Ode to Vanilla Ice...

...yes, I think he is HELLA FINE! Hey, I posted Kevin Federline before, I can do Vanilla Ice. Some pics, a video and thinking he should have been a model. ;-) peace

Doing the work

I talked last weekend about vision, future, ideas.. Today I read a blog post from a prayer group I regularly participate in and I was struck by its reality. How often do we get caught up in the flash, and compromise the work. With relationships, with committments, family, church, school, etc.. The list goes on and on. We need to trust and leap on faith, but not act foolishly.

For Tracee and I with Da Capo, and for the staff and faculty, it is time to do the "work". In the end, that is what makes the difference.

I attended a lecture last night presented at the Modlin Center of U of R by Michael Keiser, Executive Director of the Kennedy Center. His words of wisdom for Art managers:
1. Never compromise your Artistic initiative.. invest here...
2. Must have a strategy for marketing and growth...not to just stay alive
3. Invest in marketing.. institutional and programmatic.
4. Support arts education, our culture is desperate for it. Do the "work" with the children.

Carpe Diem

Jesus said, "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? (Luke 14:28)

Link to the blog I referenced..

Today's Weather...

...was cold! ugh! aren't we in summer yet?! Oh wait it's spring, but not in Cali..there are only two seasons...summer and winter! In any case, it was cold and gray this morning...but it got better. So I decided to stay at my job for three more weeks, as asked. I like the position, the people I work with etc. So why not? Happy Hump Day to all! ;-) peace

Look to the future

Below is the outline and references I used in my Sunday School lesson on Sunday 3/25


Focus on the future… God is here, today, now, tomorrow and forever

Discuss... Bad/Horrible experience from the past… holocaust, suffering, lack of control

Isaiah 43: 16-22 Where we have come from?
Bible is full of pain and suffering, people of God suffered and continue to suffer..
Exodus
Exile Jeremiah 29 – 4-14

Salvation/Paradise is not about no work, it is about what you work for, what is the goal…Genesis 2:15

Joshua 24: 11-18 The choice before us…
Choices we make
Other idols
Our plans, God’s plans… discernment is key.. how do we do that? Pastor gave us the answer last week in his sermon.. quiet time, prayer… Was your week different this week from previous ones?

Jeremiah 33:3-6 Promise for the future…
Do we ask for help?
Who do you rely on?

Romans 8:36-39: more than conquerors…
Do you feel secure in Christ?
Saving Private Ryan… earn this. Correlate to sacrifice of Christ

Confidence in who you are and what you believe will translate to..ability to tell others about God and how he IS working in your life.

Luke 4:30-45 – Jesus knew who he was.. Do you know who he is and can you apply that knowledge to your life today.. make things happen, cast out demons, help those around you, lead your family, are your “results not typical” are you attempting to “earn this”…

Dream to a nightmare

How often our dreams can turn into nightmares. I watched a special on Discovery on the "Liberace of Baghdad and I was struck by the comment.. "it was a dream, and now we are living a nightmare" I wonder if this is a function of attempting to control too much with our own capabilities. This artist lives in fear, every day. he leaves his house with a weapon. We are so privileged in our world... I don't know what to say about it.

Annnnd it's Sunday...

...weekend is over. I went out last night with my girl Mecca, it was her birthday. We had a great time, got tore up and had a lot of fun! Girl is crazy!! Woke up this morning with a mad hangover!! That always happens with her! She a bad influence, dang, bitch is older now...needs to restrain! :-) Ok here is the last of my faves...have a great Work Week! ;-) peace

Happy Saturday!~

I did nothing, well I did a lot of driving and visited my cousin for a bit.She said I looked great and not lose another pound! LOL, I was like oh no, I got the whole body image complex, I still got a ways to go! :-) actually a few more pounds and I'll feel great! As promised here are some more of my faves. Along with a video of the Gay Pimp (oooooh, it's lik Bonus Night!!) ;-) have a great weekend! ;-) peace



Got Damn!! After I posted I was like, shit, these really are my faves! whew!!

The meeting of all meetings...

...today was my Judicial Council meeting. The meeting I have been planning for over a month, the meeting in which I had to facilitate, I did the agenda, I researched all material for the agenda...I worked my ASS off to get this quarterly meeting together. *drum roll* it went GREAT! People flew in from around the state for this meeting and it went so well. I knew my content, I was able to answer all questions with confidence and the meeting ran smoothly. 6 hours...but it flew by. I feel great, I really feel like I did the best I could and it paid off. Now, why is this such an accomplishment? Well at the last quarterly meeting in January, I "sat in" as a trainee with the person who is the judicial council manager(the person I am covering for) and the council was asking me questions! I knew nothing, I was not familiar with the processes or the code of ethics of our organization...nothing. So it felt great to be in the leading role and just rock it! So it was a long day and a bit stressful but very self fulfilling and I'm so glad it's Friday! Next Friday is my last day on this assignment and not sure what I do after that...should be interesting to see where I go next! So I got an email from a reader the other day who said he loved the pics and which ones were my favorite? Hmmm..I felt a sense of de ja vu because I think I did this a few months ago, but ya know...my blog, my faves...here we go (maybe again). Have a great weekend all! ;-) peace

Some of my faves!









Um, ok I have to many to post at once...WELCOME TO THE WONDERUFL WORLD OF LEONARD WEEKEND OF FAVE HOT GUYS! MORE TOMORROW! ;-) peace

Hearts and Minds

We have heard a great deal in the past few years about "winning the hearts and minds" of the people of Iraq, Afganistan, etc. As I drove into work this morning I thought about this in the context of ministry and the music of the Da Capo Institute. How exactly do you do this? I guess the answer to that is truly the question.

As a classical musician, I think that maybe we sometimes lose the right focus on reaching our audience's hearts AND minds. I wonder if we continually approach both. Maybe I am referring to my own up and down approach to the discipline necessary to use my music effectively...I tend to plan towards the heart, others often focus on the mind. To be successful, we must have both and we must find a way to make music elite, but never elitist.

Last year's key note sermon at the Lasker Summer Music festival addressed some of this as Dr. David Adkins eloquently addressed the integration of art and faith. Click here to read a transcript of his words.

Dr. Charles Hulin has also written some great words of wisdom on this front in his Christmas 2006 address.

As I have worked to add a wonderful series of articles to the Lasker website in the past few weeks I have been overwhelmed and humbled by the contributions of this wonderful group of scholars and performers. I would encourage you to read a bit when you have time, as these articles are inspiring and instructional all at the same time.

LASKER FESTIVAL ARTICLES

I am encouraged by passages from Jeremiah. I apply them to my ministry and my music and these passages formed the base of our approach to music ministry in the past few months.

There is a continuing role for the pursuit of musical excellence in today’s non-musical world. Communities need a framework to pursue musical excellence in a world that they understand and can relate to…It is our job as professional and even amateur musicians to provide that.

Jeremiah 33:3&6 (From THE MESSAGE)
Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.
“But now take another look. I’m going to give this city a thorough renovation, working a true healing inside and out. I’m going to show them life whole, life brimming with blessings.

Burn out...

...that is what happened with my job. So, I took the last two days off and went bowling and bought a bowling ball! My very first, it's so purty...and I had my name engraved on it! lol I still can't beat an 88 though. My highest is 109, don't laugh, I'm just beginning! I need to find a bowling mentor! My brother, who also took up bowling recently, is at like 169 and he laughed at me and said how does one only do an 88? Um, well when I do like two frames of gutter balls...that really effects my score! I like my new ball, I have more control with it, I just need to get better before my bro comes down to challenge me! My next venture? Golfing! Yes, I went golfing with my bro over the Thanksgiving break and I loved it, but haven't went again. I need friends who are into what I am into, well at least a little bit. So I think I'll post an ad on craigstlist, you just have to be careful of the crazies though. ;-) peace
p.s. Click for bigger huge gargantuan detailed pics. :) which is why I picked them, y'all know I got a thing for hairy legs! ;-)

Gawd, is it Sunday already....?

Really, why can't we work four days and have three off? I mean the Europeans get like a whole month off during the summer for vacation!! Today was a gorgeous day, I went to the huge flea market here in Sacramento to look for a garden hose, a backpack and a bamboo plant. Yes, they sell new stuff too! ;-) Well I found the garden hose. I must say that there were a lot of mexican cowboys there...now y'all know I love me some cowboys, but I love the mexican cowboys...my mexican friend says they are called Tejanos...which means like Texas something or other...in any case..the eye candy was nice. I also saw like this 17 year old stick boy with makeup on selling AVON...weird. He seemed nice though when I walked by his booth, although I did turn down the offer of trying their new state of the art moisturizer. I hope he gets more business. I also saw two lesbians holding hands as they walked around, they were latin also and I admired their openess. All in all it was a good day, I felt like I needed some life around here so I bought a plant. Not an indoor plant but an out door plant that is pretty and supposedly rugged and loves the sun! If I can keep that alive, I'll get an indoor plant. :-) Tomorrow starts the work week, my big meeting is Friday and I'm not as concerned as I was earlier, which is funny because you stress yourself out over something and then you're like mmm...nah..not to important. I worked my ass off on getting this together, that's all I have. I will facillitate it to the best of what I know and that is all I can do. So, maybe an easy week? One could wish.
Have a great week everyone!
(I couldn't find my Tejanos...so these will have to do)
;-) peace

Group Vocal Technique

Dr. Miller provided a framework for all of us "choral conductors". I have done a lot with vowel modification and placement exercises in my singing and conducting career, but I was impressed with the elegance of his teaching presentation and ease of understanding.

Westminster Choir in Richmond

Stunned, Inspired, Refreshed, Renewed, Excited, Intimidated, Overwhelmed, Humbled...

On a cold, rainy Friday night here in Richmond, the exquisite Westminster choir demonstrated a level of choral excellence and musicianship that is rarely heard in our local churches and schools. These young musicians, after 11 hours on a bus, engulfed the dinner provided for them in a short time, and then proceeded to amaze and inspire the crowd of ~500 attendees. Their presentation of Raua needmine "Curse upon iron" by Estonian composer Veljo Tormis presented the primal essence of man, in war, as we hurl our iron upon the world. Its energy evoked deep emotions in my soul and the use of vocal symphonic effect was most effective. A WWII veteran spoke to me during the first intermission, after the first round of standing ovations, and said that he had never seen or heard a piece of music present such a profound example of the urgency, terror and confusion of a battlefield. Closing their concert with John the Revelator by Paul Caldwell, the energy in the sanctuary was overwhelming and humbling at the same time. They are indeed at a special place, and they are blessed by their experiences. They blessed us by sharing that passion and discipline so expertly.

Our world is in desperate need of the excellence demonstrated by these musicians. Our art can make a difference. The quote below, written by Dr. Charles Hulin IV was presented as part of the opening remarks:

The Artists’ Perspective
Artists are interested in expressing the human condition. They are interested in all of life. As an art form, classical music explores every facet of the human condition: pain, passions, conflict, disappointments, as well as love, joy, peace, self-control, and much more. As music gives a broad picture of human experience, it provides a tremendous gift to the church. It shows something of the need for God in daily life outside the church’s walls. It also speaks of the presence of God wherever we find ourselves.

Happy Friday!

Ok, I can't believe I didn't blog this week, I was sure I did, but with work it's been so crazy. Other than the work week being insane not much going on, tomorrow I go see my parents and looking forward to that. Other than that, just enjoying the nice weather! Have a great weekend! ;-) peace

Today's Weather...

...was gorgeous again! I think it hit 82 or something. I loved it. I took all three breaks at work (instead of none and eating at my desk during lunch) and went for walks around the Capitol gardens, it was heaven. Won't be long before it's way to hot to walk in the afternoons, that's ok...I'll just take a wifebeater to work so I don't mess up my dress shirts for work! ;-) Nothing new to report, I went to the local gay club this past weekend as it was their grand reopening. I guess they now have two stories, a pool, another dance floor etc. Well, the line was so long and we got there so late, that they were at full capacity...so we didn't make it in! I'm ok with that, I prefer straight bars anyways. I found out that there is a little irish pub around the corner from the gay club, soooo...when my friends want to go out I can make my appearance at the gay club, then sneak off to the pub and shoot darts! Life is good. I spent the weekend with my family and had a great time... EATING! Seriously, that's all I did with them was eat! This is why I only see them occasionaly. Not because I don't enjoy their company but because they like to eat and I have a low resistance to saying no to my moms cooking! So today was back on the diet and all the walking. I'm like 8lbs from my goal weight so I'm not to worried about it. Oh and I saw my sister this weekend, first time in a long time (like how I always say "nothing new to report" and then I go on and on? lol). Well as those of you who read regularly...my sister is a drug addict and so I don't get to spend as much time with her as I would like. She uses for awhile and then she'll go a week without using and get in touch with us. It's a sad relationship, but she has kids and we take the opportunity when we can. So I got to see my baby niece this weekend and when I pulled up to my sisters place, Skylee went crazy hollering Uncle! Uncle! LOL broke my heart. She's two and the sweetest thing. Oh, and Heroes? NOT ON UNTIL APRIL 23RD!! So I'm doing a Charmed marathon until then thanks to my blockbuster online account. I know, life is hard. ;-) peace!