General Discussion Thread

[Róisín]

Iceea, that is a strange but possible sort of idea. Formulaic rhymes or stories are used to preserve data or sequences of action in many cultures. I have encountered them used for learning and remembering everything from directions for crossing a country as huge as Australia, lists of herbs or foods, genealogies, land ownership, methods of doing everything from preparing dyestuffs or yeast cultures to conducting courtship to constructing magical patterns or tools. Seems to be a way people remember things.

[Buteo]

I wonder if the Underground Railway song, Follow The Drinkin' Gourd, might have started that way - although the extant versions I have run into look as though they were through-composed as a complete set of travel directions for a particular route.

[Róisín]

I think it did start so. Then people who might not have known what it was for just added verses. And a lot of the verbal songs attached to the Australian songlines are descriptive maps of country (we have songlines the way Europe has leys or Asia has dragon paths). And then there are those lists of place names in the Tain.....

[Nellie McEnt]

the English 'Bog Down in the Valley'

love love love that song

[Róisín]

Likewise. There are a lot of fun repetitive songs. Do you know the old French drinking song 'Chevaliers de la Table Ronde'?

[Buteo]

"...Goûtons voir si le vin est bon.
Goûtons voir, oui, oui, oui,
Goûtons voir, non, non, non,
Goûtons voir si le vin est bon."

[Róisín]

Isn't it an excellent song? Like the Gaelic 'Cruiskeen Lawn', two singers can have great fun with it. My cousin and I used to have fun with both as party songs, singing lines against each other, getting faster and faster until the other singers couldn't keep up. Sadly, that cousin now lives more than 800 miles away, so we are lucky to see one another once a year, and seldom have a chance to sing together. *sigh*

[urbicande]

I'm not even going to try and catch up on the forum.

[Róisín]

Fascinating as it is, it's a total time sink. But I'm glad you are back at all.

[urbicande]

Fascinating as it is, it's a total time sink. But I'm glad you are back at all.

Me too!

[Iceea]

Well it's a bit chilly in the Boston area today. 5 F, -15 C outside with the wind chill about -9 F, -23 C. On our "sun porch" it's 20 F, -6 C. Brrrrrrr.

I don't have to go or be anywhere so I'm just gonna stay home and stay warm.

I hope everyone else has a place keep warm or cool depending on where you live.

[Róisín]

Sounds nice. Here, at 0800 it is +25C/77F, and will be a lot hotter later in the day. As of Friday we are in for a serious heatwave. And no rain. Urgh!

[Iceea]

That's bad. I'm sorry for the no rain condition. That just aggravates everything and makes it so much harder for things trying to be or stay green.

At 5:45 EST, GMT+5, it's 1.5 F, -17 C. Wind chill is -24 F, -31 C. That is as urbicande puts it "hurt your face" cold.

[wavewright62]

HHaaaarsh.  After 20-some-odd years of living here, I have become acclimated to Auckland's very narrow temperature band (generally between 10-25C/low 40s-upper 70s F, newsworthy if it gets to 0C or 30C).  I would really struggle with those temps now, even though they were only slightly chilly when I lived in Michigan.

[thorny]

7 below zero F here last night; which my converter tells me is 21.6666666666. . . . below zero C. It was all the way up to 5C, and windy, when I was shovelling out the drive.

But I'd a lot rather be dealing with that than with hot and drought. Good luck, Róisín!