filkhaven

Pony Sightings in Michigan!

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:44:23 GMT

Some of you might remember that I posted a message to this community and a few others, asking you to send My Little Ponies to Gwen Zak to put a smile on her face after a difficult summer. The background is below, as is the address to send more ponies. I just want you all to know that the magic is working!

I received this from Gwen's husband (known to many of you as k-mac) this morning.

We have Pony sightings!

A lovely assortment of 6 free-range ponies (one was even a First Gen) was hand-delivered to Gwen on Saturday by a good-hearted wandering traveler (you know who you are). I wish everyone could have seen the big surprised eyes and huge happy smiles as Gwen opened the box. She was just glowing. The new ponies are now perched at various points on the bookcase at Gwen's side of the bed, joining the trio which has been watching over her. Now they can take shifts.

And today she got a pony in the mail, "Star Catcher," sent by a thoughtful stranger from (I think) filk fandom. This pony is new-in-box, having just escaped the corral at Toys-R-Us. Star Catcher is a pegasus horse, and has a pink heart on her flank and a rainbow mane. Gwen doesn't quite know what to -do- with a MIP pony, since she first found and became fond of them at garage sales, but I am trying to reassure her that it's not just permissible to open the package, it's The Right Thing To Do.

We are both so grateful for the love and concern and good energy flowing in Gwen's direction. There is no doubt in my mind that it makes a real difference.

-Michael

(P.S. I am reassured that this package arrived safely--it was addressed to Gwen alone, with my name nowhere to be seen, but the Lansing PO allowed it to be delivered to my box anyway. I hope if anyone has a package returned to them, though, that they'll get in touch with me.)

As a reminder, here is the address to send ponies to:
Michael P. Kube-McDowell
P.O. Box 22066
Lansing, MI 48909-2066

Why should you send a pony to Gwen Zak?
Well-loved artist, filker, and all around beautiful and shiny person Gwen Zak suffered a moderately serious heart attack in mid-June. If you are a filker and you don't know or remember Gwen, chances are you have heard her song "Circles", one of those filks that has actually become more popular than the song whose tune it borrows. I first heard that song in the pagan community, ten years before I had ever even heard of filk.

Gwen is a lovely person who loves lovely things. She loves, for example, My Little Pony (not unlike some other very shiny filk persons on my friends list), and she really likes to rescue old My Little Ponies by buying them at garage sales (although she appreciates new ones in the box, as well)! I know things are tight for everyone out there, but I also know how much even one My Little Pony will brighten Gwen's day. Suppose you have a few old ones lying around in your garage or your attic, or you're a collector and you have some duplicates. Or suppose you're passing by a garage sale (boot sale over here, and yes, apparently MLPs are different in the UK) and you see a couple of shiny ponies for sale on someone's table. What if you, yes, you, whether or not you know Gwen Zak personally, picked up that pony and put it in the post to the address I'll put at the bottom of this message? Imagine what a boost to her day it would be if she got just one My Little Pony in the mail from a thoughtful person miles away, just to brighten up her day. Imagine the smile on her face if one day she received two My Little Ponies from two different people. Gwen needs our strength and love, good thoughts and good energy, and she loves those ponies. When things are rough, it can often help to see a physical representation of all those good wishes. With each pony (or, you know, each shipment ;>), please write a little card to Gwen. Send her a good wish.

It's OK to pass this message around to your friends and other filk groups and communities, and you emphatically do not have to say where it originated. Gwen's the star here, not me.

Filk as Folk

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:37:30 GMT

Hi! I've posted a discussion of filk as folk music over at my LJ page. Take a look if you're game.

Thanks, everyone, for the awesome comments on this project. And I've barely started! This is going to be a lot of fun to put together.

mh

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:20:33 GMT

Hi!

Peter S. Beagle is arguably
America's greatest living fantasy writer, and because of his books THE LAST
UNICORN and A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE, in the eyes of that literature's
fans he is revered in much the same way as J.R.R. Tolkien. But Peter is
also a wonderful songwriter and guitarist, as well as the author of a great
nonfiction travel memoir called I SEE BY MY OUTFIT, which Conde Nast Traveler
magazine rated as one of the top 88 travel books of all time. Those last two
items are why I'm writing to you.

Next weekend in Wurtsboro,
New York, Peter and his old traveling buddy from OUTFIT, the artist Phil
Sigunick, are going to be putting on two concerts at the Red Eft Gallery. The
last time they played together in public was 44 years ago, when they opened in
Berkeley for Tom Paxton...and for all anyone knows right now they may never play
in public together again, making these two shows very special
indeed.

There's more information
below. I know this is very short notice, but hope you will
consider telling your members about this
event.

Please call me if you need more information. My cell #
is 925-260-2725.

Thanks for your time,

Connor Cochran

Red
Eft Gallery presents…

I See By My Outfit
- The Book, The Music, The
Video

[Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<zzz!--[if>') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.]

So there I was, getting ready to go to work last night, when the phone rings. I didn't recognize the number, so screened the call. It turned out to be a man named Connor Cochran, who'd gotten my number from googling NY filk; he tried to email me the following via my old address. We spoke for a while, and the short of it is that Peter S. Beagle is performing in Wurtsboro this Friday and Saturday nights (yeah, I know. Shabbat. Sorry 'bout that.) and publicity has been scant on the ground. Wurtsboro is about 75 miles out of NYC, up Route 17.

I agreed to spread this around, and urge you to do the same.

For me, I expect to be in Ithaca this weekend -- twice as far away from Wurtsboro as I'd be in NYC -- and I'm still working out whether it's possible to go. Dude, it's Peter S. Beagle!

Anyway, here's what he sent. Maybe I'll see some of you there.

(Please don't hurt me for the HTML inside the cut; it's taken directly from the email by the power of Semagic.)

Crossposted to my LJ, <lj comm="filk">, and <lj comm="filknews">

<lj-cut text=""Peter S. Beagle is performing this Friday and Saturday nights, in Wurtsboro, NY"
><div dir="ltr" align="left">Hi!</div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left"> </div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left">
<div dir="ltr" align="left">Peter S. Beagle is arguably
America's greatest living fantasy writer, and because of his books THE LAST
UNICORN and A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE, in the eyes of that literature's
fans he is revered in much the same way as J.R.R. Tolkien. But Peter is
also a wonderful songwriter and guitarist, as well as the author of a great
nonfiction travel memoir called I SEE BY MY OUTFIT, which Conde Nast Traveler
magazine rated as one of the top 88 travel books of all time. Those last two
items are why I'm writing to you. </div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left"> </div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left">Next weekend in Wurtsboro,
New York, Peter and his old traveling buddy from OUTFIT, the artist Phil
Sigunick, are going to be putting on two concerts at the Red Eft Gallery. The
last time they played together in public was 44 years ago, when they opened in
Berkeley for Tom Paxton...and for all anyone knows right now they may never play
in public together again, making these two shows very special
indeed.</div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left"> </div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left">There's more information
below. I know this is very short notice, but hope you will
consider telling your members about this
event.</div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left"> </div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left">Please call me if you need more information. My cell #
is 925-260-2725.</div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left"> </div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left">Thanks for your time,</div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left"> </div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left"> </div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left">Connor Cochran</div></div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left"> </div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left"> </div>
<div dir="ltr" align="left"> </div>
<div class="OutlookMessageHeader" dir="ltr" align="left" lang="en-us">Red
Eft Gallery presents…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Section1">
<o:p> </o:p>
I See By My Outfit
- The Book, The Music, The
Video<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
<img class="shape" style="display: none; width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="http://webmail.atl.earthlink.net/wam/MsgAttachment?msgid=81573&attachno=1" v:src="/wam/MsgAttachment?msgid=81573&attachno=1" v:dpi="96" _base_target="_blank" height="0" width="0"><zzz!--[if gte="" vml="" 1]=""><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f">
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<w:wrap type="square">
</w:wrap><zzz![endif]--><img src="http://webmail.atl.earthlink.net/wam/MsgAttachment?msgid=81573&attachno=2" v:shapes="_x0000_s1035" _base_target="_blank" align="left" height="288" hspace="12" width="186"><zzz![endif]><o:p></o:p></zzz![endif]></zzz![endif]--></v:imagedata></v:shape></v:path></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas></v:stroke></v:shapetype></zzz!--[if>
Special live music
show for two nights only! On July
18th & 19th, PETER S. BEAGLE
and His Band of Merry Men ( PHIL SIGUNICK ) will be
performing together in public for the first time in 44 years. Doors open
at <st1:time hour="19" minute="0">7
pm</st1:time> for ticketed
guests.<o:p></o:p>
Peter and Phil's last
gig as a duo was all the way back in 1964, when they opened for Tom Paxton at a
club in <st1:place><st1:city>Berkeley</st1:city>
<st1:state>California</st1:state></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p>
<img class="shape" style="display: none; width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="http://webmail.atl.earthlink.net/wam/MsgAttachment?msgid=81573&attachno=3" v:src="/wam/MsgAttachment?msgid=81573&attachno=3" v:dpi="96" _base_target="_blank" height="0" width="0"><zzz!--[if gte="" vml="" 1]=""><v:shape id="_x0000_s1026" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Image" style="position: absolute; margin-left: 140.35pt; margin-top: 0pt; width: 180.35pt; height: 191.55pt; z-index: -4;" o:allowoverlap="f">
<v:imagedata src="http://webmail.atl.earthlink.net/wam/MsgAttachment?msgid=81573&attachno=3" o:href="http://www.redeftgallery.com/images/stories/exhibitors/sb-cd.jpg">
<w:wrap type="square">
</w:wrap><zzz![endif]--><img title="Image" style="float: right;" alt="Image" src="http://webmail.atl.earthlink.net/wam/MsgAttachment?msgid=81573&attachno=3" v:shapes="_x0000_s1026" _base_target="_blank" align="right" border="0" height="255" hspace="6" width="240"><zzz![endif]>There are 83 seats
available for each night. Tickets are
$20, and with so few seats they should go fast. If you want to be
there for this rare musical treat, make sure you get your reservation in ASAP by
either (1) emailing <a href="mailto:contact@conlanpress.com" _base_target="_blank">contact@conlanpress.com</a> 
<zzzscript language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">
<zzz!-- document.write(="">' );
//-->
</zzz!-->
</zzzscript>or (2) calling
845-888-2519. And please make
sure you tell us which night you prefer! <o:p></o:p></zzz![endif]></zzz![endif]--></v:imagedata></v:shape></zzz!--[if>
There will be
refreshments before each show, and a chance to get books
signed and hang around with Peter and Phil for a good while afterward.
 (The music will begin ~
<st1:time hour="20" minute="0">8
pm</st1:time>.)<o:p></o:p>
Fans of Peter's
classic travel memoir, I SEE BY MY OUTFIT, will absolutely not want to miss this
chance to be there when Phil and Peter pick up their guitars and recapture the
magic that helped make their long-ago cross-country journey so
extraordinary.<o:p></o:p>
Peter S.
Beagle was born in 1939 and
raised in the <st1:place>Bronx</st1:place>,
just a few blocks from <st1:place><st1:placename>Woodlawn</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>Cemetery</st1:placetype></st1:place>,
the inspiration for his first novel, A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE. He originally proclaimed he would be a
writer when he was 10 years old. Subsequent events have
proven him either prescient or even more stubborn than hitherto suspected. Today, thanks to classic works such as
THE LAST UNICORN, TAMSIN, and THE INNKEEPER'S SONG, he is acknowledged as
<st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s greatest living
fantasy author; and his dazzling abilities with language, characters, and
magical storytelling have earned him many millions of fans around the world.
In addition to stories
and novels Peter has written numerous teleplays and screenplays, including the
animated versions of THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE LAST UNICORN, plus the
fan-favorite "Sarek" episode of STAR TREK: THE NEXT
GENERATION. His nonfiction book I
SEE BY MY OUTFIT, which recounts a 1963 journey across
<st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region> on motor scooter, is
considered a classic of American travel writing; and he is also a gifted poet,
lyricist, and singer/songwriter<o:p></o:p>
Phil Sigunick
is a very talented
painter who is currently devoting his efforts to making the Red Eft Gallery
a world class place to find original fine art (and consequently not painting
enough to satisfy). He is creative director, curator and scapegoat and
still whistles while he works. He lives in
<st1:place><st1:city>Cragsmoor</st1:city>,
<st1:state>NY</st1:state></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
<img class="shape" style="display: none; width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="http://webmail.atl.earthlink.net/wam/MsgAttachment?msgid=81573&attachno=4" v:src="/wam/MsgAttachment?msgid=81573&attachno=4" v:dpi="96" _base_target="_blank" height="0" width="0"><zzz!--[if gte="" vml="" 1]=""><v:shape id="_x0000_s1033" type="#_x0000_t75" style="position: absolute; margin-left: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; width: 126pt; height: 3in; z-index: -2;" o:allowoverlap="f">
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<v:imagedata src="http://webmail.atl.earthlink.net/wam/MsgAttachment?msgid=81573&attachno=6" o:title="phils guitar c e R">
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</w:wrap><zzz![endif]--><img src="http://webmail.atl.earthlink.net/wam/MsgAttachment?msgid=81573&attachno=7" v:shapes="_x0000_s1032" _base_target="_blank" align="left" height="192" hspace="12" width="240"><zzz![endif]><img id="_x0000_i1044" style="width: 377px; height: 250px;" src="http://webmail.atl.earthlink.net/wam/MsgAttachment?msgid=81573&attachno=8" _base_target="_blank" align="bottom" border="0" height="192" width="283"><o:p></o:p></zzz![endif]></zzz![endif]--></v:imagedata></v:shape></zzz!--[if></zzz![endif]></zzz![endif]--></v:imagedata></v:shape></zzz!--[if>
<o:p> </o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Gallery
Hours:
<st1:time hour="12" minute="0">12 – 6
pm</st1:time> Friday, Saturday,
Sunday & Monday;<o:p></o:p>
 <st1:time hour="12" minute="0">12 – 3
pm</st1:time> Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday<o:p></o:p>
 & by
appointment.<o:p></o:p>
845-888-2519<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
<st1:address><st1:street>159 Sullivan
Street, P.O. Box
910</st1:street>, <st1:city>Wurtsboro</st1:city>,
<st1:state>New
York</st1:state>
<st1:postalcode>12790</st1:postalcode></st1:address><o:p></o:p>
<a href="http://www.redeftgallery.com/" target="_blank" _base_target="_blank">www.RedEftGallery.com</a> <o:p></o:p>

<a href="mailto:info@RedEftGallery.com" _base_target="_blank">info@RedEftGallery.com</a></div></lj-cut>

Loving Thoughts, cards, and ponies (yes ponies!) for Gwen Zak

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:20:46 GMT

(cross posted!) If you are a fan of the Black Book Band, a lover of the song "Circles", or an art lover who has a gorgeous sculpted wooden box - you probably know of Gwen Zak.
Gwen is a dear friend and member of the BBB who has been quite ill. To cheer her on with her diffcult recovery Harper came up with a brilliant scheme!
http://telynor.livejournal.com/1064930.html
Even if you just can't bring yourself to find a pony to send I urge you to send a card to Gwen. I know it will mean a great deal to her. She may feel like the filk community has forgotten her but I'm betting we haven't! Let's prove her wrong!

Fourth Acorn Music & Verse this Saturday, July 12!

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 17:01:59 GMT

[cross-posted to filkhaven, shadowriderhope, stilyagiaircorp and penguicon]

The Third "Acorn Music and Verse" housefilk will be held this Saturday, July 12 from 1:00 pm into the evening at the Great Oak Cohousing Common House, 500 Little Lake Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48103. (Please park at the side of Little Lake Drive, and not in the parking lot - there is very limited parking available for residents).

This is the direct descendant of the "Fen and Filk" house sings at Glimmerglass house, and they are always a good time. Let me know ASAP if you need crashspace, so I can make sure there is space is available!

It's a fun, inviting get-together where you will always get a turn to sing, recite a poem, or ...? (and you can pass if you want), and new people are welcome and encouraged. :) You can show up any time during the event, and leave at any time. Our schedule is to arrive at 1:00, get singing by 2:00, break for pizza around 5:00, and then sing till usually 8:00-ish. Often there is a musical jam that continues well after the 'end' of the event, so feel free to stick around if you're interested!

It's a friendy, non-judgemental place to start singing, playing, or reciting in front of people, and a fine spot to test out your new songs. We welcome instrumental musicians and spoken word performance as well. There is a kid-friendly play room next to the dining hall where we play, and kid-friendly play equipment outside if the weather is nice.

Hosted by shadowriderhope and nubianamy.
Supported by qnvhrtz & peteralway.

Come prepared to participate - song or word....... ! Bring friends....

Bring a snack, a dish to share, etc.....what food & drink we have is whatever we bring. There is most likely going to be a pizza order.

We hope to arrange a group call to Tom Smith filkertom to wish him well and sing him a song, as he can't be there with us physically - he's recuperating in a rehab facility after a badly torn quad at a Christine Lavin concert.

There's a great Tom Smith Fundraiser album that's being put together by Rob Balder and DJ Particle and many others - I encourage you to check it out and help out this fine master filker and friend. :)

[XPOST] Send Gwen Zak a Pony!

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:25:06 GMT

Some of you in the filk community may know, either through ladyat's note and updates here and here or from wulfrich's two posts, here and here that well-loved artist, filker, and all around beautiful and shiny person Gwen Zak suffered a moderately serious heart attack in mid-June. If you are a filker and you don't know or remember Gwen, chances are you have heard her song "Circles", one of those filks that has actually become more popular than the song whose tune it borrows. I first heard that song in the pagan community, ten years before I had ever even heard of filk.

Gwen is a lovely person who loves lovely things. She loves, for example, My Little Pony (not unlike some other very shiny filk persons on my friends list), and she really likes to rescue old My Little Ponies by buying them at garage sales (although she appreciates new ones in the box, as well)! I know things are tight for everyone out there, but I also know how much even one My Little Pony will brighten Gwen's day. Suppose you have a few old ones lying around in your garage or your attic, or you're a collector and you have some duplicates. Or suppose you're passing by a garage sale (boot sale over here, and yes, apparently MLPs are different in the UK) and you see a couple of shiny ponies for sale on someone's table. What if you, yes, you, whether or not you know Gwen Zak personally, picked up that pony and put it in the post to the address I'll put at the bottom of this message? Imagine what a boost to her day it would be if she got just one My Little Pony in the mail from a thoughtful person miles away, just to brighten up her day. Imagine the smile on her face if one day she received two My Little Ponies from two different people. Gwen needs our strength and love, good thoughts and good energy, and she loves those ponies. When things are rough, it can often help to see a physical representation of all those good wishes. With each pony (or, you know, each shipment ;>), please write a little card to Gwen. Send her a good wish.

Below the cut tag is an address where ponies can be sent.

I'm reluctant to put their home address here, so I'll give you the post office box for Gwen's husband, noted science fiction author Michael Kube-McDowell:

Michael P. Kube-McDowell
P.O. Box 22066
Lansing, MI 48909-2066

It's OK to pass this message around to your friends and other filk groups and communities, and you emphatically do not have to say where it originated. Gwen's the star here, not me.

Important Message

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 02:49:37 GMT

My name is Michael Nelson, and I am part of the Executive Committee for FenCon (with an N), a Dallas-based, non-profit, literary science fiction convention.

Our organization - the Dallas Future Society, which holds FenCon (www.fencon.org) - is in no way, shape or form associated with FeDConUSA.

We first heard about that organization last year, and were somewhat taken aback that they had chosen a name so close to ours, seeing as we had been in existence for over four years at that time.

We are working on a press release which we plan to send to as many SF related information sources as possible to explain that this similarity in names should not reflect on our organization or convention.

FenCon prides itself on being a successful, non-profit, fan-run convention, which is operated in a professional manner. We always strive to show the highest respect to both our guests and members.

If you feel the need and have opportunity to spread this information to other SF professionals or fans, we would greatly appreciate the effort. As you know, a convention such as ours relies heavily on word of mouth, and any negative implications can be unintentionally damaging.

Thank you for your attention.

Michael Nelson

Hotel Rooms at Denvention 3

Sat, 31 May 2008 05:03:00 GMT

Kathleen wanted to let people know she has an extra reservation at the Crowne Plaza, which is the nearest hotel to the Sheraton where the filking will be. Rooms are very hard to get at this point, and Kathleen would prefer to transfer the extra reservation to a filker than let it go. If interested. please contact her at filk@denvention.org (or her direct email if you know it.)

Denvention 3

Fri, 30 May 2008 03:49:48 GMT

Last call to anyone who is coming to Worldcon and would like to participate in any way in filk programming - panelist, concert, volunteer, etc.

We need you. Please let us know when you'll be there and what kind of things you'd like to do. A reply sent to filk@denvention.org will reach both myself and Kathleen.

If we've already heard from you, you're on our list and we'll be getting in touch soon, but it would help us to know exactly when you will arrive and leave.

Thank you.

Looking for Contata sharer...

Thu, 22 May 2008 18:01:11 GMT

...for Friday and Saturday for definite, and Monday probably (I need to be leaving at 0430 to make my flight, so I may just go 'heck with it, we ARE having a serious Dead Dog' :)

Non-smoker, snores occasionally (can be silenced!).

Room Block Extended to June 2

Thu, 22 May 2008 17:30:00 GMT

If you still haven't booked a room for Contata, you now have till June 2nd. That's all for now.

Finally -- Video from Boskone

Wed, 14 May 2008 20:07:29 GMT

cadhla was the GOH at Boskone. And she did some concerts, sometimes with friends.

I...took video from a bunch of them, oddly enough. The video even has music. Surprising how good a video from a tiny camera can sound, really. Eventually, I got around to getting permission, and got around to getting them all up on Youtube.

So, only three months later, here are some songs from Boskone!

The Ghost of Lilly Kane:

Mario's Lament:

Maybe It's Crazy:

Oh, Michelle:

Vamping before Calling to the Storm:

Calling to the Storm:

Missing Part:

And from the Lady Mondegreen Children's Concert on Sunday:

Lullabye (Go to Bed!):

Babylon:

And a Monster/Horror Medly:

Third Acorn Music & Verse this Saturday, March 29!

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 21:18:22 GMT

[cross-posted to filkhaven, shadowriderhope, stilyagiaircorp and penguicon]

The Third "Acorn Music and Verse" housefilk will be held this Saturday, March 29, from 1:00 pm into the evening at the Great Oak Cohousing Common House, 500 Little Lake Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48103.

Please park at the side of Little Lake Drive, and not in the parking lot - there is very limited parking available for residents.

This is the direct descendant of the "Fen and Filk" house sings at Glimmerglass house, and they are always a good time. Please let me know ASAP if you need crashspace, so I can make sure there is space is available!

It's a fun, inviting get-together where you will always get a turn to sing, recite a poem, or ...? (and you can pass if you want), and new people are welcome and encouraged. :) You can show up any time during the event, and leave at any time. Our schedule is to arrive at 1:00, get singing by 2:00, break for pizza around 5:00, and then sing till usually 8:00-ish. Often there is a musical jam that continues well after the 'end' of the event, so feel free to stick around if you're interested!

It's a friendy, non-judgemental place to start singing, playing, or reciting in front of people, and a fine spot to test out your new songs. We welcome instrumental musicians and spoken word performance as well. There is a kid-friendly play room next to the dining hall where we play, and kid-friendly play equipment outside if the weather is nice.

The previous Acorns have been great fun with great music and great people.

Hosted by shadowriderhope and nubianamy.
Supported by qnvhrtz & peteralway.

Come prepared to participate - song or word....... ! Bring friends....

Bring a snack, a dish to share, etc.....what food & drink we have is whatever we bring. There is most likely going to be a pizza order.

filkcircle pic

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 21:52:06 GMT

Just thought I'd share this picture of Maya, Faeryn, and my daughter Eva at the memorial filkcircle for Greg, with thanks to Maya and Faeryn for their permission.

Greg McMullan memorial Circle @ Boskone

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:51:07 GMT

If you sung something @ Greg's memorial circle (main song), could you please identify which song you sang (and yourself) so we know whom sang what? I don't know all of the voices and I would like to get that information onto Greg's family.

The only things I recall currently (sorry, I have not listened to my recording yet) are Terrance, the mp3 of Greg I provided, Crystal (who identified a song she sang) and the last song sung for the memorial. (I saved a copy of the lyrics which are at home.)

(And yes, they have a recording of the circle.)

Harold S.

Babylon Station - Greg McMullan recording - Now on Filk Archive

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 04:53:40 GMT

With the kind permission of Greg's family and the other co-authors, the recording I made of Greg @ GaFilk 2008 is now on filk archive so he will not be forgotten.

Harold S.

Additional Greg Memorial service

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 18:29:17 GMT

For those who are in the Boston area or are otherwise unable to make it to the other two scheduled memorial services for Greg, there will be one on 15th of March in Burlington:

Presbyterian Church
335 Cambridge Street
Burlington, MA 01803
781-272-9190

Details are in flabosib's LJ

Crossposted

2t0nic Photos posted

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:41:54 GMT

Rika and Talis
Originally uploaded by filkerdave.

I've managed to mostly-label 360 photos from 2t0nic, the 20th UK filk convention and uploaded them to my Flickr page. This picture of Rika and Talis was taken after Rika's utterly amazing set, during which she sang Talis' song Paper Worlds. These two beautiful and talented friends inspire each other and me, and I think this captures a lot of why the convention was so good.

The full set of pictures is here.

As always, please put names to any face where I haven't, and if there are any pictures of you or your family that you want, take them with my blessings.

Crossposted to my own LJ and to the filk comms

A Greg update

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 04:21:53 GMT

Maya's posted some of her thoughts and thanks here

Scott posts about plans for two memorial services, one in Charlottesville on Feb 10th and one in Bryn Mawr on February 23rd here. As a reminder, he's still collecting memories of Greg

The donation page at Filknet.org is still up -- while immediate needs are covered, it will still take a long time for things to return to anything resembling normal.

Crossposted.

Whoops

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 13:26:29 GMT

nMC are on at 14:00, not 13:00. My bad!

Streaming of filk concerts

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 08:54:15 GMT

If you're interested in helping out in the technical aspects of streaming audio from filk cons, be it actually running the stream, providing the feed from convention PA, providing bandwidth, or anything like that, please can you reply to this posting :)

It's clear we need to put a little more work into making it useable. :)

2t0nic streams on repeat

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 00:23:09 GMT

The concerts from the 2t0nic are now on rebroadcast until Ecumenifilk tomorrow morning at 10AM uk time and is available at http://dorian.altrion.org:8000/2t0nic.m3u

Martin and Andy GK and the Rutland Rockers
Katy and Ju
Erica Neely
Kathy Sands
Saturday Main Concert (one-shots)
Tom Namson (Fan-tom)
Rika Koerte Saturday GoH slot
Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff GoH slot
Chris Conway

The machine will be unattended until tomorrow AM UK time, although I'll check in from time to time during the evening. I can't answer for the levels on anything until I've had a chance to listen to things.

Sunday 3rd February, the stream will be

10:00 Ecumenifilk
11:00 Performance Workshop
12:00 Steffi Zurek
12:40 - Break
13:20 Kathy Songbird
13:00 n'Early Music Consort
15:00 UK GoH Rika Koerte
16:00 One-shots
17:00 Sams Awards
17:40 Closing Ceremony

All times are in UK time and may be fannishly approximate

Special thanks to fleetfootmike for providing the streaming server and paying for the stupidly expensive WiFi connection.

2t0nic audio streaming

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 09:49:16 GMT

Due to the fact that the hotel's wifi charges are exorbidant (£15 a day), we'll be streamimg from 6pm GMT/1pm EST/10am Pacific tonight.

We'll start with a recorded concert from Friday night (as yet undecided) followed by:

7pm/2pm/11am: UK guest bardling and the Mill House Band.
8pm/3pm/12noon: US guests Jeff and Maya Bonhoff.

more details from the con when we have Wifi.

You'll be able to pick up the stream from http://dorian.altrion.org:8000/

Memorial services for Greg

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 21:34:39 GMT

Scott's posted information about memorial services for Greg here.

Crossposted. Comments on this post disabled.

Latest updates

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 01:43:55 GMT

I've just gotten off the phone with Faeryn and have a few updates to pass on.

rip(dot)filkergem(at)gmail(dot)com.

That's the email address has been set up to keep people informed and people should send questions there as well -- for example, if you want the new address for Maya and Faeryn. Both Faeryn and Scott will be able to answer questions there.

Faeryn's holding together as best as she can, and will try and have a list of what's needed house-stuff-wise. She is incredibly grateful to all of you out there who are being supportive and caring and expressing sympathy and offering help. She's doing what she can to take care of her mother, and she's got a good group of local people from her church and work helping her take care of herself.

Maya is (understandably) distraught but is as stable as could be expected in these horrible circumstances. She was released from the hospital earlier today (28 Jan 2008) and is "home" -- I have the new address and can provide it if needed (as per Faeryn's OK), but the email above should probably be used to get the address directly from Faeryn or Scott. I don't believe she's talking with anyone yet, aside from Faeryn and the family that's in the room with her.

There's currently no email (or computer) access at the new place and I'm not sure how long it will take to get things set up there; if it's really important, get in touch with me and I can relay it to Faeryn via phone.

Things Faeryn says they could use right now:

Wash Cloths
Towels
Pillow cases
Servingware
Tea!
Stuffed Animals (Comfort things)
Cards (personal sentiments that Mom would really like to read and keep near by)
Also any of those little "busy" items would be great!
Soduku
Crosswords
Cards
Any solitaire games
Coloring books and crayons/colored pencils (she even asked for these)

Crossposted.