BCS @ RPI

I got to see the Brick City Singers in action this past weekend. They were on a road trip to Cornell and RPI. I treked the 2 hours in sleet and rain to Albany- a city I still hate- to see them sing with a billion other groups. At least it felt like a billion.

RPI Partial Credit is a relatively new group and was hosting the Chorallaries of MIT, SUNY Bighamton Harpur Harpeggios, another group from Cornell I can't think of (and I'm sure Tom will remind me about once he reads this) , and the Brick City Singers. Now some of you may be thinking, "Wow! That's a big show!" Yes it was. Too big.

The guys did real well. In fact, I'd say they were one of the bigger highlights. I'm not biased or anything either ;-) It was a disappointment that the hosting group didn't perform at the same level of their guests.

So once the show concluded I heard sighs of relief around me and Nate, who had sat with me at the show had to leave. I was the (un)lucky one who decided to stay and check out the (not) super party that took place afterward. Seriously, who throws a party for 5 a cappella groups with one bottle of absolut and a few 12 packs of beer?!? They didn't even know how to make the punch! Regan had to pour for them. (Tom mentioned the group didn't feed them either. He suggested a "concert planning etiquete guide" would be well penned by yours truly) It was great to see the guys even though they didn't stay very long. They all split up, some leaving for RIT, others for home. Tom, Aaron, Brendon, Brian and I endured the party for a while longer and I eventually decided to leave. *sigh*

I drove over to Utica and hung out with Anne for Sunday. It was fun. Except for recieving yet another parking ticket from another university. We discussed wedding plans and guest lists and gowns and tuxedos and flowers and first dance songs and dates and locations. Nothing was decided though... just discussed :-P

jon stewart vs crossfire

I'm about a month behind on current events I guess. I just saw the Crossfire episode with guest Jon Stewart which aired October 15th. It was pretty damn funny.

Jon basically told the two hosts that their show blows. He called the bow-tie-wearing republican host a dick... on national television. (transcript) Of course Jon wasn't going to be able to simply say his piece without being verbally attacked. He was accused of not being hard hitting and lacking journalistic integrity. Jon's response? "How much integrity can I have when I follow a show of puppets making prank phone calls?"

Bottom line, Crossfire got pwned by Jon Stewart. Jon then spent a few minutes on the following Daily Show telling the tale. It was a really good laugh. I found this article which was a really good summary of the pre-math, math, and after-math. Anyway... this is all a month old... so whatever.

myst iv: revelation

I just downloaded the most recent installment of the Myst video game series and let me tell you- it's pretty damn hot. I've been playing the games since their inception back whenever they were incepted, and I think they've really taken their concepts to all new heights in their latest game: Myst IV: Revelation.

I don't mean to write a review or tell you too much about the game so I'll keep it short and sweet. It's pure eye candy. Every step of the game is beautiful and well thought out. The music and ambient sounds complete the process of emersing the player into the game. And most interestingly, the game has a new reliance on the actual interactions with characters rather than merely reading about them in past games.

Whether you buy or find this game, I highly recommend it. That is of course if your computer has 8 gigs of spare hd space for the game to run smoothly. Oh and of course a 128 mb video card. And at least 512 mb of memory. ...So if you have a decent computer and a lot of time to spend on excellent puzzles and amazing worlds, Myst IV: Revelation is a must play.

Engagement story on the radio

I had just finished up watching the Amazing Race season premiere when the Tom & Joe Variety Show IM name messaged me. They demanded I call their radio show (on Modern Music & More) right away! Regan was guesting on the show so I got to talk to him.

So once I got transferred to the studio line, Tom, Joe, and Regan instantly demanded to hear the story of my proposal to Anne. I gave them the basic rundown and they gave me a hearty congratulations.

Fetzer came on the phone line after I hung up and gave an extra special report on location at "The End of the Universe" in Houston, Texas. If you've heard Lewis Black's sketch on the topic you'll know what I'm talking about... otherwise... you should go and listen to Lewis Black. Fetzer had the wit of a Daily Show reporter- I was laughing so hard. I hope he's ok. He walked into the midpoint between the two Starbucks coffee shops directly across from one another right as his reception got bad and then died. Oh well.

To top it off, I won Emag Eman on the show! Now I'm gonna be on the Draobredael (leaderboard) and I won a few lovely, and unknown, CDs. Yay!

engagement weekend

These last few days have been amazing. I went up to Utica to spend time with Anne from Wednesday through Friday. On Wednesday we had Blender Night (yes- with capitals. it's a proper noun) while we watched part of Moulin Rouge. Thursday we shopped and Friday we returned to Middletown to hang out at my place. We had pizza Friday night and just hung out at my place.

I woke up Saturday instantly nervous. I knew that I'd be asking Anne to marry me later that day and that it was only hours away. Luckily I didn't wake up till 10:30. I wanted to make the day special, but not out of the ordinary until I asked so I acted like it was any other day. I made Anne french toast (the "best she ever had" - you can ask her) for breakfast and we decided to go see The Incredibles in the early afternoon.

Going to see the movie was a nice distraction to spend a few hours without thinking about the special occasion. Sidenote: the movie was really good. (imdb) It was quite different from other Pixar movies, but they usually are. However it was basically what I expected... I felt like I was watching the Fantastic Four animated into a movie.

Anyway, back to the point Dave...

We finished the movie and head back home when I receieved a phone call from my grandmother. My plan had been setup and everything was waiting for the proposal. I played like nothing was up and we continued home.

Once home, I formulated a small extension of the truth (read "lie") and I got Anne into the car. We were heading to Pine Bush to "pick up something of my grandmother's and were going to return it to her." So Anne was a bit surprised when I pulled into the parking lot of the middle school where we used to talk and stargaze late into the night.

Over by our favorite spot was a small table with flowers, candles, two glasses, champagne, and two chairs. We sat and talked for a few minutes, but it was really cold. Really really cold. A lot colder than I expected. I wanted to say all these things I've had floating in my head, but the cold sorta froze them and I was cut to the chase. I got on one knee (in the mud, in the snow) and Anne stopped me asking "really?!?"

"Yes. Really." I asked and Anne and she said of course. I placed the ring around her finger. We opted to postpone our champagne toast for a warmer environment and quickly packed up everything (because I did need to eventually return things to my grandmother).

We then went on a whirlwind tour of our families including phone calls, meals, drinks, and flashing of the new bling. It even got put on the Brick City Singer's website! I really appreciate how quickly and heartily people have responded and congratulated. It was great to hear from so many people!

Anyway the ring, if you're curious, is a princess cut solitaire diamond mounted in a platinum setting with a cathedral head. I think I've become quite the diamond expert in all my research. It was really important to me to find the perfect ring for her, and I'm really glad she loves it.

As for a date? We're still debating. Spring 2006 is the best candidate at the moment.

David vs the skunk

OK. I'm a coward. I freely admit this. But here's some evidence to back it up.

We have a two bay garage in the house- one equiped with an electric door opener. It was around 11 pm and the electric door suddenly opened. We could hear it from above the garage where my our rooms (my mom and & I) were. We were quite startled and assumed the worst. I got my bat and started for downstairs when the door sounded again... closing. By then I'm freaking out, but then the door re-opens again.

Mom & I realized that the zapper (aka clicker, remote control) had been acting weird for a week or so and was causing the door to open and close randomly at times. I rushed out to the van to get the zapper via the front door because I am NOT going through the garage. Who knows what the hell could be in there! I opened it up figuring it was the battery. Turns out it wasn't the battery, but a broken piece of plastic inside the remote. I removed the piece and reclosed the small zapper rather easily.

While I was working on it, mind you this is now 11:30 pm or so, the door had opened and closed a half-dozen times. I closed it finally and went on with the evening. My mom, about 30 minutes later, claims she heard something downstairs in the garage. I'm not excited at all. I'm hesitant, so mom's the first one down the stairs. She slowly enters the garage and finds a SKUNK down by the doors. SHIT!

She asked me if I'd go and open the non-electric door from the outside. The skunk was closer to that door than the electric one and we were hoping he'd kindly just move along. She talked me into it and we walked outside where (refer to the first line of this post) I quickly chickened out. So while I spotted for her through the open electric door, she opened the second garage door.

She went to the van to watch for the skunk to leave and I went and got a pan and spoon to make some noise (finally something I'm good at). I crept downstairs quietly and slowly. I didn't want the potential skunk to be tipped off and chase me down with his smelly urine. I opened the garage door carefully .... and then hammered the metal spoon inside the pot wildly. ... No action, no response. Mom spotted for a skunk while I hammered away (now 12:30 am) on the pot to no avail.

Reluctantly, my mom got out of the car and closed the garage door and I closed the electric door. The skunk either left of his own accord while no one was looking or he's taken residence in our garage. We haven't heard anything since then downstairs, but that only proves that he's not moving around. The damn skunk could be asleep down there for all we know! So with little alternative, we're going to bed hoping we won't hear scratching below us. Of course, I won't be feeling at ease standing in the garage for quite some time.

I submit this story for the jury as exhibit A. I'm sorry, but I'm a whimp. I much rather be David vs Goliath than be up against a smelly skunk.

Side note... If you know a good way to get rid of or detect skunks, please pass them along.

I am a poet of bananas.

I told Tom and Regan they'd appreciate this one song once they heard it. Well apparently tonight they heard it.

You see, back in October I saw the Fredonia "really-good" choir sing at Steve's Parents' Weekend... or in our case Parent and Brother's Weekend. We had a really good time and all of the performances were wildly entertaining and impressive. But this one set of songs was really cool. I was explaining to Tom and Regan that they sang songs based on poems which were in turn previously based on poetry.

These poets got together and walked through some gallery. They found paintings that inspired them to write and published their works. Well some composer dude found the book and it inspired him to write songs based on the poetry.

Anyway this one poem/song was titled "The Uncertainty of the Poet" which was based on this painting. If you read the text, the games the poet and songwrite play with the words are quite funny. It didn't make much sense to Tom or Regan as I tried to explain how "I am a very banana" was funny. So I was a little miffed at their lack of enthusiasm when I told them about the amazing song.

Well shame on them. They saw it tonight at the annual RIT Singers thrashing (aka Western NY Intercollegiate Choral Festival) performed by the same really good Fredonia choir. Serves them right. I am very fond of bananas- but I'm not much of a poet.

make good ripples

So I've been a downloading binge-- mostly tv series. I found a new one that I'm enjoying: Joan of Arcadia. I definitly feel a bit "high school" watching it, but I love the premise... which I'll tell you about now...

Joan begins seeing God in small encounters with complete strangers. Eash episode God pits her to challenge some aspect of her comfort zone with unpredictable outcomes. Each episode Joan fails in some way, learns from her mistake, and God wraps it up nice and neatly with a cliche or quote that, when I hear it I want to write it down. (imdb)

So my latest favorite notion from the show. That's what this post is about... "make good ripples." Every decision we make has a number of unpredictable and unexpected consequences. These decisions and actions hit every person much like a ripple. So, Joan learned to make good ripples.

It's a pretty vague notion. One might think it's an easy one to accomplish. Just simply act in a way that leaves only positive effects on others. I think you might find it harder than you previously thought if you tried it. I know I did.

Oh and the other plus for the show is that they play a lot of Matt Nathanson tracks. I think that's pretty hot.