more really, really, really short stories

You can read more about my really, really, really short story project here. Here are three more for your reading pleasure:

#4: A Western.
Buck’s IPod was turned up so loud he didn’t hear the rustler stealing his
cattle until a brief pause between Meatloaf power ballads.

#5: Western, Part II
Tex wasn’t like the other cowboys. Sure, he would sit at the bar and argue
about Ford and Chevy (usually on the Chevy side, to be safe), but deep inside he
had the undeniable hankering for a Hyundai.

#6: A Cautionary Tale
Clarissa was bored, so she sat in her
armchair and didn’t do anything until she was buried in the sands of
time.
Moral: Even if you are bored, occasionally dusting your house may
prevent eventual suffocation.

noisebox

New Noisebox:

Saturday, November 25, 2006
Noisebox 25 November, 2006 - Vol. 1 Issue 17

Merry Christmas, Part 2

Exciting news! The Women's Glee Club at the University of Northern Colorado will perform Nathan Howe's setting of Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains at their holiday concert on December 3rd, 2006 at the Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley, COlorado at 7:00. They have commissioned an SSAA version with piano accompaniment. We have now posted both SSAA and SATB editions, unaccompanied and with piano. See the music and hear the MIDI files here, and come to the concert on December 3rd if you are in the area.

http://gratemusic.com
http://LDSmusic.us

getting up on time

How to get up when your alarm goes off

I am going to try this. If it works, I'll let you know. Added it to my 43 Things.

For me, waking up is one of the least pleasant acts in my life, but I really enjoy the time I am awake.

the least of these

Today I stumbled upon kiva.org. It is an organization offering micro-loans to entrepreneurs in impoverished countries. I'll spare you the details and let you check out their site for yourselves and decide whether you like it, but I think when I get paid I will send $25. So far, they have a 100% repayment rate, which is fantastic. This is a great chance to make a sustainable difference in the lives of some who simply lack the resources for success.

really, really, really short stories

I gave up on NaNoWriMo. It became a choice between short-term success in novel writing and long-term success in life. I would have dropped the ball on too many other important things, including some pretty good music.

However, to keep my creative writing chops active, I added a goal on my 43 Things: "post really, really, really short stories." This gives me a chance to write short fiction without the burden of organizing it into a long form like a novel. You can monitor my progress on my 43 Things page about this goal. However, I will also post some of them here on fluent in mumble for your enjoyment:

#1: A Shocking Realization

Frederick was in his second year of culinary school when he found out that
egg-drop soup is not made from “Egg Drops.”

#2: Sunday

Pastor Morrisey’s socks did not match, and the sopranos were perpetually flat in the choir loft. Lucille stayed.

#3: A Sad Story

“What was that?” Franklin shouted; “I can’t hear you over your green and violet dress!” Debbie turned and left him there at Taco Bell, alone.

More to come later.

fame and fortune

(By fame and fortune, I mean fortune in the sense of good things happening, not in the sense of money in pocket.) It was a good day Friday. I showed the new arrangement of Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains to my choral conducting professor, who is also the director of the Women's Glee Club at the University. He wanted to use it for his women's choir for a concert on December 3rd. Great!

Yes, great. But he wanted an SSAA arrangement with piano accompaniment. No problem. Finished it this morning. Well, actually, I worked from midnight to 5:30, then gave up and finished it at 10:00 after a class. Those easy little projects never are, are they? But I am thrilled that the Women's Glee Club is going to sing this piece, and the annual Christmas concert is a fairly big one. They also rebroadcast it closer to Christmas on KUNC, our local public radio station, where I do my internship. Yes, I'm living high on the hog in the lavish lifestyle of a choral composer. I think we may even move into a place with a bathtub and a dishwasher next year!

Don't take the last part of that last paragraph as whining. I love my life. I love doing what I do. Money means nothing. I just visited some friends whose new baby is having a bit of a rough start. I am reminded once again of the fragile nature of life and the blessing it is simply to breathe. If you are reading this and you are a religious type, a prayer for little Austin couldn't hurt.

noisebox

New noisebox. I am quite fond of the compound meters in this piece. The author of the text is actually related to David somehow, which is neat.

Vol. 1 Issue 16
Merry Christmas, Part 1

December is too late to start working on Christmas music for those who perform. Thus, we present today our Christmas page, an easy way to access all the Christmas music we will release in the coming weeks. We also proudly present our first offering of the Christmas season, Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains. This well-known text by John Menzies Macfarlane has been set to new music for SATB chorus by Nathan Howe. It features jubilant compound meters and a memorable melody. Access the sheet music and hear a MIDI demonstration through our Christmas page or our Choral page.


Grate Music, LLC
http://gratemusic.com
http://LDSmusic.us

the election

After the hype of election night (correction: the hype never ends, but the initial hype has calmed somewhat), I feel I can now comment sensibly on the election.

Looking through a number of blogs on all sides of the political world, I have come to a solid, disturbing conclusion: The Middle is sorely underrepresented in all things political.

By The Middle, I mean people like me. I vote. I am not a huge supporter of some of the President's ideas, although I have great respect for the office and the person. I also had great respect for the office and the person during the Clinton administration as well, although some of his acts certainly cannot be condoned. I do not have a venomous hate for all Democrats like some conservatives I hear in the media. I do not have a venomous hate for all Republicans like some liberals.

Am I an independent? Not on paper. To be an independent would be to lose all power in primaries and caucuses. I would much rather remain registered with a party so I can have some influence in which person is selected to run.

Who has been catering to The Middle, the people like me, during this election season? Has anybody stepped forward as a voice of reason to say that there is good in all parties and that cooperation, as Sesame Street taught us so many years ago, makes it happen? No. At least not on a broad scale.

Instead, we have been fed negativity in almost every campaign, whether by the candidates or by their supporters or by media covering the races. This language of mutual hatred is demeaning to everybody in public life, and it pollutes the climate to the point that even months after the election, those who actually made it into office are seen as unworthy of any trust.

I can say that I voted for both elephants and donkeys on Tuesday. I cannot say that I am more or less confident in the future of America today than I was a week ago. No matter who won in the election, The Middle lost. The reasonable people who want trustworthy leaders lost. Those who value the way the game is played as much as the final score realize that a so-called victory for either side in such dirty races is hollow at best. More than any election I can remember, this one seems particularly fraught with loss. The particular people who got the votes don't matter as much as the values and trust so many lost in gathering them.

May God bless the America we now are to become the America we know we ought to be. May we find some way to meet in The Middle and learn the art of civil discourse and brotherhood even in disagreement.

a couple of very interesting pieces on the power of thought

From Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, these blog posts are definitely worth reading:

http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2006/10/in_over_my_head.html

http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2006/10/affirmations.html

optimism

Everything is about to go very well.

(Important note: This is not an election night commentary. This is not a political commentary. Although I appreciate the democratic process and I am grateful to have been born in a country where I can vote, my current cheerful mood has little to do with the early returns that are just coming in.)

From time to time, I just have to believe that good will come of what is happening in my own life and in the world around me. I have just recommitted to be a better optimist. I have added it to my 43 things. I have started keeping better track of the motions of my mind.

It strikes me once in a while, this unshakeable idea that I have every reason to be thrilled with life. When I have this feeling, good things generally happen. Do they happen because I feel this way and expect them, or can I somehow sense good times in advance? This is an interesting philosophical question which I will continue to ponder.

As for right now, I am completely thrilled about gratemusic.com and LDSmusic.us and what we are doing there. I am optimistic about my family and my personal financial situation. I am thrilled about our marriage. I am excited about my education. I don't believe that I will live without inconvenience or difficulty, but I feel that the good will completely override the effect of whatever problems arise.

Perhaps the election does have something to do with my focus on this subject of optimism. All the analysts and the different parties and candidates are talking about the future. On the radio in the morning, there will be many prognositcations about how our next two years will be in America. There are many doomsday voices. There are many who say that our new leaders will fix everything. Neither side is accurate. Some laws and policies have noticeable effect in the lives of the governed, but generally our happiness and our life situations are governed primarily by our thoughts and desires and how we go about realizing them in the framework of God's plan. This new political season ought to be a new season of optimism and new commitment to make life good for ourselves and those around us.

noisebox

New Noisebox today. I am really impressed with David's work on this. It's definitely worth a listen.

Noisebox 03 November, 2006
Vol. 1 Issue 15
New MP3 and new arrangement for Like Sunlight Gleams Thy Grace, O Lord

David Macfarlane has just released a rich new recording of his hymn Like Sunlight Gleams Thy Grace, O Lord. In conjunction with the release of the MP3, a new TTBB edition of the hymn has just been published. This hymn addresses the topic of grace in our relationship with Christ and its connection with faith and works. Access the new files through our hymns page.

Grate Music, LLC
http://gratemusic.com
http://LDSmusic.us

the coke and mentos guys

I know you probably already know it, but the Coke and Mentos guys have just finished their latest video, and it's definitely worth the portion of your life you waste watching it, because they have wasted so much more time making it.

http://eepybird.com/

nanowrimo

I started my novel today. By today, I mean this morning. I literally looked over at the clock and realized, "Oh. It's National Novel Writing Month. I guess I'd better write something." The working title is "Archie Frey and the Other People in my Inbox." It's stupid. I just need to make myself write it, because who knows when I'll ever write another novel? I'm up to 1,052 words. Goal is 50,000 by the end of November.