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December 31 And so this is New Year's...So a Happy New Year to y'all. Hope it's a gooder.
So I have some stuff to clear up. Apparently I misworded something, and apparently some people go ballistic sometimes. CoughCoughKayleighCoughCough.
I have been evicted. There is no longer a ceiling above my head.
I had to move to my brother's room because my room is a skeleton right now. Insulation goes in sometime soon, I hope. December 29 APB: M, 17, driving.I forgot to mention. I've started my in-car practical driving experience. That means stay off the roads. And the sidewalks. I'll let you know beforehand next time. Don't worry though. There weren't any fatalities this time.
In other news: I have been evicted. There is no longer a roof above my head. December 25 The Weekly Feature, Issue IV [Christmas Edition]Ho ho ho...Jolly old Saint Nik brings you the Christmas Edition of his Weekly Feature! Complete with festive colours! This week's addition: New book I've read. Merry Christmas!
Band: Joe Strummer and the Mescalaros
Song: Enter Sandman - Metallica
Word: Hemp
Book: Obsessed - Ted Dekker; Executive Orders - Tom Clancy
Number: 18
Mando'a Phrase: Su'cuy manda [Soo-COO-ee MAHN-dah] - Welcome to heaven
Quotable Quote: - "Don't fight a battle if you don't gain anything by winning." - Erwin Rommel December 24 Move that...er...bus?The renos have begun. I am the recipient of my own version of extreme makeover. It involves a hammer and a couple of crowbars. The trim and carpet are gone. Next? Probably the walls.
Today the carpet...tommorow...THE WORLD!!!!
Excuse me...I have more work to do. December 18 The Weekly Feature, Issue IIIWhew! It's that time of the week again, where Nik comes up with random tidbits for your enjoyment. This week's addition: Quotable Quotes
Band: Seether
Song: Sweet, Sweet Spirit - LCI Jazz Choir
Word: Dopplegänger
Number: Thr3e
Mando'a Phrase: Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur [EE-bee toor JAHT-nay toor ASH-ahd-KEE-ram-oor] - Today is a good day for someone else to die
Quotable Quote: - Let us endeavor to live, so that when we come to die, even the undertaker is sorry. - Mark Twain December 15 Concert Review #3I think I'm starting to enjoy the Christmas season, if only for the sheer amount of good live musical performances it brings. I do believe that LCI has quite probably the best choral program in Southern Alberta, hands down.
Last night's concert was titled 'Songs for a Winter's Night', featuring the LCI Singers, Chamber Choir, and Jazz Choir.
The concert started with selections by the Singers, covering a fairly wide range of Christmas carols; Carol of the Child, Mid-Winter - featuring three Grade 9 soloists (still can't get over how small they were), Angels We Have Heard on High, Lo, How A Rose E-er Blooming, and There is No Rose. An astounding performance, I'd give it an 8 of 10.
The Chamber Choir was amazing, as usual. They ran through a rather eclectic bunch of Christmas carols, ranging from We Three Kings to a medley of carols titled ‘Lullabies for the Christ Child’, to other classics such as Angels We Have Heard on High. They finished with their signature piece, Wade in the Water, solos by Mwansa Mwansa, Phil Quon, and Jaimee Jarvie. Overall, 8 of 10.
The Jazz Choir was the highlight of the night, which I think is usual at an LCI choir concert. Less Christmassy, but still a knockout job. Kicking their set off with a piece titled Spain, the Jazz Choir quickly ramped into high gear, going mainly a capella with tunes such as All the Things You are, There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit, God Only Knows, and Old Toy Trains. They finished the evening off with a song titled Baby Driver, featuring solos from three different guys. 9 out of 10.
Overall, it was an exquisitely enjoyable evening. I can’t wait ‘till their spring concert.
P.S. I recorded the majority of the concert, and have an audio CD available upon request. If you want a copy, drop me a note. December 11 The Weekly Feature, Issue IISo here it is: the second issue of Nik's 'The Weekly Feature'. I'm going to attempt to add a new category every week for as long as I can come up with a new one. This week's new category is 'Song'. Fairly self-explanitory. And now, without further ado, The Weekly Feature.
Band: Death Cab for Cutie
Song: I Will Follow You Into the Dark - Death Cab for Cutie
Word: Nightmare
Number: 1000
Mando'a phrase: Tion'ad hukaat'kama? [Tee-ON-ahd HOO-kaht-KA-ma] - Who's watching your back? December 09 Cause for celebration!!!To all my faithful readers/followers/hangers-on/sycophants:
Your combined interests in this web page have fostered 1000 hits, 900 of which come since September, when I started blogging again. The 1000th hit came at exactly 3:24PM, December 9, 2006. The culprit is Kayla Weistra. She wins a great big hug.
I hope y'all have enjoyed reading what I've posted. I'll continue publishing more as I am inspired.
Thank you, thank you, and thank you
*takes a bow*
December 07 A survey of NikSo I'm bored. And this is replying Glynis' blog survey thingie.
General Info:
-Your first name? Nikolaus -Your middle name? Andrew -Your height? 5'10" -Your eye color? brown -Your hair color? black -Your shoe-size? 10 -Your IQ? Somewhere below 500 and somewhere above 100, I'd assume. -Your grade? 12 -Blue, Orange, Green, or Gold? Orange, Green, Gold, Blue. In that order. Read the essay. -Why do you wear pants? Because I like them, and they're a desirable alternative to shorts or nudity. -Your thoughts on nail polish? I heard it's good for removing peanut butter or something. -Do you check your mail every day? Which mail? Postal, once a day, yes. Email? hah...continuously. Either/Or: -Mountains or Prairies? mountains -Sod or Carpet? Carpet, because yes, I'm a prissy little sod, and I don't like getting dirty unless I have to. -Chocolate or Vanilla? chocolate -Foosball or Ping-Pong? Ping-Pong, because I probably suck less at that then Foosball -Pens or Pencils? My disposable fountain pen. I need to buy another one.
-Lone Ranger or Daniel Boone? Is Carl Strople a choice? -Lizards or Snakes? snakes -Knives or Guns? Oh goodness. Both? -Football or Soccer? football -Movies or Books? books -Dogs or Cats? dogs. but only big ones. like huskies and German shepherds -Mac or Windows? Windows. Would You Rather… -Watch someone you love be killed, or kill them yourself? Tough question. It depends on who that loved one is, I guess. -Slide down a razor into a bowl of lemon juice or have a hundred paper cuts in your eye? I think I'll take the lemon juice -Die by the electric chair or the guillotine? Guillotine... -Marry someone who could sing like an angel, or looked like an angel? Sing, i think. -Lose you mind or your arms? Well, seeing as I've already lost my mind, I guess I don't have much of a choice, do I? -Watch every season of ‘I Love Lucy’ or shoot yourself in the foot? I'd shoot myself in the foot. -Go to Japan or China? Philippines -Go without food, or without sleep? sleep -Be on Amazing Race or on Survivor? Amazing Race. Travel the world... -Have a nice car, or a nice house? nice house, with six or seven nice cars out front -Listen to country music for a week non-stop or shave your head? Where's the razor? -Earn enough money to buy a house, or win a lottery and buy a house? If I win the lottery, I'm not complaining. Have You Ever… -Parachuted? nope -Been to New Zealand? nope -Watched ‘Rocky’? which one? -Gotten a piercing? nope -Gotten a tattoo? nope -Climbed a mountain? yes -Climbed a tree? yes -Fallen off a ladder? jumped... -Hammered your thumb? yes -Been in a movie? nope -Stood on a glacier? yes -Stepped on a cat? nope How Do You Feel About… -Barney? Where's the shotgun? -World Peace? can you spell FARCE? Try W-O-R-L-D...you get the picture. -Incessant questions? grrrr....
-Braces? never had them. -Water? necessary for survival -Balloons? with helium? ooh... -Curious George? I wonder if monkey tastes like chicken, too? -Free Will? God's sense of humour, I think. -Tattoos? depends what, depends where. -Luck? is for fools. lucky me. (pun not intended) -Movie ratings? are stupid. -MTV? If they would play some decent music, maybe i'd be interested. -Cars? Go fast. Vroom vroom. -Chick flicks? See the I love Lucy answer. -UFOs? Never seen one. -Gladiators? Glad I'm not one of them. Favorites: -Ice cream? chocolate -Color of sock? any colour, so long as it's black. -Candy? If it's chocolate, I'm not complaining. -Sport? Hockey -Style of music? at the moment? Classical, or alternative punk -Road sign? the deer crossing sign. it reminds me of food. -Flower? orchid -Food? meat, and pasta. -Rodent? rabbits, i'd think. because they're edible. What Would You Do If… -A bear was in front of you and you were weaponless? i'm never weaponless. -A burglar broke into your house while you were there? read the above answer. -You could be fluent in any language without any effort? Russian -You saw someone being mugged? read the above above answer. -You had the chance to enter a beauty pageant? laugh. -You met the President and the Prime Minister? shake their hands -Peter Pan showed up in your room? umm... To Do With Being Super-Human: -What are your powers of choice? instant regeneration, wall crawling, and an adamantium skeleton -Why? Wolverine and Spiderman, crossed. Duh. -Would you rather be invulnerable or have a healing factor? healing factor. -If you had wings, what would they look like? sleek black bat/demon type wings -If you could join any superhero team, which would it be? My own? -If you were forming a superhero team, who would be in it? wolverine, nightcrawler,...I'd rather form a team of Star Wars characters. -Why? 'Cuz. -Superman or Batman? Batman -Would you reather meet the Joker, or Lex Luther? Luther, because there's a chance of surviving. -If you could be any superhero in their movie, who would it be? Wolverine. Word Association: -Bacon: Eggs -Red: Blood -Lake: Crow, sauna -Cactus: Peanuts -Frost: Hoar -Elvis: Hair. December 06 Concert review #2So on the menu tonight we had the LYSA Annual Christmas Concert.
It was actually fairly enjoyable. I declare myself 'pleasantly surprised'
The beginners played with all the adorability of beginners. What's to say? What they lack in skill they make up for with cuteness.
The juniors stayed fairly in time and in tune, the intermediates I think were scared into playing well, and the senior orchestra was brilliant.
The beginner students played the usual blend of rudimentary pieces, ranging from the classic French Folk Song (it was supposed to be multicultural, but the German Folk Song was dropped, we're not sure why, other than the fact that the man in charge is an Englishman) to a Mozart Serenade to Jingle Bells.
The Seniors actually kicked off the concert, playing a clever little medley combining Pachelbel's Canon with 9 different well-known Christmas Carols.
After the beginners came the Junior orchestra. They played a Bach menuet, and, with the help of the Intermediate orchestra, a peice titled 'December Fanfare'. All-in-all, it was an excellent performance by the Juniors, a definete 8/10.
The Intermediate orchestra, in addition to accompanying the Juniors, played Three Renaiassance Dances, all varying in style and tempo. A challenge, to be sure. Having participated in their last rehearsal, I know the blood, sweat, and tears that went into making that peice sound even half-decent. I must say that tonight's performance was by far the best they've ever played it. Again, 8/10.
The Senior orchestra started...oddly. The principal cellist wound up having to bolt off-stage before they even started. It was probably the only time he was off-stage the entire concert. When he returned, he was greeted by more applause than even the concert master of the Lethbridge Symphony gets when he walks onstage. The reason for his sudden departure and return was unannounced, but sources later revealed it to be a sudden rupture of a nasal blood vessel.
The Seniors started with Palladio, a popular song that, if you heard it, you'd recognize it. Remember those polar or arctic diamond commercials that were always on TV? It's that song. Quite catchy, and quite a challenge to play without rushing. They pulled it off near flawlessly. Their second number was a Strauss waltz, 'Roses from the South Waltzes'. Another challenging peice, this one again was pulled off without a hitch. For the third and final peice of the night, the Intermediates again took to the stage, joining the Seniors in a rousing rendition of a Polar Express medley. The cellos struggled a bit going into the train sequence, and there was some minor confusion near the end, but overall, the peice played nicely and was enjoyable for all. 9/10.
I give the overall concert a 8.5 average. Definetely a LYSA concert for the memories.
December 05 Concert Review #1There's a rash of concerts coming up, and I guess I've taken it upon myself to review them (the ones I go to). (hah)
So the one last night was the Lethbridge Symphony's Christmas concert, in which they performed Handel's 'Messiah', in it's entirety, or something close to such.
The orchestra was amazing.
Vox Musica was impressive.
The soloists were...the same soloists we had for Elijah last year. I didn't like them then, and I still don't like them now.
Southminster is quite possibly the best concert hall we have in Lethbridge.
Overall, it was a quite enjoyable concert. I wish I could watch a few more of the Symphony's concerts. December 04 The weekly feature, Issue INewly devised: I will be attempting to post a weekly update of my latest things; band, word, number, and Mando'a phrase, as well as anything else that comes to mind. All this and whatever else I can pull into coherent thought and publish for your enjoyment.
Band of the week: Tied between Muse and Our Lady Peace
Word of the week: Enable
Number of the week: 10
Mando'a phrase of the week:
Burc'ya vaal burk'yc, burc'ya veman [BOOR-sha vahl BOOT-keesh, BOOR-shah veh-MAHN] lit. A friend in danger is a true friend |
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