Althouse: At the Topographic Café...

September 7, 2012

At the Topographic Café...

... get cultivated.

51 comments:

chickelit said...: I wonder if the restroom signs were in Braille too. Otherwise...how would they know which direction to go genderwise?; 9/7/12, 4:25 PM
A. Shmendrik said...: What? Men and women start at opposite ends of the salad bar?; 9/7/12, 4:29 PM
Palladian said...: Gentlemen and Ladies, on opposite sides of a continental divide.; 9/7/12, 4:31 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Drainage.; 9/7/12, 4:31 PM
campy said...: What a relief!; 9/7/12, 4:33 PM
chickelit said...: Andy R would say...Mere lavatories of social science experimentation. One day too these shall pass.; 9/7/12, 4:42 PM
Issob Morocco said...: esker-licious.; 9/7/12, 4:44 PM
Issob Morocco said...: esker-licious.; 9/7/12, 4:44 PM
Issob Morocco said...: Looks like a cat's tongue.; 9/7/12, 4:45 PM
Calypso Facto said...: Palladian beat me to the Great Divide joke, I see.; 9/7/12, 4:46 PM
kjbe said...: I've got 1934 framed topoquads of Banff and Jasper parks, that my inlaws picked up ontheir honeymoon. What's cool about them, is that the middle of Jasper is empty because it hadn't been surveyed, yet. Another era...; 9/7/12, 4:47 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: One of you knowledgeable people, talk to me about buying a used Yamaha or Kawai upright piano.

Why ask you rather than searching online? Well, I am searching online, but I have little context for these online piano writers. Who knows what sorts they are? Whereas you all are mostly known quantities when it comes to the relative reliability of your writing. (Isn't that strange? It's like Cheers as a blog but much more interesting than Cheers.); 9/7/12, 4:49 PM
CWJ said...: That looks like Glacier Nat Park. Am I right?; 9/7/12, 4:50 PM
MadisonMan said...: This made me laugh today.; 9/7/12, 4:52 PM
chickelit said...: Issob Morocco said...
esker-licious.

Cue the drumlin roll...................you kame too, you moraine?; 9/7/12, 4:52 PM
rhhardin said...: Doberman goes for the gold.; 9/7/12, 4:56 PM
MadisonMan said...: Freeman we have an upright, an old one that my Grandfather bought.

If you're (or your kids're) just learning piano, I think buying an electric piano might be the way to go. Much better resale value if you decide down the road that piano isn't thing. You can't give an old piano way these days.

A piano takes up a lot of space and is hard to move. An electric one doesn't, and isn't.; 9/7/12, 4:57 PM
eiaftinfo said...: Once had a map just like this melt in the rear window of my Camaro. Surly is one of the most beautiful places in the world.; 9/7/12, 4:57 PM
rhhardin said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/7/12, 5:07 PM
rhhardin said...: Double rainbow.

Some painters have noticed that the sky is darker between them, though they all leave out the dog.; 9/7/12, 5:09 PM
rhhardin said...: I have a Yahama U2D which is pretty nice, bought in 1975.

I'd tend to an electric version today, I think, unless you're going seriously classical perhaps.; 9/7/12, 5:11 PM
Calypso Facto said...: That IS a funny link, MM.; 9/7/12, 5:11 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Digital pianos seems like castrated pianos to me. I'm sure that's not fair, but there it is.

Think I found my piano. A used Yamaha U1. Hurrah.; 9/7/12, 5:14 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: A few years ago, when the economy went, I heard there was a surplus of Steinway pianos.. and they were going for very little.

I don't know if that still the case.; 9/7/12, 5:26 PM
chickelit said...: Freeman Hunt said...
Digital pianos seems like castrated pianos to me. I'm sure that's not fair, but there it is.

You want something analog with strings attached. Something with gravitas.

My mother got an old upright player piano when I was a kid. We only had space for it in the basement which was the worst place to store one. I can still recall sitting on the steps watching her play--I thought she was amazing and she could read music too. But none of that rubbed off on me or my brother.

Do you play piano, Freeman?; 9/7/12, 5:33 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Jennifer Granholm..

Too bad I cant have what she was having.; 9/7/12, 5:38 PM
chickelit said...: Too bad I cant have what she was having.

It's too bad about the birdbrain. She's not bad looking.; 9/7/12, 5:40 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Poor Mr Granholm..

Probably could not get up this morning.; 9/7/12, 5:41 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: No, I don't play with any facility.

My son loves it though.; 9/7/12, 5:45 PM
Mutaman said...: Leave it to Anne to miss the line of the convention:

"Ask Osama Bin Laden if he's better off than he was 4 years ago."

John Kerry; 9/7/12, 5:52 PM
Ann Althouse said...: I watched Granholm live and thought it was fine. Rewatched once there was talk. I think it made sense within the large room where she was playing. She got a huge reaction, then was yelling to be heard over the crowd noise and gesturing big to be seen from afar.; 9/7/12, 5:53 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Oh.. I thought she was fine too.; 9/7/12, 5:57 PM
PatCA said...: Have you seen this Larry David bit on Jon Stewart? Hilarious. Romney owes him am ambassadorship!

http://hotair.com/archives/2012/09/07/team-obama-focus-groups-told-us-that-they-wanted-a-speech-that-was-flat-repetitive-and-disappointing-or-something/; 9/7/12, 6:02 PM
Palladian said...: Mutantman, I'm surprised that they didn't keep Osama bin Laden's body on ice so that they could haul it out on stage at the height of the convention and have Obama tear the heart out of it with his teeth, or something.; 9/7/12, 6:12 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: Leave it to Anne to miss the line of the convention:

"Ask Osama Bin Laden if he's better off than he was 4 years ago."

John Kerry

That's because the natural occurring rejoinder to too readily available, "No," she would answer, "Osama's the same as us, underwater."; 9/7/12, 6:20 PM
Jason said...: There are a lot of things a real piano does that a digital piano doesn't - especially when we're talking about the grands.

The way the harmonics and overtones interact on a well-tuned piano lends a level of musicality and beauty to your playing that no digital can match.

You don't even have to be Vladimir Horowitz to get to this point... it's readily apparent even playing Number 1 in C from J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, which is a very accessible piece even a child could play... and of course, the Three Gymnopedies from Erik Satie as well. Very accessible, and there's no comparison between even a high-end digital and a good acoustic piano. Moonlight Sonata. So many others - don't even compare.

If you can't even give away an old piano these days, that should be reflected in the price. Many dealers will also give you full trade in value if you trade up, too.

Professionals use digital pianos because the HAVE to, for a specific gig. Not because they WANT to.

Now, not every "pro" really listens to what he's playing. There are players and then there are musicians. But if you pay attention to what you're doing, a good acoustic piano, well-maintained, will be a much richer musical experience in the long run than a digital.

Now, that said, if you live in an apartment, you simply may need a headphone option or an option to play quietly. Or if you need to be able to pack up for a gig, then that's a factor, too. But for sheer musicality?

Acoustic.

If you only play the digitals, you're not really playing at the high level.; 9/7/12, 6:25 PM
Michael K said...: Speaking of underwater:

Does Obama know about this ?

Flooding the economy with trillions of yuan in new loans did accomplish the principal objective of the Chinese government — maintaining high economic growth in the midst of a global recession. While Beijing earned plaudits around the world for its decisiveness and economic success, excessive loose credit was fueling a property bubble, funding the profligacy of state-owned enterprises, and underwriting ill-conceived infrastructure investments by local governments. The result was predictable: years of painstaking efforts to strengthen the Chinese banking system were undone by a spate of careless lending as new bad loans began to build up inside the financial sector.

When the Chinese Central Bank (the People's Bank of China) and banking regulators sounded the alarm in late 2010, it was already too late. By that time, local governments had taken advantage of loose credit to amass a mountain of debt, most of it squandered on prestige projects or economically wasteful investments.

Does this sound like somebody we know ?; 9/7/12, 6:38 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: When the artist and the functionalist buy a piano.

"I found a phenomenal deal: the model we're looking for at 1/3 the price, and it's in excellent condition!"
"Great! Why is it so cheap?"
"Someone wanted to give it an 'antique' look and did something goofy to the finish."
"..."
"No, it's not crazy-looking or anything. Just not glossy black. They sort of sanded the edges and... here, I'll send you a picture."
[Picture is sent.]
"No. Way."
"What?!"
"No."
"Why?!"
"That is ridiculous."
"It's not that bad. Plus, we don't have nice furniture. It will blend."
"Get a quote on having it refinished."
"Are you crazy? We're not paying for that."
"Then no."

So who wants to tell me about refinishing furniture?

(I'm kidding you don't actually have to tell me about it.); 9/7/12, 6:54 PM
edutcher said...: Spend the night rediscovering your sweetie's topography.

Palladian said...

Mutantman, I'm surprised that they didn't keep Osama bin Laden's body on ice so that they could haul it out on stage at the height of the convention and have Obama tear the heart out of it with his teeth, or something.

How very Aztec.

They could have brought back the temple with a few vines, along with some tomatoes and chili peppers.

You made Bernal Diaz smile, senor.

Chip Ahoy said...

Leave it to Anne to miss the line of the convention:

Ask Osama Bin Laden if he's better off than he was 4 years ago.

John Kerry

That's because the natural occurring rejoinder to too readily available, "No," she would answer, "Osama's the same as us, underwater."

We have a winner.; 9/7/12, 7:02 PM
chickelit said...: So who wants to tell me about refinishing furniture?

The piano I mentioned earlier was "refinished" by a neighbor girl who was also our babysitter. She painted it and the matching bench a sort of flesh color and then added flowers and flourishes as accents. This was very hip-looking at the time--late 1960s. I wish I had a photo of it. The refinishing didn't affect the sound of the piano one bit.; 9/7/12, 7:42 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: What do you think of these old ink bottles for hummingbird feeders? They're over 100 years old.

No, don't tell me what you think, just think it.

One came out of a hole in some dreary place in Great Britain, it's from the 1890's. It went up for bid, buy now option, and I swooped within minutes and now it's mine. Nobody else had a chance to see it. I got it for $8.00 plus shipping and other similar bottles on eBay are bidding at $90.00 and $438.00. That's one of the things that makes us higher higher moral/ethical plane guys so intolerable to higher grounders.

But the bottle I wanted is shown underneath that one. A crooked ink bottle, perfect for the intended purpose. I think. I had to disappoint other bidders for that one. But I was watching long before they came along. They were pissing me off, so I just *slam* got it.; 9/7/12, 7:50 PM
ken in tx said...: Our church has two Yamahas, baby grands. One in the sanctuary and one in the choir room, they seem to be fine. We have an organ that can record what the organist plays. The organist can record and play a duet with himself on the organ and piano.; 9/7/12, 7:58 PM
Hagar said...: Oh, and hummingbirds to not want anything to rest on while they are sipping nectar. They hover, ready for a quick get away. It is not smart for a hummingbird to sit still out in the open.; 9/7/12, 8:14 PM
Anonymous said...: Yick - Looks like Rising Sun Motor Inn in Glacier.; 9/7/12, 8:21 PM
Mutaman said...: "Osama's the same as us, underwater."

Oh that old right wing humor. Speak for yourself Dude, the market did just fine by me yesterday.; 9/7/12, 9:37 PM
Sydney said...: Those ink bottles would make great hummingbird feeders. I have a hummingbird feeder made out of an old red wine bottle. The hummingbirds love it. So does our cat.; 9/7/12, 10:08 PM
Sydney said...: Re: pianos.

When our kids were little and just the age to start music lessons, we rented a piano from the local music store. It worked well for us. Gave us a chance to see if the kids would stick with the lessons. When it became obvious the lessons were working out, then we bought a piano. (Acoustic. Though I am not a musician, I agree that electric pianos just don't sound or feel the same.); 9/7/12, 10:12 PM
Ralph L said...: My boss tried to give his parent's piano to the county hospice flea market, but they already had 10 that they couldn't sell for $25 each. My sister-in-law bought a slightly used (almost full) upright Yamaha 20 years ago. Sounds as good as a grand piano to me.; 9/7/12, 10:22 PM
kentuckyliz said...: Like the rest of us, even OBL was better off under Bush.; 9/7/12, 11:58 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: The piano is going to be delivered today at about noon. I should post pictures. How often do you find a beautiful piano that someone has tried to make shabby chic? Can you imagine doing it? Can you imagine that first moment of touching the sandpaper to the beautiful black glossy finish?

Heh.; 9/8/12, 10:18 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: The artist now likes the goofy-looking piano. He says worrying about children messing up a pristine finish would have been stressful. It is not possible for this finish to be damaged.

Also, sounds like a dream. (And easy on the wallet!); 9/8/12, 4:53 PM