House

I pass this house when I go to Cleveland. Someday when there isn't traffic I'll slow down and look at all the stuff. The photo is embiggenable.

Friday cat blogging

Exciting cat photos. Not.

This is how Dudie usually looks.

LittleOne watches the world from the cathouse roof.

Jellico watches me.

Tim watches for Lady who had gone.

Friday shuffle

1. Vivaldi: Concerto in D, 1. Allegro - Karl Scheit, guitar
2. I'm a Believer - Monkees
3. Reynadine - Carolina Chocolate Drops
4. Hair - The Cowsills
5. Without You - Nilsson
6. 9 to 5 - Dolly Parton
7. What's Your Name - Don & Juan
8. Travelin' Man - Ricky Nelson
9. Powell: The Word Was God - Florida State University Singers
10. Tuesday Afternoon - Moody Blues
11. The Hunting Song - Tom Lehrer

Some political commentary

Wonkette nails the truth about the folks wanting to attend Glenn Beck's tirade. An excerpt: "All the Tea Partiers wanted to do was descend on the Capitol on the anniversary of the “I Have a Dream” speech and pervert the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. in peace; little did they know they’d be stuck having to traverse literally thousands of the city’s African American residents, many of whom’s ancestors didn’t even have the decency to leave DC after being forced to build it, as slaves. Can you even imagine the nerve?"

The Parent Company Trap - I love Jon Stewart. Stupid or evil? Or pitifully uneducated?

Eliminating taxes taken to its extreme. The voters in Modoc County, CA are both stupid and pitifully uneducated. And destined to reap what they sow. Pity the folks who understand government and have to live with these, um, misguided people.

Some believe that the voting machines in Ohio were hacked or manipulated in the Bush elections. Of course that is impossible as proven here.

Truth Out will not appeal to people who watch Faux News. I love it.

Friday cat blogging

Breakfast time

Friday shuffle

1. Freddie's Apple Polka
2. Verdi: Ave Maria - Westminster Choir
3. Little Things Mean a Lot - Kitty Kallen
4. Purcell: Sonata for Trumpet
5. Celebration - Kool and the Gang
6. Gounod: St. Cecelia Mass, Benedictus - Münchner Symphoniker
7. On the Sunny Side of the Street - Shearing and Anderson
8. Easier Said Than Done - The Essex
9. Mussorgsky: Boris Godounov, 1. The Courtyard of the Novodevichiy Monastery - Cleveland Orchestra
10. Incense and Peppermints - Strawberry Alarm Clock

Friday cat blogging

The grey boys hanging around - Dudie, LittleOne and Jellico. There has been a dog running around so the cats haven't been here much. I tried to get a photo of them lying in the driveway making it difficult to navigate with the car. As soon as I go out, they get up and come to me. Oh well.

Friday shuffle

1. Where or When - The Belmonts
2. Mozart: Requiem, Lux Aeterna - Bach Choir Pittsburgh
3. Orange Blossom Special - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
4. Band of Gold - Don Cherry
5. PDQ Bach: Capriccio La Pucelle de New Orleans
6. Land of 1000 Dances - Cannibal & the Headhunters
7. de Victoria: O Magnum Mysterium - Westminster Choir
8. Rutter: As the Bridegroom to his Chosen - Cambridge Singers
9. Here Comes the Sun - Richie Havens
10. You Are So Beautiful - Joe Cocker

A couple of phamily photos

Trinka the Gorgeous

Mom is an excellent person to try to decipher son's computer instructions in the book he is writing

You'll notice that nephew has inherited aunt's preference in computers

Yet another week to wait for marriage justice in California...

Judge Vaughan Walker followed up his opinion that Prop 8 is unconstitutional with the order to lift the stay on same sex marriage at 5 pm PDT on 18 August 2010. That gives the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals a week to consider any motion filed. A few of the coverages:
FireDogLake
Joe.My.God
Episcopal Cafe

An interesting article on Huffington Post - yes, I know it's a liberal thing - Why Gay Opponents Hated and Feared the Proposition 8 Trial. You are welcome to check the hate filled propaganda organizations for dissent if you care to.

I hope my nephew and his wife are prepared for the devastation the decision will cause in their straight California marriage.

Post BCF Week 4 2010

The audience was large and appreciative. The choir was pretty good. The tenor seemed to be straining. The soprano Mary Wilson is possibly the best for that sort of repertoire. Her Exsultate Jubilate was the finest I have ever heard - by far! No wonder Susan S and David Newman like her. I spoke to her after the concert and she said Susan wrote she had a friend in the chorus. Susan is a blog friend. My freshman year at Westminster Choir College David threw me over his shoulder and carried me up the street like a sack of potatoes on our first runout to New York then apologized because he didn't know how old I was. My world keeps shrinking.

I got a kick out of using my big "opera" voice. I never do and few have ever heard it. Anton Armstrong wanted our alto solo voices, our black mama voices. Hee.

I thought we were very privileged to have Ann Howard Jones in our audience and told her so. I met her years ago during the Long Island Choral Festival. A beautiful woman.

The four of us crazies who were the Berkshirettes and sang 8 bars of altered Motown music were very well received. Brevity is always best. As former Greenville Symphony conductor Ivan Romanenko always said, "It's better to leave the audience wanting more than to have them wondering when the program will end."

Photos are here.

Berkshire Choral Festival again

In case you're wondering, which I seriously doubt anyone is, I'm back at BCF for a week with Anton Armstrong. The week started well. He expects everything I'm used to. Then suddenly he decided he needed to change the order of the altos (and eventually everyone) to get the sound he wanted. I was stuck between two ladies who have two levels of singing. Forte and Fortissimo. And they don't really know the music and one especially can't count. ARGH!

At the third rehearsal I had to remove my hearing aids or I couldn't sing at all because I couldn't figure out which was the correct pitch. At the fourth rehearsal I was so stressed that I could barely sing at all. I was ready to quit. So I caught our section leader after and asked to move. The gal on my right knew I was unhappy and was more than willing to switch. I got the approval I needed with a warning that Armstrong might make me move back.

The fifth rehearsal was so much better. My voice was free and I was happy. I doubt the conductor will interfere. I'm sure he can see on my face that I'm much happier. I'm singing sort of behind rather than next to my favorite 2nd alto because of sight lines. I think she wants it that way. She had never heard and is "jealous" of my opera voice which we are being encouraged to use. I told her I have lots of money invested in that and she could probably get the same results if she took lessons from the right teacher. She's considerably younger than I. She won't.

So onward we go. If we will do what we've been taught, we will have a good concert. I'm less certain of this group than I was the first week however.

The concert is at 8 pm Saturday night (7 August 2010) in the Stewart Center (the new hockey rink with air and no bugs) on the Berkshire School campus in southwest Massachusetts. If you are in the neighborhood, come by. The box office is here or you can get tickets at the door, I believe.

Anton Armstrong, Conductor, St. Olaf College Choir
Mary Wilson, soprano
Dan Dressen, tenor

Poulenc – Gloria
Rutter – Te Deum
Bizet – Te Deum

Friday cat blogging on Saturday

This is embiggenable. On the far left is Lady who is being followed by Tim who doesn't like Lady at all and is encouraging her to go home next door. In front of the shelf under the cat door is LittleOne. Then Dudie watches the chase while Jellico was leery of me and started to leave. It was all conducted in slow motion. Finally Tim retired to the corner to watch for Lady's return. Silly cat.

Friday cat blogging

This was LittleOne's first exposure to raw chicken which I normally don't offer. PuddyTat wolfed hers down. LO just played with it and never did figure it out. Now all the chicken is cooked. No idea what he'll do with cooked chicken.

Friday shuffle

1. Car Wash - Rose Royce
2. Brahms: Symphony 3, II Andante - Von Karajan/Berlin
3. Singing the Blues - Guy Mitchell
4. Oh Girl - The Chi-Lites
5. Weinerschnitzel Waltz - Tom Lehrer
6. La Barrosa (Alegrias) - Paco De Lucia
7. Poulenc: O Magnum Mysterium - Westminster Choir
8. Don't Wake Me Up, Let Me Dream - Howard Lanin Orchestra
9. Moonlight Serenade - Glenn Miller Orchestra
10. The Windmills of Your Mind - Dusty Springfield

World's Cutest Grandniece and Grandnephew

Friday cat blogging on Saturday

PuddyTat, Little One and Jellico after breakfast yesterday as seen from inside.

And after lunch.

PT and LO this morning.

Friday shuffle on Saturday

1. Does Anybody Really Know What Time it is? - Chicago
2. I Fall to Pieces - Patsy Cline
3. You're So Vain - Carly Simon
4. aurinkolaulu - rajaton
5. Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
6. Satie: Prélude Du Nazaréen #2 - Riri Shimada
7. Send in the Clowns - Judy Collins
8. Tell Him - The Exciters
9. Good Golly Miss Molly - Little Richard
10. Elgar: Weary Wind of the West - Finzi Singers

Much easier on the iMac tho I'm not used to using a real keyboard. There are videos of Chicago but this is the version I have.

St. Sarah's Episcopal Church, Chenango Bridge, NY

On Sunday, I visited Saint Mark's Episcopal Church in Chenango Bridge, NY for the 10 am service. If you're curious about the title to this post, read Father Mark Giroux's sermon here. This could be my parish home if I lived anywhere nearby. Friendly people. Much laughter. If you live in the Binghamton area, you should visit.

The altar was carved by a nun I was told.

The hangings on the sides were done by one of the parishioners. This is the detail of the bottom of the one on the left.

Much of the work in the church is done by the parishioners. They built the organ loft. They have also done the windows which didn't photograph well in the bright sunlight.

Friday shuffle

1. Gold Rush - Mark O'Connell
2. Whitacre: Equus - Bach Choir Pittsburgh
3. Rock Your Baby - George McCrae
4. Going Up Country - Canned Heat
5. Can't Even Get the Blues - Reba McEntire
6. Everybody Plays the Fool - The Main Ingredient
7. Stravinsky: Pater Noster - Westminster Choir
8. Under the Bridge Polka
9. Butterfly - Andy Williams
10. Who I Was Born to Be - Susan Boyle

Doing this on the iPhone isn't easy.