Month: February 2014

Someone carrying a blaring boom box. I never used to mind, for the most part. I often liked hearing them. This one was blaring Stevie Wonder. I had no objections. I’m not sure how he felt about me, however.

As I’ve been emailing people the link to my TEDx talk about singing, they’ve started sending me links back! An unexpected pleasure, and a great way to get to know the people I’ve been contacting.

First up, a video that was sent to me by Louise M. Pascale, the Founder and Director of the Afghan Children’s Songbook Project. The video is called Voices of Afghanistan. Just try to get through it without welling up. I can’t describe it better than the YouTube introduction in the video. “Afghanistan, for most people, conjures up images of war and terrorism. It is rare to hear a positive story. This video does just that. Afghans cherish their children and they cherish their music …”

Next, the Harding University Choir sings in the reptile house at the Cincinnati Zoo. On their visit to the Zoo the students noticed that the acoustics in this room were particularly great and so they started singing. I want to sing to alligators, too!! It was so cool of them to follow their impulse like that. How can you not love these kids?

This next link isn’t to a video, but choral music professor Rhonda J. Fuelberth’s page is titled Singing Together is Better, something I also believe, and so of course I like the vision outlined in her pages. Which reminds me, there is still time to nominate people for the Grammy’s Music Educator Award. The deadline is March 31st.

Finally, we have a video titled, The Haunted Bay: The Paranormal Side of San Francisco. It’s an interview of medium June Ahearn.

When I researched the Parapsychology Laboratory of Duke University I found the results of experiments that had been conducted in 1934 with medium Eileen Garrett. In the second round, to eliminate fraud the sitters were put in adjacent rooms, so that they were out of sight and sound while Garrett conducted her readings. When the scientists evaluated the results, the number of things Eileen got right were still far greater than would be expected by chance. However, for J. B. Rhine, the head of the lab, the question about where she got her information remained. Was it from the dead or through the living via telepathy (aka ESP)? That said, Rhine believed there was evidence for some medium’s abilities, he just felt they didn’t know enough about them.

I came across what I thought was an elaborate doghouse in someone’s front yard in Brooklyn (do we call them yards when they are concrete?). Turns out, it’s a cathouse. You can’t see it but there was a cat inside when I took this picture.

God, I hate having to promote myself. I’ve been emailing up a storm about my TEDx talk, and now I need to curl up in a ball for a week. Most of the people I’ve contacted have been so nice, and helpful and understanding though. It’s very heartening. And the very, very small number who haven’t, well, I honestly can’t blame them and no one was horrible about it.

Did I tell the story of what went on behind the scenes of my TED talk? I have to go look, I don’t want to repeat myself. For now though, I really do need to go pet a cat for a while or something.

Some goldfish I felt sorry for. You can’t see in the picture how dismal their situation was. The tank was so small, and not very deep, and the fish in there had no room to move.

The video of my TEDx talk is up! I chose my outfit thinking this was all that would show. I would have re-thought the jeans I chose (jeans are okay, just different jeans).

I worked so hard whittling down my talk to the most crucial points I wanted to make. Can I just say: public speaking is hard!

I was watching the Grammys and I didn’t know it was coming when they announced that Kent Knappenberger won the first ever Grammy for “Music Educator.” I loved how they listed all the choirs he ever started (there were a lot of them). When asked how the award money was going to help initially he said, “Right now I have a student that wants to play violin, and our school doesn’t own a violin, so we got one on loan (from me).” Not a single violin!

This is such a great and important award. From Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the GRAMMY Foundation and The Recording Academy: “Many musicians would not be expressing their gift for creativity had it not been for the dedication and encouragement of a music teacher who inspired them to pursue a professional career.”

Very true. But I would not limit the rewards to professionals only. Anyone who has music in their life at any level benefits. So congratulations, Kent Knappenberger! You can nominate someone for next year, but you need to hurry. The deadline is March 31st.

Yesterday it was almost like spring, today this. 

My way down 11th Street was blocked by this fallen … bush thing.