I found out today that my high school English teacher died of cancer. I recall that Mrs. Sharpe was always fond of Tennyson, and this poem came to mind after I heard the news. I remember reading it in her class.
"Crossing the Bar"
Sunset and evening star And one clear call for me! And may there be no moaning of the bar, When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep, Too full for sound and foam, When that which drew from out the boundless deep Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell, And after that the dark! And may there be no sadness of farewell, When I embark;
For though from out our bourne of Time and Place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar.
Ok, so in response to demand from my adoring public (ha!), here's the first post in a little over two months. I was going to just post a picture of a bunny or cheese or something and be like "Happy now?", but that was before this video.
It's from the show Britain's Got Talent. Take a moment and watch it. And make sure you have the volume turned up.
Ok, time for me to make a few comments about this.
1) I love the look on everyone's face as he's starting. They look about like I did when he started. "He's going to sing what?"
2) Take note of the worried little old ladies at 0:51. The one on the left is shown wiping away a tear at 1:33. Nice touch.
3) I wish I could hear the entire performance. There's more to Nessun Dorma, but they slickly edited it for television. Take a look at 1:07-1:08 — there's the cut. As the strings ascend, you see him take a breath for the next phrase, then the camera cuts and his face is different as the main theme begins. The audience's reaction is another clue. They clap for him after he's gotten less than 10 words out of his mouth if you assume they didn't edit this clip.
Here comes my main point about this video: what was your reaction? I'll go ahead and tell you what mine was. I choked up like they just shot Old Yeller. Even before he reached the emotional peak of the piece, I had tears in my eyes. I can watch The Notebook and be ok, but show me a video of a pasty, middle-aged British cell phone salesman who desperately needs a good dentist singing Nessun Dorma, and all of a sudden I'm like Sally Field after the funeral in Steel Magnolias.
But why? Let me become cynical for a moment. Was it a good performance? Yes. Was it a great performance? Sure. Was it a legendary performance? No. This guy's not Pavarotti. As some critics have pointed out, if you just heard his version on the radio in the car or on your stereo at home, would you still be moved? Ehhhhh....
Thinking more about it, most of the emotional impact of this comes from the setup. Here's this guy who seems kinda down on his luck. He sells cell phones for a living, but he'd much rather be singing. He's not very easy on the eyes. He's going on a show where 99% of the people who audition are horrible. They even put his comment about not having a lot of self-confidence right before he started singing.
Then... he opens his mouth to sing and out comes this voice. You were scared at first, but the first note changes all that. Suddenly, you're rooting for the guy. It's unreal.
After at it from a different perspective, do you feel cheated or manipulated? I don't really. Music doesn't take place in a vacuum. It's one thing to put on a CD and hear a song. If you find a really good song or something hits you at just the right moment, you might even be moved a little. But hearing the story behind the song, what was going on in the songwriter or artist's life can put it in a new perspective and give it that much more impact.
Technically, was it a great performance? Eh, it was ok. But music is not notes on a page. It's emotion. Here's this guy, not terribly self-confident, up on stage in front of hundreds of people and three judges singing his heart out. Who cares if the next to last note was a little sharp? He was giving it all he had, and it showed. To fully appreciate what you just saw, you have to know the backstory there. That's what makes it so great.
Oh, and a note about the title of this post. "Vincero" is the final word of the aria, and it translates to "I shall win" in English.
Ok, I've just got to share this. Take four minutes of your life and watch this video.
This guy's name is Ronald Jenkees, and he's amazing. I stumbled upon his videos while surfing YouTube and this is the first video I saw. I was thinking, "Ok, this is alright." Then the beat dropped at 1:21 and I was hooked. This is some incredible blue-eyed soul.
I love the music, but I also love his messages about music. There's no way anyone looks like that on an everyday basis, so I really think the headgear and glasses are a front, but he seems genuinely passionate about music and encouraging others.
Make sure you check out his other videos (I particularly love "'disorganized fun' on a REALLY REALLY fun beat!"). Ronald Jenkees is the man.
Allow me to relate an experience concerning the Waffle. Tonight, Jay, Ashley and I decided to do the Waffle after putting the paper to bed. As we walk in the door, there's this lady sitting at the bar and she's talking on the phone. She then asked the question, "I'm in Alabama, right?" I thought I misheard, but Jay leans over and says, "Did she just ask if she was in Alabama?" so I know I wasn't imagining things.
Take a moment and think about that question. First of all, it's a completely understandable question if you're near the state line. "I've been driving through Florida for the last seven hours, but now this is Alabama, right?" or "I just came across Mississippi, but I crossed the border a few miles back, didn't I?" are both perfectly fine.
However, it's not like we're close to another state. If you get here, you've been in Alabama for at least an hour. You should know what state you're in. But wait, it gets better.
I order hash browns (scattered, smothered and covered) and a waffle. When the food comes out, the waitress hands me regular hash browns, then Ashley almost gets mine. But we figured it out quickly, and I even said to the waitress, "Oh wait, those are mine because I had scattered, smothered and covered and a waffle." So I tuck into my hash browns, awaiting the waffle.
I'd still be waiting.
So I didn't get charged for the waffle, but while we're eating, I can't help but notice that the employees are trying to get up with Tasha, who is apparently late for work or something. No answer at the house phone, no answer on the cell phone. "She must still be in the bed," someone said.
As we are paying, someone who could only be Tasha comes in looking like a hot mess with a rumpled Waffle House shirt, bed head and looking generally unhappy with her arms crossed. Did I mention that she came shuffling in wearing yellow flip flops? It was amazing. Jay just had to step outside.
Anyway, now I'm still hungry and must fill the void with Apple Jacks. I have an Apple Jacks rant which I'll share soon, and I've also got many Waffle House stories to tell (including one epic night after Friday night football).
Alright. I think it's time to give this blogging thing another shot. I tried it once before, and it didn't work too well. Maybe I'm just not an interesting enough person to make this work, but we'll see.
If you're reading this, you've probably wondered about the name of this blog. It comes from two running jokes at work. First of all, Jay makes references to me being his minion. One day, Amie referred to me as "onion.... I mean, minion." (I still haven't decided if that was a joke or an honest slip. I'm leaning heavily toward the joke option.)
Secondly, the ninja part. Apparently I walk around the office rather quietly. They say I sneak in and out, quickly and silently like smoke on the wind. Maybe they don't use those exact words, but you get the point. I considered Ninja Minion, but there was just something about Ninja Onion that clicked.
A Google search for "ninja onion" yields about 367 responses. I guess this is No. 368. Billions of people on the internet worldwide, and I'm apparently in the top 500 people to use the words "ninja" and "onion" next to each other. Whenever I get some free time, I'm going to whip up a fancy graphic with my mad Photoshop skills (ha) for the top banner. My mental image of a ninja onion is pretty funny.
So... maybe this first post has set the tone for the kind of blog this will be. I tend to be random sometimes, and I'm sure this blog will be a catch-all for all the haphazard things that enter my world.
