I was cleaning out an old computer and came across this story, which I haven't seen for years. It's interesting especially because it passes a spell check. If you have trouble understanding it, try reading it quickly out loud.
Ladle Rat Rotten Hut by H. L. Chace, Professor of French, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, 1940
Wants pawn term, dare worsted ladle gull hoe lift wetter mutter inner ladle cordage honor itch offer lodge, dock florist. Disc ladle gull orphan worry putty ladle rat cluck wetter ladle rat hut, and fur disk raisin, pimple caulder Ladle Rat Rotten Hut.
Wan moaning Ladle Rat Rotten Hut's mutter colder inset, "Ladle Red Rotten Hut, heresy ladle basking winsome burden barter end shock her kook keys. Tick disk basking tudor cordage offer groin mutter how lifts honor udder site offer florist. Shaker lake! Dun stopper laundry wrote! Dun stopper peck floors! Dun daily-doily inner florist, an yonder nor sorghum stenches shooed jew stopper torque wet strainers."
"Hoe-cake, murder," resplendent Ladle Rat Rotten Hut, end tickle ladle basking, stuttered oft.
Honor wrote tudor cordage offer groin murder, Ladle Rat Rotten Hut mitten anomalous woof. "Wail, wail, wail!" set disk wicket woof, "Evanescent Ladle Rat Rotten Hut. Wares are putty ladle gull goring wizard ladle basking?"
"O hoe! Heifer present woke," setter rachet woof toe Ladle Rat Rotten Hut. Buddy taught tomb shelf, "Oil ticker shirt court tudor cordage offer groin murder. Oil ketchup wetter letter, end den - Oar bore!!!"
Soda wicket woof tucker shirt court, end whinny retched a cordage offer groin murder, picked inner windrow, an sore debtor pore oil worming worse lion inner bet. Inner flesh disk abdominal woof lipped honor bet, paunched honor pore oil worming, an adder rope. Zany pool darner nut cap end gnat gun, any curdled ope inner bet, any wafer Ladle Rat Rotten Hut.
Inner ladle wile, Ladle Rat Rotten Hut a raft attar cordage end ranker dough ball. "Comb ink, sweat hard," setter wicket woof, disgracing hiss verse. Ladle Rat Rotten Hut entity bet rum end stud buyer groin mutter's bet.
"O Grammar!" crater ladle gull historically, "Watt bag icer gut! Ah nervous sausage bag ice!"
"Battered lucky chew whiff, sweat hard," whiskered disk hoard-hoarded ammonol, wetter wicket small a pawns faze.
"O Grammar, water bag noise! A nervous sore suture anomalous prognosis!" eggs blamed ladle gull.
"Battered small your whiff, doling," inserter woof, ants noise worse twisting ants mouse worse waddling.
"O Grammar, water bag mousey gut! A nervous sausage bag mouse!"
Doze wordy on-forget-nut gull's lest warts. Oil offer sodden, throne offer carvers an sprinkling otter bet, disk curl end bloat-Thursday woof lipped own pore Ladle Rat Rotten Hut end garbled erupt. Indite worse therein offer pore ladle gull.
Name that tune! 12/02 Gregorian Chant Compline Service
Hey, it's been a while, but it's Name That Tune time again.
Last time's tune was Clamores, the theme from the TV show Cheers. This came up in conversation because someone mentioned Albania. If you haven't seen the episode, search for Cheers and Albania.
I don't think anyone got it. It's been a little while, maybe I've forgotten, but a quick check of my inbox doesn't show any guesses at all. If I'm wrong, please correct!
This week's tune is a popular secular Christmas song. It's not the first line of the tune, it's the first line of the first verse. This is one of those songs that have an introduction before the verses.
I'm doing a Christmas song partly because this is the first Compline service in Advent. Some of the tunes in the service are special for Advent - the introit, some of the versicles, the setting of the hymn, and the closing anthem all are special for Advent. Whee!
Anyways, I've taken the first line of the verse and translated it into Latin, and set it to Gregorian chant notation. Have a look at the event notification, and get ready to ...
Name that tune! 11/04 Gregorian Chant Compline Service
Last time's tune was Tinnias tintinnabulum mea, which is the pre-Disco era (i.e. ancient Roman) way of saying Ring My Bell, the tune by Anita Ward.
My MySpace friends Amy and Brandon got it right (within a few minutes of each other). Also, Joseph got it right. Who's Joseph? He's the director of the handbell choirs at Christ Church Cranbrook, where the rehearsal was where everyone but me knew this tune. He has a Doctor of Fine Arts in bell ringing or something. Here's a video of him playing the carillon:
Now it's time for another TV theme. This came up in a conversation recently about geography. The first line of this TV theme has been translated (to the best of my ability) to Latin, and set to Gregorian chant notation. Have a look at the Compline event page by following the link below, and see if you can ...
As always, feel free to contact me with corrections to my Latin or chant notation. Extra credit if you can tell me the episode that came to mind while talking about geography!
This week's tune is a disco hit from 1979. It's been covered many, many times. I seemed to be the only one at my rehearsal this evening who didn't know this tune. Yes, that's a hint - it was a rehearsal for one of the musical groups I'm in, as described in my profile.
Oh, and unlike my usual modus operandi, this is NOT the first line of the song. It's the first line of the chorus. And the second line, and the third and fourth lines too. But, in keeping, it has been translated into Latin and set to Gregorian chant notation. So, get out your mirrored disco balls and Latin dictionaries, and get ready to ...
... and, as always, don't hesitate to contact me with a guess (even a bad one), or for a hint, or to correct my Latin, or to get down to that funky disco beat.
Name that tune! 10/14 Gregorian Chant Compline Service
Last week's tune was Si habeam millionem sestertium, which is what I could call the Latin translation of If I Had A Million Dollars by the Barenaked Ladies.
Amy got it right, and so did Anne in the CCC Choir, and so did Amy. Yes, in that order.
This week's tune is a rerun. I've done it before. But, I did it back before I started blogging about them - these were in the "MySpace Bulletin Only" days. It's from a very popular classic film.
As usual, I've translated the first line into Latin, and set it to Gregorian chant notation. Have a look at the event notification, crack out your Latin dictionaries, and ...
Name that tune! 09/30 Gregorian Chant Compline Service
It's back! Can you even believe it?
My last Name That Tune was back on June 6. The tune at that time was Dominus Coelus Caeruleus, which would translate roughly to Mr. Blue Sky - yes, by the Electric Light Orchestra. Do you have a favorite cover version of it?
Amy got it right, and it only took her a record-breaking time of 3 months, 18 days, 5 hours, and 14 minutes to do it - yay!
This week's tune is by a quirky Canadian band. As usual, I've taken the first line and translated it into Latin, and set it to Gregorian chant notation. Have a look at the event page, and ...
After a long struggle with congestive heart disease, chronic renal failure, pancreatitis, and struggling with some degree of blindness for the past 10 years, my best friend Felix has passed away.
I adopted him from the Michigan Human Society shelter in midtown Detroit in 1993. I looked at him sleeping in his cage. He woke up and noticed me looking at him, and started purring - very loudly! I invited him to come and live with me, and he accepted the challenge.
He was named after Felix Mendelsohn, who I believe was named after a cat. Here's a little video clip of him.
This week's tune is from 1978, and was on one of those double-LP albums that used to exist. It's been covered a zillion times, including by a band on my friends list.
This is the last Compline service for the season. If you've been meaning to come to one of these, and haven't yet, this is your last chance for a while! Compline will resume in September.
As always, I've translated the first line into Latin and set it to Gregorian chant notation. So, crack our your Latin dictionary (if you must), have a look at the event page, and ...
Name that tune! 05/06 Gregorian Chant Compline Service
Last week's tune was Odio lectus tua, which, if I'm not mistaken, means I Hate Your Couch, which is an original tune by All Right Tokyo.
Amy continues to kick name-that-tune ass. (That means she got it right.)
This week's tune is the title track to a very popular album from 1984. The artist was featured (without consent) on the cult-following Public Access TV show in LA, "Driveways of the Rich and Famous." There, that's a very cryptic hint for ya!
As usual, I've translated the first line into Latin and set it to Gregorian Chant notation. Have a look at the event page, the chant is there near the bottom, and ...
Send me a note if you figure it out, or need a hint, or want to point out the glaring grammar error in my Latin (which I've only done to stay similar to the original tune, honest!).
The tune is on All Right Tokyo's page, on the little player window, so everyone has a chance to find it.
As usual, I've taken the first part of the song, translated it into Latin, and set it to Gregorian chant notation. Have a look at the event page - the tune is right there near the bottom - and ...
Name that tune! 04/29 Gregorian Chant Compline Service
Category: Quiz/Survey
Last week's tune was Tamquam coelum, which is Latin for Just Like Heaven by The Cure. Many, many, many bands have covered this song, including AFI, Richard Cheese, and Dinosaur Jr.
This week's tune is an oldie from 1961. It was a big hit on the U.S. Country charts AND the U.S. Pop charts! Many people today hear it every freakin' time they go to a karaoke bar.
As usual, the first line is tranlated into Latin and set to Gregorian chant notation. Have a look at the event page via the link below, and:
This week's tune is from 1987. It only got as far as #40 on the US charts, but most everyone seems to know it. Several bands have a cover version of it - in fact, one cover was used in a popular film in 2005.
So, click on the link below to look at the event page for the Compline service. The tune is near the bottom, with the first lines translated to Latin and set to chant notation. Check it out, and ...
Name that tune! 04/15 Gregorian Chant Compline Service
Category: Quiz/Survey
Well, it's been a couple weeks now. There was no Compline service on Easter, April 8 2007, because 12:01 on Easter Sunday is one of two times that church musicians traditionally go into a week-long hibernation. Sometimes it's even longer. But not for us.
Last week's tune was Mane, which is how I translate the imperative title Stay by Lisa Loeb. Yes, this was a number one hit before she was signed to a label - a feat never before accomplished, and not since repeated.
This week's tune is from 1987. It peaked at #7 on the Hot 100 chart, but still gets quite a lot of airplay - one of those tunes that just won't go away.
As usual, I've translated the first little bit into Latin and set it to chant notation. Have a look at the event page for the upcoming Compline service and ...
As always, send me a note if you figure it out, or want a hint, or want to correct my chant notation or Latin. Or if you have a tune stuck in your head.
This week's tune is the only tune to reach Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 before the artist was signed to any record label.
As always, the first line or two is translated (to the best of my abilities) into Latin, and set to Gregorian chant notation. Have a look at the event notification page, and ...
This week's tune is a show tune. That's all I need to say about it! I'm doing a show tune because I'm currently playing in the pit orchestra for Marygrove College's production of Urinetown. Whee! (I mean, wee!)
I've translated the first few lines into Latin, and set them to Gregorian chant notation, as always. Have a look at the event page, hum it to yourself, see if you recognize the Latin roots of words you might know, and ...
