Gerald Berg

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Gerald Berg has posted 179 annotations/comments since 4 March 2013.

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About Thursday 22 September 1664

Gerald Berg  •  Link

Half the time I have no idea what Sam is talking about when he catches cold in various parts of his body. I will add to my vows and start calling them out. To wit: "having got a strange cold in my head, by flinging off my hat at dinner..."

Very hard to parse. Does he merely mean he caught a cold? I think not. And what's with the phrase "flinging off" as opposed to just 'taking off'? Does this add to the strangeness of the malady?

About Tuesday 20 September 1664

Gerald Berg  •  Link

So Pedro, by using the phrase "attempt suicide" are you saying people survive the fall or just standing there qualifies as an attempt? I wonder also, how many hundreds of feet the cliffs at Beachy Head have receded due to erosion since Pepy's day?

About Thursday 1 September 1664

Gerald Berg  •  Link

My wife's mother who was English use to make Christmas puddings a year in advance. Delicious to me even if I was from Central European background. Anyways, we once served some to my wife's Russian language instructor - a fine women of Armenian descent. She tried some and got a perplexed and rather disgusted look on her face and asked (in the flat, droll way that only Russians have) "Diana, what is this? Is it meat? I cannot finish it."

About Saturday 27 August 1664

Gerald Berg  •  Link

Missed a career as a contra tenor then Terry! More common and most excellent singers now but in the 1990's a relative rarity.

For myself I appreciate all the spoilers people care to give.

About Tuesday 16 August 1664

Gerald Berg  •  Link

So Sam wakes and identifies the time as 2AM. No give or take on that! Was some poor SOB out in the rain calling the hours?

About Saturday 6 August 1664

Gerald Berg  •  Link

There he is at it again: "poor-wife"! Hyphenated no less. What's with that? Been weeks since he's seen her and no other adjective comes to pen?

About Friday 5 August 1664

Gerald Berg  •  Link

Having built a music room. First question would be what kinds of instruments? Brass band anyone? Here it seems to be mostly lute/theorbo or voice.

You can always dampen a lively room. The reverse quite difficult. I would expect plaster to be reflective, so lively. Ceiling height and size of room would be two further considerations. One person singing in a bathroom works wonderfully. Two? Not so good. You would need to dampen.