Tuesday, August 12, 2008

One Small Thing, On One Sad Evening

Sometimes really wonderful things happen at just exactly the perfect moment. I was feeling pretty sad, as you might expect, last night, but as far as something that would be guaranteed to cheer a person up goes, what happened next qualified.

Do you remember the story of Mim and The Mouse and the Lady with the Big Dog, from my Take Your Dog to Your Gig day post (In the comments)? Well, last night, as I was taking out the trash, a car stopped and a Lady asked if I was the one with the cat from the night before.

We had another good laugh about it and I met her husband. We chatted for a bit, and I invited them in to read the Story and chat some more. They read, love music, and adore the Bengals. Clearly of the same tribe as us.

They mentioned their son, now grown and away in the army was a bagpiper, and I mentioned one of the things I have always wanted to do most was learn to play Uilleann Pipes.

They mentioned their son had some, that they had gotten from a Pipemaker in Cornwall, but he didn't play them and they had been sitting in their basement unused forever, and would I like them?

Hello?

They left, and The Nice Lady returned 20 minutes later with these....



Here's another view....



I suspect I have them in the nature of kind of a permanent loan, and would give them back if ever they were wanted, but what a wonderful thing to do for someone! Especially someone you only just met the night before, holding a cat AND a mouse, yelling at you to keep your dog away!!!!!

They made me so very happy when I needed it most. Making new friends would have been enough, but now having a chance to do something I have always wanted for years to do, makes me feel kind of weak. Overwhelmed. Such kindness from strangers, who aren't strangers anymore, means so much.

Sometimes Magic is very, very real.

I suspect, as I learn them, you will all be very glad you live far away. My neighbours are not so lucky...They won't be easy, but I think I can do it.

Here is one more shot that turned up. I think the Bengal/Bee Alliance is Plotting something......



Thank you ALL again for your love and support yesterday, in the death of my friend. It's going to be hard to go out there on Sunday but I think it is something I need to do.

And oh, Mim caught another Mouse last night....

Love and Irish Pipes,
Lorraine

104 Comments:

At 5:28 PM , Blogger ivenotime said...

The universe does move in mysterious ways, what a wonderful blessing - new friends and those awesome pipes. tho i must say it seems kitty either thinks it is of the rodent family and must be killed, or is wary as she realizes She Who Should Be Obeyed is now capable of out-noising them :) Have fun with them, a very cool gift. Take care, tho, Sunday will be difficult, my heart goes out to all of you - his family and friends. I thought Paul's writing was quite lovely, as well as his partner's. sigh, we should truly value each minute on this planet.

 
At 5:37 PM , Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Venus is fascinated by them. I think she SUSPECTS something...

Yes, I agree, Paul's and Mark's words both touched my heart. We talked for a while today, Paul and I. It's hard.

And the universe does indeed work mysteriously.

 
At 6:36 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

What kind and wonderful gifts from the universe..truly the best kind of magic.

Venus is definitely making an "I Disapprove" face.

 
At 7:08 PM , Blogger AletaMay said...

That is so wonderful.

I am so pleased that you had a bright spot in the dark time.

The best sort of magic indeed.

I can't wait to hear you play!

 
At 7:12 PM , Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Venus may well disapprove, she is just not SURE. Anything different is suspect....And sucks until proven otherwise.

The magic is the best thing ever!

I think you will want to wait a while, the only other time I ever tried pipes, it sounded like someone killing a cat....

 
At 7:23 PM , Blogger AletaMay said...

Hee.

I think Venus knows about the "sounded like someone killing a cat" thing!

 
At 7:31 PM , Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Hee-hee, you might well be right....She is sleeping beside them now on the table..

 
At 7:43 PM , Blogger gaypet said...

That sort of kindness is amazing at any time but when one really needs it like that it makes even a mild-misanthrope like me feel good about people!

I hope you enjoy the pipes and new friends (who live close which is great!).

Paul, your words were lovely.

Do you have any ideas for something nice to do for Mark (flowers, liquor, etc) for those of us whom he does not know but will be out to the Faire?

 
At 7:43 PM , Blogger ariandalen said...

That is so cool!
I think you might want to hide the pipes when you aren't home in the top of a locked closet. Especially after you start practicing it. Of course, you could always just take it with you wherever you go.

 
At 8:04 PM , Blogger Rubius said...

What a nice thing to happen, in so raw a time. I am sure an instrument, particularly one which has been left to collect dust, longs to be played, and it is so much better that it is played by one who desires to play it and learn afresh from the instrument. May it bring you much joy. And may you hide it well enough from the cats that they will not be able to destroy it behind your back.

I felt like finding the yew tree was a bit of a blessing from the universe too, especially after I had wished for a tree for my deck so much. I expect it would have been wishing for a home too.

I am glad you have a partner as kind and close as Paul with which to share memories. I also found Paul's words and the comments expressed on this blog very touching.

 
At 8:12 PM , Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I will ask Mark, I know that they were active in several charities. I am going to take flowers, and put them on the stage, seems right....

I think the best thing is to support Mark in is choice to keep the act going, which I know will be very hard for him. Go see the show, and stand up at the end.

He is a very strong, and brave man. I know I would do the same thing, and only hope I would have the strength to.

Actually, I once did nearly the same thing, on a smaller level . Emma slipped ad fell on stage at the renn faire and broke both her arms, the day of our cd release party and was in hospital awaiting surgery. I got Lojo an Adam and Johnny and we did the gig.

Barely made it.

This was September 10th, 2001.

I should take my pipes everywhere I go...Make LOTS of new friends I would, hee-hee....

 
At 8:14 PM , Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Thanks, Rubious, and you are right, Paul rocks.

 
At 10:11 PM , Blogger spacedlaw said...

Of course, Paul rocks!

How amazing is this story.
You do have a gift for making friends - although your neighbours might soon start hating you - and this is a fine example.
Venus would be suspicious: She is there to control you, you know? She must be wondering if this thing is not a secret weapon for the cabal...

 
At 10:20 PM , Blogger Rubius said...

That's quite a story Lorraine. I am sure Emma was grateful.

You've got to be very strong... or you know how to fake it REALLY well.

;-)

 
At 4:58 AM , Blogger Jess said...

How cool is that! Though I suspect the magic works in both directions, you know. You strike me as being a sort of lightning rod for good karma. A good-people-and-happiness rod. :)

Venus has a look like she can smell Cornwall-- Cornwall and strange basements. It's fascinating to watch cats around strange new objects, or if you've just come home from an unfamiliar place. I've got a stack of books from the library on the coffee table right now which my cats keep sniffing-- I like to imagine that they're mapping the library in their heads by the smell.

I will let you know if I hear anything, once you start practicing. ;)

 
At 6:04 AM , Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I think Spacelaw will hear me in Italy, hee-hee...

Cats are funny around new smelling things, at least, knock on wood, mine don't PEE on them..

I think good people find eachother. We all did, didn't we?

 
At 6:04 AM , Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Oh, and I was going to say, this is WAY to early. Not a morning person. Need tea.

 
At 6:26 AM , Blogger Jess said...

Girlcats don't spray, I'm told-- apparently that's only boycats who still have their boyhood about them (*ahem hem*). Your home should be safe.

I've been up since six. I'm just about awake now! Helps to listen to this happy song. It will bring you good cheer.

 
At 6:30 AM , Blogger Dan Guy said...

I don't know that I've ever seen such pipes, with a bellows and all -- so cool! The kindness of strangers really is wonderful.

 
At 6:35 AM , Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Wonderfuly cheery, Jess! Thank you. Still not awake, but working on it...

Girl cats, sadly, will mark, and boys who have sprayed before they get altered too. There is nothing they won't do....

My fosters, who sadly, still have no home, managed to break the door off a small cupboard in their room, I'll take a picture tonight. My mind boggled, how they managed this I do not know..

They want a HOME....

This is the first time I have ever seen a set up close, of these pipes. ANyone out there know how to play them???

 
At 6:39 AM , Blogger gaypet said...

It is true that girl cats don't "spray" but some will still pee to mark territory. Or just annoy me. My Madeleine likes clean laundry and the entry way the best.

Oy, I need more coffee!

 
At 6:42 AM , Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I'm there with you, Gayle. ANd you are right, I wasn't clear, lack of tea, they don't spray, but do pee. No brain this morning. Off to the airport...

 
At 6:43 AM , Blogger spacedlaw said...

Is that wise? Considering that you seem still sleepy?

 
At 6:50 AM , Blogger Jess said...

I didn't know that girl kitties would pee-mark that way (unless they were stressed, maybe)-- I've been living a lie all this time! :O I stand cat-corrected.

The song is by the same people who did that Alan Moore song. I love 'em. And MJ Hibbett is from the same part of England as my hubby! It's like fate.

 
At 6:57 AM , Blogger spacedlaw said...

And I need tea...
and the March of the Sinister Ducks (since we are mentioning Alan Moore).

 
At 6:59 AM , Blogger Fabulous Lorraine said...

Not wise perhaps, but definitely my job...

No Jess, not living a lie, you've been living in BLISS. Stress does play a big part in it...

I have to check this out, but am running a little late. What am I doing still here??????

Have you heard Alan Moore's SInister Ducks? Emma and I did his Me and Dorothy Parker...

 
At 7:37 AM , Blogger Jess said...

I love the Sinister Ducks song. And wouldn't you know it, someone's made a music video for it. :D

I need to get off the intertubes myself-- I'm not getting anything accomplished. Argh.

 
At 10:14 AM , Blogger Rubius said...

Here are some videos on how to play the Uilleann Pipes

this one is in English

this one you may need to get Nathalie to translate for you

this one is just a nice example of the pipes

this is an example of the instrument in the hands of a genius

 
At 10:25 AM , Blogger Dread Val said...

That's fantastic about the pipes; what a great gift that was.

I need more coffee today. Saltmine U. has been... interesting lately. A very trying week so far.

 
At 1:10 PM , Blogger Fabulous Lorraine said...

Enticing links that I have no time to link too....Rats.

This evening how ever, is another story.....

Chaos here. All is chaos.

 
At 2:29 PM , Blogger Lexocat said...

Popping in for a moment while I have a spare five minutes. It's been crazy around our house of late.

Lorraine, what a delightful story about the pipes and it couldn't have happened at a more needed time.
I'm so sorry on the loss of your friend. He sounds like he was a remarkable man who changed your life for the better.

As for cats and marking, sadly, I've had far too much experience with this from both male and female cats. Sigh. I had one cat who had to mark EVERY bit of luggage we had. I guess she really wanted to make sure we weren't going to take any unauthorized vacations. Ugh.

 
At 2:31 PM , Blogger ivenotime said...

i feel your pain, or rather chaos, no time for anything, no end close in sight. bah.

 
At 2:59 PM , Blogger Fabulous Lorraine said...

It's funny, sometimes we all seem to have time, or rather at least some at times, but when we get blitzed, we all seem to get blitzed....

(what a sentence!! Does it even make sense??)

 
At 3:06 PM , Blogger Dread Val said...

I thought I was in charge of getting blitzed. :)

But yeah, our schedules do seem to synced. How odd.

 
At 4:54 PM , Blogger Dread Val said...

Okay, I might have to put off getting blitzed. A show I'm supposed to have a painting done for is on Aug. 23, not Aug. 30 as previously thought. Hurrah. A totally minor thing, in the great scheme, but still, rather… vexing.

 
At 5:36 PM , Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

See? Now you have joined us.....

Come...Come.....And be blitzed with us...

 
At 5:44 PM , Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Goodness!!!!! I'm right flattered!!

Look what's up at savetheassistants.com

 
At 6:22 PM , Blogger AletaMay said...

I saw that today -- linked from here.

I love that there is a web site devoted to assistanting!

 
At 7:45 PM , Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Me too! I am so going to explore that when I have a bit of time...

I was right surprised, I was...

 
At 8:16 PM , Blogger Rubius said...

Congrats Lorraine!! You do deserve a nice surprise or two.

I find the existence of that site quite amusing... I feel like I should have known it was out there. Ha

 
At 9:54 PM , Blogger spacedlaw said...

Cool!
Mind you, I've always found that piece hilarious...
I think I'd need an anti assistant: One that would try and make me stay in bed and sleep instead of waking up at insane early hours (and good morning/evening to you all).

 
At 10:04 PM , Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Morning Nathilie...And my thanks. It's (nearly) all true.

I would make you sleep later. This early rising is not natural,,,,,

I off to sleep, hope your morning is a fine one...

 
At 10:07 PM , Blogger spacedlaw said...

Good night and sweet dreams.

 
At 10:10 PM , Blogger Dread Val said...

Oh man. I just spent a little over an hour reading through the Save The Assistants site. The horror stories are... well, horrible, and not in the Dr. Horrible way. Yikes.

I have to stop Not Painting now.

 
At 11:02 PM , Blogger Rubius said...

may the artistic spirits come to you Pantagruel. May they fill your head and your heart with inspiration.

...

Surfing the web starting from that assistant website I found this posting which had me in tears after reading it.

The following story, entitled Walter and Winnie, was published sometime in the 19th century by an unknown author. It’s roughly 450 words long and every word starts with 'w'.

 
At 5:28 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cats and Bagpipes go well together. For a new piper sounds like that have a cat in the bag. And if you find you can't quite play, you can actually put a cat in the bag and pretend. Good luck, I have always wanted to learn pipes myself. I am happy for you...and because you live far away....:'D

Of course, with my renfest starting in a few weeks, I am sure I will be subjected to many new pipers. There is one across the lane from us. Its actually one of my favorite parts of the faire day. Just before opening cannon, the show sounds like a concert, tuning, and warming up. Which it is actually. You should come visit MDRF someday. You could bring the bossman and we could get him a helmet for a disguise.

 
At 6:58 AM , Blogger Jess said...

Rubius - Hey, that's cheating, using Well-nigh and well-known and wind-tossed! They're not single words. They're just hyphenated. It doesn't count.

When writers wayward wend:
writing wrongly; whingingly
wheedling with wonky words,
what,
um, wisdom warrants
willful
oh, sod it.

 
At 7:45 AM , Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Boss seems to be already up, judging from my Inbox, so the leisurely scrolling thru comments, with my morning tea is not going to happen.

As you can imagine, today will be busy.

SO I will be brief, have a lot to talk about tonight tho!

 
At 8:05 AM , Blogger spacedlaw said...

Boss already up!
:0
What is the world coming to?

Fun text Rubius! Thanks for the link.

 
At 8:18 AM , Blogger Dread Val said...

Rubius -- inspiration is all well and good, but what I needed more last night was my friends to not flake on modeling for the painting.

'Oh, please paint me!' they said.
'I'd love to model for you sometime,' they said. 'Take my clothes off? No problem!' they said.

So last night I said, 'Hey, my deadline has just moved up a week and I have the comps done, so how about that posing? I just need your chest and jaw, that's it.'

'Er,' they said.
'I think my wife needs me to take out the trash,' they said.
'My hot sauce collection needs alphabetizing,' they said.

'What if I let you drink my good scotch?' I said.

'My girlfriend won't let me get naked at your place anymore,' they said.
'My fiancée says I can't drink with you again,' they said.
'Explaining it to the wife was hard enough the first time,' they said.

Useless bastards. I mean, I do love them all, but they're still useless bastards at the moment.

I don't suppose anyone knows where I can find a man who's on the thin side, dark hair, who'd be willing to pose or take a reference shot of himself looking up on really short notice? The one professional male model we use at the studio who looks like that, is out of town. I'll be happy to send over a quick thumbnail of the angle I need, and they'd only have to be shirtless, as I just really need the angle of the pecs and clavicle going into the neck and sternocleidomastoid. Anyone got a brother/husband/boyfriend/friend who'd be game?

 
At 8:20 AM , Blogger Dread Val said...

Oh, and if they have stubble or a beard, that'd save me a lot of time having to invent it.

I shouldn't have left this until the last minute, I know. :P

 
At 8:30 AM , Blogger spacedlaw said...

Crumbs! I have a friend who fits that definition perfectly, Val, but he is away on holiday... I suppose it can't wait three weeks?

 
At 8:52 AM , Blogger Dread Val said...

Sadly, no. It's for a show that opens on August 23. Damn. :(

 
At 8:54 AM , Blogger gaypet said...

I sent an email to try to find you a model, Val. My male friends are all in the Bay Area but someone may send a photo. Good luck!

 
At 8:59 AM , Blogger spacedlaw said...

Zut.
I only have pictures of him dressed... And he was shaved because these are my wedding's pictures and he was one of our witnesses.

 
At 9:10 AM , Blogger Fabulous Lorraine said...

Send Malena an e-mail, she knows tons....All out in LA.

Val, you make me laugh...

Right. Back at it.

 
At 9:12 AM , Blogger Rubius said...

This is rather sad and I feel kinda pathetic to say it, but I don't have any males like that in my life.

Sorry.

 
At 9:16 AM , Blogger Dan Guy said...

I am... how you say.... scrawny. I would offer a photo of myself shirtless but you'd need a welder's mask to handle the glare off of my pale sternum.

 
At 10:15 AM , Blogger Dread Val said...

Spacedlaw -- that's a pity. Ah, well.

Actually, Dan, the way this needs to be lit, very pale skin would probably work just fine. What's more important than any potential glare is the musculature of the pecs, shoulders, and neck.

Rubius, at the moment you can have all of the men like that in my life, because they've all vexed me mightily.

Quiche, I'll try emailing Malena, thanks!

 
At 10:21 AM , Blogger Dan Guy said...

Musculature... yeah.... that could be a problem. If you need a model for a sketch of a scarecrow, on the other hand, I'm your man.

 
At 10:38 AM , Blogger Fabulous Lorraine said...

I think the word is Lithe , Danguy, not Scrawny.

 
At 10:42 AM , Blogger Dan Guy said...

Oh, Quiche, you have such a way with words!

I always imagined lithe people were better swimmers, though.

 
At 10:50 AM , Blogger Dread Val said...

'Lithe' is much more apt, I think. Or 'wiry.'

 
At 11:08 AM , Blogger Fabulous Lorraine said...

Dan, I think in the matter of swimming you are comparing your self to the guy who just broke the record for most metals....

I am quite sure you swim just fine.

And I stand behind the Lithe.

 
At 11:08 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm not sure who posted the "Alan Moore" song (Jess?) but thank you..I've been wandering around singing it for a day now:)

Pantagruel: Dang those flaky boys wimping out on you like that. Sounds like they gave you every excuse AND the kitchen sink.

And now I'm gonna go get happily lost for a bit on that lovely assistant website. How can I resist a blog with such a great title?

 
At 11:32 AM , Blogger scored4life said...

Pantagruel, if I were only more of a greek god than a geek bod I would be all yours. *sigh* I will likely be much closer in 6-8 months, but my overused brain is telling me that is a lot longer than 10 days. Hrmph. Dan, a little help on the time continuum thingy?

Yet again I find myself in a position where I need to apologize for a majority of the Y chromosome possessing population. Why are most guys defaults set at lame? (Although in fairness it sounded as if it was more of a mandate set forth by their significant others.)

I hope you find what you need soon so you can get it done before they say, "Did we say the 23rd? We meant the 16th!"

 
At 11:44 AM , Blogger Fabulous Lorraine said...

"Greek God-Geek Bod" You slay me.

I too, could use a little help in the time continuum thingy Dan Guy, if you can work it out, we could all go and model for her...

I love that site too, and keep meaning to drop them a note. I'm going to do a post tonight about assistanting that I have been meaning to do for a while, this seems a good time.

 
At 11:51 AM , Blogger spacedlaw said...

Mmm... That'd be something nice to read first thing in the morning.

 
At 11:59 AM , Blogger Dread Val said...

I always wanted to be Lithe. Genetics, however, disagreed, and gave me my father's skeleton and muscles. Which were stunning on him, but not so much on me.

That said, Paul and Dan -- you don't need to be Adonis for this pose. ;) Metrosexual pretty boys are boring, and also totally wrong for this painting. (If the deadline gets moved to the 16th, there will be blood.)

I don't know why the significant others all laid down this mandate. I mean, honestly, how is it my fault when they were the ones who decided to see what happened if you drank an entire bottle of Scapa? Or to go to the strip club. Or…

Okay, now that I think about it, I am not particularly good at minding other women's men. But how much trouble can we get into in my house's studio?

I think everyone should come model and we can all get into trouble. After I'm done painting, that is.

 
At 12:04 PM , Blogger spacedlaw said...

Sounds like a plan...

 
At 12:07 PM , Blogger Jess said...

Kali - it's the song that keeps on giving! \o/ Music by geeks, for geeks, (and this is the important bit) about geeks. I can't get enough of it. That's MJ Hibbett and the Validators, people. Available for your listening pleasure on LastFM. (Not that I know the band personally. I've just developed a rabid enthusiasm.)

Val, hope you find a model in time. I wish I could offer one, but my hub's not likely to want to Get Shirtless for Art. I'm poking around your gallery as I type, by the way-- you do gorgeous work. And oh, my God, there's Viggo. Helloooooo Elessar. Phowaar!

I'd not read that post before, Lorraine-- or the ten-things-not-to-send one. You're hilarious. :) (And oh, wow, how on earth do you do it? That is one hard job.)

 
At 12:11 PM , Blogger spacedlaw said...

That is why she is Fabulous (well one of the reasons why).

 
At 12:24 PM , Blogger scored4life said...

"Ahhh trouble." (He sighs longingly) Posing, painting, drinking, general studio mayhem... throw in some instruments and music and I just might spontaneously reach nirvana. Oh, and genetics be damned, you have been stunning in every photo I've seen.

Q is definitely a multitalented woman! Now if she would only change my ring-tone so as to not incite my early demise...

 
At 1:07 PM , Blogger Fabulous Lorraine said...

Thanks guys! Yeah, it's often long and hard, but never boring. I'll talk about it tonight. Breaking the silence! The truth comes out! Everything you ever wanted to know!

Boss did remark the other day if Paul called me often, he would kill me.

I don't see what so annoying about Dread Zepplin's Immigrant Song.....

 
At 1:16 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Posing, painting, drinking, general studio mayhem... throw in some instruments and music and I just might spontaneously reach nirvana."

Sounds pretty fun to me too.

"I don't see what so annoying about Dread Zepplin's Immigrant Song....."

LOL!

 
At 1:16 PM , Blogger spacedlaw said...

Put bagpipe music as your phone tune, and he might well do that too.

Looks like you are having a VERY hectic day... Don't forget to breathe deeply every now and then, 'kay?

Going to bed now.
Who knows? I might even sleep!

 
At 1:21 PM , Blogger gaypet said...

Well it seems that none of the few men I thought might qualify are available.

I also have to say that the, "My wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/concubine said I can't" is so often rubbish! It is always easier to blame the proverbial ball-and-chain than say, "Oh no, wait, I'm a flake!" :)

 
At 1:26 PM , Blogger Fabulous Lorraine said...

I want to be lithe too! Genetics aren't with me on this one...Paul needs to Develop Something. Enough with the disease research, hee-hee...

BAGPIPE RINGTONES!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, yes, oh yes.....

Everyone will LOVE that, hee-hhee.

'Night Nathilie! Se you in the morning, I try and do something nice for you to wake up to...

 
At 1:27 PM , Blogger Fabulous Lorraine said...

Here's to mayhem! I'm all for it!

And you know, if you don't trust your other enough to pose for an artist, perhaps you need to re-evaluate things a bit?

 
At 1:40 PM , Blogger scored4life said...

Do I hear a "Hey Men!"

...running for cover....

 
At 1:45 PM , Blogger Dread Val said...

DUDE. I thought you liked Paul! That's not nice, that ringtone! Dread Zeppelin?! *shudders*

And Paul, you are very sweet to say so; thank you.

Jess, thanks for the kind words about my art. Glad you like the one of Viggo; that was the first gouache painting I was really happy with.

Why will people not Get Shirtless for Art today?! Arrgggh.

 
At 1:49 PM , Blogger Rubius said...

DEAR FOD!!!!

I had not heard Dread Zepplin's Immigrant Song... so I checked it out on Youtube... DEAR FOD!!! I could only handle 20 seconds or so... boy o boy would I ever NOT want that as a ringtone. yikes.

Clearly there is a cruel and sadistic side to you Lorraine.

 
At 2:00 PM , Blogger Dread Val said...

Quiche, yes -- everyone thinks, 'Ooh, posing, so sexy.' And the women quickly think, 'Oh no, can't let my man pose for a woman!'

Well, I'm here to tell you that this is seriously not true. What people think I think when I look at a model: OMG RAWR how many condoms are left?

What I actually think: Okay, center line of the face... where does jaw meet his ear? ah, okay... hmm. What is up with his knee? Did he move? Did I move? Shit. Iliac crest? iliac crest... okay, found that, where's the fifth rib? Crap, broke the charcoal. Shit, now his clavicle looks broken...

You get inured to naked people, which is not so much with the sexy. In fact, very little about being an artist is sexy, which is not at all how it's billed.

And as far as bagpipe ringtones, I have three words for you: Jesus Christ Superstar.

On the bagpipe.

You have not lived until you've heard that while enduring a hangover after a night in a tent at faire. That was the morning warmup for Clan MacColin out at Southern.

 
At 2:05 PM , Blogger gaypet said...

Ya, genetics. I could have been a leggy Swede or a sinewy Jew but ended up with French peasant. Oh well. I know people who can eat bagels and Babka all day and not gain a pound. I am not one of them!

Hey, Lorraine, are you playing on Sat night?

 
At 2:18 PM , Blogger Fabulous Lorraine said...

Val, you made me snort tea!

Gayle, I WAS playing on Saturday, but Paul can't make it, and is holding to his claim that he TOLD me this.....

Hmmph.

I will have to give careful consideration to a new tone for Paul...Everyone has their own , you see, if they call me a lot. Kitty's is Turkish Song of The Dammed, in honor of her tour....

 
At 2:32 PM , Blogger Dread Val said...

The condoms bit made you snort tea? Or the bagpipes bit? Also, I thought, ooh, yeah, custom ringtones -- I should do that for people! So I went into my iPhone to give you your own ringtone for if you ever call, but now am stumped because I cannot make a ringtone out of any of your own songs, in iTunes. Feh.

No ringtones… no Getting Shirtless for Art… I can see it's one of Those days.

 
At 2:38 PM , Blogger Fabulous Lorraine said...

Both. Hee-hee.

I'd take off my shirt for you. But I don't know why my music wouldn't work for a ring tone...

 
At 2:47 PM , Blogger gaypet said...

Well poop!:) I may not have had a sitter anyway. I will be at the Faire with M on Sunday so maybe we will run into each other there.

I don't know if this is real or not but I love it if it is;

Bear and dogs

M and I went to the zoo and saw the bears playing in the water. They reminded me of my dogs.

 
At 2:52 PM , Blogger Dread Val said...

Aww, I appreciate that. I may yet call you in a panic, asking how you think switching the painting from male to female would go over, and how about that offer to Get Shirtless for Art?

In all seriousness, anytime you ever want to sit for a portrait, let me know. I love painting friends.

iTunes is complaining about how I didn't buy your music on iTunes, so it won't make the songs into ringtones. There must be a way around this. I can't be the only one wanting to make a ringtone out of a song I didn't buy in the Apple Music Store. Dan, do you know how to hack this?

 
At 3:26 PM , Blogger ivenotime said...

Ouch, Val, trying to get a model is brutal, and itunes isnt playing nicely - hope your day gets a bit better! i'm still too too busy doing Work I Despise, and the dog WILL NOT stop barking, and i have a headache the size of texas pounding in my skull. sigh. surfaced to read a bit of the comments. back to work i go. what is dread zeppelin? i missed something...

 
At 3:26 PM , Blogger ivenotime said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

 
At 3:53 PM , Blogger Dan Guy said...

I am not experienced with iPhone hacking, due to the iPhone's inability to keep up with my typing speed, but this link suggests that it can be done with GarageBand and this link gives a website that can be used to turn an mp3 into an iPhone ringtone.

 
At 4:41 PM , Blogger Dread Val said...

Oh, look what I dug up. Start listening at 1:22. Now, to make it a ringtone...

 
At 5:23 PM , Blogger Bulfinch's Aglaia said...

Dear Fablo, I am so sorry to be so terrbily, badly late in offering my sympathy. Having lost a couple of friends unexpectedly and heartbreakingly over the last few years, I think I can kind of imagine your sadness. It is wonderful to read about making new friends, though. And I hope that the joyous memories that you have of your dear friend will remain a blessing to you over the next few days and help you bear up under tough circumstances. You have my admiration.

 
At 6:53 PM , Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I've seen that , Gayle, and I think it is true. Would love to say Hi at Renn Fest...

Weird n Itunes, I have never bought music from them, and I got all my rings from my library. I don't have an Iphone tho, I have a Blackberry...

Good luck on the model search!

Dread Zepplin is a Led Zepplin cover band, people either seem to love or hate...

Thanks Agaila, never too late, no worries there. I expect it won't fully hit me till Sunday...

 
At 7:50 PM , Blogger Phiala said...

Wow, a girl goes on vacation and all kinds of things happen!

First of all, Lorraine, I'm sorry for your loss of a friend. One more interesting person I will never get the chance to meet...

What have the Bengals and bees been up to? Can the Cabal Cabal keep up? (And did the Zombie Wasps really drop out? I'm skeptical.)

And penguins. Oh my.

But I've got you all beat (? well, maybe, depends on your perspective ?) - I have bacon chocolate cheesecake. Or did, anyway.

Also, not caught up on the disarray and dirty laundry that a week and a half in a tent is bound to cause. The dog and the cat were soooo happy to see us return.

 
At 8:21 PM , Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Hi Phiala, hope you had a fine holiday! Where did you go?

More about the Bengals soon, tonight is all about, for a change, my job....

 
At 8:35 PM , Blogger ariandalen said...

Val, that's weird that you can't make a ringtone from Ms. Fabulous' music. My husband made a ringtone for his phone (not an iPhone) from "The Fox" on Mirror, Mirror. He works for a large hospital that is doctor owned, meaning every doctor is a boss.

 
At 8:38 PM , Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I am already a ring tone? How cool is that????

(99 comments???? Chatty bunch we are, who will make it 100, I wonder??)

 
At 8:49 PM , Blogger AletaMay said...

Me! I'll be 100. Unless someone types faster than I do I guess!

I have not tried to make ringtones for my iPhone yet. I was playing a bit tonight with Soundtracks from The Wizard of Oz and Singin' in the Rain -- seeing if there was something good for a ringtone in them.

It is always a trick to make/use something that is fun without it being tooooo obnoxious.

 
At 8:58 PM , Blogger Dread Val said...

Converting it to an mp3, and making the mp3 a ringtone on a cel phone that isn't an iPhone is a piece of cake. It's getting around Apple's proprietary jealousness that's the issue, but thanks to Dan Guy, I think I'll have it sorted shortly.

Welcome back, Phiala and Agalia!

The model search has proved fruitless. I'm going to give up, break out the anatomy books, and see how the lighting breaks on me. Not Happy about it, but half a league onward...

 
At 9:14 PM , Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

What I want to know how to do is, how do you take a section of a song? I can do one from the beginning, but there are some a particular line would be fun to have..

Like the monolog of "I'm a Vampire"...

Aleta is the fast typer! We so rock. I love the places we go together here.

Val, sorry about the model. I know the poem you are doing the drawing of (To be announced soon) I put it to music, did you know?

Switch it to female and get Malena to help?

 
At 10:10 PM , Blogger spacedlaw said...

Good morning!
I am so glad that I am not calling you Lorraine, you'd probably use Frère Jacques for a ring tone...

 
At 10:21 PM , Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Hee-hee I might. Tho you have that great French language playlist on Last FM, I am sure I could find something better..

And Good Morning to you! When you get up, I always know it is time for me to go to bed...

 

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