The Atlanta Chronicles

Astounding

2011-05-02T17:23:00.002-04:00

This is what happens when the arts become controlled by corporate antics. Simply deplorable. I hope to never see this happen to my city's beloved symphony.

Giving Thanks

2010-11-25T14:32:00.000-05:00

I am thankful for true friendship--for friends who know my heart and accept my weaknesses, friends who do not judge or belittle, and friends who remind me that I am a good and positive person.

Construction, Day 21

2010-05-13T20:11:00.000-04:00

WOW is there a lot of cool stuff to see today! First, watch the WGs get the rest of the dirt out of the way on the ground floor. Right after that, they clear some debris away around the edges. Then two very cool things happen simultaneously. You will probably need to watch a few times to see them both. First, on the ground, they start bringing in wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of gravel to cover the dirt. This is the layer that goes under the concrete floor. At the same time this is happening, they are also completing the installation of floor joists upstairs, and then they start laying down actual sub-flooring (although I think this is actually sub-sub-flooring - I believe one more layer of stuff comes down after this and before the hardwoods for the bedroom) on top of them. Finally, WGs will cover the gravel with plastic. Whew! What a day!

So, on the last frame of today's video, right in front of the camera, is a rectangular cutout. This is where the stairs from the upstairs to the downstairs is going, and here's where the miscalculation seems to have been made. We didn't clear enough head space for the stairwell! Practically speaking it means we have to extend the stairwell out a little longer so that we can go down the stairs without banging our head on the overhang every time. So, we have 5 extra feet of space in our addition to play with! Anna, our genius designer, came up with a totally spectacular plan to utilize this space to maximum effect. We get a small patio on the back entrance to the studio downstairs, and a few extra feet each in the closet, bedroom and laundry room upstairs! We totally win!

Have we mentioned recently that we worship our builders? Make no mistake, people : Renewal is the very, very best!

Construction, Day 20

2010-05-13T18:57:00.000-04:00

We hit a bit of early precipitation, so nothing really happens in the morning. In the afternoon it clears, and then after some study of the site we're informed that there's a spot of trouble with a calculation and that some stuff is going to have to be moved. In preparation for this, a bit more dirt needs to be removed from the floor. What's the problem, you ask? Find out in the next blog entry!

Construction, Day 19

2010-05-13T18:44:00.000-04:00

It's Framestock, day one! After much consultation and deliberation, the WGs begin to frame up this mess. I make a quick camera adjustment so we can see the entire thing, and then some floor joists made out of Engineered Wood begin to go down. w00t!

Construction, Day 18

2010-05-10T13:38:00.000-04:00

Fuckers stole the march on me again! This time it looks like they're applying some sort of sealant on the outside of Wallapalooza. You can only see them finish the application to the near wall, and then occasionally you see evidence of WGs flailing away on the other exterior surfaces as the near wall dries. Tomorrow should be WAY more fun!

Construction, Day 17

2010-05-10T13:26:00.001-04:00

The WGs stole the march on me this morning! Not much to see really, looks like they're just clearing the floor for the slab pour on Monday.

Construction, Day 16

2010-05-07T10:20:00.001-04:00

Alas, it's impossible to see what's going on today. I'll add a picture of the final results soon, but what had happened is, they started roughing in the plumbing. This means digging out space for the new pipes, and also putting in the pump which is going to get the water below the level of our sewer exit pipe where it needs to go. There's also a bit more cleanup around the edges. The exciting thing is that next Monday the slab gets poured, and then we start framing! Hooray!

Construction, Day 15

2010-05-07T10:03:00.000-04:00

Lots of stuff happening today, unfortunately most of it seems to be out of the range of the camera angle. The WGs over by the entrance are finishing the frame over the doorway. Another WG is busily trimming down the concrete pour at the base of wallapalooza. Another one is almost directly underneath the camera, removing more brick from the back of the house as well as some of the old foundation, since it's all in the way of the staircase which is going to show up in that area eventually.

Construction, Day 14

2010-05-06T22:01:00.000-04:00

Work resumes! The guy in the red shirt wandering around is our job manager John. He's a terrific guy, looks out for us in every way. We heart John! You can totally see the blocks drying today, and John gives the go ahead for cinder block palooza to continue.

Construction, Day 13

2010-05-06T21:53:00.000-04:00

Rain, rain, go away. The only interesting thing to note today, and it's a little hard to see thanks to the pixelization, is the water level rising and falling to the right of the wall as the rain surges, abates, and then surges and abates again. You can also see the left hand wall blocks trying to get dry and not succeeding.

Construction, Day 11

2010-05-06T21:48:00.000-04:00

Hunh! Those clever WGs built some scaffolding and carried on with cinder block palooza, on a Saturday, no less! For the record I had a nice conversation with one of the guys on the scaffolding, and he told me in no uncertain terms that they fuckin' hate The Stupidest Fucking Dog in the World next door. Love those WGs.

Construction, Day 10

2010-05-05T19:22:00.004-04:00

We don't need no education! It's cinder block palooza today, as the WGs start to build the walls. I dunno what they're going to do when the things get too high for them to reach them from the ground. We'll learn a secret of the construction trade soon, stay tuned!

We checked - every single wall is plumb, level, and square - putting it in diametric opposition to the rest of this house, which is none of those things.

Construction, Day 9

2010-04-29T20:56:00.010-04:00

It was a little difficult to determine what the fuck the WGs were up to today. They show up and stare at the house for a while, and then one of the gets on a ladder and starts doing something to the back of the house. A small pile of concrete debris starts to form under where the guy is working.

The truth is revealed in parts.

Exhibit A : Enormous Pile Of Bricks #1

Exhibit B : Enormous Pile Of Bricks #2

Exhibit C : Nothing much has changed on the ground, but...

Exhibit D : JESUS CHRIST WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HOUSE?

Exhibit E : View from beneath JCWHTMH? (That is Enormous Pile of Bricks #2 on the right, there)

See, what had happened is, the WGs were stripping the brick off (and by "stripping off" I mean beating the shit out of it with a hammer or a rock until it fell off) since the entire back wall is going to get disploded anyway as we weld the addition onto the existing frame. No idea why they needed to do this so soon seeing how as the footings haven't even been completed yet, but what do I know.

Construction, Day 8

2010-04-29T20:37:00.003-04:00

WGs show up and dig parts of the channels a bit deeper. Then the concrete begins to flow freely! Well, freely as in, one guy lugs wheelbarrow-load after wheelbarrow-load of concrete into the site and pours. Lather, rinse, repeat until almost all of the outer shell is completed.

Construction, Day 7

2010-04-29T20:25:00.004-04:00

I adjust the camera again. The inspector comes by and decides the ground where the enormous stump used to be is too soft and will need to be excavated a little more until firmer ground can be found. More digging required, but no WGs show up to do it. Pretty light show ensues, and not much else.

Construction, Day 6

2010-04-29T19:57:00.003-04:00

Rain strikes over the weekend, but the tarp does its job! WGs start digging the basis for the foundation and building the frame, then re-cover, as more rain is predicted.

Construction, Day 5

2010-04-29T19:37:00.003-04:00

Revenge of the Worker Guys (hereafter referred to as WGs) : they bring in the biggest stump grinder I've ever seen and demolish the Enormous Stump in short order. The bobcat cleans up after, then they cover the area with tarp due to incoming rain.

Construction, Day 4

2010-04-29T18:53:00.003-04:00

Watch as the bobcat flails away at the enormous tree stump for a while then runs away. Nothing more after that.

Construction, Day 3

2010-04-29T18:26:00.004-04:00

Now we're starting to get to it! The bobcat comes and digs the shit out of my yard. An enormous tree stump is uncovered. A guy takes a few measurements.

Construction, Day 2

2010-04-29T18:05:00.004-04:00

I change the angle of the camera. The AC unit gets moved.

Construction, Day One

2010-04-29T17:54:00.004-04:00

We've decided to immortalize the time-lapse movies of our construction project, which we're taking daily, on the ol' blog site, since nothing else has happened here in some time.

In case you're interested, I'm taking one snapshot a minute, and the video is 30 FPS. That means that in an hour, I get 60 snapshots, which translates to 2 seconds of video. I run the camera for 10 hours a day, so each day will be compressed into a 20 second video.

Enjoy!

This was the first day I figured out how to get the time-lapse thing working. It didn't happen until later in the afternoon so there isn't much to see except a few guys moving a few boards out of the way.

A Doctor is in the House!

2009-11-18T13:16:00.001-05:00

I successfully defended my thesis on November 1 in Bloomington. I am now officially Dr. Wanda Yang Temko! Hallelujah!

A Rare Occurrence

2009-11-18T11:54:00.003-05:00

This week I had the pleasure of attending two musical performances, a rarity in my life since I am so often in rehearsal or performing. What a pleasure! It also has reminded me of the universality and timelessness of great music.

The first was a concert devoted to the music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, presented by Sonic Generator. I interviewed two of its core members about a year ago, and finally made it to a concert. To my delight the hall was packed. Many friends and acquaintances were in the audience, as well as a diverse group of student-aged folks. The atmosphere was casual and attentive, and especially intimate because of those folding chairs meant for very small butts.

It was a well-programmed concert drawing our attention to the French-American connection. From Varèse to Glass and Reich, we also heard a few 21st century discoveries by François Sarhan, John Zorn, and Pierre Jodlowski. My favorites were ones filled with whimsy--Pirouette , cacahouète by Sarhan, and Glass' Metamorphosis IV. They just seemed to fit my mood for the evening.

Pirouette was a brilliant interplay with the musical and verbal babbling of a sweet child, with the bass clarinet, violin, and percussion interwoven melodically as well as harmonically. At times the recording truly faded into the texture, and the resultant sound was mesmerizing as my ears worked to distinguish what was being performed live versus what was not. Cellist Brad Ritchie's stoic composure gave Glass' Metamorphosis a required seriousness, but his bike shorts wearing alter ego as one of the videoed personas aroused the largest chuckles of the evening. The new music scene can often take itself too seriously, and I was impressed with the ease of this group to engage the audience with humor without being patronizing.

Steve Reich's Pulitzer Prize winning Double Sextet (2007) proved to be the show stopper. While listening I was trying to discern in words the major differences between our three top American minimalists, John Adams, Philip Glass, and Reich. Here's what I concluded. You can always hear some rock and roll in John Adams, and he creates a brilliant textural palette that is focused on theatricality. Glass transfixes with sonority, and Reich seems to be more harmonically driven, with a rhythmic sense derived from musical theater. I could swear I heard vamping taken from a Sondheim musical in his Double Sextet. No matter how you describe it, the piece was a success, as well as the concert. Yeah for New Music in Atlanta!

Last night I saw Atlanta Opera's production of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, starring David Daniels. It was another first for me, the first Atlanta Opera production I've seen since they moved to the Cobb Energy Center. I loved it. David sang well and acted poignantly. The chorus was inspired. Conductor Harry Bicket pulled out a lithe performance from them that even contained some pseudo-Baroque vocal gestures. Amazing. The orchestra played with air and lightness and an overarching sense of line. Eighteenth-century opera in Atlanta, on a big stage. Who coulda thunk it? Not me. It's another exciting development in the music scene in Atlanta.

It has been an awesome week so far. I can't wait to see, or hear, what is next!

Miscellania

2009-10-01T00:37:00.002-04:00

I pass this along without comment:

http://whatisthefirstlaw.blogspot.com/

New Job!

2009-08-19T17:16:00.003-04:00

I have been hired as the Vocal Coach of a new chorister program at a church in Atlanta. It is a very exciting prospect for me, this whole working with kids thing. As I was going through all my schooling I assumed that college age youths were my target audience. But as I began to teach private lessons to younger and younger singers, I discovered that I loved stimulating and enriching the lives of teenagers. For me, 13 is a good age to begin honest to goodness voice lessons, at the least the ones I teach. It takes a certain level of emotional maturity and discipline to handle the ups and downs of developing a skill from a passion. Any younger than thirteen I always recommend that they try singing in a choir, a good choir.

In a good choir, led by someone who is truly knowledgeable about the voice, a child can learn most of what he or she needs to know about the basics of good singing. In order to achieve a certain depth of musical understanding one must learn the fundamentals of music. So, a choir that also emphasizes theoretical skills offers the most complete development.

I can't wait to delve into a world that has made me who I am today, a musician. At the age of six I began singing in a choir, and decades later I still love to sing and excel as a musician. This new job will teach me so much more about being a good person, teacher, and singer. I can't wait.

Catching Up

2009-06-29T14:27:00.003-04:00

The end of May and most of June were spent following musical pursuits. Ben and I flew to Lincoln, Nebraska, so that I could concertize with friend and harpsichordist, Ben C. The concert was sparsely attended, but those who were present enjoyed themselves greatly. Then, Ben C. and I flew to Toronto to attend TBSI. After two weeks of Baroque bliss, Ben and I stayed in Toronto for a few days to be just tourists. A visit to Niagara Falls was mind-blowing, and then we headed home. These amazing experiences would not have been possible if I were still employed at my last place of work. I think it was meant to be.

My First Traffic Ticket

2009-05-06T20:29:00.003-04:00

Yup, it finally happened. I was given my first speeding ticket at a speed trap set up by the police just south of the intersection of Briarcliff and Clifton. BEWARE OF SPEED TRAP! I guess they needed to fill up the coffers for this month. Can't wait to go to Traffic Court!

Another Step Forward

2009-04-03T12:00:00.004-04:00

My doctoral document is now in the hands of my committee members. One set of comments have been returned, and now I eagerly await the rest. I am on track for giving the lecture recital in early September and graduating, finally, in December. So by the end of 2009 I will have become Dr. WYT. Yeah! This academic journey had a lovely seven year detour, but I am back!

It's about time!

2009-03-20T23:49:00.005-04:00

With nothing else but three concerts in two weeks on my plate, I have finished a first draft of my doctoral document. Yes, I like to work under pressure. I'll be going to Bloomington next week to see my committee members and to help speed the approval process along. I can't believe that I will actually finish the damn doctorate. The one thing I do fear is that after next week I'll be faced with the realities of having lost a job that I loved. Emotionally I have put aside much of the grieving process because I had something important to accomplish. In about 10 days I'll be alone with my grief. As I continue to struggle with what all of this change means, I am so thankful that I get to make incredible music with people I love and respect. Thanks, ASOC, MOS, MMC, and Phil on the Hill!

My profound passion for the classical radio business continues, and maybe it's simply time that I struck out on my own. Atlanta is not a provincial town that requires its classical music to be given only in small doses and only the hits, please! With one of the greatest symphonic orchestras in the country, one of the best symphonic choirs in the world, and one of the most respected regional theatrical companies in the country, this city is artistically sophisticated. We deserve classical music that has depth and variety presented with respect and knowledge. It is patronizing to believe that Atlantans only want to hear what they've already heard before. I realize that not everyone has heard Beethoven's 9th, so we must look out for those listeners. But, I also know that people need a wide variety of music 24/7. As far as I know, Atlanta has never had an FM station devoted entirely to classical music, and that's an outrage. I think it's time for one. Don't you?

I'm Bi-Coastal

2009-02-27T08:58:00.002-05:00

So, in my brief life as a radio freelancer so far, my Chinese New Year Special was picked by a station in Boston and a station in Seattle. It's gratifying to know that my work is appreciated. Frankly, my energies are focused on writing my doctoral document (I am mostly finished, actually.), prepping for three concerts in March, and teaching, so the radio thing is on the back-burner, just for now. Even with that said I produced an interview for WABE just last week. Take a listen.

The Source

2009-02-06T08:33:00.002-05:00

In case anyone had a question about the mastermind of the current changes at my former radio station, the GM admits to being in charge in this article.

Even with the new electronic Portable People Meters reporting their first stats and transforming what we think of radio listening, this is still true. When one is trying to create a consistent sound, interruption means tune-out. A talk show in the middle of six hours of classical music creates a disturbance and not increased interest. Also, when you read the article, the GM is admitting that the Noon talk show will become a dumping ground of previously aired pieces on the news magazines. How's that for creating "a great conduit between the listener and more exposure to the Atlanta arts community?" This talk show means less arts coverage because it will seek to repeat what already has been done, and not to create more coverage. The purpose of this programming change is an obvious move to add more talk and take away more music on the station, and this article names the source.

CyberBully

2009-02-05T14:35:00.005-05:00

I was cyberbullied today. Actually, I'm fairly certain that this cyberbully attacked me on another site just a few weeks ago. It's a risk that all of us bloggers face when we put ourselves out there, but it's still sobering when it does happen.

To this blog entry, an anonymous person wrote:

At 2/05/2009 9:49 AM, Anonymous said...
Just as well; Wanda, your pretentiousness was becoming absolutely unbearable.

As a Chinese-American immigrant, I am familiar with the kind of bullying that happens in the classroom, hallways, and playgrounds of school, and I am good at fighting those tormentors. However, the faceless "anonymous" cyberbully is a whole new level of cowardliness. More than cowardliness though, this kind of cyberbully is, most of all, insecure, hiding behind anonymity to spew venom that is untrue and uninformed. Such a person is never seeking the truth or dialogue. I feel sorry for cyberbullies, actually, for they must lead "lives of quiet desperation." So much so that they must belittle others to feel grand themselves. So sad, really.

Then, there's the whole pretentiousness accusation. I have to admit that I am a music snob. However, when I say that, what I mean is that great music (in the classical and folk traditions of the world) is for everyone, despite differences in race, language, culture, wealth, etc. This belief has made me who I am, a Chinese-American girl who loves to sing Bach, Handel, Mozart, Britten, and Messiaen, and my favorite band in the whole world is Duran Duran.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary says that pretentiousness means: making usually unjustified or excessive claims (as of value or standing). On this point I have to disagree with my anonymous accuser because I have not exaggerated. The increase in audience size during Noon-3pm which occurred during my watch happened, in largest part, because of my choice of music and presentation. There was no Music Director programming my music and telling me what to say. I chose the music and wrote the words. As the only one who knew how to run the radio listening stats in my department, I also know this because I've seen the numbers and have run the analysis. I am in the trenches every day, as a musician and educator, interacting with people who listen to classical music, and I use this knowledge to inform my choices. As the person who answered listener comments for nearly seven years at my former radio station, I also know what people are thinking because they have either called or emailed me. So, no, anonymous, I am not making pretentious claims.

Atlanta deserves a full-time classical radio station that plays the great works acknowledged as canons of the repertoire, for instance, the music of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Copland, Ravel, Handel and more. However, there's so much exciting music of the 20th century that we have ignored on the radio because of its perceived discordance, and we also need to nurture these sounds on the air. At one time all music was new, and the old guard hated the new, i.e., Monteverdi's Seconda Prattica. We may call it ancient music now, but back in the beginning of the 17th century, this was revolutionary and discordant. And, there's great music being made today, right here in Atlanta. We all deserve the best classical music, and if we provide people with access to great content, young and old alike will join the community, a community that believes in the power of beauty to transform us into better human beings. How's that for pretentiousness.

Other Radio Stations

2009-02-04T15:56:00.003-05:00

As I am busily writing my doctoral document (there are now just about 10 good pages), I've been listening to WQXR online, and I love it. Beautiful announcer voices who do not try to be folksy. They are professional, conversational, and the music is top notch. Once again, proving that it is different 'cause the big boys/girls do it right. Listened to my old station in Bloomington for a while, but there were so many pregnant pauses (not sure if it was due to buffering) that I gave up after about 2 hours. Wish I stayed longer listening to WRTI, but they were in the midst of pledge. Life is fun!

An Independent at Last

2009-02-01T20:58:00.002-05:00

Friday January 30 was my last day as a seriously undervalued and underpaid employee of a place that I loved. I feel absolutely liberated, although the tears flowed quite freely as I played the soprano aria from Brahms' A German Requiem, one of my all-time favorites on my last on-air shift.

On January 19 I uploaded my Chinese New Year show on a website for independent radio producers to share their work and get paid a little for it. Here's the link for it. Three days later it was licensed by WGBH in Boston, and there's proof that it aired. See this comment:

Thank you

This was a fantastic program. I listened on WGBH in Boston and was transfixed for the whole hour. Thank God I found this copy online, or I would have gone insane. I've been listening to some of the musical pieces over and over again for the past few days. Thank you.

The next day it was licensed by KUOW, Seattle's NPR station. It's nice to have this kind of validation, which was completely lacking in my former place of work.

The Truth, please?

2009-01-14T16:22:00.006-05:00

Look at what I found on a page that was complaining about how bad pledge programming is on WABE.

From an anonymous WABE insider:

After Morning Edition goes off the air and we start broadcasting classical music, our listenership numbers go into the toilet. But, ironically, it is these loyal few listeners who support the station. And in a BIG way. Unfortunately, until people start being more vocal with their demand for more news/current affairs programming, and making sure the management realizes the money attached, things will not change. Not supporting the station is the wrong thing to do. When pledge comes up, call in and donate–but donate a SMALL amount, even if just a few dollars. Be sure to say that if your voice was heard, and there was more news (local and NPR), you would gladly give more. Believe me, if even just a handful of people do this, the highers-up will take note.

First of all, this insider is simply wrong. Radio listening habits across all formats experience a dip after 9am (which is the end of drive time) because the primary use of radio is in the car during morning and afternoon commutes. Of course this means that listening picks back up once people are commuting home in the afternoons. What I know from many years of looking at our radio ratings is that listening to classical music on WABE is on the rise. I have, in the last three plus years as host of Afternoon Classics, nearly doubled audience share from Noon-3pm, and the increase in arts coverage, thanks to my interviewing and editing skills, has been tremendous. I really hate to pat my own back, but I've simply had it with misinformation.

This is a curious quote, since our GM quoted this nearly verbatim once while talking to my boss, LR, saying that "listening goes in the toilet" at 9am. In addition, it is disheartening to know that there is someone inside this place that is spreading untruth as gospel and advocating for listeners to petition for a format change. We've been there, done that. Studies made by experts in the business concluded years ago that WABE was a healthy station, and changing the format to all news and talk could jeopardize our status. Also, the gains we have steadily made over the last few years in audience size has been due to increased listening in all hours from 5am-7pm, not due to the news programs alone.

Idiocy and betrayal make me so mad!

What my workplace could've done?

2009-01-08T14:49:00.003-05:00

In commercial media outlets throughout the nation, they are firing highly paid anchors to save money. I make $36K a year, which in no way qualifies me for the highly paid category. So, why was I fired? It certainly is not for the quality of my work on the air or off the air. It seems that non-commercial radio is following suit, except, they are eliminating the four highest paid managers (probably because on-air talent is so rarely highly paid in public radio). Read here.

It seems to me that listeners develop relationships with the voices they hear on the air, and not the behind the scenes folks. Yet, the behind the scenes folks hold themselves often in a higher place than the on-air "talent." Actually, I've always resented being called "talent" beginning with my acting days. It makes me feel as if I've been given this "talent," and not that I am good because I've worked hard to make it look and sound easy. As a singer I strive to make what I do seem easy, and that only began to sound so after years of mindful study. What my workplace could have done is to preserve and nurture the listener-host relationship, first, rather than to disrupt it. An easy way to do so would not even have involved anyone getting fired. How about a pay cut for the four highest paid people? You can decide who they are by going here, where all non-profits post their tax returns.

Still on the air

2008-12-30T17:57:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I was told on November 4 that I was being laid off. But here it is, December 30, and I am still on the air, with no end date determined. In the mean time, I have to finish my doctoral requirements by September 23, 2009, so this whole job debacle is actually a good thing. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and I am looking forward to a fresh start. Yeah for 2009!

We had a magical Christmas, full of Temko/Yang/Mickler/Barnes togetherness. There was gut-busting Chinese hot pot at my parents' on Thursday; an incredible meal at Bacchanalia on Friday night; dim-sum at Happy Valley Seafood Restaurant on Saturday; and Ben's awesomely yummy beef short ribs on Sunday. Yes, our lives revolve around food. Aren't yours?

Not quite the whole story, but it's a start

2008-11-24T09:15:00.002-05:00

While I'm trying to digest my experiences at WABE, this article has been written. Catharsis is happening.

On a much lighter note, this is so awesome. That's all I'll say for you Early Music fans out there.

Saying Good-Bye

2008-11-10T21:48:00.003-05:00

Last Friday I was told that I was being laid off from my job because they are going to combine the job I am currently doing with another co-worker's, and I am welcome to apply for the new job that will be posted in 2-3, maybe 4 weeks. This "new job" will not include hosting classical music from Noon-3pm. In fact, the machinations behind this decision are gruesome to say the least, and simply unfair. I'll be happy to give you the details privately. Just email me.

In my six-year tenure at WABE, I have produced countless interviews, created an internship program and nurtured three interns, created The Art of Song (which involves script writing and all digital production), masterminded Opera Classics, and so much more. All of this was way above and beyond my simple job description and salary, and my reward for all of this hard work: You're Fired. Not because I am incompetent, but the opposite.

I find it hard to say good-bye because I have loved this job so much, getting to touch people's lives with the beauty of classical music and hopefully helping them to love it as much as I do. Since the age of 6 I have known that I wanted to be a teacher, and my job was the perfect realization of a dream. Now the dream must change, but I'm not ready yet. I will continue to make music, but now will share it with thousands fewer people. It makes me sad. Good-byes are hard.

It has been nearly twenty-nine years

2008-11-04T11:03:00.003-05:00

since we landed in Los Angeles as new immigrants in America, and as I voted this morning I was struck by the overwhelming dominance of Republican control in the time we've lived in the United States. Of these 29 years, we've had a Democratic President for only 8 of them, and those were some of the best in the last three decades. We need to turn the tide and work toward real change. While I will always be a Hilary supporter, it's important to not let the other side dominate any longer. The corruption of American work ethic, moral character, and economic policies have brought us to this uncomfortable and unsettling state.

I still remember the pride I felt sitting in Citizenship class in high school, believing that it was my duty to understand how government worked and to participate. While much jadedness has occurred over the years, once again I want to feel more connected to the political process.

After nearly 30 years of being an American, now there are only fleeting moments when I feel like a stranger: for instance, when I meet a listener who pauses for a moment to assess the fact that I am not Caucasian, as they have pictured in their minds. It's going to be a really good thing for people all over the world and here at home to not just picture an old white guy when we talk about the President of the United States. Instead, we'll see an African American male, or even a woman (GO HIL 2012!!!). To deny that external racial differences exist is just as ignorant as being a racist. What I hope to see and feel some day is that the typical image of someone in authority is not that of a white dude, and that maybe this will happen in the next 30 years? Here's to hoping and working for it.

Serious News

2008-10-07T13:55:00.003-04:00

I've done a lot of arts interviews during my tenure at the station, so to challenge myself, I became a news reporter for this story. A few weeks later, the national editors at this public media web content management provider decided that my story was noteworthy when it came to plugging local election coverage. See this. This is old news, but I just realized that I never posted this accomplishment. So now I've done it. If I don't pat myself on the back once in a while, who will?

Pandora

2008-09-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

As I was typing in the very long post regarding the imminent death of all things disc-related (not the frisbee, tho), I was trying out Pandora Radio, which is based on the Music Genome Project. I started out with Level 42, and the damned thing spat out this list of songs, which I listened to mostly with glee the entire way (I indicate my favor or outrage with + or -, respectively):

1) Level 42 - Running in the Family (+)
2) Duran Duran - The Reflex (+)
3) Hall & Oats - Say It Isn't So (+)
4) Steve Winwood - Higher Love (-)
5) Level42 - World Machine (+)
6) Duran Duran - Rio (+)
7) Fine Young Cannibals - She Drives Me Crazy (+)
8) Kajagoogoo - Too Shy (+)
9) INXS - New Sensation (+)
10) Level 42 - Heaven in My Hands (+)
11) Billy Idol - Eyes Without a Face (+)
12) The Cars - Drive (-)
13) Duran Duran - Come Undone (+)
14) Level 42 - Good Man in a Storm (+)
15) Naked Eyes - Promises, Promises (+)
16) Genesis - Land of Confusion (-)
17) Culture Club - It's Miracle (-)
18) Thompson Twins - Doctor! Doctor! (+)
19) Howard Jones - Everlasting Love (+)
20) Men At Work - Overkill (+)
21) ABC - The Night You Murdered Love (-)
22) Genesis - In Too Deep (-)
23) Hall & Oates - One On One (+)
24) Simply Red - Sunrise (-)
25) Paul Carrack - Don't Shed A Tear (+)
26) Dan Hartman - I Can Dream About You (+)
27) The Human League - Human (-)
28) Duran Duran - The Reflex (+)
29) Simple Minds - Alive and Kicking (+)
30) Phil Collins & Phillip Bailey - Easy Lover (+)
31) Howard Jones - No One Is To Blame (+)
32) Men At Work - Who Can It Be Now (+)
33) Foreigner - Waiting for a Girl Like You (-)
34) David Bowie - Let's Dance (+)
35) Tears for Fears - Change (+)
36) Erasure - Stop (-)
37) Prince - Thieves in the Temple (+)
38) Howard Jones - Dream Into Action (+)

That's an impressive list, going from just one group I gave them. Now I want to try other groups I like to see what it comes up with, maybe even some groups I fuckin' hate, to see if it can pick lots of groups I also fuckin' hate!

Things that spin

2008-09-20T23:21:00.004-04:00

It's been a long time sine I posted anything. It's not that nothing is going on - far from it.

Well, not that far from it.

I could bore you all endlessly with posts about my frustrating working situation, but as this is a public blog I can't go into specifics without getting myself fired, a possibility which seems all too realistic in any event, regardless of my own behavior. Suffice it to say that if you come up to me and ask me about work, be prepared for a loud, voluminous tirade filled with expletives and almost certainly requiring beer either before, after, or during, more likely all three.

I could also confuse you thoroughly with detailed descriptions of my various tennis outings, and in fact this is stuff I enjoy writing about, but I also know the target audience for that particular information is, well... let's say the demographic currently resides between my chair and keyboard. I tried it once with my dear friend MM once, and her lack of response was eloquent. I will not subject the rest of you to it.

I wish I had some funny stories to tell, like the one about the remote, but I don't. It's not that funny things aren't happening. Well, actually, they aren't. Two weeks ago I received two corneal abrasions mowing the lawn, and that's not funny, nor is there any funny way to tell that story. It fucking hurt, and I'm glad it's over with. Three weeks ago I tweaked my back playing tennis and haven't been on the court since, and that's REALLY not funny, because it's frustrating the hell out of me. Two days before this happened I had one of the best hitting sessions I've had in about 3 years with my doubles partner Mike, the absolute crest of which was a 27 stroke backhand rally in which we spent about a minute crushing the ball from backhand corner to backhand corner cross-court, each trying to out-angle the other. Mike won the exchange, finally, with an absolutely gorgeous little flip that hugged the net and had so much spin that it hit the ground and shot sideways, dead left - I never had a chance. After sessions like that I really want to get out and hit more just like it. Then I hurt my back. Fucking hell.

One thing about enforced physical inactivity (and pain killers, to be totally honest), is that the brain tends to compensate. That is to say, I've been thinking more than normal, and that's actually a meaningful statement, as I tend towards the introspective, probably a little too much for my own good. Lots of notes on little pieces of paper, some short stories germinating, if only I can form a plot around some really fun ideas, etc.

But one thing that I've concluded, and this I will share now, is the following thought:

The CD/DVD is dead. Or at least, it should be.

I know, blue-ray won the format wars. Now we can all get behind this great new format and watch our videos in beautiful HD. But I'm wondering - why are we supporting any kind of mechanical-based format any more?

Let me explain.

Way back when, there were LPs. LPs were great, analog, and very specifically limited to a known degree as to how much information they'd hold (i.e. roughly 45 minutes of sound). You put the LP on a rotating platter and dropped the needle, and sound came out of the speakers based on the amplified micro-vibrations of this needle. The quality of the final result relied largely on several known factors : the quality of the needle (Moon Rock needle. Sounds like shit.); the quality of the amplifier; the quality and power of the speakers. It was a simple idea carried out with varying degrees of elegance, if the vast available array of these supporting technologies is any indication. I still have LPs, (but no turntable), and will admit that there's some undefined, nostalgiac instinct which is driving me to keep them.

Next came the digital era, with the sound further discretized into 1s and 0s, and essentially glued, again, onto a plastic disc. But still the medium of delivery relied on a mechanical device: a much smaller, much faster turntable. DVDs, both the first generation and the new blue-ray versions, are exactly the same - we just got better at making the bits we glue onto the plastic discs really, really small so we can put more and more bits on the same sized plastic disc. More bits means more data means higher fidelity sound or video, all of which is well and good.

But it's not all that good.

I can tell you for fact that the things-that-spin method of data delivery is no longer either practical or necessary. I can't recall the last CD/DVD drive I bought for a computer which lasted more than 3 years. Hell, even DVD players only last 4-5 years and then the things explode in some fashion. Most last significantly less.

This is horribly inefficient. Not to mention, it creates a lot of extra trash when people buy the $30 DVD player from Wal-Mart every 18 months, including all the packaging (box, styrofoam packing materials, unread manuals, etc), and then throw all of it away and do it again. I'd love to know the percentage of space in a typical landfill is dedicated to the dessicated remains of things-that-spin technologies.

On the other hand, a typical thumb drive (also called flash drive) holds about 8 GB these days. This is nearly identical to the amount of data you get on one dual-layered standard DVD. There are no moving parts required to access this data. The amount of packing for these drives is a fraction of what's required for LPs/CDs/DVDs. There's nothing to break. Imagine buying a thumb drive with Wall-E on it. You pop it into the slot on front of your player, and INSTANTLY your menu screen comes up. No waiting for the drive to spin up, no wondering when the thing is going to break. Neither the player nor media has any moving parts to cause any issues. Drop the thing on the floor all you want, it won't break. You can't scratch it. And storing it takes up a fraction of the space the DVD did.

Even better, this same thumb drive ALSO has the soundtrack on it. You get into your car, pop the drive into the front of your audio player, and listen to the soundtrack as you drive to work (or, if you want to, play the move audio and watch it in your head as you drive). No waiting for anything to slide in and out of any slot. No hoping the thing spits out that old Thompson Twins CD that's been stuck in there since 1994. And no mechanical parts at all, so no skipping.

But what about the new Blue Ray discs, you ask? Aren't those supposed to hold more data?

Indeed they are. A single layer blue ray disc holds about 25 GB, a dual layer 50 GB. You'll recall, the more data I can store on my media, the higher fidelity I achieve, and so the better my listening/viewing experience. As is the general rule with computers, however, the technology is advancing with harrowing speed. You can already buy 32 GB flash drives for $100, enough to hold more data than a single layer blue-ray disc. And while this is too much to spend on a DVD, there are two things I can promise you with absolute certainty:

1) This is a HUGE profit margin. These things cost probably around $5 or so to manufacture en masse no matter how much data they hold. In the same way that you can now buy an 8 GB flash drive for about $15 (which is a little cheaper than the cost of a normal DVD now), in a few months there will be higher capacity flash drives available, and the top-of-the-line drives available now will cost almost nothing.

2) These new drives are already ready to go, the manufacturers are simply waiting for the right time to hit the market with them so that they can maximize their profit margin on the current version before they make them the new old version.

So, the technology exists to make this a reality already. It's nothing more than mule-headedness which keeps us using these idiotic things-that-spin.

However there's even more benefit to solid state media - it can be re-written infinitely. So what, you ask, who cares? Well, if you get tired of the Rocky collection, you can simply buy the Rambo collection and replace the old Rocky movies on the same media. You waste nothing (except the time and brain cells you killed trying to re-enact the wrestling scene between Balboa and Thunderlips from Rocky III), and don't have to be embarrassed while trying to dump your old collection on Craig's List.

But, even better, take the following scenario:

You have an old media style which is permanent. Suddenly, a new technology is available which allows you to store more data on a different kind of media. Now, suddenly, your huge library of old-media entertainment is obsolete. You'll have to buy a new player and host of new media to get the advantages of the new technology. Your old media and player becomes landfill fodder, and you spend tons more money you didn't want to to own something you already own.

Now let's pretend you have re-writable solid state media.

You have a huge collection of 20 GB media iGimmicks (tm). Some of them hold a movie and its soundtrack, others hold a few different versions of your favorite musical. You plug them into your player, which checks out the contents and brings up the appropriate interface for allowing you to experience your data.

Suddenly, it is announced : new compression scheme available, higher fidelity, better sound, available now!

Worst case, you don't have an internet connection. You take your media and iGimmick player to your local iGimmick retailer (you were going to have to go to the store anyway to buy the new player and media, so this isn't actually imposing additionally on you at all). Hand them your player and box full of iGimmicks. One by one, your iGimmicks are plugged into the upgrader. The upgrader looks at the media, sees what you have, and converts or upgrades, as needed. You now have the newest version of your stuff, same media, no garbage generated. While all this is happening, they also install the new version of the player software on your iGimmick player (for the record, called iSprocket). It may be that your storage capacity, in some cases, isn't enough to hold the newest version of the item in question (you are obsessed with Cats, alas, and have every version ever produced on one of your iGimmicks). No problem. You can upgrade that particular iGimmick to the new higher-capacity version, and continue to use the old one for something else. Would you like to check our stock of available media which will fit on that model of iGimmick? We have a lovely selection of Equus home videos...

Or, if you're like us and have high-speed internet in your house, all of this can be done without you even having to leave the house. Your iSprocket is internet ready, and can tell you when new versions are available. It downloads and installs the new player software automatically, and lets you convert your media as you sit there in your own home. Those iGimmicks which can't be converted, take them to the iGimmick store, they'll hook you up.

This scheme works for more than just movies and music. Any data can be handled this way. Software (new version of GTA, anyone?), books (Robert Jordan series coming right up!), you name it. iGimmick can handle it, with all the same advantages.

So let's review.

Solid-state media (thumb drives, and other similar technologies which have no moving parts) is cheap to produce, cheap to buy, generates less waste from packaging, doesn't break under normal circumstances (you still shouldn't put it in the microwave), does entirely away with player-based mechanical failure and hence decreases waste further by not clogging landfills with old broken players, takes up a fraction of the space of traditional disc-based media, is almost infinitely upgradeable without wasting media or delivery systems, and can be implemented immediately with existing technologies.

What the hell are we waiting for?

Change is Good?

2008-09-16T12:34:00.002-04:00

With autumn just around the corner and the night air getting a bit of a chill, I've decided that some change is good, and some just have to be endured. I'm actually speaking very specifically about our Cannon for Music, BN, who left us to go to the great St. John the Divine in NYC. This past Sunday I realized something very important: that I truly missed him. Having had serious intimate knowledge about the grieving process, for his departure I was pretty determined to stay detached. I saw him but a few times in the last two months of his tenure with us due to trips to London, Berlin, and Charleston, and I even missed his final going away party. Saying goodbye to him wasn't going to be easy, so I avoided it altogether.

He is a very good man who led us into musical territories that were exciting, challenging, and rewarding. Now that we are on the search for his replacement, it makes his absence that much harder to bear. As with any good and intimate relationship, it wasn't without its fair share of ups and downs, but in the last 7 years I know that my life and musical life have been enriched by having him in it. I enjoyed a level of musical freedom, expression, and fulfillment that I hope can be continued in the years to come. Maybe I should cross all fingers and toes????

Yikes!

2008-09-02T16:35:00.002-04:00

When we last updated you about our adoption efforts, we were rather despondent about the exponentially expanding wait time, even for expedited families. Uh...earlier today our adoption agency sent this (no, we are clearly not one of the lucky families):

This month the CCAA included four referrals for expedited families. They were all girls. These families were LID in January 2007 (The last expedited referrals involved LID [Log-in-date] of January 2006, and that was a couple of months ago.).

The CCAA continues to hold to their policy that the referral time frame for expedited families will be about 2 to 3 months less than the standard referral time frame (and currently, regular referrals are taking about 30 months, so this little form letter isn't exactly correct. But I'm not complaining, I'm panicking!!!). This time frame may lengthen in the future as the standard referral time frame also lengthens. Currently the referral time frame for expedited families is 18 months.

Can this really be true? Are there so few Chinese-American couples adopting from China that we could be fast-tracked by this much? Oh, we are sooooo not ready. I've gotta finish my damn D.M.!!!!!!

Why I'm not for BO as President...

2008-08-04T17:29:00.002-04:00

Hmmmm, political animal anyone? "I told you so" sounds about right. See this.

Berlin 2008...the rest of the story.

2008-07-27T15:45:00.002-04:00

I just finished what Ben began more than 2 months ago. To see it, click here.

Adoption Update : Officiality; et. al.

2008-05-23T23:24:00.005-04:00

I apologize for :

a) not keeping up with the Berlin posts in real-time, as we had intended. I blame Dunkel.
b) interrupting the upkeep of Berlin posts, as it destroys continuity, but this is important news:

Today we received word of our official login date (LID)! It was:

April 29, 2008.

This is the day we officially hit the books in China. We're in the system now, and all we can do is cross our fingers and wait. In the meantime, we're going to try to remember what happened the other 2 days in Berlin and post them.

But not now.

Right now we're in Charleston, SC, gearing up for Wanda's performance with the New Trinity Baroque ensemble during Piccolo Spoletto. She's giving two concerts, one on Sunday at 3 PM and one on Monday at 3 PM. If you're in the area, drop by! I got to listen to her practice on the way down to Charleston from Atlanta, and I can tell you, it's going to be a stupendous experience!

the rest of the story...Berlin, two and 1/2 months later...

2008-05-17T11:14:00.007-04:00

I had to remove this posting. Send me an e-mail and I'll explain why!

A Magical Day

2008-05-17T10:37:00.003-04:00

It's corny sounding, but it's true. We had a good breakfast and went in a herd of 10 or so friends to the Berlin Zoo, located a 10 minute walk from our hotel. I think I've always loved zoos, and the Berlin zoo is just beautiful. We spent the better part of the morning and early afternoon there, after which we went to visit the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche, which we actually saw on our first trip to Berlin in 2003, but it made such a powerful impression on us that we had to go back again. It's just as beautiful now as it was then.

From there to capitalistic KaDeWe, shopping Mecca and standard for all things West before (and even after) the Wall came down. We had a lovely lunch on the top level cafeteria, and then straggled back to the hotel to decompress a bit before our opening night concert.

The concert went extremely well. The most difficult thing we've experienced so far in translating our experience with the piece in Atlanta to the new environments (acoustical, positional, orchestral, etc.al) here in Berlin has been getting a group of 200 people to relax into the flow of the music-making going on between our conductor Donald Runnicles (whom we all adore most fervently) and the Berlin Phil (a staggering group of musicians who have welcomed us with open arms twice now), which means not clutching so tightly to the motion of the stick and listening to the interpretation being delivered in real time, and adjusting our own sense of timing and rhythmic precision into that context. In each rehearsal we've learned a little bit more about how to do it, and this was our best effort yet. This isn't to say there weren't issues (the hall is so bright and warm and lively, which is wonderful for us, but it also exposes us to a degree to which we are not accustomed), such as a bit of seam pulling during the rollicking Lacrymosa, or some random intonation lapses (I believe due mostly to fatigue, vocally and otherwise).

In all, however, the energy and expressiveness of the conductor and the intimate responsiveness of the orchestra serves to guide and inspire us to commit to the fullest extent our passion for delivering our own brand of perfection. We are the best chorus in the world, singing with the best orchestra in the world, in one of the best acoustics in the world. What's not to love? And for the most part, we delivered. We sang the demonically difficult a-capella "Quarens Me" movement to perfection. We shook the heavens during the "Dies Irae". The tenor was brilliant during the Sanctus, and our women sang like angels backing him up. When all was said and done, the audience rained applause down on us, and broke into a bedlam of cheering when we stood for our bows. Three times we stood, and each time the cheers were louder. For us, the amateur chorus, there is no other, better payment we could possibly receive. We can be better, however, and we will get better as we settle in even more to the task. I look greatly forward to the next few nights.

The best thing of all is that you can listen to our Saturday night concert live on the web! It starts at 8 PM local time (2 PM EDT). The information (in German) is here:

http://www.kulturradio.de/_/beitrag_jsp/key=1431556.html

I think you listen to the stream here:

http://www.kulturradio.de/_/beitrag_jsp/key=1209227.html

Significant Improvements

2008-05-15T02:51:00.003-04:00

Two nights ago found us sitting outside of a nice little Indian restaurant located about 6 blocks from our hotel with a horde of friends, sipping Dunkels (or Pils, or Weiss, as our specific needs dictated) and enjoying some really wonderful food. I, of course, ate Butter Chicken, and it was creamy and savory, everything it was supposed to be. Wanda had Palak Paneer, which was about as good as we've ever had it anywhere. Throw in several varied appetizers and some extremely good company, and it made for a great evening. On the way back we stopped in at what is sure to become our Home Pub for the trip, Ambrosius (located directly across the street from the hotel) for a few more biers and a little bit more nosh, just because.

At some point we will have to document the woman strutting around the corner outside Ambrosius. While jaywalking might be a serious offense in Berlin, apparently prostitution is not. At some point during the evening the entire length of EinenStrasse becomes populated with, at a rate of one about every few hundred feet or so, well... "women of unsavory character". They are wearing the most spectacularly slutty outfits, and they walk around in the middle of their chosen intersection waiting for passers-by possessing specific characteristics, the two most primary being that they are horny, and that they have money. For what I'm certain is a reasonable fee, these women will hop in their cars (parked at their chosen intersection) and follow you to a destination of your choosing for er... well, let's not elucidate. "Our Ho", as we have come to call her, wears a titanium blonde wig, leggings-with-built-in-thong, and regularly changes tops, if the one she's wearing doesn't seem to be doing the trick for her.

So I've spent more time documenting the ho than the rest of the trip. We continue.

Yesterday morning I woke up like a shot at 5:30. There was no possible way I was going back to sleep, so I put on my workout clothes and went for a run. The unusualness of this event is mitigated somewhat by the fact that I was probably still jetlagged - I do not think it will become a habit (gods, I hope not!). By the time I got back, Wanda was stirring, so I got clean and we made our way downstairs to breakfast. For some reason we thought that the bus to rehearsal was leaving at 8:45, but after a schedule check we discovered it was leaving at 8:30. This caused a frantic readjustment of priorities, as Wanda threw a shower on (and off again just as quickly), and we bolted downstairs, just making the bus.

The morning rehearsal was a scratchy affair. We were not, as an ensemble, in particularly good voice (I'm sure this had nothing whatsoever to do with vast quantities of spirits imbibed the evening prior by the Chorus Corpus), and being tired and of low energy is death on this piece (any piece, really, but the Berlioz Requiem in particular requires an enormous and sustained outpouring of energy). We managed to stumble through, knowing that the afternoon's dress would be the proof of the pudding, and fled the premises for lunch.

It was at this point that I hit the wall. The lack of sleep combined with the early morning workout combined with the energy expended just to stay alive during the rehearsal pretty much did me in. I mostly slept-walked through lunch (at a Bier Garden in PostDamer Platz), staggered around a bit with Wanda afterwards and then caught a quick cat-nap in the Philharmonie before our afternoon dress rehearsal.

The rehearsal went well enough that I hold out hope for us uncorking a big performance tonight. We still have a few rough spots to conquer, but we had a major improvement over the mess we made in the morning, and we improve as much again tonight we'll be in fine shape. We closed the evening with dinner at some other BierGarden next to AlexanderPlatz. I ate something called a "fried pig's knuckle", but if that hunk of meat was the knuckle from a german pig, then it had the biggest hands of any pig I ever saw. It reminded me of the huge turkey legs you can at a Ren Fair. This was the George Foreman of pigs. We invited, and were joined by, the tenor soloist for our performances, a delightful young man named Joe. He fit right in with our cast of characters, and everyone had a great time. I turned in at 11, to ensure a good night's sleep for today's activities, which I will relate tomorrow.

You can see pics of everything here:

http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=675111792

We'll just keep adding to this set of pictures as we go, so check back for udpates!

I'm starting to get really nervous and excited now, just 20 minutes before we get on the bus to head to the Philharmonie. Will we stink it up or will we dominate? Will we meet our own silly-high standard set in 2003, or will they say "Not as good as they were before"?

We'll know soon.

1st Rehearsal

2008-05-13T13:16:00.003-04:00

We just got back to the hotel after our first rehearsal with the Berlin Phil @ the Philharmonie. They are every bit as good as I remember them, and we were nothing like as good as we are capable of being, with lots of sloppiness with entrances and cutoffs. We adapted very quickly to A443, however, and our pitch was very good throughout. We know where we need to improve, and we will.

We got up this morning at 9:15, reluctantly, and made our way down to breakfast. They've a terrific breakfast buffet at the hotel (which normally costs 17 euro, but which is included as part of our tour), which we did our best to demolish. Cold cerals, eggs, bacon, ham, sausages, lots of fruit and juices, everything a growing boy (and girl) needs. Afterwards we hopped on the U Bahn and made our way over to the Berliner Dome. This is the second time we've attempted to visit said Dome. The first time was back in 2003, and it was pissing down rain and really far too cold to be out, so we satisfied ourselves with taking a picture of it from about half a mile away, then bravely turned our tails and fled.

This year we got all the way inside, only we were extremely pressed for time (being as we woke up and ate so leisurely), so we were intending on just zipping in, getting some pictures, and zipping back out again. Only, it turns out, there's a 5 euro charge to get in now, so instead of paying 5 euro for 5 minutes we turned tail and fled again, vowing to extract our revenge later. We have a weekly U Bahn pass, so I feel certain we will make good on this threat. Note to future Berlin travellers - you cannot pay for your 7-day U Bahn pass with a visa or amex. They only take mastercards or cash.

We're now headed out to dinner, and probably a few Biers. We can't go too hot and heavy tonight, since we've an early rehearsal tomorrow and we'll need to fortify heavily first at the breakfast buffet. We'll post pics from today afterwards.

Berlin 2008

2008-05-12T13:45:00.003-04:00

Our flight from Atlanta to Frankfurt was a bumpy one, with 10 thousand PA interruptions from the flight attendants, but we landed on time. However, 17 pieces of ASOC luggage did not arrive in Berlin, including my suitcase. Luckily, it was found and 6 hours later arrived at Hotel Berlin. Ben and I walked around a lot and scoped out things we'll do later in the week. Now we are just trying to stay awake long enough to get over jet lag tomorrow. To see photos: click here.

I don't know why, but...

2008-04-29T01:15:00.000-04:00

This makes me laugh every single time I see it.

Adoption Update : High Road to China (with apologies to Douglas Adams)

2008-04-25T21:22:00.003-04:00

Today we received word from Great Wall that all of our paperwork has been finalized, certified, blessed, signed in triplicate, sent in, sent back, queried, lost, found, subjected to public inquiry, lost again, and finally buried in soft peat for three months and recycled as fire lighters.

It is now on its way to China and will arrive Monday, at which point someone will walk it over to the CCCA and we will receive our official login date. This is a big day - it's the moment at which our wait officially (as far as the Chinese are concerned) begins. We will not find out what day this is for around a month, as they get a crapload of these these things in on a regular basis, and it can take a while for them to get around to sending us official word, but that's OK. The big thing is that next week we're in the hands of the people that matter most.

There's more stuff to come as we transition from the paperwork phase to prepping for our trip phase, and we'll get into all of that as it becomes appropriate. For now we're basking in the relief that the only thing standing between us and the baby(ies) we've so desperately wanted for so very long is time.

I Hate Yello Yushrooms

2008-04-24T00:15:00.002-04:00

We just left this eatery no less than 5 minutes ago, and forgot our leftover box of pizza. When we went back to ask for it, they claimed to know nothing about such a box. I say, "they suck, and you must all boycott Yellow Yushrooms!" They suck. Do not go there, for your own safety. Join me in the fight against unfair pizzary.

As the World Turns

2008-04-23T00:20:00.001-04:00

Happy 14th Wedding Anniversary, my love!

(ha ha, I win!)

P.S. The traditional 14th wedding anniversary gift is ivory! No way am I getting her ivory, that's just wrong! No gift for you this year sweetie, sorry!

Adoption update : An ending, and a beginning

2008-04-08T23:51:00.002-04:00

It's the one you've all been waiting for!

ALL PAPERWORK IS COMPLETED

At the end of last week we finally received our long-awaited I797 form from the government with a status of APPROVED! Since we were due to leave for New York the next day, we didn't have a chance to make the notarized copy of this document required for our last batch of paperwork, and so it had to wait until our (well, my) return from NYC.

Today, I sent the last fedex package I shall have to send to the Great Wall China Adoption Agency for this batch of kid(s). There's literally nothing left to do for us but wait for them to send us pictures of our desperately longed-for baby (or, for which it is fervently to be hoped, babies), and then to go get them.

And now, we wait.

How long? Anywhere from 5 months (wildly optimistic and rare) to 2 years (wildly pessimistic, but certainly possible). I'd get on a plane tomorrow if I thought it would help, but I think we're lucky in that we need some time to prepare the room we've been calling "The Baby's Room" since we moved into this house, and we're likely to get it. Not too much time, I hope. Time's a wasting.

Say it with me : WHEW!!!!

Dear Anonymous Coward:

2008-03-13T13:11:00.003-04:00

Wow, this person just posted this very ugly response to our Paris, Day 1 blog entry.

how about wearing something appropriate to jules verne, (even for lunch)gentlman should have a jacket and lady should NOT be wearing jeans. and take that gay earing out man. this is why the rest of the world hates us americans. you have no class! read the dress code before you go someplace.

First of all, this person is a coward, calling us names and then not signing its name. Second, it wrote all in lower case, certainly a tell-tale sign of its lack of attention to detail and class. Third, the wonderful thing about the Jules Verne (in which I'm sure he has never dined, and made this comment because of extreme jealousy) is that they were kind to us even though we were jet-lagged and dressed casually. They did not act like snobs and deny us service. We were made to feel as welcome as the French family all dressed in jeans and casual attire and the business folks having a leisurely meal. This person who wrote the heinous comment is the one without class, and if you know it (or him/her), please slap it for me. COWARD, give me your name and place of origin so that I may respond to you with a clear visual in mind. Right now, my visual of you is a really good one. Anyone else have a visual of this loser?

Still Laughing

2008-03-02T10:36:00.002-05:00

I've recently become aware of a show called Robot Chicken, brainchild of Seth Green. It's difficult to describe, but think Laugh-In performed by stop-motion animation. Sometimes it's silly, sometimes it's hysterical beyond belief. Each episode only runs about 15 minutes or so, and my favorite so far is the one during which Steven Tyler gets sent into space on an Armageddon-like mission, but can't stop throwing up all over everything, including the inside of his space-suit's visor.

So, there's a Robot Chicken homage to Star Wars. It contains a scene many of you have probably already seen before, wherein Darth Vader is calling the Emperor (collect) to tell him about the death star's destruction, while the Emperor is meeting with two members of the trade confederation which started all the trouble with Naboo. There is so much more, but I don't want to spoil it for you.

Please, I beg of you, if you love Star Wars at all, you must watch it:

http://www.adultswim.com/shows/robotchicken/stuff/rcsw/ivcp/

PS - still waiting to get the results from our I600-A (typed that first as "I666-a")...

A Brief Rant

2008-02-19T21:27:00.003-05:00

I'm at a conference, and just made the connection that a certain host on a semi-competitive station in my city was wooed by WNYC to host their evening program for the reasons that I hated listening to him: casual, non-traditional. Long story made short, WNYC wants to redefine classical music by playing live Bjork and Rufus Wainright concerts during evening "classical hours." People, when you are trying to lure young people to classical music by pandering, it will not build an audience for classical music. You are building an audience for eclecticism, which we already have. I love listening to my 80s New Wave satellite station one minute followed by a CD of another genre, and then turning back to classical. I don't need my classical station to program eclecticism for me. Maybe I just made the wrong assumption about the session given today by WNYC called "Turning News Listeners into Music Listeners." I thought it was going to talk about classical music audience growth. It did not. The session offered some ideas that could be implemented even by my station, but, mostly I just didn't buy it as the way of the future. I know I'm being rather vague, but rants do tend to be irrational.

In short, while I am for the Southeastern Festival of Song incorporating Springsteen songs in their concerts, I am not for airing Bjork on a classical station. I featured Rammstein on an Art of Song show, but will never air Duran Duran on Afternoon Classics, no matter how much I think D2 and Bach rock. While I will giggle with my interview guests, I will not giggle during Afternoon Classics. When we try to bill eclecticism as classical music, we are shortchanging the latter. When we artificially make connections between pop music and classical music, we are setting up new barriers. If WNYC wanted to be really revolutionary, show how Messiaen influenced Bjork by playing the Turangalila Symphony, and not just talk about Messiaen, play a little bit of Messiaen, and then play an entire live concert by Bjork. If you want to do something really radical, play classical music. Enough is enough. Stop the pandering. Just as free concerts develop an audience who expect concerts for free, eclecticism will not build a new audience for classical music.

Web Cameraderie

2008-02-16T12:10:00.002-05:00

Wanda and I have entered the murky domain of Skype users. It's one of those things which turn out to be much more useful and entertaining than we ever thought possible, sort of like the DVR for the TV. I would never, ever have chosen a DVR, but it came with the HDTV receiver from the cable company, so we started using it. Now we can't live without it. Hate watching live TV. Can't do it. Wouldn't be prudent.

Turns out, I really like video chatting with my family. It makes me happy to be able to see them when I'm talking to them. I don't get to see them physically often, and so this really is the next best thing, way better than a normal telephone call. The potential future uses are many, what with kids looming on the horizon (still no word back from the gov't regarding out I600-A - we'll update when that's resolved, I promise) and all. And, with Wanda due to take several trips without me this Spring, it will help us to stay connected (we got her a spiffy new little webcam for her laptop that's WAY better than the one that's attached to my desktop). We really need each other for our end-of-working-day post-mortem, and this will help make it seem not quite so far away.

Stealing from my friend Meeeeeeeegan

2008-02-14T13:32:00.002-05:00

She's right, this is a fun little quiz, so I'm posting my results here. Everyone play along!

You Are an Orange Rose

You represent desire and enthusiasm

Your vibe: Sexy yet familiar

Falling in love with you: happens instantly - it's a fast ride

What Color Rose Are You?

Truth in Advertising

2008-02-03T23:58:00.000-05:00

Here's a look at a section of screen from my most recent "My Yahoo" page load:

Yep, I'm pretty sure that about sums it up.

Adoption Update : Cheese-It, The Feds!

2008-01-26T19:14:00.000-05:00

Today we got fingerprinted as part of the requirements for the I600-A application which we wrote about earlier. The worst part of the experience was glancing up at the board to see "Now serving : 152" and getting handed number 221. Other than that, it was actually fairly painless. The staff were all courteous and very helpful, even going so far as to fix Wanda's name in the system, as we were told they would when we called ahead to double-check our reservation (yes, a fingerprinting reservation).

The coolest part was the fact that fingerprinting has gone high-tech. They essentially scan your fingers, sort of a high-brow equivalent of putting your ass on the scanner and photo-copying it, only done by people with no senses of humor whatsoever (and you'd have to have the world's smallest ass to scan it on these things - they were 4 inches by 3 inches square). They still roll your finger across the pad, just like you see in all the movies, but instead of messy ink all over the place, you get to watch it scan in on a beautiful (and very hygienic) high-res monitor (hygienic-res?). I have a scar on my ring finger (from what I do not know) that looked incredibly cool when scanned in on this system. Far more fascinating than it should have been.

So, now we really have to behave ourselves, because the feds are only a strand of hair away from knowing everything about us that's possible to know. Probably they collect those surreptitiously as you go in the door.

Also, last night as I tried to fall asleep after having had too much caffeine (we've been off caffeine a long time now, so any amount of it really does a number on me) I started looking at Kiva. I do believe I will be making some micro-loans in my near future - the concept is entirely too brilliant and humanity-serving for me to pass up. When I do this I will post here with updates as to my new status as banker-baron.

Studio Re-do 2008

2008-01-15T09:42:00.000-05:00

We started on Friday, January 11 at 6:08pm, working for eight hours that first day, and now have a pretty darn cool studio with room to grow. It's all part of our plan to have the house ready to receive, hopefully, two bundles of joy in a year's time. The next room to undergo change is the baby's room, and that will be easier now that our studio has more storage and logic. Wish I had captured the beforeness, but for those of you who have seen our office/studio previously, I think you'll agree that this is a vast improvement. To see the photos, click here. Please note that you DO NOT have to join Facebook to see the photos. It just manages the pictures well.

Adoption Update : Major Milestone #2

2008-01-08T23:02:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend we sent in major mailing #2 of 3, this one to the USCIS, and consisting of the I600-A application and a crapload of ancillary paperwork which will, it is fervently to be hoped, result in our obtaining the all-important I-171H form, which we will then send away in Major Mailing #3 to our China Adoption Agency, past which there is nothing to be done but the waiting. It was an odd experience dropping that package off at the fedex drop location - I was extremely reluctant to hand it to the very nice lady at the counter! I had to check and recheck the contents, the signatures, the cover letter, even though I had checked and re-checked all of it at the house ten times already (not an exaggeration). I was terrified that we'd done something wrong somehow, even though the paperwork is fairly straightforward, and our Adoption Assistant with Great Wall looked over everything and told us it looked great. I wonder what the hell that was all about?

The good news is that we're pretty much all set for Major Mailing #3, so as soon as we get that I-171H form back we can turn it back around almost immediately. It seems almost impossible that we've come so far after so many hurdles, but the end of the chase is in sight! For now we can take a break from worrying about it, as there's not a damn thing we can do any more - one less thing to worry about.

For the time being we are going to replace that energy focus with an almost complete makeover of our studio. I say almost complete because we're not going to repaint or anything - but we have another desk and are going to shelve-ize the hell out of it so that there's much more desk space for everyone, and enough shelf space for everything we need to put in this room. One thing living in Bloomington taught us, it's how to make small spaces work to their maximum capacity. We've been getting by in this studio space for a while - now we're going to really make it a nice place to work.

A New Look

2007-12-18T00:14:00.001-05:00

Tonight there was a caricature artist at the WABE holiday party.

How much do we love this? A really whole lot!

Facebook Plagarism

2007-12-15T08:49:00.000-05:00

I stole this from our friend Ted's Facebook site. Couldn't resist. I'm sure you'll understand.

A Tentative Offering

2007-11-25T01:34:00.001-05:00

I found this little ditty a few hours ago in a long-lost writing folder, and I liked it so much I tweaked it a bit and now I'm going to foist it off on you. One thing - I have alternately seen "Dipsophobia" defined as "fear of drinking" and "fear of drinking alcohol". If it's the former, it's a good title. If it's the latter, not so much...

Comments welcome!

Dipsophobia

Lizzy was a normal little girl in most ways. She had a cute little haircut, wore cute little shoes, said cute little things. You’d never know to look at her she lived in mortal fear since that day at the park. That was the day they had started taking her big brother away. Oh, he came back, sure – but he didn’t smile as much any more, and he seemed somehow more serious, less willing to talk to Lizzie than before. Lizzie was sure it had something to do with that fountain, and she was terrified of going near it.

“Look how tall he’s gotten!” mom had exclaimed, watching her son drink, unassisted for the first time in his life, out of the tall, green, bird bath shaped faucet which stuck out of the ground by the hotdog stand. The Summer had been going on forever, and while the heat was crushing it also was comfortable in a way, completely surrounding you with its presence, making you feel drowsy and safe. Lizzie loved Summer. She also loved her brother – he was her own personal sun. Until the fountain did something, and mom took him away.

She was only a year younger than he was, that’s what mom said. Lizzie didn’t know what that meant and she didn’t care. Every morning when her brother was leaving she opened her closet door and checked her height against the mark she had made (with her yellow crayon, of course) which was her idea of how tall her brother was on that day. She had almost forgotten about it over the Summer, since her brother was back and was almost back to normal again. Maybe he was cured.

Summer was ending, however, and when Lizzy opened her closet door she noticed that the mark was a lot lower than it used to be. She knew she hadn’t changed it, and ran screaming into the bathroom where she locked herself in and wouldn’t come out until her brother promised he would help her to make mud pies, which was her favorite thing to do. By the time she remembered she’d have to go to the park to do it, it was too late. She had already been coaxed into the car.

They pulled into the lot, and when daddy opened the door the heat leapt in and grabbed her, feeling like a bully today instead of a friend. Lizzy bolted for the sand pile, as if she could outrun all of the water faucets ever made, but her brother beat her there easily. A sure sign he had changed – he used to let her win. She refused to look over at the hotdog stand, however. Whatever else awaited her, first there were mud pies to be made.

Adoption Update : Major Milestone!!

2007-11-19T16:55:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I raised my voice on the ol' blog here, I realize. It seems as though I've been in the middle of one long stretch of living too much to have time to write anything about it. Well, that changes today.

Lots of you have been patiently waiting and asking what-the-fuck-is-up with our adoption status. Today we sent off the first of two massive FedEx packages to Great Wall Adoption containing a really ridiculous bulk of paperwork which we have painstakingly collected over the past few months. We have one more of these mailings to go, and then we're done with everything but the waiting.

The really good news (as if that wasn't good enough) is that the stuff we need for the second mailing is already done, pending the finalization of our home study, for which we've just completed our last mandatory social worker visit! Once we finalize the home study, we send that entire mess off to the U.S. Government for its blessing, and once we get it back we send our second huge mailing off to Great Wall.

The number of hoops, ladders, roadblocks, hazards, and general government fuckery we've had to jump though, climb up, navigate around or beat to a bloody pulp with our fists has been utterly, comprehensively mind-boggling, but it's DONE. We are THIS CLOSE to being done with everything but the wait. And MAN do we look forward to it! We were getting seriously tired of the guilt that would hit us during a day when we didn't have time to chase down that piece of paperwork, or call some government official to bug them about the status of our request for information. The last few forms are just for us to fill out and mail to people. We'll be getting that done as we wait for the return of our documents from the government, so that when they get here, we turn them right back around to Great Wall.

So raise a glass everyone, the hardest part is done! Done done done done done DONE MOTHERFUCKING DONE!!!

Success at Immigration!

2007-11-07T11:40:00.000-05:00

As per my post from October 2, I have been waiting for Officer Griffin to call me when my "dead" immigration file has been resurrected. Well, surprise, surprise, I have heard nothing from her or anyone else at immigration since that wonderful day. So, this morning I took the bull by the horn and made another appointment to wait for 90 minutes to have my 5 minutes at the counter. Amazingly, I waited only 25 minutes this time around, and when I walked up to the counter, Officer Gilmore seemed much more sympathetic than his cohort. At first he said that they don't do that at this office (meaning that they do not possess the G-24, Certification of Documents, which must accompany a copy of my Naturalization Certificate in order for it to a Certified True Copy). Well, I gently insisted that Officer Griffin was in possession of one of these forms when I last was at the facility on October 2, and that she has not contacted me regarding my status since then. I also did not waste time in turning on the pathetic and pleading persona that I can feign when need be. I was ready to cry, if necessary. C'mon acting chops, go! My new strategy worked, for Officer Gilmore returned after about 15 minutes with the G-24 all ready to go. We are even closer now. Hooray for Officer Gilmore and HOORAY IN GENERAL!!!!!

We're Soooooooo Close

2007-11-06T15:11:00.000-05:00

Finally, I think I have an employment letter that will suffice for our China Dossier!!!! It is only the fourth version I've obtained since January of this year. We began the year way gung-ho, and then we took a big ol' break for the majority of the year. We have been in super-completion mode for the last 6 weeks or so, and this was an important step for us. The first letter was no longer good because we let it lapse more than 6 months. Then, then second one was not notarized, so I had to ask for a third. The third was no good because the notary commission expired today. However, miracle of miracles, we have a second notary public in the building, so I was able to have her sign off on the fourth and hopefully last employment letter. I'm gonna fight with Immigration again tomorrow morning. Wish me luck!!!!!

Putting it out there

2007-10-20T11:12:00.000-04:00

After a long rehearsal last Monday night we went out for some beer with friends, and we actually had a fairly heated political discussion during which two friends felt that most Americans were doing well and happy with their lot. The other three of us were not in agreement, and I read this on NY Times this morning that certainly helped to substantiate our point. Even those who don't "know it" can certainly feel it.

In Judith Warner's blog, she wrote,"based on a new set of data from the I.R.S...It showed that America’s most wealthy earn an even greater share of the nation’s income than they did in 2000, at the peak of the tech boom. The wealthiest 1 percent of Americans, the Wall Street Journal reported, earned 21.2 percent of all income in 2005 (the latest date for which these data are available), up from the high of 20.8 percent they’d reached in the bull market of 2000. The bottom 50 percent of people earned 12.8 percent of all income, compared with 13 percent in 2000. And the median tax filer’s income fell 2 percent when adjusted for inflation (to about $31,000) between 2000 and 2005."

Boy, that gave me another dose of reality as I realized that I make just pittance above the median income in the United States. I, with a B.A., and M. Mus., and someday a D. Mus, am barely doing better than the median income. By the way, I make less than 40% of my boss' income. That sucks. No wonder people are discontented, even if they don't know it yet. Judith Warner wrote about the media's inability to perceive the state of Americans' discontent as a factor in mis-predicting the presidential potential of Hilary Clinton. The media has abandoned the fast disappearing middle class and our needs; therefore, they could not foresee Hilary's popularity among the vast majority of Americans. It's Saturday, so my thoughts go no deeper.

USCIS Sucks!

2007-10-02T13:25:00.000-04:00

What is this USCIS, you ask? Well, it is U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and I had a run-in at the local office today as I tried...yes, tried...to obtain a Certified True Copy of my Certificate of Citizenship. Since it is illegal to photocopy this certificate, I had to make an online appointment to ask for a G24 in person. The G24 certifies the copy of the certificate so that it is legal and can be authenticated. Apparently, on my certificate, it states that my name is "Wei na Yang aka Wanda Wei na Yang," which differs from what they have on the computer system. They only have "Wei na Yang" in the system, so this "Wanda Wei na Yang" is not legal. Hello, isn't this what the aka stands for? The original CIS officer had no problem with me signing as "Wanda Wei Na Yang," so why should Officer Griffin be any different? Hello, I can has phonics? This caused so much confusion for the local office that they are requesting my "dead" file from the bowels of Immigration vaults somewhere in order to verify that it's okay for me to be also known as "Wanda." This verification isn't even required on the G24 because the inventors of this form understood (at one time) that when an immigrant first comes to this country, most likely the name will be the anglicized form of their original name, and that once naturalized, they may also be known as something else. I proved that I am the person on the certificate with no less than 2 forms of photo identification, so all they had to do was fill out the G24 and send me on my way. Instead, when I asked if I could have a time frame for when my file may come in because of adoption paperwork's time-sensitivity, I was stonewalled with at least five minutes of "I don't know," "I can't tell you," and "I can't." After a subsequent conversation with another asswholery "Officer Dean," I have determined that the local offices never see the actual Certificates, so they panic when it becomes clear that the script they usually follow will not suffice. Not only that, Officer Dean asked me how long my certificate had been lost, and when I told her that I have the actual certificate, she had to go talk to a supervisor. I doubt that she talked to any superior. They like to lie, truly.

Goddamn it, I am a U.S. citizen, and I do not deserve to be harassed like this. So, this morning I arrived at 8am for my 8am appointment, and had to take a number because the appointment means nothing. Seventy minutes later my number was finally called, and when I walked up to the window Officer Griffin tells me that she will have to, at an unspecified later time, call me after she verifies that I could be also known as "Wanda." She could not verify as to how many days or weeks this may take, but that it probably won't take years. Nice, huh? So for now we'll bypass the local office and send a notarial statement with a copy of the certificate to Washington D.C. so that it can be certified. I hate Immigration Services. I also had an unexplained fear of going to them, and now I know why.

DOH!

2007-10-01T15:11:00.000-04:00

We've now signed up for the Dragon Dossier Service with Great Wall China Adoption, and no, it does not mean what you think it means. We are now using the agency to assist us in the document certification and authentication stage. They send us a FedEx envelope, and we send them the stuff they say we need to send them. Whew! This should make things easier. Today, I have obtained the notarial seal for the copy of my Chinese Birth Certificate, and tomorrow morning I have an appointment with Immigration to obtain a certified copy of my Naturalization Certificate. The picture on it is hilarious. My hair is so tall; actually, more specifically, my bangs are really tall. Besides that, Ben has ordered new Certified Birth Certificates, and we will go get our police reports real soon. Oh yeah, we both have appointments for our physicals this Thursday, October 4. Funny little story about that...well...

The CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) unveiled a new set of regulations at the beginning of this year, and for some reason we both thought that the weight requirement was a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 30 or below. We have operated under this assumption, especially regarding our early summer Phase One South Beachness. You can see the whole list here. For fun, I thought I'd look up the regulations again, just in case we had missed anything, and lo and behold, I discovered that the BMI requirement is 40 or below. So, instead of Ben trying to lose five pounds in 10 days, he can actually be as heavy as 279 pounds and still be within range. DOH! Not that he wants to weigh 279 nor do I want to weigh 248, but we could:-P This will most likely result in some bier trinken by my beloved very soon. He has abstained for the last 10 days or so. What discipline! Our terrible collective memory has resulted in us getting in better shape, even if we feel a little bit blond today. Whew! I'll keep you posted as we keep gathering speed on this adoption journey.

Me, Reflective?

2007-09-24T17:27:00.000-04:00

The Emory Alumni Association people recommended me to the Emory Wheel as an alumni of interest who might want to say a few words about Emory in the special section for alumni weekend. They seem to think that I am worthy, which surprises me. However, I did submit a reflective essay to the Emory Wheel today, and maybe it will be published. Even if not, here's my 500-word ditty. Bon appetit, y'all! (Many thanks to my editor, Ben Temko, for correcting my grammatical snafoos ahead of time :-)

I had a hectic day today, not unlike most of my days, but in the midst of running around, talking on the radio, teaching singing, and singing at temple, one thing pervaded my thoughts—my 15^th college reunion. There’s much to celebrate, but it’s also a reminder that time is passing; a perfect opportunity to reflect on what those four years continue to mean to me, personally and professionally. Overwhelmingly, I am grateful to Emory, for all the challenges, triumphs, and failures that I endured and still cherish today, and how Emory taught me to examine, to feel, and to play.

I am grateful for the professors and classes that challenged me to think and to examine the world and my relationship to it in a deeper and more connected way. Even though I took History of Western Civilization in the midst of intense rehearsals for Godspell, Descartes and Kant still have managed to keep my mind pretty busy over the last 15-plus years with contemplations of existence. Even psychological statistics proved incredibly helpful in preparing me for the analysis of radio listening habits, a crucial skill for me at WABE. Without Dr. Nowicki’s seminar on relationships and Dr. Edwards’ seminar on love, I may never have known how to truly connect with my emotions. The Chinese are known for being stoic, and as extroverted as I am, I needed to know that to feel deeply is to recognize pain and reconcile with it in an honest way. When you can put this into practice, good things will come. I know that without this honest dialogue, I would never have found the love of my life and partner-in-crime, Ben Temko (Emory College ’92). I also know that without the emotional foundation that Emory gave to me, our marriage would not have survived two years of unsuccessful fertility treatments or the subsequent year of grieving. Through all the tears, we were not afraid to face our fears and despair with a healthy dose of laughter and play.

Yes, Emory also taught me to play and to enjoy life. A resident advisor taught me that downtime was as important as scholarly pursuits, and I followed her example by always being mindful of having fun. Playtime for me included spending time with friends, acting in Ad Hoc and Theatre Emory productions, and singing in choirs with Dr. Alfred Calabrese. Eventually, play time became my life’s pursuit, and I am now finishing my music dissertation from Indiana University Bloomington.

My years at Emory laid the foundation for how I have lived my live as an adult. I am grateful for how beautifully rich my life has become, for all of its ups and downs, and for how I’ve lived it as a thoughtful, feeling, and joyful person. My hat’s off to those who are just starting their journey to adulthood, and may you all take away with you the tools you’ll need to live the best life.

High Holy Days

2007-09-21T15:31:00.000-04:00

I'm just hours away from the first of five Yom Kippur services that I will sing in the next two days, and I am dreading it for one reason only--the hideous substitute cantor that was hired for this year's services. He cannot sing nor read music. Reports are that he has had the music for at least two months, and he arrived knowing, at best, 35% of the notes. He doesn't even know the words to Kol nidre!!!!! He is simply an embarrassment to the temple and to the sacredness of these religious proceedings. Ben will be coming to one of the services tonight, mostly because I really want him to experience the cantor, a.k.a. disaster. The choir's last rehearsal with him was so excruciating that we all started to sing his notes for him, even the teenagers, who were much better than him, I might add. Oy.

It seems that lately I've had nothing but rants, and I will work hard to change that, I swear. On a good note, Ben and I are getting closer with our adoption paperwork. We'll post about that soon.

Aveda Sucks

2007-09-02T18:42:00.000-04:00

A Capitalistic Rant:

Aveda discontinued my favorite hair goo, Light Elements Finishing Lotion. Goddamn it. I am a creature of habit and am covetous of hair products. It takes me forever to find something I truly like, so how dare they discontinue it! On top of that, they changed their reward program so that it is no longer appetizing for this bargain huntress. They were giving away a "starter kit" of trial sizes to each individual when they sign up, but now they're just going to offer double points on your first purchase. Fuckers. Mind you, this little change happened some time between June 30 and today, because when I tried to join on June 30 at the Aveda Institute after a haircut, the little emaciated check-out girl explained that they were out of these "starter kits" so I'd better go to another Aveda location. Well, I was short on time that day, so it took me 2 months to finally "get to another location." The reason given to me for this change when I went to the Aveda Store in Lenox today was that people were joining just to get the free stuff and not really purchasing anything. Well, they had not met me, had they. I am a drugstore beauty product girl, but when I found these products, I finally became a convert. Ben is even a convert now, so how dare they insult me. Loyal I have been for the past couple of years, at least. (I know that this is incredibly ego-centric, but I'm just foaming at the mouth a bit right now.) I hate the R & D that it takes to find a new beauty regiment. For god's sake I've been using the same Clinique face crap for well over 15 years now. Now I'm hunting down some of this "discontinued" hair goo on ebay. Hopefully I'll be the highest bidder (and still get it for a bargain price). Wish me luck. I'll know by this Friday.

On the move

2007-08-07T17:41:00.000-04:00

The Chronicles has gone out of the country yet again, and we didn't even fucking manage to finish the last Paris according to the Chronicles. Our last trip was to Dublin and London, ostensibly to sing at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin and Westminster Abbey in London, but really it was because our full-Irish/English-breakfast-ometer was reading dead empty, and that's just not a good thing. Four hundred pigs, 67 cows, 9000 proto-chickens and no less than 30,000 acres of various grain fields are now in their respective states of expiration thanks to us.

Newly discovered beer favorite : Smithwicks

And oh yeah:

Hottest temp we faced on the trip : 81
Temp we faced deplaning in Atlanta : 94

FUCK it's hot around here!

So we have a few days back to frantically get our working lives in some sort of re-order and then we're off to our first ever Temko Family Reunion in Lake Tahoe. Looking WAY forward to that!

We've both finished HP7.

I've not played tennis in 2 weeks and it's killing me.

I think we gained all of the weight back we lost prior to the trip. This was the idea, but it's slightly depressing to have followed The Plan so perfectly thoroughly.

More later... maybe...

The Joys of Public Radio

2007-06-07T11:06:00.000-04:00

The air-conditioning has died for the umpteenth time at work, and even though there are fans everywhere trying to circulate cool air from other parts of the building, I am in the middle of hell. The heat is reminiscent of Rome (Italy, that is) in the middle of July, except there are no gelato stands here. The electronics are even more unhappy than us humans, and that is a very bad thing. The folks in charge would rather spend money on superficial upgrades and trying to cram four more cubicles here in radioland than to fix the things that are fundamentally wrong with this building. Ah, evasive tactics meant to distract from the real problems of an organization. Since my brain is sweating it's so hot in here, I cannot promise to be terribly coherent. This I know...I wish I had my own car so I can get the hell out of Hades as soon as I sign off today, but alas, the asshole who ran into us last Saturday has ensured my fate for today.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

2007-06-02T21:59:00.000-04:00

Let me start with this:

We're sore but ok. We got god damned lucky.

It was such a nice day. Slightly cooler than a normal Atlanta Spring day, slightly overcast. I had spent a wonderful morning playing tennis, and we had just left Sam's Club with a fresh batch of hummus with chips and cherries on our way to a nice family dinner. We were headed south on the I-85 access road at Clairmont, waiting at the stop light at the intersection. We were first in line. Our light turned green. We weren't in a hurry so I took my time as I started into the intersection. Out of the corner of my eye I see a flash of green.

WHAM

A green Jeep Cherokee slammed into our rear quarter panel, spinning us more than 200 degrees and up onto the median dividing the return access ramp from the access road, or we would have spun around some more.

There was no sound of tires screeching. The rat bastard motherfucker never even tried to slow down. He was no less than 4 seconds late getting to the intersection, and he tried to simply gun it around us. He didn't make it.

This was our poor car just after the wreck. We were coming in the direction that the red mitsubishi in the background there is headed. The guy who hit us was coming in the direction of the 3 cars side by side in the background.

After a few minutes I started having lower back pain, and not 30 seconds after that the paramedics showed up. They asked if anyone was hurt, and I was trying to stretch my lower back out when I told them I was fine. They told me to stop stretching out my lower back, and that they wanted to take me to the hospital as a precaution. This is me getting strapped to the stretcher. They call it a standing takedown, which makes it seem like something Daniel Laruso would administer, but it just means they strap you to the thing vertically and then lie you down horizontally. I tried to tell them I was OK but they were adamant, and, bigger than me.

We wound up at Northside Hospital (again) and after a few hours were both discharged, me with back spasms and Wanda with a magnificent set of bruises and an elbow swollen to the size of an orange. We were told to take it easy, and that the pain would get worse before it got better.

Oh, good.

We did eventually get to the family dinner, but two family members had to come and get us at the hospital, for were a) in no condition to drive and b) had nothing whatsoever to drive even if we were.

Here's another pic of our poor car. Notice the windows and separation of wheel base from frame.

Here's another pic of our poor car. Notice the sad condition of the door handle.

Here's another pic of our poor car. Notice the front wheel is BROKEN.

Here's another pic of our poor car. Notice the back door no longer fits in the frame.

Here's another pic of our poor car. Notice the trunk door no longer fits in the frame.

We went to retrieve our stuff from the car at the tower's (Brown and Brown, nice folks all) to find the hummus, chips, and cherries spread liberally all over the back of the car. Both chip bags had exploded. The hummus container exploded, covering the inside of the trunk with the stuff. Neil wins extra points for helping clean that up.

Now we are home, shaken, bruised, sore, and THANKFUL that we got away relatively unscathed. We can replace the car. It could have been, oh, so much worse.

Impresario 2007

2007-05-29T22:27:00.001-04:00

While WABE was in the middle of the spring pledge drive, I was driving to Gainesville for rehearsals for Mozart's The Impresario at Brenau University's International Opera Center. As Miss Silvertone, I was the perky, vivacious diva. Yes, I'll admit that typecasting was involved, but what can you do? The opera was a great success, and I had the unbridled joy of working with William Fred Scott, the director of this here opera center. A great time was had by all, with the most delightful element in that of my presentation wig, as seen here. Don't I look good as a blond?

Lucky 13

2007-04-23T23:32:00.000-04:00

Note : I posted this on the actual day but it didn't show up for some reason. Here it is now, in its original format.

Today, April 23rd 2007, is the 13th anniversary of the Yang + Temko union. The good news is that Wanda and I both called in to our places of work to tell them we weren't coming in, and then spent the entire day knocking around Atlanta together.

The bad news is that we spent all day driving from one doctor's office to another. Yesterday Wanda developed a stomach ache which got progressively worse, and after losing a night's worth of sleep she called the doc this morning, gave them her symptoms (pain all over her abdomen, sore back, fever), and then was told she had to go in. Right then.

So, we rushed showers and headed to the doc. After some rather painful tests we were sent to the lab for some blood work, and then they gave her an enormous tub of barium-milkshake to drink and sent us here so that they could give her a cat scan of the area to see what the hell was going on. The doc was thinking appendicitis. We were hoping virus. You see, if Wanda has appendicitis, and they have to do surgery, then that means that we can't move ahead with adoption proceedings for another year. They require a year to pass after your last surgery, I suppose to make sure you're OK, though it seems punitive to me.

So, surgery bad.

We sat around waiting to get cat-scanned forever. Finally they got her in, and then spat her back out again. Ten minutes later there was a quasi-verdict : it's not appendicitis. We were then sent here (notice how fucking far that is) to the emergency room, where we got to wait around forever again (it is so possible) before seeing another doctor. This time there were x-rays (which did not, thankfully, require the barium milkshake), but after many more hours and many more tests, nothing whatsoever new was learned, only that Wanda's appendix looked normal, as did the rest of her internals in the vicinity. They pumped her full of antibiotics, gave her prescriptions for more along with some pain meds, and sent us home. All told, we were gone for around 14 hours or so.

So, we spent the entire anniversary day at doctor's offices, or on the road to a doctor's office, all the while with Wanda in some pretty serious pain. When Wanda herself says it's a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the "worst possible pain you can imagine" (those were the words of the triage nurse at the emergency room), then that means it's about a 72 for you and me. Wanda's 7 puts me on the floor screaming like a little child.

We had plans to eat a lovely dinner somewhere out romantical-like, instead I ate this, my first food of the day, by myself at about 8:30 (it was the only place I could get food, and this meets my criteria for ever eating at McD's), and in about 5 minutes while Wanda was in for x-rays for the second time. Wanda, the poor girl, didn't get anything to eat except that disgusting, enormous Barium milkshake, and she was in pain the entire time just as an added bonus.

All along we joked how romantic it was (in between Wanda's gasping in pain), and we did remember to say "Happy Anniversary" to each other along the way. One thing for sure, it has been a memorable day, and will help to make us appreciate the good times all the more.

I love you so much baby! Happy Anniversary! Now go enjoy your hydrocodone!

The postscript to this is that after a follow-up today, the docs are now saying diverticulitis, which means no surgery, just antibiotics and later, a colonoscopy! Yay!

One last thing : this is not to say we didn't celebrate at all - we threw a little shindig last Friday night (which got off to a roaring start when I accidentally broke part of one of Wanda's big toenails off with my large clodhopper feet during our prep work hours before) which lots of people attended, and everyone had a blast. We'll post pics of that in the near future. First we have to figure out where the hell the camera ended up.

Adoption Update & Venting Some Steam

2007-04-15T11:08:00.000-04:00

It's been awhile, we know. Many of you have yelled at us, online and offline, to tell us to get on with it already, and we've heard you. Last night Wanda and I plowed through all but two of the remaining pieces of paperwork to complete the home study. The two remaining are the medical reports, which we will schedule for this week, and the police reports, which I will take care of tomorrow, if possible, this week for certain. Those two things are also requirements for the overall adoption paperwork pile, and are two major accomplishments along the road. Houston, we have movement once again.

Now, that said, let me explain something.

Wanda and I had a nice late night outing last Friday, just the two of us at one of our favorite late-night-outing locations, the Brickstore Pub in downtown Decatur. It was noisy and energetic, and we had a lovely time screaming at each other to be heard over the general pandemonium surrounding us. What we discovered was remarkable.

You've all heard of those 5 stages of grief, right? Turns out Wanda and I are still both smack in the middle of denial. We refuse to accept that we'll never be able to have our own biological children. We still have hope that something might work for us some day. So here's the rub - we both us of feel, even though we know it's not rational (and if there's a more rational person around than me, I'd love to meet them), that proceeding with adoption is giving up on biological children forever. Our mental and emotional roadblock is the fact that we see adoption, on some level, not as moving forward but as giving up. And neither of us are the quitting type. Not even a little bit. We're stubborn, and driven, and both of us believe that, if we just try hard enough and do everything just right, that we will achieve any goal we set for ourselves. It's just inconceivable to us that we can't accomplish anything we set our minds to.

It also doesn't help that we HATE having to go through this adoption thing, and we hate it with a white hot passion. We hate the paperwork, we hate feeling judged, we hate the constant feeling that we're just not good enough to have our own kids, when the entire fucking world around us can do it. We can't shake the gross unfairness of it all. It's offensive in the extreme. Much of this, of course, is tied to our underlying grief, but it's thorny and complicated to say the least.

You see the problem?

Well, now so do we. Both of us were on the verge of tears many times during this very loud conversation in this very public place (it was largely cathartic in many ways, being able to scream like that knowing we weren't screaming at each other - I recommend this highly). I verge on tears just typing this shit out. It's deeply painful to contemplate - Wanda and I have essentially lost 4 children in the last 3 years. They might not have been physical, actual children, but in our hearts we were planning birthday parties and teaching them tennis and music and sending them off to Emory and sleepovers to their friend's houses and having play dates with our friends' kids. They were so real to us. We could smell them, feel them, hold them in our arms. You show me anyone else who goes through that kind of loss and has their shit together any time soon. We talk and walk and laugh and play and seem like our ordinary selves on the outside, but inside we have all-too-easy access to what feels like an endless well of grief. It's really not like us at all to dwell on something this much, or to let ourselves be held back by any kind of burden, but this, this is a special sort of circumstance, and all we're trying to do is weather the storm.

What we decided is that, in the meantime, we can begin to separate the mechanical process of adoption from the emotional and physical process of grieving, so that we can move towards something that we know will bring us great happiness, and that is having a pack of children running amok in the house. We've already made a start with last night's paperwork spasm, and it will continue this week as we try to conclude the proceedings as soon as possible.

I can't tell you how much we appreciate the support, well wishing, and even the ass kicking we've been getting during this time. I hope you all understand that we're doing the best we can, and that we really do want to get this done, even more than you want us to get it done.

A lot more.

I Wuz Robbed

2007-04-12T00:54:00.000-04:00

The Tennis Channel is having a contest, the grand prize for which is 2 weeks expenses paid to cover the French Open as a journalist, with press credentials and full access and everything. This, to me, would have been paramount to having died and gone to heaven, since this would have folded up some of my favorite things about life (i.e. tennis, writing, Paris with Wanda (oh yes, Wanda is with me this whole time - as if she'd let me go on my own!)) and put them all in my lap.

The entry for was 500 words or less on the topic "What would you do if you were commissioner of tennis?" This is an interesting question because currently there is no commissioner of tennis, just a bunch of governing bodies which squabble endlessly with one another. They asked for creativity and to show a knowledge of the game of tennis. Here is my essay, which I found out tonight did not place in their top ten, which was the requirement to move ahead to the semi-finals of the contest:

Imagine a sports bar in Indianapolis on Super Bowl Sunday. Devin Hester of the Chicago Bears has just returned the opening kickoff about 287 yards for a touchdown, and everyone is already fearing the worst. Painful specters of failures past re-introduce themselves to people who had thought them long banished. The broadcast cuts away to a commercial involving a singing frog and some sort of marsupial. The bar is quiet, only the forlorn clinking of bottles audible over the inane sounds from the TV. The commercial ends, and this is what is heard upon return:

“Due to time constraints, we are moving ahead in this game.”

Upon return, the score has moved from 7-0 Chicago to 16-14 Indianapolis. You can imagine the pandemonium which would ensue, and yet tennis fans have had to endure it for as long as tennis has been on television. For some reason, it is acceptable to cut bits of a tennis match out in order to fit it into some pre-ordained time slot where, directly following, there is nothing to be seen but large men with chainsaws cutting wood, or an in-depth look at the sport of nerf-herding.

It’s not even as if the cuts are tastefully done. I remember watching a Sampras match wherein Pete lost the first set, and upon return from the commercial break, those dreaded words:

“Due to time constraints, we are moving ahead in this match.”

Upon return, Pete has evened the match at a set apiece, and the announcer, I believe it was Barry “7^th Game” McKay, chimes in with:

“That’s got to be the best set of tennis played by anyone this year!”

Well thanks for nothing, mister editing-room goon, I’m glad you got to enjoy that fabulous set of tennis. The rest of us will sit and wonder about it, perhaps we will begin to read that book about knitting we’ve been eyeing. We at least know that when we inevitably put it down, we can pick it back up again where we left off!

As commissioner of tennis, my first act would be to strike new TV deals which flatly prohibit the cutting short of any broadcast match, be it live or tape delayed. What do you mean there are aliens landing on the capitol? Federer and Nadal have split sets, we’re not going anywhere! Your local news is next but they’re going to have to wait, because Sharapova and some other Randomova are playing a 3^rd set tie-breaker - they’re already at 67-67 and nobody shows signs of being able to hold serve anymore. Are the manic fumblings of my local police force more interesting than that?

Furthermore, I will enact sharp penalties for those networks which tape-delay a match, but then pre-announce the score for you anyway. Perhaps we’ll sneak into the network president’s home and steal all of his faucet handles. I promise you, retribution will be swift, completely unpredictable, and painfully awkward. Just like the lobotomization of a tennis match.

So now you can go to the Contest Home of the Tennis Channel's Contest, read the other essays, and explain to me how in god's Great Green Greasy Limpopo River of a fucking world did I not place among that group of essays. Granted, there's a bit of a bite-the-hand-that-feeds-me vibe to mine, but for one, I'm not talking about the tennis channel I'm talking about ESPN, which everyone who watches tennis knows is the worst instigator of this sort of behavior (but TTC is not above this behavior themselves and it infuriates me), and for another, fuck them if they can't take a joke. They have no idea I wrote a program which automatically sent e-mail every single day to Comcast's programming department which read, simply "Dear Comcast, Please pick up the Tennis Channel! Thanks, Ben", and that thing ran for the better part of 8 solid months before Comcast finally caved. I LOVE the tennis channel, I just need full matches, thank you very much.

I only like one of the so-called semi-finalists' essays more than the one I wrote. Can you guess which one it is? Double bonus for anyone who knows (and can say why!).

Fuckers.

Whodathunk it?

2007-04-03T00:12:00.000-04:00

While googling my favorite countertenor today, I see that Andreas Scholl has a MySpace page. He is a composer of pop songs, mostly of the 80s New Wave kind, and I love them. He's such a cheese ball. Did I ever tell you that I met him, back in 2000, when I went to Belgium to compete in a Baroque Singing Competition? He was one of the judges, and he's 6 foot three of pure dreamboatness. Now that's a countertenor, baby.

Paris, Day 1

2007-03-14T22:46:00.000-04:00

Here, at long last, is the beginning of our Paris bloggage. I have the pictures on another site, and you can find them as links throughout the posts. Enjoy!

As some of you may know (as if we didn't brag about it for the past month), Wanda and I went to Paris on the weekend of February 23rd for a quick getaway just for the two of us, and also to celebrate Wanda's birthday. We left Thursday afternoon, got into Paris Friday morning, and left on Monday to arrive back in Atlanta Monday night very late. Those of you who have finished reading the post below about how we got sick on Wednesday will be wondering about that, so let me put your mind at ease.

We were sick the entire fucking time.

This didn't stop us from having a great (if occasionally surreal) time. I kept crib notes on the whole thing so that I wouldn't forget anything, but looking at them now they are vaguely illegible. I'd blame this on the various fevers but anyone who knows me knows I have the handwriting of a 3 year old terrier. None-the-less, here's how it all went down:

We started with one huge suitcase (for many layers were packed, as weather predictions varied wildly) and a guidebook. We got to the airport plenty early, and it's a good thing, as weather in Chicago (our connection - yes we flew west to go east... it was far cheaper than a direct flight) was delaying flights for several hours and we only had 1:45 worth of layover to make our connection. Luckily for us, the enormously helpful lady at the American Airline check-in counter switched us to an earlier flight (lesson learned : ALWAYS get to the airport early!), so when we got to Chicago we had only about an hour to wait for our outgoing flight to Paris, which was itself delayed, but not as badly as we'd feared.

Upon our arrival, we wended our way through the airport to discover that our gate was a short excursion from the food court, wherein bad Chinese food was available for purchase. We're pretty much Chinese food whores, we'll eat it anywhere, any time, under the assumption that even bad Chinese food is better than a fast food burger. In this particular case, we were wrong. That was some of the nastiest Chinese food ever. That shit made the stuff at Colony Square seem like Iron Chef food.

We survived it, and caught our flight to Paris, about which there are three noteworthy things:

There was absolutely the most adorable Chinese baby being carried around. We made eyes.
I tried watching a movie without sound (the headphones they provided were the in-ear kind and hurt like hell), and wound up profoundly confused by the end of it.
We had Mister Tuberculosis behind us, and every time we were about to drift off to sleep that fucker would unload with the most horrifying coughing and squishing noises imaginable. He also didn't bother to cover his mouth while he did this. Guess what we're both suffering from now...

So, neither of us slept worth a damn, and we hit the airport dazed and confused, but ready for some fun! The fun began almost right away on the Metro on the way to our hotel, as some sort of security problem at a station along the way caused us to take nearly 2 hours instead of the expected 30-45 minutes. We did have a nice conversation with an Irish guy while this happened, during which the entire contents of my left nostril abruptly exploded out of my nostril and on to my shirt. As I had a fistful of kleenex this was easily (if disgustingly) remedied, but not the kind of social graces one wants to present upon arrival in Europe. The Irish guy thought it was funny as hell. This is why I so like the Irish!

Finally we arrived at our stop, exited the Metro station (funny story : the first time I went to Paris in 1992, a friend of mine and I got stuck for more than 2 hours in the Metro because neither of us knew that "Sortie" meant "Exit"), and after walking half a block, we saw this.

That's the Eiffel Tower for those of you keeping score at home. We at this time became rather agitated. Our hotel was less than a block from this point, so when we got there, we saw this. Thanks be to all the gods, our room was ready. This allowed us to shower, refresh, and do 2 important things - get ourselves an immediate lunch date at the Jules Verne, the restaurant located about a third of the way up the tower itself, and to make reservations at a little place around the corner for Wanda's birthday dinner, for which we had packed a very nice set of clothes so we could go out and look adult and stuff.

We left immediately for the tower, and after some fumbling about around the base managed to find the proper entrance to the restaurant lift. Here we are eating lunch at the Jules Verne:

This meal was a) the most expensive meal we ate the entire weekend by a significant margin, and b) a very long, protracted affair. The service was impeccably slow, allowing us to nearly fall into exhausted stupors on several occasions (recall, we're sleepless going on about 20 hours now, and working hard on our second week of flu-ridden-ness). Our menu selections went as follows (this does not count the endless supply of warm, crusty bread they brought to us, which I think kept us alive for the first half of this meal):

	Wanda	Benjamin
Appetizer	Foie Gras and Chicken Terrine	Smoked Salmon with Veggie Mash
Entre	Fish with about a pound of butter sauce	Perfect Rare Steak
Dessert	Rum Banana Cream Monstrosity	Chocolate Strawberry Tart Contraption

We got tons to eat, and afterwards went out to the observation deck to check out the view. Here's our hotel from the Jules Verne observation deck.

We took a bunch of other shots:

The green in front of the tower.

Towards the Sacre Coeur.

My absolutely adorable wife.

Vertiginous view of the tower.

Us, cold.

Upon leaving the Eiffel Tower we proceeded to head back to the hotel for a brief moment to inform the concierge that we would not be needing those 7:30 dinner reservations. I told him we were just getting back from lunch (about 3 hours have passed since we left for lunch, so now it's around 4:30 or so), and he did a classic double-take and said "Mon dieu! You have been gone already zis long? Oui monsieur, I will cancel ze reservation!"

From here we Metroed to Notre Dame because, hey, it's Paris, you just have to go. We walked around there for a bit (obligatory "we're at Notre Dame" photo) then decided to go walkabout for a while, seeing the Centre Pompidou and visiting one of the great newer features around paris : the elf-cleaning toilet! It's free, and all you do is go in, use it, and then leave. It then locks itself for a few minutes while it performs a thorough self cleaning (it sounds like a really enormous toilet flushing, but I hope this is not actually what is happening) and then opens back up again. WAY better than a port-o-potty! While in the vicinity around Centre des les Halles we took the opportunity to grab a snack (you can't tell, but that is a banana nutella crepe, which I will vote for as one of the new seven wonders of the world - it did NOT come out of the self cleaning toilet, much as it might look that way), and a bottle of wine, and then dove back into the Metro in order to get to the Arc de Triomphe.

By now it was dark and getting colder, but we took the time to take this picture, and then decided to walk back to our hotel, since we were quite warm by this time. The nice thing about your hotel being near the Eiffel Tower is that, anywhere you are in Paris, you can find your hotel easily by following that enormously tall building around until you catch it. So, we walked down the Champs Ellyses to George V to Pont d'Alma, following that enormous pretty monument, when suddenly it started to sparkle. I mean seriously sparkle, flash, and otherwise look dazlingly pretty. It must have taken hundreds of thousands of very bright LEDs on random timers to create the effect. It was utterly spectacular, and so we spent a few minutes near the base of the tower just savoring, partaking of a bit of canoodling, and celebrating Wanda's birthday in the most magical way possible. We'll never forget it.

Finally, we reached the hotel. We ordered room service (cheese plate, salad), cracked the label on our wine, and toasted our success at surviving our first day. At exactly 10 PM, both of our sinuses completely jammed up. We couldn't breathe at all out of our noses - total cloggage. To this day we are blaming the wine, not for any specific reason but because it seemed like the right thing to do. We fell into an uneasy, exhausted, and yet totally satisfied slumber.

Product Alert : What Would Jesus Drink?

2007-03-13T01:38:00.000-04:00

Did you ever wonder what Jesus Christ ate for breakfast? Perhaps it was something as simple as a banana or some oatmeal, maybe even just a strawberry or two. Well, now you can do the Son of God one better with our first ever product offering, the Jesus Juicer!

Combine all of your favorite fruits and breakfast grains into a healthy, zestful potion that's potent enough to wake the dead! Feeling especially grumpy today? Drive those demons away with a bountiful combination of oranges, lemons, and some nutrient-packed tofu yogurt! You can even live on the wild side by making Blessed Virgin Margaritas out of a few limes, some holy water, and just a dash of kosher Dead Sea salt! No busted diet is beyond the salvation of the Jesus Juicer, available at health stores or your nearest Christian Bookstore. As a bonus, if you buy within the next 15 minutes, you'll also receive a free set of 8 Communion Shot Glasses, perfect for those End-Of-Lent parties!

Adoption Update + The Real Miami Sound Machine

2007-03-08T07:47:00.000-05:00

We've finished our social worker visits for the Home Study portion of our adoption proceedings! We had our in-home interview and Wanda had her personal interview this past week, and all went just fine. She liked our house, she liked our neighborhood, and she likes us, she really likes us! Next week we finish that set of paperwork and then begin the final push to gather the rest of our requirements. We're getting there!

Meanwhile, today the ASOC heads to Miami for a weekend engagement at the ACDA National Convention to sing Ralph Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony. It's an amazingly fun sing, and since our recording of it won the Grammy, we expect enthusiastic crowds. Plus, it's 80 degrees down there, so we're packing sunscreen and swimsuits! I knew I should have gotten into better shape over the winter - I resemble nothing so much now as an over-ripened cement truck.

Paris stories and pictures are coming, I promise! We had a miserable week following our return from Paris as we were both extremely sick the entire time (including the time in Paris, alas), and just haven't felt up to the task. We're better now, so upon our return from Miami we'll blog the Paris trip, and then after that the Miami trip. Stay Tuned!

Adoption Update : Social Worker Visits I & II

2007-02-27T17:29:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago we had our first meeting with our social worker who is working our adoption case for Families First. It was a brief meeting (only an hour) and was just a chance for the three of us to get to know one another a bit before we delve into the serious stuff. Our SW is a very nice woman, and the entire tone of the interview was not "I am judging your fitness for adoption", but rather "Let's get you some babies already!" Any time she asked us a question, she would listen to our answer and then describe how she was going to fill out the information on our adoption recommendation for best effect. It was, for me, a great putting-of-at-ease. She asked us how we met, which degenerated into us telling her The Story, at which she laughed (as most people do), so much so that she ended up saying "I've been doing this for 18 years and I have never heard anything like that!" So we all hit it off just fine, and made appointments for the rest of our interviews. I had my solo interview last Wednesday, and Wanda has hers next week, at which time we'll also do our final group meeting here at the house, and that will finish up the home study requirement on the road to adoption, excepting a few more forms to sign (always with the forms!).

For my solo visit, I'll start by saying that on Tuesday both Wanda and I started developing itches in our throats, and slight headaches. We figured this to be a result of the incredibly stuffy conditions from Monday night's ASOC rehearsal, but as the day progressed Tuesday we both got slowly, steadily worse. Wednesday we woke up with fully formed colds. Wednesday after lunch I drove the 3 minutes to the social worker's office with a bundle of kleenex and trepidations firmly in hand.

It turns out, I needn't have worried. Our SW continues to be a gentle and positive presence, and while she asked me interesting questions about my family and the period of time both directly before and directly after the divorce our family worked its way through, she was never once judgmental. She instead was interested in my thoughts regarding my own actions, reactions and the buildup and cleanings of various scar tissues which inevitably form around such an event. She asked other questions about things she found of interest in the adoptive autobiography I wrote for them, questions I found interesting and decidedly insightful, as they suggested that she wasn't just going through the motions, but that she had read and thought about my writing. I find the fact that someone else is working as hard as we are at this enormously comforting.

So, next week is Wanda's solo interview, then our last family interview, and then we begin the final phases of paperwork collection and cleanup. There's still so much to do!

Adoption Update : Home Study I

2007-02-14T15:18:00.000-05:00

This afternoon I received a call from our social worker from the home study organization! We are officially scheduled for our first meeting with them this Friday at 10 AM. Thank goodness they aren't coming to the house just yet - we need to vacuum in the worst way! Excavation of the area rug in front of the sofa would surely reveal fossils from the mesozoic age. Even better, their office is only about a 3 minute drive from us, right across the interstate on Clairmont - how convenient for all!

Tonight, however, is Valentine's Day, so Wanda and I are going to the Atlanta Botanical Garden's Valentine's in the Garden event, which looks to be very nice (and COLD) indeed. We consider all outdoor walking in cold wether to be training for Paris, though, so it's all perfectly fine by us.

Adoption Update - Major Step!

2007-02-09T17:01:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since we updated this, mostly because we were in the process of plowing through paperwork. I am delighted to report that we have completed the enormous stack of paperwork required to get our home study going and have shipped it off to the agency for processing.

We're on our way for sure now!

The adoption retreat turned out to be a really good thing. We got lots of shit organized, got ourselves in touch with what's left to do and the time frame in which we could get it done. We're pretty much on target now, so the next step is to get our first home study visitation in so they can tell us just exactly how baby-proof our house needs to become before we actually start bringing babies in.

Meanwhile, have we told you we're going to Paris in a few weeks? We figure while we're childless we're taking advantage of being able to just pick up and go to, er... pick up and go to Paris! We'll post pictures we take here when we return (it's not until the weekend of the 23rd, which is Wanda's birthday, which is ostensibly the reason for this trip (tho really it's a joint birthday party venture)).

One more thing to add - the new GG Kay book, Ysabel, is out and sitting on our sofa waiting for me to crack the spine. YAY!!!

Fun at the Opera

2007-01-13T19:01:00.000-05:00

First of all, can you believe it…two blog entries in one day from the B&W gang? Well, I have to get this off my chest before I bitch-slap someone. We just came home from an amazing time at the Regal Hollywood in Chamblee watching a live, HD simulcast of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Tan Dun’s The First Emperor. More on the opera itself later, but first, the bitch heckler. I decided that I would “host” the broadcast, which only meant that I would say hello, thank people for coming, pass around a synopsis sheet, say how proud WABE is to be carrying the Met broadcasts, and give away a few items. Well, with about 7 minutes to the start of the opera, this bitch decided to yell at me to stop the welcoming festivities because she wanted to hear the orchestra tune. I was so shocked by her rude behavior that I had only one retort. Inwardly I thought that this must be her first time at an opera, and that’s why she wanted to stop something that was fun for just about everyone in the audience. So, I asked her (probably in a patronizing tone even though Ben said that I sounded sweet) if this was her first time at the simulcast (meaning…at an opera, you imbecile). She responded by telling me, “no, but this is the first time that I haven’t been able to hear the orchestra tune.” Wooptie-doo bitch, this ain’t no opera house. We is at the movie theatre now, ho. Well, I wish I had said that to her, but very professionally, I wrapped things up abruptly and got out of her way, mind you this was before I could give away the grand prize of a Grundig Radio. When I returned to my seat, which was right behind her, the gentle lady sitting to the right of Ben told us that the bitch heckler was not exclusively rude to me. Earlier she spread her particular form of self-hatred to other patrons in the theater. Apparently she refused to move over a seat so that others could sit together. Many people apologized to me for her rudeness, and that made me feel better. I am just not used to being heckled. A stand-up comic I am not, and boy am I glad that I didn’t go off on a schiksa tirade alla Michael Richards, just in case someone was videotaping.

Now, a few short words on The First Emperor. For those of you who have sat through Peking Opera, this is a production that would make sense to you. Time stands still, and the opera becomes a meditation rather than a story with dramatic motion. The singing is virtuosic, the stage direction is stylized, the costumes are breath-taking, and the stage design is industrial and yet sumptuous. At various points you can rock out with the gu-zheng, a Chinese zither, and the orchestra becomes the vocal percussion section. Go Rockapella! With a production dream team of this magnitude, how can you not be wowed by the experience?

The production team includes China’s leading film director, Zhang Yimou (House of Flying Daggers and Hero), and Academy Award®-winning costume designer Emi Wada (Akira Kurosawa’s Ran). Ha Jin, the National Book Award-winning novelist, is the co-author of the English language libretto.

Placido’s voice had such clarion ring, and Elizabeth Futral’s voice just shimmered in the high tessitura. I would love to see this live at the Met someday. When it comes out on DVD, go buy it, and watch it on an HD television.

Adoption Update, et. al.

2007-01-13T11:40:00.000-05:00

Last night we started in on the mound of paperwork required by our homestudy group, Familes First. And I do mean mound. The stack is more than an inch thick! Included are various permission slips allowing them to invade our every privacy from financial to personal to criminal, but the prize-winning sow in the pen is the 11 page "autobiographical form" which we must each fill out, containing such questions as "What type of student were you?", and "What areas of your marriage do you feel can be improved upon?" Talk about a landmine question! Just surviving the filling out of this form should qualify us for a Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Anyway, last night we began plowing through the stack, with a goal of finishing it all in the next week so we can get our home study underway. In the meantime we have both garnered our notarized work letters, and are making appointments to get out medical forms done. Police reports are not too far off on the horizon. We're getting there!

Meanwhile, my all-time favorite author, Guy Gavriel Kay, is about to publish a new book, his first in several years. Am I crazy for wanting to own this? But honey, it's for a good cause!

On the home front, my most recently completed project was this. Ask me what the hell that's all about, I dare you. Not for the technologically faint-of-heart! We're also about to begin redoing the closet in the guest bedroom at long last. I tore out the old "shelving" yesterday in preparation to find this lovely hole in the drywall behind the "boards" they used:

It's not the first time we've found a sub-par job done on some do-it-yourself remodel in this place - you should have seen the closets in the bedroom when we first moved in! Anyway, I'll send after-pics when it's done.

And I'm an atheist ferchrissake!

2006-12-25T14:02:00.000-05:00

As I was waiting for the St. Philip's Christmas midnight mass to get going I found myself in an unexpectedly contemplative mood. And for no reason I can recall, I found myself thinking about, of all things, Mary. I had an image in mind of a young girl still exhausted from labor, holding her infant son in her arms, knowing that the life of the child in her hands doesn't belong to him, but rather Him, and how much grief and bitterness it must have caused her (I just cannot see the Saintly Mary, so often depicted giving up her son to God so gladly - but my thoughts on the matter of children are twisty and complicated these days).

Crosswise from this thought I had an image of my father, standing in the doorway of my childhood bedroom and singing the only lullaby I ever needed or wanted as a child, "Ol' Sleep Tight", which my dad made just for us (for he is a composer, you know). I will sing this song for my children (and I will add a verse of my own), for it is a song full of light and the promise of a bright new day to come.

Mary would have had no comfort such as this for her son, and it must have been a crushing sadness to deal with. So out of all of this came the words for a christmas carol which I hope to set to music this year some time (I have to finish the Phos Hilaron I've been writing for 2 years first). This is not the final draft of the text (it needs a first verse - I think the two verses I have now are verses 2 and 3), and it's just a working title, but it's getting there. I would love to hear commentary.

The Grieving Mary

Be thou at peace, Shalom, my son
God ease you on your way
Through you alone is His will done
Oh my dear son, lulay.

Would that god could spare you
for all the world's grief bear you
now in your mortal hands
and though my son it cost you all
to leave the comfort of the stall
you must the burden stand

refrain

Go forth and be their saviour
if this be your life labor
it must be as god wills
be not to love a stranger
if only in a manger
among the shepherd hills

refrain

And Good Will Towards Men

2006-12-24T20:14:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas, dear friends!

Fucking Grinch

2006-12-21T11:09:00.000-05:00

I blog this entry from Wanda's computer this morning. Woke up to a computer that won't boot. I recently had to replace my graphics card because the old one died (no really, it just suddenly stopped working - no clues or hints as to its demise, just a myterious reboot when I was out of the room, and then no output from the graphics card at all), and now, in what appears to be the continuation of a comprehensive system meltdown, it won't boot. It keeps telling me "Your system did not start properly last time." (no shit!).

So, I'm wasting time this morning trying to recover it without blasting the contents of the disk with a reformat, something I do NOT want to do. Currently it is in the middle of trying to repair itself, and I hope to hell it works - otherwise I'm going to be spending much more time doing grunt work than I wanted to over the holidays (I actually like a little bit of gruntwork from time to time, but this promises to be excessive).

Not As Old As We Think + Adoption Update

2006-12-17T16:39:00.000-05:00

Friday night we went to see the opening of the Cirque de Soleil's new show Corteo, which has just started its run here in Atlanta. Wanda and I haven't been to see a Cirque show since Saltimbanco waaaay back in 1993. We weren't even married! Luckily for us, Wanda, being a Person of Importance, got free media passes, so all we had to pay for was parking ($10) and we were in the door.

As usual, the performance was mind-blowing - perhaps the most visually stunning thing I've ever seen (at one point in the proceedings an angel holding a lit candelabra walks a tightrope across an almost completely blackened stage... upside-down!), with people flying everywhere, doing things that I'm sure were anatomically impossible, and displaying prodigious strength and grace simlutaneous with a clear desire to die in spectacular fashion. Nobody died, though. We cheered for them anyway.

The only down-side was that I sat next to a 250 pound woman who absolutely refused to uncross her legs, so I had her hamhock thighs pushing against me most of the show. And she wasn't even sitting in her own seat. As we were approaching our seats, she looked up and said, "Are these your seats?" To which I responded "Why, are you not in your seat?" To which she responded "No, I moved over a few to get some extra space." I then noticed empty seats next to her. So, she could have moved over and given us BOTH space, but apparently she only wanted space on her left side. Her right side she was content to mush against me. Whatever, the show was fantastic regardless.

Even better was afterwards, when we went to the exclusive PARTY thrown by the Cirque up at which their cast and crew showed. I have never, ever, in all my life been anything like as cool as this party was. Take every party ever thrown on Sex and the City, or that you see the Hilton sisters at, or something, mash them all together and then add drunken Cirque members with spectacular senses of humor, really loud house music, a food spread you wouldn't believe if I tried to explain it to you, horse and buggy rides around the floor provided by cast member painted as horses and wearing chaps and horse-hair hats and tails, beds and couches haphazardly placed for seating, and an open bar serving alcohol of all types, and you've got built-in pandemonium. We danced, we noshed, we drank, we ogled various cast members in various states of dress and undress, Wanda and I took one of the afore mentioned carriage rides, and had a stupendously good time. When the party finally came, reluctantly, to a halt, it was 2:30 and we were still going strong. By the time the thing finally wound down and we were escorted out of the building by policemen it was 3:15. We were proud of ourselves for staying out late and being hip and urban and edgy. It's been a long time.

And that wasn't even the most exciting thing we did this weekend.

We realize it's been a while since we posted anything about our adoption process. Our pat answer to the question, when asked, is that we're behind in our paperwork. Truth is, we're WAY behind on our paperwork, and haven't put any time into it any time recently. The reasons for this are various : we're still grieving over not being able to make our own babies; we resent having to go through the process at all while miserable fuckers like Brittney Spears can pop out as many screaming little pieces of protein as they want; December is a profoundly busy time for musicians, and carving out time to do anything besides work, rehearse or perform takes more energy than either of us have; etc; etc; etc.

The fact is we just weren't ready. Until yesterday.

Saturday, December 17th was our designated Adoption Retreat. We turned off the phones, we turned down any and all offers of distraction and we finally sat down and read through our entire adoption manual that we received from Great Wall which we've had printed out for several months now. We got ourselves organized, formed a checklist, developed a plan and we have goals set for now through the end of the year, at which point we'll see where we are and plot a course from there. We are, at long last, coming out of our dark emotional night to stand, blinking, in the light of progenical progress.

This week's goals are to pick our home study agency, get some verification from the state as to their requirements for notarization, and get our Work Letters done, which involves a letter on company letterhead stating your salary, the length of your tenure, and, if the company will do so, the liklihood that your employment will continue. We will also make appointments to get our Doctor's Letters done, which means essentially getting a full physical and then having a notary watch your doctor sign the form saying you aren't going to die any time soon (we assume this is the case, anyway).

As we accomplish these goals I will post the updates here so you guys can play along at home, along with the update in our next steps. Stay tuned!