Saturday, December 19, 2009

Hymnals

I am a little bit nuts about books. I've had to employ a points system of rewards in order to prevent myself from going on random book-buying binges. Hymn books are a particular weakness for me. These are the hymnals I have so far, in order from top to bottom:

1. Reproduction of the original LDS pocket-sized hymnal.

2. Pocket-sized French LDS hymnal. I bought this while at the MTC because it was marked down: someone had returned it, and they'd had to un-engrave it (if you look closely you can see the gold plate they glued over the engraving area).

3. 1950's edition hymnal, pocket-sized. I found this at DI for $2, still in its box, in pristine condition.

4. Pocket-sized German LDS hymnal. I plan to someday learn German.

5. Pocket-sized Spanish LDS hymnal.

6. Pocket-sized English LDS hymnal. I covered it in the hopes that the cover would stop crumbling apart.

7. Special edition leather-bound LDS hymnal.

8. 1950's edition LDS hymnal.

9. Unity Song Selections from the University School of Christianity. I have wanted to purchase other church's hymnals at many times while visiting foreign countries (particularly England), but have restrained myself from spending too much money (I usually had multiple other items I already planned to purchase). This hymnal is not foreign. I found it at DI. Good old DI. I can afford a book from DI.

10. Spanish LDS hymnal.

11. Regular old English LDS hymnal. Mother and Father Edit bought a hymnal for each of us kids when the books were first published in 1985. They even had our names debossed and foiled on the front.

Three of these hymnals were bought from the MTC, three were bought from DI, three were given to me, and two I bought from other sources.

Eleven is not an excessive number when you consider the total number of available hymnals in the world. :o)

Sunday, December 13, 2009

(French) Horn

I've got a French* horn:


And I know how to use it!**

*"The International Horn Society recommends that HORN be recognized as the correct English label for our instrument." [From the Minutes of the First IHS General Meeting, June 15, 1971, Tallahassee, Florida, USA]

I, on the other hand, have given up trying, as a lot of musicians erroneously assimilate saxophones, trumpets, and even trombones with the word "horn." I would like to call the horn something that more accurately describes its roots, such as the French-American-German horn, but as this can be shortened to faghorn, I don't think it's likely to catch on anytime soon. Gafhorn?

Maybe I should write a separate blog entry about this. :o)

**If you would like to see me use it in a local production of Handel's Messiah (select movements), come to Hillcrest High tonight at 7. It's free!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Automatic Bathroom

If you go to the ladies' bathroom in the Wilkinson Center on the ground floor near the information desk, you will encounter the following:

-automatic flushing toilets

-automatic water faucets

-automatic soap dispensers

-automatic paper towel dispensers

-automatic hand dryers

Aaaaaaaaaand...

-automatic toilet paper dispensers

For real.

All they are missing is automatic toilet seat protectors (that bathroom currently has no seat protectors at all), which I saw at an airport once. Odd things.

And maybe automatic doors. Then you wouldn't have to touch ANYTHING.