My Life Would Suck Without You

I have come to realize there are certain people you encounter in your life that almost instantly after you meet them, you know they are going to be in your life forever.  For some relationships it takes awhile for you to come to this realization.  Either way knowing you have these lifelong friends is pretty awesome.  What’s even better is that these people are more than just your friends.  They become part of your family, and like family they’re with you for better or for worse.

Each friendship is totally different.  There are the people you get up to crazy shenanigans and laugh about them later.  There are the people who will tell you look like hell when you’re stuck on the couch in your sweats, looking like you woke from a one night stand with death because you have the flu, but they make you chicken noodle soup and suffer through four viewings each of “The Sound of Music” and “Center Stage.”  There are the people from middle and high school that you see maybe once a year, but every time it’s like going home.  And of course there are those few very special friends who will put up with your ramblings about the “love of your life,” a.k.a. the guy who works at your morning coffee shop to whom you’ve never said more than “venti soy vanilla latte, please” and “keep the change.”  Don’t forget about the friends where you don’t even have to say what’s on your mind and they know instantly what you’re thinking.  My favorite type of friend is the kind where you pick up right in the same place as you left, just like a bookmark.  It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been apart or the last time you spoke, but when you meet up it’s like you weren’t even away.

It took me moving twelve hours away from home to realize how strong some of the bonds I’ve forged over the years are.  And I have to say I am continually surprised at how close I am with some of the people I go to school with.  I’ve known most of these people for little over a year, but feel as if I've known them forever.  Mind boggling, yet comforting.  I cannot adequately express in words how grateful I am for friends I have.  The one sentiment I can say is without them my life would be hugely unsatisfying.

Let's Go to the Opera...at the Movies?

So if you could go to the opera for the exact same price as seeing James Cameron’s Avatar, would you?  I know I would, but I have a bias.  Stephen Evans, a British movie producer, is trying to turn opera into a cinematic works. Before you say anything, this is different from the live broadcasts the Metropolitan Opera and other large opera companies are doing or the dvd recordings of Met productions.  Evans is adapting Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s comedic opera Cosí fan tutte into a film called First Night.  From my understanding, it is similar to a play within a play as there will be an additional plot surrounding the original plot of Cosí. 

Evans has a history of adapting older theatrical works into cinematic pieces.  Twenty years ago he produced Shakespeare’s Henry V, beating the odds the skeptics bet against him.  Actually, the film was nominated for two Oscars, and it’s still making money!  Take that, skeptics!  In addition to Henry V, he has also produced film adaptations of Shakespeare’s The Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing.

Evans’ plan for First Night is to produce a romantic comedy with a Mozart soundtrack.  I’m interested to see how this turns out.  According to The Observer article a wealthy businessman who assembles a troupe of singers to put on a production of Cosí fan tutte in his home.  The recently finished film was shown with much success at a test screening a couple weeks ago.

The consumer enthusiasm hasn’t stopped some of the industry’s largest giants from voicing their concerns.  They’re leery about this film because it’s about opera.  However, Evans doesn’t think it’s going to be a problem.  He was quoted to say, “People who didn't know opera were more excited than the people who did. The music is so wonderful, so lyrical. People uninterested in opera found themselves loving the music."

So will this inspire people to go to their local opera company and purchase tickets?  I cannot say whether it will or not, but I’m glad the opera industry now has another vehicle in which to reach potential audiences.  Viva l’opera!

--C

Auto-Tune: Flawed Perfection

Here’s the secret formula to being a mega star in today’s pop culture:  attractive person – talent + auto-tune = Big Success.  Some of the more famous examples are Katy Perry, Britney Spears, T-Pain, and the entire cast of Glee.   Don’t get me wrong, Katy Perry’s music is catchy, but it’s all augmented.  I’m sure you’ve heard “California Gurls” on the radio which means it’s flawless, but did you see Katy Perry on SNL?  She should have stayed a Christian singer because they’re supposed to be a forgiving people. 

So what exactly is Auto-Tune?  It’s an audio processor created in 1997 by Antares Audio Technologies that auto-corrects vocal and instrumental pitches – pretty much a musical spell-check.  The first artist to ever use Auto-tune was Cher in her single “Believe” in 1998.  After Cher’s huge success with the program, many other artists began to use Auto-tune.  Probably the most famous example of Auto-tune use is T-Pain with his robotic voice.  It has been so catchy, there’s now a T-Pain iPhone application.  Yes, there really is an app for that ®. 

Auto-tune is ruining the art of live music.  It creates a false sense of perfection and as a result, it’s killing the art of the live performance.  Today’s generation has no idea how to appreciate the natural flaws in a live performance.  Humans are not perfect and by extension, the voice isn’t either.  While I would prefer to not listen to off key singers, I don’t appreciate being lied to.  I’m not asking for much, just actual talent.

Like Jay-Z, I am calling for a campaign to stop the use of Auto-Tune!   Auto-Tune is steroids for singers.  We’ll have random pitch tests.  If artists test positive for traces of Auto-Tune, they should be banned from commercializing their music.  We need to stop selling lies!  We have to keep performers accountable! 

--C

Arts Funding IS Jobs Funding

About a month ago, an award winning lighting designer by the name of Jeffery Salzberg posted a facebook note entitled “Arts Are Jobs, Too.” Though I am not friends with Mr. Salzberg, nor do we have any facebook friends in common, and yes, I checked, this note was pretty hard to miss. The main point of the note was sparked from a dinner party Mr. Salzberg attended where a fellow artist made the following comment, “I care about arts funding, too, but jobs are more important.”

Yes, an artist actually said that. I’m going to pretend that the artist who would have the audacity to say something like that is not faring too well with his or her career and as a result doesn’t have an arts job, but instead is working retail at a Babies R Us. However, that is an issue for another blog. Mr. Salzberg went on to say how we artists “need to stop thinking of ourselves as charity cases.” He’s right. This would be a good place to insert a cliché about helping oneself, something about believing in oneself, or keeping the faith. You pick whichever one is pertinent to you and keep reading, please.

The final thought Mr. Salzberg left his readers with is “Arts funding is jobs funding.” Again, he’s right. Now, you neither need a degree in the arts nor in rocket science to know why he’s right, but in case you cannot logically put it together, I’ll help you. Also, it’s probably not your fault you don’t understand, it’s not on the standardized tests.

First, we’re going to look at some governmental things. I just did a quick search on U.S. Census Bureau’s North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) webpage. According to the 2007 NAICS report, there are 43 industries with the word “arts” in their title. When I searched the word “music” I came up with 104 industries. “Theater” produced 46 industries. “Dance” had 40 different industries. So by looking up arts, music, theater and dance, I found 235 arts related industries. Also, there is an entire industry sector devoted to “Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation.” NAICS has 61 defined industries under the sector of Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation. That means there are 174 industries in different sectors that are related to the arts. Out of the 19,720 total industries, 1.3% of them are arts related. That’s a pretty decent market share for such a specialized industry.

Second, I’m going bring up the timeless argument of how the arts support the economy. Dinner and show. Need I say more? Well, I’m going to. So you’re a single guy (or girl) and you have a date Friday night. You want to make a good impression on her (or him), so you think you’ll take him (or her) to a show. That makes you look deep and cultured and mature. Then you think to yourself, “Self, I can’t really get to know someone on a date if I’m just going sit in a dark theatre for two hours and not talk to him (or her). Dear Self, what should I do?” Then in a stroke of pure brilliance, you think, “I’ll take her (or him) to dinner first!” That way you and your date can actually have a discussion. Plus you can figure out if he’s (or she’s) attractive in fluorescent lighting. Now you’re on the right track. And, of course, after the show you’re going to go out for coffee or some other libation and talk about how awesome (or terrible) the show was – and a great date was had by all.

My third and final point is really a testament to your intelligence. Do you think arts productions and movies and concerts happen by magic? Do you think people put on shows just for kicks? If you answered yes to one or both of these questions, you just tested positive for ignorance. Arts organizations have to pay their employees just like private companies. We need marketers, accountants, CEOs, and IT people to run the offices. And we need carpenters, seamstresses, painters, electricians, and inventors (props people) to create our stages. Then the artists who have been practicing for months will put the finishing touches on our products. The final products you see in the concert halls and theatres do not just happen overnight and for nothing. People and money are behind them, just like the coffee you drink every morning.

Please remember, when you fund the arts you are funding people, businesses, and the economy. Money spent on the arts is not money wasted, but money invested in the advancement of our society.

--C

Will this be on the test?

I’m currently in an arts and education class, and our “textbook” is a giant packet of articles supporting arts education both in and out of schools. The point is the arts are important. So far every single article has the same theme: “The arts are good. We need them in school. They're important for creating well-rounded individuals who possess critical thinking skills. The arts also develop creative thinking skills which are essential for today's workplace environment.”

So riddle me this world, why are the arts in schools not funded? Why are the arts the first line item in the budget to be cut? Why is gym, excuse me, physical education, mandatory, but the arts aren’t? Yes, I understand that our children are obese and we need to fix that. But without arts education our children are also being taught to be mindless robots. Teaching the test teaches children there isn’t room for creativity. And when there isn’t room for creativity, there isn’t any room for advancement.

It’s time for a brief, but poignant history lesson. Without creativity and critical thinking skills, Alexander Graham Bell would never have invented the telephone. Thomas Alva Edison wouldn’t have invented the light bulb. The world would be without chocolate chip cookies and fire and cars and anything that does not occur naturally. Without the creativity of the arts we would still be walking around naked and dying by the time we’re 30. Is that what you want? I didn’t think so.

It’s your move world. Do you want your children to know the test and be brain dead drones or do you want to them to be functional and contributing members of society?

--C

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

Classes finally begin on Wednesday, and I'm trying to gear myself up. I had planned on going to bed early tonight so I could practice getting up at the ungodly hour of 6:00am for my ridiculous 8:30am Arts in Education class. In case you hadn't already picked up on my enthusiasm, or lack thereof, I am not particularly excited about this. Every Tuesday and Thursday morning I have this wonderful Arts in Ed class. Not to point out the obvious, but as someone who has been in arts classes for almost the last 20 years, you'd think I'd already know a thing or two about integrating arts into education. That's not to say I don't realize the value of this class. What I'm getting at is I'd value and appreciate it a hell of a lot more if it was a normal time. Hello, this is the arts. We don't start functioning until 10:00am.

I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt, as I'm sure you've noticed that it is 1:30am in EST. This means I have less than five hours until I'm supposed to wake up for my practice run at Tuesdays and Thursdays. I really did try to go to bed early. I had turned off my computer and brushed my teeth and was in bed by 11:00pm. However, after tossing and turning for about an hour, I decided to be constructive. Hence, the blog post.

Because school starts on Wednesday for me, I've decided to dedicate this post to the time old class "What I Did on My Summer Vacation" essay. Although, I have to admit I don't think I've ever actually written one of these essays. It's probably because I grew up in a small Iowa town where everybody did the same things in the summer. You're either on the swim team or in little league. You go to "the lake," whichever one your parents chose. (There are a lot of lakes in Iowa - not nearly as many as Minnesota, but more than enough.) You ate s'mores, played some sort of imagination game with the neighborhood kids, caught lightning bugs, went to the pool, rode your bikes. And if you're not my family, you went on a vacation. My family wasn't and still isn't big into vacations. It's a little difficult to haul six people across the country, especially when the four of us children didn't really get along. However, that is neither here nor there at this point.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

I spent almost a month away from Cinci. Most of the time I was spent in Iowa. It was really nice to see my family. I got to see my nieces and nephews. With that, I got to experience the world's best form of birth control: babysitting a 7 month old and 2 1/2 year old. My current lifestyle does not support 5:00 am feedings and multiple diaper changes and being covered in baby vomit. I reconfirmed the idea that I do not want children any time in the near or distant future. They really aren't for me.

Anyway, after Norah and Maggie went home with their parents, I helped my friend Dani drive down to Baton Rouge where she is currently in her second year as a Vocal Performance major at LSU. We started our journey at what is only appropriately know as "The Butt-crack of Dawn" or "Just too damned early." Nineteen hours later, we arrived in Baton Rouge only to discover Dani's apartment was covered in mold. Seeing as how this was completely unlivable, we stayed with another friend Lauren. After some sleep, the three of us combined our Midwestern sensibilities and got shit done. In less than 48 hours after arriving in Baton Rouge and discovering the apartment's mold problem, we had Dani in a new, mold-free apartment. Because we were dealing with this, I did not have much time to explore the great state of Louisiana. However, since Dani's possessions were covered in mold, I now know where the local Wal-mart is.

Once I returned to Iowa, I started working at my uncle's law firm schlepping boxes. It's a dirty job, literally, but someone had to do it and someone had to make money. Since I fell into the later category, I was assigned the task of expanding the incredibly inefficient filing system my uncle and his firm have been using since before I was born.

That same week happened to be the final days before my youngest sister, Biz, moved to college. A stressful time, to say the least.

Finally after Biz moved into college, and my mom went to Chicago for an art workshop, I was able to hop on a bus back to the 'Nati, and thus started my actual summer vacation.

My friend Patricia was staying with me before she moved to Boston, so we did some pretty touristy things such as going to King's Island, an amusement park about 30 miles north of the city. Because Patricia was granted an in person interview for a job in Boston just after the first of September, her time here was cut short. I got to experience the drive from Cinci to Cleveland. I also got to experience Greyhound. I can't say I'm a huge fan of this busing system. I much prefer Megabus.

Once I arrived back in Cincinnati and walked into my empty apartment I was finally able to relax from the stressful past five weeks. I did a lot of baking and cooking, started yoga, picked up knitting again, did some free reading, caught up on my hulu queue. It was pretty amazing however lame some people may find it.

And that is how I spent my summer vacation.


Tomorrow I actually have to write a paper like this, except it's "What I Did during My Summer Internship." Huzzah.

Cleaning up

Today is my first real day off since March. Weekends in grad school aren't for relaxing, but catching up on reading you didn't do during the week and doing ginormous projects. A bunch of the company is going on the annual canoe trip today. Normally I'd be all for it. I love canoeing, and goodness knows I could use the exercise. However, my apartment is in desperate need of cleaning. Please do not think I'm living in an absolute stye. That's simply not the case. I just haven't been able to do more than surface cleaning for the last couple months. It's time for me to get down and dirty and clean everything I can reach, though that means I can't dust the tops of my windows. (Memo to self: Buy a step stool.) I'm kind of excited about having a clean apartment. I know that sounds really nerdy. Guilty. I do wish my sister Elizabeth or my friend Lauren were here to sit on my couch while I clean.

I've always liked being able to talk to someone while I clean. When we were littler, Biz would sit on my bed while I rearranged my bedroom. When I moved to college I substituted Biz with Lauren. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find another substitute. Such is life. We can't have it all. (Ah, cliche.)

In this deep clean I'm attempting to pare down my belongings. I have a lot of stuff, and most of it is unnecessary -- at least for right now. I don't have a lot of space to put all this stuff, so what would be my coat closet serves as a glorified storage space. When I moved from Iowa to Cincinnati, I took everything save for a three or for medium-sized boxes with me. Most of the extra stuff consists of books. I have the equivalent of six boxes of printer paper filled with books. I wish I had the shelf space to display them. Some of them are old textbooks that may or may not come in handy later. Some are vintage classics I plan on reading some day, when my reading list isn't dictated by a professor and their discussion schedule. Most of them are musically related books I like to have around for reference. I'm not going to lie, I have pulled out my Grout (you music kids know what I'm talking about) to consult about a date. Anyway, I digress. The point is that I have too much stuff in my modestly sized apartment.

My original thought when moving here was that I would make this place a little more permanent than any of my places in Indianola. Though I was required by the school to move so often. Such is the life of a college student. Fortunately, I'm planning on renewing my lease. That makes this apartment the place I've stayed the longest since living at home during high school. It's kind of unsettling, if you really think about it. Dwelling 19-24+ months in one place is considered long term now. Unfortunately, I don't know where I'll end up after I finish my degree. Will I stay here? Probably not, unless I get a really good offer from a company. Otherwise my thoughts are leading me towards moving to New York City or Chicago.

I realize that like most of my writing, these cities are cliche. However, that's where the operatic action is. So far my plan has shifted to include working with a management firm for a few years and then trying to get a arts administrator position. The idea that opera is an old boys club is reinforced everyday. You have to play the game in order to win. That's just how it goes. Learning that now should save me a world of trouble down the road. That isn't to say if I was offered a really good package at an opera company I wouldn't turn it down. It really depends on where I am at then end of March next year.

Right now my five year plan is similar to a choose your own adventure novel. I have 3-5 options to choose from at all times. I've thought about the management firm option. The Met has a fellowship program where I could work with their guild for a year. It looks more like a development position, but it's the Met. I've thought about becoming an au pair in Europe for a few years. I've also thought about staying in school and getting degree in a foreign language -- I'm partial to French. I've also thought about opening a bakery somewhere, either on one of the coasts or in Europe. I really just need to get through the next 9 months and reevaluate in March. Right now I need to reevaluate the state of my apartment.