Urban Tapestry and Franklin concert at FilKONtario!

(Above: Franklin, Allison, Jodi and me at Filkcontinental in Germany, with chocolate.)

Just found out it's okay to announce this: Urban Tapestry is going to be performing at FilKONtario in Toronto (Mar.31-Apr.2nd) in a joint concert with Frank ("Franklin") Gunkelmann, woohoo! This is our only confirmed public performance this year, and we're SO looking forward to it.

We had much fun in Germany with Franklin; see Allison's LJ entry. Our FKO concert will be partly Franklin, partly Urban Tapestry, and partly Urban Franklin (Franklin Tapestry? Other suggestions for our joint group name welcome!).

Thanks to the FilKONtario convention committee for this fun opportunity. Do consider coming to FKO if you haven't already, else you'll miss some great fun and music. AND a great line-up of guests:

Photo from Chris's site.	CHRIS CONWAY. I raved about him in a past Blathering. Unbelieveably talented, Chris is a full-time musician living in the UK and plays more instruments (and plays them WELL) than anyone else I know. He has recorded over 30 CDs. Urban Tapestry did some back-up on his "Alien Salad Abduction" CD. More info and soundclips on his Web site.
	TANYA HUFF. Author of numerous sf/fantasy novels including Smoke and Mirrors (came out from DAW last year), The Novels of Crystal series, Blood series, Keeper's Chronicles series, Quarters series, others. Tanya is now hooked on filking (yay!). I love her Pervy Hobbit song.
Photo by Rob Wynne	JUDI MILLER. Judi's signing has enhanced many filk performances in the past (both funny and serious); I was delighted to hear she was going to be an Interfilk guest at FKO! Judi is a teacher of the deaf in Columbus, OH.

You can find out more about the convention at the official FilKONtario Web site.

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babies and nMC and tunes

Congrats to Amanda and Scott Snyder on the birth of their son last night, William Arthur! As Scott posted in his LJ: "The Snyder family - now with 25 percent Canadian content!" (The Snyders used to live in the U.S. :-))

I've been having some good writing days. I can still write on bad writing days, but it's always more of an effort. On good writing days, the words just pour out and it's agony to have to take my regular arm breaks (but I still do since I don't want another tendinitis flare-up) because I hate interrupting the flow.

Heard back from the media company that bought my thyme cartoon; they're actively looking for cartoons on other topics, so I'm going to send them some more.



I'm also working on a fundraising t-shirt for FilKONtario and Interfilk; months ago, I was asked to do a cartoon portrait of 13 n'Early Music Consort members to put on a t-shirt that will be sold to help raise the money to get them to Toronto in 2007 for FKO. I've been having the darndest time trying to get headshot photos of some members of the group, however. To you UK filkers out there: if anyone has good, clear headshot pictures of the following n'MC members, pleasePLEASE let me know:

URGENT:
DJ Bass (Update: Thanks to Keris for pointing me to some photos!)
Simon Fairbourn (Update: Thanks to Katy for pointing me to a recent Simon photo I can use!)

WOULD BE NICE (newer members -- I don't have to add them to the t-shirt but would like to if possible):
Anna Raftery (Update: Thanks to Keris for pointing me to some photos!)
Elizabeth Fosbrooke-Brown
Tricia Williams

Another update: Yay, thanks to Rafe Culpin for the photos of DJ, Simon and Anna!

I really don't want to have to do this at the last minute, especially if it might interfere with my paying work or cause problems with my tendinitis (in which case I won't be able to do it at all). Thanks kindly.



Photos today are of snacks I bought in Pacific Mall a short while back. The green mushrooms and Feel Safari snacks were disappointing - not nearly as interesting as their packages made them out to be. The tiny fish, however, have been a favourite snack of mine since childhood. I used to pretend to be a giant, crunching their tiny little heads...yes, I know, what a horrible child.

Learned "Will You Come Home With Me" on my whistle. I updated my "tunes I've memorized" list, and have discovered that I've learned about 40 tunes in the past year, 46 in total. Some I can play without hearing the first few notes, some I play quickly and well, some very badly and slowly. I'm posting the list below, fyi. The odd combinations of letters and numbers is a highly mutated form of abc notation, to remind me of how each tune starts. The page numbers refer to various collections of mine, in case I need to look up the music.

I've been practising the tunes on this list as well as learning more from Mary's filk tune list and the Tranzac list.

DEBBIE'S LIST OF TUNES
(updated Jan.29/2006)

Apples In Winter - Miscp4
- dc BEE dEE BAG FEF
Austin Barrett's (Dusty Windowsills) - Miscp4
- A2B cBA eAB cBA
Ballydesmond #1 (polka) - Miscp1
- AB c2B2 A2GA Bded g2ed
Ballydesmond #2 (polka) - Miscp1
- EAAB cdef# G
Bank of Ireland (reel)
- cA AGA BGAG | EGDG EGDG
Boyne Hunt (reel)
- D F#A DA F#G | D F#A BE EDE |
Butcher's March - Miscp29 (follows Paidin O'Fairfearta)
- B ded BAB dBA A2B
Butterfly, The - Miscp3
- B2E G2E F3
Connaughtman's Rambles, The - Miscp5
- A | F#AA dAA | BAB dAA
Cooley's Reel (reel) - McCullp6
- EBBA B2Ba | B2BcdBAG |
Cow That Ate The Blanket - Miscp37
- A | B2A BGE | GAG GBd |
Denis Murphy (polka) - Miscp38
- f#gf#ed3b | ADF#A
Donegal Reel (reel) - MCullp5
- D2DE F#2F#A | BF#EF# BF#AF#
Drowsy Maggie (reel) - McCullp7
- E2BE dEBD | E2BE AF#DF#
Dunmore Lassies (reel) - Mcullp7
- EDEF# GF#GA | Be ede Be ede |
Dusty Miller #2 - Miscp5
- B2cd2bA2g | E2aA2BcBA
Earl's Chair (reel)
- B dBBDF#D | B dBBAF#B |
Egan's Polka (polka) - Miscp1
- fABA fABA d2ef medba
Fermoy Lassies (reel) - McCull p9
- BA | GE EDE BE EDE | GE EDE B2 BA |
Galway Rambler (reel)
- G2dG EGDG | G2dG AGEF# |
Ger the Rigger (polka) - Sull(2)p8
- e2A2 e2A2 | ef#ed C#2A# | d4 deF#g | a'2e2f#2e2
Green Fields of America (reel) - Miscp9
- c2ecB2dB | AGABAGEF | G2GEDEGd | AGABAGEG
Green Groves of Erin (reel)
- A2BA eABA | G2Bd gedB |
Harvest Home (reel) - Miscp11
- A | DAF#A DAF#A | def#e dc#BA | eAf#A gAf#A
John Ryan's (polka) - Miscp38
- d d Bc#dB | A F# E D | d d Bc#dB | D F# E2
Kesh, The - Miscp6
G3 GAB | ABA ABd | edd gdd | edB dBA
Maggie in the Woods - Miscp2
- G2D2G3A B2d2 E3
Maid in the Meadow (jig) - Miscp7
- cecBdB | AGABGE | DEGAGA | BdBAGE
Munster Buttermilk - Paddy Haverty's (jig) Miscp7
- d | gfgage | d2BBAB | d2BBAB | d2BBAB
Ms McLeod's Reel (reel) - McCull p7
- G2BG dGBA | G2BA BcBA
My Darling Asleep (jig) - McCullp27
- f#dd c#AA | BGB A2G | F#AA def# | gF#g e2g
Out on the Ocean - Miscp7
- E | DBBBAG | BdBABA | GEDG2A | BdBAGE
Peeler's Jacket (reel) - Miscp27 (followed by Red-Haired Lass)
- G2 BGDGBGFGABc
Paidin O'Raifearta's (jig) - Miscp8 (followed by Butcher's March)
- D GAB D2E GAB AGE
Rakes of Mallow - Miscp2
- D G2B2 G2B2 cBAG
Redhaired Lass - Miscp27 (follows Peeler's) - GE DGGFG2BG
- GE | DGGF# G2BG | G2BG AGEG |
Si Beag, Si Mhor - Miscp14
- de | f#3ed | d3ed | B4A | F##
Sixpenny Money - Miscp29
- f#AA F#AA | BAG F#GE | D3 AF#A | DF#D E2D
Sligo Maid (reel) - Miscp11
- D2BA Bdef# | gedB AGEF# |
St Mary's Polka (polka) / Paige's Polka
- GB A BA | Gg ef#ge
Sunny Banks (reel) - Misc40
- B | AF#F#2 d2c#A | Bc#dAF G B |
Swallowtail (reel)
- gf# | eA AGA eA AGA | Bcd ef# gedb
Thrush in the Straw (jig) - Miscp8
- d efg edB cBA
Tobin's (jig) - Miscp39
- DF# | DF#A dc#d | ec#A c#de |
Tripping Up The Stairs (jig) - McCullp37, Sull(1)p10
- F#AA GBB FAd FED
Will You Come Home With Me (jig) - Misc p40
- dge f#dc | BdB cAF | G3 AcA | G3

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Mighty Craic

So yesterday, out of the blue, I received an e-mail from a media company saying that they had come across a gardening cartoon of mine online, and could they have my permission to add it to a newsletter that will be distributed in one of their client's stores in March/April.

In the old days I would have just been delighted and said yes, just happy to get the exposure. This time, however, I took a deep breath and asked for a fee for non-exclusive one-time rights. And they said yes! My first "corporate" illustration sale...how cool is that?

Thanks to my brother-in-law Kaarel for inspiring the cartoon. :-)



I've opened up a new CafePress store, by the way. It's still under construction; I'll be gradually adding some of my favourite designs over the next while as I finetune the site, and have added the link to the left-hand navigation menu.

Learned The Cow That Ate The Blanket yesterday, partly because I adore the tune name but also because it's part of a set that we're working on at the Tranzac. I soooooooooooo love my new whistle, I do.

I posted a link to yesterday's Blathering on both TheSession.org and the Chiff & Fipple forums. Zina Lee from TheSession.org encouraged me to contribute to Mighty Craic, a place where forum users can post a picture of themselves as well as sample tunes. I was all keen on doing this until I started listening to some of the MP3s...holy cow, talk about intimidating! This one (Fermoy Lassies), for example, is from "Mattrick", a 24-year-old Halifax musician who recorded this track and a bunch of others ON HIS LAPTOP IN HIS DINING ROOM and HE PLAYS ALL THE INSTRUMENTS. Apparently he's putting together a CD; I'm definitely going to order one.

And this is just one of the sound clips you can hear on this page. If you like Irish music (or are curious about it), do check out Mighty Craic. I'm looking forward to listening to all the tunes.

(Please note: The sound clips don't seem to be accessible this morning. Hopefully the server will come back up later today!)

The woman who pointed me to Mighty Craic, by the way, has a track on the site called "The Winter Queen" which is also known as "Jane Yolen's Reel." The piece was written by her friend Will Harmon, commissioned by The Green Man Review in honour of the author. You can hear Zina, Will and "Reverend" perform the reel here. The Green Man Review has info about Zina and the reel and Irish traditional tunes in general here. You can also read Zina's thoughts on house sessions (which sound a great deal like housefilks!) here. I love her description of playing along on "The Winter Queen" at a house session:

"And a doorway opened for me, somewhere inside my head; a peek into worlds where the commonplace becomes meaningful by squinting at it a slightly different way, where you can turn your head and realize that something extraordinary has been waiting for you to notice that it has been there all along, where the magic steps forward out of the periphery of the mundane. By concentrating on the tune, I stepped a little out of time and space and sideways into Jane Yolen's worlds, knowing the whole time that even a tiny jog of my concentration would knock me back out into my living room, sitting next to Will, playing Her Majesty's tune."

For those interested, The Green Man Review reviews music and literature, with a focus on folklore and folk music. An excerpt from their "About" page:

"...Our strong ties to both the past and the fey make Green Man Review a lively -- and often tantalizing -- combination of ancient and modern, darkly realistic and frankly magical. There's a fiddling jack, a Sidhe archivist/librarian, and a changeling are also on staff. Our present office has a wooden handle on the street door to accommodate the fey, and we've developed a back-up set of tunes in MP3 to deal with the pixies who have migrated online and occasionally try to massacre our server."

:-)

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Irish music session at the Tranzac

It's been over a year since I nervously stepped through the doors at the Tranzac for my first Irish music session in Toronto. I didn't know anyone and had only a handful of tunes that no one else seemed to recognize.

Last night, I couldn't help but compare how I felt then to how I feel now. I still have a long way to go, but at least I'm not a complete newbie anymore. I was able to play along with a fair number of tunes in last night's slow session without sheet music, and even do some playing on some less familiar tunes after hearing them only once or twice; my ear has definitely improved since last year.

I brought my new Burke whistle to the session for the first time and was immensely pleased at how much of a difference it made. For one thing, I could tune it to match the lead player; I adjusted the tuning a couple times last night. But most importantly, I could actually HEAR myself in the crowded room, even when everyone around me was playing. Last night there were mostly fiddles, some accordions and concertinas and Irish flutes, a couple of banjos, a few whistles. I hope to start using my Burke with Urban Tapestry eventually.



For those who missed the entry, I ended up ordering the Burke wide bore brass black tip model (DBSBT). The choice was based on helpful comments from whistle-players in the Chiff and Fipple forums who suggested that the wide bore would be slightly louder, and that the brass model has a darker tone than aluminum.

Anyway, I LOVE MY BURKE WHISTLE!

Last night's session was also enlightening for me because I was sitting beside a newcomer; it was her first session at the Tranzac. I remember how frustrating it was in the beginning for me, when I'd ask people what tune had just been played and no one could remember. How could you not know the name of a tune YOU WERE PLAYING A FEW SECONDS AGO? I felt like asking, but didn't.

I found myself in the opposite role last night when Lisa asked me several times about the names of tunes...and I honestly couldn't remember, despite the fact that my fingers obviously knew the tune I had just been playing.

The "slow session" (where focus is on playing tunes more slowly so people could learn them more easily and beginners could practise) was from roughly 7:30-9 pm. Around 9, the pace picked up. Usually at this point I just put away my whistle and listen, both because I can't keep up yet but also to avoid aggravating my tendinitis.

I enjoy listening as much as playing at these sessions. It's an incredible experience, sitting there in that small room filled with amazing music I'd pay money to hear in a concert hall. As the pace picks up and still more experienced players arrive, feet start tapping, heads nod in time to the music. I also love watching the seasoned musicians in action, bows and picks a blur, fingers flying over whistle and flute holes. The fellow beside me was playing a flute made in the 1800s!

I was in heaven; it was so difficult having to leave before the end of the session, but I knew I had a longer commute back home than when we lived downtown.

Besides, I'll be back soon.

Anyway, I'm so very VERY glad I decided to push open that door at the Tranzac last December; I would have missed out on a world of good if I had chickened out. Thanks again to Mary Bertke for getting me hooked on Irish music sessions in the first place, and to folks at TheSession.org and The Chiff & Fipple message boards for their encouragement and advice. And ESPECIALLY the friendly folk at the Tranzac session.

:-)

Photo below: Taken by John Hall at the GAfilk session in Atlanta earlier in the month. You can see John's other GAfilk photos here.

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postcards and Will Write For Chocolate

I've updated my Will Write For Chocolate comic. Also do check out the column below the comic: "Avoiding distractions while working at home."

I'm having fun with this new comic strip, and the weekly schedule isn't nearly as cumbersome as I expected. I'd be grateful if you could help me get word of this strip out there...tell your family! Tell your friends! Tell your writers' group!

Will Write For Chocolate is geared toward anyone with an interest in freelance writing. Or chocolate. Or both. Strips are updated every Wednesday. Feedback so far has been very good. I've even been approached about syndication on other Web sites but for now I'd like to stick with offering it only through Offpanel Productions.

Re-read Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart recently. This is one of my all-time favourite "comfort" books, one that I re-read at least once a year. For me, it's always been one of those books that I can fall into right away, the characters and story completely engrossing, moving, entertaining, satisfying.

Some people think it a waste to re-read books. Why read old ones when there are so many new titles? I like reading both, and get a different pleasure from each. Reading a new book is like being introduced to someone I've never met before; there's always the possibility that I'll have found a new friend. Or perhaps someone I'd rather never see again. :-)

I find re-reading a favourite book is like hanging out at home with an old friend. No need to break the ice, no awkward doubts...just kick off your shoes, make some tea, enjoy their company.

Thanks to Rick and Barbie for the postcards I found in my P.O. Box:



"Dear Debbie, Here's another postcard to add to your collection. The images are all classic Kenyan wildlife shots, but I do wonder whether (or how soon) they'll begin to seem like views of a disappearing world. Already the snows on Kilimanjaro have receded a long way up, and are no longer anything like as prominent as the image shows. Cheers, Rick H."



IOWA: Land Between Two Rivers

"Hi Debbie! My name is Barbie. I am a friend of Ally's. I live in [city name deleted], IA and it really DOES look like the picture on the front. Who would have thought crops could be beautiful! -- Barbie P."

I love snailmail postcards: each is unique, personal, a brief wave of greeting, a miniature still-life. If you send a postcard to my P.O. Box, I'll post it to my online postcard collection: Debbie Ridpath Ohi, 34 Eglinton Ave. W., P.O. Box 189, Toronto, ON Canada M4R 2H6.

If you prefer the postcard NOT to be posted, please say so at the top of the postcard. Any postcards sent to my home address will be considered private and will not be posted.

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