Cold Sassy Tree - The Opera?
Mar 20, 2008 Music, Thoughts, me
In high school, I read a book called “Cold Sassy Tree“. Maybe you have heard of it. The story takes place in a small suthun‘ town in Georgia at the turn of the 20th century. If any story gives you a good picture of southern life 100 years ago, this is it. It really is a great book, and it is one of the few required books I read in school that I would actually want to read again.
A few weeks ago, I went with my mother to the Opera version of that story. That’s right, Cold Sassy Tree - the opera. It was interesting to say the least. You know how in the opera, everything is sung, well, opera-like? That’s how this was, only with a southern accent thrown in.
The best way I can describe it is this. Imagine doing your impression of a British accent. Then, with that British accent, do your impression of a Russian accent. It’s sort of a double accent.
That is how it is to hear an opera singer sing an opera, but in a southern accent. Hard to explain, hard to comprehend.
The opera itself was pretty good. They only did part of the book, and in all honesty, it got boring very quickly. We ended up leaving halfway through it. It was getting late, and we were both getting bored with the slow pace of the storytelling.
But still, if you get a chance to see an opera version of a southern story, give it a try. It’s just an odd thing to hear.
Tags: cold sassy tree, novel, olive ann burns, opera, southern, story
A new website idea… Coming soon.
Mar 19, 2008 Housekeeping, Thoughts
I am working on a fun idea for a website that could be potentially interactive and thought provoking. Or, it could be the dumbest idea ever. But regardless, it will relate to all of us in one way or another. I hope to roll it out in the next few days, but hopefully you all (my loyal and faithful readers) will give me some feedback.
Anyone out there ever have really weird dreams that are totally random? If so, let me know. I might need your help…
Tags: adam riggins, dreaming, dreams, ideas, sleep, Thoughts, website
THF - Why The Large Drink Matters (repost)
Mar 10, 2008 Thoughts
I posted this a while back, but since there are a lot of new readers around these here parts, I thought I would repost it. It is one of my favorites!
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Maybe you have been here before.
Whenever I go to a restaurant that offers different sizes of drinks, I always opt for the largest drink they have. And like clockwork, someone in my party will make the comment “You get free refills, so why do you need to get the large?”. I can’t stress enough how this comment sends me to a place I don’t want to be, simply because I feel like I am being judged for my plastic cup size preference.
There are many reasons to go for the large. First of all, it is usually only $.20 more then the small or medium, and the increase in available fluid space is well worth it.
But my number-one reason that I always fire back with when interrogated of my motives is quite simple. It is something I have given the term “THF”. “THF”, you say? Yes, THF. It stands for “Take Home Factor. Let me explain.
Take two people who both get fountain drinks during an evening dining at Chick Fil-A. Person A gets the small drink, person B gets the lovely large drink. Dinner goes great, both discuss the superiority of Chick Fil-A to any other fast food establishment despite the slightly higher prices. All is well. At the end of the meal, both parties fill up on their drink before leaving.
Assuming both people drink at approximately the same speed, person A will run out of beverage long before person B. Imagine if you go home afterwards to watch a movie. Person A will most likely have to get up during your movie for some water (or another beverage of their choice). Person A will be fully hydrated during the entire picutre. So, for around $.20 more, person B will have quenched thirst far longer than person A. Because the large drink was purchased, you have a longer period of time before you have to tap into your own supply. In effect, you are saving money by spending money.
So, next time someone accosts you for ordering the large drink, make sure you inform them of the THF.
My BRILLIANT idea for an invention
Mar 10, 2008 Thoughts
When I sleep, I mostly breathe through my mouth and/or snore. This is not a good thing because I normally wake up through the night with a dry mouth. in fact, sometimes my tongue is also dry. It is a VERY uncomfortable thing to wake up to at 3am.
Well, what if there was some kind of “lubricant” (that sounds so gross) that you could ingest. Maybe a lotion kind of thing that would essentially coat the inside of your mouth and maybe your throat as well. It would be like hand lotion for hands, only for the mouth. Is that even possible?
I think I am on to something here.
Oh, you “no turn on red even though it’s allowed” people!
Feb 20, 2008 Thoughts
A quick rant…
Something that bothers me is when you are 2nd in line at a red light, waiting to turn right. “If only”, you think to yourself, “I could have been first in line, I could have already turned by now”. So you wait. And wait. And then finally, the light turns green. What does the person in front of you do (remember, they are first inline at the light)? They turn right! Why couldn’t they have turned right when the light was red? There was no one coming and they could see that. Why did they have to delay my trip? Why, I ask. WHY?
Tags: car, driving, light, stop, these tags sound dumb, turn
Can You Love Your Enemies?
Feb 14, 2008 Found Online, Spirituality, Thoughts
I just saw these over at The Plow.
My first reaction was “Wow, that is pretty extreme”. But then I thought about it. Jesus, who knew he was about to be crucified for his revolutionary beliefs, was telling this to a group of people who had lived under a great deal of persecution. What a revolutionary message back then, but perhaps even more so now. This means that we are to love Hitler, Osama, and everyone else who thrives on hatred. That is a tough pill to swallow, but if you are a Christian, it is something you are called to do.
Just imagine for a second if everyone actually did this. The world would be changed forever in an amazing way!
What are your thoughts?
I have figured out LOST (well, part of it)
Mark this post as the one that called it. I have a theory that makes sense in the grand scheme of things concerning the show LOST. Are you ready?
As we know, the REAL Oceanic Flight 815 crashed over the island, and there were many survivors. It has been said many times that no one can ever find the island, or even see it for that matter. In fact Ben one time said “Not even God can see this island”. So basically, Oceanic Airlines lost an airplane with 300+ people on it. That is a lot of lawsuits waiting to happen. So what did they do about that?
They took another airplane and filled it with dead bodies and crashed it into the ocean near Fiji or wherever they said they found it. Yeah, I know that sounds far fetched, but it either that or they crashed a plane full of living people, but I really doubt that. And as we learned in tonight’s episode, that wreckage was found, dead bodies and all. Case closed.
That is, until someone noticed on the news that the person that was portrayed to be the pilot of the plane in the news footage was not really him. He said the pilot always wore his wedding ring. The dead body in the news footage had no ring on. All this does is confirm my theory thus far.
What we haven’t seen yet is the part of my theory that I think is right. At some point, “Oceanic Six” will make it back to America, and they will be celebrities of a sort. They will be the six people that miraculously survived the horrific crash. The ONLY people that survived. But the truth is that there are several other survivors on the island still, and Oceanic Airlines is somehow blackmailing the Oceanic Six to not tell anyone about it.
Jack confirmed this in the Season 3 finale where he says to Kate that he is sick of lying to everyone. Also, last week, this theory was confirmed when Hurley asks Jack if he is “going to tell anyone”.
So, in conclusion, Oceanic tried to cover for the fact that they lost a plane full of people by downing another plane, but there are a pesky 6 that know the truth, and they are being bribed to not tell. We’ll see if it plays out like that, but it makes sense!
What are your thoughts?
Tags: flight 815, lost, oceanic 6, TV
