Cemetery Dance

Cemetery Dance, the New York Times bestseller by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, is an interesting and often absorbing murder mystery was set in Manhattan.  It is always fun to read about various Manhattan landmarks since that's where I live. Zombies commit murders, and exotic West Indian voodoo references are plentiful. The book held my attention throughout most of its 566 pages, but in the end it let me down.

Congratulating Mike Rafferty

I want to add my congratulations to Mike Rafferty for being named a 2010 recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship. This award is the highest honor the United States awards to traditional musicians. I'm very pleased to see Mike recognized in this way. He surely does deserve it - for the students he's taught, the recordings he's made, and for being such a presence in the Irish music scene in both North America and in Ireland.

Mourning Pete's-A-Place

Pizza box from Pete's

On May 12th a terrible fire occurred in our neighborhood, completely destroying the Stuyvesant Convenience Store and Pete's-A-Place. Local television station NY1 provided coverage (click here to view the short video). Accounts of the fire also appeared in the NY Daily News, the Gothamist, and the Village Voice. Neighborhood blogger Ed Grieve posted loads of pictures. The best details about the cause of the fire came from the NY Post: a welding accident at Pete's ignited some cooking grease during the installation of a fire safety device. Ironic, isn't it?

We shall miss the Stuyvesant Convenience Store. It was open 24 hours a day. If you were catching an early flight, you could get a cup of coffee at 4 AM to sip in the cab on the way to the airport. If you were coming home late, you could pick up milk, orange juice, and cat food to ensure a smooth start to the next day. The Stuyvesant Convenience Store was the only place I could reliably find the correct battery for my now-outdated digital camera (which I may now have to replace). Day or night, the guys at the cash registers would often joke with us. "Where you been? I didn't see you for a while..." when you were there just yesterday. Or, ringing up the bill, they might say something like "That will be $100" to erase a preoccupied look from your face. We will surely miss the Stuyvesant Convenience Store. There are similar stores in the neighborhood, it's true, but in addition to the fact that they're all a little farther away, they don't know us.

The bigger impact, though, will result from the loss of Pete's-A-Place. When my husband and I moved into Stuyvesant Town in 1976, Pete's was already well established. We ordered carry-out pizza pretty regularly, as did everyone else in this end of Stuy Town. After our son was born, Pete's took on a different meaning. You could take a group of kids in there for pizza, and the owners and staff never complained about noise or mess. The arrival of Italian ices at Pete's marked the true beginning of summer. How our children would beam with pride when they were finally old enough to approach the counter, dollar in hand, and order their own "icie." It was a neighborhood rite of passage! For adults, pizza from Pete's became a point of reference -- the crust was thinner than Pete's (read: too thin), the sauce was spicier than Pete's (too spicy), there wasn't as much cheese as Pete's, etc. You could order off-menu too. If they had the ingredients, they would make whatever you asked for and price it fairly. My husband's standard order was spaghetti with mushroom sauce and one meatball. Along with an assortment of Italian dishes and pizza, they also served Jamaican meat patties with coco-bread, a favorite with my son. And let's not forget the buffalo chicken wings! Even though I've been a vegetarian now for about 2 years, I would occasionally "cheat" by having just one of Pete's chicken wings when someone else in the family ordered them. Pete's delivered food to our apartment at least twice a week -- because there was sufficient variety on the menu, because we enjoyed the food, because it was convenient, and because the guys at Pete's were like old friends. We have no idea what we will eat next week!

Losing Pete's will change character of the neighborhood. More personally, it will change our lifestyle, and I venture to say we're not the only family in this predicament. I have no idea how to contact any of the owners or employees at Pete's. I can only hope that somehow they will find this blog, because I'd like to say thank you. From our family and on behalf of the whole neighborhood, thank you for helping define this neighborhood. Thank you for making life easier. To the delivery guys, thanks for trekking through snow and rain with our dinner. To those behind the counter, thanks for enduring hordes of young children and for providing teens a safe haven. Thanks for converting cups of change into paper dollars for the homeless people in our neighborhood. Thanks for your kindness and patience with handicapped patrons. Over the years I've consistently witnessed all these things. We're all glad no one was hurt in the fire, and we hope Pete's owners can rebuild and come back from this tragic event.

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

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