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 Post subject: Showdown Recap for 28 Nov 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
PostPosted: Wed Nov 29, 2017 1:31 am 
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Showdown Recap for 28 Nov 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ

Well Okay, the sorry truth of the matter is that the Ragged Rascals needed to relocate to their backup location at the BWW on Montgomery Blvd this week. There is still NO JOY on the refurbishment of the Playmakers at the Gibson Blvd venue. However, we did get a few key players back for this game, which brought our forces up to 12 people running 16 machines.

This week the recap will be sparse, as BLZBUB will be winging his way eastward for a family function. But fear not, there may still be the misplaced, awkward bon mots, err – sophomoric humor to enjoy.

Worn-up Round

1. Which U.S. historical figure falls into the category of ‘Robber Baron’? CORNELIUS VANDERBILT.
2. Its toxicity has resulted in ___ no longer being used in making batteries. CADMIUM.
3. Nuevo’s rancheros is a breakfast specialty from this country: MEXICO.
4. Which verb means to pay off an obligation? AMORTIZE.
5. Mesquite is a city of about 150,000 that is a suburb of: DALLAS. {CHILL had to be reminded that ‘Texas’ is not a suburb.}
6. When Jack Welch retired as CEO from ___, he received the largest known severance package. GENERAL ELECTRIC.
7. The author himself says this fictional character was based on both Tommy Lee Jones and Al Gore: OLIVER BARRETT IV.
8. In French history, the Bastille was a: PRISON.
9. Ketosis is a metabolic state that usually results from: FASTING.
10. Where are the Marquesas Islands located? SOUTH PACIFIC.

The team was off to a good start on this round. All ten questions fell to our topic experts without a flub.

Ground-down Round

1. An ‘RFID’ tag would be attached to a: PET ANIMAL.
2. Herman Hesse’s novel ‘Siddhartha’ is set in the country of: INDIA.
3. The plastron is part of a: TURTLE’S SHELL.
4. Something twisting and turning would best be described as: ANFRACTUOUS.
5. ___ moss, which is not really a moss, grows on large trees in U.S. southern swamp lands. SPANISH.
6. Andvari is the name of a mythological: NORSE DWARF. {The tossing of this question begins immediately}
7. ‘Open Outcry’ is a method of communication used in these venues: TRADING FLOORS.
8. Singspiel is a form of ___ music drama. GERMAN.
9. This one will test your trivia knowledge. What is chert? SEDIMENTARY ROCK.
10. The Canadian City of ___ lies on the shores of English Bay. VANCOUVER.
11. ‘The Golden House’ is an acclaimed 2017 book by this controversial novelist: SALMAN RUSHDIE.
12. Thorium is an element that was discovered in 1829 by a ___ chemist. SWEDISH.

The group went 9 for 12 correct for the full points. The three that gave us heartburn were GD’s 4, 6, and 10.


Scatology Round

S1. A trip to Italy v SCIENCE CLASS
Fossils of the extinct species ‘Homo Nadeli’ were found here in 2013: SOUTH AFRICA. {Our initial guess of S.E. Asia was soon eliminated, allowing us to migrate south.}

S2. Opera v LANGUAGES
Russian is classified as an East ___ language. SLAVIC. {Pre-called by DUFF.}

S3. Crime novels v WHAT IS IT?
A diarchy is a: FORM OF GOVERNMENT. {BRICK got this one for us.}

S4. Languages v A TRIP TO ITALY
Moschino is an Italian: LUXURY FASHION HOUSE. {MEERA knew it wasn’t a cherry, and made the proper call.}

S5. WHAT IS IT? V opera
What in the world is maestoso? MUSICAL DIRECTION. {DUFF parsed the meaning of this one.}

S6. SCIENCE CLASS v crime novels
Charles’ Law is known in science as the Law of: VOLUMES. {We were saved by the third clue on this one.}

So, the result of this round is 4 for 6 for the full points, and deductions on S1 and S6.


Frightening Round

1. The Economic Freedom Fighters and the Democratic Alliance are political groups in: SOUTH AFRICA.
2. Niagara Falls State Park is the ___ state park in the United States. OLDEST.
3. It was founded in 1922 as the trade association of the American film industry. MPAA. {We confused trade associations with unions, and slumped down with SAG.}
4. The terms ‘apathetic interest’ and typically unusual’ are examples of: OXYMORONS.
5. The Foo Fighters have a new album out titled: CONCRETE AND GOLD. {The only person on the team younger than 40, WALACE, got this one.}
6. Who was the intended victim of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago in 1929? BUGS MORAN.
7. Lewis Hamilton is a champion ___ Formula One driver. BRITISH.

Once again, the low point-value queries from this round proved troublesome. There was a split on F1 and F2, and there was a clean miss on F3. Fortunately the troubles stopped there.

Py-Ram-It Round

P1. From 1699 to 1727, he served as the Master of the Royal Mint:
Choices: Walter Raleigh, Tycho Brahe, Isaac Newton, Oliver Cromwell, Samuel Pepys
A: ISAAC NEWTON. {DUFF beats BLZBUB to the first strike.}

P2. The names of the truculent couple in ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ are:
Choices: Abe and Mary Todd, Thomas and Sally, George and Martha, John and Abigail, Ike and Mamie
A: GEORGE AND MARTHA. {MEERA was the quickest to end all argument here.}

P3. Discovered by Alexander Fleming, it is considered the first natural antibiotic:
Choices: Aspirin, Gabapentin, Benadryl, Metformin, Penicillin
A: PENICILLIN. {DUFF conducted the Greek chorus.}

P4. Until 1910, this country was a Kingdom:
Choices: Vietnam, Finland, Portugal, Venezuela, Chile
A: PORTUGAL. {This one stumped us enough to provoke calls for the dreaded 5-way split.}

P5. The Master-at-Arms rating is responsible for law enforcement in the:
Choices: Federal prison system; French Foreign Legion; U.S. Navy; N.Y.P.D.; Canadian Mounted Police
A: U.S. NAVY. {HEBEGB and LOONEY split the credit here for a great call.}

Four for five with one split is much better than our average performance on this round. We liked that. The team exited this round with four boxes on 5 for 5 correct. And 12 boxes on 4 for 5 correct.


FINAL TRAGEDY
Topic: SCIENTIFIC TERMS

Which scientific term was coined ion 1841 by Scotland’s David Milne-Home?

1. Black Hole
2. Nearsightedness
3. Seismometer
4. X-Ray
5. Survival of the Fittest

The order of the eliminations was 2, 4, 5, and 1, leaving #3, SEISMOMETER as the correct answer. The team could have done a much better job at calling out the eliminations on this particular question. This lack of communication penalized may of those coming in with 5 for 5 from the Pyramid Round.

The top individual scores for the night were 55486, 55291, 49152, 47917, 46826, and 46084 points.

The team’s average score for this game was 50,126 points.

The Ragged Rascals’ systemwide ranking was SIXTH Place.

The best scores of the night went to the following locations:
Broadway, Nepean, ON @ 55677
Big Guys, Winnipeg, MD @ 54664
The Fellowship, BWW Kent, OH @ 52028
Four Corners, Chapel Hill, NC @50733
Zack’s, Little Rock, AR @ 50710
The Ragged Rascals, BWW Albuquerque, NM 50126
Some Borg collective in NM @ 48927
Cameron’s R…Half Moon, CA 48818
Mickie’s Kelowna, NC @ 48419
Pegasus, Toronto, ON @ 48217

It looks like it was Canada’s night to shine.

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Oh my gawd, they killed
Ken Z.
You bastards!


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 Post subject: Re: Showdown Recap for 28 Nov 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
PostPosted: Wed Nov 29, 2017 2:24 am 
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Sir or Dame Postsalot

Joined: Sat Jan 30, 2010 5:13 pm
Posts: 272
For S1, Cameron's chose A TRIP TO ITALY over Science Class.

Q: Where in Italy is the Ligurian region?

A: NORTHWEST


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 Post subject: Re: Showdown Recap for 28 Nov 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
PostPosted: Wed Nov 29, 2017 2:25 am 
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Sir or Dame Postsalot

Joined: Sat Jan 30, 2010 5:13 pm
Posts: 272
BTW, nice speed on the recap!


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 Post subject: Re: Showdown Recap for 28 Nov 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
PostPosted: Wed Nov 29, 2017 8:27 am 
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Lotsa Posta

Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2016 9:33 am
Posts: 710
Rackme32 wrote:
BTW, nice speed on the recap!


And fair wind for your sails.

I think (which isn't saying much) S4: LANGUAGES: BISLAMA is a language spoken not in Senegal or Finland but in VANUATU.


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 Post subject: Re: Showdown Recap for 28 Nov 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
PostPosted: Wed Nov 29, 2017 11:37 am 
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King or Queen Postsalot
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Well, hell... ;)

S2 - OPERA - Which 1853 opera contains a section known as the "Anvil Chorus"? IL TROVATORE

S4 - LANGUAGES - Bislama is one of the official languages of: VANUATU

S5 - OPERA - This Italian opera by Vincenzo Bellini takes place during the English Civil War: THE PURITANS

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 Post subject: Re: Showdown Recap for 28 Nov 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
PostPosted: Thu Nov 30, 2017 8:21 pm 
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Lotsa Posta

Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2016 9:33 am
Posts: 710
liljol wrote:
S5 - OPERA - This Italian opera by Vincenzo Bellini takes place during the English Civil War: THE PURITANS


Thanks, LILJOL. My group of ten players offered to let me fly solo on both opera questions, but I declined their generous offer. It wouldn't have mattered. But the second opera question got me thinking...

Why did the great bel canto opera composers fall in love with England? Apart from I puritani, Bellini also composed Norma, about a Druid priestess who falls in love with a Roman soldier. Then Bellini died, in his mid-30's.

Shakespeare had an curious predilection for locating his plays in Italy. Why Italy?

At the end of the 16th Century, Italy was a hundred years ahead of England in cultural development. The Republic of Venice, considered alone, was more politically influential than England, and no less powerful. I think what Shakespeare had in mind was to make his plays glamorous, in much the same way that American film directors in the 1930's, during the Great Depression, would stage their work in elegant ballrooms or plush hotel suites, the men in black tie and the women in sequined gowns, with plenty of champagne to go around. People who live more distinguished lives than we do are better representatives of ourselves.

Why the great bel canto composers fell in love with England I'll leave for a later day. Vincenzo Bellini's rival, Gaetano Donizetti, composed an Elizabethan Trilogy: Anna Bolena, Roberto Devereaux, Maria Stuarda - not to mention Lucia di Lammermoor or L'ermittagio di Liverpool.

Although I expect most everyone has figured it out - I'm lecturing, and for that I must apologize - the bel canto composers were paving the way for the unification of Italy, much like England a secular state owing nothing (or less) to what would eventually be reduced to the Vatican City.


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 Post subject: Re: Showdown Recap for 28 Nov 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
PostPosted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 8:05 am 
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Posts: 113
I enjoy the lectures.
They provide a nice leavening to my primary operatic education:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2fdnv1
Leopold!


Last edited by Shakes on Fri Dec 01, 2017 10:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Showdown Recap for 28 Nov 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
PostPosted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 8:48 am 
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King or Queen Postsalot
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Posts: 2217
GONE D wrote:
liljol wrote:
Shakespeare had an curious predilection for locating his plays in Italy. Why Italy?

At the end of the 16th Century, Italy was a hundred years ahead of England in cultural development. The Republic of Venice, considered alone, was more politically influential than England, and no less powerful. I think what Shakespeare had in mind was to make his plays glamorous, in much the same way that American film directors in the 1930's, during the Great Depression, would stage their work in elegant ballrooms or plush hotel suites, the men in black tie and the women in sequined gowns, with plenty of champagne to go around. People who live more distinguished lives than we do are better representatives of ourselves.


Have you seen any of the BBC series "Upstart Crow"? It is a comedy about Shakespeare that is much in the same style as Black Adder (which should not be a surprise, because it was created by Ben Elton). One of the running gags in the series is William Kempe (ala Ricky Gervais) bragging about how big he is in Italy.

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"He may seem like Mr. Rogers but a dark spirit lies beneath."


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 Post subject: Re: Showdown Recap for 28 Nov 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
PostPosted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 2:02 pm 
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Lotsa Posta

Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 12:16 am
Posts: 769
Opera discussion. This is heaven!

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 Post subject: Re: Showdown Recap for 28 Nov 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
PostPosted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 6:30 pm 
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ANON wrote:
Have you seen any of the BBC series "Upstart Crow"?


Not me, but you may have found an audience. Perhaps.


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 Post subject: Re: Showdown Recap for 28 Nov 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
PostPosted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 11:07 am 
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King or Queen Postsalot
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GONE D wrote:
ANON wrote:
Have you seen any of the BBC series "Upstart Crow"?


Not me, but you may have found an audience. Perhaps.


To be honest, I don't think it is nearly as good as Black Adder, but I have found it fun enough to seek out.

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Anon
"He may seem like Mr. Rogers but a dark spirit lies beneath."


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 Post subject: Re: Showdown Recap for 28 Nov 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
PostPosted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 11:25 am 
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Lotsa Posta

Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2016 9:33 am
Posts: 710
Merkin wrote:
Opera discussion. This is heaven!


Many, many years ago, when I was a sophomore (still am, but without affiliation) at a school which would eventually become MERKIN's alma mater, I was approached by one of my equally jejune classmates with the following question: If you could have any woman in the world, whom would you choose?

To which I replied, "Renata Tebaldi."

This is a school where the name of Renata Tebaldi was and remains widely recognizable, and my classmate thought I must be pulling his leg. I wasn't. Never mind that Tebaldi, now long deceased, was four years older than my mother.

"Have you been asking around?" I wondered. "Who's the most popular?"

"So far, Sophia Loren." This made much better sense. Loren, a fabulous beauty, is eight years younger than my mother.

A trio of saintly individuals (Cesaare, Messina, Comparetto) have conspired to bring the final scene of Act 1 of La Boheme to YouTube. This is the scene in which Rudolfo and Mimi first meet, and fall in love. It consists of two arias, che gelida manina (Cold Little Hand) and mi chiamano Mimi (They Call me Mimi), followed by a duet, o soave fanciulla (Lovely Girl). There are only two players on stage, in these recommended presentations Jussi Bjorling, tenor; and Renata Tebaldi, soprano.

Bjorling looks quite a bit like Spanky McFarland; Tebaldi, like Margaret Dumont's younger, less desirable sister. Then they begin singing. It is immediately and inescapably obvious that neither of them, Bjorling nor Tebaldi, would rather be anywhere else on earth than on that stage, singing to each other. Every time I see them there, I am enchanted beyond words.

As a rule I recommend La Boheme as a first opera for the uninitiated. It's not overly long, has pretty good pace (outstanding pace by the standards of opera generally), and is filled with gorgeous music.

They say she died a virgin.


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 Post subject: Re: Showdown Recap for 28 Nov 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
PostPosted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 12:11 pm 
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Lotsa Posta

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Wonderful!

Also

Sumi Jo as Queen of the Night
Anna Netrebko as Donna Anna

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 Post subject: Re: Showdown Recap for 28 Nov 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
PostPosted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 11:22 pm 
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Lotsa Posta

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Thanks, MERKIN. I'm not onto either of these performances, but I'm on my way.


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 Post subject: Re: Showdown Recap for 28 Nov 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 2:57 am 
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Lotsa Posta

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I suppose that MERKIN and I could perpetuate this thread via personal mail, but after all, this is a Showdown thread and he and I can't be the only two readers who take an interest in opera. That said, please be advised that the ball is in my hands, and that I'm disinclined to pass it to anyone other than MERKIN, particularly not to anyone who wants to discuss anything other than opera. In basketball parlance, I'm a ball hog.

Does anyone recall the name of Earl Manigault? He was a legendary streetball player circa 1975. He stood 6'3", and from a standing start could place and re-place a quarter on the top of a regulation backboard. Which would require a vertical leap above 4 feet. Manigault had the attention span of a mayfly and had drug issues besides. I bring him into this conversation because it is about opera and I control the ball and Manigault could jump out of the gym.

There is also a class of female voice which can jump out of the gym. The standard soprano register reaches to high A. A spinto soprano can reach to high D on a good day. The exquisite Tebaldi, your classic spinto, could achieve that note to dramatic effect. Then there are the coloratura sopranos, who can deliver a high F. And maybe once a century we are blessed with a coloratura sfagato, whose range exceeds high F, and whose talent is complemented not merely by beauty but by dramatic presence.

Merkin wrote:
Sumi Jo as Queen of the Night
Anna Netrebko as Donna Anna


What catches the eye regarding MERKIN's recommendations, is that he proposes two roles by Mozart, both written for coloratura soprano, and both voiced by angry women. Nobody does feminine wrath like Mozart. As a composer, Mozart framed angry women in much the same way that Michael Douglas, the actor, personified irritable WASP entitlement. So there are three equivalences in MERKIN's two recommendations.

Sumi Jo, as Queen of the Night, is blessed with the aria "Der Holle Rache," (Hell's Vengeance), in which she demands of her daughter, Pamina, that Pamina kill her father, the Queen's ex-husband. In this demand there are two coloratura passages, ending in open-vowel stoccate, dozens of them, which bounce around the upper register of the most gifted soprano and do occasionally land on high F. If you were to compare Sumi Jo's performance of this aria with that of Diana Damrau, you may conclude, as I did, that Damrau doesn't naturally hit those high notes - rather that her Queen is just so angry that she can't help herself. On stage, Damrau's performance is grounded and menacing. Sumi Jo, on the other hand, is having too much fun playing above the rim to inflect much threat to her less talented enemies. She'll stretch the occasional note, or run off a trill while casting a glance over her shoulder, to make sure that the orchestra which is accompanying her has not lost interest in the chase. Several of her best performances of this aria have been recorded and no two sound the same. A third option, perhaps a middle ground, would be Lucia Popp, whose anger is suffused with melancholy. Popp, unlike her sisters Sumi Jo and Damrau, knows that she is pursuing a lost cause. Hers is the only version of this aria that I own (my VCR of Ingmar Bergman's phantasmagorical production of "The Magic Flute" having exploded years ago).

If you were to view Lucia Popp's rendition of "Der Holle Rache" on YouTube, you might be startled to find a picture of Maria Callas juxtaposed with Lucia Popp's voice. Callas and Popp bore as much physical and temperamental resemblance to each other as Morticia Addams to Doris Day. The picture is Callas. The voice is Popp. You should never trust what you see on-line.

MERKIN's second recommendation, Anna Netrebko as Dona Anna, is equally nettlesome. Dona Anna (scans with "Banana") is raped by Don Giovanni, who doubles down by murdering her father. As assayed by Netrebko, Dona Anna is a far more complex role than Sumi Jo needed to navigate as Queen of the Night. Much of Dona Anna's voice is in ensemble, where she needs not to shine, bur merely to fit in. So I presume that MERKIN's favor for Anna Netrebko depends on Dona Anna's climactic solo aria, Crudele! Non mi dir" (Cruel! Do not Tell Me).

Netrebko, who might have been a star point guard in the WNBA had she chosen a less affluent path, is no longer the sylph-like "Audrey Hepburn with a Voice," as she was originally touted, with a tone so crystalline as to verge on the metallic. There were and always shall be detractors. In purity her voice could be compared to Freddie Mercury's, late of Queen, based on a report by a Chicago-based comedy news show. But over time Netrebko has filled out, and developed a more insinuating, dramatic resonance. At the age of 46, she has a physique similar to the basketball player Linday Whalen, who is ten years younger. Netrebko's knees are in better shape than Whalen's, as well.

My at-home Don Giovanni is that of the Vienna State Opera, conducted by Riccardo Muti, with Adrianne Pieczonka in the role of Dona Anna. The mature Netrebko, channeling a Dona Anna less than half her age, is a better voice and a superior exponent. I hate to admit it.

It's time for me to step down from my soapbox. Without the soapbox, as you've no doubt observed, I can no longer execute a one-handed dunk. Wouldn't it be cool if I could heave the ball skyward, in the fragile expectation that MERKIN, or better positioned player, might finish the ally-oop, bringing Floria Tosca and her Mario Cavaradossi through the star-crossed year of 1800, and back from the dead?


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 Post subject: Re: Showdown Recap for 28 Nov 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 9:28 am 
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Joined: Thu Jun 29, 2017 10:37 am
Posts: 113
Ridi, Gone D,
sul tuo amore infranto!
Ridi del duol, che t'avvelena il cor!


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 Post subject: Re: Showdown Recap for 28 Nov 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 1:16 pm 
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Lotsa Posta

Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2016 9:33 am
Posts: 710
Shakes wrote:
Ridi, Gone D,
sul tuo amore infranto!
Ridi del duol, che t'avvelena il cor!


SHAKES, who is usually scrupulous in his attributions, attributes to me a tragic sensibility.

"Laugh, Pagliaccio, at your broken love.
Laugh at the sorrow that poisons your heart."

I think I just got what Dick Vitale would describe as a facial.


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