Why the hoax?

As I was saying, someone here has been impersonating me. How bizarre!

He even wrote a paper elaborating on a 17-tone temperament I created
(message 14889) and made a couple of comments about a 17-tone concert,
which is a little eerie, since my being here is in connection with a
19-tone concert. I haven't had a chance to read completely through
that paper, but from what I can tell, someone has gone to a lot of
trouble researching some of my past work and has done a very
convincing job of filling in details.

When I first started reading I was very upset about all this, but now
it's more puzzlement and fascination that someone would expend so much
effort perpetrating this hoax, and for what reason?

So, Mr. "gdsecor", why not tell us what this is all about?

George Secor

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "methane_george"
<methane_george@...> wrote:
>
> As I was saying, someone here has been impersonating me. How
bizarre!
> ...
> When I first started reading I was very upset about all this, but
now
> it's more puzzlement and fascination that someone would expend so
much
> effort perpetrating this hoax, and for what reason?
>
> So, Mr. "gdsecor", why not tell us what this is all about?
>
> George Secor

George, how delightful that you came, at long last! I was beginning
to think that you would never show up. Now that you're here, you can
help me set the record straight.

Yes, I have been impersonating you for quite some time, and I've
already admitted it -- over 3 years ago, when I explained who I am
and why I did it on Dave Keenan's website:
http://dkeenan.com/sagittal/gift/GiftOfTheGods.htm

Please read this all the way through, and LOL when you get to the
concluding episode, which was just put out within the past couple of
weeks.

Unfortunately, Dave doesn't seem to believe my story, and lately he's
been rather unkind, even to the point of beginning to question my
sanity:
/tuning/topicId_73833.html#73922
/makemicromusic/topicId_17920.html#17947
But now that you're here to confirm that I'm not really you, I expect
that I shall be completely vindicated.

BTW, welcome to MMM! And please don't let Dave give you the wrong
impression -- there *really* are lots of nice folks here! (Come to
think of it, you've already met some of them at the concert.)

--"George"

Hmmmm. Well, now that our hoaxer has been outed and people like me are
going "huh?" in total confusion, can he/she/it please stop hoaxing and use
an e-mail address that doesn't impersonate poor George?

Thanks,
Rick

> Yes, I have been impersonating you for quite some time, and I've
> already admitted it -- over 3 years ago, when I explained who I am
> and why I did it on Dave Keenan's website:
> http://dkeenan.com/sagittal/gift/GiftOfTheGods.htm

Why am I not surprised this is happening on a tuning list?

-- 
* David Beardsley
*
microtonal guitar
* http://biink.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Rick McGowan <rick@...> wrote:
>
> Hmmmm. Well, now that our hoaxer has been outed and people like me
are
> going "huh?" in total confusion, can he/she/it please stop hoaxing
and use
> an e-mail address that doesn't impersonate poor George?
>
> Thanks,
> Rick
>
> > Yes, I have been impersonating you for quite some time, and I've
> > already admitted it -- over 3 years ago, when I explained who I am
> > and why I did it on Dave Keenan's website:
> >
http://dkeenan.com/sagittal/gift/GiftOfTheGods.htm

Excuse me, Rick, but have you actually gone to the above link and
read its contents completely through? For reasons that will become
evident once you've read it, I'm trying to spare these lists some
future embarrassment by *not* getting another e-mail address with my
real name. I've further explained this in the postscript to another
message that I posted a short while ago:
/tuning/topicId_74131.html#74139

Once I've finished writing the remaining episodes and epilogue, I'll
happily turn my Yahoo ID over the real GDS (if he wants it) and
permanently leave -- mission accomplished! (You didn't think I was
going to hang around here forever, did you?)

Anyway, I apologize for your confusion at this latest turn of
events. Truth is oftentimes much stranger than fiction.

--"George"

> Excuse me, Rick, but have you actually gone to the above link and
> read its contents completely through?

Perhaps I should, but I don't have the time or inclination to do so. I
merely want to point out that, in my opinion, impersonating someone else is
at least confusing, if not worse. And now that it's become apparent that
you are impersonating someone who is also on the list and was apparently
surprised to find someone else using his name isn't it time to drop the
pretense?

Rick

So, who are you really, "George"?

Inquiring minds want to know.

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Rick McGowan <rick@...> wrote:
>
> > Excuse me, Rick, but have you actually gone to the above link and
> > read its contents completely through?
>
> Perhaps I should, but I don't have the time or inclination to do
so. I
> merely want to point out that, in my opinion, impersonating
someone else is
> at least confusing, if not worse. And now that it's become
apparent that
> you are impersonating someone who is also on the list and was
apparently
> surprised to find someone else using his name isn't it time to
drop the
> pretense?
>
> Rick
>

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "Robin Perry" <jinto83@...>
wrote:
>
> So, who are you really, "George"?
>
> Inquiring minds want to know.
>
> --- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Rick McGowan <rick@> wrote:
> >
> > > Excuse me, Rick, but have you actually gone to the above link
and
> > > read its contents completely through?
> >
> > Perhaps I should, but I don't have the time or inclination to do
so. I
> > merely want to point out that, in my opinion, impersonating
someone else is
> > at least confusing, if not worse. And now that it's become
apparent that
> > you are impersonating someone who is also on the list and was
apparently
> > surprised to find someone else using his name isn't it time to
drop the
> > pretense?
> >
> > Rick

Gentlemen, please have a little patience. The whole point of this
exercise (if you can call the >5-year Sagittal notation project
an "exercise") is to get folks on these lists to read the full
explanation of the reasons why the project was undertaken in the
first place (which, in the course of things, directly answers your
question). If you aren't willing to take the time to read the
explanation after all the time and effort Dave and I put into the
project, or if you do read it and find that the explanation doesn't
satisfy you, then you'll just have to wait and see how this all plays
out. Besides, if I told you right here and now, you probably
wouldn't believe me anyway. :-)

Have you lost the sense of adventure you had as a child? Why not
think of this as an ongoing mystery in which you have the opportunity
to participate? Is it not, after all, very much like the greater
mystery of life itself: how did we get here, and what does it all
mean?

--"George"

> Gentlemen, please have a little patience. The whole point of this > exercise (if you can call the >5-year Sagittal notation project > an "exercise") is to get folks on these lists to read the full > explanation of the reasons why the project was undertaken in the > first place (which, in the course of things, directly answers your > question). If you aren't willing to take the time to read the > explanation after all the time and effort Dave and I put into the > project, or if you do read it and find that the explanation doesn't > satisfy you, then you'll just have to wait and see how this all plays > out. Besides, if I told you right here and now, you probably > wouldn't believe me anyway. :-)

you are Robert Maxwell and i claim my five pounds.

> If you aren't willing to take the time to read the
>
explanation after all the time and effort Dave and I put into the
> project, or if you do read it and find that the explanation
doesn't
> satisfy you, then you'll just have to wait and see how
this all plays
> out. Besides, if I told you right here and now,
you probably
> wouldn't believe me anyway. :-)

I think
I know who it is. Of course I can't say who it is, because I'm not sure.

I can say I'm even less surprised than I was a few hours
ago.

-- 
* David
Beardsley
* microtonal guitar
* http://biink.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

You know, an article in which you claim to be impersonating George Secor
because you are actually the god Hermes doesn't do a lot for our
impression of either your veracity or your sanity... although it does
speak well of your creativity.

> --- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Rick McGowan <rick@...> wrote:
>>
>> Hmmmm. Well, now that our hoaxer has been outed and people like me
> are
>> going "huh?" in total confusion, can he/she/it please stop hoaxing
> and use
>> an e-mail address that doesn't impersonate poor George?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Rick
>>
>> > Yes, I have been impersonating you for quite some time, and I've
>> > already admitted it -- over 3 years ago, when I explained who I am
>> > and why I did it on Dave Keenan's website:
>> >
> http://dkeenan.com/sagittal/gift/GiftOfTheGods.htm
>
> Excuse me, Rick, but have you actually gone to the above link and
> read its contents completely through? For reasons that will become
> evident once you've read it, I'm trying to spare these lists some
> future embarrassment by *not* getting another e-mail address with my
> real name. I've further explained this in the postscript to another
> message that I posted a short while ago:
> /tuning/topicId_74131.html#74139
>
> Once I've finished writing the remaining episodes and epilogue, I'll
> happily turn my Yahoo ID over the real GDS (if he wants it) and
> permanently leave -- mission accomplished! (You didn't think I was
> going to hang around here forever, did you?)
>
> Anyway, I apologize for your confusion at this latest turn of
> events. Truth is oftentimes much stranger than fiction.
>
> --"George"
>
>
>

--
http://DoctorOakroot.com - Rough-edged songs on homemade GIT-tars.

Hey everyone, just look at the "real" George's member alias
on this list:

methane_george

... and consider this against the (short) text at the bottom
of this page (just scroll down after the ****):
http://dkeenan.com/sagittal/gift/FinalEpisode.htm

I think the mystery is easily solved.

Aaron Hunt
H-Pi Instruments

--- In MakeMicroMusic@...m, "Doctor Oakroot" <doctor@...> wrote:
>
> You know, an article in which you claim to be impersonating George Secor
> because you are actually the god Hermes doesn't do a lot for our
> impression of either your veracity or your sanity... although it does
> speak well of your creativity.
>
>
> > --- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Rick McGowan <rick@> wrote:
> >>
> >> Hmmmm. Well, now that our hoaxer has been outed and people like me
> > are
> >> going "huh?" in total confusion, can he/she/it please stop hoaxing
> > and use
> >> an e-mail address that doesn't impersonate poor George?
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >> Rick
> >>
> >> > Yes, I have been impersonating you for quite some time, and I've
> >> > already admitted it -- over 3 years ago, when I explained who I am
> >> > and why I did it on Dave Keenan's website:
> >> >
> > http://dkeenan.com/sagittal/gift/GiftOfTheGods.htm
> >
> > Excuse me, Rick, but have you actually gone to the above link and
> > read its contents completely through? For reasons that will become
> > evident once you've read it, I'm trying to spare these lists some
> > future embarrassment by *not* getting another e-mail address with my
> > real name. I've further explained this in the postscript to another
> > message that I posted a short while ago:
> > /tuning/topicId_74131.html#74139
> >
> > Once I've finished writing the remaining episodes and epilogue, I'll
> > happily turn my Yahoo ID over the real GDS (if he wants it) and
> > permanently leave -- mission accomplished! (You didn't think I was
> > going to hang around here forever, did you?)
> >
> > Anyway, I apologize for your confusion at this latest turn of
> > events. Truth is oftentimes much stranger than fiction.
> >
> > --"George"
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> http://DoctorOakroot.com - Rough-edged songs on homemade GIT-tars.
>

At 07:34 AM 30/10/2007, MDK wrote:
>methane_george wrote:
>> Besides, if I told you right here and now, you probably
>> wouldn't believe me anyway. :-)
>
>you are Robert Maxwell and i claim my five pounds.

Hee hee. Good one MDK. Even if I did have to google: Robert Maxwell five pounds, to find out what the heck you were on about.

Welcome, new George, whoever you are. Obviously I'm not buying anything that old George is claiming about this, but can you tell us why your yahoo ID contains the word "methane". That would seem to make you an object of ridicule, based on old George's story, which has you "still recovering".

I have to say that old George's posts (and emails to me) have been becoming increasingly odd since we finished the as-yet-unpublished "Olympian" Sagittal JI notation, which pretty much means "finished the sagittal project" <period>. Why am I starting to get the feeling it is going to be left to me to put it into publishable form (after I finish Carl's choob).

Aaron, you said you had photos from the 19-tone concert. Can you put one up on the web somewhere. The tuning-files yahoo group?

I just went through some old Xenharmonikon journals and found what I remembered: In XH 4 (Fall 1975) there are some monochrome photos of George Secor in the included Motorola Scalatron promotional material. He looks a bit like a young John Lennon because of the dark hair, Beatle haircut and glasses. Although a bit more nerdy because the glasses aren't circular.

But I should point out that these old Xenharmonikons were sent to me by the old George. And of course 32 years can really change a guy.

Gene, you mentioned old George Secor music. Was that the Scalatron promo casette? He sent me one of those too. But I guess that doesn't prove anything either way, since there must have been many copies of those given away at the time.

Man this is weird.

-- Dave Keenan

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "George D. Secor"
<gdsecor@...> wrote:
>
> --- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "methane_george"
> <methane_george@> wrote:
> >
> > As I was saying, someone here has been impersonating me. How
bizarre!
> > ...
> > When I first started reading I was very upset about all this,
but now
> > it's more puzzlement and fascination that someone would expend
so much
> > effort perpetrating this hoax, and for what reason?
> >
> > So, Mr. "gdsecor", why not tell us what this is all about?
> >
> > George Secor
>
> George, how delightful that you came, at long last! I was
beginning
> to think that you would never show up. Now that you're here, you
can
> help me set the record straight.
>
> Yes, I have been impersonating you for quite some time, and I've
> already admitted it -- over 3 years ago, when I explained who I am
> and why I did it on Dave Keenan's website:
>
http://dkeenan.com/sagittal/gift/GiftOfTheGods.htm
>
Very witty and very clever, I must say! I had no idea that my
Miracle temperament, as you call it, would cause such a stir so many
years later. But it scares me the way you've made me out to be some
kind of living legend in whom even the gods would take an interest.
Oh, please!

> Please read this all the way through, and LOL when you get to the
> concluding episode, which was just put out within the past couple
of
> weeks.
>
LOL? Yes, I'm really going to need "lots o' luck" to make it
through the concluding episode without looking like a complete
idiot, the way you've fired off one half-truth after another about
me. Yes, I'm interested in methane as an alternative source of
energy. (My friends at church sometimes refer to me as Methane
George to distinguish me from another George who attends there.)
And I've been too occupied with other concerns to squander precious
time on this modern-day Areopagus called the Internet, so I've tried
my best to stay away from it (until now, that is). But the rest of
this is mostly a product of someone's fertile (as in fertilizer)
imagination. Are you going to blame those before-and-after
farmhouse pictures on your girlfriend Thalia? (Or is that Dave's
handiwork?)

> Unfortunately, Dave doesn't seem to believe my story, and lately
he's
> been rather unkind, even to the point of beginning to question my
> sanity:
> /tuning/topicId_73833.html#73922
> /makemicromusic/topicId_17920.html#17947
> But now that you're here to confirm that I'm not really you, I
expect
> that I shall be completely vindicated.
>
You know, maybe Dave had it right: you are a crackpot! Which still
leaves one question unanswered: who are you, anyway?

Let me take a guess: You're really Dave, aren't you? Who else could
you possibly be? Very clever of you (Dave) to direct suspicion away
from yourself by calling "me" a madman!

> BTW, welcome to MMM! And please don't let Dave give you the wrong
> impression -- there *really* are lots of nice folks here! (Come
to
> think of it, you've already met some of them at the concert.)
>
Yes, and I think a lot of these nice folks have had enough of your
pranks for now.

George Secor
(the real one)

You guys could work for an ad agency.

-Carl

>George, how delightful that you came, at long last! I was beginning
>to think that you would never show up. Now that you're here, you can
>help me set the record straight.
>
>Yes, I have been impersonating you for quite some time, and I've
>already admitted it -- over 3 years ago, when I explained who I am
>and why I did it on Dave Keenan's website:
>http://dkeenan.com/sagittal/gift/GiftOfTheGods.htm
>
>Please read this all the way through, and LOL when you get to the
>concluding episode, which was just put out within the past couple of
>weeks.
>
>Unfortunately, Dave doesn't seem to believe my story, and lately he's
>been rather unkind, even to the point of beginning to question my
>sanity:
>/tuning/topicId_73833.html#73922
>/makemicromusic/topicId_17920.html#17947
>But now that you're here to confirm that I'm not really you, I expect
>that I shall be completely vindicated.
>
>BTW, welcome to MMM! And please don't let Dave give you the wrong
>impression -- there *really* are lots of nice folks here! (Come to
>think of it, you've already met some of them at the concert.)
>
>--"George"

Sorry methane_george,

Of course I wasn't saying _you_ were crazy (but I guess that's why you put the quotes) but the guy I've known as George Secor by email and tuning-list post for the past 5 years, and had become quite close friends with, did seem to be behaving increasingly oddly lately. However I still thought we were close enough that I could have some good natured jibes at him.

Of course I'm still not convinced you are George Secor, and if it wasn't for Aaron Hunt's report from the 19-EDO concert I'd be thinking you and "gdsecor" were the same person.

I'm still waiting for a photo or the results of Jon Szanto's quiz. And I'd love to hear from anyone else at the 19-EDO concert who met this "George Secor". And I'm sure everyone would love to read more reviews of the concert too.

What I wouldn't have given to have been there! But it's a long way from Oz-straya.

Has anyone else here met a "George Secor" who _admitted_ knowledge of the tuning lists, in the past 5 years?

You could have knocked me down with a feather when I read your accusation that "gdsecor" was me. But a few seconds later I couldn't help laughing out loud. Because he has set me up so beautifully. e.g. So that's why the Sagittal stuff had to go on _my_ website. Who ever he is, he's bloody clever and well deserves the epithet of the trickster god Hermes.

I couldn't help thinking maybe he is Lorne Themes, another long lost tunanik. I couldn't help noticing that's almost an anagram of Tonal Hermes. But then again, maybe _you_ are Lorne Themes.

Yes those two pictures of the cabin were my doing. I've always been the one to illustrate these stories. Of course I didn't create them, I only found them. The artists names are shown when you mouse over them and you can click them to see them in their original context. As you can see, they were entries in a "photoshopping" competition. I couldn't believe my luck when I found them. How well they matched the story. Now I'm thinking that was all part of the setup and these two artists were also really "gdsecor/hermes".

-- Dave Keenan

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "methane_george"
<methane_george@...> wrote:
>
> --- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "George D. Secor"
> <gdsecor@> wrote:
> >
> > --- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "methane_george"
> > <methane_george@> wrote:
> > >
> > > As I was saying, someone here has been impersonating me. How
bizarre!
> > > ...
> > > When I first started reading I was very upset about all this,
but now
> > > it's more puzzlement and fascination that someone would expend
so much
> > > effort perpetrating this hoax, and for what reason?
> > >
> > > So, Mr. "gdsecor", why not tell us what this is all about?
> > >
> > > George Secor
> >
> > George, how delightful that you came, at long last! I was
beginning
> > to think that you would never show up. Now that you're here, you
can
> > help me set the record straight.
> >
> > Yes, I have been impersonating you for quite some time, and I've
> > already admitted it -- over 3 years ago, when I explained who I
am
> > and why I did it on Dave Keenan's website:
> >
> http://dkeenan.com/sagittal/gift/GiftOfTheGods.htm
> >
> Very witty and very clever, I must say! I had no idea that my
> Miracle temperament, as you call it, would cause such a stir so
many
> years later. But it scares me the way you've made me out to be
some
> kind of living legend in whom even the gods would take an
interest.
> Oh, please!
>
> > Please read this all the way through, and LOL when you get to the
> > concluding episode, which was just put out within the past couple
of
> > weeks.
> >
> LOL? Yes, I'm really going to need "lots o' luck" to make it
> through the concluding episode without looking like a complete
> idiot, the way you've fired off one half-truth after another about
> me. Yes, I'm interested in methane as an alternative source of
> energy. (My friends at church sometimes refer to me as Methane
> George to distinguish me from another George who attends there.)
> And I've been too occupied with other concerns to squander precious
> time on this modern-day Areopagus called the Internet, so I've
tried
> my best to stay away from it (until now, that is). But the rest of
> this is mostly a product of someone's fertile (as in fertilizer)
> imagination. Are you going to blame those before-and-after
> farmhouse pictures on your girlfriend Thalia? (Or is that Dave's
> handiwork?)
>
> > Unfortunately, Dave doesn't seem to believe my story, and lately
he's
> > been rather unkind, even to the point of beginning to question my
> > sanity:
> > /tuning/topicId_73833.html#73922
> > /makemicromusic/topicId_17920.html#17947
> > But now that you're here to confirm that I'm not really you, I
expect
> > that I shall be completely vindicated.
> >
> You know, maybe Dave had it right: you are a crackpot! Which still
> leaves one question unanswered: who are you, anyway?
>
> Let me take a guess: You're really Dave, aren't you? Who else
could
> you possibly be? Very clever of you (Dave) to direct suspicion
away
> from yourself by calling "me" a madman!
>
> > BTW, welcome to MMM! And please don't let Dave give you the
wrong
> > impression -- there *really* are lots of nice folks here! (Come
to
> > think of it, you've already met some of them at the concert.)
> >
> Yes, and I think a lot of these nice folks have had enough of your
> pranks for now.
>
> George Secor
> (the real one)

Okay, okay, enough for now! I agree that these folks have been kept
in suspenders long enough. I'll come clean by responding to several
messages, one at a time:

Message #17991:
--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Rick McGowan <rick@...> wrote:
>
> > Excuse me, Rick, but have you actually gone to the above link and
> > read its contents completely through?
>
> Perhaps I should, but I don't have the time or inclination to do
so. I
> merely want to point out that, in my opinion, impersonating someone
else is
> at least confusing, if not worse. And now that it's become apparent
that
> you are impersonating someone who is also on the list and was
apparently
> surprised to find someone else using his name isn't it time to drop
the
> pretense?
>
> Rick

My reply (off list, with copy to Dave Keenan), tells all in brief:

<< Hi Rick,

Please, don't breathe a word of this to anyone else. Dave & I have
told only a few others, including those who were at Midwest
Microfest, who have agreed to play along.

This is a joke of sorts intended to publicize the Sagittal notation
and the mythology, in which I'm actually "impersonating" myself. The
plot of the mythology, which is a gentle and entertaining tutorial
for the notation, requires me to confront myself, in order to "prove"
that the behind-the-scenes story of the Sagittal notation
is "absolutely true". If you haven't read the mythology, then you
really won't be able to appreciate it and will probably continue to
be a bit confused.

But OTOH, we don't want you to be annoyed with us, so I'm letting you
in on it. I hope you'll understand.

Best,

--George Secor
(the real one) >>

Rick (and also Aaron, Aaron, Chris, and Jacob), thanks for not
spilling the beans prematurely. (But, believe it or not, I was ready
with a quick recovery, in case anyone did. See below.)

Before continuing, might I add that the mythology promotes
microtonality at least as much as it does a specific microtonal
notation. The introduction is basically a crash course in the
history of (and rationale for) alternative tunings that explains much
of the motivation for (and some of the obstacles encountered by)
those in this group.

Message #18003:
--- In MakeMicroMusic@...m, Carl Lumma <carl@...> wrote:
>
> You guys could work for an ad agency.
>
> -Carl

Oh no, Carl, that would be such a waste of talent! ;-)

But congratulations on figuring it out. :-)

I was wondering whether I might have a problem trying to
make "methane_george" believable. Since the mythology has the "real"
George having as little to do as possible with computers and the
Internet, he would have to go to the library to get on the Internet
(and post at appropriate times), and he wouldn't be savvy enough to
know, for example, what LOL means. ("Lots o' luck" was actually what
came to my mind the first time I saw it, but it didn't make any sense
in context.) I had the "fake" George use LOL in such a way that it
made sense either as "laugh out loud" or "lots o' luck" (you can
check where it's quoted above).

Fortunately, no one noticed something that would have been a dead
giveaway that the "fake" and "real" George were the same person.
When I learned to type (way back when, on a manual typewriter) I was
instructed to put two spaces following ending punctuation. I do it
without even thinking about it, so all of my messages were posted
that way. Fortunately, Yahoo's lame (variable-width font) interface
covered it up.

Message #17999:
--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "Jon Szanto" <jszanto@...>
wrote:
>
> As I posted on the main tuning list:
>
> If anyone wants it cleared up and can figure out an easy way to do
> this, I can ask a question of both "George Secor" people, and only
one
> will be able to get the answer correct. It is not musical knowledge,
> etc, but something that occurred between the real George and myself.
> No, not that kind of thing.
>
> I guess I could send each of them an email, and see what their
answers
> are.
>
> Cheers,
> Jon

Sorry, Jon, but that wouldn't work, because the gods are much more
clever than mere mortals.

Here's the quick recovery I had, in case anyone (already in on the
joke) blew the whistle on me. Methane_george would admit that he had
told those at Midwest Microfest that it was a joke, but that was
merely to make it less confusing and more fun for them (besides
making it easier to get them to cooperate). In fact, it really
wasn't a joke, because the "real" George really was a newbie on MMM.
The "friend" who had passed the word along about Midwest Microfest
was none other than yours truly, the "fake" George, who got
the "real" one to go along with the plan ahead of time. So you're
still left not knowing the true identity of the "fake".

So whatever question you had in mind, Jon, either or both of us would
have been able to answer (since we were in contact with one
another). In this scenario the "fake" George would have arranged for
the "real" one to have sent you the package you received some time
ago. (I hope your head isn't spinning too badly after all those
twists and turns.)

To get the right answers, you must ask the right questions. One of
the right questions would be: What is the true origin of the Sagittal
notation? (It still might not be what you think. Please stay tuned
to get the full story.)

Message #18004:
--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Dave Keenan <d.keenan@...>
wrote:
>...
> You could have knocked me down with a feather when I read your
accusation that "gdsecor" was me.

Assuming that this wasn't a joke, the "real" George would have to be
asking that, and what better candidate was there? You have to think
ahead, Dave.

> But a few seconds later I couldn't help laughing out loud. Because
he has set me up so beautifully. e.g. So that's why the Sagittal
stuff had to go on _my_ website. Who ever he is, he's bloody clever
and well deserves the epithet of the trickster god Hermes.

Yeah, I've been trying to keep at least six or seven steps ahead of
everyone else. ;-) Wait till you see some of things I have in store
for the epilogue to the mythology. Have you ever tried to make water
run uphill?

Even though Dave was obviously in on the joke, we weren't following a
script, other than that I would show up at Midwest Microfest and
subsequently here as the "real" George. So we just played it by
ear. Fortunately, no one suggested what might have been the second
most plausible explanation: that I might be suffering from a multiple
personality disorder -- but Dave came close! :-(

We had a couple of funny lines that never got used, e.g., Dave
stepping in as referee in a flame war between the two Georges,
cautioning the "real" one that "people who live in gas houses
shouldn't throw flames." (As things progressed, a flame war didn't
seem like a good idea.)

Anyway, thanks for being such good sports through all of this. We
expect to append an edited version of what happened here into the
final episode of the mythology, or perhaps somewhere in the epilogue.

And puhleeeze do read future episodes of the mythology, as they
become available. It can be hard work having fun around here.

Take care, everyone!

--George Secor
(the real "fake" one ;-))

Will you ever trust us again?

Just to confirm what George has said, and what many of you no doubt
suspected, but were kind enough to remain silent about, or even to
play along with:

"gdsecor" has always been and will continue to be the real George
Secor. The same one who designed the keyboard for the Motorola
Generalised Keyboard Scalatron and published what we now call the
Miracle temperament in 1975 at the age of 32, and in 2002 supplied the
germinal idea that eventually became the Sagittal microtonal notation
system.

I think I must have tortured him for so long, arguing with him over
this and that fine detail of the Olympian Sagittal JI notation, that
when I finally agreed that it was complete, he had to let off some
steam. And the Midwest Microfest presented him with an opportunity he
couldn't resist, to make the long-planned ending to the Sagittal
Mythology "come true".

Yes J.Smith, I'm sorry to say that the 19-EDO concert really happened
in Chicago on 2007-10-20 and you missed it! Thanks for playing along
with the gag, and giving us another red herring. In fact a
meta-red-herring. :-)

What Aaron Hunt wrote about his meeting with "methane__george" at that
concert was absolutely true. He just failed to mention that later
George took pity on him and went out-of-role and let him (and some
others) in on the joke.

We had a policy, throughout the prank, of telling anyone who was
getting upset, what was really going on. We thank you all for not
spilling the beans.

But I'm worried that we let it go on a little too long for some. For
those of you who already have quite enough _real_ drama in your lives,
please accept our apologies for any distress caused.

And for those who found it all very droll and tedious, we apologise
for taking up the bandwidth. I guess it _was_ off-topic. Thanks Carl,
for the "ad agency" compliment. But we wouldn't do it for money. Only
for fun. :-)

As George said, it wasn't scripted, so he caught me completely by
surprise when he (as methane_george) accused _me_ of impersonating
_him_. Absolutely brilliant. :-)

-- Dave Keenan

All that's left is for you to dip Margo's pig-tails in an inkwell. But
thankfully, now that the veil has lifted, I can rest easy.

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "Dave Keenan" <d.keenan@...> wrote:
> What Aaron Hunt wrote about his meeting with "methane__george" at that
> concert was absolutely true. He just failed to mention that later
> George took pity on him and went out-of-role and let him (and some
> others) in on the joke.

The George Secor I met actually tried to explain to me several
times that although I had heard of him, he had never heard of
me, and he had never heard of the tuning list, and he came to
the concert only because a friend had told him about it at the
last minute. I had to tell him I am not that bright and he was
confusing me...

At the end of the evening I have to admit that I still was a bit
confused - I was not totally sure what George Secor was up to,
and I was not exactly sure what I was being asked to
"play along" with, but, never one to shy away from a little
caper, I thought I'd go along. So there you have it.

And the caper has ended ... I hope!

Yours,
Aaron Hunt
H-Pi Instruments

At 09:39 AM 31/10/2007, you wrote:
>All that's left is for you to dip Margo's pig-tails in an inkwell. But
>thankfully, now that the veil has lifted, I can rest easy.

Hi Jon,

What a delightful image. No, not Margo's inky pigtails. :-0 But George and I as a couple of naughty school-boys, at our ages. :-)

-- Dave

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "Aaron Andrew Hunt"
<aahunt@...> wrote:
>
> --- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "Dave Keenan" <d.keenan@>
wrote:
> > What Aaron Hunt wrote about his meeting with "methane__george" at
that
> > concert was absolutely true. He just failed to mention that later
> > George took pity on him and went out-of-role and let him (and some
> > others) in on the joke.
>
> The George Secor I met actually tried to explain to me several
> times that although I had heard of him, he had never heard of
> me, and he had never heard of the tuning list, and he came to
> the concert only because a friend had told him about it at the
> last minute. I had to tell him I am not that bright and he was
> confusing me...
>
> At the end of the evening I have to admit that I still was a bit
> confused - I was not totally sure what George Secor was up to,
> and I was not exactly sure what I was being asked to
> "play along" with, but, never one to shy away from a little
> caper, I thought I'd go along. So there you have it.
>
> And the caper has ended ... I hope!
>
> Yours,
> Aaron Hunt
> H-Pi Instruments

Okay, let me explain. If I had never been on the tuning list(s),
then you would not expect me to have heard of you, right? (Okay, so
far, so good.)

When we met, the thing that "puzzled" me was you immediately
indicated that you had heard of me. This was quite "unexpected",
since I had (according to the plot) not been active in microtonality
for over 25 years and had (I thought) not so prominent a figure that
I would be so easily remembered by someone that was not around at the
time I was active. (Ditto for Chris, Jacob, and the other Aaron.)
Now do you see the problem?

George Secor
(the real one)

Right...

Huh?

No, I finally got it ; )

Yours,
Aaron Hunt
H-Pi Instruments

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "methane_george" <methane_george@...>
wrote:
>
> --- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "Aaron Andrew Hunt"
> <aahunt@> wrote:
> >
> > --- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "Dave Keenan" <d.keenan@>
> wrote:
> > > What Aaron Hunt wrote about his meeting with "methane__george" at
> that
> > > concert was absolutely true. He just failed to mention that later
> > > George took pity on him and went out-of-role and let him (and some
> > > others) in on the joke.
> >
> > The George Secor I met actually tried to explain to me several
> > times that although I had heard of him, he had never heard of
> > me, and he had never heard of the tuning list, and he came to
> > the concert only because a friend had told him about it at the
> > last minute. I had to tell him I am not that bright and he was
> > confusing me...
> >
> > At the end of the evening I have to admit that I still was a bit
> > confused - I was not totally sure what George Secor was up to,
> > and I was not exactly sure what I was being asked to
> > "play along" with, but, never one to shy away from a little
> > caper, I thought I'd go along. So there you have it.
> >
> > And the caper has ended ... I hope!
> >
> > Yours,
> > Aaron Hunt
> > H-Pi Instruments
>
> Okay, let me explain. If I had never been on the tuning list(s),
> then you would not expect me to have heard of you, right? (Okay, so
> far, so good.)
>
> When we met, the thing that "puzzled" me was you immediately
> indicated that you had heard of me. This was quite "unexpected",
> since I had (according to the plot) not been active in microtonality
> for over 25 years and had (I thought) not so prominent a figure that
> I would be so easily remembered by someone that was not around at the
> time I was active. (Ditto for Chris, Jacob, and the other Aaron.)
> Now do you see the problem?
>
> George Secor
> (the real one)
>