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I don't know about the rest of the shape and such, but I can tell you why Bo Diddly plays a square guitar.  It's an homage to his father.  They were poor and young Bo wanted to play guitar.  His father couldn't afford a guitar, but he built one for young Bo using a cigar box he found.  Now that he is capable of purchasing any guitar he wants, or having any guitar he wants built for him, Bo Diddly retains the square shape as a thank you to the ingenuity and interest of his father. 

- Zurf

Blues is American.  Blues roots are varied including some Gospel (Memphis style blues) some call and response (Chicago style blues) some French and Appalachian folk music (Delta blues) and a bunch of other styles.  The roots may have come from around the world, but the Blues is American.  And while we're at it, I'm laying claim to Bluegrass, 60's era Soul, and Jazz too!  I'll let Europe take Disco and Dance Remix   [NOTE: I don't think the former is true. I just refuse to accept the truth of the matter of Disco's origination.  It's much easier on my psyche to blame Europe.]

Asking whether someone is black enough has become a pre-occupation of American press and is a racist and ridiculous question.  Presuming that all blacks act alike is the racist part, and to presume that there's a "blackness" that is "watered down" by other races is ridiculous.  I can understand how you would be confused by it.  Just know that parentage or genetics doesn't matter because when someone asks that question they are really asking a behavioral and socio-economic question rather than a biologic or genetic question.  Trying to understand it in the sensible, scientific, non-racist terms you are using will not result in a satisfactory answer.   Thank God for people like you who don't understand that brand of racism!!! 

- Zurf

Pizza is good.  If there's pizza on the line, just make up your own answer on tritones.

Every day.  Just every day.  Spreadsheets.  Wow.  That's something.  Good for you on that.  Too much for me.  I work spreadsheets and stay organized all daggone day.  Guitar's the anti-spreadsheet for me, but to each his own.  Keep at it every day, and you'll not be a newbie long.  Get a couple songs under your belt, even if they peek out a little it's all right.  Get you some friends and a campfire and have a go.  So what if you have to play the 59th Bridge song six times straight, it's still Grrooooovvvyyyyy. 

Keep it fun, don't get frustrated.  If you can't sing while you play, at least smile.  I'm serious.  It's hard to get angry with yourself if you're smiling, even if it's a fake smile.

- Zurf

Greek's Cellar.  I remember that place.  My fraternity had our officer meetings at the Cellar.  Now the fraternity I was in was a professional fraternity and it attracted folks who were learning and working.  It was not the kind of frat that was a $400/month drinking club.  Greeks Cellar at that time was the kind of place that bikers and truckers and townies and college kids with dirt under their nails could all meet.  Rich college kids, not so welcome.  I remember some frat boys going in there with their Ralph Lauren Polo shirts and their pastel cotten sweaters neatly knotted around their necks.  "Greeks?  Why would they advertise this place to Greeks?  This clearly is not a place where our ilk would be."  That sort of thing.  Of course, it was named Greek's because the nickname of the guy who ran it was "Greek".  They were not trying to attract the pan-Helenic and inter-fraternity crowd.  Well, these fellows kept on running the place down.  There were some bikers at the long row table just inside the door.  One of them, a fellow with biceps about the size of my leg, a shaved head, and enough tattoes to get the job done went over to their table, leaned down, looked the guy closest to him dead in the eye and said, "We don't like you.  Get out."  Those six frat boys jumped up and ran out of the place faster than you can blink.  Left their pitchers and pies right there on the table.  The president of our frat walks over to the table and picked up their pitchers.  Those full pitchers found their way back to our table thanks to our President's ingenuity.  But before sitting down, the President took one of the pitchers and topped off the beer of the biker dude who scared them off along with a simple "Thanks".  The pitcher and president then returned to our table.  The bikers laughed right out loud at the audacity.  It helped that our fraternity was co-ed and the president was a good looking brunette who had a fondness for tight pants and v-neck sweaters and wasn't above bending a little low while she poured the biker's beer or putting a little extra wiggle in her walk on the way back to our table. 

Yeah.  Getting a little nostalgic myself now. 

- Zurf

I probably saw and heard you play.

I used to go to South Main Cafe somewhat frequently up through '87, and Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin was one of my favorites to go see.  Other than Bob Margolin, our favorite band was "Look What Landed."  They had a 16 year old lead guitar player for whom they had to get special permission to have a minor play in bars (and his parents were in the audience).   

If you played with Bob Margolin, you are one hot guitar picking son-of-a-gun because he only plays with the best. 

- Zurf

Southpaw - I like Music123 as well.  I've even gotten some freebies from them with orders.  They sent free bass strings with an amp once.  Another time I got a string changer tool free with some strings.  Kind of nice to be appreciated as a customer. 

I didn't see the models I played listed.  The higher end one did not look like a purled maple.  I'd recognize maple I think.  The two lower models were zebra wood or some other exotic.  The higher one could possibly have been purled maple, but it looked like a looser grain than I'm used to with maple and was VERY light weight.  I expect it was some sort of tropical exotic.  Plus the price was about $100 less than what I see there.   Music123 can be beat on price, but usually not by 20%. 

- Zurf

A few Jimmy Buffett tunes for campfire use:
"Changes in Lattitudes, Changes in Attitudes"  - As a departure from my usual I am actually learning this as a straight cover

"Distantly in Love" - laid back strum with a little finger picking.  It's actually a Steve Goodman song but it was made famous by Jimmy Buffett.

"A Pirate Looks at Forty" - I've some friends with whom I fish and camp who are more than half river pirate (reformed of course).  One has put forty astern while the has it looming o'er the bow.  Average it out, and it's all good. 

"City of New Orleans"- Speaking of Steve Goodman songs...I'm doing it fingerpick and trying to be dead steady keeping an alternating bass line on 1 & 3 to keep the feel of rail travel.  Playing a simultaneous bass line and fingerpicking a treble fill has been terribly challenging for me.  If I can master it, the world will be my oyster.  Or at least my mussell.  I'm not really a big fan of oysters.

- Zurf

People from Ohio are called "Buckeyes".  The Buckeye is a kind of nut tree that grows in abundance in Ohio.  That's what a Buckeye friend IS.  But you asked what they're for.  Mostly, I guess, they're for life.  Plus they always let me take their beer in camp, help me learn new songs, and generally good for treating me with every hospitality known to man (well, the decent ones). 

I can't promise that I can make it there if you come because it's a minimum of four hour drive to Ohio and as much as eight hour drive depending on where your friends are.  The point is that I want to know of it in case I can get away. 

- Zurf

Cool!  Checking out James' site, I also got to see a couple other Chordians.  Doc looks a whole lot different than I figured.  I'm guessing it's because my grandfather was Belgian and I subconsciously expect every Belgian man to look like my grandfather.   Lena's every bit as pretty and gentle looking as I'd have figured. 

Loved checking out the other songs, too.  Very cool.  Ashamed sounded nothing like I expected.  It was wonderful!! 

I can guess one thing, though.  I've probably been playing "The Country Life" completely wrong (or at least differently from the way James imagined it). 

It was fun seeing pictures of you folks.  I don't have a MySpace site, but if you're interested in seeing me pursuing some of my other passions (fishing and paddling), you can check out my picture site. 

www.picasaweb.google.com/halffastpaddler/     

I'm the guy with the salt & pepper goatee and chrome dome.   A lot of my friends and family appear in the pictures as well.  No art there, just snapshots and memories.

- Zurf

I'll let you know...

I've been hitting F#m, F, and Bm pretty hard by playing songs with those chords in them and playing however they sound (which is usually pretty muddy) but just keep on going.  Then later, I would practice the chords until I got a good sound.  So each night, I would practice getting to the chord quickly and smoothly in a song and not worrying about how it sounded, and also getting a good, clean sound out of the chord without worrying about how long it took me to get to the chord.  The two are merging over time, meaning that I am getting to the chords more quickly and at the same time getting a cleaner sound. 

I've been doing this every day for about six months.  I'm almost to where I'm feeling comfortable.  I am no longer actively avoiding songs with Bm, F, or F#m in them.  Usually not anyway.

- Zurf