Inspiring Quote for November 9th, 2014: Faith

   “Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence.”

― Pope John Paul II 

Inspiring Quote for September 29th, 2014: Love

   “It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start.”

― Mother Teresa

Inspiring Quote for September 25th, 2014: Persistence

   “Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down.”

― Charles F. Kettering 

SYMBOLON: THE CATHOLIC FAITH EXPLAINED

Inspiring Quote for September 23rd, 2014: Aging

   “It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams.”

― Gabriel Garcia Marquez 

Inspiring Quote for September 22nd, 2014: Lessons

   “Have you learned the lessons only of those who admired you, and were tender with you, and stood aside for you? Have you not learned great lessons from those who braced themselves against you, and disputed passage with you?”

― Walt Whitman

Dear coffee...

My dearest Java,

How do I love thee?  Thou art black and beautiful, so I love thee with Biblical words.  Thou are good with half-and-half, cream, milk, sugar, honey, maple syrup, maple sugar, agave nectar, or coconut cream, so thou art good mixed.  More than all of these, I love thee straight, as long as the barista is good, the roaster is good, and the beans are good.  If not, thou needest a little decking out with the aforementioned accessories.

However, my dearest one, here is where I must introduce a strain into our relationship.  This past week, as we gained more and more exclusivity, I realized that I need to introduce a third person into our relationship.  Now, I love monogamy; I think you know this.  But, in the interest of not crashing or dying, I think our relationship has to be polygamous.  I need to spend more time with my old flame.  She's also dark and luxurious; her name is Sleep.  When I fold into her arms, nothing else matters.  She's fantastic in her time, as you are fantastic in yours.

I have found that on occasion I can substitute you for her.  This often comes at a price that I am willing to pay.  However, it is not often the case that I can substitute her for you.  This means that I do value you as an individual, and that I am not giving you up.  Your soda cousins aren't quite as effective as you are, so you will always be my first love.  Your energy-drink cousins are just crazy; I prefer to spend my time with you rather than them; there's no telling what they will ask me to do.  I will also admit to spending time with your far-distant cousins which promise zen and harmony, but they did nothing for me.  I also love your sister, tea, but she requires a much more tender preparation, so we don't hang out much.

Anyway, I just thought that I needed to define how we stand after this past week of frequent use.

Love always,
Anthony

Inspiring Quote for August 30th, 2014: Tact

   “Tact is the ability to tell someone to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip.”

― Winston Churchill

Inspiring Quote for July 22nd, 2014

   “Blessed is the servant who loves his brother as much when he is sick and useless as when he is well and can be of service to him. And blessed is he who loves his brother as well when he is afar off as when he is by his side, and who would say nothing behind his back he might not, in love, say before his face.”

― St. Francis of Assisi 

Inspiring Quote for July 20th, 2014: Future

   “Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you.”

― Jim Rohn 

Inspiring Quote for July 19th, 2014: Happiness

   “Every day we have plenty of opportunities to get angry, stressed or offended. But what you're doing when you indulge these negative emotions is giving something outside yourself power over your happiness. You can choose to not let little things upset you.”

― Joel Osteen 

Inspiring Quote for July 12th, 2014: Tears

   “There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.”

― Washington Irving

Inspiring Quote for July 11th, 2014: Willpower

   “Willpower is the key to success. Successful people strive no matter what they feel by applying their will to overcome apathy, doubt or fear.”

― Dan Millman

Inspiring Quote for July 9th, 2014: Greatness

   “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”

― Mark Twain

Inspiring Quote for July 3rd, 2014: Family

  “The great danger for family life, in the midst of any society whose idols are pleasure, comfort and independence, lies in the fact that people close their hearts and become selfish.”

― Pope John Paul II 

First recording posted

I sang this for the first Mass of Fr. Daniel Heenan on Sunday, June 25.  I enjoyed it immensely, especially because it is so simple, so I recorded all three parts in Audacity, and posted it on Soundcloud.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
   

Comments and critiques are certainly welcome.  I am always looking for ways to improve.

Inspiring Quote for June 20th, 2014: Adversity

   “All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”

― Walt Disney

Inspiring Quote for June 15th, 2014: Fathers

   “Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his advice.”

― Charles F. Kettering

Inspiring Quote for May 12th, 2014: Attitude

   “Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.”

― Khalil Gibran

Inspiring Quote for May 11th, 2014

   “If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has not already been.”

― Robert Brault

Inspiring Quote for May 8th, 2014: Humility

 “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.”

― Saint Augustine

Inspiring Quote for April 27th, 2014: Fatherhood

   “Real fatherhood means love and commitment and sacrifice and a willingness to share responsibility and not walking away from one's children.”

― William Bennett

Inspiring Quote for April 25th, 2014

Leave No Man Behind...

   “Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.”

― Heraclitus

Inspiring Quote for April 21st, 2014

   “I'm a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn't have the heart to let him down.”

― Abraham Lincoln

Inspiring Quote for April 20th, 2014

   “Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”

― Epicurus

Inspiring Quote for April 14th, 2014

   “It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.”

― Theodore Roosevelt

30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself

I found this list to be quite fascinating... http://healthybodynow.net/stop-hurting-yourself/

Palm Sunday

Today's a very busy day. I get the privilege of chanting the Passion twice. I'm on route to the first one now. The first one is out in DC; the second one is in Charles Town, WV. Following the second chanting, I'll be attending the rest of Mass. Immediately after that, I go back out to DC for choir rehearsal. I will be home sometime between 6–8 p.m. today

Don't worry, I have my coffee with me. :-)

Inspiring Quote for April 12th, 2014

   “To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless.”

― Gilbert K. Chesterton

Inspiring Quote for April 9th, 2014

   “There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.”

― Epictetus

A quick thought for Great Lent

Behold the bridegroom comes at midnight, and blessed is the servant whom he shall find watching; and again, unworthy is the servant whom He shall find heedless.

Beware, therefore, O my soul, do not be weighed down with sleep, lest you be given over to death, and lest you be shut out of the Kingdom.

But rouse yourself, crying: "Holy! Holy! Holy! art Thou, O our God. Through the Theotokos have mercy on us!"

Inspiring Quote for March 9th, 2014

    “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.”

― Dwight D. Eisenhower

Inspiring Quote for March 3rd, 2014

    “Forgiveness is the economy of the heart... forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits.”

― Hannah More

Inspiring Quote for March 1st, 2014

    “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”

― Mother Teresa

Follow up to Spem in Alium

There are a couple videos from the performances of Spem in Alium from yesterday.  One of them is posted on Fr. Z's blog:

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2014/02/washington-dc-thomas-tallis-spem-in-alium-for-40-voices/

This is a short video which includes snippets from all three performances.

Here is a video of the third and final performance of the day.

http://youtu.be/tHubWduXFHw

The choir who put this on is Chorus Sine Nomine (http://www.facebook.com/thechorussinenomine), but the people who showed up to sing this massive work represented groups such as Collegium Cantorum, the Suspicious Cheese Lords, Illuminare, Chantry, and others, and various parish choir and cathedral choir directors and members.

It was a phenomenal experience, and I hope to sing it again!  There are 7 more baritone lines to learn, as well as 8 bass lines, and 8 tenor lines.  I might have to learn them just for the heck of it.  :)

Life goal accomplished today

Today was a memorable day, and it will go down in history as one of my favorites.  I accomplished a life goal today.  Under the direction of David L. from St. John the Beloved Catholic Church, I and nearly 100 people sang the motet Spem in Alium by Thomas Tallis.  The motet is a masterwork, which displays the genius of the man, and provides no small challenge to even professional musicians to pull off well.  It is written for 40 individual voices, divided into 8 choirs of soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, and bass.  My line was choir 5, baritone: out of 40 voices, I was voice 24.

All I can say is wow!  It was an absolute blast!

Inspiring Quote for February 18th, 2014

    “Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.”

― Les Brown

MP3 collection fail

I just made the worst discovery I had never hoped to make. I have lost my entire collection of King's Singers MP3's that I had ripped from my albums. Drat...

I have a lot of reading to do...

The top three books are for my next certification, and the bottom two are "just because" books.

8-)

Inspiring Quote for February 6th, 2014

    “Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday.”

― John Wayne

Inspiring Quote for February 4th, 2014

    “Some people wonder all their lives if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem.”

― Ronald Reagan

Network+ certification acquired

Thank the Lord!  I passed!  Thank you for the prayers, everyone!

Network+ certification test

In less than 24 hours, I will either be CompTIA Network+ certified or I will not. I ask for your prayers, as tests always make me nervous.

I take the test tomorrow at 9am in Winchester.

Inspiring Quote for January 24th, 2014

    “Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice.”

― Wayne Dyer

Inspiring Quote for January 21st, 2014

    “Listen earnestly to anything your children want to tell you, no matter what. If you don't listen eagerly to the little stuff when they are little, they won't tell you the big stuff when they are big, because to them all of it has always been big stuff.”

― Catherine M. Wallace

It's asthma season, I guess

Breathing is difficult today.  Not sure why, but I needed my inhaler (which I normally use once a month or so) this morning, and I feel like I may need it again.

Inspiring Quote for January 15th, 2014

    “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

― Aristotle

I'm just a big softie...

So, I have read the Chronicles of Narnia once, listened to the audiobooks twice, and am on the home stretch of the Focus on the Family's Radio Dramas The Chronicles of Narnia.  I thoroughly enjoyed the books and the radio theater production is astounding.  I get sucked into the story every time, even though I know what will happen in the end.  The bad guys are always bad and I dislike them.  The good guys are always good and I cheer them on (except when they are being naughty).

I will certainly be reading them again in the future, but I do have to say that I'm really enjoying the concept of the radio theater.  I need to get more of these!

On the road to Greensboro

Today I go down to Greensboro, NC with the Cheese Lords. We have a concert Saturday night and Mass to sing at on Sunday morning.

The concert on Saturday night is at 7:30 PM, and is at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, 2205 W Market St, Greensboro, NC 27403.  The Mass on Sunday is at 1 PM in the same church.

If you have friends in that area who are interested in choral music, or who need to be introduced to this kind of music, or who like groups with totally awesome names, let them know we will be there!

Grammatical thing...

"A former aerospace executive who slapped a crying toddler on an airplane and used a racial slur against the child, who is black, received an eight-month prison sentence on Monday for an incident his attorney blamed on his alcoholism."

Who is black?

In real life, the child is black.  Grammatically, isn't the former executive black?

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/06/22203402-man-gets-eight-months-in-prison-for-slapping-toddler-on-plane?lite

Inspiring Quote for January 6th, 2014

    “One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do.”

― Henry Ford

Suspicious Cheese Lords in concert this evening

1601 Pleasant Plains Rd, Annapolis, MD

This is the address.

St. Margaret's Episcopal Vhurch

This is the name of the church.

Tonight, 7:30 PM

This is the time.

If you're at this place at this time, then you will hear the Suspicious Cheese Lords sing a Christmas concert; our featured work is O Admirabile Commercium by two separate composers. You'll also hear other Christmas works by various composers, many of which are little known in the choral world.

See you this evening!

Patsy

Patsy couldn't quite figure out if she wanted to go up or down...


So she went straight out.