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Monday, December 14, 2009

SPC - 'Red' - #3

And now it's time for 'Silly Stories with Jeremy', the part of the show where Jeremy comes out and tells a Silly Story:

Feel free to skip down to the photo, as I anticipate that the following story will be a massive letdown for anybody crazy enough to read the entire account hoping for some kind of payoff that would make reading it worthwhile.

Still here?

Crazy.

You may or may not know that I sing in my church choir. We're not exactly making records, but we manage to get our music learned and polished so that we usually enhance worship instead of distracting from it.

As many church choirs do, I suppose, we prepared some special numbers for this past Sunday morning where the choir was featured.

OK

Rewind to this time, last year, when the choir did something very similar around Christmastime. Last year, the dress code for the guys was black slacks, white button-up shirt, and a black or red necktie. Simple enough, right?

I'm happy to say that all the guys complied with the requested dress code, but as the dozen (or so) of us began to show up for rehearsal that morning, we quickly began to notice a trend which held even once all the guys had arrived: the tenor voices were all wearing black neckties and all the bass voices were wearing red ties. This had not been planned.

OK

Back to this year -- the same dress code was announced and many of us remembered last year's accidental color grouping by voice. Some decided that, this year, we would adhere to the trend that appeared accidentally, last year. This left me with a couple of dilemmas.

You see, "I go both ways." At least, that's what we say in the context of whether I sing tenor or bass. My voice is better suited to the baritone range, but we don't usually sing music that is written with a baritone part.

My other dilemma is that I do not own a necktie that is predominantly red or black. Last year, I borrowed a tie from a friend, to whom I explained the requisite tie color options. He brought me a lovely black tie which I happily wore, which turned out perfectly since I was singing with the tenors to help them out last year.

This year, I primarily sang with the basses, but occasionally switched over to tenor if the part needed some extra emphasis.

So, at rehearsal on Saturday morning, we were joking that I should wear a red and black striped tie.

Anybody regretting beginning reading this, yet??? :-)

Another thing you need to know is that my intention was to borrow the same black tie from the same friend from whom I had borrowed it last year. We both forgot all about it last Friday, though. It didn't occur to either of us until sometime Friday evening, which was too late.

So -- after our Saturday morning rehearsal, I knew that I needed a red or black necktie for Sunday morning. I stopped at a Sears department store, which is directly on my way home and headed toward the men's clothing department, when what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a red and black striped tie and on CLEARANCE, no less!

It was a Festivus miracle!!

So I bought it; and I wore it.

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The end.

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Friday, December 11, 2009

Photo Friday - 'Winter'

Monday, December 07, 2009

SPC - 'Red' - #2

RED?

As you can see, I'm still having trouble moving on from 'tiny words.' Instead of getting smaller, my words are getting bigger! Somebody STOP me!

As much as I am enjoying seeing the group pool fill up with glorious 'Red,' I'm always up for some visual juxtaposition, so I wanted to do a shot that officially fit the theme, but contained little or no actual red color. It's a shame that the brick wall that I found is 'red' brick.

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Friday, December 04, 2009

Photo Friday - 'Homemade'

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Good Night or Good Luck?

"Good Night or Good Luck?"


That's it.

That's the final poll over at This or That, the online poll site with the tagline: "Two Choices. Zero Context. Infinite Fun."

Well, the infinite fun lasted three years, and while not "infinite" in the strictest sense of the word, it was a pretty good run.

A buddy of mine from college started the site and it attracted quite the eclectic community, well beyond the group of college friends who knew about it from the beginning. Over these three years, it has been fun to get to know one another. Some (who only knew each other from ToT) have even arranged to meet in person!



Many of us are on Facebook and will continue contact that way. There is a Google Group that is intended to continue with daily polls.

Nonetheless, an era is coming to an end.

Good night, and good luck!



Films Recently Watched:


Gaslight (1944) dir. by George Cukor
Watched this on the recommendation of a friend. A decent psychological thriller along the lines of many films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Worth seeing for Ingrid Bergman's performance, alone. Also note the appearance of a very young Angela Lansbury.

Léon (1994) dir. by Luc Besson
Reviewing a favorite.

Man on Wire (2008) dir. by James Marsh
Fascinating documentary about French tightrope performer, Philippe Petit's quest to walk on a wire suspended between the two towers of the newly constructed (in 1974) World Trade Center. On the documentary, Petit's mannerisms and delivery got a bit over the top at times, but it was worth it for the story he was telling. Such an incredible achievement mostly for the sake of the beauty of the thing. Time Magazine called the stunt the "Artistic Crime of the Century." And rightly so.

Moulin Rouge! (2001) dir. by Baz Luhrmann
It's funny the things that can prompt me to watch a film. This time, one of my 'This or That' friends on Facebook simply mentioned a song from Moulin Rouge, so I put in the DVD to hear that performance. Ended up watching the whole thing.

Revolutionary Road (2008) dir. by Sam Mendes
Hardly the "feel good" movie of the year, but wonderfully directed and acted. Amazing sets and natural lighting throughout.

Rushmore (1998) dir. by Wes Anderson
I'd seen it before, but I borrowed this from a friend to watch again. Quirky and fun.

Same Time, Next Year (1978) dir. by Robert Mulligan
Recommended by a friend. The brief description made me think that maybe it would be similar to Brief Encounter. It isn't. At all. Strangers meet on a weekend retreat and proceed to carry on an adulterous affair annually. It's interesting to see the passage of time (about 25 years; mid-fifties through late seventies), and there are moments where the writing is solid, but something makes be believe this story works better on stage (for which it was written) than on film.

Slumdog Millionaire (2008) dir. by Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan
Interesting story. Not sure it was worthy of the 'Best Picture' Oscar it was awarded, though.

The Big Chill (1983) dir. by Lawrence Kasdan
Recommended by a friend, same friend who recommended "Same Time, Next Year." :-)

This one didn't do anything for me. Quite the ensemble cast (Kevin Kline, William Hurt, Jeff Goldblum, Tom Berenger, Glenn Close), some good moments, but again, I think that this might work better on stage than on film.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) dir. by David Fincher
Another Interesting story. Also nominated for 'Best Picture' Oscar by the Academy. Solid CG work.

The Iron Giant (1999) dir. by Brad Bird
Once again, a Facebook posting forced me to watch a movie, too late at night. Another fan of The Iron Giant mentioned that it was the 10th Anniversary of the day on which it opened in theaters. So I watched it in celebration.

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Monday, November 30, 2009

SPC - 'Red' - #1

December's challenge theme is a repeat from December, 2006 (can't believe it's been three years ago!)

Red

I ♥ GIVING POP QUIZZES


Well, I wasn't quite ready to give up on 'tiny words' yet, so here's my transition shot.

The mug was a gift -- purchased second-hand by a friend. Clearly, it was intended for a school teacher, but it's quirky and it keeps my coffee warm at work.

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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

SPC - 'tiny words' - #4

family

This week, as we celebrate Thanksgiving here in the U.S., I can't help thinking about family. Both Christy and I have been blessed with generations of strong, healthy, God-fearing families. Over this holiday weekend, we will celebrate with not only our parents and siblings, but many Aunts, Uncles and Cousins, as well. They love us and we love them.

Of all things, this is something I should not take for granted, but all too often, I do.

Beyond the parades; beyond the football and certainly beyond the inevitable preparations for "Black Friday" -- may we remember to celebrate the bounty that we experience all around us everyday. Yes, a bounty of food, to be sure, but also a bounty of family and friends; a bounty of wealth; a bounty of freedom; a bounty in all of God's many blessings.


The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.
Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

--Psalm 23


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Alternate Photo:
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Friday, November 20, 2009

Photo Friday - 'Vehicle'

Monday, November 16, 2009

SPC - 'tiny words' - #3

For Self Portrait Challenge -- 'tiny words'

It occurred to me that any large word or group of words could be reduced to a small font size and be considered a "tiny word," but what about tiny words that aren't tiny because of their font, but rather because of their length?

"Yo" was the word that popped into my mind and yo-yoing happens to be another old hobby of mine.

YO

It took a few tries (ahem), but I am quite happy with how this one turned out, and it is very nearly straight out of the camera -- uncropped -- untouched. The only problem was where would I put my 'tiny word?' The background was a little busy and I couldn't find a location with which I was pleased. I finally decided to remove the Duncan - Mosquito emblem and put it right on the yo-yo.

The subtle yin-yang pattern began to appear on the yo-yo face without my realizing it in the emblem-removal process, but once I realized it, I went with it. A nice little touch, I thought. :-)

Here's the actual Straight Out of the Camera shot:

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Friday, November 13, 2009

Photo Friday - 'Three'