http://mconnor.blogsome.com Thoughts about music, teaching, and life in general Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:18:12 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Last Friday Wes over at Walk in Brain made a post with a video of the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain. I enjoyed that performance so much that I went on a bit of a binge and watched a bunch of their stuff on YouTube. Besides their version of “Shaft”, this ... http://mconnor.blogsome.com/2008/07/24/uke-uler-option/ In this video, courtesy of the Washington Post “Former FBI agent Joe Navarro describes how our torsos, hands, feet and legs frequently communicate emotions that are not put into words.” Not as interesting as Schulhoff, but I like stuff like this. http://mconnor.blogsome.com/2008/07/16/body-language/ While Joe Queenan rants about the uselessness of modern classical music (read about it on Felsenmusik), I quietly enjoyed a terrific chamber concert last night that featured (along with Hugo Wolf and some guy named Brahms) Schulhoff’s Concertina for flute, viola, and double bass. The EMF musicians gave their usual terrific ... http://mconnor.blogsome.com/2008/07/16/207/ Okay, so much for political correctness and sensitivity and all of that nonsense. This just pisses me off: St. Louis County • Two people were killed and 13 injured — one critically — Tuesday in a catastrophic crash that closed eastbound Highway 40 just west of Interstate 270 as the evening ... http://mconnor.blogsome.com/2008/07/15/8000-lbs-and-out-of-control/ An article from today’s edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch describing the town next to the town in which I live: COLLINSVILLE — Few American cities can claim a condiment-centric festival. Collinsville can claim two. A mere five weeks after wrapping up its International Horseradish Festival, the city kicked off its “World’s ... http://mconnor.blogsome.com/2008/07/13/so-this-is-the-town-next-to-the-town-in-which-i-live/ Lovely video on YouTube of a 61 year old librarian being given a ticket for trespassing at a McCain Town Hall meeting in Denver? Her infraction? Carrying a sign that says “McCain = Bush” I love her question at the end: “Why would Republicans who voted for bush find it offensive that ... http://mconnor.blogsome.com/2008/07/09/low-self-esteem/ I mentioned in my last post that I had accepted a second part-time position to teach theory and aural skills. With the need to re-invest in my commitment to aural skills and the feeling that I have lost my edge, I have decided to take the plunge away from the ... http://mconnor.blogsome.com/2008/07/02/aural-skills-textbooks/ As the title suggests, my interest in the idea of sharing what I think about the world isn’t of particular interest to me right now. I have had a bit of an eventful couple of months, beginning with an interview for a reasonably good tenure track position in a geographical ... http://mconnor.blogsome.com/2008/07/01/not-much-interest-in-blogging/ The annual baby name report from the Social Security Administration has been released and the popularity of the name Mark continues it’s plummet from the lofty heights of popularity it enjoyed in the 1950’s and 1960’s (when it finished in the top ten for 15 straight years.) According to the SSA ... http://mconnor.blogsome.com/2008/05/14/whats-in-a-name/ I’ve been taking a bit of break from politics over the past month or so, so last night as I was running through my links on the right, I ran across this message on the Rockridge Institute’s Website: While the Rockridge Institute closed in April 2008, the Institute’s staff remain committed ... http://mconnor.blogsome.com/2008/05/07/rockridge-closes/