WTF-Beta

I wonder if the administration (if you can call it that) can explain this?

https://www.wmur.com/article/manchester-carfentanil-overdoses-warning-09162025/66134175

Thanks again, kluurs. Those were enjoyable.

Interesting to me that she decides to play major chord (Day 21) four measures from the end. I have the same edition she has, in which there are two versions. The first version goes major four bars from the end. I'm playing the first version but have borrowed the minor chord from the second version because I like hearing the switch to major right at the end (two bars from the end) because I think it makes a wonderful effect.

@kluurs I'm so happy to see her take the 2nd half of the middle section at the correct tempo. (Day 12 video) In almost all the youtube recordings I've watched, the pianist speeds up this section, and I've not been able to figure it out, because there's no tempo change in the manuscript.

Maybe it's related to their hearing the second piano concerto. Chopin wrote this Nocturne for his older sister as an etude in preparation for playing the second concerto. Both parts of the middle section appear in the concerto. I wonder if this is why pianists speed up at that point?

Thanks for the reminder. I have some herbs I can pick. I gave up on the garden in late July. We've barely had any rain at all for the past few months. Absolutely parched and I just let the garden go. But the herbs have survived.

@ShiroKuro It's a private music school (by which I mean it's not affiliated with any universities or colleges).

https://uvmusic.org/

I don't particularly like the name of the place. When I first moved here, I thought it was a music store! Such as it is. But it's a wonderful resource.

@kluurs I can see them! I'm not on TikTok but they're playing ok. Thanks!

I've watched about half of them, will watch remainder later. I'm glad to see her take on the first two measures. I've watched a lot of recordings of this and there are so many interpretations, from extremely slow to very rubato to barely any expression at all. I think they're a tough couple of measures.

@ShiroKuro This class is specifically for adults, any level I believe. The class is small. There were only three of us today. There is a limit of 8. The number of students may change during the first few weeks of the semester as everyone settles into what they want.

We can each play something for the class, then each student in turn offers comments (in a supportive way), then the teacher offers his. Discussion ensues.

I will play the Nocturne again next week, keeping in mind what I received today. For instance, one student thought my 2 against 3 wasn't always clear--with which I agree. The topic of rhythm was brought up but what I really think, is the piece didn't 'flow' (first class, nerves, unfamiliar piano, like yeah). The teacher focused on the first measure which is very free form, and repeated, before the piece really begins. I've struggled with meaning for this measure and how to play it. And from what I've listened to on Youtube, I'm not alone. Everyone plays it differently!

In one of the group classes I took before covid, we also read a book (piano or music related), reading a chapter during the week and discussing it in class. I don't think we'll be doing that in this class.

After a lapse of 5-6 years, I started a group piano class today. Man, it felt good to practice playing in front of others again. Difficult, but good. Getting objective feedback is invaluable.

It was at the same music school I was attending before covid. The teacher trained at Harvard and Eastman School of Music under Russell Sherman, Leonard Shure, and Maria Luisa Faini.

I played Chopin's opus posthumous Nocturne in c# minor. I hope to also play Chopin's 1st Polonaise before the end of the semester.

“I grew up at a time when there was no television, there was just radio. You didn’t have the aggressive technology you have today. There’s so much high tech that it deprives us of being inventive on our own. Technology deprives us of coming up with our own stories. We’re relying on stories being fed to us through technology and since I grew up at a time when that didn’t exist, you had to make up your own stories.”

Robert Redford, 1936 - 2025

@Amanda Thanks, Amanda.

My air bag (car didn't have side air bags) did not inflate and I think it's because I was pushed and travelled sideways.

I got some closure when I went down to the tow company last week to retrieve my license plates and personal belongings from the car. I really liked that little car, and it was good to see the damage again. It made the verdict of 'totaled' more sensible.

AAA has called it a total loss and the amount of the settlement covers the outstanding balance on the loan, plus a couple thousand more. I'm satisfied with that. The car was 11 years old. I had it only 2 years, but still, it had only 83K miles on it.

I'm seriously thinking of leasing now. I am not driving anywhere near as much as I did when I first moved here and it seems to me leasing would alleviate the headache of repair costs and angst about breakdowns.

I'm thinking another Hyundai. Like I said, I liked the one I had and they are affordable. My rental is a Nissan and it is not for me. (Apologies to anyone for whom Nissan is their car of choice. It's a fine car, but I don't like the exterior styling and there are some control layouts that annoy me. Personal stuff.)

Your accident sounds ghastly, Amanda. Glad you are OK. I always hear good things about Camry's.

@jon-nyc Well yeah, the way they got paid before AI hasn't changed. But they get paid royalties when someone uses their work in any substantial way. AI's thieving "masterminds" aren't paying royalites for millions of copyrighted words. They're stealing them.

Ugly house made of shipping containers, gorgeous grounds, and 120 acres in NH. $5.2 million.

https://neren.paragonrels.com/CCR/collablink/73af1494-c205-4298-b28d-cab76cde4a04/listings/results?&forMlsId=NEREN&sid=LNLMF9C4cZk

@jon-nyc said in Stop AI plundering:

What am I missing?

AI never asked for permission to use the creator's work in the manner in which it is being used, and the author is not being credited for the work they did, the latter being more relevant to livelihood. Attributions lead readers to the source, the source gains every time a reader, based on the quotes they've read, decide to buy the work(s).

@AndyD said in Now Charlie Kirk:

JFK was shot 60 years ago, politically are things better?

A good question. I was pondering it a few days ago. I grew up in the 60s. JFK, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King--all assassinated.

One thing that's different now is wealth inequality and the corporate takeover of our lives, and the politics they foster. Also different: Trump and his swamp have emboldened the less savory to come out into the open. The republican party has worked for decades to put power in christian nationalism. Add technological "advances" into the mix with instant, incessant chatter and the pot is easy to stir.

What can one say?

"I can't stand empathy. I think it's a made up new-age term that's done a lot of damage." --Charlie Kirk

What can one say?

RIP

It's sad and tragic. Both that he chose to promote vile ideas and that he was assassinated.

One thing seems quite certain. The gunman was a sniper with a lot practice under their belt. Which makes one wonder.

@AndyD No, most vegans don't eat honey.

@rustyfingers A very beautiful shade of pink.

@AndyD I love Gladiolus blossoms.