Zombie

Just read first few paras to “The Green Man” - my fave pub name - so I’m hooked and it’s got to be good Kingsley Amis?

Ah, I’ll check. Sorry, it would have been a long time ago. That does seem the most likely cause - I’ll post again if not thanks

Hi I’m receiving notifications not meant for me e.g. proeros has commented on Very Long Epilogue of The Ordinary Us 1 hour ago

🎶Happy birthday to morrow! Happy birthday to morrow Happy birthday dear Adi Happy birthday to you!🎶 *tunelessly * OK, it’s safe to unplug your ears now Have a great day

Ha! I said the exact same words earlier today - mind melding or what?

Well that should get the little ones screaming... what a disappointment

Happy birthday Northie! and many happy returns

Diabetes is in my family - puts me in a higher risk category. And, as we know, Type 2 can be - is mostly? - brought on by sugary foods and drinks / lifestyle. Do you know what type yours is? Do you closely monitor your blood sugar? Type 2 has been reversed by those who know what foods / drinks to avoid / control and who closely monitor and control their intake. Being OCD might help in this regard. You need to avoid prolonged high blood sugar levels and also frequent “spikes”. As for eyesight you must get a comprehensive eyesight / diabetes assessment by qualified and competent medical practitioners as soon as possible. Mollyhousemouse is quite right - the risk of further eyesight damage can be reduced or maybe even stopped, but damage that has already been done cannot be reversed. You only have one set of eyes - please don’t find yourself in the future regretting that you did not take action sooner. Best wishes.

Never mind foreign names Jeremy Hunt - Conservative Jeremy Hunt - Culture Secretary Couldn't mess that up surely? https://www.wired.co.uk/article/jeremy-hunt-mp

Brilliant - worked a treat!

“Fake news” is a hot topic at the moment. So regular readers will be grateful to have this thread as an information resource of absolutely true factual information, with the sole objective of informing and educating GA members on the risks of doll ownership. Especially at this seasonal time when our thoughts turn once again to suitable Christmas presents for little ones, so we can hear their screams of joy - not screams of terror. Recently the Smithsonian, America’s premier national museum group, turned its attention to what it terms “creepy dolls”. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-creepy-dolls-180955916/ The Smithsonian was founded in 1846 “for the increase and diffusion of knowledge” by a gift of 104,960 gold sovereigns (worth around $12m today) from British scientist, James Smithson, on his death. Knowledge means things that are known - in other words FACTS. The Smithsonian article is indeed an interesting read but it does contain some factual errors - or “fake news”. For example, according to the Smithsonian: “This doll's set-back, sleepy eyes invite the perception of evil”. Now this is obviously not true. This dolls eyes do not “invite the perception of evil” - they ARE evil. Later on, the article states: “Dolls don’t have the ability to mimic (although they do seem to have the ability to make eye contact)...” Again this is wrong. Dolls don’t “seem to” have the ability, they DO have the ability to make eye contact. Take another look at the previous post about the Olmsted County Collection and the video clip of that doll in the green dress as it sits up and its eyes snap open. That’s right - it’s looking straight at you. Right into your soul. The Smithsonian article includes an interview with film director John Leonetti confirming this: “”If you look at a doll in its eyes, it just stares. That’s creepy. They’re hollow inside. That space needs to be filled.” With evil.” So there we have it. More definitive proof. Sceptical? Well let’s consider another example on the Smithsonian webpage. Here are some dolls being manufactured at a factory in Leicester, England, in 1948: As you can see, although the doll heads ARE creepy, unsettling and disturbing, there is no immediate sense of danger. But flash forward 70 years and this is what they look like now: You don’t need to be an expert in possessed dolls to see what’s happened. These dolls are no longer just “creepy”, they have become PURE EVIL. Still not convinced? Well ask yourself this simple question: Would you put these dolls on your bedside table? Watching you when you switch off the light? Thanks for reading. Sleep well. And sweet dreams

Is there a help topic on posting images as per these limitations? (can’t see this subject listed or keyword search function) “ You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.” and “Max total size 0.02MB” Specifically: how to get image URLs from webpages (touching the webpage image only gives “Save” and “Copy” options on iPad) how to see image file sizes and, if exceeding the file size limit, how to reduce and is the 20kB limit per image or per post? thanks

Hahaha, Mr Gershwin’s lyrics are as innocent as apple pie - Master P’s are definitely not apple pie innocent (the lyric is Abraham Cowley’s 1656 poem The Mistress) Ah, Dido and Aeneas. Master P’s song has witches too

Unless I’ve missed it there doesn’t seem to be anything by Henry Purcell Here’s a song he wrote around 1680 I’ve started a blog on Mr Purcell for anyone interested

Henry Purcell 1659 - 1695 Purcell was a 17th century English composer and songwriter who died aged just 36 having lived his entire life in London. He was born in the final year of the English Commonwealth - a turbulent period in British history of bloody civil wars which ended when England became a republic under Oliver Cromwell, after chopping off the king’s head (Charles I). By the following year, 1660, the republican experiment was all over - the English monarchy was restored. During the Commonwealth period, tw musicians and composers were out of a job (no King = no Royal patronage) and cathedral church music But when the Crown was recreated for Charles II (the original Crown Jewels had been broken up, melted down and flogged off by Cromwell) London became Party Central, with musical theatre at the heart of a thriving entertainment business, and the Church could once again embrace music without fear of violent retribution. Which was great news for Purcell. Because by the time he had completed his musical education he was able to make a good living from song writing, musical theatre, Church music and, best of all, have a steady income from Royal Patronage - basically writing music for the Royal Court with no other purpose than praising and celebrating the glorious Monarch. Now you would expect music where the public is spending its own cash to be good quality, but Royal Court patronage was essentially State money so perhaps Purcell needn’t have taken the same Purcell was also a prolific composer of popular music, writing over 100 “pop songs”. But how could he make money from songs when there was no radio, TV or internet? Simple - Purcell published in the various bestselling songbooks, such as Choice Ayres (yes really ) which were regularly updated in new editions by the London-based music publisher, John Playford (who effectively held the monopoly on music publishing throughout England). This is one of those songs written by Purcell around 1680: She Loves And She Confesses Too If you listened carefully you’ll have noticed this song is written above what’s called a “ground bass” or “bass line” that repeats throughout the song. I’ll post more about this and other stuff later.

In 1971 George Harrison was the first ex-Beatle to have a monster hit - on both sides of the Pond - with “My Sweet Lord” He was then hit with a law suit for plagiarism by the copyright owners of the 1963 US Number One hit “He’s So Fine” You don’t need to be a musicologist to hear the MUSIC is essentially the same. It doesn’t matter that the SOUND is so different (arrangement, production, middle eight and lyrics). Truth is George gave us a much finer , more beautiful and all-time-great song. The legal action was very messy and dragged on for over 20 years. George was found guilty of “subconscious” plagiarism and significant copyright costs were awarded against him. In response George said he had been inspired by a quite different song: the out-of-copyright Christian hymn "Oh, Happy Day”, written in the 18th century by English clergyman Philip Doddridge, as performed in the late 1960s’ fantastic all-time-great arrangement “Oh Happy Day” by Edward Hawkins Edit to add: The source of the music used by Edwin Hawkins is a little more complicated than I said above - “Edwin Hawkins’ gospel style arrangement of the hymn "Oh, Happy Day" has a long pedigree. It began as a hymn written in the mid-18th century ("O happy day, that fixed my choice") by English clergyman Philip Doddridge (based on Acts 8:35) set to an earlier melody (1704) by J. A. Freylinghausen. By the mid-19th century it had been given a new melody by Edward F. Rimbault, who also added a chorus, and was commonly used for baptismal or confirmation ceremonies in the UK and USA. The 20th century saw its adaptation from 3/4 to 4/4 time and this new arrangement by Hawkins, which contains only the repeated Rimbault refrain, with all of the original verses being omitted.” (Wiki2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Sweet_Lord

Hahaha more importantly was the cover any good?

This thread is about GREAT rip-offs. What rip-offs do you love? Pop song, movie, play, book, honest (acknowledging the source), dishonest (plagiarism), intentional or unintentional - doesn’t matter. But not music sampling - that’s just nicking sounds This is a UK 1970s Top 20 hit “If I Had You” by The Korgis. It used Variation 18 of Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

“The dolls in the History Center of Olmsted County's collection have been let out for Halloween and these miniature terrors are vying to be named creepiest doll in Olmsted County.” (MPR News, October 23, 2019) Well, of course, Halloween’s over for another year. So no need to click on the link. Just sit back and relax in your La-Z-Boy recliner. Absolutely no need to click on the link https://www.mprnews.org/story/2019/10/23/whos-the-creepiest-of-them-all

You should have thrown it out A long time ago But you didn’t You were going to get rid of it yesterday before you put the fresh stuff in But you were nervous It’s been there so long So, you pushed in the fresh stuff, shoving it to the back of the fridge You can’t see it now But you know it’s there And you’re scared

sweet Jesus save us...

blame Comey too his mud stuck

hope the medics and pharmacy work together in future so you never get put through this again

happy birthday William

Fingers toes and eyes crossed for the 15th