Who's Up and Who's Down

This may turn out to be a regular feature here in my little bloggy kingdom, and may take on a variety of subject matter, but for right now, here's my look at who's up and who's down this week in Sports.

Who's Up! :)

1. College Basketball: I hear that March Madness is over now for both men's and women's basketball, and that the games were very exciting, and the tournament is viewed as having been an exciting success.

I don't watch, follow, or care about college basketball, partly because I find basketball hard to sit through, but also because fundamentally, I think that March Madness places stress and attention on very young athletes, and it's pressure that they are often ill-equipped to handle. See the interesting story of Joakim Noah's first year in the NBA.

But I think I would be remiss in not recognizing what appears to have been a great tournament, on behalf of bloggy friends for whom I know that college basketball is a passion.

And by the way, I did fill out a bracket, but I did so by flipping a coin. My bracket said Duke would win. I gather that they didn't.

2. Lorena Ochoa: I believe that we are seeing only the very beginning of what should be the greatest career in the history of women's golf. Another major win for her last weekend.

3. Trevor Linden: All signs point to his retirement after a great 19-year career in the NHL. The fans in Vancouver, where he has arguably been the most popular hockey player in their history, gave him the kind of send-off a classy player like this deserves.

Who's Down! :(

1. The Detroit Tigers:
Bajillions of dollars spent in the offseason.
Two superstar players signed.
Oodles of optimism during the pre-season.
First week's record = no wins, 7 losses.

And yes, there are 162 games in the season, so in the grand scheme of things, 7 games shouldn't matter. But one of the interesting things about baseball is that 7 games do matter, very much so. I remember a couple of years ago that the Jays started the season with considerable optimism and were swept in their first series. Never recovered. Les Tigres are in trouble.

2. Jose Canseco: Idiot.

3. The American Women's 4x100 m relay team from the Sydney Olympic Games: All set to have their medals revoked because of Marion Jones' cheating. A difficult pill to swallow, I imagine, for those on the team who trained hard and ran clean.

In which Chorus Memes

Is Meme a verb?? Oh well; it is now.

I've seen a few of these kinds of memes around and about in the last little while, so I thought I'd jump in and take part, tagging myself gracefully in the process. Check out I'm Still Me for a variation of this first one, but I got this version from Episcopollyana.

What I was doing 10 years ago:

In 1998, I finished up my gap year during which I worked full time in a coffee shop, and then started my first year of studies in English and Drama at Colourful University in the fall.

Five snacks I enjoy:

1. Bananas
2. Veggies and Dip
3. Chips and Dip
4. Popcorn
5. Cheese and Crackers

Five Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Renovate the house.
2. Prepare for retirement.
3. Donate to Musical charities.
4. Pay some dues.
5. Travel, travel, travel.

Five jobs I've had:

1. Barista
2. Church Secretary
3. University Service Director
4. Financial Aid Advisor
5. Special Projects Manager

Three of my bad habits:

1. I eat too much candy.
2. I don't wash off my makeup at the end of the day.
3. I have a potty mouth.

Five places I've lived:

Prairie City has been my only home base, though I've lived in three different places inside the city.

And now, here are seven random facts about me!

1. My favourite artist is Michelangelo.
2. I have the same birthday as my husband.
3. I don't like bread.
4. I have one nephew and three nieces, whom I love to pieces.
5. I cry when I'm angry.
6. My fashion icons are Audrey Hepburn and Lauren Bacall.
7. I really like boats, but I really dislike swimming.

Tag yourself, if you like!

In which we walk!

WH and I are trying to do more walking both because it's good exercise and in preparation for our trek through Sonoma valley this summer. So last night after dinner, we decided to take a quick trot through the neighbourhood before turning in.

We live in one of Prairie City's older neighbourhoods (our house was built in 1923), so there are lots of beautiful homes to look at while we walk. We always find that our discussion turns to these houses, what we like about them, how big they seem to be, whether they have good yard space, whether they "need work," etc. These are very happy discussions, and we are almost always of one mind on what we'd be looking for if we were looking for a new house, and what we could live without. Our neighbourhood also has the requisite ugly houses that have been built through the decades, and we talk about those too. Why they're ugly, what we would do to fix them, what decade's taste they reveal...

We anticipate that within the next couple of years we will either need to move to a bigger house, or consider a major renovation to the home we live in now. In many ways, we are thinking that the renovation will be the way to go. Our house is only about 740 square feet above ground, but our lot is 7000 square feet, so we could quite conceivably make a major addition to the home and still maintain a sizable yard. If we did that, we would be looking to add at least one if not two more bedrooms, and at least one more bathroom. I have to admit that despite the disruption this renovation would create in our lives, I like the thought of staying where we are, in our little house with all its original architecture and original charm. At least, I like that thought until I see a bigger house that I like the look of, and then I like the thought of moving.

I'm fickle like that.

Blogging Baseball

Good morning all!! It's a quiet Saturday here at Chez Chorus, so I thought I would do something that I've wanted to do since I started this blog, and that is to blog through a Blue Jays game.

Today is the perfect day for this task because it is SNOWING outside, and that's kinda sad.

So, today's game features the Beloved Blue Jays against the Boston Red Sox at the Rogers Centre (formerly and affectionately SkyDome) in Toronto. Starting pitchers are, for the Jays, Jesse Litsch, who looks about twelve years old, and for the Bo-Sox, Clay Buchholz, pronounced LOO-ZER.

While we're waiting for the first pitch, a quick comment on last night's home opener, the first of what will be a weekly Flashback Friday game, at which the Jays will wear their old powder blue awesomeness, in the original polyester!! I think they look like PJs...

Jays won that game though, so whatever works! And inducted Roberto Alomar onto the level of excellence, which made it a feel-good happy evening for all Jays fans, new and old. Over 50,000 people in attendance too - let's hope that good will and good attendance sticks around!

LET'S PLAY BALL!

Top of the first inning: First pitch... a ball to Julio Lugo. (And for any who might be panicking that I'm intending to blog every pitch... don't worry; I'm not.) Lugo strikes out swinging, and looks ridiculous in the process. The Boston Manager looks stern.

The Red Sox have travleled 24, 828 kms since the middle of March... wow... that's a long way. Fort Myers to Tokyo to Los Angeles to Oakland to Toronto.

The Blue Jays manager looks stern too. Maybe they learn that in manager school.Great catch by third baseman Marco Scutaro! You've earned your allowance today, Scoot. (I don't know if that's his actual nickname, but if not, it should be.) Blue Jays play the shift for David Ortiz, who is a big big big man. Probably explains why his nickname is Big Papi. Litsch walks him. This seems like a good idea to me. And speaking of looking ridiculous, it's Manny Ramirez! WH makes the obligatory, "he needs a hair cut," comment, with which I agree. Ramirez gets a double and drives in Papi, who runs very slowly and now looks like he needs some oxygen. Lowell grounds out, inning over. Boston gets one hit, one run, one runner left on base.

Bottom of the first: Itty bitty David Eckstein leads off the inning for the Jays, hits a harmless grounder and winds up safe on first on an error by the 2nd basement. Mama cat has joined us downstairs and his sitting on WH and purring like a motor. She likes David Eckstein. They weigh roughly the same. Matt Stairs strikes out. Alex Rios is up, a day after signing a 6 year 64 million dollar contract. I look at WH and wonder why he quit Little League so many years ago. He tells me that it was because he couldn't throw or catch. Or hit. Fair enough. Buchholz throws over to first for the 47th time, drawing boos from the crowd. Strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play. Jays get no hits, no runs, one runner lob.

Top of the Second: We are told that Litsch is struggling with his release point, leading to the dreaded inconsistency. We see a slow-motion shot of his motion, which causes me to ask the question I always ask, which is how on earth pitchers' arms don't come flying off more regularly. Strike out of J.D.Drew. Jason Varitek has a head like a potato, but he wears nice high socks, which I like. He walks. Double-play ends the inning. No hits, no runs, no lob.

Bottom of 2: Vernon Wells leads off. We would all like to see Vernon play better this year than he did last year. The commentator attributes the bad year to a "barking shoulder." Woof, woof! Wells walks. (ooh! alliteration!) Frank Thomas hits a bloop single, Wells runs like a speed-demon, all the way around to third. Single for Overbay, Wells scores, tie game. Frank Thomas somehow manages to get his gigantic frame around to third on the play. Aaron Hill strikes out. Scoot strikes out too. Zaun pops up and has a bat-throwing fuss about it. 2h, 1r, 2lob

Top 3: Coco Crisp leads off. Coco Crisp is a baseball player, and not a breakfast cereal. Ground out. Litsch hits Lugo in the tricep with his first pitch. OW. Pedroia gets a base hit, setting up the kind of scenario that Bo-Sox fans love - two on, one out, Big Papi at the plate. Jays shift again, which works delightfully, as Paps grounds out to first. Runners move up though. Intentional walk for Ramirez and his dreadlocks to set up a force at every base. Lowell is out on a good catch by the first baseman. 1h, 0r, 3 lob.

Bottom 3: Ecks out at first on a close play. The Rogers Centre has a comfort zone, featuring big couches right at field level. I think that's AWESOME. 40 year old Canadian Matt Stairs is up to bat. I don't think that he ever comes up to the plate without the commentators mentioning that he's 40 and/or Canadian. He strikes out. Must be his age. Or his Canadian-ness. Double into the corner for Rios. Both of today's pitchers seem to have a fondness for necklaces. Buchholz is wearing four of them. Wells out on a grounder. 1h, 0r, 1 lob.

Chorus rushes off to sort laundry.

T4: I'm back, and the Sox have a runner on third with one out. Sean Casey is up to bat, and was apparently voted Nicest Player in the Majors last year. I wonder if he got a plaque. He gets a single off the first baseman's glove, and drives in the run. I watch for signs of his niceness, and see none. Breakfast Cereal is safe at first on a fielder's choice; Mr. Nice Guy out at second. Lugo out pitcher to first base. 2h, 1r, 1lob

B4: Thomas flies out deep to right field. The ground shakes as he jogs back to the dugout. Lyle Overbay gets a single. Aaron Hill gets an absolutely perfectly surprising bunt down the third base line. Hill is WH's favourite player. A walk for Scoot; bases loaded! And the pitching coach comes out!! By reading lips, I can see the coach clearly telling the pitcher that four necklaces is too many. Shuffling in the Boston bullpen begins. Greg Zaun reaches base on an error by the first baseman; two runs score. Little Davey Eckstein comes up and hits a single, Scoot around to score. Crowd goes wild. The 40-year old Canadian strikes out again. Rios tagged out on his way to first to end the inning, but a good inning nonetheless for the Jays. Chorus does love some nice manufactured runs. 3h, 3r, 1lob

T5: Another good crowd at the game today. Not quite what they had last night, but entirely respectable. Great pitching match tomorrow for the last game of this series - Halladay vs. Beckett. Ground-out to start the inning. Shift on Ortiz works again, as he grounds out to second too. The shift involves moving the infielders over because a specific batter always hits the ball through one side of the infield. Papi always hits the ball through the right-side, so the Jays stack the infield there. So far, this has worked very well today. Manny flies out to Vernon Wells. 0h, 0r, 0lob.

B5: The commentators offer Happy 92nd Birthday wishes to a gentleman who has kept scoresheets of every Jays game since 1977. Impressive! Wells out on a grounder. Thomas out on a grounder. Overbay strikes out. 0h, 0r, 0lob

T6: Mike Lowell starts the inning off with a single and that will be all today for Mr. Litsch. He gets a nice ovation has he leave the field. Brian Tallet in to pitch. He is also wearing multiple necklaces. Mama Cat gets up, turns around three times, and lies back down again. Life is rough. Big fly ball safely caught by Rios. Varitek pops up to the first baseman, a good catch in foul territory for Overbay. Casey out on a little dribbler right in front of the plate called fair, a call with which he vehemently disagrees. Lots of jawing at the ump, followed by the manager coming out and jawing at the ump. 1h, 0r, 1lob

B6: New pitcher for the Bo-Sox, one Kyle Snyder. No necklaces for Kyle, thank goodness. He walks Aaron Hill on 4 pitches. Hill advances to 2nd base on a wild pitch. Maybe a necklace would have been a good idea after all. Snyder is 6'8" and weighs 230 lbs, so maybe they don't make necklaces in his size. Scoot walks too, which lights a fire under the bottom of the Boston pitching coach because he leaps out of the dugout very quickly. Greg Zaun lays down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to move the two runners up. Snyder's out of the game and Bryan Corey is in. No necklace. Eckstein drives in both runners on a single. Yay! Stairs flies out to center field. Alex Rios gets a double to left field and Eckstein alertly runs all the way home, sliding in just under the tag. Vernon Wells drives the ball up the middle, and Rios scores. If you've lost count, the Jays are now up 8-2. The fans begin the wave. Frank Thomas hits a massive home run to center field. 10-2. Overbay flies out off new pitcher Julian Tavarez to end the inning. 4h, 6r, 0lob

T7: Coco Pops grounds out to start the inning off of new pitcher Brian Wolf, who's necklace status is unclear. Lugo singles. Pedroia moves him over to third with a double. Big Papi strikes out. Ramirez grounds out to end the threat. 2h, 0r, 2 lob

And now, everybody SING!

B7: Hill flies out, Scoot grounds out, but Zaun moves his large catcher butt down the line in a good way and beats out a single. They show some footage of the new Jays clubhouse and it is STUNNING. Leather chairs, big-screen TVs... beautiful! Explains why all the Jays looks so happy and comfortable. Eckstein grounds out. 1h, 0r, 1 lob

Chorus rushes off to use the bathroom.

T8: New pitcher Jason Frasor for the Jays. 1 out already by the time I get back. Single for J.D. Drew. Kevin Cash strikes out. Baby Cat makes herself at home on my lap, making blogging much more difficult. Sportsnet is having some technical problems, but I gather that Sean Casey just threw his bat into the crowd and then he flied out to center field. 1h, 0r, 1 lob.

B8: This should be the last at-bat for the Jays, barring a disaster in the ninth inning. Coats flies out. Rios flies out too, and says "firetruck" loudly enough for the mics to pick it up. Vernon Wells walks. Thomas grounds out. 0h, 0r, 1lob

T9: The Jays will bring in Randy Wells now to pitch the ninth. This will mark Mr. Wells' first major league game, and he looks just a teeny tiny bit excited. And someone has given him a necklace, so that's good. Crisp grounds out. Julio flies out to right field. Pedrioa walks. Big Papi grounds out, so it's a pretty good first game for Randy Wells. Congrats to him!!

And that's the ball game!!

Have a great day everybody!

In which Chorus has a Treat

So, in a couple of weeks, I'll be starting to take voice lessons with a very talented singer here in town, and I am very very excited. I think we're going to have a lot of fun together!

Yesterday, WH and I descended on our local music store to buy some new collections of music. I have one book of Italian love songs already, but I was hoping to have a little bit more variety of pieces to study. Like going to bookstores, or office supply stores, or CD stores, I love these kinds of shopping trips... It's all about the POTENTIAL. We had some good recommendations from my teacher and knew what we were looking for, so it didn't take long to find three good collections and spend a healthy sixty bucks!

So now, to go with the Italian love songs, I have a collection of English songs from the Renaissance through the Baroque period, a book of German art songs, and a good collection of sacred music that I can use for church. I'd like to add some French art songs as well, eventually, but this seems like a healthy start!

Being the Choir Wyf, Part 3

WH and I and Fantastic Accompanist were walking up to rehearsal last night when the following conversation took place with a chorister we'll call Edith.

Edith: Hellooooooo Fantastic Accompanist!
FA: Hello!
Edith: Hellooooooo WH!
WH: Hello!
Edith: Helloooooooooo... .... ... WH's wife!
FA: She has a name, you know....
Edith: Well, we'll just call her Mrs. WH.
Chorus: Awesome.

I find these interactions entirely hilarious, and in no way do I take them personally. There are considerably worse things in the world than being known as Mrs. WH. They could be calling me nasty names behind my back, for example, which I'm pretty sure has happened to the wives of conductors before.

It is my goal in all interactions with the choirs for which my husband works to be genial and smiley and good-humoured and gentle and positive. I do pretty well about 90% of the time. I work really hard at "gracious but firm." And when we are at events where WH is meeting other musicians, I want to be the best lookin', loveliest, most well-behaved adornment for his arm that I can be.

We have a good time together, him and I.

Miss Landmine Angola 2008

Hey folks ~ Once again, many thanks to all who have posted kind and thoughtful comments about Granddad. The comments are spirit-boosting, I assure you!!

I don't really have much to say, other than that this week feels a bit odd, and out of sync, but I did want to share this story that came my way via CNN this morning:

The story describes the Miss Landmine Angola 2008 competition, featuring contestants who are all missing limbs as a result of having stepped on landmines. While all the contestants receive government assistance for education or business ventures, the winner receives a prosthetic limb.

The pictures are an expression of profound dignity and respect, and are very, very beautiful.

The more I have thought about the competition and about these women, the more challenging I have found it to try and wrap my mind around all the pieces that are brought together by the event: the gruesome atrocity of landmine violence; the images of beautiful women in stereotypical "pageant" poses; social justice; feminism; etc. In short, I feel a wide variety of things when I look at the pictures.

I feel angry and sad and thrilled and excited and worried by these images.

Angry at the violence that lies behind them.
Sad at the struggles these women have endured and will continue to endure.
Thrilled that these women have this opportunity to express themselves and their stories.
Excited by the gifts that are given to the competitors and to the winner.

Worried that these woman do not represent the last generation of landmine victims in Angola.