Sunday, October 30, 2011

Jack-o-Lantern

This year I carved a jack-o-lantern. I haven't carved a pumpkin since 2006, so it was pretty gratifying. Don't you love all those goopy guts dangling from your fingers? I tried to think of something clever to carve, but I couldn't think of anything clever enough, so I just went with traditional evil.

Here's what my pumpkin looks like in the light (yes, those are my Lego sets behind him):


Here's what he looks like in the dark:


I guess he could kind of be a Voldemort pumpkin, eh? He's got the nose, at least. :o)

Unfortunately, I'm not really going to be home tomorrow during trick-or-treat time, so I'm thinking I'll just leave him lit up on the porch and hope the candle lasts until nightfall (it's a big fat candle).

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Puzzles Up for Grabs

After extensive cleaning today, I've decided to get rid of some of my jigsaw puzzles. If you'd like any of them before I haul them to DI, let me know. I've created a photo album of the puzzles so you can see what they look like. If you'd like the link to the album, just email me and I will give it to you. :o)

Monday, October 24, 2011

Special Musical Number on the Organ

Two Sundays ago, I was sitting in the foyer a couple hours after church when my bishop walked by. We chatted a bit and then he asked me if I would like to do a special musical number in church sometime.

"Sure," I said. "I could play something on the piano."

"Oh, you can play the organ," Bishop said.

"Uh, ok."

So, I am going to perform a musical number on the organ at some point in the near future.

Performing a musical number on the organ is significantly more difficult than performing a musical number on the piano, for (at least) three reasons:

First, it's the organ. The organ has multiple keyboards, plus the foot pedals, plus the volume and crescendo pedals, plus you have to pick all the stops. On the piano, you just sit down and hit a key and the sound that comes out is always the same. You can make the note louder or softer, but that's more or less it (I'm ignoring modern techniques of plucking the strings and whatnot). On the organ, you can have a mellow tone or a sharp tone or a nasal tone or a brassy tone or a billion other tones. That's a lot of choices.

Second, I don't own any organ music. I do own one little book of Bach fugues or something like that, but that's not something I'd play in Sacrament meeting, even if I did have the skill to perform them.

And third, to perform a musical number on the organ requires that I practice the organ. It is exceptionally difficult to practice an instrument when you don't own one. And as much as I'd love to buy an organ, it's not exactly at the top of my grocery list.

I do happen to have a few books of piano arrangements of hymns. I took those to church yesterday and found one I could modify to play on the organ. I've practiced at the Institute before, so maybe they'll let me do that again, but I don't like having to ask someone to let me into the chapel. Maybe I'll just practice on my piano (which is digital and has an organ setting) and hope for the best.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

The Best Part of October



This is my favorite cereal in the WHOLE WORLD.

The end.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Present on the Porch

Tonight when I got home, there was a peanut on my porch.



I'm not sure how it got there, but it made me laugh.

How many people get to find a peanut on their porch?

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Black and White for a Purpose

Today, to the general public, I look like I'm wearing a white shirt and black pants. But actually, I'm wearing the black in memory of Steve Jobs, and I'm wearing the white in honor of Apple.