It took nearly a day to come up with something intriguing to post for number 200 and it came to me while I was a church going over music that I will be singing at mass Sunday morning. The organist and I were trying to decide on a communion song. While going through our list of possibilities, my focus was drawn to the beautiful “Panis Angelicus.” I have always found it quite challenging yet fun to sing in a language other than English. Our church choir attempts to fumble through Latin pieces a few times a year with varied results. I would love to find a great arrangement of “Pie Jesu” (perhaps from the Andrew Lloyd-Webber “Requiem” that I have found to be my favorite version of the several I have heard). Call me a romantic in the classical sense.

One of my favorite performers is no stranger to singing in different languages. In fact, Josh Groban’s professional debut happened at the spur of the moment and was part of an English-Italian duet.. While employed as a rehearsal singer for the 1999 Grammy Awards, Josh (age 18) was asked to fill in for an ailing Andrea Bocelli on the live broadcast. He performed “The Prayer” with Celine Dion in front of a large audience while millions watched on television. A little luck never hurt anyone.

Almost overnight, the baritone/tenor (critics are still not sure what to classify him; Josh considers himself a “tenor in training”) appeared all over media. He made appearances on the television series Ally McBeal and on several talk shows. Oprah Winfrey named his holiday album, Noel, one of her Favorite Things. He has released a total of 4 solo albums all of which have been certified multi-platinum (selling at least 2 million units) and been featured on other recordings (the soundtracks to A.I. – Artificial Intelligence and The Polar Express). Mr. Groban has also recorded duets with the likes of Charlotte Church and Barbra Streisand. In March 2008, Josh performed the role of Anatoly Sergievsky in a concert version of the brilliant yet little known musical Chess. People may remember the cult 80s song “One Night in Bangkok” that originated in the show.

An excellent performer who is not afraid to challenge himself by going against the norm.

Closer By Josh Groban. Songbook for voice, piano and guitar (chords only). Text language English and Italian. 96 pages. Published by Hal Leonard. (HL.306860) See more info…

It seems that anything new that concerns Harry Potter entices me to revisit the literary adventures. In the coming months, we will have the cinematic version of the sixth movie as well as the publication of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. I think that the most interesting device used in the whole series was introduced in the first novel by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter And The Sorcerers Stone – 10th Anniversary Edition (or the Philosopher’s Stone depending upon which side of the Atlantic you live). The Mirror of Erised showed the young wizard and his best friend, Ron their most secret longing, their fondest wish.

In the mirror, the central character saw himself surrounded by his murdered parents as well as other relatives looking on him lovingly. He was so drawn to the image that he would continuously return to the mirror which was well hidden within the confines of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Later, Harry brought Ron along with him in order for him to see his parents. However, Ron only saw himself as Head Boy and winning the House Cup. Ron, the youngest male member of the Weasley family, has always felt like the low man on the totem pole. His pet rat had been handed down from brother to brother. His wand was horribly overused and taped together several times. His vision within the mirror showed that he longed to become something greater than any of his siblings and to be able to achieve something no one (maybe even himself) could have dreamed.

However, the mirror is not all good. Professor Dumbledore tells Harry that thousands of students had discovered the mystery of the mirror. But, many of them became so enthralled that it drove them insane. So powerful was the attraction of the device that it was to be moved far away; yet, not before Harry asked his mentor what he saw in the mirror: Socks. Was he being truthful or teaching the 11 year-old a valuable lesson?

Everyone (young/old; rich/poor; male/female) has dreams and one desire that we choose to share or to remain hidden. The people to whom we decide to reveal them demonstrates a powerful sense of trust and loyalty. Yet, we all have to be careful how we handle our dreams lest they control our lives.

Let’s have a little fun. Tell me how the name Mirror of Erised came about.

I am all for the reinterpretation of a popular character over time to make him more appealing to the masses, but I have found one such instance a bit beyond what I consider plausible. I speak of the up-coming 8th season of Smallville. It not only seems that most of the traditional Superman canon is a MAJOR part of the young adult life of Clark Kent, but it seems that most of them know of his “secret.” Over the last two seasons, both Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen were introduced to the series as recurring characters which would be entirely understandable IF it were a series about the ADULT life of Clark after he had assumed the guise of the superhero. Last season, The Man of Steel’s arch-enemy Lex Luthor discovered the truth about Clark. There have been some interesting action-packed episodes with guest appearances of future Justice League members Green Arrow, The Flash, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Cyborg, and Black Canary. However, I think the show’s creators may have driven the final nail in the coffin. For season eight, the monstrous destructive force known as Doomsday will be introduced. Instead of the inhuman monster who was responsible for killing the Last Son of Krypton, a troubled young man will eventually transform into the character. The new addition will also be involved in a love triangle with Jimmy and his girl friend. GREAT… more twenty-something angst. I think that it is high time that the BOY of steel grew up. I think it will be interesting how they plan to explain a way in which everyone who knows Clark’s secret will forget it (aside from the Kents, Pete Ross, and Lana Lang).

Well… at least Mr. Lucas has done something right. He recently acknowledged the fact that any future adventures of Indiana Jones MUST have Harrison Ford in the titular role. There will be no passing of the fedora and whip to his son “Mutt” Williams in the near future. The final scene of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull alluded to that when THE hat was seen blowing into the church and Dr. Jones snatched it away from the young upstart. Of course I would say that as much bad press as Shia LaBoeuf has been getting as of late, he may find it difficult to find work if he continues on what seems to be a downward spiral.

In this article, Mr. Lucas also speculates on the future of his other cinematic series of films including the opening of Star Wars: Clone Wars this weekend.

Enter to win free movie tickets for an entire year on Fandango!

Sometime in the life of a parent, you have to let your little ones go out on their own. For the most part I am very good at that. There are time, however, that I just want to be by their side. I have two daughters living at home, and one about an hour away. I can, if needed, drop just about everything to be with them. I can see them face to face at almost any time. It is both a blessing and a curse. After they are out of my house, I want them to grow and thrive on their own. I think that is very important.

There is my other daughter. She got married just 1 year ago. In this marriage, there are also two wonderful children of my son-in-law. I know my little girl loves them as she would her own (even though she did not know it at the time, she saw this kind of thing every day see here). Tonight I want to be with my daughter. She was and always will be my little girl, and I have a feeling she would like me there. “There” is many states away. I can’t just hop in my car and drive there overnight. It just isn’t possible to go visit whenever I would like, things like one minor child still at home, work, finances get in the way of traveling. I wish I could, but wishing seems to be all I can do. Don’t believe the phone commercials, a phone call isn’t like being there, as much as I wish it was.

Sometimes, parents just can’t let go…

In the State of Utah, a rock arch in Utah’s Arches National Park collapsed. Now I never have been to the state of Utah, and therefor have never been to this park. From pictures I have seen, it looks like a place I would like to visit. The pictures made me think of one of my favorite places that I’ve ever been is in South East Ohio. A wonderful State Park area called Hocking Hills. As a family we’ve had many great vacations there.

The story of the collapsing arch, made me remember the rock falls around the hiking trails of Hocking Hills. Going back time after time, you can see how the rock falls change the area. Trails are closed or rerouted and each trip can be different than the last.

The thing is that even with this arch fall, people didn’t see it happen. With all the times at Hocking, I never saw a rock fall but have seen the results. I know people do occasionally see them, most of the time they fall unnoticed. I would like to talk to someone who saw a large rock fall.

One thing I just thought about was the fact that these rock falls occur quite often, but people will go right to the edge of the cliffs, even if they don’t know what is or what isn’t under them. Oh well, I guess if they haven’t seen a rock fall, they don’t know the danger the could be in. And I guess I never saw anyone fall off either.

Recently Skip Caray passed away, a son of famed Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray.  Skip was actually famous for his work announcing the Atlanta Braves rather than the Cubs, but his death in the news made me think of his father and everything he brought to Cubs games.

Since I didn’t watch many Braves games, I wasn’t really familiar with Skip’s work, so I looked him up on wikipedia.com and found the following:

Skip Caray’s broadcasts were characterized by his witty and sarcastic sense of humor, a personality trait that endeared him to most fans, but alienated him from others.  For example, during a particularly long losing streak in the 1980s, Skip declared at the start of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates “And, like lambs to the slaughter, the Braves take the field”.  More recently, in a game against the Florida Marlins, the Braves had loaded the bases, to which Caray quipped, “The bases are loaded, just like (Marlins manager) Jack McKeon probably wishes he was.” During the 2004 season, Caray frequently made fun of Braves relief pitcher, Jung Bong, declaring every time the opposing team got a hit against him, “that’s another hit off of Bong”. In 2008, a player popped a fly ball so high that Skip said “That would’ve been a home run in a phone booth.”

Sounds like a funny guy, and I’m sure he’ll be missed by legions of fans, much like his late father, Harry Caray, the voice of the Chicago Cubs.

Now that I’m well on my way to full recovery after being unable to do normal things for so long because of the pregnancy and cesarean, I’ve resumed my big grocery shopping days at Walmart.  And since I haven’t been there much in the past few months, I was shocked to find how much many of the prices have raised.  So this inspired me to make a list of all the prices I remember from when our Super Walmart opened 26 months ago.  I did some math, and this is what I came up with.  The first price is how much the item was for the first few months the Super Walmart was open.  The second price is how much the item is now, and the percent is the percentage the price has increased in 26 months.

parmesan cheese – $2.94 to 4.18 = 42%
american cheese singles – 1.98 to 2.58 = 30%
shredded cheese – 1.98 to 2.58 = 30%
garbage bags – 1.67 to 2.98 = 78%
bananas – 19¢ to 58¢ per pound = almost 49%
toilet paper – 1.00 to 1.24 for a six pack = 24%
baby wipes – 1.44 to 2.16 for one pack = 50%
baby formula – 10.64 to 11.88 per can = 11%
milk – 2.00 to 3.80 = 90%

I’m no math whiz, but if I did the calculations correctly, this is insane.  I realize there is inflation, the economy is terrible, and food comes in on trucks which use gas whose cost has also skyrocketed, but this is still ridiculous.  I used to love Walmart for their one-stop shopping concept, but now I hate them for ruining the little guy and for always changing their prices.  It makes it impossible to shop around for the best price unless you have no job or kids – and they know it.  WALMART SUCKS!  But I will keep shopping there, and they know it.  Why?  Because with 4 kids, I don’t have time to go to a bunch of stores trying to find the best price.  I need to go where I can get it all under one roof.

Ok, I’m done venting…  at least until my next Walmart trip…

In all honesty, I have to say that the current production I am part of is the most difficult time I have ever had and I do not have to memorize one line of dialog. There are several roles both on stage and off in any show. It just so happens that my presence for The Nerd is strictly off stage. Not that it has not been and continues to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I get to sit back night after night and watch the thespians on stage create their roles. All eight of them are doing a fabulous job developing realistic personas not only through the written word but through movement and (to me) most importantly facial expression. Not only are the lines significant, what goes on along with those words may be even more so.

The character playing Rick is just bewildering. Even when he is not speaking, he is doing something that is just soooo hard not to focus your attention on, making the other characters on stage that much more uncomfortable. His mouth open, staring at a character one minute, wandering around paying no attention to someone yelling at him the next. The eyeglasses add an even greater effect. Once he gets his script away, I know that he will be able to take it to an even higher level. I cannot wait to see the costumes. And that voice?! 😯 Plus, I am so excited to be watching HIM on stage.

I have also been impressed by the gentleman playing Tocky (… or is it Ticky?). He has some of the best lines in the show and is very strong characterwise. Audiences will howl when he gets angry at his young son or becomes flabbergasted by the nerd’s constant nerdiness. Thor (Ticky’s son) is a very close relative of mine and he can be as bothersome as the character on stage.

Everyone else is doing great; I will make it a point to focus on others in future posts as soon as I can find intriguing things to mention about them.  I stilll have a bit of time.