While cleaning house a few days ago, I unearthed the first piece of music I ever wrote. It’s a piano rag, written half a lifetime ago for the first music theory class I was able to fit into my schedule.1 I was curious to see how it sounded after all these years. I could barely play it when I wrote it, and I’m way out of practice these days, so I transcribed it into Logic and let the computer play it.
It’s not as bad as I feared, but not as good as I hoped. Don’t look for the score on my sheet music page. I didn’t really know what I was doing then2, and it shows. The title is “Hairy Toes.” Please don’t ask me to explain that, or what I had in mind in the penultimate section.
Update: Uploaded a recording with a different virtual piano.
I spent part of the afternoon downtown today at the Air Capital Comic Con. Overall, the cosplayers were underwhelming — perhaps they wore their better outfits yesterday — and there was a surfeit of Spidermen and Harley Quinns, but there were a few who made bringing the camera along worthwhile. There are more pictures here.
Neofinetia (Vanda) falcata in a non-traditional pot
I foolishly attended the orchid show last weekend with my checkbook on hand, with the result that I now have half a shelf of mostly “easy” orchids under lights in the kitchen. Most were in flower when I bought them, and you can see them here.
However, the one that is not blooming has perhaps the most interesting history. That is Neofinetia falcata (recently reclassified as Vanda falcata), the “samurai” orchid. According to the Fūkiran Society of America website,
Furan or wind orchid, the Japanese name for Neofinetia falcata, started to be called ‘Fūki-ran’, which means the orchid of the rich and noble people. Many years ago, only the rich and royalty could own Fūkiran, and they searched the country far and wide for rare and unusual varieties. These plants were often covered by a gold or silver net in order to protect them, and people had to cover their mouths with Kaishi (a thin paper usually used for calligraphy) in order not to breathe on the plants while they appreciated them. This, by the way, is the same way the Japanese appreciate a great sword.
In Japan at auction in 2005, bidders paid from $20,000 to $70,000 for rare varieties of fuukiran which seems a bargain compared to the $300,000 or higher often paid during the 1980’s to late 1990’s.
According to the dealer and most onlinesources, Neofinetia is fairly easy to grow, as orchids go. It blooms in summer.
At the orchid show last weekend, I got careless and took my checkbook along. Big mistake. I now have half a shelf of allegedly “easy” orchids under lights in my kitchen. As usual, click to embiggen. To view a stereo picture, cross your eyes as you look at the image pair until you see three … Continue reading “Orchids, mono and stereo”
Tolumnia Pink Panther
At the orchid show last weekend, I got careless and took my checkbook along. Big mistake. I now have half a shelf of allegedly “easy” orchids under lights in my kitchen. As usual, click to embiggen.
To view a stereo picture, cross your eyes as you look at the image pair until you see three images. Focus on the center image, and the image should snap into three dimensions. It’s not difficult, but it does take a little practice.
Not pictured: the Masdevallia I took home. The dealer claims that he’s been able to accustom many pleurothallids to the Kansas climate. If I can keep this one thriving, I might try growing a Dracula species next year.
Update: Better pictures of Phalaenopsis equestris, and one of Masdevallia Redwing.
Phalaenopsis equestris. The flower is one inch wide.Phalaenopsis equestris – crossview stereoMasdevallia Redwing
It’s the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. Be sure to torture a dissident, starve a kulak, censor a newspaper, and shoot anyone who disagrees with you. Comrade Lenin would’ve wanted it that way.
Some of the orchids on the sale tables at the Kansas Orchid Society show, November 4-5, 2017, at Botanica in Wichita, Kansas. A couple of panoramas of the show. These are large pictures; right-click and open in a new window to see at full size. Some low-resolution interactive panoramas of the orchid show. Click on … Continue reading “Orchid show, odds and ends”
Orchid for sale #6
Some of the orchids on the sale tables at the Kansas Orchid Society show, November 4-5, 2017, at Botanica in Wichita, Kansas.
Orchid for sale #1Orchid for sale #2Orchid for sale #3Orchid for sale #4Orchid for sale #5Orchid for sale, #7Orchid for sale #8Orchid for sale, #9Orchid for sale #10Orchid for sale, #11Orchid for sale #12Orchid for sale #13Happy DraculaFish-eye view of the sale tables
A couple of panoramas of the show. These are large pictures; right-click and open in a new window to see at full size.
Panorama 1Panorama 2
Some low-resolution interactive panoramas of the orchid show. Click on the titles to see them in motion at their Flickr pages.
Bulbophyllum, pleurothallids and miscellaneous genera at the Kansas Orchid Society’s show and sale, November 4-5, 2017 at Botanica in Wichita, Kansas. Click to embiggen and to see with better color. Right-click and open in a new window to see the pictures at maximum size.
Habenaria Pegasus
Bulbophyllum, pleurothallids and miscellaneous genera at the Kansas Orchid Society’s show and sale, November 4-5, 2017 at Botanica in Wichita, Kansas. Click to embiggen and to see with better color. Right-click and open in a new window to see the pictures at maximum size.
Bulbophyllum Elizabeth Ann “Jean” 2Bulbophyllum Elizabeth Ann “Jean”Cymbidium Chen’s RubyHabenaria rhodocheilaMaxillaria callichromaPleurothallis (Acianthera) scalpricaulisPleurothallis (Acianthera) scalpricaulis 2Pleurothallis sijmiiPleurothallis sijmii 2Stelis quadrifidaBulbophyllum Meen Mercury SandalBulbophyllum rothschildianumHabenaria rhodocheila f. xanthinaLycaste CorrimalLycaste Gladys EljuriMasdevallia Doctor Joe WalkerMaxillaria striataPleurothallis (Acianthera) tricarinataPleurothallis Imp’s PalRhomboda petelottiiSpecklinia alataVandachostylis Lou Sneary “Blue Bird” 3Vandachostylis Lou Sneary “Blue Bird”Coelogyne fimbriata “Mini”Lycaste Corrimal 2Perreiraara LeBeau Blue
Phalaenopsis, Dendrobium, Oncidium and allies at the Kansas Orchid Society show at Botanica in Wichita on November 4 and 5, 2017. As usual, click to embiggen and see with better color.
Dendrobium Golden Gate Sunrise
Phalaenopsis, Dendrobium, Oncidium and allies at the Kansas Orchid Society show at Botanica in Wichita on November 4 and 5, 2017. As usual, click to embiggen and see with better color.
Bratonia Cairns New RiverCischweinfia pusillaDendrobium Anucha Flare WinfieldDendrobium tayloriiDendrobium Walnut Valley PurpleOncidium Tsiku Marguerite HFC#1Oncidium Tsiku Marguerite NN#1Oncidnopsis Celtic Sun MayaPhalaenopsis equestrisPhalaenopsis Golden ButterflyPhalaenopsis Kaoda TwinklePhalaenopsis Kenneth SchubertScaphyglottis imbricata 2Scaphyglottis imbricataTolmunia Calypso QueenDendrobium bigibbumDendrobium Thai JewelPhalaenopsis hieroglyphicaPhalaenopsis Yu Pin Polar Star 2PhalaenopsisTrichocentrum Walnut ValleyDendrobium Peter Shen x Dendrobium johnsoniaeOncidesa Walnut Valley Cloud Leopard 2Phalaenopsis valentiniiPhalaenopsis Yu Pin Polar Star
Mostly Vandas, slipper orchids and their allies at the Kansas Orchid Society show at Botanica in Wichita on November 4 and 5, 2017. As before, click to embiggen and see with better color.
Vanda Thailand Beauty
Mostly Vandas, slipper orchids and their allies at the Kansas Orchid Society show at Botanica in Wichita on November 4 and 5, 2017. As before, click to embiggen and see with better color.
Trichoglottis atropurpureaAngraecum didieriEurygraecum Walnut Valley MaxPaphiopedilum Buena LacePaphiopedilum Green HornetPaphiopedilum In-Charm TopazPaphiopedilum Vanguard’s LebeauPhragmimpedium caricinumPhragmimpedium Don WimberVanda Thailand BeautyVanda christensonianaPhragmimpedium QF Walter ScheerenPhragmimpedium Peruflora’s Cirila AlcaPhragmimpedium Inca EmbersVanda Walnut Valley MikeVandachostylis Lou Smeary “Blue Bird” 2Vandaenopsis Mike MetzgerVandaenopsis Xeno’s DeloresPaphiopedilumVanda sandersoniana “M & B”
Mostly Epidendrums and Cattleyas and their allies at the Kansas Orchid Society show at Botanica in Wichita on November 4 and 5, 2017. Click to embiggen and see with better color. There’s lots more to come.
Laelia (Schomburgkia) splendida x Cattlianthe Ernest Renan
Mostly Epidendrums and Cattleyas and their allies at the Kansas Orchid Society show at Botanica in Wichita on November 4 and 5, 2017. Click to embiggen and see with better color.
Brassocattleya Rustic Spots “Timbucktoo”Brassocattleya Yellow BirdCattleya Hybrida x Cattleya AteshperestCattleya labiata v. semialbaCeratostylis rubraEpicattleya Newberry ElfGuarianthe bowringianaStellamizutaara Kelly “Lea” 2Stellamizutaara Kelly “Lea”Epidendrum piliferumBarkeria lindleyanaCattleya Walnut Valley Sparky 1Cattleya Walnut Valley Sparky 2Cattlianthe Precious RubyRhyncattleanthe Blazing Gold “#15”Rhyncholaeliocattleya Merrily MurisonRhyncholaeliocattleya Oconee CircleRhyncholaeliocattleya Walnut Valley WhiteVaughnara Fifthieth Anniversary
A long time ago, back before the last ice age, I came across a short piece called something like “In Space with Runyon Jones” in a collection of science fiction stories. It was a series of vignettes in which the young Jones encounters a variety of aliens while traveling in spaceships, which the editor of the anthology had gleaned from a novel by Norman Corwin. I was curious to read the rest of the book, but it was long out of print by then, and has never been reprinted. I never found it in any library or used book store.
A few years ago, I remembered the story and thought that perhaps it might be possible to locate a copy of the book online. While searching, I found that Corwin’s story had first been a radio play, “Odyssey of Runyon Jones,” broadcast in 1941. It’s available here. Once you accustom your ears to the low-fidelity sound, it’s entertaining listening. Runyon’s dog Pootzy has been hit by a car and killed, and Runyon wants him back. He braves bureaucracy, meets Father Time and Mother Nature, and eventually finds his way to Curgatory and a trick ending.
Ten years later, Corwin turned the radio play into the novel Dog in the Sky, of which I eventually located an affordable copy. In addition to expanding the episodes in the play, he introduced a sub-plot involving a Mr. B.L.Z. Bubb, a bureaucrat very interested in Runyon’s quest, and adds details of Runyon’s adventures as he travels from planet to planet. The Bubb business is never very interesting and it eventually fizzles out, but the aliens Runyon meets are what caught my attention in the excerpts I read years ago, and are what might make the book worth reprinting someday. There are quite a variety of them, including an interplanetary perfume salesman, a lonely robot, a very important businessman from Venus, and a spooky cat/woman. And a certain 62Kru:
62Kru returned to his monologue as though nothing had happened. “Love is science. Science is love. That is all the protons and isotopes know, and all they need to know. The beta ray hankers for the gamma, both are enamored of the delta, and all in turn adore the lambda.
You see, friend, we Hankerites deplore the fact that the galaxies are rushing away from each other. This is because of a misunderstanding which occurred some billions of years ago. We aim to rectify, restore and reunite the estranged universe, to bind all together under the harmonious love of the true Hruh, whose throne is everywhere and anywhere. Blasphemers and atheists have tried to prove that Hruh is really nothing but but the true Hankerite is unshakable in his faith, resolute in his virtue, confident in the supremacy and inviolability of love, and we have already killed several million disbelievers to prove this.
*****
Something else I stumbled across at Archive.org: the A.M. Yankovic/W. Carlos version of “Peter and the Wolf.” It’s not the best example of either’s work, but it has its moments. The recording is probably still under copyright, so it may disappear from the site at any moment.
(My favorite version is the that by the Royal Ballet School, with Anthony Dowell as narrator and Grandfather. It starts here.)
It’s the season when I search for calendars that I can stand to look at every day during the coming year. I recently visited a shop at a regional mall, where I was surprised to see not only a Hatsune Miku calendar, but also two of Sailor Moon, one large and one small.
I found a number of Japanese calendars online that might be of interest to some visitors here. Unfortunately, most listings don’t include a sample image. The calendars are probably like the ones I’ve bought in the past, with six poster-sized pages, each representing two months, rather than twelve foot-square images.
A curiosity: there’s a Crassula ovata calendar, though the illustrations displayed don’t much resemble a jade plant. C. ovata is an easy plant to grow, aside from being a magnet for mealybugs, but I wasn’t aware that it’s “lucky.”
The annual fall orchid show is next weekend at the botanical garden. Perhaps this year someone will bring in a Dracula orchid or two. Most are native to the Andean cloud forests. They need both cool temperatures and high humidity to thrive, which is probably why one rarely sees them in Kansas shows. Species include D. diabola, D. vampira and D. vlad-tepes.
