Elderly couple playing piano

Posted on 04. Mar, 2010 by kchristieh in inspirational people, music, videos

When I’m 90, I want to be able to do this. I guess I better start learning piano soon! Here’s a video of Marlow and Frances Cowan playing piano at the Mayo Clinic:

According to the WishTV8 website, this is no hoax: the Cowans were at the Mayo Clinic for five days, and enjoyed playing the piano there between appointments.

“I saw that piano and it said ‘if you’d like to play it’ and I touched the key and I thought, WOW, now THAT’s a piano,” said Marlow.

They’ve played the piano in nursing homes, prisons and hospitals for years, but have never had the audience they’ve achieved on YouTube. They don’t have a computer at home, so they’re surprised by all the attention.

Maybe when I’m 90 I’ll shock people with my up-to-date technical skills instead of playing piano.  :)

La Canada High School seeks gently-used piano

Posted on 24. Feb, 2010 by kchristieh in education, music

Do you have a gently-used upright piano gathering dust? Give it new life and get a tax-deduction by donating it to the La Canada High School instrumental music program. Funds are tight, so please consider doing your part to keep the music coming.

If you’re interested in donating your piano to this incredible program, please contact Fernando Aenlle-Rocha at or .

Please spread the word to anyone else you know who might have a piano to donate!

Christmas caroling at any age

Posted on 10. Dec, 2009 by kchristieh in music, my life, religion

This past weekend I sang Christmas carols at a local nursing home with junior high kids and fellow youth group leaders from our church. I vividly remember doing this with my high school youth group, and I wanted to do what I love and hopefully cheer people up at the same time.

I think they enjoyed our visit; they smiled and thanked us at the end. It was a lot like how I remember it was in high school, but with one exception: it was all I could do not to cry. At least I knew the songs by heart, so when my eyes welled-up it didn’t matter that I couldn’t see the page as easily. I live a life that’s so sheltered from the difficulty and isolation that can accompany aging, and it was overwhelming to see that all of the residents were in wheelchairs, and that some clutched dolls and stuffed animals but still looked so alone.

At first I thought it was because I’m 30 years older than I was in high school. I’m closer to most of these people in age than I am to the junior high kids who sang with us.

But this evening, one of the junior high school girls told me that she’d had a hard time not crying too. And a high school girl told me that she’s surprised at how emotional she gets at times.

So I won’t over-analyze my reaction. I’m grateful for the blessings that allow me not to have to visit or live in a nursing home, and for the people who opened up their lives to us this weekend and allowed us to sing. I don’t know what the next 30 (or 60, or whatever) years hold, but I hope I always appreciate a good Christmas carol.

Next time we’ve got to bring jingle bells…

The dolls to the right remind me of my sister. Not only does she love little dolls like these, but her singing voice is identical to mine. We’re the alto sisters who grew up in NJ but moved to CA. Too bad our voices aren’t super-amazing, because maybe we could take our act on the road. In the meantime, I can’t wait for her to visit so we can sing next to each other on Christmas Eve.  :)

When “music festival” really means “rave.” Plus, how I lost respect for the San Manuel Indian Nation.

Posted on 20. Oct, 2009 by kchristieh in health, music, parenting, startling statistics

The Sheriff’s Deputy that spoke at last Friday’s Red Ribbon Week PTSA meeting spoke fast, since he had lots of ground to cover. We learned the effects of various drugs on the body, we heard which ones are abused the most in our community, and we saw examples of how students hide drugs at school

One of the most fascinating things I learned was that “music festival” is often a euphemism for “rave.” The Deputy said that when kids say they’re going to a music festival, it usually means they’re going to a rave. He described raves as having loud music, flashing lights, casual sex and lots of drugs. (Here’s the Urban Dictionary definition of a rave.) He said they’re often held in convention centers, warehouses or the desert, and any security that’s there can either be bought off so they ignore the drugs or is just concerned about weapons, not drugs.

Here’s an example of a “music festival” this weekend: 2009 Cypress Hill Smokeout Festival. It’s being held at the San Manuel Amphitheater in San Bernardino, which is named for the San Manuel Indian Nation. The San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino is also a sponsor of SmokeOut, as are LA Weekly, MySpace and Jack in the Box. In case you have doubts that SmokeOut isn’t purely a music festival, here’s a screenshot of the homepage:

And don’t miss Saturday’s expert session: “For musicians, marijuana has long proved to be a source of creative inspiration. For listeners, music and marijuana is the perfect stoner cocktail. Smoke a joint, blunt or bong, and kick back and enjoy your favorite tunes.”

The Deputy also informed us that much of the marijuana consumed locally comes from legal medical dispensaries. He said that kids will go and tell a doctor (or should I put that in quotes?) that they have a headache or some other pain, and will be prescribed marijuana for it. They’ll then re-sell the marijuana at the school for a profit. If you’re not sure how this works, perhaps you can learn at the Medical Marijuana Expo at SmokeOut. Don’t worry about having difficulty finding a medical marijuana dispensary: this past Sunday’s NY Times article, “Los Angeles Prepares for Clash over Marijuana“, says that, “There are more marijuana stores here than public schools. Signs emblazoned with cannabis plants or green crosses sit next to dry cleaners, gas stations and restaurants.” For the record, I voted for legalizing marijuana for medical purposes here in California. I never imagined that it would be this unregulated, however, and that it could wind up in the hands of children.

Hopefully parents will understand what this really is before they let their kids attend. And if they do attend, hopefully they won’t drive while they’re high.

Independence Day carolers spread the spirit of the 4th of July

Posted on 04. Jul, 2009 by kchristieh in food, inspirational people, local news, music

Three young patriots treated us to a striking rendition of “God Bless America” today. Thank goodness they came before we departed for that other great American tradition, In-N-Out!

The performance was capped off with an Apple Pie. What could be more American?

Happy 4th of July!

The Bird + The Bee = A Perfect Concert

Posted on 25. Jun, 2009 by kchristieh in music

The most-hyped concert I ever attended was Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” concert at the Meadowlands in the summer of 1984. One of my father’s clients was having trouble paying him, so he appeased my father by giving him four amazing tickets to the biggest concert of the year. I think my sister/stepsisters and I were in the second or third row. Michael Jackson was an incredible performer, but my ears haven’t been the same since.

This evening I attended a much more casual concert, but in my mind it was perfect. The Bird & The Bee performed their own tunes and covered some others (e.g., ““) in the shady, peaceful oak grove at Descanso Gardens in La Canada. The Bird (Inara George) looked positively blissful as her sweet voice covered an incredible range, and when The Bee (Greg Kurstin) played a solo she’d dance lightly around the stage.

The music was excellent, the company divine, the venue was perfect: it doesn’t get any better.

I discovered The Bird and The Bee when KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic played their cover of “.” That’s one of my favorite songs of all time. My mother had the original on a 45 record when she was little, and passed it on to me. It’s such a sweet, catchy tune that I used to sing it to my kids when they were little. I wish they’d played it tonight, but what they did perform was wonderful. I think that “” was my favorite.

Here’s a video of their 2006 Morning Becomes Eclectic performance. Wow.

Why is it so surprising that Susan Boyle has an awesome voice?

Posted on 15. Apr, 2009 by kchristieh in inspirational people, music, tv, videos

In just four days, on “Britain’s Got Talent” has had over 10 million hits.

She’s got a lovely operatic voice, and lots of spirit. I hope she wins.

Here’s what Wikipedia says about her:

Boyle is the youngest of nine children and lives in Blackburn with her ten-year-old cat, Pebbles. Boyle suffered oxygen deprivation during birth, resulting in learning disabilities. Her classmates teased her because of this and because of her appearance. She stopped her pursuit of singing to look after her sick mother who died in 2007, at the age of 91. Her performance on Britain’s Got Talent was the first time Boyle had sung after her mother’s death. She is unmarried and presently unemployed.

^{It’s too bad the judges, the audience, and so many on the internet seem to be surprised that she can actually sing.}

^{Is it because she’s 47? If so, then I wonder what people think of me at 45. Also, why judge her so harshly when American Idol judge Paula Abdul is nearly 47? Is it because of her appearance? Or her learning disability?}

^{Whatever the case, I hope that people learn a lesson from Susan Boyle about not judging people by their outward appearances, and instead giving them a chance to perform.}

^{As Susan says,}

^{Modern society is too quick to judge people on their appearances. … There is not much you can do about it; it is the way they think; it is the way they are. But maybe this could teach them a lesson, or set an example.}

^{Wayward conversation defiles classic French poster}

^{Posted on 14. Apr, 2009 by kchristieh in art, international, music}

^{I hate it when something I like winds up having a negative connotation. Like a favorite name (Katrina) that becomes associated with a major hurricane, or a date (4/1) that will be remembered for a very sad event.}

^{That happened on a smaller scale this evening. Somehow a conversation wandered to the subject of Michael Jackson, and I joked that we should purchase the gates to Neverland that are being put up for auction. Wouldn’t they look marvelous on our driveway?}

^{But then my son passed through the kitchen, and saw the little framed poster of a French woman gazing fondly upon her daughter as she served hot chocolate to a cat: “Compagnie francaise des chocolats et des thes.”}

^{He wrecked it by noting that the woman looks like Michael Jackson. Doesn’t she? Creepy. I need to take a break from this picture for a long, long time.}

^{Come to think of it, Michael Jackson is guilty of wrecking the name “Neverland” for legions of Peter Pan fans.}

^{Bandfest highlights field shows of Rose Parade bands}

^{Posted on 30. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in education, local news, music}

^{The Rose Parade bands aren’t just marching bands: they’re great on the field, too! Today we attended Bandfest, where we enjoyed seeing the field shows of seven of the bands that will be marching in the Jan. 1, 2009 Rose Parade.}

^{The following bands performed at the 2 pm show we saw:}

• ^{Ballou High School}
• ^{Broken Arrow High School}
• ^{McQueen High School}
• ^{Pasadena City College Honor Band}
• ^{Prairie View A&M}
• ^{Remo Marching Percussion Ensemble}
• ^{Riverside Community College}
• ^{United States Marine Corps West Coast Composite}

^{We enjoyed cheering for Gina T. in the PCC Honor Band. This is her third year as a Herald Trumpet, and she almost became a Rose Princess. What a gal!}

^{Ballou High School is an inner city high school in Washington, DC. The announcer said that not too long ago, they barely had a band. Their incredible director, Darrell Watson, has done an amazing job of building a top-notch band that beats well-endowed suburban bands. When he appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show, he said that his dream was that the band would march in the Rose Parade some day. The Ellen show people made some phone calls that helped introduce the band to the Tournament of Roses folks, and the rest is history. .}

^{The McQueen High School band, from Reno, Nevada, was also excellent. What a contrast to the Ballou band, however. Whereas everyone I saw in the Ballou band was Black, there were no Blacks in the McQueen band. There was more integration in the Prairie View A&M band, which had several Whites. And this at a historically Black school! Our nation has a long way to go before it’s fully integrated.}

^{The Marine Corps band was very precise. Everyone stood in respect for them, and we all enjoyed seeing them re-enact planting the flag at Iwo Jima. We were on the “wrong” side of the field, but here’s a picture anyway:}

^{My favorite band was Prairie View A&M. We’d enjoyed them immensely at the Angel City Classic a few months ago, so we knew it was worth sticking around in the cold for them. Here’s a short video of them marching around the field after their show:}

^{Handbells were my ticket to California}

^{Posted on 01. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in animals, music, my life, religion, travel}

^{Miss G Dog would have played handbells if she could have. Unfortunately, she lacked opposable thumbs. Hopefully God gave them to her in heaven. At any rate, she gets them in cyberspace on my new Christmas-themed header.}

^{I first visited California with the Tower Hill Presbyterian Church (Red Bank, NJ) high school handbell choir. We landed in San Francisco, and I was thrilled to see palm trees for the first time. The family I stayed with gave me a tour of the city, and constantly apologized for how dirty it was. Are you kidding? I thought it was 100x nicer than any East Coast city I’d ever been to. It’s no wonder I wound up out here.}

^{Our trip continued up the coast, where we played in a handbell festival at Humboldt State. We also saw Crater Lake and Medford, Oregon, which remains the most beautiful place in the U.S. I’ve ever visited. We drove back down through California’s Gold Country, and enjoyed visiting Yosemite and the old mining town of Columbia.}

^{I remember wondering why the palm trees didn’t have coconuts, and why I didn’t see a bear in Yosemite. I finally saw coconuts on my honeymoon to Tahiti, but I’m still waiting to see a bear. That’s probably good.}

^{We were a pretty awesome handbell choir. We even cut a record, but I think that only our parents bought it. I played the third position from the bottom, which meant I handled pretty big bells. When the choir director would turn his back, I’d flip them. I never missed. To this day, I’m awesome at flipping my hairbrush like that. The bells were REALLY expensive, and he would have been really peeved if he’d known I flipped them.}

^{That’s as rebellious as I got in high school. Flipping handbells. My parents were really lucky. I think they knew it, too.  :)}

^{I’ll always be Young at Heart}

^{Posted on 06. Oct, 2008 by kchristieh in cool websites, inspirational people, movies, music, my life}

^{I figure that at 45, I’m theoretically halfway to retirement. I say “theoretically” because I don’t ever see myself “retiring.” I like what I do, so I can’t imagine wanting to stop. Hopefully at some point I’ll slow down a little and put together a few photo albums, however.}

^{Maybe some day I’ll reprise my high school choir training and sing in a chorus like the stars of the wonderful documentary “Young @ Heart.” The average age of their chorus members is 80, and instead of singing old standbys, they conquer the works of artists such as Sonic Youth and David Bowie. Three generations of our family sat down together and watched this movie this weekend, and we all loved it. I loved the spirit and energy that the chorus members had, and I admired how they’d found a group of like minded people to have fun with. Their music videos were hilarious, but there were some very poignant moments also. It comes with the territory, I suppose. I also admired the group’s director, Bob Cilman. He was incredibly patient and persistent, and had a real gift for leading the chorus. He’s a true hero.}

^{I wonder/fear what it will be like some day if I don’t die before all the people I love. I’ll probably become an expert at attending funerals and mourning people.  Maybe I really should take up the bagpipes, so I can at least participate in the ceremonies. Death will be certain for all of us, but the living must go on with their lives. It’ll be hard to strike the right balance. Hopefully I’ll have the same good attitude that the “Young @ Heart” singers do.}

^{One more thing: besides singing, I still hope to be blogging. Like Margaret and Helen. Best Friends for Sixty Years and Counting…. (or is it The Blog As Performance Art? Who cares? I love it!!)}

^{PS – When I’m old, don’t call me “Dear” or “Sweetie.” It’s demeaning. See this great NY Times article about the topic, “In Sweetie and Dear, a Hurt for the Elderly.”}

^{I’m baaaack! The return of the busy blogger, and all that I’ve done this week}

^{Posted on 03. Oct, 2008 by kchristieh in education, local news, movies, music, my life, non-profits, social networking}

^{T’was such a busy week that – gasp! – I didn’t even blog. It was all I could do to eat and sleep, but now that I’ve survived, here’s a summary of what I’ve been up to since the last post:}

^{On Saturday, we saw the Angel City Classic at the Los Angeles Coliseum. This annual event features two historically Black colleges or universities (HBCU) who not only play football, but compete in a Battle of the Bands. This year, we got to see Morehouse compete against Prairie View A&M. I was there for the bands: I LOVE innovative and energetic marching bands. Prairie View clearly won the Battle of the Bands, IMHO. It’s hard to beat a band that does :}

^{That evening, we attended the annual fundraiser at the Community Center. I was tapped to roll the dice for the Pinata Race. Seriously. I got pretty good at it, but if I ever get to do it again I have a few more ideas up my sleeve.}

^{On Sunday we attended the premiere screening of the documentary “Viva la Causa.” It depicts the events that led up to the grape boycott, and shows how much of an impact Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and Bobby Kennedy all had during that time period. I was really young and on the other side of the country when these events unfolded (late 60’s), so I never realized that the women had to hold up blankets in front of each other since there weren’t bathrooms, and that everyone shared a tin can to drink from the same bucket of water. I’m really glad we brought the kids, and it just confirms our support for the sponsor, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and its Teaching Tolerance project.}

^{Earlier this week, I lived on Facebook as I trolled for class notes. My column was due on Wednesday. I also wrote a speech for accepting my award last night, and bored my dog to tears practicing it. It went well, and I really appreciated all the nice things people said last night.  :)}

^{Jack Johnson rocks at UCLA}

^{Posted on 31. Aug, 2008 by kchristieh in food, music, my life}

^{Jack Johnson is amazing. He played for over two hours without a break at UCLA this evening, and never skipped a beat. His backup band was incredible, and Zach Hill’s accordion playing brought down the house.}

^{I heard there were 20,000 people on the field watching. I’d believe it. Blankets weren’t allowed, so we brought extra jackets and played on them before the concert started. The opening acts were very good: Culver City Dub Collective and Rogue Wave. The lead singers from each group also joined Jack on stage during his performances.}

^{We saw lots of people we knew, and heard about more that we knew that were there. When the camera panned the crowd, we could see that it was pretty homogeneous. Oh well. Sometimes I’m pretty predictable.}

^{I put my camera on a tripod and held it up in the air. I had fun experimenting with the manual settings. Here’s the best shot of the stage that I got:}

^{Note to self: The fantastic restaurant we ate at in Sherman Oaks on the way there was The Dressing Room. Even the teenage boys in our group loved it. We all got to choose exactly what we wanted on our custom-made salads from their extensive ingredient list. I wish they’d open one in my town!!}

^{Why did you or didn’t you go to church on Easter?}

^{Posted on 23. Mar, 2008 by kchristieh in inspirational people, local news, music, my life, religion}

^{I was quite relieved last summer when I found out that . If she could have doubts, then I figure it’s ok if the rest of us do.}

^{That was the essence of the Easter sermon at my church today: it’s healthy to doubt. Some of Christ’s disciples even had doubts sometimes, and they were at his side to witness miracles. If you don’t question your beliefs, then you might be perceived as irrational or delusional. And maybe you are. Then again, maybe you’re not. Sometimes I wish I never had doubts, because I think I’d probably be more effective at communicating my Christian faith to others. It’s no coincidence that the world’s fastest growing faiths are those that encourage unquestioning religious devotion. It’s easier in life to just see the world as black and white, and not have to think through what others are telling you to believe.}

^{I think it’s ok that I naturally question things. I believe the world is more grey than black and white. But even with my questioning and doubts, I always come back to having faith in God. It’s at my core. I think my questioning usually helps make my faith stronger. It also helps me appreciate others even when they come to different conclusions.}

^{Garrison Keillor wrote a great essay called “Thinking weaselish thoughts at Eastertide” on Salon.com this week about whether he just attends church because he likes hanging out with nice people and listening to organ music. Even so, I think he’s also seeking truths, and I hope he finds them.}

^{I thought of him as I sang the “” at the end of today’s service. I was in choir for most of my youth, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE singing the alto part to that song. It brings tears to my eyes. I’m such a sentimental gal sometimes. I love this that shows the four-part score as an unseen choir sings the song.}

^{After church, we decided to take it easy and go to In-N-Out before the relatives descended upon our home. Bad choice: it was closed. Not surprising, given that they put a Bible verse on their cups. We wound up having a great meal at Islands. As we were leaving, one of my son’s friends called and asked to come over since there was a convict in his neighborhood. We said “no” at first, since we were having relatives over, but when he got off the phone we got the full story and changed our minds. It turns out that (to the best of our knowledge) an escaped convict from Colorado had stolen a car and the car was found on our friends’ street. There was a SWAT team in place, and residents were evacuated. We invited the family to dinner, and had such a lovely time that we hope to spend many more holidays with them. It’s funny how things work out.}

^{Here’s a picture of the helicopter circling above La Canada. I took it as my husband drove up the 2 Freeway.}

^{They wound up catching the guy the next day sitting at a bus stop in the middle of town. Click here for more details.}

^{The video camera that launched 100,000 views}

^{Posted on 14. Mar, 2008 by kchristieh in music, my life, politics, startling statistics, videos}

^{I love my little Flip Ultra video camera. I carry it wherever I go, and since I received it in December, I’ve posted nearly to YouTube.}

^{Last night I determined that people have viewed my videos over 104,000 times. The most viewed video is one I took of the , with over 35,000 views and 289 comments. The second most popular was the one I took of rally at UCLA in early February. It had over 10,000 views.}

^{It’s been quite the experience having so many people view the videos. I monitor the comments somewhat, and only mark them as spam if they’re crude or way off-topic. I try to keep a positive view of humanity, but that’s difficult when people leave hateful remarks. I don’t speak Spanish, so I don’t understand many of the comments on the El Salvadoran band video. Hopefully they’re all ok!}

^{Twenty-two strangers have subscribed to my videos. I’m not sure what they’re expecting, since my subjects are quite diverse. Whenever I want to post a video of my kids playing sports that I only want my family to see, I post it on Google to be safe. People can only view private YouTube videos if they’re YouTube members, and most of my kids’ grandparents and great-grandparents aren’t members. Google doesn’t require membership to view private videos.}

^{I wonder what my next video will be? I doubt it’ll garner 30,000 views, but you never know!}

^{New Barack Obama video brings me to tears}

^{Posted on 01. Mar, 2008 by kchristieh in music, politics, videos}

^{I’m such a sentimental softie sometimes. This new pro-Barack Obama video called “” by will.i.am brings me to tears.}

^{Some of the YouTube comments are pretty nasty. I’m glad I’m not aligned with people with so much hatred in their souls. I’ve seen many similar comments on the I posted from the Obama rally at UCLA early last month. I let the comments stay (unless they’re profane) and figure that their ugly venom speaks for itself.}

^{Addictive sites to discover this weekend}

^{Posted on 29. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in cool websites, music}

^{If you’re looking for a break, here are a few of my favorite websites to visit to waste time online:}

^{Etsy: This craft/art site has a great section called Pounce. When you click on the Pounce button, it’ll show you a page with pictures of items that just sold on the site. If you like an item, you can see what else the seller is offering.}

^{StumbleUpon: I have a Stumble button on my Firefox toolbar. When I click on it, it takes me to a new website it thinks I might be interested in. Then I click on thumbs-up if I like it and thumbs-down if I don’t, and Stumble uses those votes to refine what it thinks I might like. I’ll list the next five sites it takes me to:}

1. ^{“Toddler’s Elmo Doll Makes Death Threats” in Tampa Bay Online. What? Gotta be satire, but it looks legit. I’ll reserve judgment.}
2. ^{A Hong Kong art site. I gave it a thumbs-down. Too dizzying.}
3. ^{Shatner / Hasselhoff ‘08: At first I gave it a thumbs-down, but then I couldn’t resist the picture of Shatner with Kim Jong Il. I also like the slogan, “From Yesterday’s Tomorrow, For A Better Today.” Thumbs-up!}
4. ^{A political blog with a really long post in tiny white print on a black background. Boring. Thumbs-down.}
5. ^{“Trail of the Cougar,” a PBS special. Thumbs-up. There are cougars in our town.}

^{Pandora is the musical version of StumbleUpon. You tell it what songs, artists or genres you like, and it’ll play music it thinks you’ll like. You can give them thumbs-up or down to refine the selections. I’ve discovered some great new musicians this way.}

^{I probably don’t need to mention iTunes, but in case you don’t already have it on your computer, GET IT NOW!! My favorite section is the free podcasts. My faves include This American Life, Salon Explainer and NPR’s This I Believe and Driveway Moments. I’ll listen to them tomorrow when I do my taxes.}

^{The biggest time-waster I’ve ever seen is BubbleWrap. Make sure your sound is turned on.}

^{Please let me know if there are any non-game websites you find particularly addictive. I didn’t include game sites here, since I know I’d have a hard time stopping playing once I got started.}

^{PS – If you’re a client reading this, don’t worry, I wouldn’t dare relax while I knew I had work for you. ;) Or, maybe the party line should be that relaxing makes me more effective. Yeah, that’s what I’ll say from now on. Now to make sure to relax!!}

^{“Yes We Can”: Obama video sums up a campaign of hope}

^{Posted on 03. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in music, politics, videos}

^{A bunch of famous singers, actors and athletes got together and produced this amazing campaign video for Barack Obama.}

^{I’m no expert on celebrity recognition, but here’s who I recognize in the video: Scarlett Johannsen, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Amaury Nolasco. Wikipedia says the following are also in it: Tatyana Ali, Eric Balfour. Natasha Bedingfield, Fonzworth Bentley, Nick Cannon, Common, Esthero, Bryan Greenberg (featured on guitar), Herbie Hancock (featured on piano), Kelly Hu, Ed Kowalczyk (featured on guitar), John Legend, Taryn Manning, Yael Naim, Harold Perrineau, Jr., Adam Rodríguez, Nicole Scherzinger, Shoshannah Stern, Aisha Tyler, Amber Valletta, Kate Walsh, and will.i.am.}

^{The stars in the bagpipe universe are aligning}

^{Posted on 26. Jan, 2008 by kchristieh in music, my life}

^{Loyal blog readers will recall that on January 1st of this year, I stated that my New Year’s resolution was to try to learn to play the bagpipes. Today all signs suddenly pointed to doing it:}

1. ^{There was a great article in the Pasadena Star News about the Pasadena Scots, a local bagpiping group. I’ve lived in this area for over 20 years, and never knew they existed until today.}
2. ^{One of my clients surprised me by sending me a practice chanter (see picture) to help me decide if bagpiping is for me.}
3. ^{When I went to my office to retrieve my chanter to show my family, there was a picture of my son and his saxophone on my screensaver.}

^{OK, the last one isn’t a big deal. But if signs come in threes, I’ll count it.The last thing I need is to add another time commitment. (see yesterday’s post) But this might provide some much-needed relaxation for me. Besides, my family and Tom R. are completely behind it. My daughter just made me promise that I wouldn’t play at school assemblies or at church services. I think she’s still traumatized by a certain elementary school pep rally I sang the SpongeBob theme song at many years ago. At least I wasn’t the one dressed up like SpongeBob!}

^{Now to learn some songs on the chanter.}

^{In case you’re wondering, despite my married Hispanic surname, I have absolutely no Hispanic blood in me. My maiden name was Christie, which is Scottish, and many of my ancestors were Irish. Most people either love or hate the bagpipes. I think there’s something in my DNA that makes me love them.}

^{YouTube video shows inspirational El Salvadoran Rose Parade band}

^{Posted on 03. Jan, 2008 by kchristieh in inspirational people, international, local news, music, my life, videos}

^{On New Year’s Day my family enjoyed watching the Rose Parade from the balcony of my husband’s law office. We had a bird’s eye view from nine stories up, so it was a different perspective than most spectators had. I took with my new Flip Video Ultra and posted them on YouTube that afternoon.}

^{The results from one of the videos in particular have been astounding. As of this blog posting, my has had nearly 6,000 views, has 124 comments, has been favorited 77 times and has received 11 honors. I uploaded the original video files to my server to accommodate the many people who asked me for them, and I hope that the guy who’s making the documentary about the band finds funding and uses my video. I’ve had many comments thanking me, and even fielded a phone call from a very nice person who thanked me profusely for posting the video. My daughter has helped me translate some of the comments, as about half of them are in Spanish.}

^{It’s no surprise that the Nuestros Angeles de El Salvador band has inspired so many people. The LA Times story, , tells about how the band’s airfare funding fell through, so they took a five-day bus ride to get here.}

^{Saul Perez, one of the band’s directors, said it would have been a crushing defeat if the group had not made it to Pasadena. The youth members practiced for more than a year, went through a rigorous selection process and were poised to represent their country on the world’s stage at Tuesday’s parade.}

^{But problems began when 30 members of the group could not even begin the journey because they didn’t receive visas. Then the band canceled their flights because their budget was still short $200,000. They set out instead in a caravan of five buses on Christmas Day.}

^{“When we left, we thought the trip would take three days,” Perez said. “It was a tale of many difficulties.”}

^{When the band played at the corner of Lake and Colorado, the crowd went wild. No other band or float evoked such an enthusiastic reaction. Many of the spectators waved Salvadoran flags, and it was clear that they were inspired not just by the tough journey the band made to get here, but by the positive image the band was reflecting for El Salvador and Latinos everywhere.}

^{My grandfather’s brother, Corbett, married a woman from Colonia Las Mercedes, San Salvador long, long ago. I used to send her Christmas cards, but after not hearing from her for many years I assumed she’d passed away. I wonder if she did? If any one of you El Salvador folks knows Maria Zuniga de Long, please let me know!}

^{Track your New Year’s resolutions and other goals on 43Things}

^{Posted on 01. Jan, 2008 by kchristieh in cool websites, inspirational people, music, my life}

^{Happy New Year! Do you have any New Year’s resolutions? If so, check out 43Things.com. You can see if other people have the same goal that you do, and join them in trying to achieve that goal. 43Things will send you an email in the future when you say you want to be reminded of your goal, and in the meantime you can see comments others have left about how they’re doing in achieving that goal. It’s inspirational to see that it’s possible to achieve what you want. If no one else has chosen your goal, you can create a new one yourself.}

^{I’ve always been a sucker for bagpipes, so last week I decided to see what it would take to learn how to play bagpipes. That’s how I found 43Things. It turns out 149 other people also want to learn how to play bagpipes. I’m not sure I’ll ever learn, since bagpipes are expensive and I don’t know any bagpipe teachers, but maybe I will someday.
Here are some of the goals people have listed on 43Things. The bigger the font, the more people share that goal.}

^{Amazing men’s a capella Christmas performance}

^{Posted on 14. Dec, 2007 by kchristieh in music}

^{I’m a sucker for a capella singing. It’s so pure, and often incredibly witty. I’ve seen many performances over the years, but this one by the Indiana University Men’s A Capella group made me say “Wow!” at the end. !}

^{Many thanks to Holly B. for the link!}

^{I saw Barack Obama in Los Angeles last night}

^{Posted on 11. Dec, 2007 by kchristieh in music, my life, politics, videos}

^{I was so impressed with Barack Obama last night that I’ll be completely disappointed if he doesn’t win. Completely. He was articulate, funny, wise and honest. He’s a breath of fresh air, and what our country needs at this point. IMHO.}

^{I saw him speak at the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. I brought Lisa F. along, and we somehow managed to get seats in the second row. Go figure! The pictures I took with my compact camera turned out pretty well. You can see one to the right, and see the rest .}

^{The Obama campaign continues to impress me. Everyone who entered the amphitheatre was given a sheet of paper with first names and phone numbers on it and a script of what to say in a phone call. Before Obama came out, we were asked to whip out our cell phones and call the people on the paper, and ask them if they’d be supporting Obama. We then marked their response down, and handed the papers back in. Most people around me participated, and organizers estimated that approximately 20,000 phone calls were made in about 10 minutes. Amazing. I still have to admit that I don’t like cold calling.}

^{We heard speeches from James Whitmore, Kal Penn and Giselle Fernandez, and music from Ne-Yo and the Goo Goo Dolls. (I keep saying “Google Dolls.” Yikes!) I’d never heard of Ne-Yo, even though he’s been nominated for four Grammy Awards. Hopefully he’ll win some, as he is quite an amazing performer. I was impressed that when I looked up Ne-Yo in Wikipedia when I got home, it already mentioned that he’d performed that night. I was also impressed at the wide range of ethnicities and ages at the event. Obama is clearly appealing to a broad cross-section of the electorate.}

^{Sarah Jessica Parker was sitting near us. Or at least, we’re 99% sure of it, since we spotted her early on and later there were lots of photographers taking pictures of her. I felt sorry for her, since she was somewhat disguised and clearly wanted to spend the evening unnoticed. I also had a spark of envy of the photographers with the ultra-long lenses on the ultra-riche cameras who sat in the aisle by my side and took perfect pictures. I consoled myself that they couldn’t fit their cameras in their pockets like I could. I turned around at one point and took the picture to the right.}

^Links:

• ^{of the portion of Obama’s speech where he describes being related to Dick Cheney.}
• ^{about Obama being an 8th cousin to Cheney.}
• ^{Summary of Obama’s positions.}
• ^{“Obama’s American Idea” in NYTimes. Tough, humble, diplomatic & hopeful.}
• ^{. This is part 1 of 4.}
• ^{LA Times blog posting about the event. Read the comments.}

^{Don’t watch “Knocked Up”}

^{Posted on 08. Dec, 2007 by kchristieh in movies, music, parenting}

^{I rented Knocked Up to watch with my husband this evening since I’d heard it had a good message. That may be true for the last 15 minutes of the movie, but oh my gosh do they go to extreme lengths to get there. Most of the movie is filled with enough profanity, sex, and drugs to make a sailor blush.}

^{When things would get nasty, I’d bury my head back in The Week. What a coincidence: on page 12 of the Dec. 14th issue, there’s a summary of what Katherine Heigl thinks of the movie.}

^{Actress Katherine Heigl has denounced Knocked Up, the hit movie that made her a star, as “a little sexist.” In an interview with Vanity Fair, Heigl said the movie – in which a chubby slacker impregnates a beautiful, ambitious woman – “paints women as shrews, humorless and uptight, and it paints men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys. It was hard for me to love the movie.”}

^{Amen. I don’t recommend this. And it’s definitely not for the kids, even teens. Please note that I think I may have picked up the unrated version at the video store. I didn’t know there was a difference.}

^{I am able to say one good thing about the movie, however: it had some good songs on its soundtrack. I especially liked “Grey in L.A.” by Loudon Wainright III, so I just purchased it on iTunes.}

^{Hear the new Steven Curtis Chapman song that brought me to tears}

^{Posted on 16. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in music}

^{Here I was, finally getting some work done, when a song played on my iTunes that actually brought me to tears. Steven Curtis Chapman’s new song, Cinderella, really touched a nerve. It’s about a father who teaches his daughter to dance before big events. Here are some of the lyrics:}

^{She says he’s a nice guy and I’d be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of the dress
She says, “Dad the prom is just one week away
And I need to practice my dancin’
Oh please, Daddy, please!”}

^{Chorus:
So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t want to miss even one song
‘Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone}

^{She will be gone}

^{It’s an upbeat song in 3/4 time, so it really makes you feel like you’re dancing.}

^{Note to self: perfect song for (many years hence) the father-daughter dance at my daughter’s wedding. Yeesh – I’m crying even as I write that sentence!!}

^{If you enjoyed this post, get free updates via email or RSS.}

^{How to foil ticket scalpers}

^{Posted on 09. Oct, 2007 by kchristieh in music, shopping}

^{My husband treated me to a Springsteen concert for our second date. He’d waited in line for hours to get the tickets, and they were fabulous. We were at Candlestick Park, and the seats were so good that Bill Graham even came and sat by us.}

^{Do people even wait in line for tickets anymore? I think they just hit “refresh” on their computers, and hours later find out that all the tickets were somehow scooped up by big ticket agencies that plan on selling them for several times their face value. It’s even (or rather, especially) a problem for kids’ concerts like Hannah Montana.}

^{I LOVE this creative solution from Salon.com:}

^{Make people take a quiz to get tickets to their favorite acts. I’m serious.}

^{Here’s what I mean. When you select “Hannah Montana” on the Ticketmaster site, the system would ask you three or four multiple-choice questions about the show. Only if you get them right will it let you in to buy tickets. It’s like a CAPTCHA, but instead of separating robots from humans, it separates true fans from scalpers and occasional enthusiasts.}

^{Ticketmaster could draw its questions from a long list in order to keep the scalpers from learning all of them. To be sure, the scalpers might still find ways to get around the measure — they could, for instance, hire a “Hannah Montana” expert. Still, it would trip them up, especially if Ticketmaster imposes the plan across all acts. Are the scalpers going to hire Bruce Springsteen expert, a Justin Timberlake expert, and a Genesis expert, too?}

^{I seriously think the ticket agencies should adopt this system. The performers would still get the same amount of money, but their audience would be filled with a wider variety of fans, not just rich ones.}

^{Now for a better way to reserve campsites in California. I’ve spent all day in the past hitting “refresh” to get one. I never did figure out how others got them…but I don’t think they’re being scalped!!}

^{If you enjoyed this post, get free updates via email or RSS.}

^{Matt White’s “Love” FINALLY on iTunes!}

^{Posted on 18. Sep, 2007 by kchristieh in movies, music}

^{I’ve been waiting forever for this song to show up on iTunes. I first heard it in the movie “Little Manhattan” over a year ago. I downloaded the video from iTunes a few months ago, but couldn’t play it on my (relatively old?) iPod Mini.}

^{The song is on Matt’s “Best Days” album. It’s different from most of the album, and I’m afraid to say that I chose not to purchase the album. Thank goodness iTunes lets us download a song at a time!}

^{In case anyone’s curious, here’s my list of all-time favorite songs:}

^{Yesterday’s multicultural day}

^{Posted on 09. Sep, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, education, music, my life, politics}

^{Now that school’s started, our calendar is filling up! It’ll get even busier once my son’s arm has recovered enough to play club soccer again.}

^{Yesterday was not only busy, but it was very multicultural. The first phone call of the day was from a parent who will be translating the high school PTA newsletters into Korean this year. We’ll publish our first issue soon.}

^{Later in the morning, I took my daughter to an orientation session for the STARS tutoring program in Pasadena. It’s run through the Lake Avenue Foundation, and is supported by our church. My daughter’s going to tutor there one evening a week, and will probably tutor younger kids who are either Latino or African-American.}

^{In the early afternoon, my husband and I attended the funeral of Donald Long Chu in Rosemead. (see obituary) His son, Newton, lived across the street from us when we lived in Pasadena. We’ll always remember Mr. Chu’s big smile, and how he loved carrying the American flag as he led the tricycle/bicycle parade at our neighborhood block parties. Before he retired, he was a film editor, and in fact was the first Chinese-American film editor in Hollywood. His son Nathan read a very touching letter from the Motion Picture Editors’ Guild praising Mr. Chu’s skill and dedication. One of the most memorable parts of the ceremony was learning that the box that contained his ashes was made from a tree that he’d planted in his yard many years ago.}

^{After the service, we rushed to downtown Los Angeles to attend a Stanford alumni conference about Immigration. There were great speakers, including Xavier Becerra, Zoe Lofgren, Alan Acosta, Mariano-Florentino Cuellar, Hazel markus and Al Camarillo. I especially enjoyed my breakout session with Monica McDermott. My biggest takeaway from the event was that the immigration debate is often colored more by negative images of immigrants, and could benefit from a more balanced view. That’d be tough, however, as most illegal immigrants would be loathe to publicize their status.}

^{Finally, as we were leaving the Wilshire Grand Hotel where the conference was held, we passed the venerable Prairie View A&M University Marching Storm band. We felt like we were in the presence of celebrities, since they were featured on the front page of the NY Times yesterday, hailed as having an incredibly entertaining, disciplined, and high quality band. I’d even taken the time yesterday morning to watch the online video about them. We asked some of the band members if they knew about the story, but they didn’t. It turns out they were in town to play North Carolina A&T in the Angel City Classic at the Coliseum. My husband and I are both former high school trumpeters, and we love the direction today’s innovative bands are going.}

^{Note to self: get tickets to next year’s Angel City Classic. Unless there’s soccer, of course.}

^{If you enjoyed this post, get free updates via email or RSS.}

^{Britain’s Got Talent, and her name is Connie}

^{Posted on 04. Sep, 2007 by kchristieh in music, tv, videos}

^{I’m a sucker for a talented kid, and I’m REALLY a sucker for one who sings, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Click to see an amazing 6-year-old named Connie Talbot as she competes in “Britain’s Got Talent” for a chance to sing for the Queen.}

^{If you enjoyed this post, get free updates via email or RSS.}

^{Natalia Paruz, the Saw Lady, brightens up NY’s subways}

^{Posted on 25. Jul, 2007 by kchristieh in music, my life, travel, videos}

^{Several months ago I blogged about the chilly reaction that acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell received when he played in the Washington, D.C. metro. Someone who commented on that post recommended the Saw Lady’s blog to me, since she frequently promotes her fellow NY street / subway musicians.}

^{A few days before I visited NY earlier this month, I emailed the Saw Lady (Natalia Paruz) and asked her where / when she’d be playing on the day I was visiting. She gave me the details, and my father, kids and I made a point of seeing her perform.}

^{I’m so glad we did! She’s not only incredibly talented, but she’s got a huge smile and a wonderful personality. Talk about first impressions: if mine’s right, she’s an absolutely terrific lady! We had a nice time talking (quickly!) between songs, and she told me that she’d planned on being a dancer until she was in an accident. She went on vacation to Austria, heard someone playing the saw, and was so inspired that she wound up teaching herself to play!}

^{If you’re ever in New York City, try to find her. If I was there this week, I’d make sure to ask her to play the Harry Potter song. The saw has such a haunting sound, so I’m sure it’s perfect for that song.}

^{In the meantime, you can view the with my teeny weeny camera:}

^{PS – Many apologies to anyone whom I didn’t get a chance to visit in NY/NJ/PA. We were back for only three days, and spent one day in each state. I wish we had more hours in each day!!!}

^{If you enjoyed this post, get free updates via email or RSS.}