HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Yesterday’s discussion about the opera – – you all are so wonderful! Made me think about a couple of things. First, happy Tuesday! And I am so happy to see you.
And as a result, there's a giveaway today! Keep reading.
But yesterday, someone mentioned learning about opera from Bugs Bunny. Absolutely! And I found a great clip of it. Just a tiny bit.
It's still SO funny!
Also, we need to mark the life of the hilarious Tom Lehrer, whose seemingly simple but actually brilliant satirical songs have made me laugh until tears come down my cheeks.
He died this week at 90-something, and left so many of us knowing all the words.
You've heard the unbelievably outrageous Vatican Rag, right? And Who’s Next, so prescient.
Each song so perfectly written, not only ingeniously worded, but with the perfect type of music. His hilarious homage/obituary for Alma Mahler for instance, is a Viennese waltz.
Also. I’m seeing articles now, more than one, more than two, about the rising popularity of mah-jongg.
Do you know how to play mah-jongg?
I have a vague vague vague memory of my Gramma Minnie playing it, and I remember thinking that the tiles were gorgeous, and that I wish I knew what they meant. And then it all vanished from my life somehow.
So I looked up how to play mah-jongg on YouTube. And here it is.
Friends, I got through 52 seconds of it before I thought nope, nope, nope, I have no idea.
Do you know how to play?
And those are my random notes for this Tuesday. Which of them would you like to discuss?
And, just to tempt you, one commenter will win an advance review copy of ALL THIS COULD BE YOURS. The only caveat is that you need to leave a review... somewhere :-)
Oh, the joys of all that we learned from those long-ago cartoons . . . .
ReplyDeleteI think Tom Lehrer gave new meaning to "satire" . . . .
Those tiles certainly are beautiful, but do I know how to actually play mah-jongg? Nope . . . .
Yes, that was an absolute classic! SO funny. ANd Tom Lehrer, according to all the obituaries, was a really wonderful guy, too..
DeleteJust learned from social media that Tom Lehrer died. His name sounded familiar to me. I remember the bugs bunny singing opera to prevent Elmer Fudd from doing something?
ReplyDeleteNo idea how to play mah jong. Was that from the joy luck club novel?
However I know how to play go fish, tic tac toe and ? Cards 🃏? My math teacher used the cards to teach us math. Was there a card game called twenty-one?
SUre, 21! And I never thought about that as a way of learning math! genius.
DeleteI never saw that cartoon before. It's hilarious. I did read a few days ago about Tom Lehrer passing. He was a favorite of mine. No one so witty while being so on target.
ReplyDeleteYes, what a brilliant and hilarious and wise person...
DeleteWhile I think of it, after yesterday's great conversations about opera, I just finished reading book one of Ian Rankin's Inspector Banks series. My husband and I loved the TV series, but I'd never read the books. What a gorgeous writer! And I loved how he described the operas he listened to. Of course, I'm sure that every single Red has read the series long ago (I'm usually a little late to discover writers), but it was lovely to settle into his writing for more than the mystery, although the mystery was terrific.
DeleteOops. That was Peter Robinson, not Ian Rankin. Elizabeth Varadan
DeleteI've played mah-jongg a long time ago. Can I join in a game? No, I would need a refresher course.
ReplyDeleteDon't enter me in the contest as I've already read the book and LOVED it.
Aww.. Dru Ann--thank you SO much for the kind words about ALL THIS COULD BE YOURS! I honestly stared applauding when I saw what you said!
DeleteMy 103 year old mother plays mahjongg all the time. She tried to teach me once, but I just didn't get it. I tried to teach her how to play sudoku, and she didn't get it. Guess we're just not in sync! I'd love a copy of your book, though.
ReplyDeleteGreat minds think..differently! xx
DeleteI was one of the commenters who mentioned the Barber of Seville Bugs Bunny cartoon. But I have never seen the clip you posted. It was this barber chair scene that I remember:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiYW2d7RWw4
HANK: Don't enter me in the giveaway. I have a digital ARC of your wonderful new book.
A classic episode, Grace! Thanks for the link. Who knew we were getting a painless musical education?
DeleteGrace, that's exactly where i got the idea! xxx And the barber chair is wonderful, too!
DeleteThank you for those clips! I need to go back and listen to more Lehrer.
ReplyDeleteNever played mah-jongg, and have no desire to learn. Instead, Hugh and I play cribbage every afternoon or evening, a practice we started up in 2020. It's fun, a combo of skill and luck, and I'm fascinated by the cycles of winning and losing and close finishes.
Cycles? Like how?
DeleteI might have a six or eight game winning streak, and then he wins four or five in a row. And the next game might come down to a matter of two or three points at the very end!
DeleteEdith,
DeleteMy dad’s family was really big on playing cribbage. He taught us kids. However, I never played it often enough to remember the rules. I did like it, though. Dad died when I was in my twenties, and I’ve played cribbage only a handful of times since then.
DebRo
That is so strange..because it has to be coincidence, doesn't it?
DeleteLove love love the Bugs Bunny opera! On Mah-jongg, the ladies in our Key West condo play by the pool. I hatched the idea of that kind of group solving a murder through Mah-jongg tells. I sat with them for an afternoon to get tips and watch them play. It was a hoot! The story turned out to be so much fun. It was called LAST MANGO IN PARADISE and it was published in a New England Crime Stories anthology. I'll have to dig that up! As for now, I'm sure I wouldn't remember a thing!
ReplyDeleteOh, that's so great! Brilliant!
DeleteLeher was 97 and an icon of my youth. Bugs Bunny was a tad younger; (his earliest incarnation came in 1938) but was also an icon of my youth. Mah-jongg (with one "G" or two) has been around in one form or another since the 18th century and was not an icon of my youth -- I had better things to do in the 18th century.
ReplyDeleteI bet you did, Jerry! ;-)
DeleteHA HA! xx
DeleteThey have mah-jongg every Thursday at 1pm in the card room at the club house in my community. The lady who organizes it also gives lessons. The lessons are two 2-hour sessions. And then you can play at the beginner table on Thursdays. I haven’t tried it thus far. The video you posted here gives me a good idea of what it is all about. The tile shuffling looks like my speed…no thought or strategy involved in that! Inside activities are starting to be more enticing with the expected temp of 95 and heat index of 112 today. The pool is going to feel like bath water.
ReplyDeleteThey play a couple of card games here that I haven’t heard of before. Samba and Hand & Foot.Then there are some different poker and bridge groups too. Fridays is Mexican Train which is a domino game that I have heard of but never played. Couple of dice games we have are Bunco and Left Right Center. No skill involved in those; just roll the dice and be willing to lose your money. So lots of choices if Mah-jongg isn’t your cup of tea.
DeleteYes, it's gong to be SO HOT here, too! Keep us posted on your games...sounds like you a re in a fun place! But hold on to your money....:-)
DeleteMay need a second cup of coffee…Gotterdammerung with Elmer Fudd as Siegfried too early! But it brought a smile. Happy Tuesday all. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteAnd to you! xx
DeleteI absolutely love that opera clip, even the ridiculous horse! My husband and I watch old Bugs Bunny clips occasionally since they’re still so hilarious. Thanks for giving me a laugh to start the day! I’ve never played mah jong but would love to learn.
ReplyDeleteThey really are endlessly hilarious. Got to say. xx
DeleteThose clips are priceless!! Thanks, Hank. I LOVED Tom Lehrer. And he relinquished copyright control over all of his lyrics! The Old Dope Peddler. Poisoning Pigeons in the Park. Be Prepared (that's the Boyscout's marching song)... I know a ton of them by heart.
ReplyDeleteMah Jong. It's super popular. Right up there with pickle ball. Neither of which do I do. Bridge is my game, thank you very much. And I have a weekly game at my senior center and I play with my sister and her husband online. (Bridgebase! It's a great online venue for remote bridge games.)
Bridge! Hallie, you can teach us! (I used to know...)
DeleteThe clip from Bugs Bunny was hilarious! It reminded me of playing charades when my son had to get us to say "Gotterdammerung". I won't go into detail, but we laughed SO hard.
ReplyDeleteMy dad used to bring Tom Lehrer records home from the PSU library. Tom made fun of everything, and in such a light-hearted manner. He was a talented musician as well as a brilliant lyricist. Rest in peace and power, Tom.
OH, that charades game--I can absolutely picture that--SO funny!
DeleteThe only mahjong game I play is online--used to play once a day, but that has gone by the wayside. I grew up on Bugs Bunny--we have dvds of those cartoons in the library. They are mostly checked out by grandparents introducing grandkids to the classics!
ReplyDeleteYes, it is a great entertainment to share!
DeleteOh, the Vatican Rag! Genuflect, genuflect, genuflect! Lehrer was brilliant, wicked, but so good-natured. And Alma was awesome.
ReplyDeleteHere's another fun clip of Bugs and Elmer in their endless struggles, from the LA Philharmonic: https://youtu.be/uYBce9Gsz7g
The only mahjongg I play is the electronic version, and all you have to do is match tiles strategically to remove them all. No need to remember Chinese characters, thank you.
What I find most fascinating about the game is how a Chinese game became associated so closely with groups of Jewish women, in addition to the traditional Chinese ones. What is that connection? How did those two ethnic groups get linked?
That is a GREAT question! Anyone? Anyone? (And Hallie, that sounds like a great book for you...)
DeleteI was just thinking that, Karen. My mother had a mah jongg group that met once a week and I remember the tiles were so exotic looking. Many of my contemporaries play mah jongg. I am guessing that the proximity of new cultures to one another in American cities is at least part of the reason for Jewish women to have found this appealing game.
DeleteIf I had to describe what I remember of it, it's like gin rummy with tiles.
Judy, I was wondering if it is at least tangentially related to Chinese food on Christmas Day. Thinking of NYC, and how turn of the century immigrant populations stuck together in neighborhoods, I was wondering if Chinatown was near any of the Jewish communities. It just seems like such an odd junction.
DeleteOh, the opera clips! And Tom Lehrer! 💙😢 I listened to so much of his music in my 20s and 30s. Ad all the classical music that used to be in cartoons. There was a great one with, I think, a lion as a conductor playing Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody #2 while animals were building a tower.
ReplyDeleteYes Suzette, the Hungarian Rapsody one is my favorite! Up and down stairs, slamming doors, perfectly timed to the music! My husband used to sing 'Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit' when battling the moles.
DeleteOH, I'd forgotten about that! Looking it up right now. And Charlene, Kill the Wabbit is a CLASSIC!
DeleteOops, mea culpa, my memory! I should have looked it up first, but Hungarian Rhapsody is one of my favorite songs, so that jumped into my head. The stairs and doors were a different one. (which one? still funny)
DeleteI play Mah-jongg solitaire at the Washington Post's game page, and that's as far as I go. I'd love to learn the real game, though, because 1) those beautiful tiles! and 2) I love being social while playing games. I would have been wonderful during the era when everyone played bridge.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is so beautiful!
DeleteWhile I adored Bugs, and especially Foghorn Leghorn (fondly referred to as “the chicken” with my dad), this particular episode always scared me and I’m not sure I ever watched it all the way thru until now!
ReplyDeleteI have no idea how to play mah jong and really no interest in learning, ha! The Lehrer clip is wonderful.
It's funny--because the scariness is. a shadow, right?
DeleteI played mah-jongg when it appeared in the Jacqui Lawson Advent Calendar, but I have no idea if it's even close to the real thing. My mother played in a group when I was a kid. Loved the tiles, so pretty, but the only thing I remember about the game was that the rules changed annually and it required a new blue leather book to keep playing.
ReplyDeleteThe rules CHANGED annually? That is...diabolical.
DeleteI think that the new cards just listed the acceptable combinations of tiles you would need to win. Think of it as gin rummy with set hands. The rules of the game, as far as I remember, do not change.
DeleteI join in the mourning of Tom Lehrer. What a talent!
ReplyDeleteI also grew up on those Bugs Bunny cartoons and still hear those lyrics when snippets of opera go by. We used to have a church choir member who would hilariously imitate Bugs' hand motions asking for more volume.
Karen, thanks for asking the question I have long held about Mah Jong. The game is a mystery to me.
We will have to do some research about this...:-)
DeleteI don't remember this particular clip for Bugs and Elmer, but I do remember other times classic music was used in cartoons, but I may not have recognized opera for opera, just as classic music. I don't play Mah-jongg but have seen it being offered on-line and so far, I'm not interested. There is a Bridge group at church and I'm trying to learn to play. I've only been to three meetings and I'm not sure if I'm going to like it, but I'm going to try a few more times before I decide.
ReplyDeleteSUre, and It's all about being social!
Deletestick with the bridge Deana, it's a wonderful game and takes a long time to master.
DeleteBugs Bunny did great opera. I had a matching game *called* Mah-Jongg, but I'm pretty sure it bore absolutely no resemblance to the actual game. Except for the pictures on the tiles.
ReplyDeleteI learned to play cribbage this summer. Am I good? Not really. But I do enjoy it.
You can go to Edith's!
DeleteWe'll play at Malice next year, Liz!
DeleteExcellent! I have a travel board I can bring! We play with a friend at the VFW most Thursdays for a quarter a game - mostly because he's a SERIOUS cribbage player. For The Hubby and I it's just for fun and socialization.
DeleteDoes anyone still play canasta? One summer when I was 11 and my brother was 9 we played it seemingly all day every day in hot, humid Florida. Now, all I can remember is it took two decks of cards!
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, I used to play with my Gramma! She was a real shark! In the best of ways.
DeleteMy grandmother taught me so many card games! She and several of her sisters got together for card games once a week. There were a lot of sisters, all talking at once. Noisy! Oh, boy! It was something to witness!
DeleteThanks for the fun clips, Hank. I love Bugs Bunny cartoons because there’s entertainment for the kids (while exposing them to classical music) and higher level humor for the adults.
ReplyDeleteMy parents had Tom Lehrer albums, among other comedy albums. It sounds so quaint, but when I was little, we’d sit around as a family and listen to the Smothers Brothers, Allen Sherman and yes, Tom Lehrer. I didn’t really ”get” Lehrer when I was 7 or 8, but appreciate him now.
As for mahjong, I have only played the computer version, which can be addictive. I used to tell my husband I was waiting out the traffic before coming home, but really was playing game after game, trying to win one before I left!
Please don’t enter me in the giveaway as I have already pre-ordered my copy. I just wish it was coming out before Bouchercon so I could get you to sign it for me, Hank! — Pat S
Oh, Pat, thank you...Pre-orders are SO important! Thank you! xxxxxxxx
DeleteI love playing Mah-Jong, but I play it on my tablet and use an app. I know playing it on a tablet is much different than playing it in a group. I think that could be really intense and I don't know if I could keep up with the pace of a group that knows what they're doing. It is really entertaining on the tablet, maybe try that before joining a group that knows how to play the real game.
ReplyDeleteYes, so agree..it kinda sounds intense, doesn't it ?
DeleteTom Lehrer! Loved his songs. Dad even bought his comedy album. Goodbye Mom, I'm off to drop the bomb, so don't wait up for me! The Vatican Rag. All wonderful craziness.
ReplyDeleteObviously I'm back from Ohio. As for mahjong, no thanks! My MIL got into that and had her mafia over to their house every Sunday afternoon to play. She offered to teach me the game but I respectfully declined. The ladies in her group were delightful though.
In junior high I had a lot of friends who played cards and I learned canasta and umpteen versions of solitaire, and I don't remember what else. Didn't retain any of it. And I didn't fall into the bridge trap as I didn't learn it.
Bugs Bunny and opera? Yes! Loved it. And Homer and Jethro's song about the opera was hilarious. And who can forget the Marx Brothers Night at the Opera!
And now I am singing..."First we got the bomb, but that was. good, cos we love peace and brotherhood..."
DeleteMy mother in law introduced me to Mahjong 50 yrs ago. Every week we’d take my newborn daughter to the weekly game at one of her friend’s houses. They would all take turns holding her or she’d sleep in her chair on top of the portable dishwasher when it was running. Every year new cards came out and everyone was excited. I just remember some of the game but haven’t played for years.
ReplyDeleteThat is the SWEETEST memory! ANd so...new cards every year? I do NOT get this...
DeleteFrom what I understand, mah-jongg is quite popular at our senior center. Nobody gives lessons. Interested people are supposed to just show up, and hopefully someone will teach them.
ReplyDeleteOne of my friends plays with a group of women at her house every week. I get the impression that they are religiously committed to it!
Hank, don’t include me in the giveaway. I’ve already preordered book.
DebRo
Preordered THE book!
DeleteYAY DEBRO! you are my hero!!!! Thank you!
DeleteHank, the Bugs Bunny clip was hilarious!! I don't think I'd ever seen that one! They were so clever, and introduced an entire generation to classical music. Also, Tom Lehrer was so brilliant. As for Mah-jongg, even the first tutorial made my eyes glaze over... My parents played 42, which is a bridge-like game with dominoes. One of the most comforting sounds of my childhood was the click of the dominoes. I used to know how to play but it's been so many years that I've forgotten.
ReplyDeleteOh, Debs, how can we have known each other for so long and still be learning new things about each other? Aww....
DeleteAbsolutely delightful post, Hank. Loved the toon opera, and the great wit of Tom Lehrer. I also remember sitting next to my aunt at her regular Mah-jongg games. Thanks for the smiles today!
ReplyDeleteSO wonderful to see you here! xxx
DeleteLove Tom Lehrer! I played mah jong on weekends with relatives when they arrived from Hong Kong
ReplyDeleteyears ago, but not much anymore. I only know how to play the Chinese version of the game.
There are VERSIONS???
DeleteSorry i missed yesterday. Hub works from home on Monday and just throws me off completely. Anyway, love the Bugs Bunny opera lesson, and so sad about Lehrer, and I play mah jong on the computer but I don't think it counts as I have no idea what I'm doing.
ReplyDeleteOh, I am trying to picture that....xxxx
DeleteThe incomparable Tom Lehrer...Based on his music alone, I would have been front and center in his mathematics classes...ALL of them! Such a brilliant wordsmith! I have an album of his, in vinyl!
ReplyDeleteI believe my mother dabbled with mahjong ... she was a consummate bridge player, though not quite on the level of the woman who hired me to nanny her children so she could travel cross country to bridge tournaments... Thank you for the cartoon clips illustrating the grandeur of opera ... something my whole family enjoys.
Yes, as according to what I have been reading he was was a terrific and devoted teacher.
DeleteWould like to publish, but no room before publish button! Margaret Laing
ReplyDeleteIt works!
DeleteThe posts are hilarious. Poor Elmer Fudd…..Bugs Bunny always came out ahead.
ReplyDeleteAs for Mah-Jongg….nope!
Dianne Mahoney
Yes, Bugs is a smartie!
DeleteWhat a life! I shared Lehrer’s Oedipus song with students as essential background for reading ANTIGONE. ;-)
ReplyDeleteALL THIS . . . is a wonderful, suspenseful book!
-- Storyteller Mary
Aw, Mary, thank you SO much! xxxxx
DeleteOK, trying again to write my comment. As the great Tom Lehrer would have said in one of my favorites, persistent, L-Y. Thanks for the musical treats today. "What's Opera, Doc?" is one of my favorites, and even yields my best-ever dry cleaners story. I was waiting in line at the cleaners, and I could hear some familiar notes on the radio over the clanging machines. I couldn't pick up the tune from the notes, but somebody ahead of me did and started singing along exactly when "Kill da wabb-it, kill da WABB-it" started.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the whole line fell apart laughing. If I hadn't been laughing so hard myself, I'd have sung back "Be vewy quiet!"
That is a GREAT story! LOVE!
Deleteand yes, persistent--LY!
DeleteLeher was new to me and I greatly enjoyed the video you shared. One of today's comedians that always makes me laugh is Michael McIntyre. That man can take common everyday happenings and turn them into outrageously funny bits. As for mahjong, I only play it online and then only the beginner games. I think I understand the concept, but it really is something you have to experience to grasp. -- Victoria
ReplyDeleteYes, I think that is exactly right--probably easier to learn by watching than by reading instructions. (And yes, he was SO funny!)
DeleteOh, I LOVE Michael McIntyre!!! So clever, so funny!!
DeleteSo good to remember Tom Lehrer. My rather worldly aunt introduced me, and at first - sentimental teen that I was - I was puzzled. And then....I got it! And I've been getting it ever since. A brilliant, gifted man
ReplyDeleteSO agree!
DeletePS The comment above is also me. So---many, many years ago I had a male colleague who was a Chinese immigrant. He was kind of amused that mah jong is a "ladies" game in US. In Chinese circles, he said, men play it in games that might last a whole weekend, and for very high stakes, too. Very cutthroat.
ReplyDeleteOh, that is fascinating, Triss! COuld be a great movie, too..
DeleteI love the Bugs Bunny clip. It's a classic. I don't play Mahjong. I am currently reading Catch Me If You Candy by Ellie Alexander. It's a cozy mystery. Jules' friend finds a warning note in a mahjong set she buys at a second hand store. The note is sonehow connected to the murder.
ReplyDeleteSO fun to hear this! And what a cool idea for a plot twist!
DeleteI learned to appreciate classical music while watching the cartoons, especially on Saturday mornings.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun post, Hank. I love Bugs Bunny cartoons and had forgotten that many of the old cartoons used classical scores until Grace mentioned it yesterday. Remember Disney's Fantasia with Mickey Mouse starring as The Sorcerer's Apprentice? That's my favorite Mickey Mouse cartoon.
ReplyDeleteTom Lehrer was a treasure.
As for Mah jongg, my mother played once a week with a close knit group of friends. The tiles were gorgeous and everyone was always excited to get their new cards. The cards list the possible winning combinations.
I have also heard that in Chinese culture where the game originated, Mah Jongg is played by men and the stakes can be very high. Gambling is viewed differently in different cultures. Western attitudes and sensitivities are not the same as Eastern.
If you like Tom Lehrer, check out Anna Russell - a gem with the opera.
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon Hank, I loved watching Bugs Bunny cartoons when I was growing up and I made sure that my daughter and son got to watch them also. This is a really cute one with Elmer Fudd, he was a character! I had never heard of the game Mah jongg. I enjoyed this post. Have a great rest of the day and week. Alicia Haney. aliciabhaney(at)sbcglobal(dot)net
ReplyDeleteBugs Bunny cartoons? Yes, so fun. Tom Lehrer, so wildly and irreverently funny. Satire at its best. But Mah Jongg? No clue. Nobody I knew played it.
ReplyDelete