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This is the face of pure evil you are looking at. This young man committed a sinful crime so grevious that it would not surprise me if the Pope himself had to get involved on this one. Please only read on if you have a strong stomach - this is quite violent.

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HipHopSwordsmen have been booted from YouTube. They had uploaded 1,500 videos, all classic, real Hiphop from the 90’s with over 6,000+ suscribers. No word on the official reason but would assume it’s copyright violations.

ELIZABETH, New Jersey - Two inmates escaped from a county jail, hiding the holes they made in the walls by putting up photos of bikini-clad women, officials said.

The men helped cover up the break by placing dummies under their bed blankets, and hiding the wall holes with magazine photos of women in bikinis, authorities said.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/17/jail.escape.ap/index.html

Hey, haven’t prison officials ever watched the Shawshank Redemption movie? That’s exactly how he escaped in the movie. Digging a hole behind a pinup picture. Great example of life imitates art.

*Update 12/18/07*

The way the inmates used pinups to hide their escape route was reminiscent of a scene in the 1994 movie “The Shawshank Redemption.”

Ted Romankow (Union County, New Jersey’s prosecutor) played down the comparison.

“I think this is a very serious situation you saw,” he said. “I really prefer not to compare with any movie, although I can understand why you might, because it does look certainly very similar to some of them. Except in ‘The Shawshank Redemption,’ they had a better poster on the wall.”

Hmmm….and not one quote from Tom Cruise in the article. Strange.

Read the full article on CNN.com

EXCERPT:

BERLIN, Germany - Germany’s top security officials said Friday they consider the goals of the Church of Scientology to be in conflict with the principles of the nation’s constitution and will seek to ban the organization.

The ministers, as well as federal Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, “consider Scientology to be an organization that is not compatible with the constitution,” said Berlin Interior Minister Ehrhart Koerting, who presided over the officials’ two-day conference.

“From a number of sources, some of them not available to the public, it has been determined that (the organization) seeks to limit or rescind basic and human rights, such as the right to develop one’s personality and the right to be treated equally,” the report said.

AOL released a list of “Oprah Top Blunders of 2007.” Number nine on the list was her endorsement of “The Secret” - a prosperity themed book and visualization technique.

I won’t get into the hairy details here, but you can find plenty of dark, ugly things that have surfaced about THE SECRET since it was released. I am not a fan of these abundance visualization systems. They are fun things to dabble with, but not something to get too deep into. It can lead you to make very bad decisions based on fantasy.

Isolation and greed are the fuel for these systems. It is nothing new and very common in the New Age mind sciences. It’s gobbledy gook.

Think I’m being negative? Look how the people that create these things make their money. It’s usually off the courses themselves. Show me a Bill Gates or a Donald Trump who made their money in a real industry - that’s someone I want to listen to.

There are better uses of our time.

AOL writes:

Winfrey endorsed the controversial self-help program ‘The Secret’ in 2007.

Despite amazing sales, partly thanks to Oprah’s endorsement, critics argued that Winfrey’s stamp of approval was irresponsible given her power.

Critics argue that ‘The Secret’ trivializes important decisions and promotes a quick-fix material culture.

You have probably read that members of the Westboro Baptist Church caused emotional distress to the father of a Maryland Marine killed in Iraq by picketing his funeral and must pay $2.9 million in damages, a jury found Wednesday. Of course there will be appeals.

I’m not very much into politics, but I did run across this list of bible verses that I thought were worth posting. There is more need for compassion in this world than there is for condemnation.

Luke 6:31 (NIV)
31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

1 John 3:17 (KJV)
17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

Romans 12:14-18 (NKJV)
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

James 3:17 (NKJV)
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

Ephesians 4:2 (ISV)
2 With all humility and gentleness, along with patience, accept one another in love.

1 Timothy 6:11 (NKJV)
11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

Philippians 4:5 (NKJV)
5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

1 Peter 3:8 (NIV)
8 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.

1 Peter 2:17 (NIV)
17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

Just found out the Seattle Times did a blurb on me today in the Local section. Click here to read the article. It was nice to get the mention of current shows running as extra publicity. We are looking forward to our Brigadoon run in Kirkland. Some details are off in the article (CDS does not have “conductors”, they have “bandleaders” which also play). Currently we are finishing our run of Brigadoon at McIntyre Hall and will be at the Kirkland Performance Center Sept. 7-9 and 14-16. Then I do Rocky Horror Show, Cabaret Show, Bye Bye Birdie and off to China. Should be fun!

Well, here it is. The big news. My fellow geeks know what to do.

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Jerry Falwell died today. He was “fine at breakfast” but found unconscious in his office at Liberty University. Read the CNN Article on Falwell death.

And in more breaking news, we have rumors that surveillance video has filmed someone leaving his office around 10:15am this morning.

Here is the surveillance picture, please contact us if you recognize this person:

Mount Vernon, WA - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory opens May 11, 2007 at the historic Lincoln Theater.

Fri-Sun May 11-13
Fri-Sun May 18-20
Fri/Sat Shows at 7pm
Sunday shows at 2pm

Presented by META Performing Arts. This is a well-cast show with very strong lead and supporting actors. A great family entertainment show that combines actors and actresses of all ages.

Conrad Askland - jazz piano
Bryan Atterbury - drums
Toni Rush - bass
Ben Bethea - oboe
Jim Gaudette - french horn
Eric Frankenfield - violin
Jane Frankenfield - viola
Abby Frankenfield - cello
Roupen Shakarian - conductor

FLUTE RECITAL PROGRAM

Syrinx - Claude Debussy (1913)

Claude Bolling Jazz Suite Movements:
1. Baroque And Blue
2. Sentimentale
3. Javanaise
4. Fugace
5. Irlandaise
6. Versatile (With Bass Flute)
7. Veloce

The Great Train Race - Ian Clarke (1993)

Concerto for Flute and Orchestra - Carl Reinecke (1908)
Transcribed for chamber orchestra by Stephanie Bethea
Allegro molto moderato
Lento e mesto
Finale; moderato

This recital is given in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts. Stephanie Bethea has been a student of Felix Skrowonek, Zart Domburian-Eby, and currently Sarah Bassingthwaite.

CONCERT NOTES:
The recital went well last night. It was like Stephanie hand-picked all my favorite people - Jim Gaudette and Roupen were performing, and I ran into Jerome Chandler and Brittany Schmidt who I’ve worked with on shows before and are both very fun. One nice surprise was hearing Stephanie’s son Ben Bethea on oboe, he is a master of that instrument with a tone that truly has to be heard - it struck me that oboe might be my current favorite orchestral instrument, next to french horn of course. During the recital Stephanie demonstrated flutter tongueing, flute double stops and multi-note harmonics. There was a nice reception afterwards and I got to visit with everyone.

Stephanie and I had played at my church in the morning and she did very tasty improvisations over the hymns and praise music. It also gave us a chance to get a little looser on the Claude Bolling Suite. I’d like to make a couple changes and perform the Bolling Suite local at a small place like Althea’s or The Muse with an intimate crowd. Would make a nice upper crust snobby affair. I took great liberty with the Bolling Suite and improvised quite a bit of it - from talking to people in attendance this approach seemed well received, and Stephanie said she thought it kicked a lot of fun into it.

So at some point if I play it enough, I’ll improvise the whole suite - and then we’ll just call it a new name.

If you can read French - visit the Claude Bolling website.

About Claude Bolling:
Claude Bolling (born April 10, 1930), is a renowned French jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and occasional actor.

He was born in Cannes, studied at the Nice Conservatory, then in Paris. A child prodigy, by age 14 he was playing jazz piano professionally, with Lionel Hampton, Roy Eldridge, and Kenny Clarke.

He has written music for over one hundred films, mostly French, starting with the score for a 1957 documentary about the Cannes Film Festival, and including the films Borsalino (1970), and California Suite (1979).

Bolling is also noted for a series of “crossover” collaborations with classical musicians. His Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio with Jean-Pierre Rampal, a clever and charming mix of Baroque elegance with modern swing, has been a top seller for many years, and was followed up by other works in the same vein. It was particularly popular in the United States, and it was at the top of the hit parade for two years after its release.

Following his work with Rampal, Bolling went on to work with many other musicians, from different genres, including Alexandre Lagoya, Pinchas Zukerman, Maurice André, and Yo-Yo Ma. He has also worked with, and performed tributes to many others, including Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, Stéphane Grappelli, Django Reinhardt, Oscar Peterson.

COMMENT:
I bought this on cassette over 20 years ago, and it continues to be #1 in my top ten list of favorite recordings. It is a perfect blend of baroque and jazz. I remember playing this in my car and my passenger was amazed at the structure of the music, particularly transitions within the pieces. I like all of Bollings series of “_____ and jazz piano” but this is the best of all. It remains fresh & creative. How could anyone not find this music compelling?

Mount Vernon, WA - Disney’s High School Musical opens at McIntyre Hall (Mount Vernon, WA) on March 23, 2007 for a threek week run. Included in the run is a school show and a bargain night on Thursday March 29th.

This show is the latest craze with pre-teen audiences. See it and find out what the fad is all about. It’s silly, it’s fun and great family entertainment. And the message of the play is fantastic: Don’t accept what others think about you, follow your dreams.

I can tell you we have a very strong ensemble chorus and we’re all looking forward to the opening. If you have a child in elementary or middle school, this would be a great show to see with them.

See you at the show!

Regarding a presidential bid in the 2008 race, Fred Thompson said yesterday: “I’m giving some thought to it, going to leave the door open” and decide in the coming months. “It’s not really a reflection on the current field at all,” he said.

Obama, Hillary Clinton, Thompson all lining up to run for president. We might actually have a fun presidential race for a change. They laughed at Ronald Reagan when he ran. But in retrospect everything I’ve read about Reagan’s presidency is pretty favorable.

We currently have a life-long politician in office. I’m not one to know much about politics, but it’s fair to say many things are going less-than-perfect on Capitol Hill these days. You can say what you like about Schwarzenegger and Reagan, but can you say it wasn’t fun?

Fred Thompson’s movies are way cool. He’s usually on the “good” side. Same qualities Arnold Schwarzenegger has. Fred Thompson is a much better actor. I think better actors should be able to be President instead of just governor. Oh, you say Arnold wasn’t born in the US so he can’t be president? That’s just a technicality, the real reason is his acting.

Forget about his political views and work, that’s boring. Let’s get to the good stuff. Here’s the movies he has been in.

* Marie (1985)
* No Way Out (1987)
* Feds (1988)
* Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
* The Hunt for Red October (1990)
* Days of Thunder (1990)
* Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990)
* Flight of the Intruder (1991) (uncredited)
* Class Action (1991)
* Necessary Roughness (1991)
* Curly Sue (1991)
* Cape Fear (1991)
* Aces: Iron Eagle III (1992)
* Thunderheart (1992)
* White Sands (1992) (uncredited)
* Born Yesterday (1993)
* In the Line of Fire (1993)
* Barbarians at the Gate (1993)
* Baby’s Day Out (1994)
* Celsius 41.11 (2004)
* Racing Stripes (2005, voice)
* Last Best Chance (2005)
* Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (2005)

Cape Fear, Die Hard II. C’mon people, this is our man! I’d like to see a three way presidency with Fred Thompson, Obama and Hillary Clinton. And instead of boring presidential debates next year, I think they should review film clips.

Yes, this post is tongue-in-cheek and superficial. Not superficial because it mentions actors; superficial because it mentions politics.

Bellingham, WA - Brian Young of Jet City Films will be giving a class this quarter offered by the Northwest Film School in Bellingham. The class is “Script to Screen” and is on narrative feature film development and pre-production. Classes are being held Thursday nights at the school from 6-8pm running for 10 weeks starting January 11th (the syllabus is online.)

Brian Young is something of a living legend in our area. He has already directed several films and you can see trailers of those at the Jet City Films website. Mr. Young is also a VERY seasoned actor who has an understanding of character interactions far beyond his years. When I relocated to Skagit County he was one of the people I heard referred to over and over months before I met him. In person he does indeed stand up to his reputation.

From all accounts I have heard, I think I can say that if you have any interest in learning plot development and script writing, Brian Young is the one to study with.

UPDATE: Check out free new music to perform at your Burns Dinner!

Mount Vernon, WA - Vocalists welcome to join us as we prepare music for the Robert Burns supper at Lincoln Theater, Mount Vernon WA, on January 20, 2007. Robert Burns is the national bard of Scotland from the late 18th century and the supper is an evening of music and poetry in his honor. Read my page all about the History of Robert Burns and the Burns Supper.

Rehearsals from 7-9:30pm on Sunday 1/7, Sunday 1/14 and Friday 1/19 at Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church (corner of Broadway and 15th). We have at least 20 voices in the group already and invite you to join us if you like good choral music and/or Scottish music.

ROBERT BURNS DINNER MUSIC
Toast to the Laddies - Men Only - Song in Production
Toast to the Lassies - Women Only - Song in Production
Bonnie Mary of Argyle - Men Only Quartet
Brigadoon Entrance - Full Choir
I’ll Go Home With Bonnie Jean - Full Choir and Tenor Solo
My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose - Full Choir
A Scottish Tribute - Full Choir

We will perform at two seperate locations: the actual dinner location and then at the Lincoln Theater to open Act I and Act II of the presentations. World class guitar players will also give presentations. The choir is sponsored by Lyric Light Opera which is gearing up for it’s presentation of Brigadoon at McIntyre Hall in July 2007.

Saddam executed. What a sobering day this is. I’m a musician and have little taste for politics; so I have no comment on right or wrong, international justice or our current involvement in Iraq. Who cares what an artist thinks in a world of politics anyway. My profession is the one that paints pictures for the ears. That has nothing to do with the real world or it’s events.

But here’s what one artist, one small feeble mind, has felt in the last 24 hours. Who cares. Sometimes I think the purpose of the arts is to make life bearable. The creation of magic that keeps us inspired to trudge on, to lift our eyes to a higher place. Theology being the perfect match for music, both with the same goals to reach to our depths. Then when life is taken away, the real world futility of the arts is heir apparent.

Gallows, thick rope, men in black hoods. A cross between the French Revolution and a Clint Eastwood western. And there’s the bad guy. So why aren’t I happy? Why do I feel like crying? He’s a bad man, I don’t even know this guy.

Have you imagined you were him and what it was like? I have. Several dozen times. Each time glad that it’s role playing, that it’s not real for me. But it is for him.

Saddam executed. My biggest concern this last week was working out some software bugs and a nagging regret that I didn’t cut down my own Christmas tree this year. Saddam executed.

I heard on Thursday that he would be executed soon. Executed? I thought they were still in trials and execution would be years from now. I’m used to prisoners being on death row for twenty years. No, surely something will intervene.

I hear Friday afternoon that Saddam Hussein will be executed within hours, roughly 7pm Friday my time. It’s about 3pm when I hear the news. The first thing I do is imagine that I am him. What would I be thinking. All this fight, all this time, all this drama - and now it’s a cold and empty feeling.

What can I do? It is what it is. Will it hurt? How will I act? What will my last words be. Do I even care? I’ve met with my family and that’s all done. The world will think what it will and I can have no control over that now. I have no one to have power over now, just me.

Cold concrete and echoing murmurs down the hall. The distant look in people’s eyes. Some with hatred, some with pride, some with compassion. It’s not really my concern, but I look for just one pair of eyes that understands. My concepts of heaven and hell seem like theological grade school games now, religion’s Rubik’s cube for the living. I’ll know soon enough, but now I’m well aware that it may just be a thing made by men.

Life was good overall, I made my mark. History will know me. Maybe I could have gone out a little bigger. Maybe I should have gone down in the streets of Tikrit or Baghdad. That spider hole I hid in was a mistake, I should have stood tall been a martyr. Who cares. It will be what it is now. The world and it’s trivial pursuits are gone. The things that concern you now are no concern of mine. I will be gone, you will go on. Eventually you will be as me so it’s all the same.

Some will rise up, maybe. It’s not my fight anymore.

*******

I received this prayer request today from my prayer request forum at Christian-Prayers.com today (mispellings are part of the original post):

To whom it may concern

To start I am not a support of this man and his work - but as a fellow human being and sinner - not to his extent but a sinner none the less. I was going to post this but decied not to as to much contraversy of the life and effect of this man, I ask that a pray be said for the soul of Saddam Hussein. I am Catholic and I know he will probley not make it to heaven or
will suffer much, and many peole will say that is a good thing, by I ask that a pray be said for him, his family, that nation, his victoms and their families, and the world as what he had dobne has effected the lives of many. I had just loged onto the internet and that was the headline - that they had hung him. I did not know a desision was made regarding his punishment. I felt a pain in my heart for him and all that has rooted from his deeds - knowing that his death will not resolve all the problems that stemed from him. So I as that a prayer of mercy, healing, and forgivness be said for
all involved.

If you have any comments please feel free to contact me.

**************

That was the post. Is it right, wrong? I don’t know. I do know that I find myself unable to be immersed in the rapturous joy that some are feeling at the news. I’ve seen the complete execution video on Google video. It struck me as very pedestrian. Not dramatic, not a world ruler being dethroned. Just some guy. Some in the room tried to make it dramatic with shouting before hand and afterwards. But to Saddam it appeared just to be a thing. It is what it is.

Now if they had hired me as MD (Musical Director) on this gig, I could have showed them a REAL execution. Of course there would be snare drums rolling and large kettle drums. Nice ominous cellos and basses complete with an SATB choir joining in a haunting Requiem. We would have timed the finale perfectly for a great crescendo, full orchestra hit, then just the high strings sustaining a single note while Saddam said his last words. Our strings would have plunged and kettle drums roared in perfect time with the drop of the gallows. Dance music and showgirls for the dancing segment, then a compelling romantic theme for the panoramic sweep of the body. Let’s end with a shot of the sky with sun breaking through the clouds and then the full main theme with brass and soaring strings.

Of course I’m being an ass. It wasn’t that. It was boring. It was pedestrian. It lacked pathos. My official review for the Saddam execution is a thumbs down. My point? The drama and pathos in an event is what we cloak it in. The events themselves contain nothing.

Our concepts of heaven and hell do much to bring ourselves solace over the actions of others. A final judgement that awaits the wicked. This seems to me very much to be an invention of the living to make life bearable. If you believe in those absolutes then you have to do nothing to make this world better, it will all be sorted out in the end.

But if you can entertain the thought for an instant that these absolutes may not necessarily be so, then you may be filled with a renewed drive to do what you can NOW to help out the person next to you. Maybe the execution of Saddam is part of that, man’s laws making things better now. Has it?

We have this intoxicating drive to make our lives something grand so that at the final curtain call we have something to show. Our final death. Something dramatic, the weeping, the accomplishments, the length of our resume. But maybe it is just a thing so everyday like brushing our teeth. And maybe the final tally of our life’s events does not happen in the way we expect.

So hug your family, keep your friends close and look what you can do NOW to help. Help what? That’s up to you. But do it now. Don’t wait. Life may fizzle and be a nothing. Let the drama unfold while you can see it.

And if faith draws you. Use that to harness yourself and enjoy the power of humility. Intellectualism is not the opposite of faith, the opposite of faith is hubris. It will take ten thousand to undo the pain that Saddam has created, but undone it will be. Not through his death, but through our living with better intentions.

Forum II and III servers are back online, Forum I server should be back online shortly.

I took the opportunity to completely separate the servers so if one goes down the others will maintain full operation.

For SEO specialists and my old Black Hat crew. An SEO high wind advisory.

I admire the creator of this link scam for their ingenuity. Xrumer is an autosubmitter program - it will sign you with up with major forum software platforms like phpbb and even post your first post for you. Not much new with this type of software, but their game plan is brilliant.

They are using their own software in a massive one way link blitz. This dwarfs the old Google bomb by a longshot.

Their first auto-submitted post does not contain a link, it simply says something along the lines of: “I am looking for Xrumer auto-submit software, does anyone know where I can find the official website?” - Because they did not drop a link like most spammers, it goes unnoticed as spam. Now enter the well meaning member (and I have seen many ADMINS fall for this) who googles Xrumer and posts the link for them.

They have just received a bonafied link from a trusted member of that community. Now that is quality spam!

You can google Xrumer yourself to see how many forums are hit with it - it is quite impressive. It has hit so many forums recently that I really do not think there is a way to undo it - They got massive linkage.
Do not be tempted to buy it, Google will figure it out eventually and penalize it. Maybe you could get away with it if you had a mark that was already branded for linkage - take your chances.

A couple things to consider if you are tempted in buying the Xrumer software:

1) The obvious - you are perpetuating Black Hat SEO and spam.

2) Xrumer is a very unique search term, the same ploy would not work on any competitive term - and if you already have branding for your term, you would not want to take a chance with this anyway.

3) If you drop a link on the first post with the program you will be tagged for spam. To drop a link on the first post is the intended use of the software. Xrumer got around this with a unique term and disposable domain for quick cash.

Just guessing, I would bet they rake in an easy $200,000 in one week, or better. Would be interesting to know the real figures.

***************

Forum admins are today being warned of a new wave of spam coming to forums.

It comes after Russian hackers developed a script to auto submit spam posts to a wide range of forum software - and released it onto the open markets.

The script is able to post to forums even when email validation is required - a common anti-spam tactic used by forum admins.

Targeted forum software claimed open to attack includes vbulletin, phpbb, Invision Power Board, PHP-Nuke, yaBB, IconBoard, UltimateBB, exBB, phorum.org, wiki, different types of bulletin boards and even custom-written code.

Forum admins are advised to follow basic anti-spam procedures, and ensure they have common Russian email addresses blocked, such as mail.ru, inbox.ru, cashette.com, and gawab.com.

For those tempted to use high volume forum spamming, it needs emphasising that forum spam rarely lasts more than a few minutes on valuable forums, and the returns are likely miminal.

However, damage to reputation and standing could be considerable, and may additionally subject the user to legal proceedings under the Computer Misuse Act.

“I know there’s a God, and I ain’t him”. RIP Freddy.

Read my post about Touring with Freddy Fender’s Band

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CNN Freddy Fender Death Announcement

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Lyrics for Before The Next Teardrop Falls

If he brings you happiness
Then i wish you all the best
It’s your happiness that matters most of all
But if he ever breaks your heart
If the teardrops ever start
I’ll be there before the next teardrop falls

Si te quire de verdad
Y te da felicidad
Te deseo lo mas bueno pa’los dos
Pero si te hace llorar
A mime puedes hablar
Y estare contigo cuando treste estas

I’ll be there anytime
You need me by your side
To drive away every teardrop that you cried

And if he ever leaves you blue
Just remember, I love you
And I’ll be there before the next teardrop falls
And I’ll be there before the next teardrop falls

Skye Dahlstrom has completed the first two rounds to be on American Idol. We’re all VERY excited for her. Film crews from American Idol are coming up tomorrow to film her at one of our rehearsals for her background piece on the show. She is the choreographer for the current musical I am conducting: Seussical the Musical
GO SKYE!