You know that old copy of somebody's fhe group singing "DI"? Well, there's a nicer version of "DI" online now.
A moosefan named Tyler Barrett runs a fan site (http://www.tylerbarrett.com/mooseheads.htm) and a moosebutter fan youtube channel (go see here: http://www.youtube.com/user/MooseHeadsUnite) including only hard-to-find and obscure moosebutter recordings. And he put "DI" on there--including the original Skook Logo (with the dancing guy that I think Joe drew on his drum--how'd he get that?!).
Note to Bryant or Josh if they get word of this: Tyler needs some of the missing lyrics filled in on "Green Alien." Email him!
Anyway, here are a few of my favorite of the things he's posted for our benefit and enjoyment:
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Home Schooling Resources: The Science of Cooking
This is an awesome website:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/index.html
The recipes are fun (lollipops?), the science is clear, the site engaging.
Well worth a visit.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/index.html
The recipes are fun (lollipops?), the science is clear, the site engaging.
Well worth a visit.
Friday, May 29, 2009
and, just to include everyone...and brag a bit
Caleb, Anda, and I took a reading test. I read 318 words a minute of 2nd-3rd-grade level stuff. Anda, age 5-almost-6 reads 270 words a minute. Caleb, age 7, reads 450 words a minute (course, he was getting it on a second read, but STILL)! I knew he reads faster than me, but I didn't know Anda could read nearly as fast as I can. I mean, she's supposed to be just finishing Kindergarten, and instead she's just finishing Harry Potter books 1 and 2 AGAIN!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Did I just read that?
Pretty tricky, here, since the letter in question was stolen between 1880-1940, and donated this week back to the government.
"It was ripped from the pages of his Treasury secretary's correspondence and bought at auction by a collector who waited for Lincoln's bicentennial year to donate it." (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104679055)
And why would the thief buy the stolen article himself?
"It was ripped from the pages of his Treasury secretary's correspondence and bought at auction by a collector who waited for Lincoln's bicentennial year to donate it." (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104679055)
And why would the thief buy the stolen article himself?
California's attempts to stifle Religion
California is trying to enforce laws that would make it impossible for religious people to have friends over to talk religion without a permit. In this article, they got after a pastor and his wife who hold bible studies at home.http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,522637,00.html?test=latestnews
Just like the New Hampshire gay marriage law being under attack for trying to protect religious freedoms, this is outlandish.
If this went through, ALL missionary activity, home and visiting teaching, delivering the sacrament to homebound people, group family home evenings, cottage meetings, having friends over to watch conference...would be illegal without a permit.
If San Diego County doesn't immediately back down--if this actually has to go to federal court (where the first amendment rights surely will be upheld, won't they?)--I am even more scared for religious freedom than ever!
In a recent news article, a Californian lamented that other states have approved gay marriage before CA because "We're supposed to be the leader in social issues." If making it impossibly difficult to practice religion and home school children (which they have) is being a "social leader", I want out of that society!
Just like the New Hampshire gay marriage law being under attack for trying to protect religious freedoms, this is outlandish.
If this went through, ALL missionary activity, home and visiting teaching, delivering the sacrament to homebound people, group family home evenings, cottage meetings, having friends over to watch conference...would be illegal without a permit.
If San Diego County doesn't immediately back down--if this actually has to go to federal court (where the first amendment rights surely will be upheld, won't they?)--I am even more scared for religious freedom than ever!
In a recent news article, a Californian lamented that other states have approved gay marriage before CA because "We're supposed to be the leader in social issues." If making it impossibly difficult to practice religion and home school children (which they have) is being a "social leader", I want out of that society!
Why I Love Improbable Research
Where else do you hear about studies like this?
"The Bohannon/Goldstein/Herschkowitsch study concludes somewhat perplexedly that (1) "human beings do not enjoy eating dog food" and (2) are "not able to distinguish its flavour profile from other meat-based products that are intended for human consumption".
The dog and cat food studies share a connection to wine. The dog monograph is published by the American Association of Wine Economists. The cat paper is written by a professor of biological sciences/wine science, and appears in the Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, which in 2007 featured a study called The Influence of Polyphenol Rich Apple Pomace or Red-Wine Pomace Diet on the Gut Morphology in Weaning Piglets."
Read more here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/may/26/improbable-research-pet-food
"The Bohannon/Goldstein/Herschkowitsch study concludes somewhat perplexedly that (1) "human beings do not enjoy eating dog food" and (2) are "not able to distinguish its flavour profile from other meat-based products that are intended for human consumption".
The dog and cat food studies share a connection to wine. The dog monograph is published by the American Association of Wine Economists. The cat paper is written by a professor of biological sciences/wine science, and appears in the Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, which in 2007 featured a study called The Influence of Polyphenol Rich Apple Pomace or Red-Wine Pomace Diet on the Gut Morphology in Weaning Piglets."
Read more here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/may/26/improbable-research-pet-food
I told you creative, not lazy, people prefer apple
From the Annals of Improbable Research (those Ig Noble Prize People):
"Automatic Effects of Brand Exposure on Motivated Behavior: How
Apple Makes You 'Think Different,'" Gr?inne M. Fitzsimons, Tanya
l. Chartrand, Gavan j. Fitzsimons, Journal of Consumer Behavior,
vol. 35, no. 1, June 2008, pp. 21-35.
The authors, who are variously at the University of Waterloo and
at Duke University, report:
"This manuscript first examines whether brand exposure elicits
automatic behavioral effects as does exposure to social primes.
Results support the translation of these effects: Participants
primed with Apple logos behave more creatively than IBM-primed
and controls; Disney-primed participants behave more honestly
than E!-primed and controls."
You can sign up for IgNoble News here:
http://chem.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/mini-air
or here:
http://improbable.com/
"Automatic Effects of Brand Exposure on Motivated Behavior: How
Apple Makes You 'Think Different,'" Gr?inne M. Fitzsimons, Tanya
l. Chartrand, Gavan j. Fitzsimons, Journal of Consumer Behavior,
vol. 35, no. 1, June 2008, pp. 21-35.
The authors, who are variously at the University of Waterloo and
at Duke University, report:
"This manuscript first examines whether brand exposure elicits
automatic behavioral effects as does exposure to social primes.
Results support the translation of these effects: Participants
primed with Apple logos behave more creatively than IBM-primed
and controls; Disney-primed participants behave more honestly
than E!-primed and controls."
You can sign up for IgNoble News here:
http://chem.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/mini-air
or here:
http://improbable.com/
Monday, May 25, 2009
The Most Encouraging Feedback I've Ever Received
A few weeks ago I had one of those moments that spurs me to action. I mentioned it before when I wrote about "Harry Potter" and the flaws I can now see. What I may not have mentioned is that the sum total of my experiences with Harry Potter this time around was the firm conviction, "I can do that! No problem." That experience, but with Terry Brooks books, is what made me start writing in the first place. I looked at the books and realized they were just words on paper, and not strung together very specially different than talking, and I said to my sister Beth, "I can do that." "So do," she said. So I did. (Interestingly, a parallel experience is what launched Tim into vocal music--specifically a cappella.)
So I started writing again. But what I realized is that where I started--writing for 12-14 year old girls--is where my heart still lies. And that that age group in writing worlds is called Upper Middle Grade, not Young Adult (the difference has a great deal more to do with writing style and content than simply age). And that my mother told me 2 years ago that the stories I create would be most interesting to Upper Middle Grade readers.
So I sat down and did the unthinkable. I started "Poison Spindle Problem" again. AGAIN. Why? Because the book is the right kind of story for that age. And I couldn't rewrite it to work. I couldn't bear it. So I took all I've learned about writing and started with a new blank page and Anda looking over my shoulder saying what I was thinking, "Mom, why do you just write that story over and over? Can't you tell a different one?"
Apparently I Can't until I get this one right. I've been trying for a full year now.
But this time, it just flowed--the way things do when you finally get them right.
Until I got stuck, 50 pages in.
So tonight, when I had the kids gathered around my knees anyway, I told them I needed their help. I told them the story to the point where I'm stuck and asked their advice. "See, I think this is what should happen next, but I'm not sure. What do you think?" And I told them my ideas.
Daniel, who I honestly hadn't noticed was sitting and listening, popped up his head when I stopped talking and said, "Read some more, Mom."
So I told him what I thought might happen after that. "And does she turn out to be a good guy or a bad guy?" Dan asked, his eyes wide.
"A good guy," I said.
"Read some more," He said.
He urged me on, his eyes wide and his attention focused, until the very end of the story, which indeed went something different (and far better) than the first version and than I had thought before I started talking.
Dan climbed up into my lap and said. "Now read the next one."
So, at his urging, I started telling the second book in the series. And the motion level in the room started increasing, as Caleb and Anda started walking, and then running, trying to stay focused and get their poor ADD brains to think and create.
By the end of the third book, Dan was saying, "And does she be nice to the old lady?" over the din of both Caleb and Anda simultaneously, breathlessly, telling me what the characters of themselves are doing to solve the problems with the lady locked in the tower and the pirates battling to keep the good guys out, and how they're individually going to break the enchantments that hold the woman captive even after the pirate battle is over. "And then does the dragon come again?" Dan whispered. "Yes," I whispered back, the big kids still running, red in the face, sweating, and living the story. "And is it still a good guy?" Dan whispers back. "Yes," I say. "And it rescues Elizabeth just in time and flies her to a castle where she can have her baby."
Immediately, I get yells from the other kids. "But MOM!" Anda protests in a very teenage voice. "The PHOENIX was supposed to help with that, not the dragon!" I hadn't realized there was a phoenix in my story. "Have you been listening to ANYTHING we've been saying?"
"Well, you're all kind of talking at once," I protest feebly. Not to mention it's MY story. I don't say that. Isn't the point of writing a story for the reader to begin to own it? "I got distracted," I say.
"I thought Caleb got rid of the enchantments!" Caleb chimes in.
"Of course he does!" I say quickly.
"And then Kate, at least, must hold on to the phoenix's tale and follow the dragon," Anda insists.
"Naturally," I say.
"Read the next one now, Mom," Dan says quietly. "Can you read the next one?"
"I'll have to write it first," I say. "Let's go make cookies."
So I started writing again. But what I realized is that where I started--writing for 12-14 year old girls--is where my heart still lies. And that that age group in writing worlds is called Upper Middle Grade, not Young Adult (the difference has a great deal more to do with writing style and content than simply age). And that my mother told me 2 years ago that the stories I create would be most interesting to Upper Middle Grade readers.
So I sat down and did the unthinkable. I started "Poison Spindle Problem" again. AGAIN. Why? Because the book is the right kind of story for that age. And I couldn't rewrite it to work. I couldn't bear it. So I took all I've learned about writing and started with a new blank page and Anda looking over my shoulder saying what I was thinking, "Mom, why do you just write that story over and over? Can't you tell a different one?"
Apparently I Can't until I get this one right. I've been trying for a full year now.
But this time, it just flowed--the way things do when you finally get them right.
Until I got stuck, 50 pages in.
So tonight, when I had the kids gathered around my knees anyway, I told them I needed their help. I told them the story to the point where I'm stuck and asked their advice. "See, I think this is what should happen next, but I'm not sure. What do you think?" And I told them my ideas.
Daniel, who I honestly hadn't noticed was sitting and listening, popped up his head when I stopped talking and said, "Read some more, Mom."
So I told him what I thought might happen after that. "And does she turn out to be a good guy or a bad guy?" Dan asked, his eyes wide.
"A good guy," I said.
"Read some more," He said.
He urged me on, his eyes wide and his attention focused, until the very end of the story, which indeed went something different (and far better) than the first version and than I had thought before I started talking.
Dan climbed up into my lap and said. "Now read the next one."
So, at his urging, I started telling the second book in the series. And the motion level in the room started increasing, as Caleb and Anda started walking, and then running, trying to stay focused and get their poor ADD brains to think and create.
By the end of the third book, Dan was saying, "And does she be nice to the old lady?" over the din of both Caleb and Anda simultaneously, breathlessly, telling me what the characters of themselves are doing to solve the problems with the lady locked in the tower and the pirates battling to keep the good guys out, and how they're individually going to break the enchantments that hold the woman captive even after the pirate battle is over. "And then does the dragon come again?" Dan whispered. "Yes," I whispered back, the big kids still running, red in the face, sweating, and living the story. "And is it still a good guy?" Dan whispers back. "Yes," I say. "And it rescues Elizabeth just in time and flies her to a castle where she can have her baby."
Immediately, I get yells from the other kids. "But MOM!" Anda protests in a very teenage voice. "The PHOENIX was supposed to help with that, not the dragon!" I hadn't realized there was a phoenix in my story. "Have you been listening to ANYTHING we've been saying?"
"Well, you're all kind of talking at once," I protest feebly. Not to mention it's MY story. I don't say that. Isn't the point of writing a story for the reader to begin to own it? "I got distracted," I say.
"I thought Caleb got rid of the enchantments!" Caleb chimes in.
"Of course he does!" I say quickly.
"And then Kate, at least, must hold on to the phoenix's tale and follow the dragon," Anda insists.
"Naturally," I say.
"Read the next one now, Mom," Dan says quietly. "Can you read the next one?"
"I'll have to write it first," I say. "Let's go make cookies."
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Penny Pinching Tip: Be generous
It might seem counter-intuitive to give when you don't have much, but I firmly believe that God helps those who help others.
Life isn't about just getting through. It's about having a rich and full experience, and being happy. Helping others is a great way to make yourself and others happy, even when you have to pinch pennies.
Besides, you don't have to give money. Share what you have--take a plate of cookies to someone, give away (instead of throwing away) or donate used but still useable items and broken but fixable items (try Craigslist, or give it to DI or Savers--they even sometimes give you a 20% off coupon when you donate!), invite someone over to dinner. Or share what you do--mow someone's lawn, mend or alter clothing, teach a skill you know, tutor, share your talents. Or share what you are--write a note, be a friend, make a phone call.
Being generous is not just about sharing our money. It's also about sharing our time, talents, skills, and other resources to make other people's lives richer, fuller, happier. And it does the same for us.
Life isn't about just getting through. It's about having a rich and full experience, and being happy. Helping others is a great way to make yourself and others happy, even when you have to pinch pennies.
Besides, you don't have to give money. Share what you have--take a plate of cookies to someone, give away (instead of throwing away) or donate used but still useable items and broken but fixable items (try Craigslist, or give it to DI or Savers--they even sometimes give you a 20% off coupon when you donate!), invite someone over to dinner. Or share what you do--mow someone's lawn, mend or alter clothing, teach a skill you know, tutor, share your talents. Or share what you are--write a note, be a friend, make a phone call.
Being generous is not just about sharing our money. It's also about sharing our time, talents, skills, and other resources to make other people's lives richer, fuller, happier. And it does the same for us.
Did I just read that?
From an article about how Congress isn't as stupid as Obama in terms of national safety:
"In the months since, he has woven an uncertain course, occasionally angering liberals."
Woven...a...Course.
Mixed metaphor if I ever saw one!
Full article here: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/6433989.html
"In the months since, he has woven an uncertain course, occasionally angering liberals."
Woven...a...Course.
Mixed metaphor if I ever saw one!
Full article here: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/6433989.html
Just in Case You were on the fence....
For years gay rights advocates have said they weren't trying to destroy religion, but merely secure their own "rights". And when religions brought up questions and issues, they were roundly ignored. Nobody would answer those debates.
Well, now they're talking, and what they say is scary.
Read here: http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2050926720090520
For those of you who don't click links, here is what the New Hampshire legislature was trying to do: "The legislature had been asked to approve language that would give legal protections, including the right to decline to marry same-sex couples, to clergy and others affiliated with religious organizations."
They failed by 2 votes.
Here's why: " State Representative Steve Vaillancourt, a gay Republican from Manchester, was a leading voice against the amendment securing religious liberties, saying that the House should not be "bullied" by the governor.
Vaillancourt said an earlier bill that did not provide protections to clerics or religious groups was the one that should have been passed, adding that the amended bill would allow discrimination to be written into state law."
So now they say religious belief can be mandated by law.
And I thought we lived in a country where even skinheads had the right to believe and teach their children!
This should send shivers up and down your spine.
If you weren't scared before, you should be now.
It's a good thing freedom of religion is guaranteed in the first amendment! Although, if things continue to go as they have, this time the freedom might be forced all the way to the Supreme Court before we are allowed to believe and keep the commandments of God.
Well, now they're talking, and what they say is scary.
Read here: http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2050926720090520
For those of you who don't click links, here is what the New Hampshire legislature was trying to do: "The legislature had been asked to approve language that would give legal protections, including the right to decline to marry same-sex couples, to clergy and others affiliated with religious organizations."
They failed by 2 votes.
Here's why: " State Representative Steve Vaillancourt, a gay Republican from Manchester, was a leading voice against the amendment securing religious liberties, saying that the House should not be "bullied" by the governor.
Vaillancourt said an earlier bill that did not provide protections to clerics or religious groups was the one that should have been passed, adding that the amended bill would allow discrimination to be written into state law."
So now they say religious belief can be mandated by law.
And I thought we lived in a country where even skinheads had the right to believe and teach their children!
This should send shivers up and down your spine.
If you weren't scared before, you should be now.
It's a good thing freedom of religion is guaranteed in the first amendment! Although, if things continue to go as they have, this time the freedom might be forced all the way to the Supreme Court before we are allowed to believe and keep the commandments of God.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Okay, so we've been reading "Harry Potter" books together. I openly admit that the Harry Potter books are some of my favorite and have been heavily influential in my life in general (hard to believe? Literature has that power).
I really think that "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" is a classic.
Chamber of Secrets (book 2)? Not so much.
Spoiler Alert here--if you don't want to know the ending, stop reading here.
Okay, so I've been reading it out loud to the kids. Reading aloud is one of the best ways to spot flaws in a manuscript. Not only did we find an honest-to-goodness typo, the books is really full of holes. It's not very well written, to be honest.
The problems are scattered throughout the book, but I think one of the biggest of all is in the plumbing.
Yes. The Plumbing.
The Castle has plumbing.
Necessary in a school, right? Right.
But they clearly state that the castle was built a thousand years ago. BEFORE indoor plumbing.
So maybe they added it later? Possibly.
Except that the entrance to the hidden chamber of secrets that was put in when the castle was built is...through a SINK in the bathroom. And the monster? It travels through the pipes.
And since they clearly state that the first time the chamber of secrets was even FOUND was a mere 50 years before, you can't really argue that someone added the sink-entrance later when they added the bathrooms and the plumbing. They would have merely walled up the old entrance, not knowing it was even there.
Plus, the plumbing that exists isn't very reasonable--an enormous gigantic snake travels through it. Through pipes that are concealed in the walls. Of the castle. Separate from the pipes somehow getting INTO the walls of the castle nearly a thousand years after it was built, it doesn't make mechanical sense to insert enormous gigantic pipes that a monstrous snake can slither through. You know how thick those walls would have to be? We're talking pipes the size of tube slides at water parks. That makes awfully thick walls, don't you think?
I really think that "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" is a classic.
Chamber of Secrets (book 2)? Not so much.
Spoiler Alert here--if you don't want to know the ending, stop reading here.
Okay, so I've been reading it out loud to the kids. Reading aloud is one of the best ways to spot flaws in a manuscript. Not only did we find an honest-to-goodness typo, the books is really full of holes. It's not very well written, to be honest.
The problems are scattered throughout the book, but I think one of the biggest of all is in the plumbing.
Yes. The Plumbing.
The Castle has plumbing.
Necessary in a school, right? Right.
But they clearly state that the castle was built a thousand years ago. BEFORE indoor plumbing.
So maybe they added it later? Possibly.
Except that the entrance to the hidden chamber of secrets that was put in when the castle was built is...through a SINK in the bathroom. And the monster? It travels through the pipes.
And since they clearly state that the first time the chamber of secrets was even FOUND was a mere 50 years before, you can't really argue that someone added the sink-entrance later when they added the bathrooms and the plumbing. They would have merely walled up the old entrance, not knowing it was even there.
Plus, the plumbing that exists isn't very reasonable--an enormous gigantic snake travels through it. Through pipes that are concealed in the walls. Of the castle. Separate from the pipes somehow getting INTO the walls of the castle nearly a thousand years after it was built, it doesn't make mechanical sense to insert enormous gigantic pipes that a monstrous snake can slither through. You know how thick those walls would have to be? We're talking pipes the size of tube slides at water parks. That makes awfully thick walls, don't you think?
America's Got Talent
I've been sitting on this for a month, waiting until we at least got to the end of a chapter to write about it.
And the first chapter in this adventure ended today. Next one starts--TOMORROW. (We always do things down to the line, don't we?)
So here's the story:
About a month ago, out of the blue, Tim got a call from a casting director at America's Got Talent. He said he'd found moosebutter's myspace page (which they haven't updated in over two years) and wanted moosebutter to submit an audition for the show. Please send video.
Tim did.
Didn't think much of this, since it happened once before with moosebutter and nothing came of it. Besides, moosebutter was functionally retired. (Notice I said was?)
About a week later, Tim's group Wonder Voice did a talent show benefit concert. They sang one song. They lost. BUT one of the judges was involved with entertainment at Station Casinos and had connections somehow--and she got everyone who performed in the talent show private auditions for America's Got Talent.
Very cool. That semi-live (you go and sing, but they film it and take it to the producers) audition got scheduled.
Then about two days later, a DIFFERENT casting director called and said she'd seen King 4 in the Harmony Sweepstakes in LA, and could they please come audition for America's Got Talent. That got scheduled in Vegas the day before the Wonder Voice audition.
So...casting scramble. We have multiple casts for everything, but had to deal with who was available short notice and could they learn the parts for new songs, etc.
The cast that ended up doing the King 4 audition literally met each other for the first time in the parking lot outside the building--it was parts of a couple different casts for that group.
So the audition went well.
Then the next audition went well.
Afterward, the producer caught them and explained that they were flooded with a cappella groups this year, so no promises, but she personally thought they were FANTASTIC.
BUT:
Turn out there are a TON of factors involved in getting a group onto that show.
These were things that affected the outcome for us, despite the fact that the producers clearly loved all three groups:
1. Any single person CANNOT appear in more than one act. (So we'd have to do the great Casting Shuffle yet again if more than one group got selected).
2. (And this is standard for any job interview/audition/manuscript submission--it's slush pile normalcy) It entirely depends not only on who else applied, but what order the applications/audition materials were viewed, since context does determine how we view things. With them being swamped with a cappella applications, they all start to look mundane and boring (and therefore less likely to get on the show) unless there is some sort of gimmick that makes them stand out. That's why King 4 and moosebutter caught their eye--they are DIFFERENT from your average contemporary a cappella group. Different is, of course, Tim's specialty, so no surprise there.
3. Permissions. Copyright law only applies to written sheet music. But intellectual property laws come heavily into play here. AGT is a show that is performed before a live audience AND broadcast. So they have to get both performing and broadcast permissions for any song that is performed, and pay the appropriate licensing fees.
4. Auditioners only get 90 seconds. And comedy is tricky to pull of in 90 seconds--it requires a set up for the punchline to work, and that takes time.
Despite all this, we heard back about King 4 and moosebutter (but not Wonder Voice, and no answer means no "audition"--really call back to sing in front of the live judges)
But just hearing, "We love you and we want you" wasn't cause for celebration. Not yet.
There was that permissions issue. See, when you get accepted, you turn in a list of songs you can use and the first one that comes through with licensing is the one you must sing.
AND (and here's the stickler)--the estate of Elvis doesn't give permission. They don't like their songs performed in a tongue-in-cheek way, like by Four guys in bad Elvis glasses with sideburns attached. So King 4 got put into permissions limbo (we still haven't heard how that came out, but we're assuming it was a no)--they'd have to sing something that Elvis sang but not only didn't sing first, but that his estate hasn't since bought all the publishing rights to (publishing rights in music doesn't mean printing the sheet music--it means using the song for anything). Like "How Great Thou Art", which the guys would totally do an awesome job on...but it doesn't really feel right to perform a sacred hymn with elvis side burns dangling from gold sunglasses, and it wouldn't really highlight the funniness of the concept.
King 4 wasn't the only one with permissions problems.
moosebutter had them, too.
See, the permissions/licensing issue is thorny with parodies, so they disallowed any use of parodies in the show. And that happens to be where all of moosebutter's best music is.
Also disallowed (for licensing issues) is any reference to any pop culture product or other licensed or copyrighted entity. So...Star Wars. Harry Potter. Psycho--all out, even if they wrote new music for them.
AND they really seriously discourage the use of original music. They say this is because they end up swamped with singer-songwriters singing boring songs. I personally suspect (and this is just speculation) that they don't want to delve into the legal mess of licensing the original music (and therefore paying the performer to compete, which is ethically iffy), especially since 99% of the original songs out there just aren't good enough and wouldn't get past the "audition" (call back in front of celebrity judges) round--so it's a complete waste of resources for the staff of the show.
But I'd say 95% of moosebutter's music is either original or parody.
Which left us with just a few choices--and they would still have to be licensed.
Thus came a week of back and forth with the producers, who had to look at all their covers and all their original music to see if any of it was usable, and then get Tim to send video of live performances of the songs they liked, get that approved with the executive director (who, fortunately, loved moosebutter or they would have ended up in the 'too hard to work through the issues' pile), then submit the material for permissions.
Miraculously, all the backing-and-forthing of it all ended up with...licensing came through for the song everyone agreed had the best chance of coming across on TV. So moosebutter gets to go to the "audition" (really call-back) round. Remember, though, that half the people who get through to that round are put through because they are so bad that it'll make great TV. So Tim has the double challenge of making sure everyone gets there and that they are good enough that nobody puts them into the "worst of..." reels.
So THEN we had to do the great casting shuffle again, this time with the travel coordinator (by now Tim has talked to and emailed half a dozen people who work on the show as he gets through each step of the process). Tim is here in Vegas, but had a today (Saturday) singing in the finals of the Harmony Sweeps. AND he had a gig on Tuesday and Wednesday in New Orleans with Toxic Audio. Chris is home with his family in Oregon right now. Weston is home with his family in Cleveland right now (both of them going on family vacations, I think). Glen is unavailable for the run, so Tim had to find a replacement for him all together (and two of his regular stand-bys were unavailable as well, so he went with one of the guys from the newly-formed Vegas cast of moosebutter--who is an excellent choice, I might add). I think just selecting guys from the 3 casts-plus-understudies of moosebutter in itself gave Tim ulcers! And AGT needed them in LA sometime between Monday and Thursday of this coming week.
What a nightmare.
Thanks to the flexibility of everyone involved, they got a day and time, got travel arranged, and should all be there for their audition, even though they have to show up the day before (and that might overlap a job interview Tim had scheduled--singing with a dance band, of all things).
So there you go.
Watch AGT's audition rounds and see if you see Tim!
(no promises. this is TV after all. We had friends who got this far and then didn't even get on TV--the judges didn't like them at all, despite the fact that the producers LOVED them).
Still, things are never quiet around here, are they?
And now I know a whole lot more about auditioning for TV shows than I ever dreamed.
Oh, and don't too excited. Even if we win, we won't have money to lend. The winning group gets a million dollars--over 40 YEARS. What with having to divide it among all the group members, if we WON (which is a seriously long shot), we'd get $5000 (before taxes) every year until we were 75!
And the first chapter in this adventure ended today. Next one starts--TOMORROW. (We always do things down to the line, don't we?)
So here's the story:
About a month ago, out of the blue, Tim got a call from a casting director at America's Got Talent. He said he'd found moosebutter's myspace page (which they haven't updated in over two years) and wanted moosebutter to submit an audition for the show. Please send video.
Tim did.
Didn't think much of this, since it happened once before with moosebutter and nothing came of it. Besides, moosebutter was functionally retired. (Notice I said was?)
About a week later, Tim's group Wonder Voice did a talent show benefit concert. They sang one song. They lost. BUT one of the judges was involved with entertainment at Station Casinos and had connections somehow--and she got everyone who performed in the talent show private auditions for America's Got Talent.
Very cool. That semi-live (you go and sing, but they film it and take it to the producers) audition got scheduled.
Then about two days later, a DIFFERENT casting director called and said she'd seen King 4 in the Harmony Sweepstakes in LA, and could they please come audition for America's Got Talent. That got scheduled in Vegas the day before the Wonder Voice audition.
So...casting scramble. We have multiple casts for everything, but had to deal with who was available short notice and could they learn the parts for new songs, etc.
The cast that ended up doing the King 4 audition literally met each other for the first time in the parking lot outside the building--it was parts of a couple different casts for that group.
So the audition went well.
Then the next audition went well.
Afterward, the producer caught them and explained that they were flooded with a cappella groups this year, so no promises, but she personally thought they were FANTASTIC.
BUT:
Turn out there are a TON of factors involved in getting a group onto that show.
These were things that affected the outcome for us, despite the fact that the producers clearly loved all three groups:
1. Any single person CANNOT appear in more than one act. (So we'd have to do the great Casting Shuffle yet again if more than one group got selected).
2. (And this is standard for any job interview/audition/manuscript submission--it's slush pile normalcy) It entirely depends not only on who else applied, but what order the applications/audition materials were viewed, since context does determine how we view things. With them being swamped with a cappella applications, they all start to look mundane and boring (and therefore less likely to get on the show) unless there is some sort of gimmick that makes them stand out. That's why King 4 and moosebutter caught their eye--they are DIFFERENT from your average contemporary a cappella group. Different is, of course, Tim's specialty, so no surprise there.
3. Permissions. Copyright law only applies to written sheet music. But intellectual property laws come heavily into play here. AGT is a show that is performed before a live audience AND broadcast. So they have to get both performing and broadcast permissions for any song that is performed, and pay the appropriate licensing fees.
4. Auditioners only get 90 seconds. And comedy is tricky to pull of in 90 seconds--it requires a set up for the punchline to work, and that takes time.
Despite all this, we heard back about King 4 and moosebutter (but not Wonder Voice, and no answer means no "audition"--really call back to sing in front of the live judges)
But just hearing, "We love you and we want you" wasn't cause for celebration. Not yet.
There was that permissions issue. See, when you get accepted, you turn in a list of songs you can use and the first one that comes through with licensing is the one you must sing.
AND (and here's the stickler)--the estate of Elvis doesn't give permission. They don't like their songs performed in a tongue-in-cheek way, like by Four guys in bad Elvis glasses with sideburns attached. So King 4 got put into permissions limbo (we still haven't heard how that came out, but we're assuming it was a no)--they'd have to sing something that Elvis sang but not only didn't sing first, but that his estate hasn't since bought all the publishing rights to (publishing rights in music doesn't mean printing the sheet music--it means using the song for anything). Like "How Great Thou Art", which the guys would totally do an awesome job on...but it doesn't really feel right to perform a sacred hymn with elvis side burns dangling from gold sunglasses, and it wouldn't really highlight the funniness of the concept.
King 4 wasn't the only one with permissions problems.
moosebutter had them, too.
See, the permissions/licensing issue is thorny with parodies, so they disallowed any use of parodies in the show. And that happens to be where all of moosebutter's best music is.
Also disallowed (for licensing issues) is any reference to any pop culture product or other licensed or copyrighted entity. So...Star Wars. Harry Potter. Psycho--all out, even if they wrote new music for them.
AND they really seriously discourage the use of original music. They say this is because they end up swamped with singer-songwriters singing boring songs. I personally suspect (and this is just speculation) that they don't want to delve into the legal mess of licensing the original music (and therefore paying the performer to compete, which is ethically iffy), especially since 99% of the original songs out there just aren't good enough and wouldn't get past the "audition" (call back in front of celebrity judges) round--so it's a complete waste of resources for the staff of the show.
But I'd say 95% of moosebutter's music is either original or parody.
Which left us with just a few choices--and they would still have to be licensed.
Thus came a week of back and forth with the producers, who had to look at all their covers and all their original music to see if any of it was usable, and then get Tim to send video of live performances of the songs they liked, get that approved with the executive director (who, fortunately, loved moosebutter or they would have ended up in the 'too hard to work through the issues' pile), then submit the material for permissions.
Miraculously, all the backing-and-forthing of it all ended up with...licensing came through for the song everyone agreed had the best chance of coming across on TV. So moosebutter gets to go to the "audition" (really call-back) round. Remember, though, that half the people who get through to that round are put through because they are so bad that it'll make great TV. So Tim has the double challenge of making sure everyone gets there and that they are good enough that nobody puts them into the "worst of..." reels.
So THEN we had to do the great casting shuffle again, this time with the travel coordinator (by now Tim has talked to and emailed half a dozen people who work on the show as he gets through each step of the process). Tim is here in Vegas, but had a today (Saturday) singing in the finals of the Harmony Sweeps. AND he had a gig on Tuesday and Wednesday in New Orleans with Toxic Audio. Chris is home with his family in Oregon right now. Weston is home with his family in Cleveland right now (both of them going on family vacations, I think). Glen is unavailable for the run, so Tim had to find a replacement for him all together (and two of his regular stand-bys were unavailable as well, so he went with one of the guys from the newly-formed Vegas cast of moosebutter--who is an excellent choice, I might add). I think just selecting guys from the 3 casts-plus-understudies of moosebutter in itself gave Tim ulcers! And AGT needed them in LA sometime between Monday and Thursday of this coming week.
What a nightmare.
Thanks to the flexibility of everyone involved, they got a day and time, got travel arranged, and should all be there for their audition, even though they have to show up the day before (and that might overlap a job interview Tim had scheduled--singing with a dance band, of all things).
So there you go.
Watch AGT's audition rounds and see if you see Tim!
(no promises. this is TV after all. We had friends who got this far and then didn't even get on TV--the judges didn't like them at all, despite the fact that the producers LOVED them).
Still, things are never quiet around here, are they?
And now I know a whole lot more about auditioning for TV shows than I ever dreamed.
Oh, and don't too excited. Even if we win, we won't have money to lend. The winning group gets a million dollars--over 40 YEARS. What with having to divide it among all the group members, if we WON (which is a seriously long shot), we'd get $5000 (before taxes) every year until we were 75!
Blessings in Disguise
It's been really really really hot here (nearly 100 degrees in the shade), which, I suppose, is no surprise since we live in an inhospitable desert.
Cooling is not a luxury here, but a necessity. And we can't afford the $500 a MONTH it takes to cool our house to 80 degrees using the ancient air conditioner that's on the roof.
So last year we prayed ourselves into a $50 swamp cooler that actually worked, once I'd done a little maintenance on it.
But this year I turned it on and it was working...sort of. Worse every day.
Naturally, there are none on Craigslist right now since everyone needs them. And we didn't have much cash to replace all the parts I thought might be bad on ours--not even just the pads, which was going to be my first attempt.
So I prayed that we could find a way to get it working and get the house cool.
So OF COURSE the pump died today.
But then it turned out we had just exactly enough money on hand for a new pump ($20), and that seems to have fixed all the problems--and I didn't have to buy ALL the new parts I thought I'd need (and would have bought instead of the pump had it not died). We didn't even need new pads, which are up to $8 EACH this year.
So it was a blessing, and an answer to my prayer, for the part that was causing the problems to break--so that I'd know which one it was and not waste my time and meagre resources on useless fixes.
Cooling is not a luxury here, but a necessity. And we can't afford the $500 a MONTH it takes to cool our house to 80 degrees using the ancient air conditioner that's on the roof.
So last year we prayed ourselves into a $50 swamp cooler that actually worked, once I'd done a little maintenance on it.
But this year I turned it on and it was working...sort of. Worse every day.
Naturally, there are none on Craigslist right now since everyone needs them. And we didn't have much cash to replace all the parts I thought might be bad on ours--not even just the pads, which was going to be my first attempt.
So I prayed that we could find a way to get it working and get the house cool.
So OF COURSE the pump died today.
But then it turned out we had just exactly enough money on hand for a new pump ($20), and that seems to have fixed all the problems--and I didn't have to buy ALL the new parts I thought I'd need (and would have bought instead of the pump had it not died). We didn't even need new pads, which are up to $8 EACH this year.
So it was a blessing, and an answer to my prayer, for the part that was causing the problems to break--so that I'd know which one it was and not waste my time and meagre resources on useless fixes.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Fantastic free home school resources
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Did I just read that?
Most of these are not outright guffaws, but they all came from THE SAME newspaper today. First, the headlines:
On the front page: "Survey links economy to hard times for many"
Also on the front page: "Public, private schools feel financial pressure from economy"
"Official says trauma can affect performance"
"Group to Welcome Signs of the Zodiac Author" (any little footprint would be welcome...)
"Romance Author to Discuss Backstory with Cactus Rose" (she has a backstory involving a cactus?)
"Study: Men the worst smelling gender, and women can definitely notice" (this is news?) (Oh, and the women can notice, but don't always?)
"Although it makes us fat, fast food makes us happy, study says"
Love the spelling here: "USC Study Sayd Folic Acid Supplements Increase Risk of Prostate Cancer"
"Smoking Pot makes you more accident prone behind the wheel" (This is news?)
And the first line: "Guys: you may think smoking pot makes you look cool. But in actuality, it just make a stumbling dude who gets into more accidents." (Eh? English your second language?)
"Men are the fragile sex when it comes to birth, study says."
The article goes on to say, "Turns out, baby boys cause a lot more damage than baby girls," not that they themselves are fragile. (And damage to what? The living room? the windows?) The article cites this wonderful bit of confusing wordiness: "...male babies were more likely to end up being born prematurely and rupture mom's embryonic sac." (How did they do that, especially after they were born prematurely, and even more especially since they were obviously not around when mom was in her own _amniotic_ sac? And the next sentence: "Researchers likened these birthing complications to similar problems men face their entire lives." (Men face prematurity and breaking their mom's amniotic sac their whole lives? Fascinating. I'd like to know how they do that? Or do they mean what they said, that they have problems with birthing, which means "giving birth", not "being born"? So men tend to give birth to their own mothers and break their mystical embryonic sacs in the process?)
And this whole article had problems, separate from the unbelievable wordiness (it's like they used the longest, most convoluted way to say anything):
"Study says red meat and processed meat may affect death rate" (so you don't die _ever_ if you don't eat it?).
And the article had these enlightening sentences (keep in mind that death is not an optional part of life as you read these):
"It's a fact. Men love their red meat. A new fact for the equation--that red meat may be bad for you." (Okay, but there was no equation mentioned in the first line, and that was the beginning of the article....)
"Men who eat more processed meat may have an increased risk of death because of meat-related complications like cancer and heart disease." (I think they meant "from", not "because of"--and I'm not sure how cancer or heart disease are "meat-related" or "complications"--complications to what, life? Oy--the whole sentence needs a doctor.)
"While processed meats and red meats seemed to have had a negative effect on participants in the study, white meat was actually believed to be a decreased risk for death."
"The participants were between the ages of 50 and 71 years old during the beginning of the study." (I think they meant "at", not "during." Those little words can really trip you up.)
"They were then followed for 10 years and researchers tracked who died from what in hopes to make correlation between the peoples' diet and their rate of death." (Death to the People! Oh, wait--maybe this wasn't supposed to be a marxist "the people". I might be mistaken, but "the people" is not the same thing as "people", and _people_ all have different _diets_, and the usual rate of death is 100%. You know, it's that other inevitable thing beside taxes.)
"Researchers found that the 20 percent who ate the most red meat had the highest overall risk for death, due in part of heart disease and cancer." (Huh? There's those little words again, causing a ruckus. And, again, the risk of death...there is no risk of death in general. It's a certainty. I believe this sentence was supposed to read, "....ate the most meat had the highest risk of death from heart disease or cancer.")
"Researchers said that about 11 percent of deaths in men could be avoided yearly if they cut back on their consumption of red and processed meats." So 11 percent of men can avoid dying every year? "Deaths in men" is a funny phrase, in an of itself. Like there are many kinds of death? Causes, yes. But deaths? And who does that "they" refer to, the researchers? The Deaths? WHO is supposed to cut back on their consumption of red and processed meats?
Of the 12 sentences in the article, 9 had major problems that ANY copyeditor, even one from a high school paper, would have caught.
On the front page: "Survey links economy to hard times for many"
Also on the front page: "Public, private schools feel financial pressure from economy"
"Official says trauma can affect performance"
"Group to Welcome Signs of the Zodiac Author" (any little footprint would be welcome...)
"Romance Author to Discuss Backstory with Cactus Rose" (she has a backstory involving a cactus?)
"Study: Men the worst smelling gender, and women can definitely notice" (this is news?) (Oh, and the women can notice, but don't always?)
"Although it makes us fat, fast food makes us happy, study says"
Love the spelling here: "USC Study Sayd Folic Acid Supplements Increase Risk of Prostate Cancer"
"Smoking Pot makes you more accident prone behind the wheel" (This is news?)
And the first line: "Guys: you may think smoking pot makes you look cool. But in actuality, it just make a stumbling dude who gets into more accidents." (Eh? English your second language?)
"Men are the fragile sex when it comes to birth, study says."
The article goes on to say, "Turns out, baby boys cause a lot more damage than baby girls," not that they themselves are fragile. (And damage to what? The living room? the windows?) The article cites this wonderful bit of confusing wordiness: "...male babies were more likely to end up being born prematurely and rupture mom's embryonic sac." (How did they do that, especially after they were born prematurely, and even more especially since they were obviously not around when mom was in her own _amniotic_ sac? And the next sentence: "Researchers likened these birthing complications to similar problems men face their entire lives." (Men face prematurity and breaking their mom's amniotic sac their whole lives? Fascinating. I'd like to know how they do that? Or do they mean what they said, that they have problems with birthing, which means "giving birth", not "being born"? So men tend to give birth to their own mothers and break their mystical embryonic sacs in the process?)
And this whole article had problems, separate from the unbelievable wordiness (it's like they used the longest, most convoluted way to say anything):
"Study says red meat and processed meat may affect death rate" (so you don't die _ever_ if you don't eat it?).
And the article had these enlightening sentences (keep in mind that death is not an optional part of life as you read these):
"It's a fact. Men love their red meat. A new fact for the equation--that red meat may be bad for you." (Okay, but there was no equation mentioned in the first line, and that was the beginning of the article....)
"Men who eat more processed meat may have an increased risk of death because of meat-related complications like cancer and heart disease." (I think they meant "from", not "because of"--and I'm not sure how cancer or heart disease are "meat-related" or "complications"--complications to what, life? Oy--the whole sentence needs a doctor.)
"While processed meats and red meats seemed to have had a negative effect on participants in the study, white meat was actually believed to be a decreased risk for death."
"The participants were between the ages of 50 and 71 years old during the beginning of the study." (I think they meant "at", not "during." Those little words can really trip you up.)
"They were then followed for 10 years and researchers tracked who died from what in hopes to make correlation between the peoples' diet and their rate of death." (Death to the People! Oh, wait--maybe this wasn't supposed to be a marxist "the people". I might be mistaken, but "the people" is not the same thing as "people", and _people_ all have different _diets_, and the usual rate of death is 100%. You know, it's that other inevitable thing beside taxes.)
"Researchers found that the 20 percent who ate the most red meat had the highest overall risk for death, due in part of heart disease and cancer." (Huh? There's those little words again, causing a ruckus. And, again, the risk of death...there is no risk of death in general. It's a certainty. I believe this sentence was supposed to read, "....ate the most meat had the highest risk of death from heart disease or cancer.")
"Researchers said that about 11 percent of deaths in men could be avoided yearly if they cut back on their consumption of red and processed meats." So 11 percent of men can avoid dying every year? "Deaths in men" is a funny phrase, in an of itself. Like there are many kinds of death? Causes, yes. But deaths? And who does that "they" refer to, the researchers? The Deaths? WHO is supposed to cut back on their consumption of red and processed meats?
Of the 12 sentences in the article, 9 had major problems that ANY copyeditor, even one from a high school paper, would have caught.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Did I just read that?
An ad from One Hour Heating and A/C came today. Right next to the coupon for "$38 off" (seriously? $38? Why not $35 or $40?), it stated, "Free. Buy the world's best Air Conditioning Rejuvenation for only $79 and get the furnace safety check for FREE!"
Below that, in small print, "$69 value".
Below that, in small print, "$69 value".
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