• Clan: McTiVo - Music

    American Idyll

    Some people are really into American Idol, but I am not. I went through the lunch room the other day while a couple of Idol contestants were murdering U2’s classic “One” in some kind of live outdoor news-show venue. It sounded so awful… I wondered “what the hell is the fascination this country has with listening to people sing badly?” Both singers were completely off-key, both fighting to out-bellow each other, and working their hair and outfits even harder than their (blown-out) voices. It was not so much a duet as a duel. Thank God for iPod. I went back…

  • Books - SciFi/Fantasy

    Not Recommended: The Vesuvius Club

    The Vesuvius Club: A Bit of Fluff (Lucifer Box Novels) Last night after a nice dinner at Bahama Breeze, my husband David and I decided to stop off at the nearby bookstore for a relaxing browse. After trolling the shelves, I ended up with two books, this one and a murder mystery set in the Upper Midwest. I’ve already finished this book, and I’ve started the second book – and glad of it. The book was published in 2004, to critical acclaim, and there are two more books in the series.  Mark Gatiss, the author, has an impressive body of…

  • Books - SciFi/Fantasy

    Not Recommended: The Vesuvius Club

    The Vesuvius Club: A Bit of Fluff (Lucifer Box Novels) Last night after a nice dinner at Bahama Breeze, my husband David and I decided to stop off at the nearby bookstore for a relaxing browse. After trolling the shelves, I ended up with two books, this one and a murder mystery set in the Upper Midwest. I’ve already finished this book, and I’ve started the second book – and glad of it. The book was published in 2004, to critical acclaim, and there are two more books in the series.  Mark Gatiss, the author, has an impressive body of…

  • Episcopal - Moblog - Music - Radio - Today - Uncategorical Weirdness

    Fr.Paul sings Plastic Jesus

    Father Paul pulled out a very beautiful old Pete Seeger Custom banjo and sang a few lines of “Plastic Jesus” today in church; he’d have had a sing-along going if he’d thought to print out the lyrics, and as it was a lot of people at the early service knew the song and helped him remember the middle section. I told him about a terrific interview my husband David and I heard on Bob Edwards Weekend, which airs on Sundays on WBEZ. I’m tracking down all the related links I can for it to send to Fr. Paul by email.…

  • Episcopal - Moblog - Music - Radio - Today - Uncategorical Weirdness

    Fr.Paul sings Plastic Jesus

    Father Paul pulled out a very beautiful old Pete Seeger Custom banjo and sang a few lines of “Plastic Jesus” today in church; he’d have had a sing-along going if he’d thought to print out the lyrics, and as it was a lot of people at the early service knew the song and helped him remember the middle section. I told him about a terrific interview my husband David and I heard on Bob Edwards Weekend, which airs on Sundays on WBEZ. I’m tracking down all the related links I can for it to send to Fr. Paul by email.…

  • Music - The Never-Ending Bloga

    The McDades at the Abbey Pub: 22APR08

    Wow. I still can’t believe that I had a chance to see the McDades at the Abbey Pub, a well known Chicago institution. And that my husband David and I got to see them gratis, a fact that makes me absurdly grateful and humble. Hell, this blogging gig is pretty cool if people contact you out of the blue and give you free stuff and invite you to all the best parties. Okay, enough about that, I’m a mere amoeba on the Great Evolutionary Chain of Blogging Being. The thing I REALLY can’t believe that there were only about 10…

  • Flickr - Moblog - Parish: Holy Moly (ECUSA) - Today

    Wii bowling at the retirement home

    Today being the third Saturday of the month, some of us from the “nurturing” team at Holy Moly/St Nicholas were at Asbury Park for the ecumenical service we do. On my way in, I spotted this on the schedule board for the day: there we are at 10:30, in direct competition with the Wii Bowling. And let me say, the Wii virtual bowlers were kicking ass and having a great time, from the sound of it. We had a pretty good time too – Tim from choir showed up, so we “made a choir” and stood together. Finished with “Amazing…

  • Episcopal - Flickr - Moblog - Music - Parish: Holy Moly (ECUSA)

    The Gifts of a Unicorn, and Life

    Choirmistress Mary does a lot for us, and frequently pays out of pocket for new music and things she thinks we need in order to look and sound like a seasoned choir, and not a ragtag group that formed a little over a year ago. So one of our members found a Christmas ornament that mirrored a unicorn print that Mary has in her home and we presented it to her last night. We also had a wonderful surprise from another choir member who’s been battling brain cancer; she got amazing news from her oncologist. Let’s not say “miracle” yet,…