Problem solved!

[Bilbao]

Wow! I completely agree. Cohenites from all over the world, unite! What an exotic bunch we are.

There's a lot to comment, so I'll try to do it short:

Helven:

I was wrong, I thought you were Turkish or Greek. Or 'Grecian' as Mr. Bush would have said. Anyway, glad to meet you. I've never been to St. Petesburg but some of my friends had, and they told me that's a really wonderful city, so classy. And with the Ermitage and the Perspektiva Nevsky, wow! Sad to hear about the fire on the Mariinsky theater, a fortnight ago. Hope that the damages were moderate.
And delighted to know that you like Sarasate's music. I bet you're familiar with the best known Basque musician, Maurice Ravel, as well, aren't you?

Makera:

I'm a woman. English language is not as perfect as its looks, coz' it doesn't give any clue on the gender. Romanesque languages do. Sometimes it's helpful...you know what I mean...
And yes, I like Marianne Faithfull. A classy lady with an interesting life and a very particular voice. Kind of a female version of Leonard. However, I've never heard her 'Broken English'. I'll try to do so.

Babz:

Thank you for your kind words. You're the most welcome to this corner of the Forum.

[lizzytysh]

That's a great Latin phrase , Helven. Lucky you Russians on the additional layer of humour . Interesting story on your selection of Helven from Hellespont.....and it certainly does flow naturally and well. I can't believe your English is so beautiful, with your limited exposure and application. You have a real affinity for it, including its nuances.

~ Elizabeth

[Paula]

I second Babz's comments this thread is a pleasure.

You might know Marianne Faithfull's "As tears go by"

[lizzytysh]

Yes, Babz and Paula, I agree. It's lovely watching, "Where there's a will, there's a way," manifest.

You, Bilbao, also have no reason to apologize for your English ! You write very well! Misunderstandings due to the way people express themselves also occur with speakers of the same language, even moreso in writing than in person. People's abilities to write vary greatly; plus you have no opportunity for the body language and non-verbals to assist, nor no time to immediately rephrase, when you see that misunderstandings of your intent are occurring.

On your names, I hadn't considered your being male or female, as some people intentionally choose a non-gender moniker, as they simply don't want people to know. What would be the male version of your name, Bilbao?

~ Elizabeth

[Makera]

Hi Helven, and warmest of welcomes to you Barbara!

What a lovely thing to say, Babz! Please 'pull up a chair', we'll always keep it 'warm' for you. We need more like you. I discovered (or should I say, 'stumbled' over) Bilbao and Helven when I was weary of the 'war' on/in/around here. What a soul-soothing delight you 3 are... I have to ditto Helven, though, what's the "ng"? All esoteric stuff must be revealed, that's the rule 'round here ya know.

Now, Helven, that Latin saying - with the Russian paradigm - is a real gem, and truly hilarious! I'm very impressed with that sample of Pushkin too. I'll have to read some more of him! What is it with Russians and brilliant writers....got something to do with those looooong winters maybe?

I did confirm what I had supposed, when I checked back, that you had mentioned the fairy tales you read as a "little girl". But I couldn't assume could I? Who knows, you might have had a sex change!

Oh, what a shame you haven't heard Marianne Faithfull, she's English. Funny how LC gets in everywhere. What are your favourites of his?

(I guess we still don't know about our Basque friend, do we?)

~Makera

[Makera]

Hi Ms Bilbao~

Seems I was a little too slow to catch up here. Looks like we've been 'found out'. Can't keep a good thing secret for long; ain't it great!

You may be amused to hear, Bilbao, that my husband was shocked to hear that his favourite composer wasn't French as he always thought. (I'm assuming - dangerous I know - that we are referring to the same Maurice Ravel). Anyway, when I said 'a Basque would not claim one of their own who wasn't', he had to agree. This is so educational, I'm having a blast!

Yes, Paula, I adore "As Tears Go By", isn't she great!
I'm so glad you like her too, Bilbao, the "female Cohen" tag is very apt.

Catch you later,
~Makera

[Makera]

A little post script here, Bilbao~

My husband looked into the info on the Ravel CD cover and discovered that Ravel's father was Swiss and his mother was Basque. I suggested maybe they claim their heritage through the mother's line, like the Jews. Your 'inside scoop' on this would be very helpful.
(Interesting though, that some ancient cultures figured out that mixed descendants should be traced through the mother -- long before mitochondrial DNA was identified.)

~Makera

[babz]

ng = Nothing more recondite than 'newsgroup'
Listed through Google groups as: alt.music.leonard-cohen
I started posting there late in '97... racked up about 700
posts over the years. It was a warm and comforting place...
when it wasn't frigid and vicious. A true demonstration of the
repetitive life cycle of groups. Ebb and flow. Passion and pain.
I encountered soul mates there... and mill stones We did our explications and our poetry, our posing and punning, we even had a horse, Henry, and 'scripts' on occasion. When you have some time, go back and follow a thread there. For the most part you find people living up to the best expectations of others. For a minute, it felt like home.

Love
Barbara
Once designated Newsgroup Slut, for a month,
and Prolonged and Predictable Poetaster.

[Helven]

Cohenites from all over the world unite!

Oh, yes!

Bilbao:

I’m surprised having read you know about the fire on the Mariinsky theatre! Well, actually, the workshops burned and since the theatre itself placed far enough from them it wasn’t damaged at all. But all the sets that were kept in those workshops were burnt down, unfortunately.

I bet you're familiar with the best known Basque musician, Maurice Ravel, as well, aren't you?

Yes,….well, I can’t say I’m “familiar” (“we all meandered through our schooling haphazard” ) but I like his music. And I also thought he was French… And as for Sarasate, I can say some of his works (as well as some of Paganini’s ones) speak very much – I’d even say too much – to my heart.

There is one old song with such lines full of dark humour [translation is mine; hence – prose]:

Your lover, a violinist… he is grey and hunchbacked,
he’s jealous of you, he beats you, he doesn’t love you at all.
But when he plays a concert of Sarasate
your heat is flying and singing like a bird…
……………..
Being ugly, dispensable, sick, big with child,
you hate him and despise yourself,
but you forgive him for all owing to that concert of Sarasate
and you love going into frenzy, enjoying pain, submitting to his will.

I think what happiness that I have no lover-violinist! Otherwise, it would be about me!

Lizzytysh:

Thanks for the compliments! I must thank my professor! She was able to teach even such a ne’er-do-well like me!

Makera:

Oh, what a shame you haven't heard Marianne Faithfull, she's English.

I’ll change for the better …
And my favourites of LC… I love many songs, but A Thousand Kisses Deep is my “everlasting” number one. Also I’d like to mention Here It Is, One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong, Joan of Arc, The Captain, Waiting For The Miracle, The Future, Dance Me To The End Of Love, I’m Your Man and Light Us The Breeze.

Bilbao, Makera, Barbara, Lizzytysh, Paula:
How long are you LC admirers (“cohenites” )?

Helven

[Elsie]

Darling Babz; ladies (& gentlemen):
To think that it would ever become necessary to explain what The Leonard Cohen newsgroup is/was ..... I almost feel like crying!
I joined the ng - aka Bill's Bar - in June 1999, and my first post was on Babz' thread: Motorcycle weekend in New Hampshire Not the greatest, but still. Oh, it used to be such fun there and I met so many wonderful people, even soul mates, like you Babz, Mark, Henning, Snow, Jack, Judith B, Fiona, Sue, Michael .... to mention just a few. Well, WHAT HAPPENED? These days, hardly anyone post anymore. Not me either, for that matter. The party is over here on the LC Forum.
Not that I am sentimental, oh no
Still, I want you "new" guys & dolls here to know that Babz is The Queen, the loveliest, wisest, wittiest and most truly devoted Leonard Cohen fan to be found.

Hey, I'm starting to like it here!

(What was this thread all about, really?)

[Bilbao]

My goodness!!! This thread is really speeding up! I've never written in English so long, so often and about so various topics in my whole life. Overdose! You're killing me!

Lizzytysh:

Thank you for your kind encouragements. I need them. Try to translate all this stuff to another language and you'll undestand me.
Bilbao is just a nickname, the name of the city where I was born and where I live. My real name is Fleya, a personal version of the Norse name Freya/Freja. Thanks to Marianne Pettersson and the link she provided I've found out that my nameday is on January 23th (I didn't knew that). The male version of Freya is Freyr. And you can check out the link to find out who Freya and Freyr were supposed to be. Or ask Marianne for further explanations, because she certainly knows a lot more than I do about Norse names and mythology.

Makera

What a coincidence! So your husband is a Ravel fan? Well, then the tell him that Ravel was born at Ciboure (called Ziburu in Basque), French Basque country, please. And his mother was Basque as well, as you already know.
There are Basques in both France and Spain, because we're a 'nation without State'. There's a Basque government on the Spanish side, but just for three of the four provinces we claim, and that under the authority of the Spanish government. And there are three more Basque provinces on the French side, under the French government. Ravel was born on the French side. That's a really complicate issue and there are "various positions" on this. Too long to explain, sorry.

Helven

The Mariinsky is certainly not "that theatre around the corner". When I heard it was burning, I felt it would be a great loss not just for Russia, but for the whole world. Just like when La Fenice or the Liceo of Barcelone were burnt to ashes. So I'm glad to hear your news, thank you.
And funny poem!

[lizzytysh]

It's about time, Elsie !!! The world is automatically a brighter place with you here!!! Welcome [again ]! I sure felt the melancholy in your remembering of the ng. Yes, I've heard similar comments about Babz from a mutual friend of ours [hers and mine]. From what I've seen in the past of her, I can only agree .

[lizzytysh]

Hi Bilbao ~

I already know the frustration, but haven't done nearly as well as you! Instant stupid was how I felt when I went to Quebec City [French Canada] and to dinner with a couple friends and their friend. Catching a word here and there, and struggling with the most basic of communication kept me pretty maxed-out. Dictionary in hand, I continued to try, but writing as you do? Believe me, I'm impressed !

[babz]

Dearest Elsie,
You embarass me... but it's worth it to see your name
and share your thoughts. Through any and every troubled
time in the ng you were the voice of honesty, clarity, and
compassion. You used to make very funny jokes out of the
blue, too. Thanks for the Litany of Names... Blessed be them,
everyone!
Love
Barbara

Remember when we were all goddesses for awhile?

[Makera]

Hi Helven, Bilbao, Babz, Paula ; a very warm welcome to you, Elsie!

Elsie~

I saw Barbara immediately, just as your accolades described; what an erudite Lady, indeed.
Helven & Bilbao~
I recognize, and bow to, a greater 'mistress of English expression' than I. Therefore, please note, I shall pass that ill-fitting mantle to the one best suited to wear it. If you need advice on English usage I must refer you to Babz. If you were busy with your dictionaries looking up 'recondite', explication' and 'poetaster', don't feel badly; I had to refresh on those too!

Babz~ Sorry, but I had to lay that 'burden' on you I love your signature quote too; especially the "indignation", without which the other 3 have no Life: or Another in that vein is, "Enthusiasm is the genius of sincerity, and Truth accomplishes no victories without it". (Author,?)

Bilbao, Fleya~ What a lovely name! Yes, you are certainly getting an "overdose" of practice here. You and Helven both are having no trouble 'holding your own' as far as I can see. I'm sure Babz would concur.

I'll have to break off here for now....I'll be back to continue this later.

with Love,

Gennelle