The View From Here

This* is what my Wednesday nights look like. I play with the local community orchestra, and we are rehearsing for our upcoming November concert.

Can you tell what instrument I play by where I sit in the orchestra?

*Sorry for the crappy Photoshop panoramic. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to Kinnear an entire orchestra when you are supposed to be counting measures? (click the image for a larger view)

An Open Letter

To the person driving the white sedan:

I understand that you must have been in a tremendous hurry. Perhaps you were late for a dental appointment, or to pick someone up at the bus station. Perhaps your alarm clock didn't go off and you were late for work. Believe me, I understand what it's like to be in the car, late for something. It's annoying. Or, maybe you were just having a bad day. I understand that, too. However, I would just like to politely remind you that pedestrians in the crosswalk always have the right-of-way. The next time you have to make a left turn and a mother with her two small children are crossing the street in front of you, DO NOT TO HONK AT THEM!!!

Safe travels!

Jen in CT

Chained

There is a "no screens after 8 am" rule in my house, mostly to keep the children from watching too much TV, but it also helps keep me from looking at the computer all day.


Today (and much of this week) is different. I volunteered to do the church newsletter for our church secretary who is going on vacation this week (lucky woman!). Before I had children, I did a lot of work with Quark Xpress, but St. James' uses Microsoft Publisher, so "doing the newsletter" means I also have to "learn a new layout program".

First impressions: I prefer Quark. And not just because I am more familiar with Quark. Quark is a much friendlier application for working with multiple pages of text boxes.

Also, this is cutting into my knitting time so I am feeling a little grumpy. Hear that? It's my teeth grinding. *grr*

I Am Sad

Robert Jordan died yesterday afternoon after long struggle with amyloidosis. His series, The Wheel of Time, consumed many, many hours of my reading time and I am grateful he shared this story with the world.

Go in the Light, RJ.

Newsday Tuesday

Here's a new feature on my blog rounding up the news stories I've been following this week. What news have you guys found interesting this week? (Thanks to Rachel for the great idea!)

Britney bombs at the MTV VMA.

Senator Craig tries to put the cat back in the bag.

Incident at Applebee's in KY sparks nurse-ins in other states.

Doctor Who Series five postponed until 2010.

General Patraeus presents his report to congress on the progress in Iraq.

Alan Watts Theater

This popped up recently on Boing Boing, and then again in a link my mom sent me. I thought I'd share.

Amigurumi

Amigurumi cream and pink teddy bear keychain
Originally uploaded by Amigurumi Kingdom

I've been seeing a lot of this out there in the crochet world. I feel like I'm late to the party.

The End

I finished Harry Potter 7 today and I will only say that it was a wonderful and satisfying book (no spoilers here!). I would also like to offer my thoughts on actual reading vs. listening to the audio book which was obtained by Mr. Interrupted for me so I would not have to interrupt my sock knitting (hah).

I do enjoy the weight of a book in my hand and the feel and sound of the of the pages as I turn them, but listening to the audio book really allowed me to savor the story and absorb it in a way that I wouldn't have if I'd read the book. Since I tend to be a fast reader and often rush through my reading so quickly that I barely remember what I've read after I've read it, listening to the audio book forced me to slow down and really take in the story as I heard it. This was especially true toward the end, as the steam-train of the plot began to pick up speed and rush downhill toward the climax and conclusion of the story. If I were reading, I would have rushed along with it. However, with the audio book I had to slow up and I believe my enjoyment of the story was enhanced by this.

Many object to audio books on the basis that the voice of the reader tends to be an imposition upon their own imaginations, but I do not believe this to be the case. I found Jim Dale to be a talented and entertaining reader and the voices he used for the characters only expanded and complimented my imaginings of them.

Finally I would like to apologize to Boing Boing! for cursing them in a recent post. I thought for sure they'd posted a spoiler. My bad. I hope you can forgive me.

What if?

What if your favorite (or most hated) celebrity never made it to the big time? What would they look like? This guy has an amazing collection of Joe-Schmo'd celebs. Enjoy! (Thanks for the link, Boing Boing!)

How about a nice steamed pile-o-crap?

Here is yet another reason to abandon China as a supplier of foodstuffs. Sheesh. (Thanks for the link Boing Boing!)

I Just Can't Even

I was working on a really long off-topic post about this whole Dick Cheney thing, but I found it entirely too upsetting and decided to look at wool instead.

Have a great day, people!