Wear your Seatbelt

This was brought to my attention by Andrew. This is why you should ALWAYS wear a seatbelt.

family guy - deleted scene - stewie vs mr rogers

Because this is just funny stuff.

For the Phantom of the Opera/Will Ferrell Fans out there

I can finally go!

Ok...so that makes it sound like I've been constipated for days...but in reality I mean I can finally go on a choir trip this summer. My mom told me yesterday that it was alright for me to dip into my student loan to help pay for the trip as long as I replace what I borrow. And I plan on doing that.

As soon as I find a second job...

Pumpkins or Kidneys?

So, I bought some Halloween candy today. Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins. However, when I opened them up, they looked more like kidneys. Which is kind of disturbing. They don't taste like kidneys though, so I'm not complaining too much. It's just kind of weird eating a chocolate covered peanut butter kidney.

Remembering David Angell

Born: April 10th, 1946
Died: September 11th, 2001 aboard American Airlines Flight #11

David Angell was a multiple Emmy Award winner as the creator/executive producer, along with Peter Casey and David Lee, of the hit comedy series Frasier. David was born in West Barrington, RI, and he received a bachelor's degree in English Literature from Providence College. He entered the army upon graduation and served at the Pentagon until 1972. David then moved to Boston and worked as a methods analyst at an engineering company and later at an insurance firm in Rhode Island. David moved to Los Angeles in 1977. His first first script was sold to the producers of the "Annie Flynn" series. Five years before he sold his second script to "Archie Bunker's Place." David virtually worked in every temporary job known to mankind. In 1983, he joined "Cheers" as a staff writer. In 1985, David Angell joined forces with Peter Casey and David Lee as "Cheers" supervising producers/writers. Since then, the trio has received 37 Emmy Award nominations and won 24 Emmy Awards, including the above-mentioned for "Frasier", as well as an Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy for "Cheers," in 1989, which Angell, Casey, Lee and the series' other producers shared, and Outstanding Writing/Comedy Emmy for "Cheers," which Angell received in 1984. After working together as producers on the hit comedy series "Cheers" for NBC-TV, Angell, Casey and Lee formed "Grub Street Productions." In 1990, they created and executive produced the hit comedy series "Wings," which received critical and ratings success during its seven season run.

A native of Rhode Island, Angell joined "Cheers" (1982) in 1983 as a staff writer; he'd been with Paramount Network Television ever since. Angell hooked up with 'Peter Casey' and David Lee in 1985 and the trio became supervising producers on the hit comedy. Angell, Casey and Lee then formed Grub Street Prods., which created "Wings" (1990), the NBC comedy that spent seven years on the network. After Cheers ended its run in 1993, the trio were tapped to create and executive produce "Frasier" (1993). Angell won a total of six Emmy Awards for his work on Frasier and Cheers. Arguably his most memorable writing feat was the memorable episode that found Lilith discovering Frasier in bed with Rebecca. This episode had a dose of French farce that subsequently became the foundation for the show "Frasier". Grub Street disbanded in the late '90s, but Angell and Casey were developing new projects together. Angell and his wife were both killed when the plane that they were on, American Airlines flight #11 en route from Boston to Los Angeles, was hijacked and deliberately flown into the World Trade Tower in New York City. They were returning home to California after attending a family wedding in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Cold and Tasty, that's what I am

Take the quiz:
Which Starbucks Drink Are You? (Great Pictures)


Starbucks Frappucino
Quizzes by myYearbook.com -- the World's Biggest Yearbook!

My Speed Test

Test

Testing a post on my new pocket pc.

Untitled

I call, You hear me
I’ve lost it all
And it’s more than I can bear
I feel so empty

You’re strong
I’m weary
I’m holdin’ on
But I feel like givin’ in
But still You’re with me

And even though I’m walkin’ through
The valley of the shadow
I will hold tight to the hand of Him
Whose love will comfort me
And when all hope is gone
And I’ve been wounded in the battle
He is all the strength that I will ever need
And He will carry me

I know I’m broken
But You alone
Can mend this heart of mine
You’re always with me

And even though I’m walkin’ through
The valley of the shadow
I will hold tight to the hand of Him
Whose love will comfort me
And when all hope is gone
And I’ve been wounded in the battle
He is all the strength that I will ever need
And He will carry me

And even though I feel so lonely
Like I’ve never been before
You never said it would be easy
But You said You’d see me through the storm

And even though I’m walkin’ through
The valley of the shadow
I will hold tight to the hand of Him
Whose love will comfort me
And when all hope is gone
And I’ve been wounded in the battle
He is all the strength that I will ever need
And He will carry me

~ He Will Carry Me, Mark Schultz

Yo ho, yo ho a pirates' life for me!

Originally uploaded by savedbyjc316.

So, I just got back from a week in Florida today. I had a great time visiting my family. We went to Disney world for three days, and, as requested by Katie, I got some pictures of Jack Sparrow in the updated version of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. I also got pictures of other things, but there are a lot of Pirate related pictures. Feel free to browse through them.

I'm looking forward to choir this year. The things we're going to be doing, while I know they'll be challenging, also seem like they'll be fun.

Long Time No Post

I know it's been awhile since I've posted, so let me bring you up to speed on things.

I performed my first wedding ceremony on May 6th. I believe it was possibly the quickest wedding in the history of weddings. I was so nervous, I just sped through most of it. I was glad when it was over, let me tell you.

Actually...that's about all I've done since school got out besides working, and turning 22. Thanks to all who wished me a happy birthday over facebook.

I probably won't be attending the Choir party tonight after all. I've had a long day at work and don't feel very well, not to mention I have a million things to do before my trip to Gatlinburg this weekend. I hope everyone has fun.

I'll probably post again in, oh, 2 months. Until then, be safe, keep it real, and peace out.

Why Sam Jackson? WHY!?

Click here to see the trailer for Samuel L. Jackson's latest movie... he must be hard up for money since the Star Wars prequels are finished.

Great Job!

Great job UAB Opera! Everything was fantastic!

Charles and Clay, way to represent the Baritones! You are a credit to us all.

Sam and Erin, incredible job on the duet. Absolutely stunning.

Martin was a stud as always.

Chris J. and David were absolutely hillarious in Ma dov'e ri to stordito.

Ah, everyone was fantastic. You guys and gals represented yourselves, the Opera program, and the Music department very well.

Heaven will smell like Buffalo Wings

I firmly belive that. There is no greater smell than the smell of buffalo wings (food wise. I'd take a good smelling girl over buffalo wings anyday).

I wrote that to say this: I am happy that I no longer have to travel 45 minutes to get good buffalo wings. A Zaxby's has opened up in Gardendale.

In other news, it's the first day of Spring and the weather does not reflect such. Stupid Alabama weather.

Not much of an update, but I don't have anything to say.

"He was probably here when Charleston was first developed." "It's developed?"

That was a converstation Charles and I had about Wes while waiting for an elevator at the hotel, lol.

I have mixed feelings about the trip. One the one hand, I think we performed wonderfully for the most part. The biggest highlights of the trip, for me, though, was being able to hear the Shenandoah Valley Children's Choir and the Birmingham Boy's Choir perform. I look forward to hearing the BBC sing again in May. I also got to know some people a little better, and Sam and I made a truce. Some people got to see a side of me they had never seen before. Just ask Nick and Whitney about it...on second thought, you probably shouldn't.

On the other hand, I found out some things about some people that I really didn't want to know, and now I won't look at them in the same way I had before the trip. That makes me a little sad. I also discovered that I probably won't be attending the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary...because they're choir was awful.

I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the trip. It was said at the last gas station we stopped at on the way home, and is about a bin of movies they had. It was between Jackie and myself.

Me: "Oh look, they're only two dollars."
Jackie: "Or you can get five for ten dollars."
Me: "Which is two dollars apiece."

Penguins!

From www.penguinwarehouse.com Question & Answer "Penguin Care" Q: What do I feed my penguin? A: Different penguins enjoy different food. Many types like to eat krill, a tiny shrimp-like creature. They also like to eat squid and fish. Penguins prefer to catch live food by diving into water and catching them with their long, pointy bills. We suggest you buy one of our many penguin care books which can provide you with additional information. Q: Do I need to keep my penguin in air conditioning? A: A very common misperception by penguin-lovers is that penguins require a cold environment to survive. In fact, most penguin species live in warmer climates and even in jungles! However, you should look into the habitat requirements for the species of penguin you are interested in. We provide many helpful penguin care books. Q: Do I need to provide a habitat for my penguin? A: Most certainly! Each penguin species requires unique habitat requirements and your home environment needs to be made suitable for a penguin before purchase of such a pet. Most penguins require a decent sized salt-water non-chlorinated pool set at an appropriate temperature. In fact, some penguin species spend as much as 75% of their life in water. If you are interested in learning more, please look into one of our many penguin care books. Q: My penguin smells! Can I bathe my penguin? A: Penguins love a good bath! Carefully inspect any shampoo or soaps used as you do not want to remove a penguin's natural oils. Q: How do you 'housebreak' a penguin? A: Like most birds, penguins are difficult (but not impossible) to paper-train. Q: Can I train my penguin? A: Of course! Train them well and teach them all the good tricks and amazing mind powers. Someday one of those smart penguins (maybe yours) will become a Jedi penguin, an elite status of wealth, power and strength in the penguin empire. Q: Can take my penguins for walks with a penguin-leash? A: Like humans, penguins also love long nice walks after meals. It helps them to digest the food inside. But be careful with penguin-leash when walking your penguin, the cost of going to penguin-doctors is not cheap these days. Q: Will my penguin try to eat my goldfish? A: Duh! Penguins love to eat fish, and goldfish is the yummiest type of fish available. So if you own a goldfish, better either give it away or (eat it first) before your penguin get his long pointy bill on it. Q: Should I expect my penguin to sleep all day? A: For the first two weeks after you get your penguin, it is expected that the penguin will be some jet lag and will need lots of rest during the day hours. After that however, the penguin should be back to an "Early Bird" and rises before the morning sun. Q: Why does my penguin keep bumping into walls? A: Penguins, like humans, are prone to eye deterioration over time. Vision correction may be necessary for your penguin's welfare. We highly suggest laser surgery correction as many penguins do not take well to eyewear. Q: Help, my penguin keeps collecting items from all over the house and is building a nest with them! A: Calm down! Let them play and leave them alone. It's a natural habit for a penguin to feel secure when they first arrive at your home. Those items from your house give the penguin a sense of security and belonging. A word of advice, be kind and buy some nice comfy pillows for your dear pet penguin and they will thank you much. Q: What if my penguin becomes ill? A: By all means, take him to your local veterinarian at once! Many veterinarians are now accepting penguins as patients and will be able to provide the best treatment for your ailing penguin.

Heart Explosion in a Bag

I realized today I shouldn't go to Wal-Mart when I'm craving something sweet to eat. I ended up spending almost $25 on sweets, including Starbucks Java Chip Icecream, Starbucks Mocha Popsicles, and Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans (the "Heart Explosion in a Bag"). I also got some Fruit Rollups, Cocoa Puffs, and Strawberries and Creame Oatmeal.

I'm sure you wanted to know my grocery list, so I thought I'd tell you.

Driving Rules of Birmingham

First you must learn to pronounce the city's name. It's "Bur-min-ham."

Driving Information:

Burminham has its own version of traffic rules... the truck with the loudest exhaust goes next at a 4-way stop. The truck with the biggest tires goes after that. (Note:Blue-haired ladies driving anything have the right-of-way anytime.)

To find anything in the city, it is required that you know where Malfunction Junction is... which is the Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end. It's maybe one of only two "cloverleaf formation" interchanges in the world. We invented it and only one other city was stupid enough to implement it again-- Atlanta -- making them only a wee bit dumber than we are.

The morning rush hour is from 6:00 to 10:00. The evening rush hour is from 3:00 to 7:00. Friday's rush hour starts Thursday morning. If the term "merging delays" is ever used by the person reporting the traffic, even in passing, call in to work and tell them that you will
be at least 30 minutes late regardless of where you are in your commute.

If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be (at the very least) rear-ended, cussed out, and possibly shot. This applies to male and female drivers alike.

You must know that "I-459," "I-59," "I-20," and"I-65" are the same road. They just loop around, cutting in and out of each other's path. We think this was a ploy utilized to confuse outsiders and discourage visitors after the War of Northern Aggression.

Always, always, always, find out if it is a race or football weekend before you get on any of these highways to travel somewhere. If it is a race or football weekend, stay home. You won't be pleasantly going anywhere else.

Construction is a permanent fixture in Burminham. The barrels are moved around in the middle of the night to make the next day's driving a little more interesting.

If someone actually has their turn signal on, wave them over to the shoulder immediately to let them know -- you can be sure it was "accidentally activated."

The minimum acceptable speed on "I-65" (see above) is 85 mph. Anything less is considered downright sissy. This is Alabama's state-highway-sponsored version of NASCAR -- especially during rush hour (see above) and everyone in the city is driving at once, bumper-to-bumper. If you are in the left lane and only going 70 in a 55-65 zone, you are considered a road hazard, and will be "flipped a bird" accordingly.

Do not gawk at the woman in the car beside you in traffic who is applying make-up, drinking a Diet Coke, smoking a Marlboro, and maintaining a steadyspeed of 85 mph on I-65 in rush hour traffic. If she is coming from north of Burminham, she might be packing. If she is coming from south of Burminham, she IS packing and is not afraid to use it.

Weather Information:

If it's 110 degrees, Thanksgiving could be next weekend. If it's 10-20 degrees and sleeting/snowing, then watch out. Burminham residents consider this "demolition derby" day and will be all over the roads (frontways, sideways, etc). Please proceed with caution, as you could be their next target.

Seasonal Information:

If you stick to the seats in your vehicle, it is Spring. If you need to let the car "get some air" standing next to it with the doors open for a minute before you can stick your upper body inside to crank it and get the air going, it is Summer. If you are sweating even with the windows down, driving 55 mph, it is Fall. If you finally turn the AC off and roll your windows up, it is Winter.

General Information:

Do not ever speak during the song Sweet Home Alabama unless it is to sing along with the lyrics. This is a form of heresy and will erupt in a brawl if everyone doesn't show "proper respect" to the band who gave us Free Bird. This is especially true if alcohol is present. (Notice I didn't say
"sold at this event," but "present.")

Yes, we know that Vulcan is mooning the entire city. It's not that funny to us anymore.

If you ask someone for a "coke," they will often ask you, "What kind?" This is not a trick question. Tell them what you want: Sprite, Dr.Pepper, Root Beer, etc., it is all "coke."

All tea is sweet. If it's not sweet, you are in a Chinese restaurant or have crossed the Mason-Dixon Line.

This one's for you, Keith

Peanut Butter Jelly Time a la Family Guy:


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The Young Person's Guide to the SATB Choir

Author Unknown

In any chorus, there are four voice parts: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. Sometimes these are divided into first and second within each part, prompting endless jokes about first and second basses. There are also various other parts such as baritone, countertenor, contralto, mezzo soprano, etc., but these are mostly used by people who are either soloists, or belong to some excessively hot shot classical a cappella group (this applies especially to countertenors), or are trying to make excuses for not really fitting into any of the regular voice parts, so we will ignore them for now.

Each voice part sings in a different range, and each one has a very different personality. You may ask, "Why should singing different notes make people act differently?", and indeed this is a mysterious question and has not been adequately studied, especially since scientists who study musicians tend to be musicians themselves and have all the peculiar complexes that go with being tenors, french horn players, timpanists, or whatever. However, this is beside the point; the fact remains that the four voice parts can be easily distinguished, and I will now explain how.

THE SOPRANOS are the ones who sing the highest, and because of this they think they rule the world. They have longer hair, fancier jewelry, and swishier skirts than anyone else, and they consider themselves insulted if they are not allowed to go at least to a high F in every movement of any given piece. When they reach the high notes, they hold them for at least half again as long as the composer and/or conductor requires, and then complain that their throats are killing them and that the composer and conductor are sadists. Sopranos have varied attitudes toward the other sections of the chorus, though they consider all of them inferior. Altos are to sopranos rather like second violins to first violins - nice to harmonize with, but not really necessary. All sopranos have a secret feeling that the altos could drop out and the piece would sound essentially the same, and they don't understand why anybody would sing in that range in the first place - it's so boring. Tenors, on the other hand, can be very nice to have around; besides their flirtation possibilities (it is a well-known fact that sopranos never flirt with basses), sopranos like to sing duets with tenors because all the tenors are doing is working very hard to sing in a low-to-medium soprano range, while the sopranos are up there in the stratosphere showing off. To sopranos, basses are the scum of the earth - they sing too damn loud, are useless to tune to because they're down in that low, low range - and there has to be something wrong with anyone who sings in the F clef, anyway.

THE ALTOS are the salt of the earth - in their opinion, at least. Altos are unassuming people, who would wear jeans to concerts if they were allowed to. Altos are in a unique position in the chorus in that they are unable to complain about having to sing either very high or very low, and they know that all the other sections think their parts are pitifully easy. But the altos know otherwise. They know that while the sopranos are screeching away on a high A, they are being forced to sing elaborate passages full of sharps and flats and tricks of rhythm, and nobody is noticing because the sopranos are singing too loud (and the basses usually are too). Altos get a deep, secret pleasure out of conspiring together to tune the sopranos flat. Altos have an innate distrust of tenors, because the tenors sing in almost the same range and think they sound better. They like the basses, and enjoy singing duets with them - the basses just sound like a rumble anyway, and it's the only time the altos can really be heard. Altos' other complaint is that there are always too many of them and so they never get to sing really loud.

THE TENORS are spoiled. That's all there is to it. For one thing, there are never enough of them, and choir directors would rather sell their souls than let a halfway decent tenor quit, while they're always ready to unload a few altos at half price. And then, for some reason, the few tenors there are are always really good - it's one of those annoying facts of life.. So it's no wonder that tenors always get swollen heads - after all, who else can make sopranos swoon? The one thing that can make tenors insecure is the accusation (usually by the basses) that anyone singing that high couldn't possibly be a real man.. In their usual perverse fashion, the tenors never acknowledge this, but just complain louder about the composer being a sadist and making them sing so damn high. Tenors have a love-hate relationship with the conductor, too, because the conductor is always telling them to sing louder because there are so few of them. No conductor in recorded history has ever asked for less tenor in a forte passage. Tenors feel threatened in some way by all the other sections - the sopranos because they can hit those incredibly high notes; the altos because they have no trouble singing the notes the tenors kill themselves for; and the basses because, although they can't sing anything above an E, they sing it loud enough to drown the tenors out. Of course, the tenors would rather die than admit any of this. It is a little-known fact that tenors move their eyebrows more than anyone else while singing.

THE BASSES sing the lowest of anybody. This basically explains everything. They are stolid, dependable people, and have more facial hair than anybody else. The basses feel perpetually unappreciated, but they have a deep conviction that they are actually the most important part (a view endorsed by musicologists, but certainly not by sopranos or tenors), despite the fact that they have the most boring part of anybody and often sing the same note (or in endless fifths) for an entire page. They compensate for this by singing as loudly as they can get away with - most basses are tuba players at heart. Basses are the only section that can regularly complain about how low their part is, and they make horrible faces when trying to hit very low notes. Basses are charitable people, but their charity does not extend so far as tenors, whom they consider effete poseurs. Basses hate tuning the tenors more than almost anything else. Basses like altos - except when they have duets and the altos get the good part. As for the sopranos, they are simply in an alternate universe which the basses don't understand at all. They can't imagine why anybody would ever want to sing that high and sound that bad when they make mistakes. When a bass makes a mistake, the other three parts will cover him, and he can continue on his merry way, knowing that sometime, somehow, he will end up at the root of the chord.

Stupid Quiz

Which Peanuts Character Are You?

You are Schroeder!


Which Peanuts Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Might as well face it you're addicted to Starbucks

For some reason, when I saw this comic, I thought of Dr. Copeland...any guess why?

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind...

I'm not real sure what that has to do with anything, it's just the first thing that popped into my head. I'm sitting in the Jazzman (?) Cafe in the HUC waiting for my next class to start. I should be reading, but I got tired of that, and Katie told me I needed to post again, so I am.

About what, I hear yourself asking?

Well, I have an answer for you... (scroll down)
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I have no idea. So instead, I'll leave you with a line, from a great but short lived show, Sports Night.
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"You shouldn't think that just because I'm looking at you while you're talking to me, that I'm necessarily listening to or caring about what you're saying. It's just something I do to be polite."
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EDIT: I've re-enabled commenting. I don't remember turning it off, but it's on again. Comment away!

Sense of...homieness

Is that even a word?

For the longest time now, I've really hated my house. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice house, but I just didn't feel like it was mine to live in (it belongs to my parents, but I pay them rent). But now, I have it decorated the way I want it, and it feels more like home to me. There are still some things I need to do, but they're small things. I'm happy now and actually don't mind venturing out of my room.

Just some random thoughts.

And if anyone asks me to help them paint a room, they can forget it. I'm through with painting awhile :P

Is it Summer already?

There is something seriously wrong when it's almost 80 degrees in January.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a good Christmas and I hope everyone has a good year! See all you choir folk on Thursday.