How did you go Gecko? My husband went on an AAD (Australian Antarctic Division) fellowship two years ago and had an amazing time.
My facts...
1. I've represented my country twice and my university once at word titles.
2. Two of those three times, my team won.
3. They were nerdly contests. (World debating, and Jessup Mooting).
4. I have been to Australia (well, duh!), Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong (before and after the takeover), Macau (while it was still Portuguese), South Africa, Mauritius, Italy, France, Germany, England, Wales, the USA, Mexico, India, Pakistan and New Zealand.
5. I still have a lot of countries I want to go to.
6. I have a shameful soft spot for southern cooking (especially shameful given I'm not southern, or even American - but you should see my smothered pork chops!).
7. I love to cook.
8. I love to knit.
Posts: 4393 | Registered: Aug 2003
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1. I've played over 10,000 games of chess in the last 10 years.
2. I know I'm color-blind, but I don't know how. (everyone always asks which colors)
3. Grapefruits are my favorite fruit. Fresca is my favorite drink.
4. After spending 4 years studying piano and getting my BS in music, I'm going to technical school to learn piano tuning.
5. I am in piano-teacher-descendency to Beethoven. Me(Andy Reach)--David Phillips--György Sándor--Béla Bartók--István Thoman--Franz Liszt--Carl Czerny--Ludwig van Beethoven. It goes further, but the connections are harder to confirm. Beethoven was taught by Haydn for sure and may have had lessons with Mozart, who was taught by CPE Bach, who was taught by JS Bach.
6. I found my first girlfriend 2 months ago, and I'm 22.
7. As a child, my dad had over a million dollars and we were living in a mansion with servants. By the time I was 14, we were bankrupt and living in a duplex where everyone had to share rooms. So--I've been at the very top and the bottom of the economic ladder.
8. I have over 40 gigs of music on my computer, half of which is classical.
quote:Originally posted by Launchywiggin: 1. I've played over 10,000 games of chess in the last 10 years.
2. I know I'm color-blind, but I don't know how(everyone always asks which colors)
3. Grapefruits are my favorite fruit. Fresca is my favorite drink.
4. After spending 4 years studying piano and getting my BS in music, I'm going to technical school to learn piano tuning.
5. I am in piano-teacher-descendency to Beethoven. Me(Andy Reach)--David Phillips--György Sándor--Béla Bartók--István Thoman--Franz Liszt--Carl Czerny--Ludwig van Beethoven. It goes further, but the connections are harder to confirm. Beethoven was taught by Haydn for sure and may have had lessons with Mozart, who was taught by CPE Bach, who was taught by JS Bach.
6. I found my first girlfriend 2 months ago, and I'm 22.
7. As a child, my dad had over a million dollars and we were living in a mansion with servants. By the time I was 14, we were bankrupt and living in a duplex where everyone had to share rooms. So--I've been at the very top and the bottom of the economic ladder.
8. I have over 40 gigs of music on my computer, half of which is classical.
I'm pretty sure its certain that Beethoven took at least a handful of lessons from Mozart, but its doubtful he was a student for long.
Do you have a chess ranking?
What period of classical music is your favorite? How do you feel about some of the Japanese composers who write modern sounding classical music?
Thats really cool that you go to Beethoven though!
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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BB, I'm not USCF rated, but my yahoo rating hangs around 1650.
It's hard to pin down which period is my favorite--I love the really "great" music in every period. But if I had to pick, It'd be the Romantic period--such great harmony and expressivity. My favorite composers from the romantics are Grieg, R. Schumann, and Tchaikovsky. I also love the late romantics and early 20th c composers--Ravel, Debussy, Mahler, Stravinski. If I were to add one more fun fact, it would be that I sing in a barbershop choir and specialize in playing piano rags.
It's funny you mention the Japanese composers and the period we're in right now--I consider it kind of a neo-romanticism without the rules of tonality.
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quote:If I were to add one more fun fact, it would be that I sing in a barbershop choir and specialize in playing piano rags.
I really wish I could get a feel for how piano rags work, the only rag I know is The Entertainer, but I still don't know quite how the notes go together to make a generic rag, I'd REALLY like to know though.
Neoromanticism is a good way to describe it! Though I would say quite a good deal of it does rigidly follow the rules of tonality.
Ill have to dig for it, but there is a song called "One Minute Evacuation." As the name suggests its not a long song, but its so clever and enjoyable to listen to. If I had heard it without knowing the composer I would have guessed Tchaikovsky. Ill try to find it for you.
Just hit play movie, I hope you have a flash player on your computer. Its a cute anime style video somebody did to the tune of the song. The video itself is quite clever, but the point is obviously the song.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Launchywiggin: 7. As a child, my dad had over a million dollars and we were living in a mansion with servants. By the time I was 14, we were bankrupt and living in a duplex where everyone had to share rooms. So--I've been at the very top and the bottom of the economic ladder.
No offensive, but I hope you never have to so much as visit the bottom of the economic ladder. Sharing rooms in a duplex isn't it.
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1) I am a decendent of the personal dentist to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.
2) My record time for completing a Rubix Cube is 57 seconds.
3) While working for a freight forwarder, I have been to three different countries where I've stayed less than six hours, jsut because they needed someone to "hand carry" critical IBM parts. On a related note, I flew from Miami to Bogota, Colombia and back in the same day without ever passing through customs of either country.
4) The first ever tournament game of chess I ever played, when the US Open was in Miami like twenty years ago or so, was against Florencio Campomanes, the then president of the World Chess Federation. I was unrated; he was well over 2200. The game didn't last long.
5) Because of an incident with an Xacto knife, I have little or no feeling in my left thumb. Even without using it while typing, I can still type 100+ words a minute.
6) My father was dead set on naming me "David", so much so that I would have had that name even if I was born a girl.
7) Because of an inner ear condition, I have never been able to ride a bicycle.
8) At one point, I knew the entire script to Poltergeist by heart.
Posts: 3486 | Registered: Sep 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Launchywiggin: 7. As a child, my dad had over a million dollars and we were living in a mansion with servants. By the time I was 14, we were bankrupt and living in a duplex where everyone had to share rooms. So--I've been at the very top and the bottom of the economic ladder.
No offensive, but I hope you never have to so much as visit the bottom of the economic ladder. Sharing rooms in a duplex isn't it.
Perhaps not, but the sheer amount of contrast is greater then most will experience I am sure.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:No offensive, but I hope you never have to so much as visit the bottom of the economic ladder. Sharing rooms in a duplex isn't it.
Oh, I definitely agree that sharing rooms in a duplex isn't the very bottom rung of the economic ladder--we were bankrupt, though. Without friends and help, we would have been homeless for sure. And don't get me wrong, I am very grateful to have had that duplex with running water and electricity :-) I stayed with my friends at a mission in Camden, NJ and stayed with my dad outside Chihuahua, Mexico--I've definitely "visited" the bottom rung of the economic ladder and seen real poverty. I can't tell you how ashamed I am when I look at pictures of me as a child, remembering how whiny and ungrateful I was. Anyway--hope that clears things up, Lisa.
I loved that little piece, BB. The movie was cute, too--but I like the piece better than the movie.
As for ragtime--it's actually pretty easy. You have to learn the left hand "stride" style to really get the beat--almost all rags have that accompaniment. Once you got that, the harmony is pretty consistent with a lot of I-VI7-II7-V7 type progressions (in case you know music theory). The melody lines usually have bent thirds and sevenths and are usually in 4-bar phrases--and are always in syncopation to the steady 4/4 accompaniment. That's your basic framework for ragtime--go try it! :-)
Posts: 1314 | Registered: Jan 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Launchywiggin: 5. I am in piano-teacher-descendency to Beethoven. Me(Andy Reach)--David Phillips--György Sándor--Béla Bartók--István Thoman--Franz Liszt--Carl Czerny--Ludwig van Beethoven.
2. My legs are incredibly non-flexible. I can't even come close to touching my toes.
3. I can do a bunch of cool things with my tongue, like touch my uvula with the tip of my tongue. (Nobody believes me because they can't see it, and most of them have the impression that it would make me gag or barf.)
4. I am pretty much the WORST at DDR.
5. I can press buttons faster than my Turbo button on my game controller.
6. I am legally blind without my contacts.
7. I have OCD.
8. I replaced my gear shift in my car with a computer joystick.
Posts: 1287 | Registered: Apr 2006
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What's up with all you genius Rubix Cubers out there? My best time is like two and a half minutes. And I thought I was pretty good.
---
quote:Originally posted by quidscribis:
quote:Originally posted by rollainm: 3. I only have half a brain (left side).
That's interesting. How does this affect you, if you don't mind me asking?
Like I said, I was born with a brain tumor. It was successfully removed when I was about two years old, and I still have a shunt that drains excess fluid from my brain to my stomach. On rare occasions (even less now than when I was younger) I can get nose bleeds, severe stomach aches, headaches, nausea, or some combination of the four that doctors say is attributed to this fluid drainage. I'd make a pretty ugly bald guy, and the scar on my stomach is obvious to say the least, although it is significantly smaller now than it was twenty-two years ago. Other than that, there aren't really any outward indications that I'm missing half my brain.
As for mental effects, it's hard to say what was directly influenced by the surgery. Although I was expected to recovery rather quickly, I did apparently exceed my doctors' expectations. I was walking and talking like other kids my age in no time, and when I was four I was tested with a respectable 140 something IQ (not really sure what happened there). I'm sure many of you are already aware that a young child's brain can recover remarkably well from shockingly severe damage that would likely leave the average adult in a vegetative state, if not dead. I suppose I'm living proof of this.
I do have plenty of quirks, but again, I don’t know how many of these (or to what extent for that matter) are a result of remapped brain functions, genes, or environmental influence. I’ve only taken an intro psychology class, so my knowledge in this area is rather limited. What I have learned, however, seems to indicate that many of these oddities were at least enhanced by the surgery. Here are a few. Feel free to comment and make of them what you will.
-I’m fairly clumsy, and I have poor hand-eye coordination. However, I will often react with surprising ease in situations where I don’t have time to think about what I’m doing.
-Though I have decent peripheral vision, it is somewhat difficult for me to register minor movement not directly in my concentrated field of vision. Learning to drive has actually been a pretty difficult process for me because of this.
-I have a horrible short term memory.
-My first time attempting something new is usually subpar to others, but I learn and improve upon repetitive skills quite a bit faster than most people I know.
-If I think about a person, I have a hard time picturing their facial features. I tend to identify people by their voice and body language rather than specific physical details.
There’s more, but I’m getting pretty sleepy.
Anyway, just so you know, this isn't a touchy subject for me. I actually rather enjoy the reactions I get. Please feel free to comment or ask any other questions you might have.
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rollain, glad to know it's not a touchy subject. Especially since I was the first to start asking questions...
I know what you mean about not knowing what's attributed to brain surgery. It's not like you have an exact twin as a control. Still, it sounds like you're (reasonably) normal (whatever that is), so that's always good.
Yeah, I figured the half a brain bit had to be related to the brain tumour bit, but it's still interesting to hear your story. Thanks for sharing. Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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quote:1) The first vote I ever cast was for a Republican, New Jersey's distinguished senior senator and favorite son, Clifford B. Case.
2) I had a crew cut all through junior high, high school, and most of college.
3) My favorite guilty pleasure movie is SUMMER LOVERS. I want to go to the island of Santorini and have a menage a trois with Darryl Hannah and Valerie Quinessen.
4) When I was in my twenties people used to tell me I looked like Kris Kristofferson. Now they tell me I look like Jerry Garcia. And he's dead. I don't like this trend.
5) I like writing when it's going well, but I LOVE having written.
6) My favorite song is Kris Kristofferson's "The Pilgrim, Chapter 33." (See him busted on the sidewalk in his jacket and his jeans, wearing yesterday's misfortunes like a smile). I am also very fond of "Me and Bobby McGee" and "To Beat the Devil" and "Silver" and a lot of Kris's other songs. Maybe that's why I was pleased when people said I looked like him.
7) I have never been defeated at RISK when I have the red army. Never. And I started playing RISK in grade school. Foemen tremble when I rattle my dice. Except when they make me play green or black or some other color. Then I am merely mortal.
8) Windows sucks. I use it, under protest, for the internet, but all my fiction is written on a DOS machine, using WordStar 4.0. I'm a word guy. When I want to copy something, I like to type "copy." When I want to delete it, I like to type "delete." I don't like puzzling out these stupid little cartoons they call icons, or dragging them around with a mouse. The day WordStar 4.0 stops working is the day I retire.
quote:8) Windows sucks. I use it, under protest, for the internet, but all my fiction is written on a DOS machine, using WordStar 4.0. I'm a word guy. When I want to copy something, I like to type "copy." When I want to delete it, I like to type "delete." I don't like puzzling out these stupid little cartoons they call icons, or dragging them around with a mouse. The day WordStar 4.0 stops working is the day I retire.
Damn, that's hardcore! I have a new idol...
Posts: 3486 | Registered: Sep 2002
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1) I have a strange phobia about putting air in my tires. I go to great lengths to get other people to do it for me.
2) My greatest fear is spending my life waiting for a day that will never come... tied with spiders.
3) I didn't try guacamole for the first time until I was 36. And I love it.
4) I too once jumped out of a perfectly good airplane, and I did not enjoy it. I will not do it again.
5) I am SUCH a procrastinator, that I once kept a single NetFlix movie for 10 months. And that would not shock anyone who knows me.
6) One semester in college, I actually earned a GPA of 0.0. I was on the Dean's List for the next consecutive 17 semesters (my God, how many years is that??).
7) I have lived in 3 different state capitals, all with area codes starting with "61". I can never remember which one I'm in now.
8) The last time I asked a girl out, I was SO nervous, I threw up. We did not go out.
Posts: 1080 | Registered: Apr 2006
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1) I've attended physics lectures at CERN and voted in the European Parliament main conference room (or whatever the official English name is).
2) I once interviewed the Finnish Minister of Justice.
3) I learned to read when I was 4, but only learned to swim and skate when I was 9.
4) I wrote my first play that was performed when I was 14. (Only performed at our school, but still...) I also have a finished manuscript for a book sitting in my drawer, took me six years to write it.
5) I don't really enjoy the subject I'm studying at the university.
6) My favourite past-time activity is cooking. Especially cooking things from Jamie Oliver books/shows.
7) I love my summer job. I've been working in this place for four summers now, and coming back here is like coming home. I wouldn't want to work here forever, though.
8) When I was in high school I drew all my notebooks full of cartoon snails.
Posts: 247 | Registered: Dec 2006
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9) My high score with the hacky sack is 111. 10) Every notebook and every piece of note paper I’ve ever used gets filled with doodles. The higher density of doodles, the less interested I was in what was being said in the class or meeting I was in.
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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1. I can't park if I must turn left into a spot. 2. For the first time since I was three, I'm not currently enrolled in a school. 5. I love Monty Python. 4. I have never been kissed.. and have no desire to be either - did you know, anywhere from hundreds to millions of bacterial colonies are swapped in a kiss, depending upon the intensity? 3. I make [very poor] short movies in my free time. 6. I can't tell time with an analog clock. 7. I invited my two [current] favorite actors to my graduation party. Neither RSVPed. 8. The nails on my index finger peel off.
Posts: 1215 | Registered: Apr 2005
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9) Chatted with the Finnish Minister of Basic Services (the title doesn't sound as daft in Finnish, honest) today. She was way nicer than the previous minister I'd talked to.
Posts: 247 | Registered: Dec 2006
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quote:4. I have never been kissed.. and have no desire to be either - did you know, anywhere from hundreds to millions of bacterial colonies are swapped in a kiss, depending upon the intensity?
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1. I like green shoes and stripes. 2. I have my grade ten in singing, and my grade nine in piano, and I've sung competatively and done fairly well, I play the flute and teach music successfully to children, but my actual musical-brain abilities are wanting. It's hard to explain. 3. I've been writing the same novel(s) on and off for the last ten years and plan to continue them until they're done however long it takes. 4. I've never ordered pizza over the phone and I don't particularly like ice cream. However, I've been drinking coffee, and liking it, since approximately the age of seven or eight. 5. I could ride a bicycle without training wheels when I was three. Similarly, I have been able to skate well since the first time I ever did tried. I therefore assume I have good balance. 6. My computer runs on Windows 2000. 7. I am an introvert. (But I love people and find them fascinating) 8. If I were good at math and science I would love to study/work in the field of astrophysics and the like. Since I am not, I merely read about it in my spare time .
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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That may be true, but not mouth bacteria.. It's not so much thinking that it would hurt me, but rather the idea of it makes me shudder.
Posts: 1215 | Registered: Apr 2005
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How would you know if you've never kissed anyone? I think kissing is delicious, although I don't know if that's due to the bacteria or not.
Added: That is, how do you know that mouth bacteria isn't tasty, not how do you know the idea makes you shudder, as that is self-evident. Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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