Last night I was back in the studio for some guitar work. What a blast, though I was so nervous! It was a completely different approach to playing. Over the past thirty years of "performing," I've learned how to handle a mistake: you simply press onward. I've had plenty of practice with that! Sunday's session was the same way, as we didn't want to interrupt a choir take for something we could fix later. Last night, though, they wanted me to stop immediately on the slightest flub, even a muted chord or slightly missed beat. And I could hear everything I was doing! Usually, I'm somewhat buried amid the mix, which makes it okay if everything isn't perfect. I'm sure it will be that way in the end.
It sure took some getting used to, but I'm really pleased with what we ended up with!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Baltimore football
Was home from yesterday's recording session in time to watch the AFC championship game on the DVR; barely got caught up to watch the end of the game live. The good news is that I won't be shelling out money for crab meat to make crab cakes on Super Bowl Sunday, but then, that's pretty much the bad news, too, since McGahee is ok. My team had a better year than we had any right to expect.
I try to not be too outspoken as a Ravens fan living in Ohio. Even this close to Cincinnati, I know quite a few Browns fans. It isn't that I'm cowed by them, but that I understand their feelings. Most of them become more accepting of my allegiance when I mention that I refused to support the new Baltimore team until Cleveland had their own team again, and point out that at least they're still rooting for the Browns. I wish the elder Irsay would've at least handled things the same way. After all, what do the people of Indianapolis care about Raymond Berry, Lenny Moore, Gino Marchetti, Artie Donovan, Alan Ameche, John Mackey, Alex Sandusky (as a kid, I used to bowl in his bowling alley in Riviera Beach, MD; duckpin bowling, baby!), the late Johnny U., or even Steve Myhra? These guys are all Baltimore legends! And I love that eHow still lists the old lyrics to the team's fight song, even though they haven't fit the circumstances in decades.
I wonder if folks in L.A. have similar feelings about the Rams? I don't have the same sympathy for them re: the Raiders, though; they never should have left Oakland in the first place.
One ironic thing: the city of Baltimore's collective memory would be almost as incomplete without those Mayflower moving trucks as if Myhra had missed that field goal in '58. Here's another neat article about that game. In the past 6 weeks, with all the coverage that game has received, I've gained a fresh understanding of just how 2-bit Baltimore was considered before the Colts came to town and subsequently won that championship.
I try to not be too outspoken as a Ravens fan living in Ohio. Even this close to Cincinnati, I know quite a few Browns fans. It isn't that I'm cowed by them, but that I understand their feelings. Most of them become more accepting of my allegiance when I mention that I refused to support the new Baltimore team until Cleveland had their own team again, and point out that at least they're still rooting for the Browns. I wish the elder Irsay would've at least handled things the same way. After all, what do the people of Indianapolis care about Raymond Berry, Lenny Moore, Gino Marchetti, Artie Donovan, Alan Ameche, John Mackey, Alex Sandusky (as a kid, I used to bowl in his bowling alley in Riviera Beach, MD; duckpin bowling, baby!), the late Johnny U., or even Steve Myhra? These guys are all Baltimore legends! And I love that eHow still lists the old lyrics to the team's fight song, even though they haven't fit the circumstances in decades.
I wonder if folks in L.A. have similar feelings about the Rams? I don't have the same sympathy for them re: the Raiders, though; they never should have left Oakland in the first place.
One ironic thing: the city of Baltimore's collective memory would be almost as incomplete without those Mayflower moving trucks as if Myhra had missed that field goal in '58. Here's another neat article about that game. In the past 6 weeks, with all the coverage that game has received, I've gained a fresh understanding of just how 2-bit Baltimore was considered before the Colts came to town and subsequently won that championship.
My first recording studio sojourn
We loved the music from our Matthew Kelly event so much that we've decided to record it! We had our first studio session yesterday. What a fun, challenging process! I can't imagine what it would have been like in the old days of analog multitrack tape recordings. There were lots of things that the engineer was able to fix with a few clicks of the mouse, that would have resulted in a bad take "back in the day."
Instrumentalists arrived around 2, followed by the rest of the choir. We left there around 7:45 or 8. We have a LOT left to do, and only one more choir session scheduled to do it in. I'll be going back in Thursday night to lay down a guitar track. We'll see how that goes!
Instrumentalists arrived around 2, followed by the rest of the choir. We left there around 7:45 or 8. We have a LOT left to do, and only one more choir session scheduled to do it in. I'll be going back in Thursday night to lay down a guitar track. We'll see how that goes!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Walk this Way!
Oh no - two song-titled posts in a row! I don't mean to trample someone else's blog theme; I won't make it a habit.
Jubilee's primary ministry consists of musical reflections on the Stations of the Cross. The group is entering our 11th year of taking this devotion into area parishes, and attendees are always moved by a new appreciation for what our Lord has done for us.
The addition of "living stations" in the last couple of years - with participants ("liturgical dancers," but they don't "dance" in the usual sense) posing to represent each station - has brought a new element to people's experience, and has been overwhelmingly well received. We're more in demand than ever, and will be singing in 11 parishes this Lent. But even with that, and while we've substituted in new music piecemeal through the years, we've been using the same basic flow, spoken reflections, and communal prayers from the beginning.
Our director decided she wanted to rework things for this year, so a subgroup of us have been meeting and working on them since October. I've been the primary text author (though insight has seemed to come straight from the Holy Spirit, at times), but the finished product really was a team effort. We've finally finished selecting songs and editing the new spoken reflections and prayers. I am so pleased with how it has turned out!
For starters, we've refocused our attention by using the other traditional title - The Way of the Cross - to reinforce that this devotion should lead us to walk the Way with our whole lives. Next, we made a change to our order of service that should result in a more prayerful service. Mainly, we were blessed with loads of fresh insights. Many of these we've included, others we had to sacrifice, both due to time considerations and to maintain a balance between head and heart. Filling our limited time with too many thought-provoking ideas (head) would interfere with a moving, transforming connection with the Lord's Passion (heart). I'm going to suggest we publish a companion pamphlet for next year with some of this additional content, so that attendees can continue to reflect more deeply long after our service is over.
The response we've received so far has been great. One team member who had an advance copy shared it with the youth group she leads. They liked it so well they've asked to use it for their own Lenten stations. And one of the more spiritual and prayerful members of Jubilee was also very pleased with what he sees. The nice thing about this limited sampling is that it reflects one of our goals: to allow the Spirit to touch people from diverse degrees of spiritual maturity.
It's already worth the long hours of meeting and writing and revising. I'm really looking forward to Lent!
Jubilee's primary ministry consists of musical reflections on the Stations of the Cross. The group is entering our 11th year of taking this devotion into area parishes, and attendees are always moved by a new appreciation for what our Lord has done for us.
The addition of "living stations" in the last couple of years - with participants ("liturgical dancers," but they don't "dance" in the usual sense) posing to represent each station - has brought a new element to people's experience, and has been overwhelmingly well received. We're more in demand than ever, and will be singing in 11 parishes this Lent. But even with that, and while we've substituted in new music piecemeal through the years, we've been using the same basic flow, spoken reflections, and communal prayers from the beginning.
Our director decided she wanted to rework things for this year, so a subgroup of us have been meeting and working on them since October. I've been the primary text author (though insight has seemed to come straight from the Holy Spirit, at times), but the finished product really was a team effort. We've finally finished selecting songs and editing the new spoken reflections and prayers. I am so pleased with how it has turned out!
For starters, we've refocused our attention by using the other traditional title - The Way of the Cross - to reinforce that this devotion should lead us to walk the Way with our whole lives. Next, we made a change to our order of service that should result in a more prayerful service. Mainly, we were blessed with loads of fresh insights. Many of these we've included, others we had to sacrifice, both due to time considerations and to maintain a balance between head and heart. Filling our limited time with too many thought-provoking ideas (head) would interfere with a moving, transforming connection with the Lord's Passion (heart). I'm going to suggest we publish a companion pamphlet for next year with some of this additional content, so that attendees can continue to reflect more deeply long after our service is over.
The response we've received so far has been great. One team member who had an advance copy shared it with the youth group she leads. They liked it so well they've asked to use it for their own Lenten stations. And one of the more spiritual and prayerful members of Jubilee was also very pleased with what he sees. The nice thing about this limited sampling is that it reflects one of our goals: to allow the Spirit to touch people from diverse degrees of spiritual maturity.
It's already worth the long hours of meeting and writing and revising. I'm really looking forward to Lent!
Monday, January 12, 2009
It's a Small World
But at least I still have a job . . .
Still, I refuse to sit with my back turned completely toward the door. No, my peripheral vision doesn't quite serve me fully with my monitor in the corner like this, but it's better than the alternative. We'll see how I feel about this space in a week. If I'm miserable, then it may be time to apply the second part of the serenity prayer . . .
Still, I refuse to sit with my back turned completely toward the door. No, my peripheral vision doesn't quite serve me fully with my monitor in the corner like this, but it's better than the alternative. We'll see how I feel about this space in a week. If I'm miserable, then it may be time to apply the second part of the serenity prayer . . .
Friday, January 09, 2009
Employee assistance program
We get periodic e-mails reminding us that our EAP is available if we're having any problems that we might need some help with. I would certainly take advantage of it if I needed to. This time, I felt like asking if they could help me with this anxious feeling that the walls are closing in on me.
You see, our cubes are shrinking this weekend. It isn't that we urgently need additional cubes, but rather that other parts of the company have already shrunk. It wouldn't be fair for us to keep our roomy 10x10 cubes while others are stuck in 7.5x10.
Ah, life in a cube farm. I don't really mind, and at least I have what looks like a stable job. But then, I'm not in the smaller space yet. We'll see how I feel about it on Monday!
You see, our cubes are shrinking this weekend. It isn't that we urgently need additional cubes, but rather that other parts of the company have already shrunk. It wouldn't be fair for us to keep our roomy 10x10 cubes while others are stuck in 7.5x10.
Ah, life in a cube farm. I don't really mind, and at least I have what looks like a stable job. But then, I'm not in the smaller space yet. We'll see how I feel about it on Monday!
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