Man, some people will do anything to get out of text study. Last year, Dan suddenly "had" to get his appendix taken out (not expected), and today Sarah suddenly "had" to have a baby (fully expected, just a little early). . .
In all seriousness, welcome to the world, Claire Margaret. We are so glad you are here! :)
And congratulations to Momma Sarah and Daddy Chad!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Do Not Try This At Home
Dumb idea of the week: playing several hours of Wii last night (including but not limited to boxing and lightsaber duels) when I have five or so hours of holding a choir folder full of Messiah today.
Arms. . .so. . .sore. . .
Honorable mention: grabbing onto the knife-blade side of the little survival tool I was using to saw off small drooping branches from the bottom of the Christmas tree. Thankfully realized what I was doing before I gripped hard enough to cut myself.
Guess it's my weekend to make a run on the Darwin awards. . .
Arms. . .so. . .sore. . .
Honorable mention: grabbing onto the knife-blade side of the little survival tool I was using to saw off small drooping branches from the bottom of the Christmas tree. Thankfully realized what I was doing before I gripped hard enough to cut myself.
Guess it's my weekend to make a run on the Darwin awards. . .
Monday, December 7, 2009
Accept the Mystery
I love it when the Coen Brothers play in the wisdom end of the pool.
I finally got to see A Serious Man when I was on vacation in MN. I went to see it with Dad and Brenda, who were kind of disappointed any scenes with their Chevelle were left on the cutting room floor (according to Dad, the car was "just to the right of the frame" in the final shot of the whirlwind).
They also found it a little confusing (especially the beginning and ending), as did I - but I think that was the point. The movie is inspired by the book of Job, it's a study on suffering, and just like the book of Job, the movie offers no clear cut resolution or answers to any of the questions it raises. Readers/viewers can only live the question and accept the mystery.
So, in that spirit, I'm not going to try to unpack a lot of it either. . .but I did find it interesting the way "I haven't done anything" becomes a kind of refrain for Larry Gopnik. It's true - he hasn't done anything to deserve any of the troubles that keep coming his way, and that's consistent with Job's story. But that's kind of a radical departure for Coen Bros leads - often their films contain a rather Lutheran understanding of the bondage of the will, often they document how one poor choice leads to another, and to another, until you are trapped by your choices (or are in bondage to sin, as we like to say) and can now only choose between the lesser of two evils.
Gopnik is a stark contrast to this - he hasn't done anything, he hasn't chosen anything, good or bad. Yet all this bad keeps happening to him, forcing him into impossible choices between the lesser of two evils anyway.
And then, at the very end, when he finally does do something ethically questionable, when he chooses, perhaps, the greater evil - then the phone call from the doctor comes, and the whirlwind shows up.
So - is he now being punished for finally doing something because what he did was wrong? Is he about to get his comeuppance from God?
The movie doesn't tell us.
Live the question. Accept the mystery.
I finally got to see A Serious Man when I was on vacation in MN. I went to see it with Dad and Brenda, who were kind of disappointed any scenes with their Chevelle were left on the cutting room floor (according to Dad, the car was "just to the right of the frame" in the final shot of the whirlwind).
They also found it a little confusing (especially the beginning and ending), as did I - but I think that was the point. The movie is inspired by the book of Job, it's a study on suffering, and just like the book of Job, the movie offers no clear cut resolution or answers to any of the questions it raises. Readers/viewers can only live the question and accept the mystery.
So, in that spirit, I'm not going to try to unpack a lot of it either. . .but I did find it interesting the way "I haven't done anything" becomes a kind of refrain for Larry Gopnik. It's true - he hasn't done anything to deserve any of the troubles that keep coming his way, and that's consistent with Job's story. But that's kind of a radical departure for Coen Bros leads - often their films contain a rather Lutheran understanding of the bondage of the will, often they document how one poor choice leads to another, and to another, until you are trapped by your choices (or are in bondage to sin, as we like to say) and can now only choose between the lesser of two evils.
Gopnik is a stark contrast to this - he hasn't done anything, he hasn't chosen anything, good or bad. Yet all this bad keeps happening to him, forcing him into impossible choices between the lesser of two evils anyway.
And then, at the very end, when he finally does do something ethically questionable, when he chooses, perhaps, the greater evil - then the phone call from the doctor comes, and the whirlwind shows up.
So - is he now being punished for finally doing something because what he did was wrong? Is he about to get his comeuppance from God?
The movie doesn't tell us.
Live the question. Accept the mystery.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Next Year in a Real Recital Hall!
While vast improvements have been made to Skoglund since my days on the hill (the newer stadium seats are much more comfortable than the old wooden, backless bleachers), it's still kind of ridiculous to me that a music program the caliber of St. Olaf's has no large performance space built intentionally with acoustical quality in mind. Essentially, I've decided it's time to get the Christmas festival out of the gym, and so, I will henceforth end every Christmas Festival experience with this cry that hopes for the next experience to occur in its rightful place.
But I digress - obviously, I actually got tickets this year and spent Thursday night in Northfield. I refuse to eat lutefisk and was jonesing for Hogan Brothers anyway, so we got to town early enough to grab dinner there. Little did I know Northfield was having its annual holiday night on the town - Division St. was totally closed and turned into a pedestrian mall, and everyplace was packed. The line at Hogan Bros was so long that people who were in the front of it when we arrived were done eating by the time we placed our order and were looking for a place to sit!
At least we had some entertainment - while we were waiting in line, in an "only in Northfield" kind of moment, this group of carolers came in to the cafe. Caroling in itself not so unusual for this time of year, on this kind of night - what made it "only in Northfield" was the perfectly balanced and blended four part harmony they had going on (like a mini, roving St. Olaf Choir), AND the fact that a bunch of people in the cafe (myself included) joined them, in four part harmony, without the benefit of music or lyrics.
The Festival itself was particularly excellent this year. They used some liturgical dancers at the beginning, which was a nice visual element to incorporate; they also made some very creative interpretive choices (like on F. Melius' setting of Praise to the Lord, which was sung as a mass choir piece - instead of having the whole group sing the whole time as has been done in the past, it started with the Ole choir, then added Cantorei, then Chapel, then Viking and Manitou, so it kept building and building until everyone was joining in the glad adoration - gives me goosebumps just thinking about it again!); and the musical selection overall was varied and interesting, including a moving rendition of "E'en So Lord Jesus Quickly Come," sung in loving memory of Paul Manz.
Christopher Aspaas is also new since my days in Norway Valley, but I am greatly impressed with him and especially fond of his selections for Chapel Choir and Viking Chorus, and not just because he had them sing my Christmas Eve psych up song:
[This was the only youtube video I could find for this - this choir is ok, but the Chapel Choir was better! The version I listen to on Christmas Eve is this one by the Dale Warland Singers, which is indubitably the best! :) ]
In any case, the other pieces they sang (the rest of which were new to me) were also very enjoyable. I think he's a valuable addition to the faculty, and look forward to hearing what he does with these choirs in the future. . .hopefully in a new recital hall! :)
Happy Advent,
C.
But I digress - obviously, I actually got tickets this year and spent Thursday night in Northfield. I refuse to eat lutefisk and was jonesing for Hogan Brothers anyway, so we got to town early enough to grab dinner there. Little did I know Northfield was having its annual holiday night on the town - Division St. was totally closed and turned into a pedestrian mall, and everyplace was packed. The line at Hogan Bros was so long that people who were in the front of it when we arrived were done eating by the time we placed our order and were looking for a place to sit!
At least we had some entertainment - while we were waiting in line, in an "only in Northfield" kind of moment, this group of carolers came in to the cafe. Caroling in itself not so unusual for this time of year, on this kind of night - what made it "only in Northfield" was the perfectly balanced and blended four part harmony they had going on (like a mini, roving St. Olaf Choir), AND the fact that a bunch of people in the cafe (myself included) joined them, in four part harmony, without the benefit of music or lyrics.
The Festival itself was particularly excellent this year. They used some liturgical dancers at the beginning, which was a nice visual element to incorporate; they also made some very creative interpretive choices (like on F. Melius' setting of Praise to the Lord, which was sung as a mass choir piece - instead of having the whole group sing the whole time as has been done in the past, it started with the Ole choir, then added Cantorei, then Chapel, then Viking and Manitou, so it kept building and building until everyone was joining in the glad adoration - gives me goosebumps just thinking about it again!); and the musical selection overall was varied and interesting, including a moving rendition of "E'en So Lord Jesus Quickly Come," sung in loving memory of Paul Manz.
Christopher Aspaas is also new since my days in Norway Valley, but I am greatly impressed with him and especially fond of his selections for Chapel Choir and Viking Chorus, and not just because he had them sing my Christmas Eve psych up song:
[This was the only youtube video I could find for this - this choir is ok, but the Chapel Choir was better! The version I listen to on Christmas Eve is this one by the Dale Warland Singers, which is indubitably the best! :) ]
In any case, the other pieces they sang (the rest of which were new to me) were also very enjoyable. I think he's a valuable addition to the faculty, and look forward to hearing what he does with these choirs in the future. . .hopefully in a new recital hall! :)
Happy Advent,
C.
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