for all of my fellow nerds, i give you a lovely mix of art and science:

Made With Molecules: http://www.madewithmolecules.com/

and just in case anyone wanted to get *me* a present, i <3 theobromine ;)

ladies and gentlement, it is official.

we've made it to the San Francisco area, and are beginning our search for an apartment that we won't hate in a reasonable neighborhood. it's a bit overwhelming, but exciting too. once we have an apartment sorted out, it will be time for me to start talking with art schools... i'm nervous about that part, too, but eager to get the ball rolling. the trip across the country was amazing and informative... i'm so glad that we did it. but i'm also very ready to be more settled again - it's difficult for me to constantly be on the go. we've seen some amazing places, and visited with wonderful people. it's a bit difficult to believe that we've actually reached our final destination - no more days spent in the car getting from one place to another, we're really here!

i'm looking forward to talking with everyone i haven't spoken with in a month, and hopefully i'll be a bit more internet-reachable from here on out. i'm thinking of you all :)

hi kids :) we're alive and well, and having fun wandering around the french quarter of New Orleans. we're currently sitting in an internet cafe, and heading out to wander soon, so i will keep this short.

in the last week we have been through/visited: MA, NY, PA, MD, WV, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, and last but certainly not least LA

i feel a little tired just typing all of those in ;) and we're not done yet. it's felt good the last couple days to finally be heading west instead of south. overall we're happy and having fun, though i admit i'm looking forward to getting out of the humidity and into the desert (she says now)... i'm sure once we're in the desert i'll be eating these words.

anyway, i do miss boston and everyone there already, but am feeling upbeat and excited about this adventure.

hugs and kisses all around :)

i haven't created the craigslist listing yet, as i don't yet have pictures of my car, however... just so everyone here knows and can pass on the information to any interested parties...

i am selling my beautiful silver 2003 Mazda Protege ES, which has a 5-speed manual transmission and is in excellent condition. his name is Hermes and i love him, but i just don't need to own a car anymore and what with moving soon, i really need to sell him. he only has ~30k miles, 10k of which i have put on in the last year and a half - i bought him used in October of 2006 for ~$13,000, and am hoping to sell him for ~$8,500-9,000. as i said, he's in beautiful condition.

anyway, if any of you are interested (or know anyone who's interested) in buying Hermes, please let me know.

i suppose i haven't really talked about it as much as i feel as though i have...

i'm moving to California this summer. San Francisco, to be precise. i have lived in the New England area for nearly my entire life, and i'm about ready for a change of scenery. i love Boston, and i have so many dear wonderful friends here whom i will miss terribly, but i'm hoping the friendships will keep despite the pressure of distance and three time zones, and it's simply... time.

we're taking a few weeks to cross the country and the more i think about it, the more this feels like a pilgrimage. we'll be traveling through swathes of the country of which i've only ever heard tales, and i am eager for a glimpse of this world through different eyes. we'll be spending a lot of time camping and hiking, and i am looking forward to that chance to reconnect with the earth, with my own body and breathe.

it's that time of year again... which time, you ask? why, time for gaiaturtle and me to have another spectacular concert! this particular concert promises to be one of the best we've had, so please come. also, as this concert combines the Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus with the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, tickets will go quickly! please get your tickets soon if you're interested in attending.

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BRAHMS: Ein deutsches Requiem

Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus
Kevin Leong, conductor

Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra
James Yannatos, conductor

Jayne West, soprano
Sumner Thompson, baritone

Friday, May 2, 2008
8:00 pm
Sanders Theatre
Harvard University

Tickets: $20/18/16 for adults & $12/10/8 for students
available at the Harvard Box Office at
617.496.2222 or
http://140.247.118.196/tickets/details.cfm?EVENT_ID=7088

For more information, please visit
http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/hrc/

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The Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus, conducted by Kevin Leong, and the
Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, conducted by James Yannatos, combine
forces to perform Johannes Brahms's sublime "Ein deutsches Requiem."
With 185 voices, professional soloists, and full orchestra, this
concert promises to be a grand kickoff to this year's Arts First
celebration at Harvard.

I don't often make political posts, but something recently got my hackles up...

This opinion piece on bloomberg.com by Margaret Carlson fills me with absolute rage. Specifically, it's the following paragraph that makes me want to throw verbal rocks at this woman:

"Thank you, Senator Clinton. The candidate of reality comes to us pre-shrunk with a Surgeon General's Warning that hoping can be dangerous to your health. With Clinton, there's no dream to wake up from, no false hopes to dash. Being president means never thinking about tomorrow or believing you can completely reverse how business gets done in Washington. It's about grueling, daily, hand-to-hand combat, chipping away at problems against people who hate you."

Before I continue, let me assure you that she is not being sarcastic... that is clear if you read the article in its entirety.

So, let me try to wrap my tiny brain around this... hope can be dangerous to our health? And it's a good thing that Senator Clinton offers us nothing for which to hope? I know that I'm exaggerating Ms. Carlson's words, but that is the sentiment I draw from her article. As a nation, we're better off continuing business as usual wherein we're so full of despair and apathy that we can't even bother to show up at the polls to vote? I can't agree that a presidential candidate who engages and inspires people enough that they stand up to be counted is dangerous to our health.

I'm not discussing the actual merits of one candidate over the other - I'm only commenting on this one woman's asinine characterization of what is best for our nation.

So, continuing... Does being president *really* mean never thinking about tomorrow? I was under the impression that having a president unwilling to think about tomorrow was exactly how we ended up in our current predicament. I have no intention of voting for anyone who i think *won't* consider the future ramifications of policy decisions! And I'm assuming that Ms. Carlson's phrase "people who hate you" refers, not to some enemy of state but, to... Congress? The suggestion being that it is impossible that the President of the United States and the United States Congress should ever have common goals upon which to work. Better and better...

With all due respect, Ms. Carlson, which I suppose isn't much respect as I don't believe you are due any, take your complete cynicism and shove it up your ass. You and your ilk are exactly the reason that perhaps some of us haven't had much pride in our government in a very long time. I will keep choosing hope over apathy, and empowerment over fear.

This isn't an endorsement for any candidate... merely a heartfelt plea that we all open our eyes and hearts to hope instead of dismissing it as impractical.

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Dona nobis pacem
SCHOENBERG: Kol nidre

Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus

Shadi Ebrahimi, soprano
Glenn Billingsley, baritone

Harvard Academic Festival Orchestra

Kevin Leong, conductor


Friday, April 27, 2007
8:00 pm
Sanders Theatre
Harvard University


Tickets: $16 for adults / $8 for students & seniors
available at the Harvard Box Office at
617.496.2222 or www.fas.harvard.edu/~tickets


For more information, please visit
ww.hcs.harvard.edu/~hrc

=====

The Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus, conducted by Kevin Leong, presents its
spring concert featuring Ralph Vaughan Williams's cantata "Dona nobis
pacem," a dramatic setting of texts of Walt Whitman and an emotional
condemnation of war. The program also features Arnold Schoenberg's
powerful "Kol nidre." With 150 voices and professional soloists and
orchestra, this concert promises to be a moving musical plea for
peace, reconciliation, and redemption.

=====

gaiaturtle and i are both in this concert... please come hear us - it's going to be a fantastic performance!

concert... saturday... come :) it's going to be fantastic, i swear.

BEETHOVEN: Mass in C

Saturday, December 2, 2006
8:00 pm
Sanders Theatre
Harvard University

Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus
Kevin Leong, conductor

Mozart Society Orchestra
Akiko Fujimoto, conductor

with soloists
Amanda Forsythe, soprano
Krista River, mezzo-soprano
Charles Blandy, tenor
Donald Wilkinson, baritone

Tickets: $16 for adults / $8 for students & seniors
available at the Harvard Box Office at
617.496.2222 or www.fas.harvard.edu/~tickets

For more information, please visit
ww.hcs.harvard.edu/~hrc

what time again, you ask? time to tell everyone about my upcoming concert, of course :)


BEETHOVEN: Mass in C

Saturday, December 2, 2006
8:00 pm
Sanders Theatre
Harvard University

Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus
Kevin Leong, conductor

Mozart Society Orchestra
Akiko Fujimoto, conductor

with soloists
Amanda Forsythe, soprano
Krista River, mezzo-soprano
Charles Blandy, tenor
Donald Wilkinson, baritone

Tickets: $16 for adults / $8 for students & seniors
available at the Harvard Box Office at
617.496.2222 or www.fas.harvard.edu/~tickets

For more information, please visit
ww.hcs.harvard.edu/~hrc

gaiaturtle and i are both performing, once again... please come! it will be another excellent concert.