Jeff Daum

Thanks Bruce, and Phil 

Stephen (Steve) Dixon

Ah, Spiess, you are no doubt quoting Erasmus...of Water-Dam.

Philip Spiess

Stephen:  I am always in praise of folly!  Which brings us to the Johnstown Flood -- there was one rotter dam!  (N. B.:  If you haven't visited the National Park Service's several sites and museums in and around Johnstown, Pennsylvania, they're well worth the visit!)

Judy Holtzer (Knopf)

Getting back to the world after hip replacement, I apologize that my first posting to the Forum is the following, but it just happened to appear in ynet news, so I had to copy it or lose it....

I have been far removed for a long time from American culture and politics in situ, so to speak, and am somewhat bewildered by the following article. I've lived abroad for 46 years now, so I guess I think more like a ferriner than as a 3rd generation American. I still curl my lip when thinking about the Japanese being forced into camps during World War II, a very dark and shameful decision, but this article seems to swing to the extreme opposite. I would welcome hearing that I am wrong, but would be very grateful for a background leading to this decision. You there Steve?

Thanks.

Arabs, Muslims can sue US officials over post-9/11 jail treatment

Reuters

NEW YORK - A divided US appeals court said the federal government's top law enforcers can be sued by former inmates who claim their civil rights were violated while jailed after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks because they were Arab, Muslim or stereotyped that way.

Wednesday's 2-1 decision by the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals prompted an impassioned dissent that the ruling could make it harder to protect the country against terrorism.

Philip Spiess

Judy:  I suppose at base level it's the "innocent until proven guilty" idea, and/or being jailed "in durance vile" without due process.  Certainly, in times of extreme crisis, it's often hardest to protect civil liberties against the common sentiment.  (But it may be argued that these were not United States citizens; true -- so then they should have been charged as war criminals.  Ah, but was war truly declared, and, if so, against what nation?  These are the sticking points.)  So it seems that this case is one for the U. S. Supreme Court.  As Calvin Coolidge famously said . . . oh, wait; I believe Calvin Coolidge is famous for having said nothing.

On my own terrorist front, I am now beleaguered by Beethoven and his works.  In a moment of frivolous folly, we adopted Beethoven's Fur Elise as the ringtone on our house phone.  After enduring months of "Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-dah" every time the phone rang, much akin to a snotty-nosed child of eight ruthlessly practicing the world's most notorious piano piece endlessly in a vengeful response to a parental plea that the child please practice the piano more in order to make the lesson payments worthwhile, we gave up -- and switched the house phone ringtone to the opening notes of Beethoven's Sixth Symphony (the Pastorale), surely not as familiar or popular as Beethoven's Ninth, but well-received nonetheless.  (You can already understand, I'm sure, that we have a Beethoven problem right here, and it's strictly mine, not my wife's.)  Now, this is a really lovely piece of music, and it was made particularly memorable in Walt Disney's film Fantasia, where the narrator, Deems Taylor, called the treatment "a day in the country."  Yes, but this particular country was ancient Greece, with fauns and Pegasuses and dryads, etc., to say nothing of Greek gods and goddesses, who are busy interfering with human activities, just as in the old epics.  None of this would have mattered to our ringtone -- except that I had shown this part of the movie every year for eight years to my 5th graders as a prelude to their study of ancient Greece.  After eight years, it does tend to stick in your head.

So now we have this ringtone that goes off at every "800 number" and overseas caller calling in, bringing to mind the all-too-familiar scenes of mythical beasts and beings, adorned with flowing vines and flower petals, cavorting about a Maxfield Parrish-style garishly-colored landscape -- with no escape!  In short, the melody has been haunting my brain with no let-up for several weeks now, and it's beginning to drive me crazy.  I welcome the occasional calls on my cell phone -- the ringtone of which is Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries."  Friends, any suggestions of bane or balm to drive this tune from my head and solve this nagging dilemma?  (Please don't suggest anything written after Richard Rodgers' "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue"; it would only add to my suffering.)

Jerry Ochs

A catchy tune from South Pacific?  I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Head.

Nancy Messer

Judy, could you - or anyone else from your class - provide the names of the people in the Bond Hill class photo  you posted on your Richard Rosenbaum entry?  Thanks

Philip Spiess

"Hair," Jerry, "hair," not "head" (though I rather loathe the musical Hair).  And South Pacific, much as it's my favorite Rodgers & Hammerstein musical -- I think it's Rodgers' most innovative music -- unusual rhythms, unusual harmonies (please, TV, sink The Sound of Music for at least two decades; it's too cloying!) -- was written (1949) after "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" (1936). BUT -- it just might work, because, now that you've mentioned it, it will all too probably stick in my head.  (Or maybe I'll just think of that French Renaissance painting you posted a while back -- you know, just to keep abreast of what's happening on the Forum.)

Jerry Ochs

Phil,

Almost any recent Taylor Swift song will drive all other songs away.   She must have made a deal with Satan.

Ann Shepard (Rueve)

Phil, I keep the "house phone" only to give out as a number for businesses to call when they ask for it.  I have an out going message that simply says, "This is Ann, leave a message".  If there is no message left, then I don't call back the number on the caller ID, since most of the numbers are "spoofed", that is, showing a real telephone number to get through call blocking of "unknown " or "private " numbers.  I wouldn't even keep it, but it's the telephone number that I've had for thirty years. Old friends, distant relatives or coworkers of my late husband may occasionally call.  Ninety-nine and forty-four one hundredths percent of the calls I receive are robo calls.  The phone is bundled with my cable and Internet.  I'm considering going cableless, but seeing all the gadgets and the need to switch over to different plug-ins on the tv my son-in-law uses on the family tv, I'd rather pay for the convenience of just sitting down in front of the TV and hitting the remote.

I wrote all this to tell you that I don't have a ringtone on the house phone.  I have all the ringers switched off on all the phones in the house.  The ringer is turned on only for the phone in the kitchen.  I can't hear it if I'm sleeping. It doesn't ring, it just announces a call with, "Call from ###-####". If it's out of the area, it announces the city and state.  It's laughable sometimes how it mangles the pronunciation.  Hahaha! Seattle become SEETLE, Washington and so on. 

Now my cell phone, I use all the time.  My ringtone is "old telephone ". It sounds just like the black rotary dial telephone of your childhood. i have special ringtones for my grandkids, although they don't usually call, they text. I particularly like Griffin's ringtone, "boing-boing...".

So if any of you call me at my "house" telephone number, make sure you are not calling from a PRIVATE number and PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE.

Nelson Abanto

This is a challenge, Phil.  The first things that come to mind are 1). The first notes of "la habanera" from Carmen or, 2). Questa Quella from the opening act of Rigoletto.  Give me some time to chew on this and I'll find something better.

Jerry Ochs

Phil,

In your house is Mozart verboten?  You need a tune that matches your personality; something not ponderous.   I suggest the aria Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja from "The Magic Flute".

Ira Goldberg

Judy, first off...you sound well. Nice to be better, eh? Second, thanks for posting Rick's class photo. Just a few names (tho, many more are familiar - if ya know what I mean!). Top row: Dee Goldman, Kay Davis, then after Rick, Zola Makrauer. Next one down: Mark Hyams below Dee, and way over third from right is you! Brlow your hand is Elaine Petricoff. Finally, sitting: darker striped shirt, Danny Brown, two over is Herb Zigler. All I got!! It is good to see Rick and all of you in full health. Apologies to those who I missed. I hope your smiles are as bright. 

Nancy Messer

Ira - Thanks for the Identifications.

David Buchholz

Fur Elise? Mozart? I downloaded Eric Clapton's "Layla", and let it play until a second before voicemail. If you're in a store, Phil, and your phone rings, do people stop what they're doing and dance? They do when mine rings. It's only a small step better than the Neville Brothers' "Hey, Pocky Way", perhaps the greatest funk intro to a song.  Ever.  Google it.  Go to the App store and play those opening bars.  See? I'm just thinking about it, and I can't control my feet.

Philip Spiess

Dave:  Here's what happens when my cell phone goes off:  I was in New Hampshire last October, had just climbed a mountain overlooking Lake Winnepesaukee, and had become separated from my wife (on the mountain, you understand), because she had taken a different trail than I had to reach the top.  When I got to what I perceived to be the top, overlooking the whole of the lake, I planted my hiking stick in a dramatic manner and proclaimed, in a loud voice, "I claim this land in the name of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella!"  Immediately my phone went off, loudly broadcasting Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries."  It was my wife, calling to see where I was.  A young couple sitting in front of me on the rocks, admiring the view, said, "Well, that was pretty impressive!"  So I continue to spread chaos willingly wherever I go.

Jerry:  "Der Vogelfanger" just might do it, actually (and, yes, we most certainly welcome Mozart in our house, particularly "Oh, You Earnest-Headed Donkey," as well as "Lech mir in dem Arsch" and his other scatological songs).

Nelson:  "The Habanera" was the first operatic piece I was ever assigned to learn to play on the piano (by one of Becky Payne's mother's teachers, circa age six).  I'm afraid it, too, is too addictive, much like "The Bolero."  But keep working on it.

Dave again:  I'll look up your ideas as well; happy dancing in public always causes alarm in certain quarters, particularly the way I dance.

Larry Klein

Phil and Dave - I danced once.  The band was playing "Beethoven's Fifth" (the pop version).  They're still looking for my partner somewhere in the third row of tables in front of the dance floor.  That 'BOMPA-ba-bom' gets me every time.

Philip Spiess

Larry:  I'm driven to drink a fifth when I hear it!

But, okay, now you've driven me to tell the following tale about the Fifth Symphony:  Beethoven is sitting despondent one day at his grand piano, when his Austrian maid, Mrs. Suggins (okay, not Austrian) enters to clean the apartment at 22 Earwig (or was it Gerwig?) Gasse.  "Pardon me, Mr. Beethoven," she says; "Lift your feet so I can mop under the piano."  "Hey, Mrs. Suggins," he says, "I've got serious composer writer's block.  But maybe you can help me write a symphony!"  "Me?" she says, "help YOU . . . write a symphony??!!  Ha-ha-ha-hah, ha-ha-ha hah!!" . . . .

And okay, Nelson, now you've really done it!  You mentioned "The Habanera" from Carmen as a solution to my telephonic woes -- and I got to thinking about it. . . .  And now it is going through my head constantly, while Beethoven's Sixth Symphony remains on my phone -- the two do not mix in polyphonic intercourse quite as well as Stephen Foster's "Swanee River" and Dvorak's Humoresque do.  Tchah! (as in Tchaikovsky . . . uh. Swanee Lake?).

Larry Klein

Speaking of Habanera, I make a form of Texas chili fairly often (remember, I spent five years on the high plains in Lubbock).  I used to get my peppers from an engineer who had a farm in Oxford, OH.  When I told him I needed 10 of them, he smartly inquired "Who's house are you burning down?".  They make a great chili, though.

Neat story about the "austrian" maid.  I'm sure she was an alto.

Nelson Abanto

Hey Phil,  You can of course have different ring tones for different people, but be careful.  My wife got upset when she found out her ring tone on my phone was the Ride of the Valkyrie.

Jeff Daum

We were treated to a rare (it has been a few years since the last time) sunset tonight in which the sky was 'painted' with smoke from the California fires and elaborately colored by the setting sun:

Philip Spiess

Jeff:  Nice!

Nelson:  Uh-oh!   (a) Don't tell your wife about my ringtone; (b) You'd better have a long talk with your wife about Wagner!  (I remember that incident in Venice!)

Jeff Daum

Thanks Phil, just a lucky case of right place at the right time.

Rick Steiner

Thanks to Bill Katz and others, I have identfied most of the Bond Hill Grade School classmates of Rick Rosenbaum.

Left to Right:
Bottom Row:  Corky Cordess, Dan Brown, Howard Goodwin, Herb Ziegler, Jerry Nidich, Steve Boymel
Row 2: Eileen Sheff, Linda Davis, Lynn Effron, Bill Katz, Sandy Lautorbach, Phyllis Collins, Elaine Petricoff, Susie Cohen
Row3:  Carolee Wubolding,  Mark Hymas, Eddie Goldstein, Mark Pockross, Larry Landman, Randy Cassell, Unknown, Judy Holzer, Karen Catlin,Bob Lieman
Row 4:  Anne Hasselbrock, Dee Goldman, Kay Davis, Bev Hayes, Rick Rosenbaum, Zola Makrauer, Roger Alt, Unknown, Unknown

Laura Reid (Pease)

isn't that Dee Goldman in the last row right before Kay Davis??