One More Time...

It seems like every time I fly somewhere, the trip begins at some ungodly hour--so early that I tend to just pull an all-nighter the night before to eliminate the risk of oversleeping. I've posted about this on a few previous occasions, and this morning will be no exception (though a two-hour nap is still possible at this point). The college jazz band (or at least the half of us who are going on the "extended" trip) departs for the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival at eight in the morning, and my shuttle leaves at the hideously early hour of 4:50 a.m. (I would normally park at the house of one of my section-mates and ride to the airport with him, but he's on the later half of the trip this time. D'oh.) So here I am, catching up on a little business and blog-reading and talking to friends on AIM here and there.

The trip will be a lot of fun, filled with interesting activities (canoeing, mountain hiking, etc.) and a stellar lineup of concerts, including Randy Brecker (playing the Miles Davis role in a re-creation of classic Gil Evans charts), McCoy Tyner, Jean-Luc Ponty, and the "Saxophone Summit" of Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano and Dave Liebman (that last one occurs on Friday, my birthday, and will, along with lunch at Jana's Cupboard, be a great way to spend that day). As noted on the sidebar, our own performance is next Saturday at 1:45, so if you happen to be in the area (does that apply to any Musings reader?), stop on by.

We do have a computer in the lobby of our hotel, so expect some posts from time to time, followed by a big roundup of concert reviews after I get back.

Feting your favorite feline: Today is Hug Your Cat Day, according to a few sites (though some say it was yesterday, and others say it was on May 15). I'm not going to try that with Tasha, who doesn't even like being picked up, but I could always send her an e-card if the computer were going to be on in my absence. (She's not much of a computer cat, but she has inadvertently sent instant messages by walking across the keyboard and hitting "return.")

Oh, and I love the passage on this site:

Maximum people love cat, so if we spend a day on our lovely cat then it will became beautiful. For this reason every year we celebrate Hug Your Cat Day on 4th June, so open your arms and hold your dear cats closer to your heart, and celebrate this day with your sweet cats also encourage all the cat lovers you know among your friends and family members. However don't miss this day without celebration.

Heh, that reminds me of those translated-from-Chinese instructions that always turn up on Jay Leno's Headlines. Great stuff.

Just call him Maestro Vader: Dingus links to a site that features a computer-animated short of a stormtrooper orchestra playing the Imperial March under Lord Vader's direction; he also points out that the trombones are basically playing their instruments backwards. I guess the ecroF was with them...