YouTube Friday: “Mo Money Taxes”

Sorry about the lateness of YouTube Friday, I have been fairly busy this week with school. It’s that time of the year again, tax time. Did you file your taxes? I haven’t. That is on the “to do list” this week. I always somehow manage to file in April. Here is a commercial that I stumbled upon, enjoy!

Until next time…

Spring Break Recap

After many hours of watching “The Office” in our van, blowing a power inverter in the process and taking tons of photos; I had an awesome time in Colorado. I am also glad to be back home, back to the warm weather and the familiar (which includes school). I had been in Ft. Collins/Boulder, Colorado for the week. Our church was on a spring break outreach to the University of Colorado-Boulder campus. A little background history, my church, Faith Christian Church, has sent out 5 churches to different campuses around the world; Colorado State University in Ft. Collins being the 1st church that was sent out. The Ft. Collins church, Grace Christian Church has been reaching out to the University of Colorado for a few years and is preparing to start a new church there. We (FCC, the church in Albuquerque New Covenant Christian Church, and GCC) went on the Boulder campus to share the Gospel to college students. There was a receptive response from students. A few students gave their lives to Jesus and there are many that are interested in weekly Bible studies on campus. Overall, it was an awesome trip. I got to see members that were sent from the different churches and also got to meet other new members.

I am starting to get back in the swing of things back in Tucson. It’s been a slow start this week, having taken 4 exams the week before spring break. I am taking this opportunity to read ahead, in class and my side reading. I better get some sleep now.

Until next time…

Off to Colorado!!!

I am leaving for Boulder, Colorado today. I am bringing my laptop and a digital camera with me, and will possibly encounter hot spots along the way. I will try to post something from Colorado, if I can.  I will also be twittering, so you can follow me there as well.

Tim is going to hold out at the Cave this week because he had to work. The folks are leaving Tucson today as well. It is always great to hang out with them. I think I got my Mom addicted to “The Office”, she was watching multiple episodes yesterday… we shall see…

Until next time…

YouTube Friday Double-Feature: Ruben Simeo, Trumpet

This week will feature not one, but TWO clips because chances are that I won’t be able to put one up next Friday (will be in Colorado). They both feature an exceptionally gifted up-and-coming trumpet player named Ruben Simeo, from Spain.

In this clip, Ruben is playing a cadenza (pretty much an improvised type solo within a concerto or other piece) with a Flugelhorn.

This clip is from a piece that was written for the 2006 Concours de trompette Maurice Andre competition, by Salvador Chulia Hernandez; the piece is the 3rd movement of the Fantasia Concertante. I think this is significant because he is like 16 years old. He was the youngest in the concerto competition.

Anyway, I will be in Bolder, Colorado next week and probably will not post for a week (in accordance to the unwritten rule of no blogging during spring break, just made that up just now). Also my mother and father will be in town tonight for a few days, that is always exciting!

Until next time…

Getting psyched for Spring Break!

Today I finished 3 out of 4 exams for the week. Is it just me, or is it that all the exams fall the week before spring break. I don’t understand why instructors do this. I have a mental image of my 4 instructors standing around the water cooler in the teachers lounge all putting together this plot, of getting students brain freezes right before their spring breaks. Just one more exam to go, which is scheduled for Thursday morning.

Nothing much is going on, just school (a typical college student response). I am reading an especially intriguing book about the history of capitalism… in case your interested.

Speaking about spring break, I am going to Boulder, Colorado next week. We have a group from my church going to share the Gospel to students on the University of Colorado, Boulder. I am excited, first of all because it COLORADO and second is that I haven’t been on a spring break outreach for a few years (OK, scratch out few and substitute about 5, or is it 6, I don’t remember). I haven’t been to Colorado in ages; I think the last time was when Steve went to math camp, which was in Golden, Colorado (yes, home of the Coors bottling company) so many years ago.

Another mention, my latest computer game that I am playing is called Industry Giant 2, and it is totally addicting. I am one who likes to play video games, growing up with consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Super NES. I like all sorts of genre of games, but most interested in strategy, RPG (role playing games), and some first person shooters. I still am playing Dragon Quest VIII off and on, hopefully going to beat the game someday. We didn’t have a computer until when I got to high school, around about 1994-95. Our first family computer was the Apple Power Macintosh 6100, which had a whopping 66MHz PowerPC processor and like 256 MB of RAM. It was killer in those days…

Anyway, I’m just wasting time now, I have a few errands to run.

Until next time…

YouTube Friday: “Kicking Chippy in the Crotch”

This week’s video features one of my favorite YouTube subscriptions, Kevin Nalts… check his videos out! Also, here is his website. Enjoy!

Until next time…

Paving peace in North Korea… with music!

This might be old news, but I finally heard the re-broadcast of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra’s concert in Pyongyang, North Korea, (2/26/08) on the local classical station last night. This is the largest group of people that have been allowed into North Korea since the end of the Korean War, in 1953. Besides the fact that North Korea is a totalitarian state and disagrees with Western views of democracy, the North Korean’s welcomed the orchestra with open arms.

This I believe is a positive sign of potential political and economic openness between the two countries. Some examples include the Philadelphia Orchestra’s performance in China in 1973 and the Boston Symphony’s performance in the Soviet Union 1956.

The orchestra opened up the concert with both national anthems. They then played “Prelude to Act III from Lohengrin”, composed by Richard Wagner. The next piece, the “Symphony No. 9 from the New World” and the final, “An American in Paris” by George Gershwin. The encores included, “Arirang” a Korean folk song, an overture from Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide” and the all famous (I personally think it is the “all ending” encores that all orchestra have used at one time or another), the 4th movement from the L’Arlesienne, 2nd suite “Farandole”.

I think it is wonderful that music can be used as a medium to relate opposite countries to relate with each other. I don’t know if this would work on resolving peace in North Korea, but it is a start.

In case you want to listen to the concert, here is a link to listen online until March 14th.

Until next time…