October Project, books, other music, etc.
What have I been doing? I can't actually think...I feel like I am living in a blur. Well, a slow blur.
Monday I filled out forms and wrote a kind of autobiography (by hand--wow, it's been a LONG time since I got writer's cramp) and mailed all that out.
Tuesday...goofed off? Oh, my order from amazon.com (from Christmas gift certificates) arrived! I found out that the teddy bear book I had ordered--"It's Me, Teddy!" by Amber Alexander--was written by a person who *works* at the Vermont Teddy Bear Company! So cute!!! Christopher had been thinking of writing "home" since Christmas, but it became more of a front-burner thing after we read this book. :-)
The "Totally Pokemon" music/karaoke CD is really great, but it's NOT THE SAME MUSIC as what is used on TV, following the episodes. We are not talking just "radio edits"--these are actually different instrumentations and rhythms and everything. ::frown:: On top of that, I managed to drop/lunge with/scratch the CD. :-/ I am usually very careful with CDs. ::sigh:: I hope it hasn't affected its performance; but I was so upset that I did this that I haven't even listened to it since. I can't afford another copy.
I got a 4-track CD by Mary Fahl, former lead singer for October Project. You know you're in trouble when the title is "Lenses of Contact". She has such a gorgeous voice, but it is SO wasted on this pathetic material. I am not sorry I bought it, because I am helping her career, even minutely; but I doubt I will be playing this much at *all*. And after listening to clips from November Project's CD online (I had avoided them out of reverence for the defunct October Project), I see I will *have* to get their CD. The Sound is there. It's the songwriting and instrumentation. It's not October Project (I even liked grey eye glances for a while, thinking of them as October Project Lite), but it comes close. And then I listened to a clip of Marina Belica, former vocalist/keyboardist for October Project, who now has a CD out called "december girl". Wow, I was bowled over! I always heard her as support for Mary Fahl and never knew she had such a powerful voice! Okay, so I have to get both November Project's and Marina's CDs. But it's still a substitute.
Cat'r and I saw October Project *twice* in concert. The first time we stood up the entire time. It was the first concert of that type I had ever been to. The energy was intense, incredible, euphoric. I even got dizzy near the end, what with all the energy going through the crowd. I lost part of my hearing early on (we were very near the stage), but I didn't care. We all sang along and swooned together. Mary Fahl was incredible, her husky dark vocals as smooth and powerful at the end of the concert as at the beginning. The instrumentalists were superb. The harmonies were out of this world. I think this is my kind of revival. It felt like that.
The second concert was more toned-down, since we were all seated at tables, at the request of October Project. It was also very chilly in the auditorium. They were wonderful, as usual; but the energy was not there as much. I guess I got spoiled by that first Perfect Experience. But it was great to get to see them a second time. :-)
Another thing I got in my amazon.com package was a National Geographic videotape, "Inside The White House". It is a history of the White House, woven through the preparations on one day for a state dinner the Clintons hosted for the Yelstins. Fascinating, wonderful. I pointed out Teddy Roosevelt to Christopher, so he would know about that part of teddy bear history. :-) The next thing I want to get, when I can afford it, is that gorgeous coffee-table book, "The Clinton Years", full of LOTS of photos. I already have "An Invitation To The White House" by Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Wednesday I played scribe for Christopher. He dictated a FOUR-page letter to the bears at The Vermont Teddy Bear Company, where he was born, He got so inspired, after reading "It's Me, Teddy!" with me, that he had to write *then*.
Also, finally, on Wednesday, I took down the Christmas decorations. I assured Christopher that we would put them up again at the end of this year. He doesn't have much of a concept of time, so I could only explain how long he's been here times how long it will be until December.
Thursday, yesterday, was a goof-off/nap/listen-to-music day. I have also recently gotten Noa's first (and self-titled) CD, and "anchor" by a shoegazer group called trespassers william. Noa has a rich, warm voice; but I got a first impression of her learning English from listening to Dolly Parton songs. She enunciates something like that, with a dash of Joni Mitchell thrown in. But I *like* her.
I *really* liked trespassers william when I heard some MP3's of them. But for some reason (I must've been in a "mood"), when I was listening to parts of songs on "anchor", I found Anna-Lynne Williams' stylized vocals getting on my nerves. She seemed to "yodel" more than Sarah McLachlan. I need to do the "put-it-on-and-do-something-else" technique my Music Appreciation prof taught us about new music.
Got an import best-of 2-disc Suzanne Vega album called "Tried and True". I mostly got this because I now have trespassers william doing "Left of Center" (I LOVE this version); and I wanted to have Ms. Vega's original version, but didn't want to get the "Pretty In Pink" soundtrack to get it. The bonus disc has several live performances; and there are a couple songs on the main CD that I think are from an upcoming CD.
Also, Thursday, last night, we watched the second episode of "Survivor: The Australian Outback". Ugh, bugs (etc.). These people seem to be much more b*tchy and whine-y and complain-y than the first group! Did someone in production tell them this attitude would help sell the series?? So far I don't really like *any* of the new Survivor people.
Oh, yesterday Cat'r brought me two presents! First was an intensely cute teddy bear book called, "The Complete Stories of the Upstairs Downstairs Bears" by Carol Lawson. This book is very very lovely and especially enjoyable if you ever watched that venerable PBS series, "Upstairs, Downstairs" that spanned several seasons. Secondly, he got me a Hello Kitty charm necklace, that has two pendants: one is Hello Kitty's cute face and the other has the kanji for "Love" (which is in English on the back). :-)
Hey, it's gotten light since I started writing this!
Monday I filled out forms and wrote a kind of autobiography (by hand--wow, it's been a LONG time since I got writer's cramp) and mailed all that out.
Tuesday...goofed off? Oh, my order from amazon.com (from Christmas gift certificates) arrived! I found out that the teddy bear book I had ordered--"It's Me, Teddy!" by Amber Alexander--was written by a person who *works* at the Vermont Teddy Bear Company! So cute!!! Christopher had been thinking of writing "home" since Christmas, but it became more of a front-burner thing after we read this book. :-)
The "Totally Pokemon" music/karaoke CD is really great, but it's NOT THE SAME MUSIC as what is used on TV, following the episodes. We are not talking just "radio edits"--these are actually different instrumentations and rhythms and everything. ::frown:: On top of that, I managed to drop/lunge with/scratch the CD. :-/ I am usually very careful with CDs. ::sigh:: I hope it hasn't affected its performance; but I was so upset that I did this that I haven't even listened to it since. I can't afford another copy.
I got a 4-track CD by Mary Fahl, former lead singer for October Project. You know you're in trouble when the title is "Lenses of Contact". She has such a gorgeous voice, but it is SO wasted on this pathetic material. I am not sorry I bought it, because I am helping her career, even minutely; but I doubt I will be playing this much at *all*. And after listening to clips from November Project's CD online (I had avoided them out of reverence for the defunct October Project), I see I will *have* to get their CD. The Sound is there. It's the songwriting and instrumentation. It's not October Project (I even liked grey eye glances for a while, thinking of them as October Project Lite), but it comes close. And then I listened to a clip of Marina Belica, former vocalist/keyboardist for October Project, who now has a CD out called "december girl". Wow, I was bowled over! I always heard her as support for Mary Fahl and never knew she had such a powerful voice! Okay, so I have to get both November Project's and Marina's CDs. But it's still a substitute.
Cat'r and I saw October Project *twice* in concert. The first time we stood up the entire time. It was the first concert of that type I had ever been to. The energy was intense, incredible, euphoric. I even got dizzy near the end, what with all the energy going through the crowd. I lost part of my hearing early on (we were very near the stage), but I didn't care. We all sang along and swooned together. Mary Fahl was incredible, her husky dark vocals as smooth and powerful at the end of the concert as at the beginning. The instrumentalists were superb. The harmonies were out of this world. I think this is my kind of revival. It felt like that.
The second concert was more toned-down, since we were all seated at tables, at the request of October Project. It was also very chilly in the auditorium. They were wonderful, as usual; but the energy was not there as much. I guess I got spoiled by that first Perfect Experience. But it was great to get to see them a second time. :-)
Another thing I got in my amazon.com package was a National Geographic videotape, "Inside The White House". It is a history of the White House, woven through the preparations on one day for a state dinner the Clintons hosted for the Yelstins. Fascinating, wonderful. I pointed out Teddy Roosevelt to Christopher, so he would know about that part of teddy bear history. :-) The next thing I want to get, when I can afford it, is that gorgeous coffee-table book, "The Clinton Years", full of LOTS of photos. I already have "An Invitation To The White House" by Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Wednesday I played scribe for Christopher. He dictated a FOUR-page letter to the bears at The Vermont Teddy Bear Company, where he was born, He got so inspired, after reading "It's Me, Teddy!" with me, that he had to write *then*.
Also, finally, on Wednesday, I took down the Christmas decorations. I assured Christopher that we would put them up again at the end of this year. He doesn't have much of a concept of time, so I could only explain how long he's been here times how long it will be until December.
Thursday, yesterday, was a goof-off/nap/listen-to-music day. I have also recently gotten Noa's first (and self-titled) CD, and "anchor" by a shoegazer group called trespassers william. Noa has a rich, warm voice; but I got a first impression of her learning English from listening to Dolly Parton songs. She enunciates something like that, with a dash of Joni Mitchell thrown in. But I *like* her.
I *really* liked trespassers william when I heard some MP3's of them. But for some reason (I must've been in a "mood"), when I was listening to parts of songs on "anchor", I found Anna-Lynne Williams' stylized vocals getting on my nerves. She seemed to "yodel" more than Sarah McLachlan. I need to do the "put-it-on-and-do-something-else" technique my Music Appreciation prof taught us about new music.
Got an import best-of 2-disc Suzanne Vega album called "Tried and True". I mostly got this because I now have trespassers william doing "Left of Center" (I LOVE this version); and I wanted to have Ms. Vega's original version, but didn't want to get the "Pretty In Pink" soundtrack to get it. The bonus disc has several live performances; and there are a couple songs on the main CD that I think are from an upcoming CD.
Also, Thursday, last night, we watched the second episode of "Survivor: The Australian Outback". Ugh, bugs (etc.). These people seem to be much more b*tchy and whine-y and complain-y than the first group! Did someone in production tell them this attitude would help sell the series?? So far I don't really like *any* of the new Survivor people.
Oh, yesterday Cat'r brought me two presents! First was an intensely cute teddy bear book called, "The Complete Stories of the Upstairs Downstairs Bears" by Carol Lawson. This book is very very lovely and especially enjoyable if you ever watched that venerable PBS series, "Upstairs, Downstairs" that spanned several seasons. Secondly, he got me a Hello Kitty charm necklace, that has two pendants: one is Hello Kitty's cute face and the other has the kanji for "Love" (which is in English on the back). :-)
Hey, it's gotten light since I started writing this!