toasted hard drive :-(

Sadly, my laptop hard drive has toasted itself. It is currently being looked at by a data recovery service; I find out tomorrow whether any of the data can be saved. Assuming it can't...

If you sent me e-mail between Mon.Feb.20th 4 pm and Thu.Mar.23rd 5 pm, I no longer have it, and would appreciate it being resent. Apologies for the inconvenience.

I'm editing the tape that UT recorded for our Interfilk package for FKO. Because Allison and Jodi haven't completely recovered from colds, we weren't able to get ALL our kids' songs on the tape, but we do have the following: Hockey Monkey Song, Lollipop Tree, Never Song, The Magic Garden, Sandwiches, I'm Gonna Fly To Florida, The Loquat Tree, Noun Song (Schoolhouse Rock), Morningtown Ride, We Are The Dinosaurs, Interjections (Schoolhouse Rock parody). The package also includes a songwriting gift certificate (I'll write a kids' song on a topic of your choosing!!) and a bunch of other goodies.

Sadly, I will have to pass on FKO Friday festivities because of an out-of-town business meeting....I'll be arriving on Saturday instead.

As I mentioned in Blatherchat, I've broken into my Emergency Cache of chocolate from Joey Shoji (semisweet Scharffen Berger).

Good News: My sister got a starred review for In My Mother's Arms (picture book published by Fitzhenry & Whiteside, author: Sharon Jennings, my sister illustrated it) in the April issue of Quill & Quire! Very cool. Chapters has chosen the book for their May 15-Jun15 "Made In Canada" displays.

quiet

I was working in the office until around 10:30 pm last night; I forgot about the time, and suddenly I noticed that it was VERY quiet (I'm used to the constant murmur of voices in other offices, footsteps, etc.) and that the hallway was dark. Which reminded me that I -still- haven't gotten around to taking a self-defense course.

Since the shoulder-chewing incident, I did force myself to go back to that same Hasty Market on the corner of King and Dufferin and buy something. Nothing happened, of course; in fact, I haven't seen the shoulder-chewing guy at all since it happened.

Only nine days until FKO, woohoo! Sadly, it looks like I won't be able to take next Friday off after all :-(.

pegasus nominations

Workworkwork.

Andrea's posted her consonance report at
http://www.merlynproductions.com/zencuppa.html.

Don't forget that the deadline for the Pegasus Nomination ballot is April 15th...please do send in a ballot, and encourage your filker friends to do so as well. The more people who participate, the more representative the final ballot will be. You can get a ballot here. I feel awkward about pushing the ballot since some people are likely to think I'm pushing you to nominate Urban Tapestry. This is NOT the case...I've just been aware of problems the OVFF concom has had recently with not being able to get many nomination ballots.

Of course the question becomes...if not enough people care enough to even nominate, why bother having the Pegasus Awards in the first place? :-) If you think the Pegasus Awards matter, then please do send in a ballot.

Officemusic today: Puzzlebox's "Assembly Required".

insomnia problems

Been having trouble sleeping lately. Instead of lying there in the darkness, trying to will myself to sleep in the middle of the night, I got up and surfed on the Web instead. Cobbled together a list of harp links I've been perusing during my harp research. Bizarre how relaxing it can be to create a mini-website from scratch in one sitting. Normal people read or watch tv to relax; I write HTML. :-)

By the way, I just joined the FKOfilk mailing list. Peggi Warner-Lalonde and Judith Hayman are the moderators. Description on ONElist: "For those who recall the fun of the old GEnie Filk Round Table, a place to discuss filk music. We are looking for discussion of the music and the community and the related interests we have in common. An ongoing focus will be the posting of news, information and announcement related to FilKONtario." To subscribe, send e-mail to FKOfilk-subscribe@onelist.com or go to ttp://www.onelist.com/group/FKOfilk. Only a couple more weeks until FKO! Hope to see some of you there.

re: harp names. Experienced harpists in blatherchat tell me that it's no use trying to pick a name now, that my harp will let me know what its name is. So I've decided to wait... :-)

Thanks also for the advice re: travelling with a guitar. Here are a few comments people posted:

Andrea:
"Traveling with guitars - I have actually asked my travel agent to find out what the size of the overhead compartments are . . . After all if the guitar won't fit, it won't matter. I have also chosen to insure my guitar (maybe this would be a good idea for your harp). When I check in and board the plane, I never mention my guitar unless directly asked, at which time I politely ask about taking it on the plane. If they want me to check it, I always "gate" check it, meaning that they take it at the gate and that I pick it up and carry it through all connections, so it doesn't experience the baggage handling system (i.e. unkind baggage handlers). Using these tactics, I almost never have to check it, and then if I do, I don't fret wondering if it will arrive safely through connections, because I am carrying it."

Paul:
"My guitar/flying experience sounds much like Andrea's: just take it along with you, unless they try to tell you otherwise. Getting a seat toward the back of the airliner is handy, as it means you'll board first, when the overheads are empty. I will mention that I've never found a jetliner where my hardshell dreadnaught case wouldn't fit in the overhead compartments (and I tell them that when they try to tell me sometimes that it won't fit). Probably 90% of the time, they let me just carry it aboard. Unfortunately, the most hard-nosed attitude I've ever run across is in Toronto, where I've never been able to take the guitar aboard with me (when leaving TO). I'm told that it's a national air regulation, disallowing carry-on guitars (although I'm allowed to carry it on in Winnipeg)."

Scott:
"Unlike the charismatic Paul Kwinn, I've rarely been able to carry my guitar on board an aircraft with me. I will soon (although perhaps NOT before FKO) be investing in an ATA-approved case, so that 1) it is less likely to get broken, and 2) they can't make me sign a waiver, since it's packed in an officially mandated case. At least then I can worry SLIGHTLY less about it appearing on the luggage carousel in bits and pieces. As for a soft case... I wouldn't recommend flying with it unless you are guaranteed that you can carry it on with you. A soft case in the luggage compartment, even if it's gate checked, is a disaster waiting to happen."

Phil:
"I've very rarely been allowed to carry my guitar on board, but almost always carry it through for checking at the gate. Downside of this is that it comes through on the conveyor at the other end, so sometimes one has to barge through to catch it as it comes down the slide at the start! One piece of useful advice is to pad out your guitar with clothing inside the case. Not only does this reduce your fears about the guitar, it also makes (often badly needed) more room in the rest of your luggage - as Debbie found coming back from England!"

harp research

My harp research continues. As I've mentioned before, I've decided to get a Larry Fisher harp; he's a Celtic harpmaker out in Winnipeg, a friend of Dave Clement's and Tom Jeffers, and who has made a harp for Loreena McKennitt. Annie Walker also recommended him.

Larry and I have been e-mailing back and forth; I find the process fascinating, especially since I am completely harp-ignorant (except from a typical listener's point of view). He's been wonderful throughout, and extremely patient.

We've talked about types of wood (I'll likely opt for maple), possible artwork, carrying cases. Eventually I'd like to take this to some cons, so am opting for a Superlightweight Harp Case from Colorado Cases, one with wheels added on as well as fiberglass corners...incidentally, this company carries soft cases for all kinds of instruments, including guitars. You can get padded shoulder straps added, extra pockets, double insulation, wheels, embroidery, applique, etc. I'm going to consider getting one for my guitar, whose case is sadly disintegrating.

A question about soft guitar cases...one of my fears is that the airlines won't let me take the guitar on board with me even if it's in a soft case; that I'll end up having to check it (and then it will be more vulnerable than it would have been in a rigid case). Any advice, travelling guitarists out there? I will definitely have to get a new guitar case within the next year or so.

Anyway, I'm excited about my harp. I find myself purposely thinking about it whenever I get too stressed these days; it doesn't exist yet, but still comforts me. :-)

Annie Walker told me I should name my harp (both she and Talis have named theirs, I notice). :-) I've started researching Celtic names.