And Grandpa promises he'll get a new picture up here soon...
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
Monday, July 28, 2003
YMBK! Dianetics?
Or something very much like it.
But if this means I could finally play GROSSER GOTT straight through without hosing it up a few times first, I'd sign up in a heartbeat...
Or something very much like it.
But if this means I could finally play GROSSER GOTT straight through without hosing it up a few times first, I'd sign up in a heartbeat...
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
Back from Cinci
What a blast! Great to see all my old internet / church music pals again, plus met a few for the first time. It's always a bit of a shock to find out what someone really looks like.
I gotta take back part of my comment about "not just a bunch of lefty guitar pickers anymore", however. The lefties still run this place. Most strongly evidenced by the plenum addresses, but also in my class on the GIRM and musical texts.
I am probably more lefty than righty, but I REALLY would have liked some balance. what we got instead was a good deal of carping about the illegitimi in Rome, and promises that the wind would shift again. This was particularly troublesome in my GIRM class, where I had hoped to find out details on how the new rules would play out. It may still be too early in the process, but our presenter didn't seem to want to touch on that anyhow - rather to expound on how the crafters of Liturgiam Authenticam had really missed the mark, and how there would have to be yet another instruction soon.
OTOH, there ARE 2000 organists in NPM now, so some more balance there. And we got the Detroit NPM Chapter going, 22 years after we first tried it. I'll be running the mail list, and technically will be their so-called webmaster (because in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king). Should be interesting.
What a blast! Great to see all my old internet / church music pals again, plus met a few for the first time. It's always a bit of a shock to find out what someone really looks like.
I gotta take back part of my comment about "not just a bunch of lefty guitar pickers anymore", however. The lefties still run this place. Most strongly evidenced by the plenum addresses, but also in my class on the GIRM and musical texts.
I am probably more lefty than righty, but I REALLY would have liked some balance. what we got instead was a good deal of carping about the illegitimi in Rome, and promises that the wind would shift again. This was particularly troublesome in my GIRM class, where I had hoped to find out details on how the new rules would play out. It may still be too early in the process, but our presenter didn't seem to want to touch on that anyhow - rather to expound on how the crafters of Liturgiam Authenticam had really missed the mark, and how there would have to be yet another instruction soon.
OTOH, there ARE 2000 organists in NPM now, so some more balance there. And we got the Detroit NPM Chapter going, 22 years after we first tried it. I'll be running the mail list, and technically will be their so-called webmaster (because in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king). Should be interesting.
Friday, July 11, 2003
Here's a groaner:
Jesus and the Apostles were together, and there was a crowd with them. Jesus spoke:
"-y = x2 - 3x + 5",
then fell silent again.
There was a stirring of the crowd, who appeared puzzled. One of the crowd leaned over to an apostle and asked "what does this mean?"
The apostle replied, "Sounds like another one of Jesus' parabolas."
Jesus and the Apostles were together, and there was a crowd with them. Jesus spoke:
"-y = x2 - 3x + 5",
then fell silent again.
There was a stirring of the crowd, who appeared puzzled. One of the crowd leaned over to an apostle and asked "what does this mean?"
The apostle replied, "Sounds like another one of Jesus' parabolas."
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
Meet our new bishops
I've crossed paths with all these guys, but know little about any of them. My old pastor, Msgr. Mike Lefevre, is returning to the Cathedral after 10 years at St. Blase. Not sure his new role - parish pastor, maybe? Hope he's not just pushing paper - says a great mass. Some of the most thoughtful and thought-provoking homilies I've ever heard.
I've crossed paths with all these guys, but know little about any of them. My old pastor, Msgr. Mike Lefevre, is returning to the Cathedral after 10 years at St. Blase. Not sure his new role - parish pastor, maybe? Hope he's not just pushing paper - says a great mass. Some of the most thoughtful and thought-provoking homilies I've ever heard.
Monday, July 07, 2003
Monday Moanin'
Apologies to Bob Talbert, may he RIP.
My granddaughter found my eyeglass lens, in my recliner. So apparently I had lost it the night before, and not noticed til I got to work. So that's all better now.
Niece's 30th birthday on the fourth. Celebrated at her place on the fifth. She lives in the 3rd floor of an old house in Pontiac with a couple of guys. We dragged the whole family there - I got the sense they were waiting for us to leave so the REAL party could start. Lotsa drinking, lotsa 80's tunes, a pretty good spread, but HER friends still hadn't showed up. We left about 10:30.
Fourth was a family get-together. Kinda sad that only half the family comes anymore - everyone's mad at everyone else. Still a good time, the grandkids really enjoyed the pool. And I was introduced to Cisco, apparently the drink of choice in the hood. A 12oz bottle packs the same wallop as a 40 oz. malt liquor. The red tastes revolting, but the peach is pretty good. Good thing I wasn't driving - really easy to get toasted on that stuff.
Another reminder from my prof that I really need to move faster with my organ pieces. He's right of course...
...so I spent all my spare time this weekend working in the studio on a pop setting of some song lyrics someone posted in the HomeRec BBS (got the lyricist's permission first). I'm happy with the result, but, of course, it's not helping my organ class.
NPM convention next week - debated not going, since I'm not working in the field now. But I hadn't seen most of my NPM pals since '99, so I'm going anyhow. For RC musicians who wrote off NPM as a bunch of lefty guitar pickers, things have changed a lot. Much more emphasis on organ repertoire, implementing Vatican directives, and a generally scholarly tone that didn't used to be there. Not that we'd ever be confused with Adoremus or Call to Holiness. But much more centrist than in the past. A good place to be.
Apologies to Bob Talbert, may he RIP.
My granddaughter found my eyeglass lens, in my recliner. So apparently I had lost it the night before, and not noticed til I got to work. So that's all better now.
Niece's 30th birthday on the fourth. Celebrated at her place on the fifth. She lives in the 3rd floor of an old house in Pontiac with a couple of guys. We dragged the whole family there - I got the sense they were waiting for us to leave so the REAL party could start. Lotsa drinking, lotsa 80's tunes, a pretty good spread, but HER friends still hadn't showed up. We left about 10:30.
Fourth was a family get-together. Kinda sad that only half the family comes anymore - everyone's mad at everyone else. Still a good time, the grandkids really enjoyed the pool. And I was introduced to Cisco, apparently the drink of choice in the hood. A 12oz bottle packs the same wallop as a 40 oz. malt liquor. The red tastes revolting, but the peach is pretty good. Good thing I wasn't driving - really easy to get toasted on that stuff.
Another reminder from my prof that I really need to move faster with my organ pieces. He's right of course...
...so I spent all my spare time this weekend working in the studio on a pop setting of some song lyrics someone posted in the HomeRec BBS (got the lyricist's permission first). I'm happy with the result, but, of course, it's not helping my organ class.
NPM convention next week - debated not going, since I'm not working in the field now. But I hadn't seen most of my NPM pals since '99, so I'm going anyhow. For RC musicians who wrote off NPM as a bunch of lefty guitar pickers, things have changed a lot. Much more emphasis on organ repertoire, implementing Vatican directives, and a generally scholarly tone that didn't used to be there. Not that we'd ever be confused with Adoremus or Call to Holiness. But much more centrist than in the past. A good place to be.
Thursday, July 03, 2003
Great Day...
NOT!!!!
(1) Started off the day eating something that didn't agree. (2) Driving to work, noticed my temple screw had fallen out of my glasses. (3) Emergency gas station stop due to (1), finally got to work (4) late, where I finally noticed that (5) the lens had fallen out of my glasses. Checked car, office, and parking lot, apparently lens popped out at the gas station, 53 miles away. Called gas station, they hadn't seen it.
The most circuitous part of this is that if I'd had a bit more coffee in me, I'd have realized the (5) risk to my lenses when I noticed (2) the missing screw - but it may well have been the coffee that caused (1) and (3). And (4), really.
Sigh. I'm getting through the day, though. I'll stop at the gas station on the way home, see what I can find out. Oh yeah, (6) Kim can't find any of my old glasses...
NOT!!!!
(1) Started off the day eating something that didn't agree. (2) Driving to work, noticed my temple screw had fallen out of my glasses. (3) Emergency gas station stop due to (1), finally got to work (4) late, where I finally noticed that (5) the lens had fallen out of my glasses. Checked car, office, and parking lot, apparently lens popped out at the gas station, 53 miles away. Called gas station, they hadn't seen it.
The most circuitous part of this is that if I'd had a bit more coffee in me, I'd have realized the (5) risk to my lenses when I noticed (2) the missing screw - but it may well have been the coffee that caused (1) and (3). And (4), really.
Sigh. I'm getting through the day, though. I'll stop at the gas station on the way home, see what I can find out. Oh yeah, (6) Kim can't find any of my old glasses...
Tuesday, July 01, 2003
Still Here
Work, school, fam, and recording projects are taking most of my time.
Playing catchup this summer - had music theory 30 years ago, sans the sightsinging. So I'm "refreshing" over the summer, covering 2 semesters of music theory and sight singing. First final is next week. Seems to be going well. Also taking organ, and took an impromptu (no credit) vocal course. VERY helpful.
In Organ, I worked up a Joncas hymntune (name escapes me), and am now working an a harmonization of SLANE by Erik Routley. Almost done with the Vierne Complainte I began last semester, and have a couple of Couperin's "Mass of the Parishes" pieces on the horizon. Nice to have permission to take as long as I need to get the hymntunes "just right", but I know I need more practice time. Finally got the Hammond fixed - big improvement. Will still practice at the college once a week - touch on the Allen is much closer to pipe than on le grand Hammond.
Work, school, fam, and recording projects are taking most of my time.
Playing catchup this summer - had music theory 30 years ago, sans the sightsinging. So I'm "refreshing" over the summer, covering 2 semesters of music theory and sight singing. First final is next week. Seems to be going well. Also taking organ, and took an impromptu (no credit) vocal course. VERY helpful.
In Organ, I worked up a Joncas hymntune (name escapes me), and am now working an a harmonization of SLANE by Erik Routley. Almost done with the Vierne Complainte I began last semester, and have a couple of Couperin's "Mass of the Parishes" pieces on the horizon. Nice to have permission to take as long as I need to get the hymntunes "just right", but I know I need more practice time. Finally got the Hammond fixed - big improvement. Will still practice at the college once a week - touch on the Allen is much closer to pipe than on le grand Hammond.
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