What made me laugh today...

[Pies4shaw]

Music Performance is (and so is Music Styles and Composition).

In essence, to do guitar at VCE, you have to perform reasonably difficult pieces (although the degree of difficulty is not uniform) in a range of styles that you choose from certain pre-determined lists. So, eg, he's going to play "Tears in Heaven", "Midnight" (by Joe Satriani), "The Wind Cries Mary" (by Jimi), "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" and "Unforgiven" by Metallica - in each case, he has to play the guitar parts from the original recordings, note for note, as if they were classical compositions. So, the subject tests what musicians call "executive ability" - but not improvisational skill.

As for the noise at my house, he's pretty good. He plays guitar almost all day and much of the night but mostly without any of his equipment plugged in - I explained to him very early in the piece that if you get your neighbours annoyed, just once, you never hear the end of it, so it's best to use restraint. He has a 5 watt practice amp and he's never, ever turned on his Marshall stack at home (I have - but I won't tell him, if you don't).

That said, it probably gets fairly challenging for Mrs Pies4Shaw when the boy is upstairs playing "Cemetery Gates" or "Holy Wars", the girl is singing Schubert in her room and I'm downstairs thumping out some Ravel or Otis Spann. Still, that's why God invented doors and earplugs.

[think positive]

Hahaha very good!

And what is mrs P4S hobby?

[Pies4shaw]

She reads voraciously. I find it distracting.

[think positive]

She reads voraciously. I find it distracting.

[watt price tully]

The boy has his VCE guitar exam later this morning. Last night, he came home from band practice (Exodus, Overkill, Megadeth etc - you know the sort of thing) and, with a wistful look, put away his Dave Mustaine signature Dean V, his Ibanez S and his Strat and picked up his nylon-string classical guitar. I asked him why and he told me he had better learn Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven", since he's playing it for his exam. He said it'd be OK, though, since "It's so easy, you could play it, Dad."

Best of luck to him, especially playing Leon Uris the musical, tough stuff.

[Dark Beanie]

The boy has his VCE guitar exam later this morning. Last night, he came home from band practice (Exodus, Overkill, Megadeth etc - you know the sort of thing) and, with a wistful look, put away his Dave Mustaine signature Dean V, his Ibanez S and his Strat and picked up his nylon-string classical guitar. I asked him why and he told me he had better learn Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven", since he's playing it for his exam. He said it'd be OK, though, since "It's so easy, you could play it, Dad."

Good luck to him.

The 18 year old is 'studying' as I type.
I use the term loosely, as studying/homework & him have never been a good match.
Despite our best efforts - supporting, cajoling, sometimes bribery & a bit of yelling - he hasn't really put in enough work this year and will consequently not get very good marks. Hopefully he will get through and at least pass VCE.

Unlike many of his year 12 cohort (high % of Asians and Indians), we have left it up to him to decide his subjects, balance part time work & sport and basically get his shit together and study.

Having said that he has enjoyed year 12 and made some good friends - some of the Asians refer to him as their favourite white person!

[Pies4shaw]

The boy has his VCE guitar exam later this morning. Last night, he came home from band practice (Exodus, Overkill, Megadeth etc - you know the sort of thing) and, with a wistful look, put away his Dave Mustaine signature Dean V, his Ibanez S and his Strat and picked up his nylon-string classical guitar. I asked him why and he told me he had better learn Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven", since he's playing it for his exam. He said it'd be OK, though, since "It's so easy, you could play it, Dad."

Best of luck to him, especially playing Leon Uris the musical, tough stuff.

Not quite as funny, perhaps, as you might think. My mother had piano sheet-music for the theme, bought when the film was first out. I played it as a kid. She had the novel, too. I didn't play that....

[Pies4shaw]

The boy has his VCE guitar exam later this morning. Last night, he came home from band practice (Exodus, Overkill, Megadeth etc - you know the sort of thing) and, with a wistful look, put away his Dave Mustaine signature Dean V, his Ibanez S and his Strat and picked up his nylon-string classical guitar. I asked him why and he told me he had better learn Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven", since he's playing it for his exam. He said it'd be OK, though, since "It's so easy, you could play it, Dad."

Good luck to him.

The 18 year old is 'studying' as I type.
I use the term loosely, as studying/homework & him have never been a good match.
Despite our best efforts - supporting, cajoling, sometimes bribery & a bit of yelling - he hasn't really put in enough work this year and will consequently not get very good marks. Hopefully he will get through and at least pass VCE.

Unlike many of his year 12 cohort (high % of Asians and Indians), we have left it up to him to decide his subjects, balance part time work & sport and basically get his shit together and study.

Having said that he has enjoyed year 12 and made some good friends - some of the Asians refer to him as their favourite white person!

Good luck to your boy, too. He's probably done enough and is just trying to worry you.

[David]

Back to Laughter.

Jim Jeffries on Gun Control.

Part 1. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm0DJ7 ... Nq5x10c9hQ

Part 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9UFyNy-rw4

Some bad language.

Pretty good.

[watt price tully]

Hipster or hassidic?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ACkfbi8vyo

[ronrat]

Back to Laughter.

Jim Jeffries on Gun Control.

Part 1. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm0DJ7 ... Nq5x10c9hQ

Part 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9UFyNy-rw4

Some bad language.

Pretty good.

Unfortunately makes too much sense for the USA

[Morrigu]

Dog named Trigger shoots owner

A woman in the US state of Indiana is recovering after being shot by her dog in a bizarre hunting accident, an environment official says.

The woman, named as Allie Carter, 25, was hunting waterfowl on Saturday in the north of the state, Jonathon Boyd, an Indiana conservation officer said.

She put down her 12-gauge shotgun but her chocolate Labrador stepped on it, shooting her in the foot.

To add insult to injury, the dog was named Trigger.

http://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world/dog ... CID=HPCDHP

What a beautiful looking dog - gorgeous!!!!

[think positive]

Hehehe that's is funny!

[3.14159]

Well done that dog!
3 cheers

if the dog had blown off her index finger it'd be pure poetry.

[Wokko]

Put a loaded shotgun on the ground why?