THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER

A photographic (and musical) tribute to West Texas—from the Rio Grande to the Palo Duro. By the official Texas state photographer Wyman Meinzer. Take a look. Via old friend (even if he is a Democrat) Tucker Smallwood.

More on the fiddler series. In addition to her looks, Erica is an exceptional player and performer. And she sings, too.

The Cape Breton Island (off Nova Scotia) fiddler of note.

Riding one of the (now defunct) space shuttle’s Solid Rocket Boosters to 41 miles high and back again to splash down in the Atlantic. Even the audio is orgasmic. Via Instapundit.

“No conservative or Republican entertainer could escape outrage and condemnation after issuing such a naked appeal to kill anyone by whom they feel victimized, and Springsteen should know that shooting bankers isn’t the solution to the failed promise of the Obama presidency.” Heh. Especially not when bankers are among Obamalot’s biggest donors.

      This Maryland gal is a reigning U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champ and she shows you just why that is with a lively number right here.

Was tuning up my violin this morning, partly because I enjoy playing in the morning and partly because it helps get Mr. B. out of bed and on the way to school. Then I launched into the strains of the new Scottish ballad I’m learning How’d you like waking up to “My Love Is Like [...]

We start off a new Rule 5 collection of pretty girls with fiddles with Shetland Islands-Celtic darlin’ Jenna Reid. And a link to a mere taste of her work. I know, I know. But the fiddle is naked. As for the rest you’ll just have to use your imagination.

This Scottish lament, a pretty song which I recently learned to play on the violin, has a curious history to go along with its curious title. It was composed in 1903 by Scottish fiddler J. Scott Skinner to honor a friend—a Scottish general in the British army who was publically accused of homosexuality with boys. [...]

It looks fat enough in the photographs to be a viola, but it’s doubtful the folks at Strings would have missed that detail—even though its “discovery” has been announced several times in the past two decades. Nevertheless, it does now seem to be the actual fiddle that went down with the Titanic. Well, not down [...]