The Mystery of Bitcoin

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by nosborne48, Aug 27, 2022.

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  1. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I agree completely. You know your stuff. I'm totally in the dark as to what music Elton taught himself to play as a young boy. I'm thinking - he was four, so something familiar to him. Perhaps children's songs - or something he heard on the radio at home. I'm thinking of my own early experiments on my Grandmother's piano, in England, as a kid. They weren't classical. Unlike Elton's they didn't show any musical genius, either. Neither did my experiment at age 11 or 12 at a friend's house - though I was pleased with it. I managed to somewhat-imitate a lick from the intro to Ray Charles' "The Messaround," released in 1953. I'm sure, though that my version wouldn't have pleased Ray. I developed an early liking for his music.

    Probably, Elton's childhood experiments DID show genius. But I still suspect they weren't classical. If I ever DO meet him - I'll ask.
    We have a couple of things in common, beside love for music. We were kids around the same time, both being raised in the same English county (Middlesex) - though at opposite ends of it.
     
    Last edited: Feb 4, 2023
  2. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    That early (11-12) liking for Ray Charles' music has stayed with me all my life. I had the privilege of seeing Ray perform a couple of times, in the late 70s and early 80s. Great memories. He reached out - what he said, sang and played touched everybody there. And his people - musicians, the Raelettes - everybody, were incomparably great. Some of my best musical memories.
     
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  3. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I play to a 6 handicap and walk whenever the conditions allow.
     
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  4. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    He killed it on a few episodes of "The Nanny." Sang in one and it was glorious.
     
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  5. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    I think I heard an anecdote about Ray Charles? He was classically trained after going blind but later didn’t stay at a music school because they wouldn't let him play his own interpretations of the music. I don’t know if the second part is right but I do know he had classical training. Amazing. Dumbfounding in fact.
     
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  6. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Yes - those words certainly apply to Ray - the man, his music and his many accomplishments, and the adversities he conquered to achieve great things.

    As far as the classical training goes - I had no idea. But I want to know. I'll read up.

    Being a blues fan, it's not unusual that I've met some well-known blind musicians over the years, e.g. Sleepy John Estes and Sonny Terry. Sonny was my idol as a blues harmonica player. A very kind man, who knew things (and taught things) about playing that were very special. He never played classical, but he DID appear, and play, on Broadway. For a couple of years, in Finian's Rainbow.

    Sleepy John's harmonica player, Hammie Nixon was a great guy, too. Sleepy John was blind, Hammie wasn't. I met him at a folk / blues workshop in Toronto - around 1964.
     
    Last edited: Feb 4, 2023
  7. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    @nosborne48 You're right again! From Rabbi Wiki:

    " Charles attended school at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine from 1937 to 1945.[14]

    Charles further developed his musical talent at school[21] and was taught to play the classical piano music of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven. His teacher, Mrs. Lawrence, taught him how to use braille music, a difficult process that requires learning the left hand movements by reading braille with the right hand and learning the right hand movements by reading braille with the left hand, then combining the two parts."

    The braille-while playing process sounds really tough! Way tougher than "sight-reading," for sure!"
    The wiki noted he decided not to return to school in Florida, after going to his Mother's funeral. He would have been 15. He moved to Jacksonville and lived with a family friend, Charles Wayne Powell. The Wiki goes right from eight years of school in Florida to the beginning of his playing career. Same in the movie IIRC.
     
    Last edited: Feb 4, 2023
  8. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I don't play golf - but I DO like to walk. I think my walking handicap is around 7. I used to drive, but haven't had a car in 24 years.
    My driving handicap was around 32, IIRC. :)

    Attributed to Armenian-British financier, Nubar Gulbenkian, many years ago:
    Reporter, at golf course: "What is your handicap, Mr. Gulbenkian?"
    Mr. G.: "Old age and drink."
     
    Last edited: Feb 4, 2023
  9. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    So, golf is a good walk... enhanced? :)
     
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  10. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    I play some hard sections with my eyes closed by touch and sound to make sure I know the passage. It's plenty hard even after I learned the music from the sheet. Starting without being able to see would be much harder.
     
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  11. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I think so. There are many upscale golf courses that simply cannot be walked, and that's a shame.
     
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  12. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    It's funny, on piano most things are easier for me to play by sight, but a few I just have to close my eyes and let touch do it all.
     
  13. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I get that, Steve. I really do. But just imagine for a second - what would it be like if you could never open them again?

    If Ray could know what we'd written in this thread, I think he'd be having some fun. We'd hear him laughing. We talk of difficulty. We're lucky. Ray knew more about difficulty than any of us ever will. And accomplished more, musically, than any of us can hope for.

    And I should mention, I'm very proud, today. My fondest dream is now a reality. At last, I officially have a jazz musician in the family. My grandson, Patrick, had his 15th birthday party today -- and I found out he's now in both Jazz and regular Bands at school, on tenor sax. He's also taking an extra academic credit in music along with his normal music studies.

    Patrick: "You know, Grandpa, jazz is hard - you have to play what isn't there - but I like it."
    Me: "Yeah, dude. I know it's hard. But it's SO worth it! :)
     
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2023
  14. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Oh, I agree. Losing my sight would be a catastrophe.
     
  15. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    A blind golfer might be a rare bird but out here we seem to have no shortage of blind hunters.
     
  16. elcastor21

    elcastor21 New Member

    My "crazy conspiracy theory" is that Btcino created Bitcoin to sell more electric grid equipment, and went very unoriginal with the name.
     
  17. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    You're absolutely right. That is a crazy conspiracy theory.
     
  18. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    "Investing" in Bitcoin: "Why won't someone buy my nothing for more than I paid for it?"
     
  19. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    I was expecting to come back here when bitcoin had crashed but it is annoyingly resilient.

    That nothing is volatile and yet, it's not worth nothing. It's a head-scratcher.
     
  20. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    Yes, it's annoying alright. Bitcoin is clearly worthless so why does it continue at around $25,000?

    Sooo...maybe...I'm....wrong?
     

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