Breaking the Silence / Angela's Ashes

Every now and then this blog goes silent because my schedule goes completely out of control. But now I'm back. I have loads of things I've been waiting to post. The "travels" topics range from some in-depth description of my adventures in East London last summer to recommendations about sightseeing in New York. Although vegetarian concerns are still a theme of this blog, I can't say I have any urgent "truffles" posts. However, I have an interesting "tunes" post coming up, as well as a new "technology" feat to report -- and you can be sure that "turtles" will creep in somehow!

I have just finished reading Angela's Ashes for the third time. I love that book. Every time I read it, I appreciate it for a different reason. This time I zoned in on how as young children we don't see how bad things really are. Regardless of what is wrong (poverty, bad parenting, poor relationships amongst family members), we accept our family life until we mature enough to start realizing that other families are different. Frank McCourt illustrates the lovely things as well as the unlovely things about both his parents, without bemoaning or extolling either aspect.

So come on back! Blogging season is in full bloom - just like spring!


To see blog posts about other books I've read, click HERE.



© 2010, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

The Snow of 2010

New Yorkers got pounded with snow in January and February. Two of the bigger storms hit on January 2 and February 10. Generally I'm not a big fan of snow, but this year it was especially pretty because there was very little wind. The snow could cling to the branches of the trees, and my everyday world took on a bit of magic.

Here are the best of my winter snow pictures. Most are from Stuyvesant Town, the Manhattan apartment complex where I live. Others are from Times Square where I work.

The Stuyvesant Town Christmas tree looked quite elegant in the snow!

A completely different type of evergreen, I can't decide if this tree looks ballerina-like and comical, or menacing and ghoulish.

Back view of the playground outside the building where I live.
It's closed today, kids.

Front view of the same playground. Note the time on the clock over the center structure. It's 10:30 AM and I'm clearly late for work.

A cluster of snow-lined trees.

The red bark on this tree contrasts nicely with the snow.

The cab adds a splash of color.

Times Square, looking north on Seventh Avenue. Here, the snow melts quickly from the traffic and the heat of the subway under the street. My camera wasn't able to show how hard it was snowing, but that's why the cars and buses all have their headlights on at 11:20 AM when this picture was taken.

From the 15th floor of the office building where I work, we can see the snow gracing Madame Toussaud's hand atop her wax museum located on 42nd Street.

6:43 PM and it's still snowing in Times Square.
Yes, friends, I went to work in a blizzard. Sad...

© 2010, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

My Flute Journey Continues

Since the December 25th arrival of my Peter Noy flute, I've been happily adapting to it. Both my embouchure and my hands are undergoing many changes. As I practice every day, I see rapid progress. If nothing else, switching from flute to flute over the past few years has taught me how to quickly adjust to a new instrument, a skill I hope I will no longer need!

Playing a different flute involves work in several areas.

• EMBOUCHURE: One must learn how best to direct air across the flute's blow hole so that a variety of timbres can be produced and proper pitch can be maintained. This area of work involves strengthening and retraining the muscles of the face and lips.
• HANDS: One must train the fingers to cover the holes. The fourth finger (the ring finger) on each hand is usually the most problematic, as it is the weakest and hardest to control. The finger span of my hands is average, but even so, I need to develop more strength to consistently cover the holes when playing at top speeds.

To strengthen my embouchure and hands, I am doing two types of work:

• TECHNICAL: Long tones develop embouchure strength and accurate pitch. Finger exercises allow me to work on various patterns that will develop my coordination while I gain strength in the wider hand stretch required of my right hand. I'm working on my left hand position, rolling the headjoint inwards to give more freedom to my left wrist and to better balance the flute against my index finger. I'm also paying attention to throat articulation and the position of my right thumb.
• TUNES: To keep from being bored out of my mind, I declared January to be Polka Month. Polkas are easy to learn and fun to play in sessions. Conal O'Grada, my teacher at Willie Clancy Week last summer, taught us some polkas so I reviewed those. I'm also learning a few from Fliuit, a flute instructional tutor by June McCormack as well as from The Irish Flute Player's Handbook by flutemaker Hammy Hamilton. I've worked on 15 polkas in January and I'm having a pretty good time, so maybe I'll keep going for another few weeks.

Thinking about how I came to develop these transitioning skills, I started to recall my journey through Irish traditional music. Being an inveterate list maker, my recollections took the form of a timeline which begins before I started blogging. Once the blog was established, I had a place to reflect on my frustrations and record my progress. Note the links and corresponding labels used for grouping similar topics.

• July 2003 Purchase of a Cillian Ó Briain Improved Feadog D whistle at the The Living Tradition shop (now closed) in Cork City, Ireland.
• 2003-2004 Whistle lessons with Bill Ochs
• Spring 2004 Took Mick Moloney's History of Celtic Music at New York University
• Spring 2004 Joined the NYU-based Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra (WSHSO)
• 2004-2005 Took whistle lessons with Mike Rafferty (Rafferty)
• 2004-2008 Attended Catskills Irish Arts Week (Catskills Irish Arts Week)
• Fall 2005 Switch my primary instrument from tin whistle to flute
• 2005-2006 Weekly Flute Lessons with Mike Rafferty (Rafferty)
• July 10, 2006 Inspired by Joanie (Flute Journey)
• 2006-2010 Occasional flute lessons with Mike Rafferty (Rafferty)
• Jan 28, 2007 Starting to Play in Sessions (Flute Journey)
• Feb 02, 2007 Silver Flute vs. Irish Flute (Flute Journey)
• June 13, 2007 Alternate Fingering for C# (Flute Journey)
• Oct 21, 2007 Playing in Sessions, an update (Flute Journey)
• 2007-2008 Played with Lorcan Otway in Sorcha Dorcha (Sorcha Dorcha)
• March 29, 2008 Sandalwood Headjoint for my Silver Flute (Flute Journey)
• April 20, 2008 Flute Dilemma Again (or rather, still) - re-evaluating the silver flute solution (Flute Journey)
• May 09, 2008 Flute Dilemma Resolved - decision to get a Peter Noy keyless wooden flute (Flute Journey)
• Aug 17, 2008 Finding an Interim Flute - purchase of the Casey Burns mopane Folk Flute (Flute Journey)
• Dec 17, 2008 Flute Choice Refined - decision to add keys (Flute Journey)
• April 30, 2009 Ireland Bound - switch to a borrowed Burns boxwood flute (Flute Journey)
• July 2009 Attended Willie Clancy School of Traditional Music, Miltown Malbay, Ireland (Willie Week)
• Jan 16, 2010 My New Flute - arrival of the Peter Noy flute (Flute Journey)

The collage below makes the point in a more concise way, showing the variety of instruments I've played since 2003.

Top left - borrowed Casey Burns keyless boxwood flute

Top middle - my Cillian Ó Briain tin whistle (2004 photo, lesson with Mary Bergin)

Top right - Peter Noy head joint, on loan, for my silver flute

Bottom left - borrowed Terry McGee keyless African blackwood flute

Bottom middle - my Casey Burns mopane folk flute

Bottom right - my Wm. S. Haynes handmade solid silver flute

Center - my Peter Noy 6-keyed boxwood flute

Yes, the years since that momentous visit to Ireland in 2003 have been full of growth and adventure. During that time I've become acculturated in the world of traditional Irish music and have learned many tunes. I've experimented with Irish piano accompaniment and have discovered I can sing a bit when I'm of a mind to do so. I've even tried set dancing. Flute is my primary interest though, and now that I have a good instrument I'm ready to do some serious work on my playing abilities. If only there were more hours in the day!

© 2010, Linda Mason HoodTruffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Music in the Mountains and on the Subway

On January 16, 2010, the Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra performed in Queens at the New York Irish Center. Our pianist, Brendan Dolan, was giving a lecture called Music in the Mountains. This fascinating talk focused on a region of the Catskills where Irish Americans have vacationed for generations. Brendan researched this topic for his master's degree in Irish and Irish-American Studies at New York University. The event was well attended and the food was great. Click here to see the New York Irish Center's report which includes a few pictures.

I traveled to our gig by subway. Nothing unusual about that. I was plugged into my iPod listening to a recent CD by Green Fields of America. The WSHSO plays many of the tunes on particular CD, so I was tappin' my foot and gettin' in the groove for the evening's performance when a young woman named Lisa interrupted me. Lisa explained that she was interviewing people for her blog called What Are They Listening To On The Subway. We chatted, she made careful note of my music and snapped my picture. In just a few minutes my routine subway ride was turned into a real New York adventure. Click here to see the post. Thanks, Lisa, and good luck with your project!

© 2010, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

My New Flute!

It arrived on Christmas day. A post office deliveryman rang my doorbell at 10:56 AM and handed me the package I've been waiting for since May 8, 2008. My new flute is finally here!

My Merry Christmas!
A new coat (with tags still dangling from the sleeve), a new watch, and a flute!

The flute Peter Noy made for me is a six-keyed boxwood flute. The head joint is unlined and unthinned, with a Cooper cut embouchure which includes a blow edge insert made of horn. The rings which reinforce all the joints are made of horn as well. Modeled after the Rudall & Rose 19th century flutes, it has rather large Nicholson-style finger holes. The middle joint is divided. With six keys, it is a fully chromatic instrument. The traditional Irish repertoire doesn't use the flute's third octave, but this flute does in fact have a viable and pleasant sounding third octave.

The flute, cleaning rod, and humidifier rest in modified art supply case.

The head crown of my flute was made by Catherine Crowe of Toronto, an enamel artist and traditional Irish singer I met in the Catskills. Unbeknownst to me, Peter and Catherine have been friends for years, which is how Peter came to have the enamel crown Catherine made. Reading my blog posts, Peter recently discovered that I knew Catherine as well and suggested I might like her crown on my flute.

Catherine's art uses patterns and objects that draw their significance from the folklore of ancient Celtic, Scythian and Etruscan cultures. The pattern she used for the flute's crown is the Celtic triple spiral. According to Catherine, The triple spiral is one of the oldest Celtic designs. It was in use from the 7th century BC right up to the present. This particular one is based on an enamelled escutcheon from around the 7th century AD. (Click here for more information)


Interestingly, Catherine's triple spiral is very similar to Peter's logo which incorporates a stylized representation of the three-pronged trillium, the emblem and official flower of Ontario. The trillium holds special significance for Peter because he grew up in Ontario and lived in Toronto for many years.


Like the flute makers of old, Peter engraves his logo on each section of the flute. The main stamp, to the right of the right-most ring in the picture below, has the letters NOY arranged in a semi-circle under the trillium shape. From this photo's prespective the stamp is on its side, with the N at the bottom. The main stamp is located on the flute's third joint. The stamp Peter uses on all the other joints is simply a very tiny trillium, as seen on either side of the left-most ring. You can see these a little better, especially the one on the lighter piece of boxwood. Double-click on the picture below to enlarge it.


At first I thought Catherine's design was a fancier form of Peter's logo. However, in email conversation with both Catherine and Peter, I realized that each design was distinct, with its own meaning and story. It's a rather an uncanny coincidence that the two are so similar!

In the end, I came to appreciate the synchronicity of my flute's two symbols. It reminds me of the ribbons in a Celtic knot, twisting through both personal and historical circumstances. All of the Canadian provinces, including Ontario, took in many immigrants from Ireland, particularly during 1800's as a result of the Great Famine. As a result, Ontario has a rich and lively Irish community, with an Irish Canadian population of approximately two million people according to the 2006 census. Living in Ontario and participating in the Irish community, both Catherine and Peter would have been exposed to many Celtic patterns over the years. Likewise, I'm sure they both would have seen the trillium represented in many forms for various reasons. In an email exchange with Peter about the relationship of his trillium logo to the triple spiral, he concluded it was what Joyce called " the ineluctable modality of the visible." (and if you need help with that statement, as I did, click here)

In closing, here are a few more pictures. Actually, taking good flute pictures is quite difficult. One needs a much better camera than mine and proper lighting to prevent the the flash or the sun from reflecting off the finish and distorting the rich hues of the wood. Nevertheless, I hope these photos will give you some idea of the marvelous workmanship that goes into a Peter Noy flute. I'm just thrilled with it. Bet you never would have guessed!!

© 2010, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Testing the Times Square Ball

This year I had to work on December 30, 2009. I was happy about going to work on this particular day because being in the office meant I would be able to watch the test of the New Year's Eve ball drop. From the 30th floor of the Times Square office building where I work, I had a great view of an event which very few people get to see. Naturally I took a few pictures.

Here, the unlit ball is resting at the bottom of the pole behind the Toshiba sign.

Here's a closer view of the ball, showing one of it's many colored patterns.

The test of the ball went well, as you can see below. Using iMovie I was able to splice together several short video clips taken with my digital camera. The background music is Ramsey Lewis playing What Are You Doing New Year's Eve. Have a look!

(Tip: the video quality is better if you don't go to the full screen view. It's a rather old camera.)

Two years ago I wrote about the 100th Times Square Ball-Drop. Last year a new ball was installed. The Times Square Alliance website describes last year's ball as follows: "The new Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball is a 12 foot geodesic sphere, double the size of previous Balls, and weighs 11,875 pounds. Covered in 2,668 Waterford Crystals and powered by 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDS, the new Ball is capable of creating a palette of more than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns producing a spectacular kaleidoscope effect atop One Times Square."

For the 2009 ball drop, the new 2008 ball was modified to include 288 new Waterford crystal panels. The clear glass panels have a swirling Celtic design with a colored icon in the center. The YouTube video below offers more details and shows closeups of the panels.




Twenty-Ten... 20-10... It has rather a nice ring, don't you think? It's a number that is fun to say aloud. (Remember how pleased you were when you realized you could count backwards?!) We can't turn back the clock. I'm not even sure we would want to. (Ok, I lied - maybe we could turn it back just a little bit!!) All kidding aside, though, hopefully 2010 will be an upbeat year in which we take more joy from the basic, simple pleasures of life and focus on what's really important.

Happy New Year!

© 2010, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Sing We All Noel

This Christmas season has been full of Irish music activities. For me, the Christmas season began in early December when I attended a Cherish The Ladies concert, a rousing, energetic performance of many of the songs and tunes on their new Christmas CD, A Star in the East. As a member of the Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra I was part of Mick Moloney's Irish Christmas concert series at the Irish Arts Center. The WSHSO also played in the Airneal na Nollag, an annual holiday celebration at New York University's Glucksman Ireland House. Additionally, we provided music for the Christmas party of the Irish American Bar Association of New York. I attended a session at the Landmark Tavern when Jimmy Crowley was in town. I've been to several sessions at Lillie's this month, and last night I went to the massive Christmas session at Dempsey's. All the bars are beautifully decorated for Christmas, making the sessions seem very festive.

Christmas music is everywhere. My husband has many CDs containing both secular and sacred Christmas music. We listen to them at home and in the car, and I have loaded my favorites onto my iPod. On the piano I practiced both Advent and Christmas hymns in preparation for accompanying two worship services this month at Manhattan Mennonite Fellowship. On the silver concert flute I'm working on Danse des Mirlitons from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Ballet, to be played at MMF on January 3, 2010. On the wooden Irish flute I re-learned the Christmas Eve reel, a standard of the season. During the Irish Arts Center gig I enjoyed the repeated performances of Mary's Boy Child as sung by Donie Carroll, Louise Sullivan's poignant rendition of Jackson Browne's The Rebel Jesus, and Mick Moloney's driving version of Down Among the Bushes of Jerusalem. Liz Hanley's singing of Christmas in the Trenches brought home the painful reminder that war (still) prevails instead of "Peace on Earth" about which the angels sang. Liz also sang The Cherry Tree carol which I sang at MMF last year. My own new Christmas song this year is an Appalachian song called In the Valley. I learned it from a Little Windows Christmas CD called Snowman's Waltz. Hopefully I'll get to sing it somewhere before the season is over.

Music is an integral part of the Christmas holiday season. It speaks to us, moves us, in a way that nothing else can. Christmas music washes over us everywhere we go. It permeates the air. It comforts us and helps us rejoice. I think perhaps it's one way that God comes to earth and makes His presence felt. That's my experience anyway. Perhaps it's yours as well. So...

May your Christmas be merry, and May there be music!
Sing We All Noel

© 2009, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Remembering Frank McCourt

Left to right: Liz Kennedy, Jimmy Crowley, me, Mick Moloney, Daniel Neely,
Malachy McCourt, David Amram, Tony Horswill, Kate Bowerman.

Last night I participated in a very special event called Remembering Frank McCourt, a memorial gathering at Symphony Space for the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Angela's Ashes who died on July 19, 2009. Attending this event caused me to reflect on the many ways I was connected to Frank McCourt.