The CVS in Waller takes great pride in their proactive display of holiday spirit.No, I haven't forgotten that I have a blog. I have been working entirely too much, and doing some travelling besides. No time to really go into detail now, but this weekend I think I'll find some time to update things a bit.
A few notes in the meantime...
Please send your prayers/positive energy/good thoughts to my friend Ken Epting, as his sister passed away earlier today. He is a great friend to me, and also is my assistant principal at Waller... and this death comes close on the heels of his mother's passing around Christmas. If you can spare a moment, send him some good karma.
The school year is almost done! Then it's time for summer... and all the fun that entails... leadership training . . . for the whole band! Joy! (Can't gripe, it's my idea)
Well, it's time for bed - but I leave you with this parting image... more on Pittsburgh when I return!
I seriously don't remember this one... but wow. What a way to get grant money...
He-Man Sexual Harassment PSA
(via Digg)
Excellent video - worth the watch:
Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers
(Via Jim Bonney/Steven Bryant)
Weekends with large, open swaths of trackless time are possibly the greatest boon to this season, when we're blessed with cloudless days that don't yet have the humidity equivalent to breathing melted Velveeta cheese. It's this time of year that Houston is actually an ideal city to live in (once you cast aside the traffic, the cost of gas, and the sprawl).
I spent this better-half-less weekend trying to enjoy all this as much as possible - running Rice after dark on Friday, shooting at things and eating BBQ out of a trailer in the woods with Kate and Robert Eubanks, and making notes on Waller's 2007 marching show sitting in Cafe Artiste today . Ahh the good life.
Also today, I will be attending Univ. of Houston's final Wind Ensemble concert of the year - they're playing Dahl's Sinfonettia (a piece I am very excited to hear), Lincolnshire Posy, Marche Joyeuse, Brahm's Variations on a Theme by Haydn (a piece I am as yet unfamiliar with - but I love Brahms so my interest is piqued) and the 1812 Overture. After that, I hope to head over to Scott Gertner's SkyBar and check out the Civic Jazz Orchestra - Cameron Kubos and Mike Cheripka performing - and then round out the day by picking up Sarah at the airport, fresh back from New York City.
All-in-all, a good weekend. Apologies for the lack of pictures - the camera is currently on Ellis Island, hopefully being put to good use.
Adios!
The past few days have been eventful, but in an entirely random sort of way... let me elaborate:
On Saturday, Sarah and I decided to head up to Cy-Ridge High School to check out the Waller JH Wind Ensemble UIL performance. On our way there, we decided to stop by an oddity local to our neighborhood - Giant-Heads-Of-Past-Presidents-Sitting-In-A-Lot-Behind-Target (said in one breath, very fast) You think I jest but look on, look on:
We put the suburban there for scale. Honest.
... The Beatles?
Yep, The Beatles... though I think Paul's lost his head...
Sarah asks Abe what the hell's up with these ads... and what the beaver is really like in person...
Happiness.
Spicy Chicken Quesedilla Pizza ... I have no words.
Sarah ordered a half-bird, spinach tortilla, chicken burrito. Yum!
While equal to its kin - Salt Lick - it still outshines every other BBQ in the Universe. Yes, Universe.
The best bread anywhere. Hands down.
A nice panorama of the strip that houses Antonio's... a diamond in the rough.
A rather artistic shot from the desk to the fish tank. Stravinsky does enjoy his mood lighting.Yesterday was the birthday of my wonderful better half, Sarah - so we celebrated accordingly: A wonderful dinner and great seats at Cirque du Soleil's Corteo. I thought that I would surprise her with these things, but no, no, no - she is much too wiley for such simple feints. I shall have to try harder next year...
Regardless, here are some pics from the evening:
We ate at Cafe le Jadeite, which is literally 5 minutes away from Sarah's apartment. Despite being Asian/American fusion, nothing on their menu tastes cliched - we especially enjoyed the soups that evening (Sarah had a pumpkin/seafood soup that was quite tasty, and I had an incredible lobster bisque).
For our main course I had a very tasty Alaskan wild-caught salmon with crab meat and two apparently rowdy shrimp (hence the harpoon-like skewer).
Sarah opted for the chef's special: surf and turf - lobster tail and filet mignon. I had never had filet before, so she let me try some. I truly don't think I will ever have better beef, unless I luck into some from Kobe.
For dessert we (intelligently) opted to split a double-chocolate concoction that could best be described as decadent beyond belief. You can see Sarah waiting patiently for me to finish photographing so we can begin devouring. It was quite yummy.
We took this shot of the scrim in the main tent before we knew that photography wasn't allowed. Oops. We had great seats, and apparently near notable band clinician John Benzer who we saw at intermission. Needless to say, the entire production was gorgeous. Not nearly as over-the-top as I expected, but an amazing show with gorgeous, gorgeous music.
At intermission, we visited the souvenir booth and tried on some interesting hats. I think I bear a striking resemblance to a character from Fiddler on the Roof here... or Witness.
Sarah, on the other hand, would look fabulously at home in The Great Gatsby...
And here we are, in front of the Corteo trailer. UIL Concert and Sight-reading is done. Hallelujah. Read on for results...
Waller HS Symphonic Band: Division I (stage), Division II (sight-reading)
Mike Cheripka, director
Program:
Under the Double Eagle March - J.F. Wagner
Suite Diverimento, Mvt. I, II - J. Gilbert
Cumberland Cross - C. Strommen
Waller HS Wind Ensemble: Division I (stage, sight-reading)
Cory Meals, director
Program:
The Big Cage March - K. King
Noisy Wheels of Joy - E. Whitacre
A Longford Legend - R. Sheldon
Now time to start leadership auditions/color guard auditions/spring concert preparation/solo and ensemble/second semester band auditions/band banquet/staffing summer band... and a few other things to boot.
The fun, truly, never does stop.
So, thanks to Jeff Hassler via Sarah, I have found (yet another) good reason to attend BOA Grand Nationals next November.
*dons uber-band-dork mantle*
Marian Catholic HS will be performing the music of John Mackey in the Fall of 2007, featuring "Turbine" and "Turning". Marian is definitely in the league to pull this all off (their 2001 show stands as one of my all-time favorites). Greg Bimm and crew are exceptionally creative - I can't wait to see what they do with it. Very exciting stuff...
Alright - that's enough blogging for a Wednesday... peace!
*tries taking off aforementioned mantle... realizes it's basically a permanent fixture... sighs in acceptance*
Came across these quotes from the old Batman and Robin TV show today - absolute greatness.
... one of my favorites:
Dick Grayson: "What's so important about Chopin?"
Bruce Wayne: "All music is important, Dick. It's the universal language. One of our best hopes for the eventual realization of the brotherhood of man."
Dick Grayson: "Gosh Bruce, yes, you're right. I'll practice harder from now on."
Sadly, I don't think I can use it in my music advocacy mailings...
(via Linkbunnies)
What an incredibly cool development in both robotics and the understanding of our interactions with music - perhaps it could even teach "movement challenged" people like me to get our grooves on.
Perhaps not...
Anyway, for a better, longer video, and more information check out the developer's site.
The nerd side of me is intrigued by how we've gone from Furbys to this, and the musical side is very interested by the research into our physical interactions with rhythm and music. Pretty awesome stuff here.
Alright, it's off to Univ. of Houston for a day of "Structuring your Fundamentals" with Tom Bennett, David Bertman, the Symphonic Winds, and the Wind Ensemble. Actually much more interesting than it sounds!
Adios!
(via BB-Blog)
Just wanted to pass along pictures of the Waller HS Band Spring Trip 2007 to the magical land of Disney...
Waffle House, where a new restaurant is only $100 in cinderblocks and a large bucket of grease away. Inspiration for the picture must go to Daniel Cuevas...
I think the most impressive thing is that they even bother to put a price tag on this thing... that's more than I made my first year teaching... and nowhere near as cute as another jewel-encrusted toy on another blog.
The kids have encountered some ... interesting cast members - Darth was around a corner at the time...
... but I caught up with him later.
Random lunch at MGM... the salads here are pretty yummy.
Dinner at Raglan Road - a very tasty take on Shepherd's Pie...
...watched over by the beneficent countenance of Bono. I am told by S that this video is more true than any male would like to admit... not so sure that it's quite that accurate, but humorous nonetheless.
Enjoy and Happy Friday!
So Sarah and I decided to get a fish together... and name him Stravinsky. Yes, we are nerds of that stripe. Perhaps we'll get a friend for him... and name him... Berlioz... or better yet - Satie. We'll just go as diametrically opposed to our fish's namesake as we can...
Morricone, perhaps? (Who I was so happy to see get an Oscar, btw. Delivering his speech in Italian was just the icing on the cake. Clint Eastwood translating was pretty phenomenal, too.)
That being said, this fish is quite entertaining. Once I learn his habits, I will get a little video posted here, but for now a simple still will have to suffice.
Our acquatic charge enjoys romance, candle-lit dinners, long walks on the beach, and his UT Longhorns mirror... narcissist that he is. Well, last night ended up being a lot shorter than I had anticipated. It's amazing how HGTV and the Discovery channel can steal a person off to the Dreaming so efficiently. Couch + television = unconscious. I am my father's son, it appears...
TMEA was a great time this year. My first at my new job in Waller - which is nice because I can now determine budget allotments (meaning that everything was paid for this year by the district - a nice touch) - as well as my first taking a student to perform in an All-State ensemble (our wunderkind - Cameron Kubos - in the Jazz Ensemble).
The journey began on Valentine's Day - after a few periods of listening to the singing telegrams delivered by the Waller HS choir students (some more entertaining than others) - we boarded the district's Excursion and off we went. Several hours, and KFC, later - we stopped at a non-descript truck stop to be greeted with the largest truck I have ever seen - a Ford F650. Ridiculously ginormous.
As I snapped this photo, Cameron commented that it was "very John Mackey" of me to take pictures of such things, which I took as the highest of compliments.
As you can see, the Alamo is a little less grand than one might expect from a landmark so central to the Texan ideology, but it is a pilgrimage one must make whilst in Texas. Next stop, I think, should be the Shiner Brewery.
A shot of the new HS in North East ISD - home to Ronald Reagan HS and Winston Churchill HS among others... this thing is massive...
All I could think of was the Snicker's commercial...
So this evening, I will actually have time to post... but now I must run out and get some dinner. Sarah is at a bachelorette party and I must fend for myself. Fire-sharpened stick in hand, I venture forth into the wilds of Midtown in search of prey.
In the meantime, here's a rather funny video for your enjoyment.
Ergo... enjoy.
(via BB-Blog)
Massive update coming in the next few days... will probably have to spread it out over several days... so much to share with the people who grace this blog... both of you.
Suffice it to say, you will have fresh content soon.
Very soon.
Until then...
