COMPLETE -- The Holiday Round, by AA Milne - dc

[Kirsten Wever]

Here's my summary.

Alan Alexander Milne, popularly known as A. A. Milne, is best known – perhaps to most people only known – for his children’s book, Winnie the Pooh. Yet he was an incredibly prolific author. He published dozens of successful plays, myriad humorous articles written for internationally prominent journals, a wide range of social, political, and other nonfiction works, and even a murder mystery.

This collection is humorous throughout, but humorous in a particularly Milnesque way: he consciously and quite openly rejected the bitterness of satire in favor of a peculiarly gentle, often self-deprecating humor. Included here are dozens of short essays showing, among other things, Milne’s extraordinary capacity to understand – and be understood by – children, and his special affinity for women, as friends and as lovers.

(--Summary by Kirsten Wever)

[Kirsten Wever]

Craig, Tricia,

SORRY for so many posts one after the other. (Well, I guess if I weren't doing this at lightning speed there would be the same number of posts, but spaced out.)

So I just noticed something very strange when I listened to pieces here and there of chapters 4 and 6 through 10 (sections 4, and 6-11). At the very beginning of each of these recordings I'm hearing loud white noise, but only for about a half a second. I went back and checked my audacity files and this noise simply isn't there.

Does either of you have any idea what this might be? More importantly, are you hearing it also? If so, the problem is apparently not with my phone (which I'm using to listen), but rather with the files themselves.

Anyhow, I just wanted to mention this in case it's a broader issue, and in case there's something I need to do to fix it.

Best, Kirsten

[TriciaG]

3 and 5 spot PL OK

6 PL OK

I did a quick listen of the starts of sections 7 and 8 and didn't hear anything unusual. Then again, I'm listening on my laptop, so it may not be as apparent on my end.

[Kirsten Wever]

I can't hear it when listening on laptop. Only head phones. But very distinct.

Just opened chapter 10 in audacity, did another thorough noise reduction just on the first few seconds, converted to mp3, listened ... same problem.

What I don't get is why this is NOT happening with chapters 1, 2, 3, and 5.

Strange.

[craigdav1]

Summary updated on Project Screen page.

[TriciaG]

Chapter 7:
35:55-36:00 - is that a cat howl I hear? (two instances; one at the start, one at the end of the indicated clip)

[Kirsten Wever]

NOT a howl.

A plangeant, plaintiff YOWL.

I can't get it out. My theory is that if Nick Clifford was happy recording half of his oevre with a LOUD clock chiming 4 times an hour. I can squeeze in two little yips from my beloved Mr Bunter. (If you ever listened to whose body, you'll know who Mervin bunter is.)

But do I transgress too far? Are the beloved super high TriciG standards higher?

[TriciaG]

If you're OK with it, I'm OK with it.

[Kirsten Wever]

I'm, You're and Mr. Bunter's okay! Cool.

[TriciaG]

I heard Mr Bunter in the last file, but that's no problem.

Fun little vignettes.

Files all PL OK - ready for cataloging!

[craigdav1]

Will start the cataloging process but it may not be done until tomorrow.

[craigdav1]

Sections 9-11 have a variable bitrate. Export them from your recording software with a constant 128kbps bitrate and than upload them to my folder. Sections 1-8 are fine.

[Kirsten Wever]

Variable bitrate!

Well, that's one my MIT PhD didn't capture.

I'll see what help audacity gives me and get back to you when (okay IF) I'm totally baffled.



Ahhh. Just reread that word. It's BIT - RATE ... I was digging in among nitrates and such in the field of chemistry...

[Kirsten Wever]

Tricia,

I too really liked Chapter 9. The little vignettes ... I was really touched by how incredibly responsive, and on her own wavelength, Milne was with Margery.

Maybe partly because I can't even imagine ever having been so understood - even as a grown up!

[craigdav1]

Here's a video on how to change your bitrate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2JWKadgtdE