical piece of information is missing: Were you the first (or secondor
> third) to arrive after the crash?
>
> If so you probably could have been helpful with:
> 1) Getting the injured parties (had to be SOME injuries), to sit down and
> (try to) remain calm until the medics arrived.

Huh? If I'd have stopped the driver would have wound up needing a
rectal bootectomy in addition to any other injuries he may have
already suffered.

"Twibil" <jose.noway6@gmail.com> wrote

>> So here we go again. What's the point of even posting the "question" in
>> the
>> first place........if you are going to argue and try to justify your
>> choice?

>Uh, (A) this is Reeky, (B) whatever made you think that I thought I
>made the wrong decision just because I wondered what others might
>think about the subject?

(A) Sorry, forgot where I was there for a moment.

(B) I ASKED what the point of the post was. I honestly don't know. But
referring to (A), never mind.

One of the things that keeps this place "interesting" is the proliferation
of people who post just any damn thing they want and THEN get upset when
they get "any damn thing" in response.

I TOLD you what I think about the subject, yet you seem upset that I did.
Go figure.

"Twibil" <jose.noway6@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:3d0267a7-b61a-4ec8-b858-f467324e356e@r15g2000prh.googlegroups.com...
> On my way down the canyon this evening just before sunset I was passed
> by two teenagers in a small black sedan who were doing circa 90 MPH
> when they went around me. ("YEEEEEHAAAAWW!!" they chorused.) The
> driver almost didn't manage to slow down enough to make the next
> curve, and *did* slide into the oncoming lane as he exited the turn,
> causing an oncoming bicyclist to bail out onto the dirt shoulder of
> the road. By that time I was too far behind to get the sedan's plate
> number, and I *wasn't* going to try and catch him because I was
> reasonably certain that he was going to crash in the near future and I
> didn't want to be part of it if/when it happened.
>
> Sure enough, two miles further down the canyon as I exited a blind
> corner I saw skid marks going straight across the oncoming lane and
> terminating at a large granite boulder, next to which which the
> sedan's rear suspension and wheels were sitting.
>
> The car itself had come to rest upright some 100' or so further down
> the road in the (fortunately unoccupied) oncoming lane, and the road
> surface between the boulder and the car itself was *liberally* strewn
> with both large and small car parts that had come adrift upon impact.
>
> For a wonder, both the driver and his passenger were out of the wreck
> and standing by the side of the road, although one of them was bent
> over and throwing up; probably from shock.
>
> I took quick stock, and realised that (A) I didn't have my cellphone,
> (B) there's no reception in the canyon anyway, and (C) they'd crashed
> directly in front of one of my neighbor's homes. (It was *his* boulder
> they'd hit: he put it there to keep speeding cars out of his front
> yard. It works.)
>
> Having thought it through, I threaded my way through the wreckage and
> continued on my way.
>
> Despite the fact that there wasn't much I could have done at the crash
> site, later on I wondered whether or not I should have stopped
> anyway.

You SHOULD have stopped and laughed your fucking head off as you moved on.


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

On Aug 16, 3:15*pm, "Beav" <beavis.origi...@ntlwoxorld.com> wrote:

> You SHOULD have stopped and laughed your fucking head off as you moved on..

Well, I *was* tempted. But despite my past history, you don't *always*
have to give in to temptation.

Unless she's really, *really* attractive!

Twibil <jose.noway6@gmail.com> wrote in news:3d0267a7-b61a-4ec8-b858-
f467324e356e@r15g2000prh.googlegroups.com:

> Despite the fact that there wasn't much I could have done at the crash
> site, later on I wondered whether or not I should have stopped
> anyway.
>
> What say you?

I say, "To hell with them."

Innocent folks will get my help. Assholes who have it coming will hear
nothing but my fading laughter as I motor on by.

--
RCOS #7
IBA# 11465
http://imagesdesavions.com
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

In article
<0466ec2e-c836-44e7-851a-834dfaf73b46@t1g2000pra.googlegroups.com>,
Twibil <jose.noway6@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Aug 15, 9:14*am, Timberwoof <timberwoof.s...@infernosoft.com>
> wrote:
>
> > I'd have stopped by my brother's house for a quick phone call.
>
> You have a brother who lives in Live Oak Canyon? (That was my
> *neighbor's* home, not my brother's. And it's surrounded by a 6'
> spiked iron fence and the gate was closed. But if anyone was home,
> they *had* to have heard the crash.)

Yeah, I thought about that after I posted. I was so embarrassed that
I'll never live it down.

> > Someone
> > needs to secure the accident scene before some other yahoo becomes part
> > of it.
>
> True, but I don't carry flares and so forth on my bike.
>
> > I wold not have emphasized *liberally* in the scene report; it takes the
> > emphasis away from the much more poetic and descriptive. "The road S� was
> > strewn with car parts large and small that had come adrift upon impact." *
> > :-)
>
> "Editor": a parasitic life*form that makes it's living by sucking the
> blood out of writers. :-)

Only writers with no sense of narrative flow or sentence structure. The
documentation "writer" at work has a span of attention about four words
long. He commonly repeats words in a sentence, commonly reusing them
although it's a common mistake usually reserved for a common newbie. I
wish someone would come down and suck the life out of ... oh, that's
uncharitable.

> > To add insult to injury, I might have gone back up the road to check on
> > the bikie who bailed out. He might have some words for the police. }: )
>
> I thunk of that, but I figured that he'd likely be long gone by the
> time I got back there.

--
Timberwoof <me at timberwoof dot com>
faq: http://www.timberwoof.com/motorcycle/faq.shtml
Ten Steps to Fascism: http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2064157,00.html

On Aug 19, 11:26*pm, Timberwoof <timberwoof.s...@infernosoft.com>
wrote:

> > > I'd have stopped by my brother's house for a quick phone call.
>
> > You have a brother who lives in Live Oak Canyon? (That was my
> > *neighbor's* home, not my brother's. And it's surrounded by a 6'
> > spiked iron fence and the gate was closed. But if anyone was home,
> > they *had* to have heard the crash.)
>
> Yeah, I thought about that after I posted. I was so embarrassed that
> I'll never live it down.

But just imagine how your poor brother feels...

> > "Editor": a parasitic life*form that makes it's living by sucking the
> > blood out of writers. :-)
>
> Only writers with no sense of narrative flow or sentence structure. The
> documentation "writer" at work has a span of attention about four words
> long. He commonly repeats words in a sentence, commonly reusing them
> although it's a common mistake usually reserved for a common newbie. I
> wish someone would come down and suck the life out of ... oh, that's
> uncharitable.

I realise you're poking fun, but had *your* pearls of wisdom been
worked over by some of the ass..., um, editors I've had to deal with,
you'd now be a strong proponent of applying malthusian solutions to
the magazine industry.

In article
<fc57df16-0adf-4422-b7c2-3ae1ed830e6f@x16g2000prn.googlegroups.com>,
Twibil <jose.noway6@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Aug 19, 11:26*pm, Timberwoof <timberwoof.s...@infernosoft.com>
> wrote:
>
> > > > I'd have stopped by my brother's house for a quick phone call.
> >
> > > You have a brother who lives in Live Oak Canyon? (That was my
> > > *neighbor's* home, not my brother's. And it's surrounded by a 6'
> > > spiked iron fence and the gate was closed. But if anyone was home,
> > > they *had* to have heard the crash.)
> >
> > Yeah, I thought about that after I posted. I was so embarrassed that
> > I'll never live it down.
>
> But just imagine how your poor brother feels...
>
> > > "Editor": a parasitic life*form that makes it's living by sucking the
> > > blood out of writers. :-)
> >
> > Only writers with no sense of narrative flow or sentence structure. The
> > documentation "writer" at work has a span of attention about four words
> > long. He commonly repeats words in a sentence, commonly reusing them
> > although it's a common mistake usually reserved for a common newbie. I
> > wish someone would come down and suck the life out of ... oh, that's
> > uncharitable.
>
> I realise you're poking fun, but had *your* pearls of wisdom been
> worked over by some of the ass..., um, editors I've had to deal with,
> you'd now be a strong proponent of applying malthusian solutions to
> the magazine industry.

I've learned to always write some extra, unnecessary, and redundant
fluff, garbage, and tripe that the editors, vampires, and retroactive
abortionists can juice, sluice, and traduce. Hopefully they leave the
gems.

The biggest problem are web site designers who have told me that they're
trying to communicate a certain "look". My response is to offer to
submit greeking, which they can cut up to their heart's content without
harming my article's content.

--
Timberwoof <me at timberwoof dot com>
faq: http://www.timberwoof.com/motorcycle/faq.shtml
Ten Steps to Fascism: http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2064157,00.html

On Aug 20, 8:59*am, Timberwoof <timberwoof.s...@infernosoft.com>
wrote:

> > > > "Editor": a parasitic life*form that makes it's living by suckingthe
> > > > blood out of writers. :-)
>
> > > Only writers with no sense of narrative flow or sentence structure. The
> > > documentation "writer" at work has a span of attention about four words
> > > long. He commonly repeats words in a sentence, commonly reusing them
> > > although it's a common mistake usually reserved for a common newbie. I
> > > wish someone would come down and suck the life out of ... oh, that's
> > > uncharitable.
>
> > I realise you're poking fun, but had *your* pearls of wisdom been
> > worked over by some of the ass..., um, editors I've had to deal with,
> > you'd now be a strong proponent of applying malthusian solutions to
> > the magazine industry.
>
> I've learned to always write some extra, unnecessary, and redundant
> fluff, garbage, and tripe that the editors, vampires, and retroactive
> abortionists can juice, sluice, and traduce. Hopefully they leave the
> gems.

The way I spell, I don't have to add purposeful mistakes for editors
to feed on. But I've found that they seldom or never limit themselves
to technical English corrections: they frequently change things that
the author *intended* to be written a certain way for a specific
reason; and they'll occasionally do it even when that reason is
explained in the text itself!

Example: The first thing I ever sold to a national publication
(Pickin' Magazine) was a duet arraingement of Grieg's "In The Hall Of
The Mountain King" for banjo and guitar; with the banjo playing the
melody and the guitar supplying the chords. In the article I carefully
pointed out that while the banjo part was played out of an open Gm
tuning, the instrument itself must be capoed up 2 frets to the key of
Am to make the guitar harmony voice properly.

When the article appeared in print, the editor -curse his soul- had
intentionally changed the "capo 2 frets to Am" part to read "capo 2
frets to Gm"; firstly making it look like I was an idiot since the
banjo was *already" in Gm without the capo, and secondly making the
piece practically impossible to perform...

When I called him and asked him why he'd changed the text -even after
I'd explained why I'd written it that way- he replied "some of our
readers probably don't own capos". (For the non-musicians in the
crowd, a capo is the little clamp that goes around the neck of a
fretted instrument and raises the pitch. Basic banjo capos cost around
$5.00.)

The fact that he'd paid me good money for an article and had then
modified it in a way that made it practically useless to his readers
when it appeared in print didn't seem to bother him a bit. So far as
he was concerned, the soup wasn't good enough for his magazine until
he'd pissed in it; and that's all there was to it!

"Twibil" <jose.noway6@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:438dc5dd-f0dd-43b3-b1e7-0997c85040a1@v13g2000pro.googlegroups.com...

> Example: The first thing I ever sold to a national publication
> (Pickin' Magazine) was a duet arraingement of Grieg's "In The Hall Of
> The Mountain King" for banjo and guitar;

Q: What's the difference between an onion and a banjo?
A: No one cries when you cut up the banjo.


Q: How can you tell if the stage is level?
A: The banjo player is drooling out of *both* sides of his mouth.


Q: What's the best way to tune a banjo?
A: Wirecutters.


Sorry....just couldn't help myself....;-)


Bob "Six strings for me, please!" M.

On Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:02:49 -0700 (PDT), Twibil
<jose.noway6@gmail.com> wrote:

>Example: The first thing I ever sold to a national publication
>(Pickin' Magazine) was a duet arraingement of Grieg's "In The Hall Of
>The Mountain King" for banjo and guitar;

OK. There is something really wrong with this picture. ITHOTMK on
banjo? Oh, the heresy.

--
Turby the Turbosurfer

"Turby" <turbosurfer@beach.comber> wrote in message
news:3bvoa4lq91onb83thrj2n2bfu6sgue9b1t@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:02:49 -0700 (PDT), Twibil
> <jose.noway6@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>Example: The first thing I ever sold to a national publication
>>(Pickin' Magazine) was a duet arraingement of Grieg's "In The Hall Of
>>The Mountain King" for banjo and guitar;
>
> OK. There is something really wrong with this picture. ITHOTMK on
> banjo? Oh, the heresy.

"Hey, Earl...that there Mountain King feller's got one KILLER mullet..."

;-)

Bob M.

On Aug 20, 1:19*pm, "Bob Myers" <nospample...@address.invalid> wrote:

> Bob "Six strings for me, please!" M.

Actually I'm a luthier who mostly (99.9%) builds, plays, and repairs
guitars.

But banjos are more naturally suited for pull-out-all-the-stops-over-
the-top-gaudy decoration, and I enjoy doing pearl inlay work.

http://www.banjowizard.com/Angelpics.htm

On Aug 20, 1:25*pm, Turby <turbosur...@beach.comber> wrote:

> >Example: The first thing I ever sold to a national publication
> >(Pickin' Magazine) was a duet arraingement of Grieg's "In The Hall Of
> >The Mountain King" for banjo and guitar;
>
> OK. There is something really wrong with this picture. ITHOTMK on
> banjo? Oh, the heresy.

Surprise! Grieg was a theme thief (no copyrights in those days) and he
copied "Mountain King" note-for-note from a Norwegian fiddle tune that
was already old when he um, "liberated" it, and rearrainged it for
orchestra. (In fact, the tune is *still* played in it's original form
by Norwegian folk fiddlers.)

Since one of the things a 5-string banjo does really well is play
fiddle tunes note-for-note, the tune just falls right out of the
instrument; the only difference being that it's a minor-key tune
whereas most fiddle tunes in the British/American song bag are major
key instead.

It's even performed exactly like "Orange Blosson Special" in that it's
a "Tarantella" ("Tarantula"): a dance tune that's begun slowly and
gains speed every time around.

http://www.sicilianculture.com/folklore/tarantella.htm

You learn something every day.

"Twibil" <jose.noway6@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:ad911406-d1a3-449f-815c-abe5e77c5aa9@o40g2000prn.googlegroups.com...
On Aug 20, 1:19 pm, "Bob Myers" <nospample...@address.invalid> wrote:

>> Bob "Six strings for me, please!" M.

> Actually I'm a luthier who mostly (99.9%) builds, plays, and repairs
> guitars.

Yeah, I know - in fact, we had a discussion about the
inlay work on that very same banjo a few months back,
you may recall.

But I just couldn't let the word "banjo" pass un-noticed
here; that old knee just starts jerking, ya know? :-)

Obligatory additional banjo joke:

Q: What's the main sonic difference between a banjo and a chainsaw?
A: The chain saw has a better dynamic range.

Bob M.

In article
<64048e2e-d90c-497b-a8b5-68b699fa39cd@b38g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
Twibil <jose.noway6@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Aug 20, 1:25*pm, Turby <turbosur...@beach.comber> wrote:
>
> > >Example: The first thing I ever sold to a national publication
> > >(Pickin' Magazine) was a duet arraingement of Grieg's "In The Hall Of
> > >The Mountain King" for banjo and guitar;

I read the rest of your description, and though I'm not a guitar or
banjo player (the closest I get is mountain dulcimer), I shuddered at
his edition of your capo instructions. What a dweeb.

> > OK. There is something really wrong with this picture. ITHOTMK on
> > banjo? Oh, the heresy.
>
> Surprise! Grieg was a theme thief (no copyrights in those days) and he
> copied "Mountain King" note-for-note from a Norwegian fiddle tune that
> was already old when he um, "liberated" it, and rearrainged it for
> orchestra. (In fact, the tune is *still* played in it's original form
> by Norwegian folk fiddlers.)
>
> Since one of the things a 5-string banjo does really well is play
> fiddle tunes note-for-note, the tune just falls right out of the
> instrument; the only difference being that it's a minor-key tune
> whereas most fiddle tunes in the British/American song bag are major
> key instead.
>
> It's even performed exactly like "Orange Blosson Special" in that it's
> a "Tarantella" ("Tarantula"): a dance tune that's begun slowly and
> gains speed every time around.
>
> http://www.sicilianculture.com/folklore/tarantella.htm
>
> You learn something every day.

Borrowing, or plagiarism, as Disney would have it, was common throughout
the history of classical music. Perhaps no one attempted it more often
than P. D. Q. Bach. The biggest problem with his technique was that half
the time he was so drunk that he couldn't remember how the tune he was
stealing from went.

--
Timberwoof <me at timberwoof dot com>
faq: http://www.timberwoof.com/motorcycle/faq.shtml

In article
<ad911406-d1a3-449f-815c-abe5e77c5aa9@o40g2000prn.googlegroups.com>,
Twibil <jose.noway6@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Aug 20, 1:19*pm, "Bob Myers" <nospample...@address.invalid> wrote:
>
> > Bob "Six strings for me, please!" M.
>
> Actually I'm a luthier who mostly (99.9%) builds, plays, and repairs
> guitars.
>
> But banjos

Bela Flek!

> are more naturally suited for pull-out-all-the-stops-over-
> the-top-gaudy decoration, and I enjoy doing pearl inlay work.
>
> http://www.banjowizard.com/Angelpics.htm

You should check out Hille Perl's Viola da Gamba!
http://www.amazon.com/Telemann-Conce...ny/dp/B000HLDC
EI

--
Timberwoof <me at timberwoof dot com>
faq: http://www.timberwoof.com/motorcycle/faq.shtml