JCCC4 Land Pony Corral

edited February 2014 in Everything Else
With JCCC4 about to sail, I'm starting this topic (moderators, please "pin" this for the week to make it convenient to find!) for us landlubbers who won't be on the now-sold-out cruise. Let's use it to discuss land pony stuff, such as upcoming land-based performances and conferences and the things we're up to here on terra firma.

Comments

  • Err, umm...hold on...

    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZaPCqyqwnUs/UhzqoyV6L9I/AAAAAAAAFNs/10lFMg-TOag/s1600/10-mustache-glasses.jpg

    There we go.  Perfectly inconspicuous Land Pony here.  I'll be going to ECCC at the end of March, attending Nerd Night Out, among other things.
  • I doubt it will need to be pinned during the week, when sea monkeys aren't around to bump the JCCC-related threads.

    I'm going to MarsCon; that's on land! (Should I have donned one of those disguises? Hang on, I think I have a pack of fake moustaches in my suitcase…) Half a dozen of my favourite comedy musicians will be there. Yay! I have a spare bed in my hotel room for it, if anyone wants to join.
  • edited February 2014
    Marscon will be fantastic! Besides the usual comedy musicians from The FuMP, it will feature Henry Philips and Dr. Demento. Wish I could be there (I usually am!), but I have multiple conflicts that weekend.
  • I've never actually listened to either Henry Philips or Dr. Demento (though I'm quite aware of the things that have happened because of him) so that will be interesting.
  • Hey, I'll actually be going to a convention of sorts next week! So excited! 

    Well, if you meant to restrict that to some sort of nerd/cultural convention, I'll only be attending those in my dreams. . . (I did dream recently that I was on "The Boat" with my wife, who was unimpressed with Paul and Storm's performance.)

    Maybe I'll blast some Dr. Demento and/or JoCo at my meeting and freak out all the normals.
  • I think I will start a unit on songwriting with my fifth graders. I'll let you know if there are any budding minstrels in the crowd.
  • ♫ A budding minstrel, I.... ♫
  • Thumbs up! I need to figure out how to put those little notes into the text.
  • If you're on a Windows box, use the "character map" app.
  • Nice. Good thing Im about to go on a cruise now.
  • Talking of land-based performances, my jazz combo is playing tomorrow at 8 at the Altadena Ale House. If any of you happen to find yourselves in the Pasadena/SoCal area, come say hi. I am the violinist.
  • Madeleine, that sounds awesome. Love jazz violin. Too bad I can't go. :(
  • Who do you listen to, @BassBone? I love Regina Carter.
  • I play jazz bass. Took an Ashbory bass on JCCC3 and was captured on video playing it during the Bardic Circle.... Not going this year but plan to play some bluegrass locally this evening.
  • @BrettGlass: Nice! I use an acoustic-electric 5-string violin and a Roland AC-60 amp. Did you have to bring your amp on the cruise, or was there one on board that you could borrow? We'll have to jam sometime if we're ever in the same city (or on the same cruise).
  • That would be fun! I brought an AR Powered Partner on the boat. 35 watts, impenetrable metal case, very good bass from a long throw 4" woofer.
  • edited February 2014

    The Land Pony trots along the shore, watching the ship disappear in the distance. "Boy, it sure is quiet here," he whinnies to himself. "Anyone home? Coulton? Sabourin? DiCostanzo? Anyone? Anyone? Buelller?"


  • edited February 2014

    "I Crush Everything," the Land Pony sings softly, as he crushes the hackers who were trying to invade his network beneath his hooves. "I couldn't have done this if I was stuck on a boat with no Internet, and the quiet is helping me concentrate on programming and songwriting. But I do kind of wonder where the other folks from the message board went. It can't possibly be that every participant is on that boat!"

  • edited February 2014

    "It would have been easier just to kick in the wall to make room," says the Land Pony, after doing an emergency refrigerator replacement that involved getting a 25" wide fridge down a 26" wide stairway. "But I could never have gotten this done if I was on a boat, so I'm glad I'm here even if it's a bit lonely. Now I can get back to authoring a Web page and finishing up a new parody song! JoCo would probably enjoy it if he were around to hear it."


  • edited February 2014

    "Labadee, labadoo, labadah....." the Land Pony hums to himself, thinking about where his Twitter feed is and stir-frying himself some chicken with sriracha and kimchi. "I'm about to close a lease worth several hundred dollars per month.... Couldn't have done that from the boat. Then more hacking, and off to the family event I absolutely couldn't go on the cruise and miss. Hope that JoCo and the Sea Monkeys (which is the name of my Beach Boys cover band) are having lots of fruity drinks with little pink umbrellas in them for me...."


  • The Land Pony spies a speck in the distance. "Is that my Twitter feed out there? It's too far away for me to tell if the boat has a climbing wall."



  • The Land Pony's Twitter feed is suddenly saturated with tweets, already nostalgic even though the cruise has only been over for a couple of hours. "No time to get all weepy now," says the Land Pony. "Video or it didn't happen!"

  • Update: 

    1. Last week I went to my boss and requested the first week of February 2015 off (because reasons...) and today SHE APPROVED IT! JCCC5 here I come!

    2. Today the science teacher explained to the fifth graders why Pluto isn't considered a planet anymore, so in my music class I played "I'm Your Moon" for them and we had a nice discussion about science inspiring art. One student knew about JoCo already because her parents used to listen to the podcast. Then I gave them the rest of class time to work on their own songs, which are sounding really good!
  • @Madeleine That is seriously awesome on both counts!
  • If anyone's in the SoCal zone, I'll be playing this Saturday at 8 at Pinocchio's Pizza on Lake Ave. in Pasadena. One set of Motown classics (for which I am feverishly practicing the requisite awesome string parts!) followed by a bebop set.
  • Seeking: One ticket for Late Night Nerds this Friday in Seattle for ECCC.
  • edited April 2014
    > I think I will start a unit on songwriting with my fifth graders. I'll let you know if there are any budding minstrels in the crowd.

    The results are in: 
    • 20 instrumental pieces, split about 50/50 between solos and duets/trios. Instruments included flute, snare drum, body percussion, red solo cup percussion, piano, guitar, violin, viola and cello.
    • 5 songs, including one hymn, one song about the end of a friendship, and three odes to animals.
    • The kind of awesome two- and three-part composition that can only result from zero previous knowledge of music theory. (e.g. an entire piece written in parallel ninths.)
    • One title that made me smile: "I Love Carbs!"

    These talented kids are constantly reminding me how easy creativity is for the young, compared to how much I rack my brains on every endeavor. I prepared a whole lesson on "things you can do when you get stuck," only to find that none of them were getting stuck. They loved this project, and the sixth graders heard them working on their songs and are bugging me now about when their songwriting project will be. To summarize: a fun experience for all involved.
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