Please keep in mind this is an amateur ensemble, not a professional choir, so cut us some slack for not being perfect! You will find the whole production at the following link:
Cantata: Come Unto Christ
Enjoy!
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Some Music and Spoken Word
Please keep in mind this is an amateur ensemble, not a professional choir, so cut us some slack for not being perfect! You will find the whole production at the following link:
Cantata: Come Unto Christ
Enjoy!
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Baby Bump
Having been harassed for maternity photos by no small number of friends and family members, we decided to take some. They are not professional by any means, but between Lee's photography and my photo editing, they turned out okay. I hope you are inspired by my rotundity.
There you go! It's nice to know that I've got less than a month to continue feeling like an ever inflating balloon. Then I can start feeling like a stretched out, popped balloon! I've mostly survived this past little while by doing crafty sewing projects. Here are the fruits of my labors:
BEHOLD! A collection of burp cloths, a blanket, and a car seat cover. Next I think I shall fashion myself a burp cloth poncho, just to be on the safe side.
There you go! It's nice to know that I've got less than a month to continue feeling like an ever inflating balloon. Then I can start feeling like a stretched out, popped balloon! I've mostly survived this past little while by doing crafty sewing projects. Here are the fruits of my labors:
Thursday, October 10, 2013
This is Halloween!
I love Halloween. I mean REALLY love Halloween. And, I flatter myself, I really know how to get into the spirit of the holiday and have fun with it all October long. Here are a few activities that might enrich your Halloween experience this year:
1. Read some classic horror stories
Thanks to project Gutenberg, all the old classics can be downloaded and read for FREE! A few that I recommend for your spooky readings this year:
A Picture of Dorian Gray By: Oscar Wilde
The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde By: Robert Louis Stevenson
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow By: Washington Irving
The Phantom of the Opera By: Gaston Leroux
Frankenstein By: Mary Shelley
Dracula By: Brahms Stoker
Any given volume of work by Edgar Allen Poe (I downloaded one called The Raven ed., Vol. 2 as it contained some of his most recognized works)
Most of these classic stories are quite short, Sleepy Hollow could easily be read in an afternoon. And they aren't so scary that you couldn't read them before you go to bed!
If you have a library card, you have some more free options. You could pick up a Stephen King or any other modern classic. Not long ago I read Carrie (Stephen King) and, if I'm lucky, my hold on The Shining will be up before Halloween.
2. Halloween movies
For the whole family, I recommend The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, and Hocus Pocus, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, and Disney's Halloween Treat. You can rent, buy or borrow most of these, but you can also follow the links for the last two and watch them on youtube!
If you are more into mild-moderate scares for grown ups, Alfred Hitchcock is the way to go: Psycho, The Birds, Dial 'M' for Murder, and Vertigo, are all great. If you like zombie flicks, the 1968 controversial classic Night of the Living Dead is pretty great. It is also in the public domain, so you can watch for free. It's the granddaddy of zombie flicks and has far less gore and profanity than it's descendants. What about The Haunting? (not the 1990's crapfest, I mean the REAL one.)
If you want to just laugh, there are some great B-movie horror flicks that will fill your heart with joy...and confusion. Plan 9 From Outer Space, Troll 2, and The Wickerman I have pushed for before and I will continue to encourage you to watch these movies.
If you are looking to be scared out of your pants, I am not sure I can help you. It's hard to be pee-your-pants-don't-go-alone-to-the-bathroom-to-change-em scared by PG-13, and that is where the vast majority of my experience lies. I suggest you ask someone who likes still being scared after the movie is over, I am not one of those people.
3. Scary Listenings
Music to set the mood is a must! Just pop onto Pandora and create a Halloween playlist. A lot of great stuff will come up! "Thriller," "The Ghostbusters Theme," "Witchy Woman," "The Addams Family," "The Monster Mash," "Witchcraft," "I Put a Spell on You," and so many other songs that only crop up this time of year. Well, Monster Mash is horrible, but the rest are great! I also recommend you listen to some bits from Sweeney Todd (or just listen to the whole thing, it's great music!) "Night on Bald Mountain," and no Halloween is complete without Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D minor"! If you don't know which piece that is, it's the one you know.
Lee introduced me to another great listen: Three Skeleton Key, an old time radio program starring Vincent Price. It's fairly kid friendly, runs about 30 minutes, and can be found by following the link above. It did leave me kind of humming the song from The Great Mouse Detective for more than one reason, but it's a fun listen. (you don't have to download it, there is a streaming option that works great on the upper right side of the page.)
Please share with me what your Halloween celebrations might include so I can expand mine as well. I can't wait to get my costume ready so I can show off my creativity and how exceedingly rotund I am.
1. Read some classic horror stories
Thanks to project Gutenberg, all the old classics can be downloaded and read for FREE! A few that I recommend for your spooky readings this year:
A Picture of Dorian Gray By: Oscar Wilde
The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde By: Robert Louis Stevenson
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow By: Washington Irving
The Phantom of the Opera By: Gaston Leroux
Frankenstein By: Mary Shelley
Dracula By: Brahms Stoker
Any given volume of work by Edgar Allen Poe (I downloaded one called The Raven ed., Vol. 2 as it contained some of his most recognized works)
Most of these classic stories are quite short, Sleepy Hollow could easily be read in an afternoon. And they aren't so scary that you couldn't read them before you go to bed!
If you have a library card, you have some more free options. You could pick up a Stephen King or any other modern classic. Not long ago I read Carrie (Stephen King) and, if I'm lucky, my hold on The Shining will be up before Halloween.
2. Halloween movies
For the whole family, I recommend The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, and Hocus Pocus, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, and Disney's Halloween Treat. You can rent, buy or borrow most of these, but you can also follow the links for the last two and watch them on youtube!
If you are more into mild-moderate scares for grown ups, Alfred Hitchcock is the way to go: Psycho, The Birds, Dial 'M' for Murder, and Vertigo, are all great. If you like zombie flicks, the 1968 controversial classic Night of the Living Dead is pretty great. It is also in the public domain, so you can watch for free. It's the granddaddy of zombie flicks and has far less gore and profanity than it's descendants. What about The Haunting? (not the 1990's crapfest, I mean the REAL one.)
If you want to just laugh, there are some great B-movie horror flicks that will fill your heart with joy...and confusion. Plan 9 From Outer Space, Troll 2, and The Wickerman I have pushed for before and I will continue to encourage you to watch these movies.
If you are looking to be scared out of your pants, I am not sure I can help you. It's hard to be pee-your-pants-don't-go-alone-to-the-bathroom-to-change-em scared by PG-13, and that is where the vast majority of my experience lies. I suggest you ask someone who likes still being scared after the movie is over, I am not one of those people.
3. Scary Listenings
Music to set the mood is a must! Just pop onto Pandora and create a Halloween playlist. A lot of great stuff will come up! "Thriller," "The Ghostbusters Theme," "Witchy Woman," "The Addams Family," "The Monster Mash," "Witchcraft," "I Put a Spell on You," and so many other songs that only crop up this time of year. Well, Monster Mash is horrible, but the rest are great! I also recommend you listen to some bits from Sweeney Todd (or just listen to the whole thing, it's great music!) "Night on Bald Mountain," and no Halloween is complete without Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D minor"! If you don't know which piece that is, it's the one you know.
Lee introduced me to another great listen: Three Skeleton Key, an old time radio program starring Vincent Price. It's fairly kid friendly, runs about 30 minutes, and can be found by following the link above. It did leave me kind of humming the song from The Great Mouse Detective for more than one reason, but it's a fun listen. (you don't have to download it, there is a streaming option that works great on the upper right side of the page.)
Please share with me what your Halloween celebrations might include so I can expand mine as well. I can't wait to get my costume ready so I can show off my creativity and how exceedingly rotund I am.
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