ให้ฉันเริ่มต้นการสนทนานี้เกี่ยวกับตัวเองเพื่ออธิบายความคิดของฉันดีกว่า. วิธีการและทำไมศาสนาฮินดูมาถึงข้อสรุปที่เราพระเจ้าทั้งหมดเกินความสามารถของฉันอธิบาย. คนเท่านั้นที่มีความสามารถที่รัฐทำ. ฉันไม่ได้หนึ่งของพวกเขาเลย. ดังนั้นฉันเก็บตัวเพื่อพื้นฐานเกี่ยวกับฉันฉัน, เหมืองและ I.

I am ขวาชีวิตนี้. ดังนั้นผมจึงกล่าวว่านี่เป็นมือของฉันนี้ท้องของฉันเหล่านี้และเพื่อให้ตาของฉัน. เมื่อฉันตายร่างกายของฉันจะยังคงอยู่ในโลกนี้ที่เรียกว่าโลกแห่งความตายในศาสนาฮินดู. ชีวิตของฉันจะ เดินทาง ไปยังสถานที่ที่จะพิจารณาจากพระเจ้าขึ้นอยู่กับกรรมของฉันอีก. ฉันเก็บความคิดเกี่ยวกับคำถามของฉันมีอยู่นี้หลังจากการตายของฉัน. ที่ฉันหลังจากฉันตาย? ฉันสามารถเรียกชีวิตของฉันเป็นฉันหรือตัวฉันเป็นฉัน? ร่างกายของฉันจะขายได้อย่างรวดเร็วทันทีที่ฉันตาย. และเกี่ยวกับชีวิตของฉันฉันรู้ว่าไม่มีอะไร. ดังนั้นฉันไม่สามารถกล่าวว่าฉันจะถูกเรียกว่าชีวิตของฉัน.

หากฉันมองไปที่ตัวของฉันและพูดว่าเป็นขาของฉันฉันจะหายถ้าขาของฉันได้รับตัด? ไม่ฉันยังคงกล่าวว่าฉันอยู่แต่ฉันมีสูญหายขาของฉัน. ฉันจะคิดเช่นนี้กับทุกส่วนของร่างกายของฉันและยังคงอยู่จนกว่าฉันชีวิต. ขณะหัวใจของฉันหยุดตีฉันไม่มี. ทั้งหมดที่ฉันหายไปเพียงพระเจ้าที่รู้.

ศาสนาฮินดูมองปัญหาเหล่านี้ในเชิงลึก. Siddhas ใหญ่พบคำตอบทุกคำถามด้วยความสำเร็จพระเป็นเจ้า. คุรุสามารถช่วยให้เราลบทั้งหมดไม่รู้นี้และตอบคำถามของเรา. Sadguru คือพระเจ้าเขาสามารถทำสิ่งที่ว่าใครที่ไม่อาจเรียกตัวเองคุรุ.

The Chamber Choir of Namur: Handel’s Messiah Symphony

Belgium’s Chamber Choir of Namur was founded in 1987.  Right from the beginning of its career, the orchestra has performed the major works in the choral repertoire of Georg Frideric Handel, J.S. Bach and Mozart, as well as contemporary works.  The ensemble has appeared at well-known festivals, among them the Abbey of Escaldieu (Pyrénées), the Versailles Festival of Baroque Music, the Festival d’été in Paris, the Arles Festival of Sacred Music, the Walloon and Flanders festivals, the Ars Musica Festival in Brussels, the Concerts Sinfonico-corals of Lerida and the Ambronay Festival.

The Chamber Choir: Handel’s Messiah Symphony

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I thought that this quote and reference were really interesting in this week’s Spooks.

Beethoven’s 9th, Ode to Joy.

Alle Menschen werden Brüder,
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

Harry, all men are brothers. That’s why we shed tears for people we don’t know
Ruth to Sir Harry Pierce in Spooks S08E08

This week’s arrivals are heavy on symphony and violin collections. Of particular interest are complete symphony collections of Beethoven (twice!), Dvorak, and Bruckner, and two large sets featuring the violinist, Yehudi Menuhin.

Orchestral Music

Antonin Dvorak – The Complete Symphonies (Royal Scottish Orchestra; Neeme Järvi, cond.) – CD 8501

Anton Bruckner – 9 Symphonien (Berliner Philharmonic; Herbert von Karajan, cond.) – CD8496

Ludwin van Beethoven – 9 Sinfonien (The London Classical Players; Roger Norrington, cond.) – CD 8463

Ludwin van Beethoven – 9 Symphonies (Orchestre Révolutionaire et Romantique; John Eliot Gardiner, cond.) – CD 8462

Johannes Brahms – Symphonies Nos. 1-4 (SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra; Sergiu Celibidache, cond.) – CD 8480

New York Philharmonic: The Historic Broadcasts 1923 to 1987 (10-disc set) – CD 8467

Kurt Masur at the New York Philharmonic (10-disc set) – CD 8482

Original Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra (6-disc set, ballets) – CD 8477

Violin

80th Birthday Edition; Yehudi Menuhin, violin (6-disc set) – CD 8469

Menuhin Edition; Yehudi Menuhin, violin (5-disc set) - CD 8499

26 Danish Violin Concertos; Kai Laursen, violin (10-disc set) – CD8485

Eugène Ysaÿe – Six Sonatas for Violin Solo, op. 27; Gideon Kremer, violin – CD 6255

String Quartets

W.A. Mozart – The Quartets Dedicated to Haydn (Quatour Mosaïques) – CD 8487

Dimitri Shostakovich – The String Quartets (Brodsky Quartet) – CD 8479

Piano

Ludwin van Beethoven – Piano Sonatas; Alfred Schnabel, piano (8-disc set) – CD 8492

W.A. Mozart – Piano Concertos; Mitsuko Uchida, piano (9-disc set; English Chamber Orchestra, Jeffrey Tate, cond.) – CD 8459

Opera

W.A. Mozart – Die Zauberflöte / Die Entführung aus dem Serail / Der Schauspieldirektor (Berliner Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm, cond.) – CD 8491

Kirsten Flagstad Edition – CD 8481

SLICES OF MY LIFE

In a journal on my table
Beside my favorite pen
You will find revealing verses
Where only lines had been

I’ve filled the pages with the muse
That touches deep inside
And you can read what’s written there
When the book is opened wide

There is verse about my children
And some about my mate
There are even odes about my pets
And one about my weight

There are lines about my garden
And butterflies and birds
Deep rhymes about life’s symphony
In most expressive words

There’s muse about the sun and rain
And also winter’s snow
A poem about a rainbow’s arch
With its translucent glow

A sequined sky and harvest moon
That makes the heavens shine
And one about our U.S. flag . . .
All, from this heart of mine

God’s blessings fill some pages
And this is not a whim
For I would not be writing now
Without this gift from Him

This well-worn journal lying here
Fulfills a pleasant role
Recording slices from my life
From my heart and soul

10/24/01 Phyllis DeWitt-VanVleck

If you’ve ever listened to The Verve, you know there’s one epic song titled “Bittersweet Symphony.”
Truer words never spoken. For example, the following lyric:
“’cause it’s a bitter sweet symphony this life… Trying to make ends meet, you’re a slave to the money then you die.”

Life is a symphony. An ordered symphony that moves at a predicted pace. Human beings today are ordered to work for their whole life. Even childhood isn’t as great as it can be. Children are sent to school, and study to get a job that makes good pay. There is nothing more to education than just that. What happened to Plato’s ideal world? Where there is no foolish currency, and  society is brought up through intelligence. Studious. Hypothetical. Philosophical.

It’s silly that all we do is study and study and study, and there isn’t anything more to that. Studying does not, I repeat, does not equal intelligence. Intelligence is properly characterized by the mind thinking quickly and rationally, while being in the calm.

A philosopher is intelligent. Philosophers reflect on every possible motion through logic and reality. What is after life? We don’t know. Whether there is a Heaven or a Hell, or neither, is it really worth working ourselves to exhaustion and not accomplish the basics of life? What do grades and yearly salary matter after death anyways?

Think about it. Sit down and think. Just for an hour, or ten minutes even. Just think. Reflect on everything you have done for the week, or reflect on your whole life. Forget your mistakes and concentrate on what you have done to make yourself an intelligent being.
You’ll realize some things you never imagined.

This afternoon I went to see the New World Symphony on Lincoln Road (on South Beach) with a group of girls I work with.  We got free tickets to the performance because a couple of the girls had met some guys at a bar (always a good start to a story…) and it turned out the guys were bass players in the symphony!  My friend Sairah, apparently, had yelled at the guys for being so loud in the bar that she couldn’t talk loud enough to be heard over them…somehow this translated into them giving them six free tickets! I, of course, invited myself along because I can’t pass up anything good and free.

Just kidding. They invited me.

Anyway, we went to see “Tales of Two Cities: Paris and Vienna.”

The New World Symphony is a fellowship program that prepares graduates of major music programs for leadership roles in orchestras around the world.  The playbill listed the majority of players as being between ages 25 and 30, and probably 95% of those had a Master’s degree in music.  Most were graduates of conservatories.

We got to the theater a little early, so we were waiting outside…for no particular reason, now that I think about it.   This picture was taken before I adjusted the settings, so it is over-exposed, but I love it because it perfectly captures the craziness of the gals I work with!

Ahh…that’s better.

This is the lovely Olga…she works with me and is in charge of replication…that is, replicating our organization into what I think of as franchises, kind of, although I’m sure she would have more accurate terminology for it.  Basically setting up different branches (?) in other cities around the United States. Doesn’t she have pretty eyes!

This is Camille.  Camille likes to make funny faces when I take pictures of her, so you probably won’t see very many non-joking pictures of Camille!  Camille works in “Special Projects”…a little bit of everything.  She does a lot of HR stuff, as well as planning our events, and lots of other things.  Camille’s dream is to start a non-profit (or just a community group) for regular people to become ballerinas.  (Read more about this coming up in “The Nutcracker” post…)

This beautiful lady on the left is Kristina!  Kristina is married to one of the guys we all work with.  She’s a sweetheart! She also is a published author! Woohoo. We are all getting her autograph now so we can have copies when she is famous.

This is Tania! Tania is an EMS (educational mentoring specialist) at the organization where I work.  She does absolutely everything…she runs a handful of different programs, from training mentors, to running life-skills camps, to going to court with the foster youth.  She literally does it all. And she has the biggest heart you will ever find. Oh, and she’s super goofy.  She always makes me laugh.  And wherever you go, people flock to be around Tania.

And this would be…..me.  But you guys already know everything about me.  Camille took this. Actually, Camille took all of these little portraits…I was busy taking off my sweatshirt so she took control of the camera momentarily.

The New World Symphony plays their concerts at Lincoln Theater, on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach.  Its a strong Art Deco building, and its not what I was expecting at all. The building itself is actually quite simple (especially in comparison to the Adrienne Arsht Performing Arts Center, where we saw The Nutcracker last night…more on that coming up).

Perhaps you’ve noticed the amount of grey hair in these pictures…because we went at two o’clock on a Sunday, the crowd was definitely more geriatric than the typical South Beach performance. But I loved it. It was all blue hair and cardigans. It was very sweet.

Camille took these, too. She’s a fan of taking pictures while you are getting reading for her to take pictures.

The results are…interesting.

The symphony played four pieces:  Darius Milhaud’s “La Création du monde, Op. 81″; Maurice Ravel’s “Suite from Mother Goose“; Alban Berg’s “Seven Early Songs”; and Richard Strauss’ “Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59″.

The concert was supposed to vaguely symbolize the span of human life, from the creation of the world, through childhood fairy tales, through the poetic musings of young adulthood, then looking back on one’s life and relinquishing one’s grip on remaining youthful.

The first piece, La Création du monde (The Creation of the World), depicts the Creation myth of African cosmology, and incorporates Harlem jazz with baroque stylings.  The composer, Milhaud, had spent time in the jazz clubs of Harlem and was one of the first to fuse the two musical styles together.  Only 17 musicians played in this piece, so it was pretty little.  It used a lot of saxophone and less string, so it was more “jazz-bandy” than the rest of the pieces.

The second piece was my most favoritist of favorites! Ravel wrote it originally as a piano duo for the children of some of his friends, based on Perrault’s fairy tales – Beauty and the Beast, Tom Thumb, Sleeping Beauty. The year after he wrote it, he rearranged it and expanded it into a ballet score.  I loved this one…it was so moving and you could just hear the stories the music was telling (birds as violin’s squeaking, the “voices” of Beauty and the Beast talking to each other using different instruments…it was gorgeous.

The third piece, “7 Early Songs,” first of all made me think of my friend Nicole Early, who just came to visit me in Florida! But it also featured a singer, Measha Brueggergosman (try spelling that in the first grade!!).  She kind of reminded me of an operatic Jill Scott.  Alban Berg, who was a student of Arnold Schoenberg, had originally written the songs separately, and then later arranged them into a symmetrical arrrangement.  The 7 songs were all different poems set to music (“A Crown of Dreams” by Rilke, “Night” by Carl Hauptmann, “Song Among the Reeds” by Nikolaus Lenau, “Indoors” by Johanne Schlaf, etc.) and Measha sang the lyrics.  It was really beautiful.

This is Measha Brueggergosman.  Apparently she is quite the celebrity in Canada (she’s Canadian…in case I didn’t mention). She has been on “MTV Cribs Canada” and the Canadian “Project Runway.”  She was also wearing this amazing dark bronze lamée dress with necklaces that came down to her knees.  I was jealous.  Very jealous.

Isn’t she fierce?

The fourth piece was my second favorite.  Ehhh, maybe it ties with first for my favorite.  It comes from an opera, “Der Rosenkavalier” by Strauss, that’s basically your typical eighteenth-century romantic comedy.  It’s about a young man (Der Rosenkavalier, named Octavian) who is having an affair with an aging married princess (the Marschallin), who falls in love with a lovely young thing named Sophie, and then competes with this obnoxious lout, Baron von Ochs, for her affections.  The selection we heard was from the perspective of the Marschallin, as she realizes that she has to let Octavian go because she can’t offer him a future like Sophie can.  It was quite moving actually. It reminded me sooo much of this book I read for my Humanities class in college, Colette’s “Chéri”.

Look at these pastries that they offered during intermission…I guess they came from a French restaurant down the street.  Camille and Kristina knew about it.  All I know is, they looked pretty darn good.  Although I’m still trying to figure out what that green pastry is supposed to taste like. Is it pistachio? Lime? Umm…avocado? Knowing Miami, it’s probably guava.  Everything here is guava flavored.  Sigh.

But seriously. Look at the strawberries.  Mmmmmm…

This poor little girl was super sick.  She slept on the seat in front of us the whole time with her sweatshirt on backwards and her hood on her face.  It was so sad.  She woke up at intermission and was just hacking up a lung coughing and sniffling.  I felt so bad for her!  But it also reminded me of a time when I used to get dragged to “culture events” and I would be bored to tears and sleep through them.  I guess some things you just have to be a grown-up to appreciate.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

I didn’t know quite what to expect when my belle and I attended Too Hot to Handel recently. We were in for an unforgettable experience!

The piece was conceived and conducted by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra’s conductor laureate, Marin Alsop. It’s a brilliant interpretation of Handel’s Messiah as a blend of classical, gospel, and jazz.

Woodwinds give way to a piano, organ, and electric guitar. The violins sit to Ms. Alsop’s left, a contingent of saxophones wait behind the organ, to her right sits the brass section, and to her far right lie the violas and cellos. Before her sit three vocalists: a soprano, an alto, and a tenor. And, being Handel’s Messiah, behind the orchestra is a full choir.

Ms. Alsop clearly enjoys this piece tremendously, and it shows with her almost conspiratorial relationship with the audience. She is obviously in full control of the ensemble, but she makes it look a scene in a movie where an actor imagines beautiful music and in the background, musicians furiously work to make her whims come alive. Ms. Alsop, you are truly a joy to watch.

Even though the subtitle of the work is “A Gospel Messiah”, the music struck me as jazz. The melodious scatting of the tenor Thomas Young contributed, I’m sure, as did the amazing sax, piano and drum solos.
The choir did a fine job augmenting the orchestra. And let there be no doubt that the mezzo-soprano Vaneese Thomas and the soprano Cynthia Renée Saffron brought gospel to Boettcher Concert Hall that night!

Perhaps my only regret is that the balance was off in places, where it seemed that the choir drowned out the tenor more than they should have. I also found seemingly random arrangement of their choir robe styles distracting at times.

Truly, we were transfixed throughout the whole performance. I would heartily recommend this concert to anyone with an interest in Handel’s Messiah or new interpretations of classical works!

I’m tired.  It’s almost the kind of tired to goes all the way through the meat on your body and settles into your bones.  It’s not a bad tired.  It’s not from horrible things happening and stressful situations, or conflicts with people.  It’s the kind of tired that comes from completely enjoyable things, but a bit of over-extension.  Too much, in too short of a time frame.  The last week has been that way for me.

One of my favorite people in the world called me last Friday night to say she was flying in on Saturday.  So, I picked her up from the airport and we had a lovely time Saturday night and Sunday.  We were up way too late Saturday night, but our time together is always so short, that I want to squeeze every possible moment with her that I can.  I never know when I’ll get to see her again.  She came back Wednesday and we squeezed every moment we could again out of the night.  It’s wonderful for catching up with a friend, but it’s horrible on your body!

Also, Wednesday night I had my favorite guy over to meet my friend, cooked dinner, and we chattered and drank wine before she and I stayed up much, much too late.  On Thursday I cooked a really nice Christmas luncheon for my staff as an appreciation for their hard work and dedication.  No sooner than I got that cleaned up after they left, I had to change and freshen up to leave and meet another friend for dinner before going to the symphony to hear The Messiah.  It was almost ten Thursday night before I got home, and then almost 11 before I could get settled enough to go to sleep.

And tonight, I hosted another lovely friend to pizza and a movie at my place.  She was as tired as me, but because of the stress of work rather than a hectic fun filled schedule.  I’m hoping not having to eat alone, and being able to laugh heartily at a funny movie helped her relax a bit, and feel better.

Now, it’s a little after 8pm and the last week has just settled all the way through my muscles and into my bones in a tiredness that makes me so sleepy, I’ll be surprised if there aren’t tons of typos and sentence fragments in this post!

Some would say that I wasn’t loving myself by allowing myself to run through this week with that kind of schedule.  Forcing myself to get through several days with nowhere near enough sleep or rest, perhaps, wasn’t the smartest thing I could have done.  But I will say that it has been such a lovely week, that I am willing to suffer a lot of fatigue tonight as the consequence.  I got to spend time with precious friends that I adore.  I got to feel the love those friends have for me.  I got to hear some of the most beautiful Christmas music ever written and sung.  I got to show how much my staff means to me, and how valuable they are to me through food and hospitality.  All of those things sustain me, lift me up, and leave me feeling such abundance I can hardly keep from bursting with it!  I would argue that I have loved myself immensely this week.

And now it’s time to show myself just how much I love myself, by allowing me to go to bed early, and sleep late tomorrow.

- Catherine

Today we received two very interesting hacks utilizing old cellphones within a matter of minutes of each other – Of course, this means war!

In the left corner we have the Mobile Mobile, a 50 cell phone collection dangling high above our heads by [James]. Loyal readers will remember his last match, a physical realization of the Spinning Wheel of Death. But today, Mobile Mobile tries to keep his title with the use of Twitter and live video.

In the right corner we have competition and newcomer  [Timo] and his Cellphone Symphony. With a combined amount of 150 cell phones including sim cards, he is going to be one tough cookie. It’s all down to this folks.

Both utilize MIDI to try and lift spirits this holiday season by playing music and sounds. Servers and custom software are of course both necessities… but who will be the winner? Check out after the break!

Round 1: Reaction Time
After pinging the cellphones, [James] and his team were able to knock response time down to 2ms. While [Timo] chose to use pre-existing cell phone networks, thus resulting in a 6 second delay. Mobile Mobile double jabs and gets a point.

Round 2: Press and Performance
The Cellphone Symphony might be wounded, but it’s definitely not out. Boasting a record for visiting the Estonia Concert Hall, where hundreds have enjoyed this unique performance. Mobile Mobile however has been hunkered down to only one small office. A left cross followed by an upper cut from the Symphony and it looks like it might be over.

Round 3: Final Stand
It’s down to this folks, I don’t know how much more suspense I can take. This truly has been a gruelling eye for eye match, but there can only be one grand champion of champions. Wait! Whats this? Both contenders are down after a double right hook. I can’t believe it, it’s a knock out, no winner!

This is the fountain in front of our newly built symphony hall in Nashville. It’s called “The Schermerhorn”. Been there twice; one of those times was to see Michael Franks. The acoustics are wonderful. This fountain is pretty cool too.

On paper Timbaland’s Shock Value project is a great idea. Upon execution? It leaves a lot to be desired. You would think this great producer would be able to put out some better stuff, but I really feel that on the whole both Shock Value CDs are mediocre at best. That said, Timbo did work with two of my favorite artists on SVII and they really are the only songs you need from the CD. Who are those 2 artists? Obvi it’s Brandy and Esthero. Esthero delivers her usually soul-filled super-sexual vocals while Brandy jumps into her new persona Bran’nu and raps for the first time. What’s pretty amazing about the Bran’nu tracks is that she’s actually really good. And she also sounds JUST LIKE Eve. Like Bran’nu could have recorded Tambourine and no one would have been the wiser. Sorry no dowloads this time, but i bet you can find ‘em if you need to!

Meet In The Middle (feat. Bran’nu)

Can You Feel It (featuring Esthero & Sebastian)

Undertow (featuring The Fray & Esthero)

Symphony (featuring Attitude, Bran’ Nu & D.O.E.)

Bonus! Esthero & Brandy – Believer

Mo. 1 1/2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6E9RLqxsSA

Mo. 1 2/2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpoq1NNLs5E&feature=related

Mo. 2 1/2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWC-zIkDnS4&feature=related

Mo. 2 2/2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjOOEzcWZqI&feature=related

Mo. 3:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0mUArsMd6U&feature=related

Mo. 4 1/2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogHeEBEQetQ&feature=related

Mo. 4 2/2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW-1aYLx6AA&feature=related

I played this for the winter concert last Sunday(right before finals week!) and it has been stuck in my mind since.

If I were a cheerleader, I’d cheer for Christmas.

Christmas has always been huge in my family — tons of decorations, celebrations, feasts, presents and Christmas Eve church services.  This year is the first Christmas I will spend apart from my family, and we’re a little sad about it.  We know it will be hard to be apart, but we’ll see each other several times before that day.

I’m using this time to examine my thoughts about Christmas, since Mike’s family’s traditions are very different from mine.  I’ve learned a lot about the history of Christmas through them and it’s given me much to consider.  I’ve learned that  Christmas shouldn’t have anything to do with Jesus or his birth, based on the fact that in the Bible neither Jesus nor anyone else says that we should remember His birthday (conversely, we are told to remember his death and resurrection) and in fact, we don’t even know His real birth date.

We can love and honor Christ apart from anything to do with popular holidays.  Rather than try to focus Christmas on Christ, they’ve explained, we should accept that the two have nothing in common and just celebrate it for what it is — good cheer, festivity, presents, family.  In essence, let’s take the Christ out of Christmas and let’s just have…mas.  In Spanish, that would be MORE.

And I’m always all for more.

In fact, I think I’m well on my way to more.  This December has already been decorated with several events that are indeed mas but have absolutely nothing to do with Christ.  Years ago (even last year) I would have felt a twinge of guilt for celebrating without focusing completely on Jesus, but now?  Bring on the mindless merriment!

Christmas Tree: To start our season, we got a tree.  Yes, it’s alive, and yes, it’s the same height as me:  five feet five inches.  We love our tree because it makes our home cozy and cheerful, it holds meaningful symbols (baby ornaments, second grade pictures of Mike, gifts from friends), and it delays us having to buy a new chair to fill the space it occupies.  (If you look closely, you can see a cross ornament…so I guess I haven’t figured this out quite yet.)

After all, Christmas trees were virtually forbidden by our colonial leaders in 1659, when a law was enacted that made any “heathen traditions” such as Christmas carols, decorations and trees a penal offense involving a fine.  We Rephs enjoy setting up our tree without paying a fine.

White Christmas: The same night that we got our tree, we attended “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” musical at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theater.  Two other couples invited us to dress up and go out on the town, and we thought nothing could be more Christmasy than the stage version of the Bing Crosby movie (which I had only seen once and Mike had never seen).  It was uncomplicated, plump, shiny and almost too cheesy to bear — and that was entirely the point.  “May your days be merry and bright” indeed!

Tacky Themed Dress-Up Party: Every year we are invited to a number of parties that require an ugly sweater, santa hat, or this year, 80’s ski gear.  The only thing 80’s ski gear and Christmas have in common is snow, I suppose, but we went with it.  The results speak for themselves.

Cirque de la Symphonie: Certainly the highlight of the Christmas season so far was attending the mind-boggling circus acts performed in front of a full orchestra playing classic Christmas favorites.  Mike took me and my sisters to Benaroya Hall and we all gasped our way through this stellar performance.  Previous to this evening none of us had seen a man in a handstand on another man’s HEAD with only ONE HAND.

The champagne at intermission didn’t hurt, either.

White Elephant Gift Exchange Parties: Two of these are on the calendar this year, one of which happened at my workplace — I arrived with a bathrobe and departed with two bags of candy.  Lame.  And what could be less Christ and more mas than giving gifts that are utterly random?  Myrrh and gold are not random; those gifts were intentional, I assure you.

I totally respect those who see Christmas as a holy holiday, because I do too, to some degree.  After 25 years it’s virtually an innate response.  But I love examining why we do what we do, and seeing if we can do it differently and still be honorable.

After all, when it comes to Christmas carols, for every “…the glories of His righteousness, and wonders of His love, and wonders of His love,” there are just as many “…oh bring us a figgy pudding, oh bring us a figgy pudding, and a cup of good cheer.”

As for me?  This Christmas I’ll ponder the wonders of His love — while sipping a cup of good cheer.

You are here: Home / Car News / Video: Lexus LFA secret behind the symphonyVideo: Lexus LFA secret behind the symphony

December 14, 2009 by George Skentzos

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While the sound produced by a supercar is often likened to a symphony, Lexus has taken the acoustic performance of its new LFA far more seriously in order to create its Formula 1-inspired soundtrack.

An acoustic team was assembled specifically for the LFA project whose sole job was to ensure the exhaust note of the LFA was unlike any other car on the road, enhancing the sensation of speed and acceleration.

The aural qualities of the V10 engine and exhaust system has been fine-tuned to create a unmistakeable “soundtrack” that rises from a rumbling note at idle to a nape-tingling red-line wail.

The main silencer is made of titanium and has a valve-actuated, dual-stage structure that channels the exhaust flow according to engine speed.

The exhaust valve stays closed below 3000rpm, routing the flow through multiple chambers, creating an unobtrusive note.

As the needle rises the valve opens, allowing the exhaust to bypass these chambers and flow into a single resonance chamber, before exiting through the stacked trio of tailpipes.

The induction system was also modified to complement the engine’s acoustic properties, featuring a uniquely formed horizontally split resin surge tank which mimics the acoustic chamber of wind and string instruments.

Up to 4000rpm the engine emits a wail equal to a frequency of 300Hz; this changes to 400 to 500Hz as the engine revs climb to 6,000rpm; and a peak is reached at 600Hz as the engine wails towards its 9,000rpm red line.

Even the air intake is made from a porous duct material to generate the bass and mid-range tones – an effect the LFA development team call Resonated Complex Harmony.

This unique soundtrack is played into the cabin through a sound channel running from the surge tank into the cabin below the main dashboard panel, so people on board can enjoy the experience as much as those on the outside.

Two further sound channels run to an opening in the upper cowl on top of the dashboard structure and a reflector panel low down at the front of the cabin.
Together with the primary sound channel, these put the driver at the centre of the LFA team calls the 3D Surround Sound Concept.

 Once a month my husband and I slip away from our kids, leave them with a sitter, while we head off for a nightly adventure.

This months adventure took us to the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra, a pleasant and unexpected surprise.

As a professor, my husband is often caught up in grading finals this time of year, this year being no exception.  Our December adventure usually consist of me wrapping presents and him sitting beside me with a stack of ungraded tests.

We were given tickets to the show, and so we sat idle things aside, and everything else fell nicely into place.

Here I am standing with my husband at our local community arts theater at intermission.  The first half of the symphony, they played “the nutcraker”  – it was captiviting .  Great seats in the high rise, and a wonderful time spent with a wonderful man.

Wishing you all the merriest of seasons.

The city’s finest municipal orchestra perform in one of its finest municipal spaces, the 1906 monument to Art Nouveau that houses the magnificent Smetana Hall. Conducted by Tadeusz Strugala, the Prague Symphony Orchestra offers up a programme of little-known Czech music, paired with a classic that comes complete with shimmering climax. Petr Pokorny’s Two songs Opus 47 for Baritone and Orchestra leads off the evening, followed by Alban Berg’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. The second half veers back from the edge with Beethoven’s Symphony No 7 in A major, Opus 92. Solos from acclaimed violinist Ida Levin and baritone virtuoso Petr Matuszek add to the lustre.

I should preface this by saying I had every intention of doing this on my lunch break, but stepped outside for some fresh (and very chilly) air before moving forward. I ended up spending the entire hour talking to a coworker about the meaning of life, religion, and how she views the world. It was really good practice in listening for me, because I admittedly talk more than I listen. Ironically enough, the “Lessons for Life” segment¹ on the radio today was talking about learning to listen. So I did. It is fascinating what people believe and what leads them to do so. Anyway.
 

Last week I had the pleasure of accompanying The Man to a symphony extravaganza of sorts at the University of Houston. He had to go for his music class, but we still really enjoyed it. I absolutely love that we can do things like this and I don’t have to worry about dealing with a bored boyfriend. No one has ever taken me to see an orchestra or a symphony, and we’ve now been to three. We also went to the Nutcracker for our anniversary and we both had a blast. It’s awesome. Actually, the entire weekend was amazing. We stayed in a super ritzy 5 star hotel, ate at a super ritzy and amazing steakhouse, tried to go ice skating but got bombarded with children, and got to dress up lots. I spent way too much money and had a fabulous time. THEN I got my daughter back on Sunday! After two weeks of her being gone, I was thrilled to have her back. Her first morning back to daycare was Tuesday, and while I was doing her hair, she turned around and said “I love you, Mommy.” She then went right back to being half asleep. It was beautiful and amazing.

It’s been a crazy weekend. It’s been a crazy month! My birthday is next week, and I’m sure that week will be just as crazy. Then we’ve got cookie parties and gift wrapping and all the last-minute gift buying I suddenly decided I needed to do. OI!

In the midst of all of this, though, I have had no desire to write. Before the symphony, I was sitting in a McDonalds on campus while The Man was finishing a class. ² I started outlining characters for a new project I intended on working on after NaNo – Haze Grey and Divorced Away. I have a panel of military exes I’ve been polling about their respective experiences with becoming a military ex since before NaNo started, but the project needed to take an obvious back burner. This is something that has taken me a long time to feel ok writing, as it obviously hits very close to home, and it wasn’t something I wanted to take lightly. So there I was, with my coffee and notebook, writing away about her background and how she came to be. I would have been perfectly content outlining away, but The Man called and was rejoicing over an early class. Obviously, we went to dinner instead of sitting in McDonalds. The Man does not “do” McDonalds.

I have since completely forgotten about it. The train has left me behind at the station and chugged off into a foggy, distant memory. The notebook is still laying on the floor, next to my bed, and is rather put out that I haven’t touched it. Well, sorry, but I’M TIRED.

Anyone else who participated in NaNo feel mentally exhausted? I wouldn’t dare say that it is similar to it Eating My Soul (I do miss that forum…), but it was incredibly taxing. That many words, that much story in that amount of time? Not to mention I haven’t written anything of that size and caliber oh, you know, ever.

I was enjoying my break until the other night I realized it was something I had to keep doing. Thus, I was sent into a flurry of depression, telling myself if I didn’t write all the time I was never going to become an author. Never ever.

Since that pit of rhetorical despair, I’ve recovered. But I do need to start again. I think I’m finally ready to pick up 100 words and not suck at it as well! Joy! The first one after NaNo made me want to puke. Holy moly, it was terrible. I believe my brain has finally recovered and my writer’s voice has gotten over its bronchitis.

I hope.

¹ Kayla, I’m stealing your footnotes. Anyway, a local church here in Houston does a “Lessons for Life” radio commercial segment on most of the radio stations in town. The same man, who I believe is the Pastor but could be very wrong & I don’t feel like researching it, gives brief stories and whatnot about living a good life. It’s never preachy, just “be good to your fellow man”ish kind of things. I really enjoy them.

² Truthfully, I began writing about going the symphony… went to step outside, got caught up in a 45 minute conversation, came back in & totally lost where I was going with that until now. Welcome to my life. Frankly, it’s amazing I found where I was originally going…

“The Showplace of the South”

“SHOWTIME!”

This place is so special & it’s probably one of my most favorite places. All of my family members have memories here. We love what it means to us.

Photography by Jenny Fox Shain

Order TODAY for Christmas!

(Click on photos for LARGER View)

Make sure you check out the rest of The Alabama Theatre Series below.

Photos Owned & Copyrighted by Jenny Shain. Published on pummeledbyadoringfans.wordpress.com

In what has been a lengthy war, costing me much social time [and the time to post to this blog] I’ve been fighting away with practical’s of various forms. Suffice to say they’ve all been a bit of a pain [DE in particular as many of my classmates would testify to] but at last there is some light at the end of the tunnel. One essay and two programming assignments left before Christmas!

This means that I have an opportunity to catch up on some social activity – tonight I’m off to see the University’s Symphony Orchestra performing some Russian romantic pieces – Night on the Bald Mountain was one of my favourite pieces as a child [and my second favourite section of Fantasia]. I’m also hosting a games night on Thursday which should be good fun so long as nobody gets overly competitive – after which a final push to complete all the assignments and thus goes another semester!

Let me tell you about the ‘Witching Hour Symphony’.

It begins three minutes after wifey and I have said goodnight. I curl up on my side in the darkness and think about Romans, cheese and Spongebob Squarepants (you know… all the most relaxing things.) I tend to stay up real late and when I crash out I’m asleep almost before I’m horizontal. But some nights I plan an early night to catch up. And my body rebels.

And it begins after those three minutes pass. It starts with my watch lying on the bedside table. A gentle tick every second. Every. Single. Second. Just gentle. You wouldn’t normally notice it. Except when you’re lying awake in the dark and the silence. And then it sounds like the tick of the world’s most giant clock stuck in an echo chamber.

TICK … TICK …TICK … TICK … TICK … TICK … TICK … TICK … TICK … 

The watch is a snare drum. And before you know it, you’re mentally ticking along with it. Eventually, you become inured to it. And you almost fail to notice it. When the central heating system kicks in to fill the radiators. Here comes the bass. A low rumble of kettle drums, the occasional honk on the tuba and a semi-rhythmic saw on the bass. And now the tick comes back with a vengeance because it’s got support. It’s like a noisy child who’s just realised he’s got backup.

At this point there’s no ignoring it any more. And other things join in. Wifey’s very gentle, occasional, lilting snore provides a counterpoint. The dogs sighing somewhere in the darkness or occasionally groaning as they shuffle around in their bed. They all fit in with the tune and rhythm. Then the radiatot begins to make that ‘Pinking’ noise. Add to this the fact that it’s windy outside and we’re in an old house, and you have creaky doors moving in time with the music.

At this point it’s truly orchestral. I am beyond all hope of sleep. But there’s still something missing from the symphony.

And gradually, as you lie awake listening to the whole thing thing, one nostril blocks up (since I’m hovering on the edge of a cold at the moment.) And then it begins. The nose whistling. You know that whistle when you breathe in. And I find myself regulating my breathing so I’m in time with the music. More than that, I discover that, by speeding up or slowing down my breathing, or making it deeper or shallower, I can change the pitch of the whistle. Huzzah! I have my string section.

Of course, if wifey woke up at this point and looked at me grinning like a maniac with my eyes closed and breathing like I’ve just run a marathon, she would have me sectioned. Particularly if she saw my hand poking out from under the duvet, conducting in 4/4 time.

I think I’ll make it a late night again tonight. I sleep better when I sleep less!

Ah well, back to the Gipsy Kings making me wish it were summer and I were somewhere slightly more latin!

Ciao.