Last night I did something very very rare for me: I watched a prime-time sitcom on TV. It was the 200th episode of “Friends,” which for some reason my wife wanted to see even though she hasn’t really followed the other 199. Long story short:
there’s a new character introduced, a male nanny who is very “sensitive” and unmanly; besides loving babies he bakes, does puppet shows, cries a lot, etc. The last nail in the coffin of his masculinity (as perceived by the character making the inquiry), however, came when the nanny began to play Greensleeves on the recorder!
Ha ha!
Nothing was said one way or the other about the implications of whistle playing. I believe that the whistle is like the violin: a man playing it can be very masculine and a woman playing it can be very feminine. An instrument for all seasons.
On 2002-11-08 12:53, Michael Sullivan wrote:
there’s a new character introduced, a male nanny who is very “sensitive” and unmanly; besides loving babies he bakes, does puppet shows, cries a lot, etc.
Hey, wait a minute..I bake, love babies, do cross-stich, and have lots of other ‘non-macho’ hobbies. I guess the fact that I had a black belt by high school kept me from getting unmercifully teased. Well, more than once, anyway.
On 2002-11-08 13:34, Wandering_Whistler wrote:
… I guess the fact that I had a black belt by high school kept me from getting unmercifully teased. Well, more than once, anyway. >
Interesting–another martial artist! What style? I’ve been doing tae kwon do for about 12 years–keeps me limber, but people still tease me.
On 2002-11-08 16:15, mvhplank wrote:
Interesting–another martial artist! What style? I’ve been doing tae kwon do for about 12 years–keeps me limber, but people still tease me.
Marguerite
I’ve taken a number of styles over the years (including some aikido, tae kwon do, american karate association kickboxing) , but i’m really partial to kung fu styles (five animals shao lin, wah lum, hung gar, chin na), and those are the ones I’ve stuck with for any great length of time.
[ This Message was edited by: Wandering_Whistler on 2002-11-08 16:28 ]
I’ve taken a number of styles over the years (including some aikido, tae kwon do, american karate association kickboxing) , but i’m really partial to kung fu styles (five animals shao lin, wah lum, hung gar, chin na), and those are the ones I’ve stuck with for any great length of time.
TKD’s the only thing I’ve done, not counting a couple of Arnis clnics, but I really like and trust our instructor.
I reached 3rd dan last November and get to sit on the review panel now. I feel like I’ve “arrived,” even if I’m much more interested in teaching the kids forms than kicking their heinies.
Marguerite
PS–getting back to a whistle topic, Serpent’s Village Smithy whistle is my first choice if threatened with a bar fight. (Strictly as a defensive weapon, of course.)
M
Marguerite
Gettysburg
[ This Message was edited by: mvhplank on 2002-11-08 16:53 ]
On 2002-11-08 13:51, JessieK wrote:
I was wondering if anyone else was watching that…I laughed out loud when I saw Joey playing a duet with the nanny. Hee.
I watched it. It was a hilarious.
What was the saying: having a male nanny is like having a female… a female..
What? What?
As usual.. the show always ends too soon!
Did you notice there was even 15 more minutes extra?
PS–getting back to a whistle topic, Serpent’s Village Smithy whistle is my first choice if threatened with a bar fight. (Strictly as a defensive weapon, of course.)
I’ll take a Chieftain low D…it’s nice and sturdy, and almost the exact same size as the Dizi chinese flute used in Wah Lum flute fighting forms.
A long time ago, before I knew the story of Phil Hardy, I found a little musical instrument shop in Chicago near Grant Park and bought a Chieftain Low D (I have since given it away). As I walked back to my hotel, I felt totally safe, knowing I could smash a would-be mugger senseless if I got attacked. Fortunately, nobody got hurt that night.
Flute fighting? Are you serious? If so, that’s something I’d have to see! lol
Serious. This is the best I could come up with on the web, though that flute on the cover is much bigger than would be typical. Really not much difference than learning to fight with a stick.
Well, actually now that I think about it from a martial arts point of view, it makes sense. If you lived in a place where weapons were not allowed, I guess you could learn to defend one’s self with something that could legitamatly be carried, like a musical instrument.
[ This Message was edited by: jeffmiester on 2002-11-08 22:35 ]
And don’t forget how we got the modern-day shakuhachi. When samurai were dissarmed in the Edo period (17th-18th century) they redesigned the Japanese flute into a weapon. They started using root-end bamboo which is thicker, of course, and delivers a better whack, I guess. (I haven’t hit anyone with mine, YET. Personally, I’ve been thinking the same thing as WanderingWhistler, why not just skip right to the Overtons? You could do some serious damage with one of those babies!
As it happens, I brought up the topic of defensive flute fighting with my instructor tonight. He thought it would make an interesting demonstration and since I’m under pressure to come up with a demo, that may be it. He’s got the world’s best memory for obscure martial arts films, so I’ll ask him about the flute fighting mentioned above.
As an aside, I loaned my old school Boehm flute to his daughter so she could decide if that was the band instrument she wanted to play without having to rent one. I tried to tempt her with a whistle but she wasn’t interested. Maybe when she’s older…
On 2002-11-08 19:22, Wandering_Whistler
I’ll take a Chieftain low D…it’s nice and sturdy, and almost the exact same size as the Dizi chinese flute used in Wah Lum flute fighting forms. >
