Man, is this dude right or what!?

So Heather was heading out the door for the gym. She asked if I minded if she stayed for a dance class....of course, I had no problem with this. Then, in her "only Heather" cute way she said "nothin' left for me to do but dance!" and added a little shimmy. Then I said "Yeah, you know the words to everything" which she does. Then I said "I bet you know the dance for the video" the Jamiroquai video where Jay Kay is dancing in a room filled with moving tracks. Then she responds with "Yeah, ok" so then I said "I'll find it on YouTube."

So I found it. Only one problem I was talking about the "Virtual Insanity" video and she was talking about "Canned Heat" which is the music for the final sequence of "Center Stage" (by far one her favorite movies.)

Now, I remember when they won Video of the Year at the VMA's for the Jamiroquai video and I remember listening to this song on the radio, but I never knew what it was about. Dude, he wrote this song in 1996 at the latest. Did he ever hit this one on the head!?!? He's talking about genentic engineering, false teachers, governmental oppression, eroding liberties, reliance on technology, the final frontier of prayer, very heady stuff.

Plus, this dude's white. Now, I need to preface this with...I'm white and I know it. White folks don't typically have soul.....this white boy got soul. Dang! And he's talking about serious issues....pretty cool stuff.


Virtual Insanity - Jamiroquai

So, it's been awhile.../Have you got it down yet?

My lovely bride informed me that I haven't updated in a few days. Well, it's been hectic. We had a VERY long spring break (at least that's how it felt) and have been back to school for a week. I've been busy people!

Well, we've had an interesting last couple of weeks. We were in a conundrum over what to do with our Tax Refund money. We were going to Disney, then not, and now we're going again! Heather had this intense feeling that the money wasn't for us. Well I prayed and journaled and read over tat until small group last Thursday when a friend of yours was talking about a mission going to do in Ethiopia working with orphans. apparently, when she got the fundraising info she only had like a week to raise $1700. Bleh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, as she continued to explain that she's not freaking out or anything like that and that she had about half of what she needed I heard God say "Give her the rest of the money!" So there you go, that money wasn't for us!

Then Heather felt as though she should gift a missionary couple who just moved back here after 10 1/2 years in Russia, so we did that. Then she planned to stock up on grains and stuff like that (cuz we're crunchy you know!) and then we still had some left over, THEN we decided to take a shortened version of the trip to Disney we had planned.

It felt good to get so much mileage out of that cash, especially since almost all of it was going to Disney before we did any of this. Yay God!!!

We've only got like 25 days of school, or something like that. People keep counting down. Not the students mind you, the teachers! I really hate that. I mean, I never really did that very much, but when I sold shoes I had an older co-worker who had been in retail for like 40 years and one night we closed together and as we were counting down the last couple of minutes before we figured we'd be released he said "It sucks counting your life away." Needless to say, I don't do that anymore. I'll count down to trips, but not endings. That's crappy. Bleh!

Now, we've got just a few more weeks of school and we've got drama all over the place. Apparently, it's all top secret so I can't tell you, or I'd have to, well, you know... Who knows what'll happen next year.

When were had resolved not to go to Disney I was thinking about getting a new mouthpiece. Even when I knew I had the money for it I couldn't resolve to get the stupid thing. What's up with that? I play a Selmer D (actually 2 of them, but you know that if you've been reading ;o) and I just couldn't bring myself to try something new. I no resolve and no peace about it. I even had an offer from a prominent mouthpiece maker to be one of his first customers of a new line he's making out this new space-age-like plastic rod that I thought would be cool, but I couldn't pull the trigger.

Well, in the meanwhile I hadn't played since the Thursday before Spring Break and I didn't play again until the Thursday after Spring Break, so that's two weeks. But, when I didn't crack the case, I sounded great! I even had a revelation on a note in the "Sopranissimo" (that's my term for notes that only I and a few other freaks play on Bass Clarinet.) I was actually shooting too high for a Double A. Dang people. I mean, now I'm in Lenny Pickett territory everyday (no joke, just watching the video below makes me want to practice that like right now) and I not even "trying" to get up there. I think this is one of those instances where I got behind the right mouthpiece at the right time.




I can hear all the dejectors. "EEEEWWWWWWWWW, factory cut mouthpieces are nasty and inconsistent." Um, yeah, but they're close enough and I don't think Selmer's going under anytime soon since they're owned by Steinway, who, in fact, is the largest instrument company on the planet. Plus, even if they did, there would be 4 gagillion mouthpieces on the market anyways and a million people willing to copy the ones I have. So there, haha you mouthpiece snobs.

Now, I'm not getting down on mouthpiece snobs. If you're a mouthpiece snob, I understand. I teach this unbelievable Clarinetist who's a junior in H.S. and plays on a Richard Hawkins. I don't think she's giving that puppy up, and I don't blame her. Besides, I'm a ligature snob. I have two vintage Harrison/Hurtz gold plated Bass Clarinet ligatures. You think I'm giving those things up? Yeah right! I'm even thinking of getting the Rico "H" Bari Sax version only because they bought the patent from Harrison's widow.

I also have a kid who is younger and just got a brand new Leblanc Rapsodie Clarinet. Very nice horn, it totally heavy like a tank, I love it. It's just like my basses, those babies are rock solid. He's loves that instrument, but it didn't instantly make him better. It's just gonna make it easier to do what I want him to do. No we see the problem.

I ain't never gonna buy nothin' that I feel like is going to "make me better" because I know better. Maybe I'll invest in some different ligatures or different reeds because they alter response, but I'm certainly not going out to get a new horn or whore myself out to a bunch of new mouthpieces. I can play doggone it! I don't need that stuff to make me better. I can handle a slight change in things here and there as an experiment, but I not expecting a miracle.

I keep thinking back to all the work I did in High School to get to where I am. I can't recreate that work with a new ligature, mouthpiece, or instrument. And that's why I couldn't commit to a mouthpiece. Everybody acts like their mouthpiece is going to instantly change the way you play. BALONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is NOT! Learn to how to play and you'll know how to play. The one thing that drives me the most crazy is when people who have professional "cred" act like a particular piece of equipment "allows" them to play things. It does not! Maybe the reason it "allows" you to do certain things is because the confluence of circumstances for YOU means that that piece of equipment "allows" you to play something you're actually not that good at. Heavens no, we wouldn't want to admit weakness would we?

I've been toying with Double A (as I said before) for 10 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was in college when I stumbled on this note and now that I need it I've been getting back on it again. (It's happens 3 times in the Smith "Fantasia" and it's the last note and I refuse to play it down an octave.) As soon I got it to speak regularly yesterday I changed reeds, then, I changed mouthpieces and then I changed ligatures and I used the 2 reeds, 2 mouthpieces, and 2 ligatures I had in all combinations I could and kept playing the note to make sure it wasn't a fluke. That's how you know you've got it down. I even played it on a Rovner, by far my least responsive lig, and it still worked. Lenny would be proud.

ahhhh, the search is partially over

We've been wondering what to do with our tax refund for weeks now. Originally it was paint the house, then they came in way over what we had coming in, then we were thinking one more Disney outing, now we're giving it away! Just gave a missionary some $$$ for their support for a mission to Africa! Pretty cool stuff. Now we're wondering if we're not supposed to go to Disney in the fall and what else we're supposed to do with the rest of this money (since we only gave away a third of it.) I've been told things about bikes and all kinds of other stuff, who knows.) Fun times.

This is one of those times when you're seeking, reading, praying and not sure what to do and then the opportunities are dropped right in your lap. Why can't this stuff happen faster? :o)

so, I didn't make it

Apparently NABLOPOMO will have to wait. The kids are alot more fun than trying to remember to post everyday. We had a super productive Monday, a nice restful Tuesday, and we're going on an adventure after Heather goes out tonight. Only with kids could WalMart, Office Depot, HHGregg, and picking up a part at a car dealership be fun!

Superior Performances 4.2.09

Though unfinished, I wish I could write something that is incomplete and this good. Enjoy.

Franz Schubert Symphony Unfinished - 28:19 Complete

The Final Four picks

Ok, I just keep being wrong lately. I suppose that I can't stop picking now.

UCONN and Michigan St. should be a barnburner. This Sutan dude for Michigan St. is an animal. He posts people up, he's a short range jumper, he can take it to the rack, it's crazy how good he is. I'm leaving out the other great players on their team, but dang, he's good. Plus, I have a strong distaste for UCONN. I mean Thabeet is great, and AJ Price is excellent, but MSU's coming on baby. (Then again, I said that about KU and they got SMOKED!)

Nova and UNC is one of those either UNC kills Nova and or Nova stomps on UN's face. I want to see a Nova/MSU final that I know Nova can win, but dang I'm nervous about UNC and Nova.

Alright, it's a done deal, banking on a Nova/MSU final on Monday Night.

It's Nablopomo time

Since I've never done "officially" done nablopomo (though I did post the first month of the blog's existence) I suppose I should give it an official shot.

The men's group that I've been meeting with at church once a month on Saturday is having it's first meeting outside of church that I could attend (the first one was when we were on my birthday trip) so that should be cool. Learning about the fundamentals of headship is a big deal to me right now. I've got all kinds of things going on learning about where God wants me with regard to my career but all of that is wrapped up in headship because I'm not going to sell my soul to a school just so I can have the privelege of over-rehearsing and veiling it under the heading of "professional learning" or "getting outside of my comfort zone" or "not being a snob and sitting at home". So yeah, it's complicated. More tomorrow.