Marriage License by Norman Rockwell
Click the picture for an unonbstructed view
Source: Art.com
Featured:
Navigation
CC's Random Thoughts
Franklin, TN, USA
Manila, Philippines
Temperature:
As of :
Temperature:
As of :
Background pictures illustrate current weather conditions
CC's Tweets
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
The Puppini Sisters
Current Mood: CC is listening to: Nothing right now Ever heard of the Puppini Sisters? I thought I'd blog about them after I mentioned them in a response to one of my previous blog entries.
They're a trio that specializes in close harmony vocal music, very much like the Andrews Sisters of the 1940s.
Now it's tyipcal to be hearing a group like the Puppini Sisters sing Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy...
But not quite as typical to hear them sing Beyonce's Crazy In Love...
Or the Bangles' Walk Like an Egyptian...
Or Blondie's Heart of Glass...
Or for that matter, Barry Manilow's Could it Be Magic.
They're not touring anywhere near Memphis at the moment, but I definitely want to see them as soon as they perform within driving distance :-).
What I found interesting reading about them was that Marcella Puppini, the brunette, founded the trio after she was inspired by the film The Triplets of Belleville. Remember that film I talked about a while back, the French film with the grandmother, the dog, and the grandson who was in the Tour de France and got kidnapped? That's the one :-).
Current Mood: CC is listening to: Nothing right now Steve and I had a great time at the In the Mood show last night. It's a performing company that began in 1993 and had such an overwhelming response when they first started that they started touring the country. They've been to 46 states, Canada and Europe.
It's a group of singers and dancers with a big band performing music and dances from the 1940s.
They put on a great show. The program had:
ACT I
St. Louis Blues March
Yes, Indeed
Well All Right
In the Mood
The Big Bands
Jukebox Saturday Night
I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo
At Last
I'll Never Smile Again
Tangerine
Besame Mucho
Without a Song
Chattanooga Choo Choo
I'm Getting Sentimantal Over You
Moonlight Serenade
Dream
I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire
Stardust
It's Been a Long, Long Time
Sentimental Journey
Well Git It!
Hey! Ba Ba Re Bop
Murder He Says!
Say that We're Sweethearts Again
Tuxedo Junction
The House I Live In
ACT II
Sing, Sing, Sing
Over There
A Paris Medley
What Do You Do in the Infantry?
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
Lili Marlene
Bugle Call Rag
I'll Be Seeing You
We'll Meet Again
When the Lights Go Again
The White Cliffs of Dover
A Military Salute
In the Mood Reprise
On the Sunny Side of the Street
I loved being able to mouth the words to many of the songs that I recognized: Moonlight Serenade, In the Mood, Sentimental Journey--the Paris Medley even had La Vie en Rose.
After looking at the song list, you can probably guess that most of the people in the audience were from the older generation. Lots of parents and grandparents.
The part of the program which moved me the most was "A Military Salute." I thought it was just a song that I didn't recognize. But what had happened was that it was the part of the program where the house lights come up, the singers come to the center of the stage and the lead singer announces:
"To all members of the armed forces, we salute you. To the members of the United States Marine Corps, active and veteran, please. Stand and be recognized."
Then as the Marines in the audience stand, the orchestra and the singers on the stage break into the Marines Hymn: "From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli. We fight our country's battles, in the air, on land and sea..."
Then the entire audience joins in the singing, clapping rhythmically.
They do the same for every branch of the military--they call on the active and retired servicemen to stand and be recognized, and they sing their military hymns with the power of the orchestra and the audience backing them up.
Navy: Anchors Aweigh, my boys, Anchors Aweigh. Farewell to college joys, we sail at break of day..." Air Force: "Off we go into the wild blue yonder, climbing high into the sun;here they come zooming to meet our thunder, At 'em boys, give 'er the gun!" Coast Guard: "From North and South and East and West, the Coast Guard's in the fight. Destroying subs and landing troops, the Axis feels our might..." and Army: "Over hill, over dale, as we hit the dusty trail, and those caissons go rolling along..."
And the entire time the audience was clapping and singing along. You should have seen it--it was so moving. 95% of the people standing were older people. Most of them were grandparents, probably some of them were GREAT grandparents. Some stood up easily, for others it was harder. One WWII veteran in the audience struggled to stand because he was already using a walker. They weren't as spry as they used to be.
But not only did they stand, they all stood up with pride. You could see it, and you were proud for them too. And you couldn't help but clap your heart out for them.
Current Mood: CC is listening to: (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons--Nat King Cole (The Greatest Hits) I LOVE Firefox.
Well no, let me clarify that. I love web browsers that allow for open source application development. Firefox just happens to be the pioneer and leader in this initiative. How's that :-)?
It's amazing the ideas that people come up with if given the opportunity. Different people all over the world create their own little applications and add-ons that you can then use, for free, to enhance your OWN browsing experience :-).
I just installed three more Firefox add-ons today: WebMail Notifier, DownThemAll, and Foxmarks.
WebMail is an add-on that checks your Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail email addresses every X minutes (you can set it to any time you want--I have it set to check every minute) and lets you know when you have new mail through an envelope icon on your browser status bar.
Then when you hover your pointer over the envelope, it tells you which account has new mail. This comes in REALLY handy especially when you're waiting to hear back from someone and want to know as soon as new mail comes in :-).
And when you click on the icon, it loads your inbox in a new tab. It already signs you in for you :-).
DownThemAll is another add-on...and it's going to be really cool when I figure it out :-). It's not as user friendly as the other add-ons, but it works like a download accelerator.
Foxmarks I REALLY like because it not only backs up my bookmarks, it also stores them online so that if I'm using another computer (like at an Internet cafe or an airport lounge), I can access my bookmarks easily.
Another thing that I downloaded is a program called AM-Deadlink 3.3. Now THIS I absolutely LOVE. I've got 540 bookmarks saved throughout the years, and AM-Deadlink is able to tell me which of those 540 bookmarks are still okay, and which are dead, and it allows me to delete the deadlinks. Here's a screenshot.
Then it's just a matter of sorting the list according to the errors, and then deleting them :-).
Current Mood: CC is listening to: An episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (Colombia) Steve and I are at the hospital's ambulatory center, which is the place where relatives wait as patients get prepped for surgery. His mom's here for an outpatient procedure.
Think of the ambulatory center as a huge waiting room with a row of telephones along the wall. I'm not completely sure of the entire process, but I think this is how it's going to work: his mom won't be assigned a room until the operation is over (which kind of makes sense from a "hospital-needs-to-earn-money-it-doesn't-make-sense-to-assign-someone-to-a-room-if-they're-going-to-be-in-surgery-the-whole-time-anyway" perspective).
Anyway what they do is they call your name and tell you to go to a particular phone (or the front desk) so you can be given an update on the patient's progress and be told which room they're going to be assigned to after they're wheeled out of recovery. That means a family member has to stay in the ambulatory center from the time the procedure starts until it ends, just in case you need to be apprised of anything.
It almost feels like we're at an airport waiting for our plane to board :-). The chairs are laid out like at an airport gate, you've got the PA system making announcements...I was telling Steve, "the sad part is that I've traveled often enough that this doesn't feel foreign to me :-)."
The good news is that the hospital has free Wi-Fi :-). Slingbox saves the day :-)!
Current Mood: CC is listening to: You've Changed--Andy Snitzer (Ties That Bind) Found this on the USCIS website (click here for the actual page). Might come in handy for other friends who are thinking of naturalization.
USCIS Updates Projected Naturalization Processing Times
WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it continues to make steady progress in reducing the significant number of naturalization applications it received last year. USCIS now anticipates naturalization application processing will average 10-12 months nationally by the end of September 2008 – a substantial improvement from its estimated average processing time of 16-18 months first announced last year.
“USCIS is committed to providing customers with clear expectations and regular updates about the agency’s progress to reduce its backlog,” Acting USCIS Director Jonathan Scharfen said. “We are working steadily toward achieving our goal of processing all naturalization applications within five months by this time next year.”
During Fiscal Year 2007, USCIS received 1.4 million naturalization applications, nearly double the normal annual volume. In July alone, USCIS received 460,000 applications for naturalization prior to the implementation of its July 30, 2007 fee increase. As a result, average processing times significantly increased.
In response to the surge in applications, USCIS implemented a work plan to reduce the backlog, including implementing an aggressive hiring plan and expanded work hours. As a result of this effort, USCIS anticipates completing more than one million naturalization applications by the end of this fiscal year, including most of the applications received during the summer of 2007.
Last year’s application surge did not impact USCIS offices evenly across the country. Although most offices have already processed cases received during the 2007 filing surge, a handful of offices will have a small percentage of their 2007 cases pending at the end of Fiscal Year 2008. That will result in processing times longer than the 10-12 month national average. USCIS will continue to shift resources to ensure that all local offices achieve the goal of five month processing times.
USCIS field office projections are listed below. These projections indicate the average time it will take to complete a naturalization case as of the end of September 2008.
Well, it's nice to know Memphis isn't the place that takes the longest time to process :-). It's a little longer than the average waiting time of 7.5 months, but at least my application isn't being processed in Charlotte, NC--its processing time is the longest (14.9 months).
Current Mood: CC is listening to: Nothing right now I love how USCIS helps make it easier for you to study :-)...
A Promise of Freedom: An Introduction to U.S. History and Civics for Immigrants DVD A Promise of Freedom is an inspiring short film for immigrant audiences based on the National Constitution Center’s award-winning presentation Freedom Rising. This 12-minute film focuses on the history and founding of our nation and the important rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship. The role of immigration in U.S. history is highlighted throughout the film. Accompanying the DVD is a discussion booklet that aims to encourage discussion and review the basic concepts of American democracy outlined in the film. A Promise of Freedom is an excellent way to begin a session on immigration or citizenship.
I also found it on YouTube. When you play it it'll say it's 24 minutes long, but it's only because for some reason it ended up being recorded twice, one after the other.
It's pretty cool :-). I've always been bad at history and government, and this video definitely helps tie it all together for me :-).
"Control power by dividing it." Those founding fathers were geniuses :-).
Here's another one:
Becoming a U.S. Citizen: An Overview of the Naturalization Process Flash® Presentation Becoming a U.S. Citizen: An Overview of the Naturalization Process is a 10-minute Flash® presentation designed for immigrants who are new to the United States. This short multimedia presentation provides a general overview of the naturalization process including where to find immigration information and the general requirements for obtaining U.S. citizenship.
Click here to watch the Naturalization Process Overview
Current Mood: CC is listening to: Elikya (Hope)--Marc Antoine (Universal Language) Fingerprinting didn't take very long at all...the process itself was only about 10 minutes, but I was at the USCIS office for about half an hour because there were 2-3 people ahead of me. That's STILL good time :-).
After my fingerprints were taken, I was given a booklet to help me study for the Naturalization test next year. It's a booklet of 100 questions and their answers (with supporting explanations).
Apparently, this is how it's going to work: during my naturalization interview, I'm going to be asked up to 10 questions from the list of 100. I just need to give the answers; I don't need to give the supporting explanations. Questions include:
What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?
What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?
What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?
The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the US Constitution. Name one of the writers.
Under our constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states?
There is also an English portion of the test, which includes a speaking test, a writing test, and a reading test. For the reading test, I must read 1 out of 3 sentences correctly to demonstrate an ability to read in English. For the writing test, I must write 1 out of 3 sentences correctly to demonstrate an ability to write in English. I think I'll be okay with the English portion of the test ;-).
Since I won't be taking the test isn't until next year (my application will take that long to process), I don't feel too pressured to learn all of it now. I guess I'll have Steve drill me on the questions once a month until next year--I should be really comfortable with the material by then :-).
Current Mood: CC is listening to: Nothing right now Steve and I are Simon Pegg fans. We've liked him since seeing him in Hot Fuzz, and we also liked him in Run, Fat Boy, Run. We're very excited to see how he's going to do Scotty in the new Star Trek movie when it comes out May 2009. Here's Pegg talking to David Letterman about it (among other things like Gillian Anderson and his new dog):
While searching for clips from his series Spaced (which is now on my Blockbuster rental queue), I came across this sketch. Wacky Simon Pegg :-).
Current Mood: CC is listening to: Hyde Park (The "Ah, Oooh" Song)--Jeff Kashiwa (Another Door Opens) I'm excited about the performances happening this month at the GPAC. On Sunday Steve and I are watching Ballet Flamenco Jose Porcel....
...and on the 22nd we're watching In the Mood, a retro 1940s musical.
And as if those shows weren't cool enough by themselves, GPAC is holding short classes that kind of give you an orientation a few days before the show. For FREE :-).
ArtSavvy Class - "Flamenco Music & Dance" with Special Guest Roy Brewer Thursday, November 6 at 7pm on the GPAC mainstage Explore the emotional and passionate traditions of flamenco music and dance through lecture, video and music demonstrations. Admission is FREE and refreshments will be provided. Call 751-7665 to make reservations. Space is limited!
ArtSavvy Class: Big Band Swing Thursday, November 20 at 7pm in GPAC Lobby Discover the era of big band music and swing dance! Instructors from Red Hot Lindy Hop will teach a beginning swing dance lesson and host an open dance session that is sure to get you "In the Mood". Refreshments will be provided. Call 751-7665 to make a reservation. Space is limited!
You can't say no to something like that :-). The Flamenco one is tonight. I'll try to take pictures so I can blog it (if they let me take pictures) :-).
Current Mood: CC is listening to: Icy--Rafe Gomez (Icy 2004) It's never too early to try and figure out what this year's theme will be for our Christmas decorations :-). This way I'll be able to take my time collecting just the right things :-).
Gift wrappers are always a great source of ideas for color schemes. After looking at lots of different samples, I've narrowed the list down to 4 :-)...
Gold, sky blue, and navy blue
Gold, yellow, and green
Silver, white, and red
Black, gold, and silver
Steve and I are leaning towards the gold, sky blue, and navy blue theme :-). Seems the most festive of the choices :-).
Current Mood: CC is listening to: La Vie en Rose--Louis Armstrong (The Best of the Decca Years, Vol. 1: The Singer) Got another letter from USCIS today:
To process your application, USCIS must take your fingerprints and have them cleared by the FBI. PLEASE APPEAR AT THE BELOW APPLICATION SUPPORT CENTER AT THE APPOINTED DATE AND TIME TO HAVE YOUR FINGERPRINTS TAKEN. If you are unable to appear at this time, you may go on any following Wednesday at the same time noted below, as long as you appear before 02/05/2009. If you do not have your fingerprints taken by that date, your application will be considered abandoned.
Application Support Center: CIS Memphis 842 Virginia Run Cove Suite 100 Memphis, TN 38122-4419
Date and Time of Appointment: XXXX XXXX
WHEN YOU GO TO THE APPLICATION SUPPORT CENTER TO HAVE YOUR FINGERPRINTS TAKEN, YOU MUST BRING: 1. THIS APPOINTMENT NOTICE and 2. PHOTO IDENTIFICATION. Naturalization applicants must bring their Alien Registration Card. All other applicants must bring a passport, driver's license, national ID, military ID, or State-issued photo ID. If you appear without proper identification, you will not be fingerprinted.
Warning! Due to limited seating availability in our lobby areas, only persons who are necessary to assist with transportation or completing the fingerprint worksheet should accompany you. NO CELL PHONES, CAMERAS, OR OTHER RECORDING DEVICES PERMITTED.
USCIS has a free booklet to help you study for the naturalization test. Ask about "Learn about the United States: Quick Civics Lessons" when you go to have your fingerprints taken at the Application Support Center.
It's amazing how they ask for fingerprints every single time, like they don't keep a record of when they took your fingerprints LAST time. Then again, I guess it's to make sure the person showing up for THIS appointment is the same person that showed up for the last one :-).
Current Mood: CC is listening to:Nothing right now There wasn't anything good on TV to watch yesterday so I thought I'd watch an anime DVD from Steve's extensive collection while I did the ironing. I thought I'd try Perfect Blue, which was done by the same guy who did Paprika and Millennium Actress, both of which were films that Steve and I had liked.
It's a psychological thriller. The synopsis on Rottentomatoes.com:
A surprisingly thoughtful analysis of the Japanese pop icon phenomenon. Mima is an ex-pop idol who was worshipped by the masses before fashion dictated otherwise. In order to salvage her career, she decides to drop music and pursue acting. A soap opera role is offered but Mima's character is less clean cut than desired. Regardless, she agrees and events take a turn for the worse. She begins to feel reality slip. She discovers (imagines?) her identical twin, a mirror image that hasn't given up singing. Internet sites appear describing every intimate detail of her life and a figure stalks her from the shadows. Her friends and associates are threatened, and killed, as Mima descends into a dangerous world of paranoid delusion. She fears for her life and must unravel fact from illusion in order to stay alive.
I talked to Steve about the movie after he came home from work. He told me about how he totally loves it; I told him that I thought it was a good movie too, but the thing that kind of spoiled it for me was that I figured out the ending :-). There were some great film sequences in there though. One of our favorites was how a certain part got you so confused and you started to doubt yourself the same way the main character was starting to doubt herself. That was well done :-).
Current Mood: CC is listening to: The Travel Channel A couple of things happened while I was watching the IRIS Orchestra rehearsal today :-).
At intermission, while the orchestra was taking a breather, a gentleman walked up to me (I was sitting in the middle row on the orchestra level). "Hi, are you CC?"
First thought: Oh my God what did I do? "Yes, yes I am."
He extended his hand. "My name is Petra Herber. I'm the manager of the IRIS Orchestra. I just wanted to let you know I read your blog this morning."
Holy cow. I shook his hand, smiling widely as I said hello.
"And I wanted to thank you for the nice things you said about the Orchestra."
Holy freakin' cow!
I was stunned, and excited at the same time. The manager of the Iris Orchestra talking to me! He was very nice, telling me about the upcoming shows and everything. And I told him about how much I enjoy watching the rehearsals not just because of the music, but because I get to see the interactions between the musicians and the conductor, which is an extra treat. He told me that he recognized me because of the picture on my blog.
We didn't talk for very long, and we said goodbye shortly after that, but I thought it was SO cool that I was able to meet the Iris Orchestra manager because of something that *I* wrote on my blog :-). That was awesome :-).
Now the second thing happened while the Orchestra was practicing Schubert's Symphony No. 3. This was after the intermission, and by this time some of the patrons had left for lunch, so there weren't as many people in the theater.
I'm not familiar with Symphony No.3, but it was a fun piece. It also required the use of the kettle drums, and it's always so much more powerful for me when kettle drums are part of the picture. I found myself holding my breath a few times as they played that first section.
As soon as the Orchestra ended that segment, I started clapping enthusiastically.
Alone.
No one else clapped with me.
It was like being in a comedy movie. It sounded like this: "CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP!!! ... CLAP... clap... clap......... clap....... clap."
And if THAT wasn't embarrassing enough, the conductor TURNED around and looked at me. Some of the MUSICIANS turned and looked right at me.
I shrugged sheepishly.
"Sorry..." I told them. "That was just me............. I loved it :-)."
My voice echoed in the theater. Naturally.
The only thing missing from this embarrassing situation was the classic lone cough in the silence.
Hey, it was a great piece, darnit :-). It may have been embarrassing, but I don't regret clapping :-).
Current Mood: CC is listening to: Embraceable You--Billie Holiday (All or Nothing at All) You know you're a nerd when you look forward to spending part of your Saturday (and $13.50) watching the local orchestra rehearse :-).
The IRIS Orchestra sells tickets to their rehearsal for their main performance that same night. Tonight's show will be featuring Mary Wilson, soprano, and this morning they'll be rehearsing: Haydn - Symphony No. 49, "La Passione"; Mozart - "Exsultate, Jubilate"; and Schubert - Symphony No. 3.
NO clue what those pieces are, but it's always such a treat to hear a full orchestra play :-). Even if I decide to bring some light work with me, I'll probably end up putting it down and watching them instead :-).
(decides to look up the pieces. Doesn't recognize "La Passione" or "Symphony No. 3." Looks up "Exsultate, Jubilate") Ohhh THAT one. Most of my Filipino readers will recognize this piece, because it's the one you hear on GMA 7 (I think it's GMA 7) when they sign on for the day--where they have this choir singing "A-lelu, a-le-lu-ya..." and they show a slideshow of pictures about the Philippines :-). Here's a video of what it sounds like...
That'll be a good one :-). I'm looking forward to the soprano singing that part where you jump from note to note really fast (I think it's about 50 seconds into the sample video). I remember trying to imitate it as a kid. It's bad enough that I'm trying to sing, but imitating that part just sounds painful, like strangling a chicken :-).
Or Via E-Mail:
