So tonight I watched the movie “Bobby”. It’s the movie about Robert F. Kennedy’s assignation. It’s a very good film and I strongly recommend it. It was cleverly made with the integration of original footage from the era and the modern fictional footage shot for the film. I find it amazing because although the film is about Bobby Kennedy there isn’t an actor that play him. I guess he actually plays himself in the film. It was nicely done.
As usual after I watch a historical film I always like to follow up on the internet just to fill some gaps or simply learn more about the subject. Viva wikipedia!! Well tonight I stumbled across his Eulogy which was delivered by his brother and one of our current senators Ted Kennedy. It’s a very touching listen and if you have a moment press play. It’s wonderful and worth listening to. This eulogy was made in 1968 but somehow the words seem true to 2007. Maybe someday we’ll have another Bobby Kennedy. I sure hope so.
So I’ve had several ideas to blog over the past month or so but I’ve been too lazy to post. Shame on me! I’ll try to renew my blogging but I make no promises.
I’ve been mainly enjoying “not” working for the past month. High School band directors usually get the month of June to relax and vacation. I’m lucky to have a couple weeks in July off so I’m going to enjoy those while I can. Band camp is just around the corner. I’ve used this free time to really get out and dance as much as I can. I’ve attended a couple of events and I’ve got out to the Atlanta dances a much as I can. I even taught a specialty class at Hot jam a couple weeks ago and It was a blast. I have no desire to teach lindy hop again but Michelle asked nicely for me to join up for a class. I couldn’t resist. I’ve come a long way from teaching basics moves in college. Atlanta has no shortage of teachers so I’ll just take a back seat and help out as needed. I teach enough in my day job
I’m moving at the end of the month. I’ll be moving to Vinings which is a small suburb slightly North of downtown Atlanta. It’s a great area and I should have pretty good access to work and downtown activities. I’m very excited about the move. I adore Alpharetta but the drive downtown or anywhere is starting to wear on me. I should come out on top with the way Gas prices are anyway :0
I do have a new job. I’m now the Assistant Band Director at Sprayberry High School. It’s a really great job and I’ll be working with long time friends. I’m very eager to get started and settle down. Hopefully this is a place where I can stay for awhile.
So it’s not very often that you get the opportunity to do something for or participate in something that will directly affect someone that you admire and can easily call a hero. This weekend I and many others will get that opportunity. Frankie Manning who is a living legend in the swing world has finally published his autobiography. I can easily write a few pages as to why I call this man one of my heroes but I’ll spare you. Just read about him at http://frankiemanning.com/ and you will get the idea. His new book offers the most amazing insight into the art of swing dancing and basically how he and a few others created and shaped this amazing dance within the walls of the Savoy Ballroom. I’m not sure if my generation realizes that we’re on the cusp of losing many of our “pioneers”. I’m speaking of the icons that have created the various idioms in our modern day culture more specifically American culture. Jazz and swing which are purely American created art forms will soon be at the mercy of recordings, literature, artifacts and hearsay. This is why Frankie’s book is so important. I’m sure we’ll have those that were there during the era for several more years. I mean Frankie’s about to be 93 and he’s STILL dancing!! I’m hope I’m so lucky, but in the meantime we should all capitalize on his living history and the document that he will leave behind.
Here’s what’s going on in the lindy hop community right now. This Saturday (May 26th) is Frankie’s birthday. In honor of this occasion the swing community is going to go to Amazon.com and purchase is book on that day. What’s the point? Well, Amazon ranks their bestseller list based on how many books were sold during a certain period of time. Well the community is going to try to get Frankie’s book on the bestseller’s list this Saturday. This will mean it will be on Amazons front page and expose his book to an audience that would otherwise pass it by. This is the best idea ever! I’ve put off buying my copy until this weekend so I’m pretty excited.
Here’s how you can help. BUY HIS BOOK on May 26th! It’s going to be an amazing movement and I can’t wait to be a part of it. Certainly let me know if you do so. I’ll certainly send virtual hugs abound.
You know from time to time when I’m conducting a concert I hear the occasional cell phone, baby cry, cough, sneeze, teenage laughter, or completely random noise. Usually you just brush it off because it’s crowd noise and sometimes it’s difficult to get a couple hundred people completely quiet. The only time that I encounter complete rudeness is when your audience is full of people that are forced to hear your concert. Class assignments, middle or high school kids, music appreciation classes (college). I’m reminded of John Cage’s 4′33″ This is a concert piece where the performer simply walks over to a piano and sits for 4 minutes and 33 seconds. The “music” is created by the audience as they sit and create sounds. It’s pretty genius. In that case audience noise would be quite interesting. I guess since I’m usually so into my conducting that I rarely pay much attention to the audience. Today I found out this happed to Keith Lockheart that a recent Boston Pops concert.
This is completely outrageous and I’m searching for some kind of reasoning that could explain how someone would actually start a fight in the middle of a classical concert. Somehow the sounds above don’t seem so bad. I tip my hat to Keith for stopping the music. I’m pretty sure no one was listening, however I guess it would’ve been pretty cool if they were actually playing “Westside Story” In that case…I would’ve kept conducing. (grins)
Honestly I’m a bit too busy to justify blogging anything right now but I do want you guys to check this out.
http://www.protopage.com/
Protopage is a web page that lets you create a single “page” that contains all of your internet activity such as bookmarks, notes, photos, news headlines…etc. Instead of having google or msn as my “startup” page. I just use protopage as my start page. Whenever I open my browser my protopage loads. Then no matter where I am or what computer I’m on I will still have all of my favorite sites all organized in one place. I’ve used it for about a year and I’ve streamlined my browsing which has cut down on all of that time wasted looking for sites. If you think about it we usually go to the same places over and over again. Well…this makes them only one click away. It’s awesome. It will take you a awhile to get it set up but it’s worth it.
Every now and then you have an encounter or experience that changes your life. I’m very proud to be able to share this find with my friends. It has given me a newfound appreciation for life on earth and now I’m convinced I’m going to live it to the fullest. Ladies and Gentlemen watch this video and you too may reach the clarity that I’m experiencing right now.
So Atlanta Quest finally became world finalist this past weekend at WGI world championships. Since we chartered the group in 2003 this feat has been ever elusive to us. We missed the cut in 2003, had a terrible performance in 2004 and missed it. We were ever so close in 2005 just missing the cut by tenths and after a year off we returned with a bang. Not only did we make the cut in 2007 were were in the top 6 in the world. This makes me very happy. We finished 6th place and ended up scoring our highest score ever with a 90.5. I couldn’t be more proud of the members and the staff. It was a great season with a great group of members that bonded this season more than any group we’ve ever had. I didn’t really understand the bond these guys and girls had until I looked through my photos from this weekend. I’m sure we helped to initiate some life long friendships over these past 7 months. These activities like WGI and DCI are extremely time consuming and will certainly eat away at ones social life but when you look at the end result you always get a feeling that you were a part of something really great. Good job Atlanta Quest!
I’m in Dayton, OH once again for Winter Guard World Championships!!!
So for those of you that are unfamiliar with this strange underworld of indoor marching percussion…..you may want to check out this website: www.wgi.org It’s a pretty niche activity that I’ve been fortunate to be a part of the past 5 years. Of course I’m here with my group www.atlantaquest.net and we’re gunning for gold. Heck…I’d be happy with making the cut tomorrow and playing in the Finals on Saturday. It’s been a great year, it’s a good show and I’m pretty proud of it. I’ll blog some more media once we get it on the web.
Alright….so I’m going to try this blog thing once again. I failed miserably the first time. I’m sure It’s not going to be anything great but at least I’ll know I actually have a blog when I feel like sharing something with some friends. I guess this is mainly a test message…….test!
So Atlanta Quest finally became world finalist this past weekend at WGI world championships. Since we chartered the group in 2003 this feat has been ever elusive to us. We missed the cut in 2003, had a terrible performance in 2004 and missed it. We were ever so close in 2005 just missing the cut by tenths and after a year off we returned with a bang. Not only did we make the cut in 2007 were were in the top 6 in the world. This makes me very happy. We finished 6th place and ended up scoring our highest score ever with a 90.5. I couldn’t be more proud of the members and the staff. It was a great season with a great group of members that bonded this season more than any group we’ve ever had. I didn’t really understand the bond these guys and girls had until I looked through my photos from this weekend. I’m sure we helped to initiate some life long friendships over these past 7 months. These activities like WGI and DCI are extremely time consuming and will certainly eat away at ones social life but when you look at the end result you always get a feeling that you were a part of something really great. Good job Atlanta Quest!
Alright….so I’m going to try this blog thing once again. I failed miserably the first time. I’m sure It’s not going to be anything great but at least I’ll know I actually have a blog when I feel like sharing something with some friends. I guess this is mainly a test message…….test!
