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Frederic at 40

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Joe Roberts

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Feb 29, 2016, 11:30:15 AM2/29/16
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In "The Pirates of Penzance", Frederic will have his 21st birthday on
February 29, 1940. Mabel agrees to wait faithfully for him.

From Wikipedia:

if (year is not divisible by 4) then (it is a common year)
else if (year is not divisible by 100) then (it is a leap year)
else if (year is not divisible by 400) then (it is a common year)
else (it is a leap year)

So he celebrated his 21st birthday in 1940. Today, February 29, 2016 he's
celebrating his 40th birthday -- or is 39, like Jack Benny?

In what year was he born?

Joe



John W Kennedy

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Feb 29, 2016, 11:21:33 PM2/29/16
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Not that simple. There are excellent reasons to believe that Frederick
does not know that 1900 will not be a leap year -- but he might know,
all the same.

--
John W Kennedy
"The blind rulers of Logres
Nourished the land on a fallacy of rational virtue."
-- Charles Williams. "Taliessin through Logres: Prelude"

Peter T. Daniels

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Mar 1, 2016, 10:18:03 AM3/1/16
to
On Monday, February 29, 2016 at 11:21:33 PM UTC-5, John W Kennedy wrote:
> On 2016-02-29 16:30:39 +0000, Joe Roberts said:
>
> > In "The Pirates of Penzance", Frederic will have his 21st birthday on
> > February 29, 1940. Mabel agrees to wait faithfully for him.
> >
> > From Wikipedia:
> >
> > if (year is not divisible by 4) then (it is a common year)
> > else if (year is not divisible by 100) then (it is a leap year)
> > else if (year is not divisible by 400) then (it is a common year)
> > else (it is a leap year)
> >
> > So he celebrated his 21st birthday in 1940. Today, February 29, 2016
> > he's celebrating his 40th birthday -- or is 39, like Jack Benny?
> >
> > In what year was he born?
>
> Not that simple. There are excellent reasons to believe that Frederick
> does not know that 1900 will not be a leap year -- but he might know,
> all the same.

But _after_ his apprenticeship was corrected to "pilot," he would have learned,
so he then could state his proper age as of 1940 or 2016.

Joe Roberts

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Mar 1, 2016, 2:33:30 PM3/1/16
to

Peter T. Daniels wrote:
> John W Kennedy wrote:
>> Joe Roberts said:
>>
>> > In "The Pirates of Penzance", Frederic will have his 21st birthday on
>> > February 29, 1940. Mabel agrees to wait faithfully for him.
>> >
>> > From Wikipedia:
>> >
>> > if (year is not divisible by 4) then (it is a common year)
>> > else if (year is not divisible by 100) then (it is a leap year)
>> > else if (year is not divisible by 400) then (it is a common year)
>> > else (it is a leap year)
>> >
>> > So he celebrated his 21st birthday in 1940. Today, February 29, 2016
>> > he's celebrating his 40th birthday -- or is 39, like Jack Benny?
>> >
>> > In what year was he born?
>>
>> Not that simple. There are excellent reasons to believe that Frederick
>> does not know that 1900 will not be a leap year -- but he might know,
>> all the same.
>
> But _after_ his apprenticeship was corrected to "pilot," he would have
> learned, so he then could state his proper age as of 1940 or 2016.

It appears, then, that he celebrated his 40th this year -- he's aged well.

I'm still boggling at figuring out in what year he was born.

Joe


Joe Roberts

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Mar 12, 2016, 10:02:48 PM3/12/16
to

"Joe Roberts" wrote:
> In "The Pirates of Penzance", Frederic will have his 21st birthday on
> February 29, 1940. Mabel agrees to wait faithfully for him.

> (snip the rest)

In the public library today (for a book on genealogy, not music), I happened
to browse the DVD shelves and spotted "The Pirates of Penzance" ... the
Linda Ronstadt version ... and took it home. Just for a lark, because this
past 29 February having been Frederic's 40th birthday was still in mind.

Played it tonight. Ouch.

Slapstick that Gilbert would have shredded, and music arrangements that
Sullivan -- mild-natured as he was -- would have skewered with a baton.

Ugh. Did that travesty ever get any positive reviews? If so, why?

Joe




Peter T. Daniels

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Mar 13, 2016, 10:04:00 AM3/13/16
to
On Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 10:02:48 PM UTC-5, Joe Roberts wrote:
> "Joe Roberts" wrote:

> > In "The Pirates of Penzance", Frederic will have his 21st birthday on
> > February 29, 1940. Mabel agrees to wait faithfully for him.
>
> In the public library today (for a book on genealogy, not music), I happened
> to browse the DVD shelves and spotted "The Pirates of Penzance" ... the
> Linda Ronstadt version ... and took it home. Just for a lark, because this
> past 29 February having been Frederic's 40th birthday was still in mind.
>
> Played it tonight. Ouch.
>
> Slapstick that Gilbert would have shredded, and music arrangements that
> Sullivan -- mild-natured as he was -- would have skewered with a baton.
>
> Ugh. Did that travesty ever get any positive reviews? If so, why?

When else has G&S played on Broadway?

The D'Oyly Carte troupe was at City Center oncs a year, never at a Broadway theater.

John W Kennedy

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Mar 13, 2016, 6:49:26 PM3/13/16
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I'm afraid it was something of a teacher's pet, in fact. And there was
a much worse movie version at about the same time, which made it look
better, in comparison.

--
John W Kennedy
"When a man contemplates forcing his own convictions down another man's
throat, he is contemplating both an unchristian act and an act of
treason to the United States."
-- Joy Davidman, "Smoke on the Mountain"

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