Its been a rough couple of days in general, so lets do something a bit relaxing as we head into the overnight. Longtime Fairport Convention violinist Dave Swarbrick died on Friday 3 June 2016, the same day that Muhammad Ali passed away. And this time it was for real, unlike the premature and false obituary he got in 1999. So to remember his amazing violin work I thought we’d belatedly pay our respects with some of my favorite Fairport Convention songs that he played on. This will include the eponymous track from the John “Babbacome” Lee album. An album retelling the terrible injustice done to John Lee from Babbacome, England that Swarbrick largely wrote and oversaw. Update: Apparently I forgot Matty Groves. Also Toss the Feathers.
And just because I like them, even though they have nothing to do with Dave Swarbrick, here’s Runrig doing Loch Lomond live from Loch Lomond:
Bruuuuce
No Fairport thread would be complete without Matty Groves
Adam L Silverman
@Bruuuuce: Fixed!
Bruuuuce
@Adam L Silverman: Thank you!
Wag
Dimming of the day. RT. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EC-5vpJNlUk
Wag
Who Knows Where the Time Goes live on BBC https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7bzXV1UPD80
Adam L Silverman
@Bruuuuce: Apparently I completely forgot Percy’s Song too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C5EPmR7YdY
It has been a long couple of days here at the Balloon Juice bunker!
Bruuuuce
@Adam L Silverman: Lots happening, and hard to remember all the good stuff. For me, I screened Victor/Victoria, and actually laughed. Robert Preston’s finest work, and perfect casting all around.
Fair Economist
A funny (in a black humor way) article on whether Omar Mateen was a jihadi in view of the fact that he was a regular at the gay bar he attacked, thanks to Juan Cole’s excellent Informed Comment:
Adam L Silverman
@Bruuuuce: A go to for me is Zorro: The Gay Blade. The entire movie is hysterical. A perfect send up of the genre.
Suzanne
I am stressing out about this exam I’m taking on Friday. I wonder when I get over being anxious about hurdles of various types and learn how to not GAF. I’m such an overachiever.
Adam L Silverman
@Fair Economist: Juan is a national treasure. His expertise is invaluable. And his treatment at the hands of certain neo-Cons in regards to his appointment at Princeton is unforgivable.
Major Major Major Major
Sigh. What a week, and it’s only Monday.
Hey! I’m writing a text adventure platform in javascript to brush up before my job starts! Any story ideas? Can be anything.
Adam L Silverman
@Suzanne: A little anxiety is good, it will sharpen your abilities. Just focus on the fact that you know the material and that this is your opportunity to demonstrate such thereby providing feedback to the instructor that their teaching isn’t all screwed up.
Suzanne
@Adam L Silverman: It’s a credentialing exam. No instructor. All computer-based. Questions written for maximum WTF. You know.
Adam L Silverman
@Major Major Major Major: A certain accident prone, curmudgeonly, but really big hearted blogger/blog owner gets sucked through a dimensional rift while trying to rescue a wayward dog. Once on the other side he, and his now faithful canine companion, have to rescue a kingdom by freeing the secret for making mustard from an evil tyrant.
On second thought no one would buy an accident prone, curmudgeonly, but really big hearted blogger/blog owner who has a penchant for rescuing wayward dogs and likes mustard. I think you can probably sell the dimension rift thing. That’s plausible.
burnspbesq
Because of how careers panned out after the band dissolved, it’s easy (albeit incorrect) to think of Fairport as Richard Thompson’s band. Nuh-uh.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FuaSdOdpzw
Adam L Silverman
@Suzanne: I got nothing then.
Major Major Major Major
@Adam L Silverman: Perhaps after he gets sucked through the dimensional rift he comes to naked in a bathroom with a torn rotator cuff(?) and a broken mop. Puzzle time!!
Adam L Silverman
@Major Major Major Major: No one is going to believe that at all!
NotMax
Again, because of the way BJ has been screwed with, am seeing Xmas videos on front page, correct videos on comments page.
Suzanne
@Adam L Silverman: I’m stupid I’m stupid I’M STUPID BLEAAAAAAAAAAGH.
I am too old for this shit.
JeffH
@Bruuuuce: Not Fairport, but there’s this abridged version of Matty Groves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4DDLsufYSg
NotMax
@Adam L. Silverman
Don’t forget the part about lending his dragon to a guild apprentice who leaves it, with an injured wing, in a cursed field.
Adam L Silverman
@efgoldman: In order for those charges to be made, according to the Balloon Juice Bunker crack legal team of LAO and a Hip Hop Artist from Idaho (formerly known as Bella Q), Esquires, Attorneys at Blog, someone had to actually use the weapons to commit a violent act first. Since no one shot at anyone that charge doesn’t apply.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: Merry Christmas?
burnspbesq
@Suzanne:
One tried-and-true strategy for multiple-choice tests: read all the answers before falling in love with any of them. If any two or more basically say the same thing, they have to be wrong, because by definition there is only one correct answer. Got me through the multistate professional responsibility exam for which I studied a total of about four hours.
Major Major Major Major
@NotMax: LOL
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: We’re going to put to the test whether he actually reads anything on this site after midnight.
Adam L Silverman
@efgoldman: That should be violent act. About time for me to go to bed.
burnspbesq
Did Sanders ever make a statement about Orlando? Haven’t seen anything anywhere, but as our betters are fond of telling us, the eebil corporate media are in the tank for Shillary the War Criminal, so I might have missed it.
NotMax
Just took a tray of chicken thighs out of the oven, cooked with an apricot-based glaze. Recipe didn’t call for it, but added a splash of brandy to the sauce when cooking it down, which took it from scrumptious to stupendous.
inventor
I realize that most polling has little value until after both conventions, but I’ve seen some recent state polling in Utah and Kansas that suggests Trump may, in actuality, be VINCIBLE!. Completely and totally VINCIBLE!
Adam L Silverman
@burnspbesq: He tried to tell Chuck Todd we needed to do something about firearms and Todd then asked him not to politicize the shooting.
cckids
@NotMax: That sounds fabulous. Could they be grilled instead of ovened? Its too hot here to have the oven on.
NotMax
@inventor
Percentage of votes he gets from dyed in the wool Mormons is roughly equivalent to that received from avowed Black Panthers.
Adam L Silverman
@inventor: Members of the Church of Latter Day Saints are not big on chronic, serial liars.
NotMax
@cckids
I suppose so, but would get kind of messy and rely on mucho brushing on of new glaze.
Doctored up this recipe significantly, besides adding the brandy (used thighs with bones and with skin on, left out the honey – the jam is plenty sweet – added some hot sauce, plenty of garlic and some red pepper flakes and used the pink dijon rather than the yellow, doubled in amount.) Also sprinkled sesame seeds on chicken before applying sauce.
Major Major Major Major
@Adam L Silverman: At least he doesn’t drink!
Adam L Silverman
@Major Major Major Major: So he says.
Achrachno
@Major Major Major Major: Do we know that for a fact, or is that just something he says? He’s kind of a funny color, and he behaves oddly, for a normally sober man.
? Martin
@Adam L Silverman:
And yet, mysteriously, evangelicals are largely big on chronic, serial liars.
TaMara (HFG)
I’m still up doing what I said I wouldn’t do…looking at home renovation ideas – paint colors, flooring options (the blue carpet has to go).
I’ll ask again later when I’m likely around (about to drop here) to engage – but has anyone used vinyl wood planks? I was at a client’s house today they they were like, you have to walk on this barefoot…it was great and so pretty. i’m just stumped about something that can withstand one…probably two…great danes. Wood, bamboo and laminate don’t stand up. I’m tempted to go wood tile, but it’s so expensive to install.
These are things I swore I wouldn’t even think of until the fall….ugh.
Bruuuuce
@JeffH: Yep, Frank Hayes (he of the eponymous Disease) does it justice.
Aleta
@NotMax: Good god of salivation. Now I go to bed hungry. (I hope there’s rice.)
Bruuuuce
On which note, I take my evening leave of all y’all and look forward to reading all the good stuff when I wake up.
Fred Fnord
He wasn’t a fecking VIOLIN PLAYER, he was a fiddler. Jesus.
burnspbesq
@Adam L Silverman:
Todd’s an idjit. Mass shootings are inherently and unavoidably political.
JWR
Why, oh why is Bill O’Reilly polluting my TV? Thanks, Stephen Colbert!
ETA.. Oh good. He’s gone, along with his latest fictional non-fiction best selling book.
BillinGlendaleCA
@JWR: Steven has Papa Bear on?
JWR
@BillinGlendaleCA: Yep. And not having cable, I’d almost forgotten the Stupid that emanates from O’Reilly’s mouthhole. Here’s a link, if yer innerested:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bill-o-reilly-trumps-orlando-902522
Origuy
@? Martin: They also don’t like xenophobes. Many Mormon men and some women have learned foreign languages and spent time in other countries. The church sees Latin America as a growth market.
BillinGlendaleCA
@JWR: As Adam would say tracking(watching now).
BillinGlendaleCA
@BillinGlendaleCA: Bill-o is incoherent.
Anne Laurie
@TaMara (HFG): You’ve decided laminate is out, due to cost or to lack-of-toughness? Haven’t looked around in a while (too many other projects have needed doing) but I knew doxie & lab breeders who swore by Pergo. The Spousal Unit, on the other hand, was being seduced by commercial vinyl flooring, because it’s seamless, and it’s pretty clear that we’ll alway have at least one incontinent rescue sharing our household…
Mai.naem.mobile
@TaMara (HFG): We have vinyl plank made by Nafco all over the house except baths,kitchen and laundry room. Its been down for around 20 years and looks really good except for a one small area and two small spots. I love the stuff. The dogs do fine on it. The only problem is that Nafco was bought by Tarkett so i don’t know if the standard of quality is the same. My sister is looking at it for her new house but no final decisions yet. It’s important that it gets installed properly with the right adhesive. Also be careful with the cheaper vinyl planks which are made China.
Mai.naem.mobile
@TaMara (HFG): I worry about the VOCs from Chinese comstruction materials. Make sure you get at least a light commercial use quality rating. One last thing – vinyl doesn’make that clacky sound like you do walking on laminate.
JWR
@BillinGlendaleCA: The only time I see or hear O’Reilly is when he’s out huckstering another of his “historical” novels. The man’s pin-holed his little pinhead so tightly that no one, not even The Colbert, could ever hope to unwrap. O’Reilly’s like a televised black hole.
Kathleen
@Adam L Silverman: That’s pretty rich considering it’s coming from Senator NRA.
liberal
@Adam L Silverman: not really. He didn’t actually oppose the invasion of Iraq, and AFAICT supported the disastrous decision to overthrow Gaddafi.
liberal
@Fair Economist: yeah, the Hezbollah thing is telling
Just One More Canuck
@Adam L Silverman: Don’t forget the part about shaving a cat’s ass
debbie
@BillinGlendaleCA:
I had to turn it off. He immediately jumped to gun control being irrelevant.
But more importantly, there is NO SUCH THING as a bad Fairport Convention song.
debbie
@Suzanne:
At risk of you berating me, but you’re sounding a bit like your daughter.
sherparick
Love the Fairport Convention links. Along with Swarbrick’s fiddle work, we get to hear a lot Sandy Denny’s voice on the tunes.
gvg
@TaMara (HFG): We just put down vinyl planks so we can’t tell you yet but the one we bought from Lowe’s advertise 100% waterproof. Not all available do. We just bought a house and the front room had had leaks. figured out the source of leaks but one is front “courtyard” didn’t have drainage. We think we fixed that but will need to keep an eye out to make sure. Knocking a hole of one brick in the decorative wall was difficult and we didn’t want to do it again in not required.
We are also looking at wood look tile for the living rooms but prices are all over the place, not all are expensive, and so are the looks. Problem is the wood look planks tend to be pretty thick so their would be noticeable transition from the hallway tile. In the long run with multiple pets I think tile is the way to go but finding something we can live with for decades may take time and we may go with the cheaper vinyl planks for a few years.
No laminate or wood holds up to elderly pets. I have flooring to replace once we get out of the old house. It’s going to be so much work.
Miss Bianca
Shoot, you posted this after I went to bed?! I was hoping to catch it in real time. Ah well – thanks for this!
ETA: Nice to see so many fans of Swarb’s work out there in BJ land!
Captain C
I caught Fairport Convention opening for Jethro Tull in New Haven in ’87. Great show, and David Swarbrick also joined Tull for a song or two. I also saw Richard Thompson at High Sierra in ’05 or ’06. Also a great show.