My Mom Sings Her Heart Out!

Clarissa and I flew out to Pittsburgh to visit mom and dad, which in turn means we participate in their religious endeavors.  I was really excited when I heard my mom got a barbershop-like quartet together for the candlelight service at their local church.  My sister was unable to go to the service and stuck at home with an illness.  It wasn't the most enjoyable service for me personally as I and my wife were kind of sick that night as well.  With the exception of my sister, however, I decided it would be cool to record mom mom's performance so Micah could see it later.  So, here you are, my mom's quartet performance...

Nearer My God To Thee...Sound of the Rockies Christmas Show

Here's another great video from the Sound of the Rockies Christmas show.  It features Jim Clark (Lead of Storm Front, 2010 International Champions) and Chris Vaughn, (lead of the Gotcha!, 2004 International quartet champions) and Mike Davidson.  This just might be one of the best versions of Nearer My God To Thee I've ever had the privilege of hearing...and singing.

Hope Everyone is having a wonderful Christmas Holiday!

50 Christmas Movie Spoilers...Hooray For Cold Pricklies

Was Jesus born on this day?  I have no clue.  What I DO know however is that there are TONS of Christmas movies out there, most of which are pretty bad.  So I can think of no better way of making Christmas better for everyone by posting a video of 50 Christmas movie spoilers!  Yes, that's right, I'm deliberately ruining your Christmas for you and your families!  MMWWAAA HA HA HA HA!!!

Although, I guess families should be spending time with each other in other ways right?  Like talking, playing games, singing, etc etc.  So maybe it's better you know the endings of all these movies so your not tempted to watch them in the first place huh? ......I'm kidding, I watch movies at Christmas all the time, which I'm sure you'll see a few reviews for during the holidays at my other blogging site, The Heretics Blog.  (shameless plus, here I come!)

Oh well, enjoy this video.  I love the Fine Brothers spoiler videos, they are exceptionally hard to do and takes time to do well.  Thanks Fine Bros. for making this Christmas an awesome one!

Sound of the Rockies Christmas Show...Fun Fun Fun

One year later, my chorus again gives off another fantastic Christmas show...better than last year's.  But this year was different.  Typically any Barbershop show with both an afternoon and evening show do very well in the evening and fine for the afternoon.  However, this year gave us two sold out shows, both with very vibrant and enthusiastic audiences.

Now most of you who aren't familiar with the Sound of the Rockies, keep in mind this isn't your typical barbershop chorus.  We present a wide range of musical styles.  We even had a drummer and a world class harpist on the show on separate songs.  We also bring a level of quality in singing to the table that most chorus around the world can't deliver.

While I was unable to get any videos of the chorus actually singing anything, below I've provided some videos of Strom Front, the current International Quartet Champions, who sang a set on the show.  Storm Front is a quartet whose lead and baritone sing in the chorus, with the baritone Darin Drown as our director.  I will have a DVD of the entire show coming to me very soon and can provide copies for any who wish to have one.  Anyways, enjoy Storm Front singing two arrangements of some classic Christmas songs, Silver Bells and I wonder and I Wander.  Enjoy.....

Look at me! Look at me! I SHOT something! Take a picture of me with the dead animal!!!

I used to think nothing of it, most of my friends in my younger days loved to go deer hunting and I just passed it off as "the thing to do."  Never giving it a second thought, I typically thought it was rather neat to see picture of people I knew while propping up the head of a deer.  It was never my thing however.  If my Uncle wanted to go hunting, I typically stayed behind simply because I had no interest in taking the time to hunt.  And to be honest, I'm not against hunting.  We need food and that's one of the ways we get it.  However, a few years ago I discovered something about myself...I absolutely cannot stand photos of people smiling in the camera while holding up a dead deer.

It verges on the side of demented and vile for me.  Here we have a living creature who, I'm sure, unexpectedly took a bullet or an arrow to the side and suffered for a few minutes before dying.  Now, if you will, imagine the hunter coming up to the dead deer laying all cross eyed on the ground, calling his friend to come over with the camera, taking the deer by the antlers, and smiles while the companion snaps a shot.  Does no one else see how twisted this is?  Why do hunters feel taking a photo of themselves with a dead animal to be visually appealing?  It's sick and gross and I DO NOT support this sentiment that deer hunters seem to revel in.

But it doesn't stop there does it?  Not only do pictures of happiness in shooting an animal permeate all through out the web, but trophies are made of the beast's heads!  The head is chopped off, the innards are taking out and replaced with stuffing, the head is mounted on a glistening piece of wood and then is mounted on the wall of someone's home or a restaurant.  It's bad enough that people find the head of a dead animal hanging on the wall of your home nice to look at, but restaurants tend to think that eating food while an animal's head hovers over you won't spoil your appetite.  Which it doesn't in most cases.

We, as a society, have become so desensitized to the act of killing animals that we no longer see the demented nature of making trophies out of our kills.  Do we think that just because we have this presumed dominion over the animals in the world that we can also make a mockery of them as well?  Why do we become so horrified by the whole notion of people killing people, but when it comes to killing animals, we think nothing of it and make it a point to show the world that we LOVE killing animals?

Maybe I'm just ignorant due to the fact that I didn't grow up with this need to kill things for the sport of it, but I still have absolute confidence that taking a photograph of yourself with your triumphant kill borderlines on the sick a twisted.  Sorry for all of you hunters who enjoy this type of thing but it just isn't my thing, I find it appalling.

If you're still having trouble with understanding this, here's some photos that might help you to understand my point of view.  You don;t have to agree with me, but I at least hope you get what I'm trying to say.

So do the big antlers compensate for something else?

Definitely something I want hanging around in my backyard

I'm so happy, I think I'll show this to my kids!

Not as good as yesterday, but still a good day

Look what I did today mommy!

Great Idea...Let's Get Ride Of Research!

It's true, the GOP is trying to put forth a plan that will eliminate sabbaticals for professor's in the state of Iowa.  Why?  Because according to Danny Homan, president of the largest state employee union, Professors should be in the classroom to teach, as there job "description" requires...

"They are being paid to not do what they were hired to do, and that's teach in the classroom," he said. "It's time that practice ends. We don't have the money."

Part of the problem with this statement is the mere fact that professors aren't simply being hired to teach, they are being hired to be a contributing member to their discipline.  The Sciences go out and discover new innovations and contribute that to the world on multiple occasions, writing is going through constant changes which require extensive amounts of research, and history profs. are constantly faced with the new discoveries found by archeologists that they must implement into the classroom. Mr. Homan wants us to believe that these profs should be in the classroom and teach.  But how a teacher one teach if they are unable to do what is necessary to stay up to date with their discipline?

Unlike most jobs where you learn everything you need to know in within the place you work, college professors have to go out on their own to research the ever-changing qualities and knowledge of their profession.  It's hard to grasp the audacity of the GOP in forcing a state-wide sabbatical cutting mandate for all Iowa, government funded universities when they obviously have no idea what good this time off from teaching can do for the educational standards within the classrooms.

"I'm sure they feel it has great symbolic value," said John Curtis, director of research and public policy for AAUP "But the loss, of course, is what the whole purpose of sabbatical is: to allow faculty members to do research, to engage in understanding new developments in their discipline and then to bring all of that back to their teaching."

Educational standards have been steadily declining within American's colleges and universities while they raise the standards of the athletic programs and popularity contests.  If the Republicans want to help decrease spending, but maintain and/or increase the the academic excellence of the students, start looking into cutting spending on other things and not the professors ability to better themselves as teachers.

My mother is a college professor and is actually the head of the English & Foreign Language Department.  From what I learned of her time spent on sabbatical, while still having a lot more free time than she had while teaching, she still utilized this opportunity to finish and publish her dissertation, which resulted claiming the title of Doctor Trapp.  This is what she was hired to do, teach and to contribute to her society and discipline!  And she is better for it.

I don't actually see this GOP plan being put into motion as many Iowa profs will move elsewhere so they can have this opportunity given to them.  But the fact that it's even being considered by Republicans just shows how much they value the education in general.