down is the new update

First of all, Heath Ledger. He was a great actor whose potential was never fully realized... after the Dark Knight comes out it'll be even more obvious, and even more tragic. Besides, he seemed to be a genuinely nice human being. He will be sorely missed by a lot of people.

Next, seating auditions... I just got my results in the email, and I'm fifth chair. 

Wait, fifth chair??! Wasn't that the worst audition I'd ever experienced? 

You would have laughed hysterically if you saw it... good grief, I started laughing. Seriously.

but, I'm really happy to be four chairs closer to the front of the section now. I attribute it not to a tabulation error, but to the grace of God. 

Arvo Pärt is an absolutely fantastic composer from Estonia whose instrumental works (at least those I've heard) resemble that of eastern Orthodox chant. The recordings I have are Tabula Rasa, and Fratres for 8 cellos. YES, I JUST SAID EIGHT CELLOS. His vocal works are gorgeous as well.

Finally, I watched Heima with my family on Sunday night, and it was really beautiful. If you haven't seen it, I recommend at least renting it. My favorite part was the section where they made the stone marimba, closely followed by them exploring the canning factory.

I'd say... about 8/10.

j