Some randomness

A few nights ago I recorded a Red Hot Chilli Peppers concert off our newest HD channel "HD-MTV". That's right, I want my MTV, and I want it in beautiful hi-def. Alas, the concert wasn't mastered in 5.1 surround (as many concerts are when presented in this format - I hope this is not the norm for HD-MTV, otherwise I'll be irate), but in stereo it was pretty good.

The mind-boggling part of the whole experience was when John Frusciante got the stage to himself and sang these words, accompanied by himself (dead-on accurate, to my recollection of the song in question) on the guitar:

What a dream I had
Pressed in organdy
Clothed in crinoline of smoky burgundy
Softer than the rain
I wandered empty streets
Down past the shop displays
I heard cathedral bells
Tripping down the alleyways
As I walked on
And when you ran to me
Your cheeks flushed with the night
We walked on frosted fields of juniper and lamplight
I held your hand
And when I awoke and felt you warm and near
I kissed your honey hair with my grateful tears
Oh I love you, girl
Oh, I love you

Bonus points to the first person who identifies this without a web search on the lyrics (I'll know if you cheat - I have ways!). If you have to look it up that's fine, but don't spoil it for the others - you won't believe it.

The other bit of randomness I have is actually a riff off of my papa's blog and his genius haiku, which put me immediately in mind of this piece of wonderfulness from Mike Nichols which the afore - mentioned papa introduced to me many moons ago:

"Exhortation"

You have not, as I, walked

the silent sleeping streets,

with streaming eyes, running

from the women in the windows.

You have not slid, as I have slid,

under the seas to see the shells,

smiling and swimming silently.

You have not seen the moon

running along the sky.

So shut up.

And finally, in the spirit of random poetry, here's the only limerick I ever wrote that was worth a damn:

A limerick is a neat poem.
As soon as I see 'em, I know 'em!
But I fear that I err,
So you'd better beware,
Because I can't remember how many syllables are supposed to go into the final line.

An De Disco

This weekend has been concert weekend for the ASOC, with performances of Beethoven's mighty 9th on Thursday, Saturday Night, and one more this afternoon at 3. As this is the first concert series of the year, the ASOC has been singing the national anthem at the start of the concerts. Rather than sing from the stage, the chorus has been filing into the aisles and singing right into the ear of the (extremely large) audience. This is kind of fun, actually, but last night's experience beats all.

I was positioned right next to the prototypical Little Old Lady. About 5 feet tall, nice wig, and she spent the entire anthem darting nervous glances at me out of the corners of her eyes. After we finished, she turned to me and mumbled something that I didn't hear, so I stepped forward and leaned (way) over, asking if she could please repeat herself. This is what she said:

"You remind me of Rock and Roll... or maybe Disco. But I wanted you to know that you have a lovely voice and I appreciate you singing next to me!"

It's hard to explain the extent to which this made my entire evening.

The performances have gone extremely well, with eardrum-shattering cheering at the end (from the audience, not from us - that would be inappropriate). One more to go this afternoon and then it's a wee break from ASOC.

Next up, the Faure' Requiem.

Man, those guys are fast!

We got a very nice phone call today as well as an e-mail from Lindsay Lanham of Great Wall :

---

Dear Benjamin & Wanda,

We are pleased to inform you that your family is eligible for our adoption program based on the information you provided in your Great Wall application. Your journey is just beginning and we want you to know that we are here to assist you every step of the way.

---

In short, they accepted our application and have assigned a case worker to us. While I had her on the phone, I asked Lindsay about adopting twins. She said that the two most critical factors are that a) there are no kids in the house already, and b) you have a good income for supporting two kids right away. She said, "I think I remember you guys had terrific income, let me double-check," whipped out our application, and verified it on the spot. She was extremely friendly and willing to answer any question I had on the spot, and best of all it didn't feel like she was rushed to get me off the phone - I think she would have talked me off of a ledge if it had been necessary (fortunately, it was not).

So, now we have more forms to fill out to get the legal stuff started, and they're sending us some recommendations for home-study organizations here in Atlanta. There's going to be a lot to do, and we'll keep everything updated here at the Chronicles.

We're on our way!