Julia, Violinist For Hire

I have a hard time saying "no" when asked to help. I've been trying to recognize my limits, and turn down requests before I committ, and then have to back out several weeks later. Early yesterday, I was congratulating myself for bowing out of Jamestown Community Orchestra's May concert. Next month is completely filled with various events from Mother's Day to a graduation party to a Bachelorette Party. I knew I would be feeling the stress if I tried to cram in an orchestra concert with rehearsals on top of that.

That self-pat-on-the-back lasted mere hours, when I found myself agreeing to play in a concert in Clarion, Pennsylvania on Sunday. Instead of leasurily making plans for the weekend, I'm now frantically planning out when I'll go grocery shopping, when I should practice (since I just got the music last night), and what other chores I'll be able to accomplish tonight and tomorrow. I think I do this to myself because of the challenge of playing a concert of music I've never seen or heard before. An added bonus is that it's a paid gig, but that's not as important to me.

Another downside? I'm getting a ride to the concert with the woman who organizes the Warren Riverside Players, a chamber orchestra. She got me to commit earlier in the year to playing in their summer concert. I was considering backing out of that since we haven't started rehearsals, but I think she might hunt me down if I tried to now.

A sidenote: All this performing is pretty appropriate considering I will have been a Violinist for 20 years this August.

And Julia Goes Nuts!!

Holy Crap! What an AWESOME Sabres game tonight! I dvr-ed it so that Matt could see it all since he had to work for the first half of the game. So by goal number 6 (Six!!), I was on the phone to Rochester to share my excitement with my dad. "This is amazing!" we yelled. "JP had a hat trick!! Pominville got a goal!" I have to admit I felt bad for Philly Goalie Esche after he lost it in the first period. You don't usually see goalies skating all the way into the neutral zone to fight. And two hat tricks in one night! What a difference from Saturday's game, when I knawed on my nails through two over-time periods. Our poor dogs though. Each of the EIGHT times we scored, I scared the crap out of them as I yelled and pumped my fist in the air. Buddy would jump off the couch and Zak would spin around to see what was wrong.

I'll add that it's probably blasphemy that I read and finished the new Hamish MacBeth mystery... while watching the game. But I like to multi-task my entertainment sometimes.

Adaptation

This has a meme-ish ring to it, but Kottke.org's post on the 50 best book to film adaptations caught my eye. My personal favorite for book to film adaptations is The Age of Innocence. The book by Edith Wharton was handled with care in the adaptation done by Martin Scorsese.

For the list below, B=Read the Book, M=Saw the Movie. Note that if it involved blood/shooting/violence, or any of that happy stuff, I probably have not read or seen it. That is, unless it was required for AP English (Heart of Darkness). Sadly, I apparently am not into the habit of reading the book before the movie.

1. (B) 1984
2. (M) Alice in Wonderland
3. American Psycho
4. (M) Breakfast at Tiffany's
5. Brighton Rock
6. Catch 22
7. (BM) Charlie & the Chocolate Factory
8. A Clockwork Orange
9. [BM] Close Range (inc Brokeback Mountain)
10. The Day of the Triffids
11. Devil in a Blue Dress
12. (M) Different Seasons (inc The Shawshank Redemption)
13. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (aka Bladerunner)
14. Doctor Zhivago
15. (M) Empire of the Sun
16. The English Patient
17. Fight Club
18. The French Lieutenant's Woman
19. (M) Get Shorty
20. The Godfather
21. Goldfinger
22. Goodfellas
23. (B) Heart of Darkness (aka Apocalypse Now)
24. The Hound of the Baskervilles
25. Jaws
26. (M) The Jungle Book
27. A Kestrel for a Knave (aka Kes)
28. (M) LA Confidential
29. (M) Les Liaisons Dangereuses
30. Lolita
31. (M) Lord of the Flies
32. The Maltese Falcon
33. Oliver Twist
34. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
35. (M) Orlando
36. The Outsiders
37. (M) Pride and Prejudice
38. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
39. The Railway Children
40. Rebecca
41. (M) The Remains of the Day
42. (M) Schindler's Ark (aka Schindler's List)
43. Sin City
44. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
45. The Talented Mr Ripley
46. Tess of the D'Urbervilles
47. Through a Glass Darkly
48. (M) To Kill a Mockingbird
49. (M) Trainspotting
50. The Vanishing
51. (M) Watership Down

Happy Dyngus Day!

In honor of the day after Easter, I invite you to all sing this song parody about Dyngus Day (HT: Alan).

And on a "serious" note. Apparently, bird flu has come to Cheektowaga, NY.

Avoiding the Crows

With Easter only four days away, I've started to mildly panic about what I'm going to wear. In my family, we have a saying that "if you're not wearing something new on Easter, the crows will shit on you."







I have a skirt I've never worn that I bought at the end of summer for $3 or something. Now the search for a pretty, white blouse or shirt begins. I plan to hit the mall tomorrow right after work. I've also given myself a mission to find open-toe, white, sling-back shoes. That might be the harder of the two tasks.

Along the clothesline, I also have begun looking at bridesmaid dresses. Unless something has changed, I get to pick out my own bridesmaid dress for Anne & Sean's wedding. It's not until next year, but I decided I better get re-acquainted with the latest styles now in case something snazzy shows up on the bargain rack. With that last statement, I fear I really have become my mother's daughter.

Tune to 91.3 WBNY For Alumni Weekend!

I have to plug the WBNY Alumni Weekend again for the Buffalo-area readers.

For more details about the big shin dig/fundraiser at Mohawk Place, check out:
Buffalo Rising's article

Art Voice's article
Buffalo New's article that was in Gusto

For all Buffalo's Original Alternative and DJ's of current and past fame,
Tune your Radio to 91.3 FM all weekend long.

Friday Meme: The iTunes Game

Tragically taken from BFLOblog and Alan. What my iPod says about my life:

How does the world see me?
Sixteen Military Wives - The Decemberists
Cause America can... And America can't say no

Will I have a happy life?
We Might As Well Be Strangers - Keane
This isn't looking too good, is it?

What do my friends really think of me?
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out - The Smiths
To die by your side, well the pleasure and the privilege is mine

Do people secretly lust after me?
Least Compicated - Indigo Girls
And I bought you that ring 'cause I was never cool

How can I make myself happy?
If He Tries Anything - Ani Difranco
I guess I should stick with my friends, cause they'll have my back?

What should I do with my life?
The King Is Half Undressed - Jellyfish
Umm...

What is some good advice for me?
Breaking The Girl - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Ah hell.. I have no idea

How will I be remembered?
Evil - Interpol
Well isn't that fantastic

What is my signature dance song?
Hey Pretty - Poe
An ok song, but not my signature by far

What do I think my current theme song is?
Amsterdam (live) - Coldplay
Good song, but life isn't that bad!

What song will play at my funeral?
Agoraphobia - Incubus
Remember when we were
Just flesh and bone

What type of men do I like?
We Walk the Same Line - Everything But The Girl
Mm hm

What is my day going to be like?
Hungarian Dance No. 5 - Brahms
It's going to be a whirling dervish?

After The Rain

We got up to 70 degrees in Jamestown today before the rain came through. It'll get colder tonight, but the first wave of rain left a fantastic rainbow in the eastern sky.












You can see the double-rainbow just faintly in this picture.

Facing My Addiction One Breath At A Time

I covet this

WBNY Alumni Bash

This weekend is the annual WBNY Alumni Weekend at Buffalo State College. Besides an all alumni DJ schedule, there's also a fundraising bash at the Mohawk Place on Saturday. Buffalo Rising printed the full details including a list of some of the successful WBNYers.

I will be doing a show on Sunday, April 2nd from 10am to noon. The show, Six Degrees, will feature musical artists that are all connected in some way. It could easily be a four hour show with what I've researched so far, including a connection between Aerosmith and They Might Be Giants. But with only two hours, the show will start with The Smiths and go from there. Tune into 91.3 FM WBNY in the Buffalo-area on Sunday at 10am to hear more.

A Rattling In the Throat & Chest Area

I sat down late yesterday afternoon with a pot of tea and Martha Grime's latest Superintendent Jury mystery, when that worrisome cough became. It's now developed into that feeling where you know are coming down with something, but it's hard to tell what it is. One part of me thinks it's just sinuses draining and making me cough. Another part says, "It could be pneumonia. Your co-worker had pneumonia and came to work, although she was on antibiotics by then." The lead up to that line of thinking is, "Well, then there's all the clients that come in for services. God only knows what they're contagious with at the moment." Then the bizarre part of my brain wondered if it was possible to catch strep throat from two of my friends over instant messenger who were home sick with it last week. The last time I went to a doctor for being sick, she told me it was nothing, but did a strep test to appease me. I went back to work, per her orders, and then two days later got the call that I did indeed have strep.

What I do know is that I had strange dreams last night that I attribute to the latest Martha Grimes mystery. Hell, I didn't even take physics in high school and I was dreaming about discussing string theory and Shroedinger's cat. I'm just not in the mood to think about a cat being dead and alive at the same time, trust me.

Modern, Cool Nerd 78 % Nerd, 52% Geek, 17% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in Nerd and Geek, earning you the title of: Modern, Cool Nerd. Nerds didn't use to be cool, but in the 90's that all changed. It used to be that, if you were a computer expert, you had to wear plaid or a pocket protector or suspenders or something that announced to the world that you couldn't quite fit in. Not anymore. Now, the intelligent and geeky have eked out for themselves a modicum of respect at the very least, and "geek is chic." The Modern, Cool Nerd is intelligent, knowledgable and always the person to call in a crisis (needing computer advice/an arcane bit of trivia knowledge). They are the one you want as your lifeline in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (or the one up there, winning the million bucks)! Congratulations! Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in any of the following: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Professional Wrestling Love & Sexuality America/Politics Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 82% on nerdiness You scored higher than 76% on geekosity You scored higher than 14% on dork points

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

50 Book Challenge? Try 1!

Usually, by this time of year I've already made my way through at least 20 books. For some odd reason, I've only read one entire book in 2006: Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger. I'm almost done with Brewing Up a Business, but can't seem to find a moment to finish the last couple of chapters.

I wonder if this will be one of those off years like I used to have in high school through early college years. I actually went through a time period where the only reading I did was the mandatory stuff for classes. I have no excuse now, other than the fact that some of my reading time is taken up by news re-writing & recording.

On the upside, the latest Martha Grimes mystery should arrive by the 23rd. A rather long time to wait, but is justified by the low price I paid for the book.

Phil!

It's a belated post. But I have to give a big w00t! to Philip Seymour Hoffman on his Oscar win. Matt had to put up with me yelling, "Phil!" everytime they showed him during the programme on Sunday. And when the oscar for Actor in a Leading Role was announced, I raised both my arms in victory and yelled, once again, "PHIL!!!!"

And I'm no band-wagoner. I've been a fan since his Boogie Nights and Magnolia days. I just didn't know his name before then.

Signs I Need To Either Drink More Or Just Get Out More

While we were all out for drinks last night, I yelled in a pre-alcholic induced state at the news director for our local Time Warner Cable news station that it absolutely drives me nuts whenever he writes in the phrase, "As you may recall..." into a news story. That phrase was in two of the stories from last night's newscast.

Seriously. The phrase assumes the viewer has paid attention to the news over the past however many months, while at the same time almost mocks the viewer who doesn't recall what the hell the story is about. Never assume the person watching, listening, or reading the news has any clue about anything that's happening in your local area.

personalDNA

Dynamic Director

Ma Na Ma Na!

Jim Henson brought the wonderful world of Sesame Street and The Muppets into my childhood. The fantasia of characters brought laughter into many homes. And if not laughter, then song. One song/sketch that I have't seen since I was a child found its way into my email today.

I invite you all to share in the joy that was the Ma-Na-Ma-Na sketch on the Muppet Show.

Networking that Matt(ers)

A pretty good article on networking appeared in Sunday's D&C. Somehow I wasn't surprised to read Matt's name. I always say it's a small world and you never know how people are connected.

I suppose it's a good time to steal some lines from Matt and the article and mention that I'm open to any new job possibilities right now.

From a networking standpoint, I suppose things are going okay for me. Ever since I did "The Living Christmas Tree" I've gotten calls about joining trios, quartets, fiddle groups and other music related ventures. I joked that it only took 6 years for the musical doors to open in this area for me. I've always said it's who you know that will get you where you want to go. I've gotten two jobs that way.

I also couldn't be more busy in my personal life. Between Warren Civic Orchestra, the radio news gig I do nightly, pilates at the Y, my regular work-schedule, and random stuff around the house, I haven't had time to relax. I keep thinking life will settle down soon, but this is my life.

My God, The Horror!

Just as I was about to leave the radio station last night after recording the news, I noticed a press release had come in the fax machine. Being a good, little news girl, I decided to take a gander in case I needed to add it to the morning run-down. The words I beheld made my eyes pop and peals of laughter escaped my mouth. I boldly decided to spare the person named in the release any further indignation and, instead, folded the release up and put it in my purse. Maybe it wasn't the wisest choice, but really, do you think it does the public any good to know which neighbor was in the county jail for sexually assaulting a horse?

You read that correctly. I think I made my point.

How To Get Through a State of the Union

Bush is painful enough without having to watch him on purpose do our State of the Union. Well, one way to dull the pain and still pay attention is to play the State of the Union drinking game. Enjoy.

State of the Union starts at 9pm EST on most local stations.