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I loved Conflikt. It was hard at times, because the boys - especially Drew - had a hard time with it. Drew wanted to be at the concerts! Except he didn't want to be quiet or sit still. I was trying to balance letting him hear with not disrupting for others, and I hope I managed to keep him from disrupting for others. Compounded by the fact that if he hadn't been disruptive to others before, he sure was when I removed him from the room. Kid can howl.
But the con itself was wonderful. I got to see people! And say hi to and hug friends I get to see far too rarely. Some of them I saw only briefly in passing, and some I ran into repeatedly all weekend, and both were good, though of course a weekend in which we all magically get all the music *and* all the time we want with all our various friends (and they with theirs and so on) would be lovely...sadly, still short on the magic wand for that.
Loving the new hotel. NOT liking the prices - the restaurant there is to be avoided vigorously. I am pretty sure it would be cheaper to walk to the airport and eat in a sit-down restaurant at airport prices. The hotel rooms aren't cheap either. They're nice. They're just not cheap. Very happy with the space we had, the comfort level, etc. (Not thrilled with the view of the pool, but that's because it was out of order as they waited on a part and Drew kept seeing it and wanting to swim. Which reminds me: I owe him a trip to a pool here in the next couple weekends, since I told him we'd do that instead.)
The convention space is glorious, especially as it's not near hotel rooms at all and not subject to the "keep it down, darnit!" rules that apply there. The rooms seem to be really well soundproofed overall, and they were *all together on one floor*. Yay! And comfy.
Small niceties: I never tried to get water at any point without *getting water*. I so dislike when water services run dry, and if these ever did, it wasn't when I was there.
Okay, this is where my friends who have been in filk longer get reminded that I haven't, since I am clueless so often. That's okay, I have new music.
Had not heard Heather Dale perform. Or Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff. Or in fact pretty much anyone who was the "main act" - although certainly many of those performing with them I had heard previously, at other Conflikts mostly. Let me put it this way: shiny shiny SHINY concerts.
I was lucky. I had backlogged "treat money" (work bonuses), so I pretty much bought whatever struck my fancy, music-wise. This probably made several performers I hadn't previously heard quite happy; it certainly made ME quite happy as now I have lots of lovely music.
I deeply wish Scott had not been back in the room with the boys for the Bohnhoff's concert in particular, as I believe he would have LOVED it. But I can't wish we had traded places, because I also loved it. I just wish Drew had been in a concert mood! (Ian was asleep, but he could probably have slept even through that concert. Ian can sleep through just about anything if he must. Except being set down when he wants to be held. Baby who can sleep through loud noises or parental dancing nonetheless wakes as soon as gravity shifts as though one is leaning to set him down. I swear it's a superpower.)
Bid on various things in the Interfilk auction, but idly. Got outbid, as you might expect, for idle-interest bids. Would not have been sad to win any of them. Was not sad to not-win them either. WAS sad I forgot to bring anything to donate to the auction, but the idea I had this year will still be nifty next year, so.
I really miss the streaming for members that was done last year, and hope it will be possible again in the future. (One or the other of us watched so many concerts from the room last year. It made a huge difference in how doable the con was with kids in tow!)
Pre-registered for next year. Home. Mostly unpacked. Laundry partially done. Routine house stuff I'd normally do on the weekend mostly done. Grocery shopping done.
And I should now stop writing this and go get more laundry done. :P I *swear* there was something else I meant to talk about in this post, but it's eluding me now like an elusive thing.
But the con itself was wonderful. I got to see people! And say hi to and hug friends I get to see far too rarely. Some of them I saw only briefly in passing, and some I ran into repeatedly all weekend, and both were good, though of course a weekend in which we all magically get all the music *and* all the time we want with all our various friends (and they with theirs and so on) would be lovely...sadly, still short on the magic wand for that.
Loving the new hotel. NOT liking the prices - the restaurant there is to be avoided vigorously. I am pretty sure it would be cheaper to walk to the airport and eat in a sit-down restaurant at airport prices. The hotel rooms aren't cheap either. They're nice. They're just not cheap. Very happy with the space we had, the comfort level, etc. (Not thrilled with the view of the pool, but that's because it was out of order as they waited on a part and Drew kept seeing it and wanting to swim. Which reminds me: I owe him a trip to a pool here in the next couple weekends, since I told him we'd do that instead.)
The convention space is glorious, especially as it's not near hotel rooms at all and not subject to the "keep it down, darnit!" rules that apply there. The rooms seem to be really well soundproofed overall, and they were *all together on one floor*. Yay! And comfy.
Small niceties: I never tried to get water at any point without *getting water*. I so dislike when water services run dry, and if these ever did, it wasn't when I was there.
Okay, this is where my friends who have been in filk longer get reminded that I haven't, since I am clueless so often. That's okay, I have new music.
Had not heard Heather Dale perform. Or Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff. Or in fact pretty much anyone who was the "main act" - although certainly many of those performing with them I had heard previously, at other Conflikts mostly. Let me put it this way: shiny shiny SHINY concerts.
I was lucky. I had backlogged "treat money" (work bonuses), so I pretty much bought whatever struck my fancy, music-wise. This probably made several performers I hadn't previously heard quite happy; it certainly made ME quite happy as now I have lots of lovely music.
I deeply wish Scott had not been back in the room with the boys for the Bohnhoff's concert in particular, as I believe he would have LOVED it. But I can't wish we had traded places, because I also loved it. I just wish Drew had been in a concert mood! (Ian was asleep, but he could probably have slept even through that concert. Ian can sleep through just about anything if he must. Except being set down when he wants to be held. Baby who can sleep through loud noises or parental dancing nonetheless wakes as soon as gravity shifts as though one is leaning to set him down. I swear it's a superpower.)
Bid on various things in the Interfilk auction, but idly. Got outbid, as you might expect, for idle-interest bids. Would not have been sad to win any of them. Was not sad to not-win them either. WAS sad I forgot to bring anything to donate to the auction, but the idea I had this year will still be nifty next year, so.
I really miss the streaming for members that was done last year, and hope it will be possible again in the future. (One or the other of us watched so many concerts from the room last year. It made a huge difference in how doable the con was with kids in tow!)
Pre-registered for next year. Home. Mostly unpacked. Laundry partially done. Routine house stuff I'd normally do on the weekend mostly done. Grocery shopping done.
And I should now stop writing this and go get more laundry done. :P I *swear* there was something else I meant to talk about in this post, but it's eluding me now like an elusive thing.
(Yes, I know. I tried 16 bazillion subject lines. Oh well!)
This weekend, we went up to Seattle for our cousin JT's wedding to the lovely J. We drove up Friday, leaving at 11 am with the intent of arriving mid-to-late-afternoon since the rehearsal dinner was at 6. Instead, we arrived after 6 and joined the (informal, luckily) rehearsal dinner late.
( I will now talk about the drive, the wedding, the reception, and our Sunday morning activities, at excruciating length. Behind a cut, because hey, excruciating length. )
It was a lovely, lovely trip, except for the traffic. And it was totally WORTH the traffic. (But if I'd known what that would be like, I would've planned our trip up differently. Heh.)
This weekend, we went up to Seattle for our cousin JT's wedding to the lovely J. We drove up Friday, leaving at 11 am with the intent of arriving mid-to-late-afternoon since the rehearsal dinner was at 6. Instead, we arrived after 6 and joined the (informal, luckily) rehearsal dinner late.
( I will now talk about the drive, the wedding, the reception, and our Sunday morning activities, at excruciating length. Behind a cut, because hey, excruciating length. )
It was a lovely, lovely trip, except for the traffic. And it was totally WORTH the traffic. (But if I'd known what that would be like, I would've planned our trip up differently. Heh.)
Deliberate parodies are funny. Non-deliberate ones can be.
And then there's "tired, so as you are singing this new song you love, I will just eff up in horrifyingly amusing ways and drive you nuts."
Knock it off.
( For those wondering, the victim is a line(s) of the chorus of Talis Kimberley's 'Queen of Spindles'... )
And then there's "tired, so as you are singing this new song you love, I will just eff up in horrifyingly amusing ways and drive you nuts."
Knock it off.
( For those wondering, the victim is a line(s) of the chorus of Talis Kimberley's 'Queen of Spindles'... )
I had an excellent time at ( Conflikt, which is a filk convention; cut because not everyone who reads my journal may care, this is lengthy babble about our weekend vacation )
( From my tweets during the con )
I didn't take as many photographs as I normally would. Alas. But there were too many other things to be doing and in the end, they were more important and more interesting.
Summary: I had a great time. I pre-registered us for next year. To the con, to the people who put it together and who performed (in concerts or in filking circles), to the sound crew, to Interfilk, to the people who hung out, ran the con suite, listened and chatted, admired my baby or merely tolerated him, to the hotel staff, to *everyone*, THANK YOU. I didn't have a perfect weekend, but I had a wonderful weekend, and it was made brighter and happier by so many things and people, moments big and small.
And now I fall over and go to sleep. ...sigh. As soon as I get Drew back to sleep. He just came in here and told me Daddy is asleep and is talking to me happily. It's almost 11. He's still on con time. Tomorrow's pediatric appointment, complete with immunizations, may be fraught if he's as tired as I think.
( From my tweets during the con )
I didn't take as many photographs as I normally would. Alas. But there were too many other things to be doing and in the end, they were more important and more interesting.
Summary: I had a great time. I pre-registered us for next year. To the con, to the people who put it together and who performed (in concerts or in filking circles), to the sound crew, to Interfilk, to the people who hung out, ran the con suite, listened and chatted, admired my baby or merely tolerated him, to the hotel staff, to *everyone*, THANK YOU. I didn't have a perfect weekend, but I had a wonderful weekend, and it was made brighter and happier by so many things and people, moments big and small.
And now I fall over and go to sleep. ...sigh. As soon as I get Drew back to sleep. He just came in here and told me Daddy is asleep and is talking to me happily. It's almost 11. He's still on con time. Tomorrow's pediatric appointment, complete with immunizations, may be fraught if he's as tired as I think.
(I was going to go back and mark ones no one had gotten yet to encourage guesses, but that was my plan if I got around to it. Yeah, we're short on round tuits here and the square ones are just not the same, so...here are the answers instead.)
Answers to the music meme. Includes the first person to get the ones that were solved (regardless of correct artist, although as it happened every first named the same artist that was performing in my list).
( Cut because hey, 20 songs is a long list. )
Answers to the music meme. Includes the first person to get the ones that were solved (regardless of correct artist, although as it happened every first named the same artist that was performing in my list).
( Cut because hey, 20 songs is a long list. )
First lines of twenty songs (random/shuffle on my "I at least like this" playlist, removing duplicate artists, removing instrumentals, removing songs not in English, removing ones where the first line gives the title). Comment with the artist/song for the ones you know.
Comments screened. Google is cheating (at least, if you post it afterward, not if you're just curious :). I'll post the answers later this week - how much later depends on Ian's choice of arrival time, but not before Monday evening.
1. We are young; heartache to heartache we stand, no promises, no demands.
2. Express yourself, don't repress yourself. [repeats]
3. There is a tale that the island people tell, don't care if it is true 'cause I love it so well.
4. You know our love was meant to be the kind of love that lasts forever.
5. Baby, look at me, and tell me what you see. You ain't seen the best of me yet.
6. Victor was born in the spring of '44, and never saw his father anymore.
7. Love is the only thing that matters; love is the only thing that's real.
8. It's of a bold young sailor, from fortune he did run.
9. Met my old lover at the grocery store as snow was falling Christmas Eve.
10. It's been years since they told her about it, the darkness her body possessed.
11. Candles on the table in a darkened room, a long-forgotten voice that sings a half-familiar tune
12. She said we're much too different, we're from two separate worlds.
13. You can dance, you can dance, having the time of your life.
14. At night, when you turn off all the lights, there's no place that you can hide.
15. Hush, close your eyes, and I'll keep you safe, allow you to weep and sing you to sleep.
16. There was a man back in '95 whose heart ran out of summers
17. Six o'clock already, I was just in the middle of a dream.
18. Under blue and silver sky, far from the sea, snow-laden breezes wild and free
19. Life is a long road, everyone knows it. Nothing is ever the way that you suppose it.
20. Only one shadow on the wall, just one candle burning bright.
Comments screened. Google is cheating (at least, if you post it afterward, not if you're just curious :). I'll post the answers later this week - how much later depends on Ian's choice of arrival time, but not before Monday evening.
1. We are young; heartache to heartache we stand, no promises, no demands.
2. Express yourself, don't repress yourself. [repeats]
3. There is a tale that the island people tell, don't care if it is true 'cause I love it so well.
4. You know our love was meant to be the kind of love that lasts forever.
5. Baby, look at me, and tell me what you see. You ain't seen the best of me yet.
6. Victor was born in the spring of '44, and never saw his father anymore.
7. Love is the only thing that matters; love is the only thing that's real.
8. It's of a bold young sailor, from fortune he did run.
9. Met my old lover at the grocery store as snow was falling Christmas Eve.
10. It's been years since they told her about it, the darkness her body possessed.
11. Candles on the table in a darkened room, a long-forgotten voice that sings a half-familiar tune
12. She said we're much too different, we're from two separate worlds.
13. You can dance, you can dance, having the time of your life.
14. At night, when you turn off all the lights, there's no place that you can hide.
15. Hush, close your eyes, and I'll keep you safe, allow you to weep and sing you to sleep.
16. There was a man back in '95 whose heart ran out of summers
17. Six o'clock already, I was just in the middle of a dream.
18. Under blue and silver sky, far from the sea, snow-laden breezes wild and free
19. Life is a long road, everyone knows it. Nothing is ever the way that you suppose it.
20. Only one shadow on the wall, just one candle burning bright.
It's been a while since the last guess at the song meme I posted, so I've gone ahead and posted the answers to the unguessed ones before I get distracted and never do. If anyone's curious, they're there now. :)
[Edit: okay, it's been nearly a week. I'm posting the remaining answers for anyone who was curious.]
step 1: put your music player on shuffle.
step 2: post the first line from the first 15 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing.
step 2a: Skip any instrumentals and songs where the first line is or contains the title.
step 3: strike out the songs when someone guesses both artist and track correctly.
step 4: looking them up on google or any other search engine is CHEATING!
step 5: if you like the game, post your own.
(optional step 1a: turn off the "repeat one song over and over option" you had on from amusing the toddler earlier in the day....)
(disclosure: I put the list of songs I LIKE and LISTEN TO on shuffle, not everything that's ever been imported/added, because lo, I import/buy whole CDs and only like some of what's on them....)
step 1: put your music player on shuffle.
step 2: post the first line from the first 15 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing.
step 2a: Skip any instrumentals and songs where the first line is or contains the title.
step 3: strike out the songs when someone guesses both artist and track correctly.
step 4: looking them up on google or any other search engine is CHEATING!
step 5: if you like the game, post your own.
(optional step 1a: turn off the "repeat one song over and over option" you had on from amusing the toddler earlier in the day....)
(disclosure: I put the list of songs I LIKE and LISTEN TO on shuffle, not everything that's ever been imported/added, because lo, I import/buy whole CDs and only like some of what's on them....)
Pick me up, then put me down
Seanan McGuire - Dorothy (identified by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tollers, and subsequently by tibicina)- Mmm...hold on tight to your dreams. [Electric Light Orchestra - Hold on Tight]
Across the vein of night there cuts a path of searing light
Dan Fogelberg - Nexus (identified byleeshajoy)It's clear as tattoos on your eyes
SJ Tucker - Girl in the Garden (identified bysolcita, and subsequently by tollers and tibicina)The kitsune girl with the sakura smile
Seanan McGuire - Take Advantage of Me (identified bybayushi)'Cause if the devil would take her, I'd thank him for his pain
Great Big Sea - Scolding Wife (identified bysolcita)Girl, don't tell me that it's morning
Great Big Sea - Boston and St. John's (identified bydormouse_in_tea)- Things haven't been the same since you came into my life [Madonna - Secret]
- I can no more be bound than the hawk in flight [Spiral Rhythm - Freedom]
There are stars in the southern sky
The Eagles - Seven Bridges Road (identified bybayushi)Ia ora te natura [alt first English: I know I don't get there often enough]
Jimmy Buffett - One Particular Harbour (identified bybayushi)- Out of this island, far from the cage that most will know [Christopher Cross - Hunger]
- It is the night. My body's weak. [Christopher Cross - Ride Like the Wind]
- under blue and silver sky, far from the sea [SJ Tucker - Cold Sunshine]
Moving on the floor now babe you're a bird of paradise.
Duran Duran - Rio (identified bybayushi)
So, yes, I dropped the ball on this. Here are the remaining days. Some are unanswered because, well, I got stuck on them which is what derailed this.
http://donotrustme.blogspot.com/2010/04/30-days-of-music-meme.html
( Days 14-30. Longish. )
http://donotrustme.blogspot.com/2010/04/30-days-of-music-meme.html
( Days 14-30. Longish. )
http://donotrustme.blogspot.com/2010/04/30-days-of-music-meme.html
I missed yesterday, partly because it was a long day (we had friends over), but also because of the nature of question 12. I'm giving up on #12.
Day 12 - A song from a band you hate
...I don't really hate bands. There are ones I don't care for, but I don't hate them. And I don't really find them memorable. I really...have no idea how to address this one.
Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Elton John, "Original Sin."
There's another group of friends over (a game Scott's running that I'm not in, so no YouTube link as I don't want to sit in the middle of this playing snippets of them until I find one I like.
I missed yesterday, partly because it was a long day (we had friends over), but also because of the nature of question 12. I'm giving up on #12.
Day 12 - A song from a band you hate
...I don't really hate bands. There are ones I don't care for, but I don't hate them. And I don't really find them memorable. I really...have no idea how to address this one.
Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Elton John, "Original Sin."
There's another group of friends over (a game Scott's running that I'm not in, so no YouTube link as I don't want to sit in the middle of this playing snippets of them until I find one I like.
http://donotrustme.blogspot.com/2010/04/30-days-of-music-meme.html
Day 11 - A song from your favorite band
Augh! Which favorite band? *whines* S.J. Tucker, Suzanne Vega, and Dan Fogelberg - all likely to turn up as such - have already made this meme. Ruling out the ones I am nearly 100% sure will appear later in this meme...hmm.
Billy Joel. In which case, it has to be "The Downeaster Alexa" because it's just beautiful.
Day 11 - A song from your favorite band
Augh! Which favorite band? *whines* S.J. Tucker, Suzanne Vega, and Dan Fogelberg - all likely to turn up as such - have already made this meme. Ruling out the ones I am nearly 100% sure will appear later in this meme...hmm.
Billy Joel. In which case, it has to be "The Downeaster Alexa" because it's just beautiful.
http://donotrustme.blogspot.com/2010/04/30-days-of-music-meme.html
Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep
I used to fall asleep to the radio each night as a teenager - I'm not sure why. That's not the case any more. I don't have a song that makes me fall asleep....
...so I'll share the one we play to help Drew fall asleep when me or Scott singing him lullabies isn't doing the job. I like it quite a lot, even if it doesn't put me to sleep.
Blackmore's Night, "Way to Mandalay"
Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep
I used to fall asleep to the radio each night as a teenager - I'm not sure why. That's not the case any more. I don't have a song that makes me fall asleep....
...so I'll share the one we play to help Drew fall asleep when me or Scott singing him lullabies isn't doing the job. I like it quite a lot, even if it doesn't put me to sleep.
Blackmore's Night, "Way to Mandalay"
http://donotrustme.blogspot.com/2010/04/30-days-of-music-meme.html
Day 09 - A song that you can dance to
Um. Assuming "stamping your feet back and forth and moving your arms about with no training or particular grace" can be called dancing, anyway....
S.J. Tucker, "Taglio".
Day 09 - A song that you can dance to
Um. Assuming "stamping your feet back and forth and moving your arms about with no training or particular grace" can be called dancing, anyway....
S.J. Tucker, "Taglio".
[This is for yesterday. I'll do today...later today.]
http://donotrustme.blogspot.com/2010/04/30-days-of-music-meme.html
Day 08 - A song that you know all the words to
Judy Collins's version of "Suzanne" from Forever (I heard it this way first, and it's the one that sounds 'right' in my mind, and the pacing/phrasing is very different from anything else I've heard - even the Youtube videos of Judy singing it at other times/places).
http://donotrustme.blogspot.com/2010/04/30-days-of-music-meme.html
Day 08 - A song that you know all the words to
Judy Collins's version of "Suzanne" from Forever (I heard it this way first, and it's the one that sounds 'right' in my mind, and the pacing/phrasing is very different from anything else I've heard - even the Youtube videos of Judy singing it at other times/places).
http://donotrustme.blogspot.com/2010/04/30-days-of-music-meme.html
Day 07 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
What is with all these memory questions? Music is...not my memory device. Still, doing my best here....
Suzanne Vega, "Rosemary" - reminds me of her concert at the Oregon Zoo in 2005, a little bit, because that was when I first heard it. :P
Day 07 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
What is with all these memory questions? Music is...not my memory device. Still, doing my best here....
Suzanne Vega, "Rosemary" - reminds me of her concert at the Oregon Zoo in 2005, a little bit, because that was when I first heard it. :P
http://donotrustme.blogspot.com/2010/04/30-days-of-music-meme.html
Day 06 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
This one's hard for me - songs mostly don't remind me of places. I'm going to go with John Denver's "Calypso" which reminds me of my childhood home, specifically in the living room watching television, purely because I remember that my mother admired or liked watching Jacques Cousteau. Interestingly I don't really remember which - it's a very vague memory and I wonder whether it is even accurate or only a child's interpretation. Nonetheless, the song (referring to Cousteau's boat, Calypso) reminds me of her. I don't know if we ever even listened to the song together at any point...or if she ever heard it...or would have liked it.
Enh. Enough babbling. A Youtube link:
Day 06 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
This one's hard for me - songs mostly don't remind me of places. I'm going to go with John Denver's "Calypso" which reminds me of my childhood home, specifically in the living room watching television, purely because I remember that my mother admired or liked watching Jacques Cousteau. Interestingly I don't really remember which - it's a very vague memory and I wonder whether it is even accurate or only a child's interpretation. Nonetheless, the song (referring to Cousteau's boat, Calypso) reminds me of her. I don't know if we ever even listened to the song together at any point...or if she ever heard it...or would have liked it.
Enh. Enough babbling. A Youtube link:
http://donotrustme.blogspot.com/2010/04/30-days-of-music-meme.html
Day 05 - A song that reminds you of someone
Alouette, which reminds me of my mother. She used to sing it to me when I was young and I loved it because it was so pretty and nicely repetetive, and it sounded exotic to my ears since I didn't speak French.
I was horrified when I learned what it meant. (Which is doubly ironic since I grew up on a farm where we raised sheep for meat, until I was almost five.)
Day 05 - A song that reminds you of someone
Alouette, which reminds me of my mother. She used to sing it to me when I was young and I loved it because it was so pretty and nicely repetetive, and it sounded exotic to my ears since I didn't speak French.
I was horrified when I learned what it meant. (Which is doubly ironic since I grew up on a farm where we raised sheep for meat, until I was almost five.)
http://donotrustme.blogspot.com/2010/04/30-days-of-music-meme.html
Day 04 - A song that makes you sad
Beth Neilsen Chapman - "Sand and Water"
Day 04 - A song that makes you sad
Beth Neilsen Chapman - "Sand and Water"