Skip to main content

I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General...

I have that song stuck in my head! We went to a Puppet Festival sponsored by OneWayStreet over the weekend and a very talented 17 yo girl ventriloquist's puppet, Jodie, sang that song for us. She did a great job!

Here are the lyrics in case you, like me, wonder what they are!

I am the very model of a modern Major-General
I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral
I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical
From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical
I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical
I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical
About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse

With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotepotenuse

I'm very good at integral and differential calculus
I know the scientific names of beings animalculous
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral
I am the very model of a modern Major-General

In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral
He is the very model of a modern Major-General

I know our mythic history, King Arthur's and Sir Caradoc's
I answer hard acrostics, I've a pretty taste for paradox
I quote in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus
In conics I can floor peculiarities parabolous
I can tell undoubted Raphaels from Gerard Dows and Zoffanies
I know the croaking chorus from the Frogs of Aristophanes
Then I can hum a fugue of which I've heard the music's din afore
And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore

And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore
And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore
And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinapinafore

Then I can write a washing bill in Babylonic cuneiform
And tell you ev'ry detail of Caractacus's uniform
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral
I am the very model of a modern Major-General

In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral
He is the very model of a modern Major-General

In fact, when I know what is meant by "mamelon" and "ravelin"
When I can tell at sight a Mauser rifle from a javelin
When such affairs as sorties and surprises I'm more wary at
And when I know precisely what is meant by "commissariat"
When I have learnt what progress has been made in modern gunnery
When I know more of tactics than a novice in a nunnery
In short, when I've a smattering of elemental strategy
You'll say a better Major-General had never sat a gee

You'll say a better Major-General had never sat a gee
You'll say a better Major-General had never sat a gee
You'll say a better Major-General had never sat a sat a gee

For my military knowledge, though I'm plucky and adventury
Has only been brought down to the beginning of the century
But still, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral
I am the very model of a modern Major-General

But still, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral
He is the very model of a modern Major-General

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Whew! I hope to share more things about the Festival in future posts.

Comments

  1. Wow, sounds like an interesting song! I've never heard it, maybe you'll have to let me hear it sometime!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've included a video segment from the opera "Pirates of Penzance" to see the song in performance.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Our Newest PVC Stage

Our team has always used a stage made of PVC for budget reasons.  I've reconfigured it a few times over the years.  The one we have now is the one I like the best so far.  Someone asked me to share it with them so I thought I would post it here in case anyone else was interested. First of all there are 3 parts to the finished stage and one person could put it together alone, but two make it easier. There are two poles that go across the middle horizontally to hold everything together. And there is the actual stage part that folds up like an accordion. Here it is from the side folded up. Here it is unfolded and the two long pieces placed horizontally in the back.  One at the top and one lower.  This second bar really adds to the stability of the whole stage and keeps puppeteers from moving the back curtain as they go in and out. Here is how we add the curtains. Our curtains are in 4 parts.  The front, 2 wings and the b...

New Puppet: Giddy

I made a new puppet over the weekend.  She is going to be used in some skits for Wednesday night kids' lessons at church.  We use a pre-written skit from a company called High Voltage Kids and this unit calls for a girl named Giddy.  Giddy is a little country girl who wants a pony. Here she is: I used this shape as a base and adapted it as I went.  I wanted to try something different and I like the elongated mouth shape.  I think she turned out very cute.  She is the first puppet I ever made for myself and I can't wait to use her next week! I will use this pattern shape again, but with more modifications.  I didn't sew her mouth, it's glued. I prefer to sew, but when I'm working with a new design I sometimes get ahead of myself and forget a step.  It may sound silly, but it happens.  Just like I never remember to take pictures of the process. One day I will plan the photos and actually remember to take some. The best part about th...

How to Begin a Black Light Ministry Introduction: What is a Black Light Show?

So, why black light? First of all, using black light is just cool. It's so vibrant and colorful.  But mostly there are things you can do in black light that you can't get away with in regular lighting situations.  Black light can be magic! If you want to start a black light ministry you need to understand the principles of black light theatre. Black light is UV lighting that reflects white and fluorescent colored items like paint, fabric, poster board and paper. The principle of a black light show is to have everything blacked out so that only the colors of the puppets, props or clothing show. You can create anything your imagination dreams up for a black light show! Generally the colors that glow best are white (not all whites glow), neon pink, neon orange, neon green and neon yellow.  Occasionally you can find some neon blue and purple but they don't show as bright as the other colors.  Since you have a limited color palette you mus...