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BS: The piano man.
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: GUEST, Topsy Date: 20 May 05 - 07:25 PM He looks a bit like Saint-Exupery's Little Prince. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: mindblaster Date: 20 May 05 - 07:31 PM It was in the London Standard yesterday |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: GUEST Date: 20 May 05 - 07:47 PM London Evening Standard Story. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 20 May 05 - 07:50 PM It was in the London Standard yesterday So of course it must be true... In fact the paper in question, the Evening Standard reported Mystery Piano Man may be Toronto's Mr Nobody "May be" is not the same as "is", mindblaster. This later story in the Times indicates the mystery is still very much a mystery. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: The Shambles Date: 21 May 05 - 04:17 AM Maybe the appeal needs to made where musicians will have the best chance to see it? |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: Dave Hanson Date: 21 May 05 - 06:18 AM The man who did this in Canada married a local and got residency. He disappeared a few weeks ago. Makes you think. eric |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 21 May 05 - 07:05 AM Since there is nothing in the stuff about that bloke in Toronto playing the piano the connection seems a bit arbitrary. They both had no labels on their garments and had bleached hair, but otherwise there seems not much in common between the two cases. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: Metchosin Date: 21 May 05 - 12:24 PM For pictures of the fellow prior to the nose job who turned up in Canada, check here. Mr.Nobody |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: GUEST,Barrie Roberts Date: 21 May 05 - 08:12 PM What a wonderful thread! Raises all sorts of reflections. Wasn't there a film called 'Johnny Nobody' about a man who shoots someone in Ireland and claims that he doesn't know who he is but God told him to strike down the unbeliever. Don't worry --- he gets a marvellous comeuppance at the end. Then there was 'Dangerous Moonlight' with Anton Walbrook and Sally Gray, in which a former concert pianist loses his mind and sits in a mental home bashing discordantly on a piano for ages before he recovers and remembers that he wrote the 'Warsaw Concerto'. Then there's a question about how useful clothing labels are in identifying people. The shirt I'm wearing came from somewhere in the Far East; my sweater has 'San Francisco' embroidered on the front and 'Made in the USA' inside the collar; my slacks come from Belgium, and the jacket I was wearing earlier comes from Norway. But I'm British and acquired them all in the UK. Finally, this thread reminds me what a privilege it is to belong to the worldwide community of musicians and music-lovers, who are so humane and caring it nearly makes me weep. |
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Subject: Mr Somebody From: GUEST,Partita Date: 21 May 05 - 08:28 PM The possibilities seem endless: Could this be the workings of a clever performance artist, in the pay of some bright sparks in Hollywood? Does this event usher in a new era in the way movies are to be hyped? Or perhaps a fashion house? Or is this an anti-modernity statement by a dissafected, classically educated individual? Or is adult human cloning all too real and coming to a clinic near you, soon? Irrespective, the most remarkable and rather enigmatic fact is that in this age of global information exchange, an entire week has slipped by and none of his relatives or acquaintances have yet spoken up to identify him. Or perhaps they have but the authorities are still sifting through the mass of leads? His parents? Siblings? Aunts, uncles, cousins? The person who taught him how to play the piano? They're out there somewhere. The Canadian lead seems the most promissing so far, but even if he is the same individual, he remains unidentified. Fascinating... |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: GUEST Date: 22 May 05 - 12:16 AM My bet is that Mr. Nobody and the Piano Man are going to prove to be one and the same. Just out of curiosity, I juxtaposed two pictures of them, both with blonde hair, to compare and while the noses are quite different, the eyes and mouth appear to be a match. Mr Nobody is fluent in both French and English, as well as having some German and Latin, so having some talent regarding piano wouldn't be out of the question. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 22 May 05 - 01:17 AM "having some talent regarding piano" Only thousands of hours of practice.... |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: GUEST, Topsy Date: 22 May 05 - 03:13 AM Clothes labels are very unreliable. I saw a garment in a charity shop that had 'Proudly made in Australia' on the main label, but on a smell label on an inside seam it said 'Made in China'. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: GUEST,Metchosin Date: 22 May 05 - 03:21 AM Why couldn't he have had thousands of hours of practice? Lots of people who play an instrument have had thousands of hours of practice. Some of them just sound a little better than others and I'll bet the hospital staff wouldn't be as impressed if he had turned out to be a wizz on the bagpipes or piano accordian. LOL.....sorry CarolC....couldn't resist. I know a number of fine pianists who by the age of thirty had a large classical repetoire as well as the ability to play stuff by John Lennon. In fact, most could do that by the age of 15. Although some might wish to believe that this is somehow a twist on David Helfgott's life, I still think this fellow will prove to be a con artist. This is not to say that he doesn't indeed have some mental health issues, but I don't think a break with reality such as Helfgott suffered is going to prove to be one of them. I'm still going to stick by my post of 12:16 AM. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: GUEST,Metchosin Date: 22 May 05 - 05:11 AM Did some more modifications in Photoshop, removing Mr. Nobody's hair from his forehead and lowering the bridge of his nose and shortening it a bit and Mr. Piano Man sure looks as if he has a twin brother to me....perhaps the twin brother who vanished from Vancouver Island a short while ago? The one that refused medical treatment for his amnesia. This may not say much for either Canadian or British border security....hmmmm....Then again maybe Canadian immigration and CSIS just wiped his slate for him and dumped him off the coast of Britain because it was emarrassing not being able to figure out where else to deport him to. LOL |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: GUEST,freda Date: 22 May 05 - 06:29 AM It amazes me how people who have not had direct contact with this person can know so much more, and come to such different conclusions than the traoined professionals looking after him. Distrust of strangers is a powerful instinct being manipulated so well by politicians right now. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: GUEST,Jeanie Date: 22 May 05 - 06:33 AM Looking at the photos of "Mr. Nobody" and "The Piano Man", they certainly appear to have the same posture (photo of Mr. Nobody standing, wearing baseball cap) and EARS. People forget about ears when trying to alter their appearance, but they are a real giveaway. Whatever the truth turns out to be, it is a sad and sorry case. - jeanie |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 22 May 05 - 07:16 AM "a smell label"!!!! I don't need them, I just don't wash the clothes! I had a friend who went to Thailand who brought me back a collared T-shirt with the little alligator on it - the label said 'Made in France' - and it came straight out of the Thai factory that made it for the French Company (production line overrun!) .... only cost AUD$6 instead of about $30.... |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: GUEST Date: 22 May 05 - 12:23 PM Trained professionals in Canada originally thought that Mr. Nobody suffered from amnesia. Trained professionals ended up concluding, including the Toronto police detectives, his father-in-law who was at one time his lawyer and immigration officials, that something very fishy was going on. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: fat B****rd Date: 22 May 05 - 01:35 PM Tell him he's not as good as Les Dawson, that'll make him talk !! |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: GUEST,McGrath of Harlow Date: 22 May 05 - 02:06 PM There's a similarity, but according to The Observer today "the Piano Man" is several inches taller than "Mr Nobody" - and that's not something that minor cosmetic surgery can fix. Also, aside from not palying the piano so far as anyone knows, the Canadian bloke was quite talkative, as opposed to being mute. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: RobbieWilson Date: 22 May 05 - 03:57 PM The other thing about the Canadian bloke is that he is Portugese and would have no need for any subterfuge to live and work in the UK. I can't get along with the fact there are so many people putting anti stranger crap on this site, about someone of whom they know nothing. Did they do something to earn the right to be in this country, or were they simply, like me born here? People who come from abroad generally are either fleeing terrible conditions, and who could grudge them that, or trying to make a better living for themselves, which is only possible by contributing to the society we live in. Get a life. This young man is obviously in some kind of trouble, has never done me any harm and so my first instinct is to try and help. If that is not your first instinct then you are in no position to look down and sneer at anyone. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: Sorcha Date: 22 May 05 - 05:02 PM Thank you Robbie! |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 22 May 05 - 07:53 PM I think there are a lot more people around the Mudcat who would share Robbie's attitude than there are of the begrudgers. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 22 May 05 - 08:39 PM Viva 'The Silent Majority'!!! Unfortunately Musos are seldom silent... |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: Metchosin Date: 23 May 05 - 12:35 PM Robbie, Mr. Nobody or Sywald Skeid, the name he has been last known to assume, has never been thought to be Portuguese by those dealing with him in Canada. He did marry, in Vancouver BC, a Portuguese woman, Nathalie Herve-Azevedo, who has duel citizenship here. She is the daughter of Manuel Azevedo, the lawyer who worked pro bono on his case for him. The father-in-law has subsequently distanced himself from Skeid and now has doubts regarding the young man. Perhaps you can give us a link to your knowledge of his nationality. McGrath, Skeid has sworn at least two affadavits with his given height varying as much as two inches. Missing Persons had him listed at yet another height. I wonder which one British newspapers chose? The reputedly gifted Philip Staufen, Keith Ryan, Sywald Skeid, or whatever name he has chosen recently, is now under orders to receive medical treatment regarding his "amnesia", report once a month to his nearest Office of Canadian Immigration and also report any change of address within two working days of moving. Perhaps he just forgot about that too. At last report, his whereabouts in Canada was unknown. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 23 May 05 - 12:55 PM What's an affidavit got to do with determining someone's height? If you asked me my own height, I'd just have to guess. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: Metchosin Date: 23 May 05 - 01:59 PM McGrath, when you swear an affadavit which may be used in a court of law in this country, the information is supposed to be accurate. If you don't know your own accurate height, you had better find out or not include it in a sworn statement. This is the kind of information that gets put on passports, you can't just say, "Don't know exactly." |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: Metchosin Date: 23 May 05 - 02:23 PM Since arriving in Canada, on paper, Skeid has grown at least 3 inches. I know the food's good here and growth hormones have been reputedly used in the meat industry, but I don't think ingesting GHs here could be responsible for Skeid's amazing growth spurt. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: Donuel Date: 23 May 05 - 04:13 PM http://www.worth1000.com/emailthis.asp?entry=198017 |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: open mike Date: 24 May 05 - 02:09 AM i guess that "worth 1000" site got flooded by folks looking for the piano man poem or lyrics the page i get says this: 5/24/2005 - IMPORTANT UPDATE FROM THE WORTH1000 TEAM We are currently experiencing extremely high traffic levels and have disabled guest access to certain pages. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try back later today or register.... not caring to register, was anyone able to get those lyrics or words? and can you post them here? |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: Kaleea Date: 25 May 05 - 12:48 AM Geez, I cut all the tags out of my clothes cause they give me a rash on the back of my neck! Looks as if all the speculating has not yet been conclusive. He very well may be someone who needs help-one way or the other. I, for one, will stay "tuned." Meanwhile, there's a great idea for a movie of the week. Or maybe I'll die my gray hair much darker, pick out some artsy looking clothes from my closet, & plop myself down in some wonderful country where wars & economic disasters haven't taken over & OH YEAH--I can get the medical coverage I so desperately need! |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: GUEST Date: 25 May 05 - 03:02 AM Is it not possible for someone to move this thread up to the music-related section?
Normal procedure if the originator of a thread has designated it as BS is to allow it to remain as BS - joeclone |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: Metchosin Date: 25 May 05 - 03:32 PM It would seem from the tenure of some of the posts on this thread that some skepticism is not considered entirely warranted. Philip Staufen/Sywald Skeid was greeted initially with considerable sympathy and goodwill in Canada. The British press dubbed him Mr.Nobody, not the Canadian. Sympathy waned here when the young man seemed to be more concerned with obtaining a Canadian passport or citizenship, than with making any effort to avail himself of the medical help offered to assist him with his amnesia. It came as a bit of a surprise when I did the nose and hair change in photoshop on one particular picture of Staufen and comparing it to the face of the fellow in Britain holding the sheet music. It really wasn't what I was expecting, I was just fooling around. Sorry I can't post it somehow. The rest of the similarities with Britain's Piano Man, I too, was initially quite willing to dismiss as coincedence proir to that photo. If my posts seem a bit harsh regarding our missing amnesia victim, I don't think my skepicism regarding Staufen is entirely off base. Generally I'm pretty sympathetic regarding any health issue, mind or body, its all the same to me. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: Metchosin Date: 25 May 05 - 03:40 PM hmmmm....."tenure"...LOL |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: The Shambles Date: 25 May 05 - 07:58 PM Normal procedure if the originator of a thread has designated it as BS is to allow it to remain as BS - joeclone If only other things were allowed to remain as the originator wished. This is simply making our forum look even more stupid. This thread is cleary in the wrong place and the originator has accepted that choosing the B/S prefix was a mistake. Many people who would be interested in this subject and may be able to help - will not even see this thread as many do not venture 'below the line'. Can a more sensible approach be taken please? One which respects the originators wishes and follows common sense? |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: GUEST Date: 25 May 05 - 08:35 PM This one was moved up?
-Joe Offer- |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: GUEST Date: 26 May 05 - 04:50 AM It seems to me that if you take a photograph of someone and manipulate it using photoshop it is inevitably going to end up looking like someone else. There is nothing amazing about it. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: The Shambles Date: 26 May 05 - 10:37 AM Censorship on Mudcat The following (full) explanation (in editorial brown) can be found on the thread linked to above. People are free to request that the category of a thread be changed. The appropriate place to ask is by personal message to Joe or Jeff, or in the Help Forum. As of this date, I have received no such request - from the thread originator, or from anyone else. Change requests posted in the thread itself are likely to be missed. I looked at the thread when it started and decided it was a human-interest thing that could be considered either music or non-music - so I left it where it was. I just checked the thread now, and there still is very little music information in it. So, no, it won't be moved, even if somebody asks me to move it. -Joe Offer- |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: The Shambles Date: 26 May 05 - 10:40 AM This thread was moved without too much fuss.......... Its not BS
-Joe Offer- |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: GUEST Date: 26 May 05 - 11:07 AM Mudcat Help Forum |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: Metchosin Date: 26 May 05 - 11:15 AM Agreed Guest 26 May 05 04:50 AM. Mr. Staufen did look like someone else and as I mentioned before, the only thing I changed was the nose and the hairline. The eyes mouth and chin remained exactly the same. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: GUEST,Wesley S Date: 26 May 05 - 08:52 PM As far as the labels go - It's not uncommon for people with autism to become very agitated by little things that you and I wouldn't even notice. Clothing labels are one of them. Certain fabrics can have that effect too. I would image that by now the piano man has been tested for autistic traits. Lets hope so. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: Dave Bryant Date: 27 May 05 - 10:36 AM The only people who seem to have judged his playing so far all profess an ignorance of classical music and piano playing skill. How good is he ? Has he been accessed by any knowledgable musician yet. As has already been said anyone who has reached grade 8 would probably sound great to most uneducated ears. Also provided that the piano is in tune, and the pianist hits the right keys, there is no chance of inacurate intonation as there could be on instrument like a violin. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: Stilly River Sage Date: 27 May 05 - 01:46 PM Dave is right (and I am sure he and I aren't the only ones who have had the question). So why has he not been evaluated by someone with a solid musical background? It seems a convenient oversight to have not done so by now. Who benefits from the publicity, while still keeping the subject of this inquiry at arm's length from anyone who can make a sound analysis? SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: Metchosin Date: 27 May 05 - 02:39 PM Another thing about labels, sure they can cause skin irritation, but how often does one wear a sports jacket or suit next to bare skin. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: freda underhill Date: 29 May 05 - 10:31 AM Sunday, May 29, 2005. 12:36pm (AEST) The mysterious piano man may have been identified. This photo, released by Medway Maritime Hospital in England, shows a man who has not uttered a word since being found on a beach over a month ago but who has turned out to be a piano virtuoso. The mysteriously mute piano virtuoso found wandering on an English beach last month was a Czech classical musician who once played in a rock band, the band's drummer was quoted as saying. Klaudius Kryspin said he immediately recognised the man as Thomas Strnad, even though it has been many years since they played together in a tribute band called Ropotamo. "When I saw the picture in the newspapers, I knew it was Thomas," Kryspin told the Mail on Sunday newspaper in Prague. Officials caring for the so-called "piano man" at Little Brook Hospital at Dartford in south-eastern England said they had informed the police missing persons bureau about the claim. The tall blonde man, thought to be in his 20s or early 30s, was found on April 7 on the beach at Minster, on the south coast of England, soaking wet but fully dressed in a black suit, with no clue as to his origin. He has not spoken since and has not responded to written appeals while being kept under observation. However, he has fascinated social workers, the British media and the general public with his one means of communication: playing classical piano music. When given pencil and paper by hospital staff, the mystery man drew a grand piano. Then, when shown a piano at the hospital chapel, he impressed his carers with a remarkable virtuoso performance. Kryspin, who has not seen Strnad in nine years, said his old band mate had trained as a classical musician, and that his "first love was always Chopin, Mozart and Liszt". He added that Strnad did not appear to get along with his family and that three years ago he was going around asking for money to buy bread. Kryspin said he immediately recognised Strnad from a photo he saw on the Internet and that "he still looks like the same guy I knew back then". "The only things that are different are his hair colour and his sad face. He looks like a broken man," he said. -AFP |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: open mike Date: 31 May 05 - 06:34 PM ok so what's the latest? is this guy for sure that Thomas dude? czech it out... |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: GUEST Date: 31 May 05 - 06:37 PM Nothing new since the story freda mentioned, but by the photos in the paper on Sunday he is definitely him. |
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Subject: RE: BS: The piano man. From: heric Date: 31 May 05 - 06:43 PM Nope. Strnad says that's not him, per the BBC. |
