When you play clawhammer banjo, you need to repeatedly bang your fingernail against the strings on purpose. There are some people who have very very strong nails who never have a problem with this, others whose nails can’t handle the rigors of playing at all,… Read More
We’ve had a delightful time this weekend with our pals Candy Minx and Anthony Stagg, who are visiting from Chicago. We’ve known Candy since our university days in the early 80s, and Stagg since the early 90s. For those readers who remember my first blog,… Read More
There are crews out on Twenty Seventh Street paving the street today after about 3 months work replacing water mains. There are front-end loaders, dump trucks, big-assed rollers and paving machines up and down the street. Dust blowing around everywhere. And what do I hear?… Read More
There they sat – 3 bananas, a day or 2 past their prime. Bonus: house-guests are on their way. Resist the temptation to toss those bananas in the freezer where they will sit until I do a freezer purge. The only reasonable thing for a… Read More
Excellent video about a great Japanese Go player, Fujisawa.
Yesterday afternoon, Tuffy P tripped out in the garden and used her right hand to break her fall, protecting herself from a head injury. Unfortunately the impact injured her right arm. I drove her over to St. Joes for an x-ray. She has fractured her… Read More
I confess I’m not the best house-husband. Sure I do some chores around here, but I’ll never be Marie Kondo and many times if it weren’t for Tuffy P (who sees everything), I simply wouldn’t notice many things until desperate measures are required. This was… Read More
If you’re an old time banjo or fiddle lover like me, there’s only one answer to that question – Rockingham, of course. I think I may have shared this You Tube video at some point in the past but it’s such a wonderful performance I… Read More
I’ve posted many photos on this blog from the nature walks I attend with naturalist Miles Hearn. These walks are facilitated by the Toronto District School Board. Sign up for the fall term begins today. I mention it here because people have asked me about… Read More
For some time now I’ve been working on learning fiddle. I have to say that compared to other instruments I mess with, it’s difficult. Early on I decided I would try to learn this instrument by ear, and dispense completely with written notation. This I… Read More
27th Street 