I came home from work, he took my laptop bag and lunch box from me, and said, “Do you want a present?”  Of course I responded in a very excited affirmative – a surprise like that from my husband is a BIG deal (he’s a planner and very practical – not much into surprises).  He gave me a pair of scissors, and I said, “Thanks!  Scissors!  Just what I always wanted!”  He laughed and pushed me into the living room, where a box sat on a chair.  We opened the box and there it was – my very own Zune!  (For you non-computer folks, a Zune is Microsoft’s version of a video iPod.)  I’m so pysched – it’ll be PERFECT for the flight to Hawai’i!

Yay!  I’m still excited about it.

Techno-babble (disregard, moms):  I’ve been playing with it for the last few hours and have figured it out – all but ripping DVDs to Zune formats.  I downloaded several applications (shareware-style stuff) and the best I’ve seen so far is called AnyDVD Converter.  The DVD to .wmv conversion is fast, and doesn’t require a DVD to .avi step before going to .wmv (a big plus on the speed side of things).  The video quality is stellar, the audio quality is good and rich – the only problem (and I imagine this is something to do with me and my computer, or else this program wouldn’t be rated so highly) is that my audio and video aren’t syncing up.  I only tested one DVD (but several times, from scratch), so I’m in the middle of ripping another DVD to see if it was the disc’s fault (fingerprint, or something else that would cause file reading drama).

Techno Update:  The issue is the video conversion – it’s dropping frames.  It’s very subtle, but very consistent – it’s dropping 1 or 2 for every 30 or so.  =)  So, now to figure out how to stop it dropping frames.  I’m hoping it’s just a resource thing on my machine, but I’m not completely sure it is.  *sigh*

There was another Dorothy onstage with me – my costume was better, and I wasn’t wearing a wig, but she had a REAL dog in her basket.  A real dog!  On the stage while we played!  Dorothy costumes were popular…  A little girl in a Dorothy costume won the audience contest, and when she came onto the stage to get her prize, the tuba players behind me reached up and patted me on the shoulders, saying, “Better luck next year!”  I told them that next year, I’d have a dog, too!

Pictures probably won’t be appearing anywhere on the internet.  =)  At least, none of me.

Anyway, I’m trying to convince the folks who run our website (and haven’t been interested in my help, even though I do this professionally) to start posting/podcasting our music.  I think it’d be a better way to get our stuff heard, and possibly generate more interest in the ensemble.  I know they make professional-level recordings of each concert – which sound a heckuva lot better than my husband’s little mp3 recorder’s recordings.  Even with his little recorder, though, you can tell that we don’t play like an amateur community ensemble.  For one thing, we’re in tune!  For another, we actually play challenging music.  It’s too bad David’s recordings sound so muffled and miss all the mids, or I’d just start having him record concerts and post the music myself.  =)

Anyway, family – if you want to listen to the concert (again, not a good recording at all), you can go here: www.aukerman.org/IWS.

I resisted for an entire season, thinking I watch enough TV and that this show is complicated enough to require a religious viewing – rather than an as-I-have-a-spare-Monday-night viewing (as I could do with a sitcom).  I was right.  I do watch enough TV, especially now that shows are starting to come back on.  And this show is complicated.  But it’s fantastic.  Bethany (closest girlfriend) assured me that it would be well worth my tube time, so I dived in.

Hi.  My name is Tara.  I’m addicted to Heroes.

I am at home.  My husband is at home.  My dog is at home.  We have no large trips looming in the near future.  Dave’s started school again.  I’m back into the swing of things at both of my jobs.  I even found some time to do a little extra stuff today! 

And football season is started, which means I’ll be watching TV again. 

20 minutes and counting…

What hooked me was a commercial promo before the show even started. They showed a kid (with no audio – someone was doing a voiceover) doing a dance I immediately recognized, even without sound. This kid did some moves from a Bollywood film called Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai – a movie I watched in college. I know the moves because I had a roomie who frequently practiced them.

So I waited anxiously to see this.

(The movie version is here.)

a) recorded an entire song’s worth of words/syllables on one pitch,
b) mapped those syllables to a synthesizer,
c) played “herself” singing a stack of harmonies for a song, then
d) sang the melody and primary harmony tracks over it.

A quick intro: I work in the clinical education department of a hospital group. Our department is made up of mostly instructors, instructional designers (like me), and developers (programmers). In an effort to promote departmental unity, a “Fun Committee” was developed. They’re doing a good job of springing random, mostly fun, events on us to break up the monotony of the work week, and they really are good people. But sometimes, they get intense. And funny. =) The latest fun event: an in-office bowling league. We bowl a hard foam ball into hard foam pins down our office hallways…

Enjoy:

Hello Everyone,

Three pins have been damaged due to Horse play and one pin is still missing. Each pin has a replacement fee of $6. Please return the pin to a Fun Committee member today. I am here until 3:30pm and [another Fun Committee member] is here until 3:45pm. Please do not strike each other with the pins as they are made out of soft foam and not very sturdy. We have attached another set of rules for your review.

Please see a Fun Committee member to pay for the damaged pins. The League will resume, after we have received payment for the damaged pins.

[A member of the "Fun Committee"]

–

Good morning,

I am sorry to report that no one has stepped forward and paid the outstanding money for the damaged pins. The Fun Committee paid a total of $60.00 each, for two bowling sets. Even with payment for the damaged pins, we do not have the funding to purchase another bowling set, but we had hoped to recuperate some of the the funds we spent for a bowling set that we are now unable to sell.

Several people have stepped forward and volunteered to pay for another bowling set, but we do not feel it would be fair to ask this of those that were not responsible for causing the damage in the first place.

We are sorry to announce that bowling has been discontinued pending payment for the damaged pins.

Thanks.

[The Fun Committee Head Honcho]

–

Seriously, it’s okay to admit to juvenile acts caused damage to the pins. We ALL get overzealous and carried away at times. I am sure we can all agree there will be no social scorning of the responsible party!! Just speak up and let’s continue with the league. Otherwise we need to have the office exterminated for the large rats that ate the pins!!

[An instructor]

–

It is sad to know that in our department of adults, no one could respect the materials that were purchased for us for enjoyment. This was a creative idea that the Fun Committee came up with so we could have fun together outside work and someone had to abuse that. Our team was enjoying our Friday morning bowling times and it is sad to know that it is being discontinued.

I hope those responsible decide to step forward and take account for their actions.

This doesn’t help encourage our Fun Committee to create any more fun ideas for us if we can’t even handle this one.

Sincerely,

[Another instructor, after having read the previous instructor's email... so much for no social scorning. =)]

–

Ummm, I admittedly have not seen the injured pins, so please forgive me if I’m just uninformed, but is it possible that some of the pins became damaged (or at least began to be damaged) during normal play? Or during storing them into the box? I’ve definitely seen some laser-rocket bowling, and I can’t be alone in my lack of thorough examination before storage.

I’m just simply wondering if a slight tear could go unnoticed and become worse during storage, transportation, etc.?

[A developer]

–

No. The first week of bowling the pins were fine. I stored the pins and the pins were not cracked. I have also checked for damage and I can tell you that the only damage that had occurred, was a slight tear inside the finger hole of one of the bowling balls.

[Head Honcho, responding to the developer]

–

That was not the case. Prior to storing the equipment we went through the boxes. That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen during normal play, but it didn’t happen during transportation or storage. We would just like for someone to come forward, even if it means putting the money in an envelope and sliding it under a door.

[Another Fun Committee Member, responding to the developer]

–

I haven’t run this idea past the Fun Committee, but think we could solve this problem for a small additional cost to each of us. There are about 30 participants in the hallway bowling and $120 has been spent for the equipment. That works out to $4 each to cover the entire cost. I know we have already paid $1 each leaving $90 outstanding. I suggest we each kick in an additional dollar for this round and plan on paying $2 for the next round?

[A designer]

–

[A round of people, at this point send emails to the tune of "I'm in" or "Let's just do this so we can get back to bowling"...]

–

Hello Everyone,

This is the final email about Bowling. It is absolutely canceled for this week. If you would like bowling to resume, anyone who would like to VOLUNTEER funds towards a replacement set, is free to do so. The cost of the replacement set is $60.00. We will not be splitting up the cost of a replacement set amongst the bowling league. There is a deadline for volunteer donations towards the replacement. The deadline is Monday, April 23, 2007 by 3pm. Turn in your donations to a member of the Fun Committee.

Signed,

The Fun Committee!

Isn’t that hilarious? We’re back to bowling, so I guess the volunteers shelled out the cash. =)

They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, so I won’t spend time talking about the shindig. (I disagree with that saying, by the way.) Here are some photos:

The first bunch

 
Trogdor rage (he did a Trogdor pumpkin)

 
Racoon rage?  (she did a racoon pumpkin)

 
one of my favorite pictures.  this is one NEAT kid.

 
Robin’s yuck-this-is-gross face

 
mmm…  this was Rosita’s (left) first pumpkin carving experience.

 
Trogdor and Rather Dashing

 
my very favorite pumpkin design – James’ Zim and Gir.  isn’t this amazing?!

 
Most of us.  Check out James’ head (on the coffee table)!

Met to Broadcast Live Operas Into Movie Theaters
By DANIEL J. WAKIN
Published: September 6, 2006

Coming soon to your multiplex in the mall: bel canto fireworks and bass-baritone rumbles, love duets and orchestral colors, divas, tenors and trills.

The Metropolitan Opera announced today that it would begin broadcasting live performances into movie theaters across the United States, Canada and Britain, rubbing shoulders with professional wrestling and rock concerts.

The broadcasts are part of a strategy by the Met’s new general manager, Peter Gelb, to widen the house’s appeal by branching out into new media. The house also said today that it was opening up its vast archive of historic radio broadcast performances for streaming and downloading.

“I think what I’m doing is exactly what the Met engaged me to do, which is build bridges to a broader public,” Mr. Gelb said. “The thrust of our plan is to make the Met more available. This is not about dumbing down the Met, it’s just making it accessible.”

The Met was able to move forward with the plan after reaching agreements with its unions over fees. Opera broadcasts have already dwindled because of the high costs to produce them, and provisions do not even exist for digital delivery, like Internet streaming and downloading.

Mr. Gelb said that the unions agreed, essentially, to end the arrangement of receiving high up-front fees and payments for later uses of a broadcast, and instead will permit unlimited exploitation by the Met of broadcasts in exchange for sharing future revenues.

“We are in a position of really controlling our content,” Mr. Gelb said. The next potential steps will be to offer performances on satellite, on-demand cable, DVD and CD. But he added that the potential for these new markets was unclear.

David Lennon, president of Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, which represents the Met orchestra, said the arrangement would provide a “significant guarantee of additional revenue” for the players. Other union leaders said the agreements reflected the understanding that increasing audience through technology would make opera healthier.

For now, the Met has arrangements with three companies that provide programming to movie theaters. They will transmit six performances, all on this year’s slate of regular Met Saturday afternoon broadcasts, starting on Dec. 30 with a shortened, translated version of “Die Zauberflote,” directed by Julie Taymor. The other broadcasts will be of “I Puritani,” starring Anna Netrebko; “The First Emperor” by Tan Dun, a new opera; “Yevgeny Onegin” with Renée Fleming and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, conducted by Valery Gergiev; “The Barber of Seville”; and “Il Trittico.” “Barber” and “Trittico” are also new productions.

Mr. Gelb, who first revealed his hope to create such simulcasts in February, said they would be broadcast in high definition with “fantastic surround sound.” They will be shown in 100 to 200 theaters at first, he said, and then 200 to 300, with tickets costing around $18 in the United States. The performances will also be broadcast on PBS, which is the co-producer.

“There’s a great spectator quality to opera that can take advantage of new technology and work on the large screen in movie theaters,” Mr. Gelb said. And the demand for Saturday broadcast opera is well in place around the country after 75 years of Met Opera on the radio.

“We have a built-in audience of loyal radio listeners, whom we expect to embrace this idea,” he said.

Marc A. Scorca, the president of Opera America, a service organization, said he knew of no other regular broadcasts in the United States, although the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden had shown several performances in theaters in France several years ago.

While acknowledging that some purists may frown on the broadcasts, Mr. Scorca dismissed such concerns.

“Opera is always best in opera house in live performance,” he said. “If this is a way to build curiosity, I think that’s great. Even if it gets people to be more excited about opera in any form, that’s good.”

Mr. Gelb was cagey about whether the broadcasts would be a source of income. “The biggest benefit for the Met initially is to actually make all these productions and reach this huge audience,” he said. “We hope to make money from it.” He also said an expanded media presence for performances would make the Met more attractive to stars.

As for the historic recordings, Mr. Gelb said he expected them to be available within the first weeks of the season through the Rhapsody Internet service. The Met is in the middle of restoring its archival broadcasts, having completed more than 400 of about 1,400.