...as my colleague at CBS radio pointed out: “It is the first time in the history of White House briefings that the phrase, ‘Play some funky music, white girl’ has been uttered.”
I honestly can't figure out how to COMPLETELY silence the phone so it doesn't vibrate or anything when I get a call.Remove its battery.
OK, then let me amend my suggestion:Flunkie: Remove its battery.Disassembling an iPhone each time you want to silence it seems a bit excessive.
Which is exactly what I always want to say to the people at concerts and in clubs who applaud when they recognize that the performer has begun playing a song that they, the patron, really like.My "favorite" example of this is a live version of "Layla" that Eric Clapton released as a single or whatever. Before he starts the song, he says something like "See if you can spot this one", and then proceeds to play music that (as it seems to me) is basically unrecognizable as "Layla". Immediately, people in the audience give loud, enthusiastic "YEAH!" calls and such. The music continues, still basically unrecognizable, and eventually he starts singing the recognizable lyrics. At which point there are once again loud, enthusiastic "YEAH!" calls.
['Stevie' is gathering keys and cell phones from hostages; she stops at one man who does not have a cell phone and waves Dalton over](Meanwhile, my all-time favorite movie theater is in a former parking garage buried deep beneath an office building. You lose all traces of a possible cell signal before you even get to the ticket taker.)
Dalton Russell: What's your name?
Peter Hammond: [Nervously] Peter.
Dalton Russell: Peter what?
Peter Hammond: Peter Hammond.
Dalton Russell: Where's your cell phone, Peter Hammond?
Peter Hammond: [Trembling] I left it at home.
Dalton Russell: [Putting his arm around Peter's shoulder] Peter, think very carefully about how you answer the next question, because if you get it wrong, your headstone will read, "Here lies Peter Hammond, hero, who valiantly attempted to prevent a *brilliant* bank robbery by trying to hide his cellular phone, but wound up,"
[presses gun muzzle into Peter's cheek]
Dalton Russell: "getting *shot* in the fucking head." Now, Peter Hammond, where's your cell phone?
Peter Hammond: I telling you, I did, I left it at home.
[Dalton goes through the other bank employees' cell phones until he finds Peter Hammond's number; he looks momentarily at Peter, then calls it]
Peter Hammond: [Peter's phone can be faintly heard from his office playing "Gold Digger"]
The Daily Guru said...posted by funkiwan at 12:15 PM on January 11 [2 favorites]
I was in attendance last night, and no words can capture my frustration. But, what makes it worse is that if you're a bit of a tech-nerd, you will know that it was VERY unlikely that it was a phone call that was being ignored...the reality is a bit worse.
Due to the timing of the repeated ringing (I was about 4 rows behind and a section over, so I heard it VERY clearly), it was obviously an alarm that had been set on the phone for a certain time. The subsequent "rings" were the "snooze" timer that automatically goes off in intervals if the alarm is not stopped.
There were numerous times where the music itself had built to a volume where the phone could have been removed from a jacket/purse/etc and silenced, so the person in question was not only being rude, but outright dumb as well.
For me, I could not get back "in the zone" and properly appreciate the final minutes of the piece, as the interruption completely destroyed the energy in the room.
I do not believe there is any "real" solution to the issue, as it is unlikely that venues will invest in signal-blocking systems, and there will always be the one moron who ruins an exceptional evening of music. However, I was surprised that no ushers or security entered the hall before or during the incident to address the patron or remove them.
I do however give great accolades to Gilbert for how he handled the situation, as anyone who was there must agree that he had no other choice. Also, the performers remained complete professionals throughout, rarely looking anywhere but to their conductor while he handled it.
The policy at Avery Fisher Hall, run by Lincoln Center, where the Philharmonic is a tenant, is for ushers to approach the owners of ringing phones and ask them discreetly to turn off the devices, said Eric Latzky, the orchestra’s spokesman. "In this incident, unfortunately the policy was not followed," he said.(The article also includes comments on the incident from Maestro Gilbert.)
Betsy Vorce, a spokeswoman for Lincoln Center, said officials were talking to the ushers involved. "This is one incident where the policy wasn’t followed," she said. "We’re investigating it. We’ll take corrective action if necessary."
... the phone was ringing earlier in the movement. The offenders appeared to be an elderly couple; my first thought was that they didn’t know it was their phone, or they didn’t know how to turn it off.I don't know what the answer is. More ushers?
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Are people actually this stupid? Or maybe this guy was mentally handicapped? Was he doing it on purpose???
posted by chiffonade at 6:05 AM on January 11 [1 favorite]