First Mate’s log, Tour Date 0003 We arrived in one piece at the Starlite Wilderness Hospitality Complex quite late last night and just barely had time for evening tea (Earl Grey, hot). The motel was ok, but definitely not one of the better ones in this galaxy. The sign on the door gave an indication […]
Category: Music
[ed. note: Today Elder JA and his wife, Lady R, share their experiences on the first day of the Spring 2026 Mountain Sapphire World Tour!] The rental bus, formerly used by the Wolverine Eunuchs, proved to be a challenge right from the start. Neither I or First Mate Lady R smoke and it took quite […]
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Chain of Wisdom
Our youngest Elder, the scholar Elder DZ, is WLBOTT’s conduit for all culture involving people under 65. He takes the pulse of the younger generation. He recently describe an interesting property of Wikipedia – the Chain of Wisdom. According to Elder G: There is even a Wikipedia article about this: The Wikipedia philosophy phenomenon, sometimes […]
THE MOST IMPORTANT MUSICAL EVENT IN CANADIAN HISTORY™Western Canada & Select Parking Lots For Immediate Release: Elder JA and Lady R Visit Tour Bus Rental Locations Barnaby’s Budget Band Cruisers ThunderWolf Gord, salesman of the month at ThunderWolf tour bus rentals (technically their only salesman), greets the young Mountain Sapphire couple. You may remember Gord, […]
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The Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin
I find Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for the solo violin some of the most beautiful, complex music I’ve ever heard. In the partitas, Bach masters the art of creating multiple melody lines on a solo violin. You can read the history and technical details on the Wikipedia page. The Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin […]
Step 1: Obtain a Violin Rent, Buy, or Build Your Own? A reasonably priced violin will range in price from about $259 to a little over $23,000,000[1]. Rentals start around $35/month. You can probably build your own with odds and ends around your garage. [1] The most expensive violin ever sold is the 1715 “Baron […]
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D Major
A delightful morning with Elder G! WLBOTT: Good morning, G. What musical key shall we sing in to welcome the day? ELDER G: Good morning, Elder JZ. If the morning were a doorway, the key you choose is the shape of the sunlight that slips through it. So let’s pick one that belongs to dawn. […]
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BWV 1049, 3rd Movement
We’ve long been fascinated by the life and times of J. S. Bach. Imagine living in the late 17th century Europe. I don’t want to minimize the suffering of the majority of people living today – in many ways their lives are worse that those living in Bach’s time. But for now let’s focus our […]
Not actually random, other than the misfiring of my addled neurons, but here goes…. Remember the Donovan song Colours? I may have the lyrics slightly wrong, but I seem to recall the following: Yellow is the colorOf my True Love’s teethWhen we rise, when we riseThat’s the time I love best.Red is the colorOf my […]
Here’s a poem by Graeme Edge that has stuck with my most of my life. Departureby Graeme Edge of the Moody BluesBe it sight, sound, smell, or touchThere’s something inside that we need so muchThe sight of a touch or the scent of a soundOr the strength of an oak with roots deep in the […]