Zombie

Ed Sheeran has today won his breach of copyright case in New York against the estate of Marvin Gaye and his co-writer, Ed Townsend. Under US law only the sheet music is compared. But had his case been heard in England (where copyright protection law was first developed in Tudor times by Henry VIII) it seems likely he would have lost because under English law not just the music score would have been considered but also the production. Because it’s not just about the “chord progression”, where most pop songs follow well-used templates, but the “sound” of the songs as released and performed which makes songs distinctive, makes them “hits”. Interestingly there is a “smoking gun” recording by a fan of a Sheeran gig where he performed a medley, melding Thinking Out Loud with Let’s Get It On. In this performance he shows (shows off?) just how seamlessly the two songs, as released, can be combined because they both have the same “groove” and Sheeran was clearly proud to show how he took the classic Marvin Gaye hit in order to create his song. But, under US law, this would not have been admissible. A Youtuber has made this comparison by essentially doing what Sheeran did at his gig

that’s why forks were invented

In the UK many people live in homes with a ground floor + a first floor …that’s a two storey building Or possibly a three storey home with a ground floor + first & second floor Or maybe a penthouse flat on the ninth floor …that’s a ten storey building Those easily confused live in a bungalow …that’s just a ground floor

the reason business managers now call themselves “Brand Executive”, “Delivery Strategist”, “Fulfilment Coordinator” etc to avoid being killed off when Heart-Attack-Delivery Karen comes a-calling

George Frideric Handel, born in Halle (Saxony) in 1685, travelled widely around Europe as a young man developing his craft, especially in Italy. He settled in England in 1712 where he lived more than half his life (until his death in 1759) and studied carefully the music of Henry Purcell to develop a musical style tailored for English tastes. He became a prolific writer (opera, concertos, sacred, ceremonial) and composed much of the music that became central to British life and culture including for the London theatre and State occasions. In 1727, by a special act of Parliament, Handel was officially made a British citizen. Four months later King George I died suddenly and Handel was commissioned to compose music for the coronation of George II. He composed four “anthems” for orchestra and chorus and the most famous of these, Zadok the Priest, has been used at every British / Commonwealth coronation since and will be again next Saturday (6 May). The long instrumental introduction, with its subtle modulations, chord inversions (“slash chords”?) and unexpected harmonic shifts creating a gradual, suspenseful and uniquely memorable buildup to the eventual and deeply satisfying arrival at the home key (tonic) with the dramatic entry by the chorus, is explained here: https://realstrings.wordpress.com/2015/07/02/zadok-the-chords/ Annie Lennox plays the intro (almost) and I just love this joyous version

Yeah! *snatch, gobble, burp!*

GA truly is the place for shared wisdom

this is Spike he’s got 15,000 fans on Facebook and he’s just been voted the world’s most popular “flightless bird” Just a suggestion, Spike - if you’re planning to cash in on your newfound fame you might wanna book yourself in for a makeover and smarten yourself up a bit…

UK usages are usually in jest or to de-emphasise “It was a trifling little discrepancy” (Uncle Ted explaining the IRS investigation) “I only had a teensy weensy piece of cake” (fat boy on a diet)

that’s why they invented a word for it - tautological

with Spartan soldiers & tightly muscled bodies?

curiously, current usage in British English is always plural “he conducted his research under the auspices of the Spartan Soldiers Society” “perusing that tightly muscled body he knew the auspices were favourable”

Happy to report “lad” is still in common use in the UK, typical usage “young lad” it’s pretty much interchangeable with “youth” (Saxon origin) curiously “youth” and “young” don’t seem to have a common origin, yet each defines the other

Kurt saw every meal as a splotch opportunity

the penguin surreptitiously got its revenge

not necessarily straight..

so will it be National Day Trip day or National Trip Day?

spots stealing opportunity

for no reason whatever here’s a pic of Cristiano Ronaldo’s statue in Funchal, his hometown, which er.. seems to have received much admiration and here’s another angle

humans think we’re the smartest critters on the the planet and itsy bitsy spiders🕷show us we’re not

you forgot to add “see what I did there?” tricksey bear *swipe*

naughty Smurf *aaah..aaaaahh….ATISHOO!🤧*

Yes, autocorrect is malevolent Actually, no that’s wrong - autocorrect is pure evil👿 It’s probably scheming already with A.I. Together they’ll make the HAL 9000 computer look like Santa Clause

looks so innocent…

Health & Safety Alert Eyes-closed-galloping unicorns🦄 could fall into a hole🕳 and get buried alive