leonardcohenforum.com

B4real wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 1:04 am ...some "almost extinct" words...

I knew snollygoster, exuviate, and skedaddle (although I do not personally use them), but the other words were new to me. My favourite is frutescent -- what a great word! As noted in the article: "Definition: Resembling or assuming the form of a shrub. Usage: A few weeks without a haircut and my poodle looks positively frutescent."

Would you say that my poodle looks frutescent?

Ah Lisa,
I would say your poodle (I'm guessing it's a female) looks, regardless of hair length, most pulchritudinous

And you must really be on my wavelength today because I’ve just returned from my brother’s place after being almost loved to death as usual by his two poodles, one black and one white. They have just had their very short summer haircut – much needed here for them.

Alan,
I also grew up listening to as well as saying “skedaddle”. I actually thought it was an Aussie slang word until now

B4real wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:59 am ...I would say your poodle (I'm guessing it's a female) looks, regardless of hair length, most pulchritudinous

Why, thank you -- he (he's a he) knows he's beautiful!

notices on leonard's 'green room' wall when he was in oslo. in my opinion the word 'HALF' should have been 'SEGMENT', because the two portions were not of equal length.

Geoffrey wrote: ↑Sun Dec 19, 2021 6:57 pm ...in my opinion the word 'HALF' should have been 'SEGMENT', because the two portions were not of equal length.

Very good point. However, in my experience, it is not unusual to refer to the two parts of a concert, or any other "event" (when there are two parts divided by a single interval) as "the first half" and "the second half", regardless of actual duration of time. And, even if a duration is specified, as in the Cohen programme, the actual time that elapses may be more or less than what is indicated, due to any number of factors.

Even if people know that halves are technically supposed to be equal (and I don't know that they do, but let's give them the benefit of the doubt), it is nonetheless common (based on my experience) for people to use the word "half" rather loosely, in a variety of contexts, simply to describe one of two parts. For example, one may say "half the country" when referring to a specific region or population, separate from another region/population, but by no means meant necessarily to be exactly "half". I am sure that many more examples of a similar nature can be found/recalled .

However, your point remains valid, and if you would prefer a different word, particularly for concerts (but also for anything else in two parts), instead of "segment", I would suggest that "part" is better, and in fact, I have attended/watched/heard numerous concerts (of classical music) in which the segments -- usually only two of them, but not always -- have been referred to by the performer(s) as "parts": "first part", "second part", and even "third part", etc., and often indicated in the programmes with roman numerals -- "Part I", or just "I", etc. -- which of course does not imply equality as does "half", and is therefore not only accurate, but immune to pedantic criticism.

LisaLCFan wrote: ↑Sun Dec 19, 2021 8:57 pm often indicated in the programmes with roman numerals -- "Part I", or just "I", etc. -- which of course does not imply equality as does "half", and is therefore not only accurate, but immune to pedantic criticism.

Oh, how I love a bit of good pedantry; dogmatism; purism; literalism; formalism; overscrupulousness; scrupulousness; precision; exactness; perfectionism; fastidiousness; punctiliousness; meticulousness; finickiness; finicality; captiousness; quibbling; hair-splitting; fault-finding; cavilling; carping; casuistry; sophistry; nitpicking; pettifogging; pettifoggery; intellectualism; academicism; scholasticism; and scholarliness; etc.

However, at the same time, I have an open mind about imprecision; inaccuracy and inexactness. They all have their place.

Lisa, your dissertation on half and its synonyms, is magnificent.
It is a pity that the font on this forum is a sans serif one. The Roman numeral I (=1) looks more authentic with serifs.

Interesting that pedantry has so many synonyms and so few antonyms, or is that just being pedantic?

Alan

"Pedantic" is my middle name!

AlanM wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 3:10 am ...Interesting that pedantry has so many synonyms and so few antonyms, or is that just being pedantic?

Ha-ha, that is rather amusing, and quite fitting, of course.

AlanM wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 3:10 am ...It is a pity that the font on this forum is a sans serif one. The Roman numeral I (=1) looks more authentic with serifs...

Yes, I was thinking the same thing. I suppose one could always cut and paste: Ⅰ

AlanM wrote: ↑Mon Dec 20, 2021 3:10 am Lisa, your dissertation on half and its synonyms, is magnificent.

yes, it is - an incredible piece of writing! she has a gift with which few people have been blessed.
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nobody noticed the uninvited guest? (2:06 & 2:18)
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Geoffrey wrote: ↑Tue Dec 21, 2021 12:19 am ...nobody noticed the uninvited guest? (2:06 & 2:18)...

We would have had to have watched it to notice the pesky fly/bee or whatever insect it was*, and I did not do so until you piqued my curiosity with your comment. I had, actually, clicked on your link previously, but when I saw that it was a soprano singing an operatic tune, I was not in the mood for that (which is not unusual), and so did not watch it.

*Her hair does resemble a nest -- I wouldn't have been surprised by anything flying out of it. And, how do you know that that particular "guest" was "uninvited"?

LisaLCFan wrote:I had, actually, clicked on your link previously, but when I saw that it was a soprano singing an operatic tune, I was not in the mood for that (which is not unusual), and so did not watch it.

hello lisa.
i don't suffer from mood swings, am not that fussy, but especially enjoy "operatic tunes". it is a genre that a lot of great composers found difficult to encompass. take beethoven, for example. he was superb at writing heavy, depressing symphonies - but was out of his depth when it came to opera. admittedly, with much effort he did manage one, and his audience tactfully applauded - but he was no mozart.

this is not criticism of beethoven; there is such a thing as human limitations. leonard cohen, for example, spoke french - but to compose an acceptable poem or song in that language was not possible for him.

LisaLCFan wrote:And, how do you know that that particular "guest" was "uninvited"?

well, it is an assumption based upon common sense, an educated guess - if you will. of course, an opera hater could have been invited (on a 'plus one' ticket) to the concert and purposely released the bluebottle in an attempt to sabotage the evening - but that is most unlikely.

Geoffrey wrote: ↑Wed Dec 22, 2021 11:26 pm ...take beethoven, for example. he was superb at writing heavy, depressing symphonies...

Oh, I don't know -- I think that Beethoven was superb at a few other things as well! For example, take the first movement from Beethoven's Symphony No. 6, which is positively ebullient, and to which Beethoven gave the title, in English translation, of "Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arrival in the Countryside". It is absolutely bursting with joy, quite the opposite of "heavy and depressing"!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zKiDXbwdR0

Merry Christmas, everyone!

merry christmas to you as well, lisa - and thank you for taking my provocations in good spirit. perhaps like the scorpion asking for a ride across the river, it's in my nature. i think you know that . to me music is the international language, one of life's pleasures, in any form

Geoffrey wrote: ↑Thu Dec 23, 2021 8:48 am ...thank you for taking my provocations in good spirit. perhaps like the scorpion asking for a ride across the river, it's in my nature. i think you know that . to me music is the international language, one of life's pleasures, in any form ...

Yes, I do! And yes, it is! Cheers!

happy holidays to everyone! "may you be surrounded by friends and family, and if this is not your lot - may the blessings find you in your solitude"

Nice sketch of Leonard, Geoffrey -- as others have noted, it is intriguing that you can so accurately capture his likeness with just a few lines here and there. I wonder how much of that is due to expectations and recognition? I mean, it is known that, when presented with an incomplete image, our minds will often "fill in the blanks" so that we will perceive a whole image, rather than a fragmentary one, but presumably we can do that because we have previously seen the image as a whole (or a very similar one), and our minds therefore expect and know what should be seen, even if all the components are not actually present. Would a person who has never seen a picture of Leonard Cohen (or at least, not a picture a similar to that in your drawing) be able to so readily identify it as Leonard Cohen and see it as a near-perfect likeness, or would they be unable to fill in the blanks and thus not find it to be as recognisable as you or I would perceive it? (Of course, that is assuming that they know who Leonard Cohen is and thus have some idea of what he looks like -- a person who has never seen him and hasn't a clue what he looks like would be unlikely to recognise any picture as being that of Leonard Cohen, regardless of how complete it may be, unless they have some sort of clairvoyant ability.)