Bill Gates in Claremont

Claremont was all abuzz this week with the visit of Bill Gates to Harvey Mudd and Pomona Colleges.  Free tickets were completely distributed early on, so I was unable to attend, but I did manage to watch some of it streaming live on the web.  A video archive will be available on the HMC website in the near future.

Straight Man

This Richard Russo book is on tap for the next book club.  The title refers to a person who plays the foil for the comic.  Hank Devereaux, Jr., the protagonist, teaches creative writing at a third-rate university in Pennsylvania.  If you want to read about the foibles of an English department, complete with characters one might know from such places, you may enjoy the humor, although if you like a plot that clips along, this one might be a little slow.

This review on youtube did like the book.  (Who knew there were book reviews on youtube?)

Security Clearance

I had a short interview with the FBI today.  I was asked to be a personal reference for a friend who is now working for the government.  I was happy to oblige.  Two special agents came to my house, and I was glad to tell them all the positive things I know about my friend.

Reclaim Media Follow-Up

On Feb. 13 I sent off three 45s to Reclaim Media to have them convert them into mp3s for me.  Yesterday I received those records back, along with a new CD in the mail.  It worked!  It was so much easier for me to pay them to do it than to find a turntable and spend the time converting them myself.  It was fun to listen to a story that I used to listen to on my red-and-white-striped record player.

Tchaikovsky Hangover

I have survived yet another concert weekend, and as I go about my daily business today, I keep hearing sections of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony running through my head.  Last week we had Monday and Wednesday night rehearsals, a dress rehearsal on Friday night before our Saturday night and Sunday afternoon concerts.  Playing a concert takes a lot out of one physically and mentally, and two is even more exhausting.  Usually we have one concert that is significantly better than the other, but this time, I have to say, both concerts went very well.  Perhaps a first for the many years I have been with the Claremont Concert Orchestra.

Fat Tuesday Sunday

Today was our third annual Mardi Gras Sunday celebration in church.  We started off the morning with a pancake breakfast.  Instead of a king cake with a hidden plastic baby inside, one pancake had two pieces of pasta included.  The person who bit into that special pancake got to take the Alleluia home.

Let me explain.  During Lent, we are not supposed to sing Alleluia in church.  I guess that's so we think more about sin and repentance during the season.

In 2009, an artist in our congregation painted this Alleluia art and framed it.  For the past two years, someone has taken it home and then had to return it on Easter.  You might have guessed by now that someone in this house got the special pancake.  Yup, it was my husband.

As it so happened, he was in church only for the breakfast and had to leave to go umpire some games.  When it came time to take the Alleluia down the aisle, I was chosen to represent our family, and I dutifully carried it out of the sanctuary, and now it sits near our front door, ready to return in six weeks.

Orff Day

Today was the final workshop for the Inland Counties Chapter of AOSA (American Orff Schulwerk Association) for the school year. We were quite fortunate to have had Randy DeLelles and Jeff Kriske as our presenters. These two educators are some of the very best in the business, and we spent an engaging, fun and happy 5 hours singing, playing, dancing and laughing. I already know some of the new things I am going to do with my students in the next few weeks!

Favorite Books of the 2000s

Yesterday I received a postcard in the mail from a friend, thanking me for blogging about books. (When I wrote about 365 Thank Yous, I was not looking for people to write to me, although it WAS nice to get something in the mail!) I told her that I would send her a list of my favorite books, and while I was compiling the list this morning, I thought that I could also share it with my blog readers.

I have been keeping a list of what I read since the early 1990s. As I was perusing the past 10 lists (one per year), I noticed a number of books whose titles sounded vaguely familiar, but the content did not jump to mind. And yet, there are books which have left indelible footprints on my mind with their characters, their details, the style of writing.

I have also noticed that I have an eclectic taste in books from fiction to non-fiction. I love magical realism, epic sagas, informative books, good old-fashioned stories, memoir, and quirky books.

This list does not have any of the books I've blogged about since January 2011. Those will probably be included in a blog post in about 10 years....

Here is a link to the list which is in no particular order and is undoubtedly incomplete.

Dreaming of Yosemite

Today on Facebook, REI posted a video of Horsetail Falls in Yosemite. What? I have never heard of these falls! They are also called El Capitan Falls. Sometimes in February when the conditions are right - there is water in the falls and the weather cooperates, then the falls glow orange.

The video is about 8 minutes long and also contains footage of the Firefall (a manmade event of years gone by), Ansel Adams' son and great photography.

I miss Yosemite!

Weather in So Cal

Snow levels were particularly low during the past weekend's rains, giving us this great view.