Discovery of Pluto Reaches 75th Anniversary

OM wrote:


...I. Am. Not. Going. To. Touch. This. One. With. A. Ten. Foot. Pole.



That was Washington's technique! He used to use a ten foot long whacking
pole cut from a cherry tree to chastise his slaves. Any attempt at
duplicity on their part, and "WHACK!"- down would come "De Red Rod"
repeatedly, and they would consider Mr. Washington's advice about never
telling a lie between screams. :-P

Pat

"OM" om@our_blessed_lady_mary_of_the_holy_NASA_researc h_facility.org wrote
in message ...
...Jefferson was perhaps one of the last of the Rennaisance Men, being
unwilling to just settle on being good at one thing and preferring to
be, if not master, at least experienced at everything that was
actually worth a **** or three. Franklin was another, but as we all
know Jefferson had him beat simply because he played the violin.

[cue Pat to chime in with identification of obscure reference]
"Hey played the violin, he tucked it right under his chin." -- from 1776
Benjamin Franklin, on the other hand, actually wrote a few string quartets.

Ami Silberman wrote:

"Hey played the violin, he tucked it right under his chin." -- from 1776
Benjamin Franklin, on the other hand, actually wrote a few string quartets.



And invented the uber-cool Glass Harmonica wet glass bowl musical
instrument.
An attempt by Franklin to use conductive salt water to moisten the
leaded glass bowls while charging the water via a kite during a
thunderstorm proved less than successful musically, but gave the world
it's first taste of the use of electric instruments in the playing of
heavy metal music... ;-)

Pat

In article ,
Pat Flannery wrote:


And invented the uber-cool Glass Harmonica wet glass bowl musical
instrument.

The "harmonium", IIRC. I think the recent popular biography indicated
that it was quite the rage at the time, and even some well-regarded
composers wrote pieces for it.

--
Herb Schaltegger, B.S., J.D., GPG Key ID: BBF6FC1C
"Pray: To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single
petitioner confessedly unworthy." -- Ambrose Bierce
http://dischordia.blogspot.com
http://www.angryherb.net

"Pat Flannery" wrote in message
...

And invented the uber-cool Glass Harmonica wet glass bowl musical
instrument.
An attempt by Franklin to use conductive salt water to moisten the leaded
glass bowls while charging the water via a kite during a thunderstorm
proved less than successful musically, but gave the world it's first taste
of the use of electric instruments in the playing of heavy metal music...
;-)

rrr

Turn that amp up to 11.

"Herb Schaltegger" wrote in message
...

The "harmonium", IIRC. I think the recent popular biography indicated
that it was quite the rage at the time, and even some well-regarded
composers wrote pieces for it.

The glass harmonica was an important part of Franz Mesmer's 'magnetic
seances', too.

On Fri, 11 Feb 2005 16:22:05 -0600, Herb Schaltegger
wrote:

In article ,
Pat Flannery wrote:

And invented the uber-cool Glass Harmonica wet glass bowl musical
instrument.

The "harmonium", IIRC. I think the recent popular biography indicated
that it was quite the rage at the time, and even some well-regarded
composers wrote pieces for it.

According to Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, it was called
the "armonica". "Harmonium" usually refers to a reed organ (the kind
you see in lots of antique stores), especially the English kind.

Dale

Off to search for info about Franklin's string quartet- it wasn't found
until 1945 (in Paris). Hmmm.

There's a virtual Armonica you can play online, FWIW-

http://sln.fi.edu/franklin/musician/...larmonica.html

Dale

On 2005-02-11, Neil Gerace wrote:
"Henry Spencer" wrote in message
...

Opinion in the United States didn't figure into it then. There were no
respected astronomers in the lately departed Colonies :-), and indeed, I
think Benjamin Franklin was the only man in the US then who had any sort
of scientific reputation.

Thomas Jefferson is sometimes called the father of US palaeontology. Even
after he was elected VP I think he still found time to present papers to the
relevant society.

JFK welcoming a collection of Nobel Laureates to the White House:

"I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human
knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House, with the
possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

--
-Andrew Gray

Herb Schaltegger wrote:

In article ,
Pat Flannery wrote:


And invented the uber-cool Glass Harmonica wet glass bowl musical
instrument.

Well, he invented the Mark II -- the Mark I meant you ran around the
dinner table, grabbing wineglasses from the other guests, and adjusting
levels of fluid, then -- just like a Jr Hi student -- running your finger
around the rim.

BF's contribution included a mechanism for spinning the bowls. I forget
if he devised a way to keep the rim wet, and whether a keyboard ever got
added or if it was always a *untanned* leather pad (the operator's finger).


The "harmonium", IIRC. I think the recent popular biography indicated
that it was quite the rage at the time, and even some well-regarded
composers wrote pieces for it.


Depends on what year as to whether Wolfie was well-regarded. Appearently
the apparatus became popular in Vienna, too.

/dps

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