from the future
to the past...a neat site I found today:
someday...
speaking of someday, we actually have some sun in the forecast! I hope your day has been going well.
an idea
envisioning the future...it's a little early in the morning for any heavy thought about the future, but this article is a step towards what I have thought about energy for some time:
I have thought for some time that in the future, energy companies will provide local generation of energy, in a "macro-biotic" sort of way; using renewable, local sources of energy to provide power for small areas. a neighborhood for example would share a wind generator, or small hydro-electric plant depending on what worked best for that area. power outages would only affect a small area. the power company becomes a installation/maintenance provider, rather than building huge dams, coal plants, nuclear, whatever. anyway, my brain isn't putting this all together very well this morning, but maybe more later.
we do build the future, and if we envision Mad Max, that's what we'll get. if we envision something a bit more bucolic, that would be fine with me.
time to shower, and make breakfast sandwiches with the boys. have a great day!
a new project
voices...just a quick note to let you know about a new project I'm getting involved in.
I'm going to be the musical director, working out the arrangements, teaching the songs (which were written by hs students from around the state), and leading the band on the tour. there are some details to work out, and scheduling things to deal with as far as my previous Counterpoint commitments, but I think this will be great. you can get a good idea of the scope of the project by visiting the website. it will make for a busy August and September, but it will be energizing as well. I'm looking forward to it.
Counterpoint this weekend, down in Manchester, doing Fauré's Requiem with the Manchester Music Festival. should be very good.
Looking forward to Sunday and Monday though!
have a great weekend.
rain
and more rain...just wanted to say hello, it's been a while. busy with the end of school wrapping up, three concerts in three weeks. trying to fit everything in with my general music classes. my computers at school have decided this would be a good time for me to need to re-image them. whee. but for being eight years old, running ten-year-old software, they're hanging in. just a couple more weeks...
the concerts are going well, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow nights' 7/8 show. these guys have really pulled it together over the last couple of weeks, and they're going to be great. the 5/6 graders next week are going to rock, too. but, I AM ready for summer!
I've been working on the church website, doing a full Pivot install, in hopes that committee chairs, etc., can add the content, rather than everything having to go through me. you can check it out at barrevtuu.org I think it's going to work well. something things to work out, but they'll come, and then I can use that knowledge to update this site. I get the itch every so often to re-design. kind of like re-arranging the furniture every few months... now where did I get that?...
ok, I'd better get some chores done around here, so I can get to work on the church site. oh, and I'm also supposed to be listening to the takes from the Counterpoint sessions...
whew
next...27 hours of recording this weekend. it went very well, but what a marathon. 2 cds worth of music, the Israeli music (including my four arrangements), and also a new Christmas cd. they'll both be good, and hopefully good for Counterpoint. time will tell... I think I need a few weeks to decompress, but we've got a Fauré Requiem performance coming up in a couple of weeks. the fun never ends! summer is coming...
I also wanted to pass along a media site that looks good. (thanks, Max!) I caught a bit of Bill Moyers' speech on C-span this morning, and in light of the whole Newsweek apology business, it looks like we need good media watchdogs more than ever. not that I haven't known that since 2000, but it's getting more and more critical. how can we fire Karl Rove? here's the link:
check it out and let me know if it passes muster.
Mother's Day
a happy one to all...a very happy Mother's Day to my Mother, and to all mothers out there. I'm learning a bit of what it's like to be a mother, and that's only adding to my great respect for the tireless work they do to keep the world turning. amazing. thanks to all of you.
speaking of mothers, here's a picture that LeaAnn took. some rabbit mother is very busy...
click the pic for the whole image. and then count them....
have a great week.
mountain home
companion...a great article from Garrison Keillor:
and from my Dad, a site worth checking out:
I haven't signed up for the discussion yet, but looks like it should be interesting. fun to rub virtual elbows with George Lakoff, anyway...
license plates
and watermelon...Vermont's getting a bit of talk around the net, because of dis-allowing a license plate to read JHN316. I haven't quite decided how I feel about it all, but I'm glad I'm not the one making the decisions. here's the article:
and here's some fascinating watermelon carvings...
Emerson and Lincoln and I are going to get the car washed, do laundry, go get our free comic book, then pick up Chellis from his overnight at a friend's birthday party. going to be a good day! hope yours is as terrific! (should there be an apostrophe in there? your's is? is that a double is? your is is? too early for grammar...)
Happy Birthday
Carol!a super HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sister Carol! I hope that you have a great day.
big love to you.
strange
evening...I have spent the evening looking over resumes; my partner teacher at Crossett Brook has taken a new job starting next fall, so we're beginning the application process for his replacement. we've gotten more than 20 so far, from first year teachers to doctorates. it's a strange thing to read all these, including several from people I know, and consider friends. we have a very good program at CBMS, and it will be quite a change. I've been there five years now, and it will be odd to be the "senior" teacher on the music staff. Matt and I worked very well together, finding our strengths very compatible. but, I will manage, and it will be yet another major change in my life this year. guess I'm getting good at that... or at least used to it.
hope you had a great day. and a better one tomorrow.
come hell
or highwater...I came across this quote here:
I might spend a bit of time at this site. I found it while doing a search for Daniel Quinn, the author of Ishmael. read the book.I've stopped thinking all the time of what happened yesterday. And stopped asking what's going to happen tomorrow. What's happening today, this minute, is what I care about. I say: What are you doing at this moment, Zorba? ...I'm kissing a woman. Well, kiss her well, Zorba. And forget all the rest while you're doing it; there's nothing else on earth, only you and her!
- Nikos Kazantzakis
from science
to magic...I was cruising boingboing and came across a couple of things I found interesting. first from science:
I've been hearing about this for a few days, but I haven't read them all yet. food for thought, though. such as this quote from Lisa Saksida:
hmm...Every event in your psychological life, and therefore every psychological change, is reducible in theory to events and changes in your brain. We should therefore not judge people differently, according to whether they are considered to have a 'psychological' as opposed to a 'neurological' problem.
and now to the magic:
I'm not sure why these fascinate me so, but they do. they are just such a lens to the past; nearly as visceral as a smell. I feel myself drawn back in time, almost physically. I wonder what Dr. Saksida would say about that?
not Rome
but...Lincoln said the funniest thing today. well, we all thought it was funny, so maybe you will, too. anyway, somehow the boys got onto spelling words, such as "hypothermia", and Chellis said, "spell Constantinople". well, Lincoln jumped right in and spelled it perfectly, without even breathing, and then said, "actually, I'm a Venetian." hahaha! we all laughed, and then he explained that they are studying that area of the world, and his focus area is Venice. I suppose you had to be there, but it was very funny.
the boys and I had a great afternoon, participating in an "All Species Day" parade in Montpelier (very earthy!), and then doing a bit of shopping before we came back to my apartment and made grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, which are fast becoming another favorite. we watched the Incredibles, which is great. a must see. then I took them back to their mom's.
I should be doing all the dishes right now, but I think I'll go to bed. I'm tired after the VSO concert last night. it went very well, but it was a long day. back to school tomorrow, so another week begins.
have a great day.