Jerome Travers, the great amateur golfer of the early 20th century, included a chapter called “‘First Aid’ to a golfer ‘Off his Game,’” in his book Travers’ Golf Book ( New York: The Macmillan Company, 1913). He began, “What a note of tragedy there is in those few words “the golfer is off his game.” Travers went on to write,

The golfer ‘off his game’ cannot drive, approach or putt, he doesn’t know what the matter is and he has completely lost confidence in himself.

Travers’ prose gives us a straight forward description of what it is to be off one’s game in golf. However, it takes a poet to get to the essence of the problem and its ramifications.

In a book called Humors and Emotions of Golf (1905), a poet known only by the initials (E.M.B.) tells us what it’s really like when “He’s off his game.”

“He’s off his game.”

Like hollow echoes boding ill,
His heart is wild with tremors chill,
And whispers in a small voice still—
An admonition—ghostly—shrill—
.          ”He’s off his game!”

His divots fly like night-bats doure;
His drives are never far and sure;
And bunkers, like Charybdis, lure
His erring ball to depths obscure;
.          ”He’s off his game!”

In vain seem all the pro’s sage tips;
His little gutty always lips
Or over-runs the hole; then slips
That naughty D——I must ellipse,
.          He’s off his game!”

Thro’ distant whins and stubborn gorse
With grim expletives gaining force,
He plunges on his zig-zag course,
Until he sighs in deep remorse,
.          ”I’m off my game!”

At home his brooding spirit shows
The weighty cares of hidden throes;
Too well his Golfing Widow knows
The anguish of her hubby’s woes—
.          ”He’s off his game!”

Andrew Lang (1844-1912), a famous Scottish writer and poet as well as golfer, also wrote a poem of similar anguish called “Off my Game.” Could the agonies and frustrations of golf be fully described without poetry? I think not.

Boonie Mayfield

Hey All!!!

Took a break last week and I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving Holiday. This week I have a special treat for you. Early last week I got a chance to conduct a phone interview with one of my absolute favorite producers of all time. Boonie Mayfield exemplifies musically absolutely all that Old Soul in a Young Man encompasses. I often strive to reach the production level of his work. He comes to us from Colorado Springs, Colorado. He began break dancing at age 13 which really served as his personal gateway into the whole bboy/Hip-hop movement. He began MCing at age 16 and making beats between ages 19 and 20. He was a duo of the once Soundclick popular , Y.E.S.S.U.R.R. which was primarily a rap group, but topped the charts time after time with bangers ranging from all genres. The group eventually split from creative differences but both parties continue to make music. Boonie Mayfield gained much of his internet success from this past, but began posting Youtube videos of him in his personal home studio after being a victim of “beat thievery” on Rocbattle.com a website for producers to earn money through beat battles. His Youtube catalog has since grown and allowed him to reach many listeners over the years. I personally have been a fan for 7 or so years.  Boonie Mayfield calls on influences of a tribe called quest,j dilla, premo,pete rock,ski beatz, battle cat warren g and daz, many of whom I have posted tracks from. Below is a Youtube example of Boonie May working on 2 beats in his studio. It was great to have the oppurtunity to speak with him, and hopefully you all will enjoy his work. (Below the youtube linke is a link to the finished version of “Just Lay Back”)

Boonie Mayfield in the Studio

Link to final version of “Just Lay Back”

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8356321

my mum didn’t get me the fame monster… sad times. so no review today. new moon review tomorrow though.

yay!

im sooooo addicted to Ugly Betty now its unreal. I need to stop watching american tv before I run out… actually, I say before I run out, but im pretty much out of them now anywho…

so i got some good news earlier. Im getting my allowence doubled after christmas… so exited. the posibilites are endless! means i can shop MOREEEEE! and still use dads amazon account. yay. i hope thats part of my inheritence… dads amazon account. its not like anyone elses uses it more than me. IVE EARNED IT!

its kinda worrying me how close me and my dear, dear mother are at the moment. it seems like its been forever since we argued. we’re even planning to get out the ps1 and play through all the old tomb raiders together. im actually sooooo exited. but realy scared. we’re due an argument. and its been so long. their will probably be murder…

wow it reminds me of the daysss…. i remember when my mum got her first pc and i was like… i dont know… four., and I used to sit with my mum and play tomb raider. yeah, that probably makes her the worst parent of all time! but i disagree. i think it made me the person I am today, and it probably one of my clearest happy memories… and then tomb raider two was around the time my dad came out of hospital, so thats more happy memories.

Im glad my mum was such a bad parents. it technically, in my eyes, made her the best parent EVER! thanks mum! much appreciated!

I get so annoyed with political correctness and protecting children from the horrors that can be found in fairytales. who cares if the big bad wolf is terrifying, and who cares if its baa baa black sheep. does it make it any less offensive its its baa baa rainbow sheep? isnt that just plain in your face homaphobia? or maybe its encouraging kids to be gay?

kids arn’t stupid. they know whats right and whats wrong. if its so wrong to expose children to fairytales, then why on earth do we think its fine to expose them to the monster we call The Night Garden. now, im not being funny, but the things in that absolutely terrify me! id rather be locked in a room with a clown than in a room with them.

And tellytubbies. im sorry, but that was just plane WRONG! how DARE they allow names such as Tinky Winky (little penis) Dipsy (stupid blonde girl) lala (CRAZYYYYY BITCH) Po (Shit) on the screens. for fucks sake they didnt even speak english… hell, they didnt speak. period.

I dont think that me reading stories like Little Red Riding Hood or Enid Blyton’s The Magical Far Away Tree ever effected me. wait. no. take it back. bible bashers will blatently blame my exposure to these sins as the reason for my homosexuality. OH FORGIVE ME FATHER for being ME!

I don’t care. if they’re whats made me such a sin, then fine, I’m glad. I’m happy and proud to be the person I am, and I wouldnt want it any other way!

If anything I think its a sin that the people who are banning and changing these fairytales and other classics are the people who were never exposed to them in the first place. they seriously DON’T know what theyre missing. losers.

its not our fault they were born to competent parents. forgive us for our parents failiure. its not our fault they didnt know the demons hiding behind the pages of Fairytales and the words of Nursary Rhymes. they didnt know the poison Roald Dahl or Enid Blyton wrote.

shame on them!

Now that it’s all said and done,
I can’t believe you were the one
To build me up and tear me down,
Like an old abandoned house.
What you said when you left
Just left me cold and out of breath.
I fell too far, was in way too deep.

Guess I let you get the best of me.

Well, I never saw it coming.
I should’ve started running
A long, long time ago.
And I never thought I’d doubt you,
I’m better off without you
More than you, more than you know.
I’m slowly getting closure.
I guess it’s really over.
I’m finally getting better.
And now I’m picking up the pieces.
I’m spending all of these years
Putting my heart back together.
‘Cause the day I thought I’d never get through,
I got over you.

You took a hammer to these walls,
Dragged the memories down the hall,
Packed your bags and walked away.
There was nothing I could say.
And when you slammed the front door shut,
A lot of others opened up,
So did my eyes so I could see
That you never were the best for me.

Well, I never saw it coming.
I should’ve started running
A long, long time ago.
And I never thought I’d doubt you,
I’m better off without you
More than you, more than you know.

(c) Daughtry-Over You

Recommend.

In last week’s Post, I included a poem from a book, Divots for Dubs. The book  can be found in only four libraries in the U.S. Last Monday, I received a book in the mail called Golf Songs and Recitations that I bought from a book seller in England. No libraries carry this book!

What I actually bought was a 1988 reproduction of the original which had been published first in 1886 and then printed again in 1895. This very small (6 1/2″ x 4″) 32 page “book” was written by David Jackson, then Captain of the Leven Thistle Golf Club.  In the book’s Introduction, Jackson says he composed the songs and verses in the book because he had,

heard very few Songs in honour of the Game, and [he] … often thought it a pity that such a popular recreation should be so little celebrated by the Poets.

The first poem in the book is called “Ode to Golf.” In it Jackson describes his love of golf in words that still resonate more than 120 years later. I am including the complete poem since I don’t believe you will find it any where else on the web or in any other book. I think you will enjoy it.

ODE TO GOLF

Oh, Golf, thou art a pleasure dear,
That cheers us on from year to year;
That soothes the heart, and cools the brain,
When stirred with grief, or seared with pain.
Whene’er the wintry snows are over,
Around the Greens we fondly hover;
All blythe of heart as busy bees,
We swing our Clubs, and seek our tees,
The smiling sea, the sunny sky,
The song of larks that heavenward fly,
The flowers that spring to meet the eye
Proclaim the Golfing season nigh.

To Swing, then Drive, To Putt, and Hole,
To some may seem absurd and droll;
To me it is a joy, a pride—
Worth twenty other games beside.
Where is the rival to the game
Of royal and of ancient fame;
Or what is such a cheery houff
As just a friendly match at Gouff?
And when at last, in good old age,
No more at Matches we’ll engage,
We’ll turn to memory’s page and fain
We’ll fight our battles ower again;
And leave to youth the active sport,
The miss, the drive, the miles, the short,
The sclaff, the foozle, the weel sent hame,
The ups and downs of this dear game.

Then fill a bumper, fill it high,
Hurrah for Golf, may Golf ne’er die,
But still from age to age increase—
A game of friendship, love, and peace!

“not monks with rice bowls

but the universe reciting itself whole”

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(c)  2009   Unknownheartist@gmail.com

I wandered the banks
Of the river, Meander,
Wondering what I might do.

A sailor at heart,
I lived, a hard-lander,
And gave a good try its fair-due.

The ocean’s white waves
I long to fight.
The beach’s gentle rejection.

Oh, to feel
The salty breeze
And see the stars…

Reflection.

The dark cannot
Deny the deeds
Of Him who’s three in one.
And all
These thoughts
Run through my head,
Before the rise of sun.

Be here,
I beg! This “death”
I dread!
The solace of my sleep is deceit!

My heart
Is desperately wicked,
And swift
Toward evil, my feet!

Can past death
Deny the deeds
Of Him who’s three in one?
With all
These thoughts,
And all this “Life”
My mind is never done.

“It’s hard to say that I’d rather stay awake when I’m asleep, cuz everything is never as it seems, when I fall asleep.” 

Adam Young, in this song, sings, “It’s hard to say THAT I’d rather stay awake when I’m asleep…”

I was dissapointed when I learned this… I’ve always thought he said, “It’s hard to say BUT I’d rather stay awake when I’m asleep…”

It made me sad. ha ha! 

Anyway… My friends come back from South Africa in five days!

And grounders plans are in the works, for Monday… =)

My sister just informed me, that last week on my blog, I had a rather humorous typo…

Ten, zero-dollar-bills to anybody who finds it. =)

Peace!

-MAC <>< =)

]]> http://unknownheartist.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/ocean/ Sat, 28 Nov 2009 06:50:53 +0000 unknownheartist http://unknownheartist.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/ocean/

“my hair still wet from yesterday,

the ocean calls me back to play”

“to the oceanside return,

there’s always more to learn”

“inside you there’s an ocean

of movement and of motion”

“if you want to teach

your name should be the beach”

“at the beach we are excused

from the norm the world views”

“surfers beware the rocks,

the school of hard knocks”

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Please visit again as hundreds of other sayings will be posted to this and other categories.

(c)  2009  Unknown Heartist

Unknownheartist@gmail.com

First Steps in Music : San Luis Obispo

Post by Katherine

I hope you had a great weekend!  I received some great news recently, that I have a home for my new infant/toddler music class – The SLO Activity Center!

Infants & Toddlers: Explore simple bounces, authentic children’s folk songs, finger/toe-rhymes, wiggles, tummy tickles, beat motions, and lullabies that have been passed down for generations.  (Birth through 36 Months)

About the class:

First Steps in Music is a positive, fun, and gentle introduction to music and movement for infants & toddlers with their parents! The lessons inspire children to:

• Listen, feel, and move to music of all kinds
• Imagine! (through songs and movement)
• Interact socially with other children and their families
• Develop sensory awareness (language, motor, creative and social skills)
• Gain a wide repertoire of music.
• Smile, laugh, and have FUN!  (Parents, too!)

Wednesdays from 9:00 to 9:30 am

Jan. 6, 13, 20, 27, Feb. 3, 10, 17, 24.

165 Grand Ave. San Luis Obispo, CA

$96 for the eight week session. ($12/class, scholarships available!)

To register for the class (required), please contact Katherine Deakin at katherine.deakin@gmail.com or on her cell phone at (508) 579 – 6781 to get started!

How many things
Will we do,
That we said we
Never would?
To how many things
Will we say yes,
To which we
Never dreamt we could? 

What kind of persons
Will we be?
What kinds of…
Compromises?
What kind of
Dissapointments?
(-Growths?)
Or will they be
Surprises?

And when this world
Burns away,
And we, from the new,
Look back,
What sort of things
Will we say?
Which side of the fence,
Will truth lack?

And yet, is it not
More than this?
-Not more than,
“Oh, some day…”?
Now is not irrelevant,
This, I must mention,
If I may.

That “now” is all
We’ve ever had,
And, this, more
Than is deserved.
To be used
(How baffling!)
For good or bad.
All reasons:
God-reserved.

Those of you who have been following this blog know that most of the poetry is from old golf books and magazines. Part of the fun of writing the blog is finding new (old) books which provide me with new material.  Brian Siplo (co-author of a wonderful book about Harry Vardon’s first trip to the U. S., called The Vardon Invasion) recently told me about some old golf poetry books. With a bit of luck, I was able to buy one of them called Divots for Dubs through Abebooks. The 96 page book was written by J. Ellsworth Schrite who self-published it in 1934.

The book  explains in verse, how to play golf. The author makes this very clear in his charming introduction,

Divots for Dubs

“DIVOTS FOR DUBS” explains in verse,
How to play golf, better or worse;

The history, the course, the clubs to choose,
The stance to take, the swings to use;

What to wear, and where to look,
How to slice, and how to hook;

Things that on each course are seen,
Things you need to play “Nineteen”;

A bit of humor, a bit of sense,
Some alibis for self defence:

Get your “Divots”, take a look,
You miss a “par” if you miss the book.

If you want to read on, however, you will be challenged. According to WorldCat only four libraries in the world have it! But that’s also part of the fun I have: bringing inaccessible golf poetry back to life in this blog.

Written by Gary Ewer, from “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” website.
Follow Gary on Twitter for Songwriting Tips, News and More .
_________

Nothing kills a lyric faster than forcing words into a rhythmic scheme that just doesn’t work. What you should be after is a natural flow. For that reason, it’s really important for songwriters to recite their lyric as if it were prose, tweaking it until it feels easy to say, and conveys exactly what’s needed. Rhyming and rhythmic schemes need to take a back seat to natural pulse.

Say the following line to yourself:

Here we are, back where we began

This line is an easy one; it’s easy to see what we mean by natural pulse. Certain words get more of an accent than others:

HERE we are, BACK where we beGAN.

When you set a line like this, you’ll want to ensure that the natural rhythm of the words are supported by the rhythm of the music. For example, it’s hard to consider the word “here” to be anywhere except the beginning of a bar – the strong beat. It can’t be placed on the 4th beat of a bar easily, because it disrupts the sentence’s natural pulse, giving us: “here WE are…”

While this seems easy enough, problems can arise when inner meaning or subtext is inadvertently changed by misplacing an accent. Subtext is the implied meaning of your words. For example, if you say, “We’re going to be late,” the meaning is clear. If we say “Take your time, life is long”, and say it with a sigh, the ironic subtext shines through.

Often with song lyrics, subtext is changed by simply placing the accents in different places. Misplacing those accents can be a missed opportunity to portray subtext. Consider this line:

I don’t want to be with her anymore…

The first step in setting this line is to say it naturally, allowing the inherent pulses to come forth. But this line can be said in a variety of ways, all conveying a different subtext:

1. I don’t WANT to be with HER anymore;
2. i DON’T want to BE with her anyMORE;
3. I don’t want to BE with her anymore;
4. i DON’T want to be with HER anymore;

Depending on how you set the words, you’re communicating a different thing. Version 1 puts the emphasis on “her”, with the subtext conveying that there is another woman in the picture. Version 2 simply tells the audience that you simply don’t want to be with this or any person right now. Version 3’s emphasis on “be” expresses a sense of impatience, while Version 4’s stress on “don’t” and “her” adds a feeling of irritation that wasn’t there in Version 1.

Setting these words will mean that you must consider these accented words, and place them on the strong parts of musical phrases. In 4/4 (common) time, those words will work best on beats 1 and 3, with the other words falling in between.

If your songwriting formula has you starting with melody, or at least with melodic shapes, always consider the possibility (perhaps the probability) that you’ll need to modify the specific rhythms of that melody to support the intended meaning of your text. Don’t let mis-matched melodic and textual rhythms rob your lyric of important inner meaning.
__________

Gary Ewer’s songwriting e-books will show you how lyric, melody and harmonies all work together to produce great music. Let these e-books open your mind and get you writing the songs you’ve always known you could write. Click here to get started!