46 years later

[ilan]

But why the pose on the newer pic pretending you're a finger player who needs a thumb rest? That stretched out pinkie on the adolescent one is much cuter!

I did also play fingerstyle from time to time. Here's proof from 1980. I was in the army, that's why the hair is short.

[uwe]

You have more hair at 61 than I had at 21!

Yes, all that hair, Ilan must be a descendant of Esau, no less,



whose boundless masculinity was legend.

[ilan]

I'm of Ukranian and Polish origins. Ashkenazi Jews (= of European descent, Yiddish-speaking) can be traced back genetically to eastern Europe (mainly today's Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, and Romania) but not to the middle east and the land of Israel, and are most likely descendants of the Khazar empire that converted to Judaism in the middle ages.

As for my own Jewishness, it's not very significant for me as I've been an atheist all my life.

[uwe]

I know. As have I (probably more agnostic though), but I was brought up a Catholic by my agnostic/atheist parents of likewise Catholic descent (I gave up believing when no one could explain the Holy Trinity to me coherently when I was about 10 and inquisitive, that bugged me no end - I still haven't heard a good explanation). So I refer to myself as 'culture-Catholic' these days, because to me Catholicism - like being Jewish - transcends religion and is actually a cultural umbrella. There is no Jewish 'race', that is an invention of antisemitism, and religious belief is only one aspect of Jewish culture, which as you have said has many Eastern European influences too, not just Holy Land.

"He's a real hairy Esau" was a common comment when I was a child, meant to describe anyone with prominent body hair. Probably also a cultural thing. Tellingly, I've never met anyone with a Protestant/Lutheran background who knew what it meant.

[slinkp]

That's cool that you found LITERALLY your first bass!

I hope my Montoya has been burned, it was so bad nobody should suffer with it.
Permanently warped neck made the action horrible, and the pickup was either permanently muddy or the tone control was shorted to full mud all the time.



Well, it only cost $50 USD used in 1980, and it was enough to learn "Hey Joe" and "Day Tripper".
Two years later I got a quite decent Ibanez Blazer P-copy, which I still own, though it's been much abused and modified.

[morrow]

I once had a single pickup Zen-On guitar I put some bass strings on.
And it was truly god awful. Steel reinforced neck , but no truss rod.
I was playing a bass at a party and several days later was asked to audition for a band doing the local circuit. Nobody else showed up , but the audition went quite well and I got the job. I needed a bass , and traded a Nikon camera for a slightly used Pbass. It's now fairly well worn , and I still have it.
God only knows where that Zen-On might be.
Agnostic Presbyterian.

[westen44]

I know. As have I (probably more agnostic though), but I was brought up a Catholic by my agnostic/atheist parents of likewise Catholic descent (I gave up believing when no one could explain the Holy Trinity to me coherently when I was about 10 and inquisitive, that bugged me no end - I still haven't heard a good explanation). So I refer to myself as 'culture-Catholic' these days, because to me Catholicism - like being Jewish - transcends religion and is actually a cultural umbrella. There is no Jewish 'race', that is an invention of antisemitism, and religious belief is only one aspect of Jewish culture, which as you have said has many Eastern European influences too, not just Holy Land.

"He's a real hairy Esau" was a common comment when I was a child, meant to describe anyone with prominent body hair. Probably also a cultural thing. Tellingly, I've never met anyone with a Protestant/Lutheran background who knew what it meant.

I've read Kierkegaard probably 100 times more than the Bible.  Not that there is anything wrong with the Bible.  But Kierkegaard referred to the Bible often, usually in a vague way.  Because I also question how much he read the Bible.  However, the point is Essau in the Bible was very hairy.  When Jacob tried to trick his father (who had bad eyesight) out of Essau's blessing, he had hairy goat skins put on his skin to appear to be Essau.  I've never heard the expression "he is a hairy Essau."  But that's obviously where it came from. 

BTW, Kierkegaard was also technically a Lutheran.  But he was so disgusted at how shallow Lutheranism had become by the 19th century that he was very critical of it.  On Sundays, he would sit on a bench smoking a cigar, and urging people not to go to church.  He said by not going to the Lutheran church, especially as it existed in Denmark, that's one less sin people  would have against God. 

[uwe]

Ah, the goat skin hoax, I remember!

The Old Testament would make one great Game of Thrones type series. Blood, guts, gore, non-consensual sex, fate, vengeful deities and deceit. And the good guys are all eventually killed.

[uwe]

That's cool that you found LITERALLY your first bass!

I hope my Montoya has been burned, it was so bad nobody should suffer with it.
Permanently warped neck made the action horrible, and the pickup was either permanently muddy or the tone control was shorted to full mud all the time.



Well, it only cost $50 USD used in 1980, and it was enough to learn "Hey Joe" and "Day Tripper".
Two years later I got a quite decent Ibanez Blazer P-copy, which I still own, though it's been much abused and modified.

You were kinda the earnest, serious-minded kid, weren't you? 

[Pilgrim]

You have more hair at 61 than I had at 21!

I'm fortunate in that as well.  I don't care what color it is if it's still present.

[westen44]

Ah, the goat skin hoax, I remember!

The Old Testament would make one great Game of Thrones type series. Blood, guts, gore, non-consensual sex, fate, vengeful deities and deceit. And the good guys are all eventually killed.

If people would get away from their preconceived notions of what they think the Old Testament is, and take a more Game of Thrones approach to it, I agree it would make a great series.  But that's not going to happen.  There are too many self-proclaimed experts on things like this, just like there are self-proclaimed "political experts" everywhere you go. 

[uwe]

Personally, when it comes down to full hair without too much color getting in the way, Herr Carlston/Saruman wins here.

He could get a job with Uriah Heep anytime, easy livin' alright.



Speaking of: They have a new album out and if Heep's slightly overblown melodic heavy rock is your thing, then you won't be disappointed.

[slinkp]

You were kinda the earnest, serious-minded kid, weren't you? 

I was indeed. Though occasionally I got goofy.

[uwe]

And? Did your NASA career work out?

[ilan]

I don't care what color it is if it's still present.

I was OK with my graying hair but was told by my bosses to have it dyed. Gray hair looks good on TV if it's short, but with my hair I'd look like Dumbledore. Well, as long as they're paying my hair salon bills, I can't complain.