Cantique de Noël

My favourite Christmas carol by far is and always has been O,Holy Night. Even before I could comprehend the depth of the words, the song always gave me chills. I remember hearing it as a child at midnight mass and even when it was the warbly past her prime Lithuanian church soprano singing I'd still be moved. It didn't feel like Christmas eve to me unless I heard that carol.

Now, I am often asked to perform the song, and it still gets me everytime. I find myself getting emotional by the words, words that hold so much truth and are far more personal to me now. Even when I'm just on my own practicing the song I get chills (not because I sound great either, often I sound like a dying chicken:) The words are just so powerful. I've never sung the carol in french eventhough it is the original language. I've starting learning the french version though as I've been asked to sing it en français for a small gig next weekend. . . the English words are similar, but there are a few images that speak that much more powerfully in french - so moving! Looking fwd to sharing the carol in both english and french this season:)

Minuit, chrétiens, c'est l'heure solennelle,
Où l'Homme-Dieu descendit jusqu'à nous
Pour effacer la tache originelle
Et de Son Père arrêter le courroux.
Le monde entier tressaille d'espérance
En cette nuit qui lui donne un Sauveur.
Peuple à genoux, attends ta délivrance.
Noël, Noël, voici le Rédempteur,
Noël, Noël, voici le Rédempteur!

De notre foi que la lumière ardente
Nous guide tous au berceau de l'Enfant,
Comme autrefois une étoile brillante
Y conduisit les chefs de l'Orient.
Le Roi des rois naît dans une humble crèche:
Puissants du jour, fiers de votre grandeur,
A votre orgueil, c'est de là que Dieu prêche.
Courbez vos fronts devant le Rédempteur.
Courbez vos fronts devant le Rédempteur.

Le Rédempteur a brisé toute entrave:
La terre est libre, et le ciel est ouvert.
Il voit un frère où n'était qu'un esclave,
L'amour unit ceux qu'enchaînait le fer.
Qui Lui dira notre reconnaissance,
C'est pour nous tous qu'Il naît, qu'Il souffre et meurt.
Peuple debout! Chante ta délivrance,
Noël, Noël, chantons le Rédempteur,
Noël, Noël, chantons le Rédempteur!

Snack Time!

I'm totally addicted to BNL's children's CD SnackTime! It's been out for a while, but with all of the Steven Page controversy I've avoided downloading it for a while. I really wish that I downloaded it sooner though. . . . I have been playing it during gathering time for all of my classes for the past week and I can't get enough! I love it so much that I even listen to it in the car. . . where there are no children. . . . well except for one child at heart! My job requires me to listen to a lot of children's music , and I do like a lot of the kiddie CD's out there but BNL is by far my fav. It not only appeals to children but to grown-ups too . . . I particularly enjoy all of the Canadiana references:) I highly recommend Snacktime for anyone with children . . . or without .. . who says that you need children to have fun and enjoy some great music:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIkqEF2Mvc8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPh_6_u98tI

Oh Poop!

My car has recently become a fowl public washroom!!! Lately my car seems to be attracting bird poop. I'm not talking about 1 or 2 random droppings either - My car is covered with over 20 bird poop splats! The kind that not even a good car wash can get out. Not sure if it's where I've been parking or if the birds have a bone to pick with me. I am certainly not happy about it -it's almost as though my car has a sign on it that says "poop here".

My dad found this video though and has offered to install the anti-poop device on my vehicle- so I plan to have a poopless car very soon! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ii7-q7DWdQ

Olivia the Pig

I'm all about the book Olivia by Ian Falconer lately. It's for kids, but I happen to enjoy it a lot. I picked it up a while back for Julia because I found it at Winners, which meant that it was cheap. I had heard that it was a great book. It won the publishers award back when it was released so I figured why not. Well little did I know how Olivia is truly my kindred spirit. Olivia is the spunkiest, sassiest little pig around! She's a wee little diva with a big personality. Julia loves the book too. She's read it so much with Daddy that she has it memorized. She "reads" it to me any time I'm over at her house. The other day as she was "reciting" the book, Julia stopped and acutely observed that Olivia and I are a lot a like. . . she said "Auntie, Olivia likes the colour red just like you!" she also noticed that Olivia likes to sing - just like Auntie! She looked at me and said quite seriously, "Auntie, if Olivia wasn't a pig and if her name wasn't Olivia - this book would be about you! . . . Maybe we should call the book Auntie the Pig!" :) Julia then went on to switch out "Olivia" for "Auntie" as she read the rest of the book. . . I suppose if one looks really closely there is a bit of a resemblance between Olivia and I . . . :)

The Truth about Divadom - By: Professor Prima Diva Donna

With the latest trend in society to call every walking, breathing woman a diva I feel it my duty to clarify a few things. I'll lay it out there with as much grace and tenderness that can come from a "true, bonafide, certified" Diva . . . I'm sorry to say, but the title "Diva" can not be applied to just any woman.

If we examine the history of the word Diva it was originally a term used to celebrate a woman of outstanding talent, beauty and majesty in the world of Opera. I'm truly sorry to break so many poor little un-diva hearts, but that means that at the very least one must be able to SING in order to truthfully live in the Diva realm. And when I say sing, I don't mean in the shower or at the karaoke bar or even to your wee little children who aren't yet able to comprehend that you are in reality squawking like a dying chicken. The term was used by the Italians to refer to a woman with a truly "Divine" voice. Of course there is a similar word that would refer to male singer, but I for one don't see it as necessary to discuss such nonsense. We all know that great sopranos are also great at everything else including: glamour, mystery, beauty, and radiance. We are certainly worthy of adoration for more than just our great voices, but it really does all come down to our teeny tiny infoldings of mucous membrane that stretch across the larynx and vibrate with such magnificent splendour and beauty.

What I'm really saying here is that if you are going to have the gall to call yourself a diva you must first at the very least be able to perform a death defying stellar cadenza popping all of the high C's,D's etc. with extreme skill and beauty, all the while maintaining your glamorous yet mysterious facade. Of course you also must be a master at several other skills, notably these: the maim and destroy all other sopranos skill, the humiliate your accompanist skill, the conduct the conductor with a death glare skill , the upstage ALL others at ALL times skill, the dump your lover at the drop of a dime skill, the over the top hissy fit skill and so much more. Let's be real, if you haven't mastered any of the skills that truly define a Diva at this point in your life, forget about it! You have no hope. You simply don't have what it takes to ever live up to the title. So stop pretending to be a diva and just deal with being ordinary. . .ordinary is um . . wonderful too . . yes it is! Simply wonderful! I personally wouldn't want to be just ordinary, so I do truly understand the desire to proclaim oneself a diva. I truly sympathize with you from the bottom of my heart if you are really just an ordinary person trying to fill the sparkly shoes of an authentic diva. For the sake of all of the bonafide, certified diva's out there can you please just accept who you are and stop abusing and misusing our rightfully earned title. The term "Diva" can only be applied to those who are truly grandiose enough to own such a divine title. :)

Reflection on Michael Jackson's Death

Michael Jackson is dead, and although I'm not one to usually comment on such things, it's hard not to comment on the passing of such an influential artist. I always find it so fascinating to watch how the world reacts to celebrities and more so to their deaths. Even myself, when I heard the news yesterday I was quite shocked - as though I never could have imagined Michael Jackson ever dying. I didn't cry, but I certainly understood how huge his passing would be to the world.

I too am one who would include Michael Jackson as a part of my childhood memories. I recall the day my sister got both the Thriller and Jackson 5 albums for her birthday. For months we would gather around our bright blue Fischer Price record player, slip out the huge round black vinyl records, drop that needle and dance away. We eventually wore out the Thriller record and replaced it with the tape - which would be permanently found in Jen's cool ghetto blaster:) I recall being terrified of the song thriller with Vincent Price's creepy voice and haunting laugh at the end. (I still get creeped out by that part today.) Oh and those times we would attempt to watch the video of dancing Zombie MJ chasing after the girl , without being scared out of our minds were numerous. Then there were my cousins Danny and John who were huge fans. They had the sparkly glove, the doll, the posters, the buttons - I think that Dan even mastered the moon walk :)

With all of those memories in my own small life, no doubt MJ was very influential. He was indeed an incredible artist - pushing the edge with all of his eccentricities. I suppose though that his death really reiterates that he was indeed simply a human being. He made himself appear to be so inhuman, and he became such an icon that he almost seemed immortal. And the reaction of the world yesterday and today and I'm sure over the weeks to come only puts him in the position of idol even more.

I don't know if I'm abnormal or if others think about this when a celebrity dies too, but I can't help but wonder where Michael Jackson is now and what he is experiencing. Being a Christian who often meditates on the after life, it's almost an automatic place where my mind goes. I think it's so interesting that we as men can't help but turn a celebrity into even more of an icon in death. We make them even more inhuman, and forget that they too were fallen men. It's almost ironic to me when I juxtapose all of the earthly images with what I imagine is happening for MJ now. I'm pretty certain that for Michael Jackson all of the fame and idolization has been stripped away. To God, Micheal Jackson is not the "King of Pop". To God, Micheal Jackson is simply a mortal man who met his Maker yesterday. In God's eyes, Michael Jackson has only ever been His child, His creation. Is MJ in heaven? I don't know - that's one of the mysteries of death, not knowing for certain - only God knows. Being the King of Pop with money and celebrity didn't exempt Michael Jackson from death though. I can't help but think that as soon as MJ met God face to face yesterday - that all of the worship, fame, and idolization that he received and even tried to create for himself on earth seemed extremely minute, inconsiderable, frivolous, and even ridiculous compared the reality of the amazing shekhinah glory of the one true God, King of all kings including the king of pop.

It's simple

About a month ago God really took hold of me and specifically said:
"I want you to just do what you do, be who you are, follow where I'm leading, minister where I'm calling and step out for My glory."
Seemed so simple at the time because those are things that I can do with His help. . . . but boy has it ever become apparent how much I get in the way of all that seems simple.