The official online Fjord
December 31, 2009 at 7:26 pm · Filed under Life
For Christmas break, I’m back in Kansas with my parents. This last Sunday, I decided to check out the local Episcopal church. I started attending an Episcopal church after college, so I was curious what the one in my hometown was like. Grace Episcopal turned out to be a great little church, and better yet, they’ve got an awesome pipe organ! It’s a little Gabriel Kney tracker organ (entirely mechanical) built in 1989 in Canada. I talked with the rector after the service, and he said I could come by during the week and practice on it if I wanted, so guess where I’ve been the last three afternoons. :-)
It has only 13 stops, but it’s tons of fun to play. It’s small, so I was right next to the pipes and immersed in their sound when playing. And, it’s a tracker organ, so I could literally feel the levers opening the pipes for every note I played.
I’m still trying to figure out a reasonable way to record pipe organ music, so I don’t have any music to post yet, but I’ll get that figured out soon. Next week, it’s back to the much larger pipe organ at St. Tim’s!
More pipe organ pictures
November 7, 2009 at 1:25 pm · Filed under Life
It’s been about a year and a half ago now that I started taking piano lessons, and on Thursday I had my third recital. It was by far the best recital I’ve done, mostly just because I’m less nervous about playing in front of people now. The two pieces I did were ones that I knew pretty well, so I just had a good time instead of being worried about it. As usual, here are some recordings I made at home of the pieces I played:
Chopin – Prelude No. 4 in E minor
Massenet – Élégie
I also started taking organ lessons about a month ago, so hopefully I’ll have some organ music recordings on here soon!
June 6, 2009 at 12:52 pm · Filed under Life
First off, have you heard The Decemberists’ latest album, “The Hazards of Love?” If not, drop what you’re doing, go buy it, listen to it at least 3 times on a good sound system, and read the lyrics while you’re listening. No really, do it now. I’ll wait.
…
Wasn’t it awesome?! It’s this crazy epic rock opera about a shape-shifting forest-dweller who falls in love with a lovely young maiden, their trials with the queen of the forest, a murdering rake, and a wild river. The brand brought in two amazing vocalists from other bands to fill the parts of Margaret (the heroine of the story) and the forest queen.
Naturally, when I found out they were coming to the area, I had to go to the concert. So, last night Lucky, Zerg, Brittany, and I made our way down to Richmond, VA for the show.
I need to finish packing for India (leaving in just a few hours!), so I’ll just list some of the highlights: The Queen absolutely rocked, Margaret did an excellent job of staying in character the entire performance, the band has several ridiculously talented multi-instrumentalists (Hammond organ, Nord synth, and glockenspiel all at the same time? Very yes!), and finally, the Decemberists Players taught me that Evel Knievel’s ability to jump 7 cars with his motorcycle was the real reason that the South didn’t successfully succeed from the North during the Civil War. Brilliant.
More pictures from the concert
June 3, 2009 at 5:16 pm · Filed under Life
On Saturday, I set out to buy some pants. I ended up buying a 6′x4′ abstract art painting on canvas. I really need to work on my pants-purchasing skills. Zerg was less than pleased, but I think it makes our living room look awesome! Bonus points if anyone can figure out the name of the artist; I can’t make out the signature.
Also, as an update, I’m leaving for India for 3 weeks on Saturday. Whee! The first half of the trip will be centered around Minu’s wedding, which I’m sure will be all kinds of awesome. Then, we (Spork, Dex, Eric, and me) fly up north and spend several days at the Makaibari Tea Estate in Darjeeling. And after that, it’s off to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and see what there is to see in Delhi. I’ll post lots of pictures and whatnot when I get back.
Oh, and back in April, I finally got to see Neko Case live!! It was an amazing concert, with Will Sheff from Okkervil River opening. If you missed it (and I’m pretty sure everyone but me did), you can still listen to it because NPR taped the whole thing and has it available on their website: Neko Case Concert. I highly recommend it. :-)
March 28, 2009 at 3:38 pm · Filed under Life
Last Thursday was my second piano recital since I started taking lessons last April (wow, nearly a year has gone by!). I was pretty nervous again, but not as bad as last time. I made some mistakes (including completely demolishing the ending to the first piece), but overall it was really pretty good. By the time I got to my last piece, there were a few parts where I felt like I was actually able to play with feeling and convey some emotional meaning instead of concentrating only on the notes.
And for those of you who weren’t able to make it, here are some recordings I made at home of the pieces I played:
Chopin – Prelude in C minor
Bach – Invention 1
Beethoven – Fur Elise
March 22, 2009 at 3:10 pm · Filed under Life
Last month, I went to go visit Spence in Seattle. It was really great to hang out (I hadn’t seen him since graduation) and to finally meet Theresa, his girlfriend. I also really enjoyed the city of Seattle. It’s extremely scenic (mountains and water everywhere you turn!), and the city itself was very clean and inviting.
Spence and Theresa did a fine job of showing me around the city. We visited several parks, including Gas Works Park and Volunteer Park. I really liked how Gas Works incorporated the old industrial elements of the site into the park. Some of the old machinery was even turned into a playground!
After that, we went to the Pike Place Market. I’ve heard that the fish market has some really interesting fish-throwing vendors, but when we were there, they apparently weren’t in a fish-throwing mood. Oh well. We did get to see some pretty cool street musicians. But, the real highlight of the market for me was finding some Romanesco brocolli. It’s a fractal veggie! We enjoyed eating it over the next few days. The taste is very similar to normal broccoli, but maybe not quite as strong. Goes great with a ranch dip.
The next day, we took the ferry to Bainbridge Island. Those ferries are pretty nice! They’ve got a bar, a cafeteria, tons of indoor and outdoor seating, and even Internet access. I wouldn’t mind having a ferry as a part of my morning commute. Once we arrived at Bainbridge Island, we quickly discovered that it’s mostly a tourist trap. But we did find a nice yarn and tea shop and a trail to walk along the water. The best part was just hanging out. That evening, we returned to Seattle and went to go see Slumdog Millionaire. I really can’t recommend that film enough. But, it’s one of those movies where it’s best if you go in not knowing anything about it. So, I won’t say anything more.
On my final full day there, Theresa, Spence, and I drove a ways out from Seattle and hiked up Rattlesnake Ledge. It was yet another stunning example of Washington’s beauty. I was surprised how many people were on the trail. It wasn’t a particularly easy trail (we were all pretty tired when we got back), but we were constantly passing lots of people, many of them with dogs or kids. I guess Washington folks really like their nature!
On Sunday morning, right before I had to go to the airport, Spence took me to Teacup, a tea shop in Seattle. It was awesome! The atmosphere was perfect (not overly frilly, but still fancy), and the tea was superb. I asked if they had any Darjeeling, and the lady at the counter pulled out canisters from 3 or 4 different estates, as well as a house blend, and then proceeded to tell me the differences between all of them! I chose the Margaret’s Hope estate (mostly just because I’d heard of it before), and it was perfect. I’m not used to other people being as passionate about tea as I am, and the people at this place are even more passionate than I am. Maybe I should move to Seattle and get a job there!
More Seattle Pictures
January 25, 2009 at 7:15 pm · Filed under Life
A couple weeks ago, I got an email from Kristin, one of my friends from GIAL, wondering if her roommate and some of her friends could stay at my place when they came up for the inauguration. Of course, I said yes! I had been planning on avoiding the insanity that was inauguration, but since it was suddenly a party, I got some time off work and joined in the fun. Crystal, Jennifer, Ryan, and Ryan’s girlfriend, Bonnie, arrived on the evening of Friday the 16th, and we had a great time getting to know each other (I’d only met Crystal very briefly before and didn’t even know who else was coming) over a tasty meal of pork tenderloin (thanks to my mom’s recipe!). Turns out they’re all really fantastic people!
On Saturday morning, Jennifer, Ryan, and Bonnie left for DC to do touristy things, but Crystal and I stayed at the apartment, and Crystal’s friend Rachel came down from Philadelphia to hang out for the day. We had a good time chatting about Rachel and Crystal’s crazy adventures and Rachel’s absurdly busy life as a teacher, youth worker, mentor, and probably a billion other things. We had a tasty lunch at Indian Delight, and I made some life-changingly-good Assam tea for us afterward (seriously, you should try buying the high-quality stuff; it’s totally different than the low grade). Then Rachel had to leave, and the others came back from DC, and we all went out to eat at Sea Hut Inn. Yum.
On Sunday, everyone went into DC for the start of the inaugural festivities, including a concert with a bunch of big name performers. But, I figured I would probably get my fill of DC on Monday and Tuesday, so I just chilled at the apartment with Zerg.
On MLK day, we all went to DC. Jennifer, Bonnie, and Ryan still wanted to do touristy things, but Crystal and I wanted to go to a program at the National Cathedral, so we split up. The line to get tickets for the Metro was craziness. But, while I was riding the subway in, I met some cool people who live not too far from me and are into competitive sailing. I gave them my contact information, and they said they’d call if they need some extra crew. Here’s hoping!
Going to see the National Cathedral is always fun, and the program was pretty neat. It was a lot of poetry and music about MLK, mostly from local artists. Most of it wasn’t really my style, but they did have a “hip-hop violinist” who was pretty interesting. He wore a snazzy suit, had a shiny black violin, and didn’t say a word during his entire performance. Way to have style! After the concert, we wandered around the Cathedral and checked out the Bishop’s Garden. Kudos to the Bishop on a lovely little garden.
After that, we headed down to the Adams Morgan district to meet up with the others. When we got there, we found out that Jennifer had decided to get a new tattoo. I’d never been in a Tattoo Parlor, so it was definitely an interesting experience. She got an “O” (she’s an Obama fan) with “The People” in the center and “of,” for,” and “by” on the outside. It really looks pretty cool, but I don’t think I’ll be getting one myself any time soon. :-)
By this time, Crystal and I were starving since we’d neglected to eat lunch. The others wanted to go to a La Fourchette, a French restaurant, but Crystal and I thought the Ethiopian one looked more interesting (the others had eaten there for lunch). So we abandoned them and set off for Meskerem Ethiopian Restaurant. I’d only had Ethiopian food once before at the house of one of my professors at GIAL, so it was definitely a treat. I highly recommend it.
Then, we went and looked at a bunch of cool African shops in the area and a particularly neat Tibetan shop. They had a pretty big selection of signing bowls, which were a lot of fun to play with. I wanted to get one, but the cheapest was $60, so I decided against.
Even after all that, the others still hadn’t found a seat at La Fourchette, Crystal so we ended up going in with them when they did get in and just eating dessert there. Then, we all finally went back to my apartment and went to bed at 1 a.m.
2 a.m. came quickly, and then it was time to leave for Inauguration Day! We got to the Greenbelt Metro station at around 3 a.m., waited in line about an hour to park, napped in the car for a while, and then finally boarded the metro. It actually wasn’t too crowded, probably because all the entry points were allowing cars in so slowly. We got off at L’enfant Plaza, which was as close as we could get the Mall.
Walking up to the Mall is probably one of my favorite images from the trip (unfortunately not captured on camera). All of DC had been shut down for the day, so there were no cars on the streets, just thousands of people. It was just before sunrise, and everywhere you looked, the streets were completely packed with people, all heading toward a common goal. Nobody was saying very much because we were all really tired and cold. Just a quiet determination to reach the Mall. It looked like a scene out of some disaster movie. Like we were the only survivors of some horrible tragedy. Or maybe a zombie attack. Or maybe we were the zombies. Mmm, brains…
Eventually, we made our way onto the Mall and staked out our position, just behind the 4th jumbotron back. We made friends with some GWU students who were also in the same area, and then all there was to do was wait. And wait. It seemed like forever. We had arrived at around 7 a.m., and things didn’t get started until 10 a.m. Also, it was crazy cold. My toes in particular hurt because they were so frozen.
Then, things finally started! The capitol building was really too far away to see anything, so we just watched on the jumbotron, and the ceremony was really quite short. But it was still really great to be there in person and know that I was taking part in one of the most important parts of our democracy. Hearing everyone boo Bush when he was announced was embarrassing, but I was struck with how amazing it is that we have a peaceful transition of power every four or eight years. Bush and Obama are very different politically, but there was no struggle for power when the time came to hand over the reins. We are truly blessed in that regard.
After everything was over, it was a bit of a madhouse trying to get out. Our group along with a thousand or so other people got lost in a cluster of porta-potties (almost like the urban version of the corn mazes back in Kansas!) until someone finally climbed up on top and shouted out directions to the exit. Thank you porta-potty man!
Most of the streets were blocked off for the parade, so we ended up walking all the way to Arlington to get on a Metro. Then we wandered around the Chinatown area looking for an Italian place (Jennifer was quite set on getting Italian), but eventually settled on a place called RFD. I had a big hamburger, and it was heavenly. Mmm.
We actually got home at a reasonable hour (8 p.m. or so), and we all went to bed pretty quickly. They all left the next morning, and I drove out to the airport to spend the rest of my week in Florida for a business trip that I just got back from yesterday. It’s been a crazy week, but tons of fun!
More pictures from Inauguration weekend
December 11, 2008 at 8:50 pm · Filed under Life
As is always the case, we had a ridiculously good Thanksgiving back in Kansas. I think we had the most people in the house on Thanksgiving day this year, with a total of 46 (41 if you count babies as fractional people), 22 of which were LETUers. In addition to hanging out with my friends from LETU days, I also got to meet some of Grey’s very cool friends. I definitely enjoyed getting to know them, but it was also strange to think that over 2 years have gone by since I left…
We tried two new food things this year: a turducken (a duck and a chicken stuffed inside a turkey!) and a pig roast. The turducken was a definite success on Thanksgiving day (we also had a regular turkey and a ham). Actually, it was a little too successful because I got only a small piece before the whole thing disappeared. Nevertheless, I really liked what little I did get to eat, and I’d highly recommend it!
The pig roast wasn’t quite as much of a success. This was my dad’s second try at it, and despite using better wood for the fire, more bricks, and a longer cooking time, it still came out mostly raw. So, we had to switch to plan B for dinner that night and had hamburgers while the pig finished cooking in the oven.
Activities this Thanksgiving were pretty relaxed. Nobody did any insane Black Friday shopping, and we didn’t even go to the Cosmosphere like we have so many times. I enjoyed the slower pace. Several of us did get to go on a tour of the Hutchinson Correctional Facility, which was pretty interesting (don’t go to prison, it doesn’t look like a fun place). For the most part, we just chillaxed at the house, ate tons of amazing food (thanks, Mom!), played polish ping pong and Norway (thanks, Glyph!), and drywalled the basement. Well, I napped while others drywalled the basement, but it did happen.
Hope to see everyone again next year!
This year’s guest list: Fjord, Kick, Copper, Glyph, Ian, Grey, Dex, Hinge, Panic, Beaker, Liz, Laura, Rene, Emma, Lorrin, Rachelle, Bubbles, Erin, Abu, Pebble, Dozer, and Andy.
Thanksgiving 2008 in photos
December 3, 2008 at 11:00 pm · Filed under Life
Back in mid-November, I decided to go to a Cloud Cult concert and ended up bringing some of my friends from the area with me. It was a blast! But equally as awesome as the concert was the meal beforehand.
Brittany, one of my friends from church, used to work at a place called Bar Pilar in downtown DC. It doesn’t look like much on the outside, but the food is incredible. Incredible as in, I-didn’t-know-this-kind-of-food-actually-existed incredible. Wow! It’s a good thing Brittany was there to guide us through all the choices on the menu (we ended up ordering most everything and sharing it) and explain what everything was. I’d highly recommend it if you’re in the area.
After the amazing meal, we headed down to the Black Cat Club, which is conveniently on the same block as Bar Pilar. I was mainly wanting to see Cloud Cult, but I was somewhat familiar with one of the opening bands, Exit Clov. Exit Clov didn’t disappoint, but the first opening band, Mason Proper was even better! I’m surprised they’re still playing as just an opening band. They played through the entirety of their latest album, Olly Oxen Free, and put on a really good show. I liked it so much, I bought it the next day. Good album.
And of course, Cloud Cult was awesome. They had a bass player who also played the trombone and glockenspiel, a violinist, and a cellist as well as a drummer and Craig Minowa, the lead singer, on lead guitar. The violinist and cellist blended together perfectly and made by far the best live strings performance I’ve heard at a rock concert. Not only was their sound spot-on, but they were even able to convey a depth of sweeping emotion that is really hard to accomplish in a live rock set. So, it was already a superb show (with an almost Polyphonic Spree feel), but they had more than just music!
During the entire show, there were two artists creating some pretty cool paintings behind the band. They even provided a dramatic start to the show: as the band exploded into the first note of the first song (Brain Gateway), the artists attacked their canvases with paint. Music and paint were flying everywhere! After the show, they auctioned off the paintings.
Great music, amazing food, and awesome friends. What more could you want?
Paintings from the show
October 18, 2008 at 7:04 pm · Filed under Life
As a part of my job this past week, I got to go on a tour of some pretty amazing ships. In particular the USS Gonzalez (an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer), the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (a Nimitz-class supercarrier), and also a sub. I even got a good picture of myself in the Captain’s chair on Ike. Wikipedia can better describe the ships than I can, so I’ll let you look at some of the pictures from the day. (Thanks to Jared for letting me use his pictures!)
For Christmas break, I’m back in Kansas with my parents. This last Sunday, I decided to check out the local Episcopal church. I started attending an Episcopal church after college, so I was curious what the one in my hometown was like. Grace Episcopal turned out to be a great little church, and better yet, they’ve got an awesome pipe organ! It’s a little Gabriel Kney tracker organ (entirely mechanical) built in 1989 in Canada. I talked with the rector after the service, and he said I could come by during the week and practice on it if I wanted, so guess where I’ve been the last three afternoons. :-)
It has only 13 stops, but it’s tons of fun to play. It’s small, so I was right next to the pipes and immersed in their sound when playing. And, it’s a tracker organ, so I could literally feel the levers opening the pipes for every note I played.
Hi there. My name is Curtis Hawthorne, but most of my friends call me Fjord.