Chapman Kids Blog

"In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." –John 16:33

San Pedro Garza Garcia

Tag: Opera

Kelly goes to the opera with Aunt Julia and Uncle Rich

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On Saturday, March 12, 2016

In culture

Kelly goes to the opera in Seattle with Uncle Rich and Aunt JuliaAunt Julia and Uncle Rich drove up to Seattle to see the opera last night. I got Kelly a ticket as a gift for surviving a period of insane school intensity. I think she is finally over the hump and has figured out both what is required, but also that it is also possible to for her to do what is required and have a life. That is actually, I think, a very big and important breakthrough.

Kelly bought a new dress for the affair and Uncle Rich and Aunt Julia took her to a really nice dinner. Kelly was a wildly big fan of her Aunt and Uncle before the opera, but even more so now. Her is Aunt Julia’s very insightful quote about the opera:

It was great. Mary Queen of Scots gets killed in the end by the declaration of the evil queen Elizabeth after much hand wringing, agony and weeping.

Just so. That would probably be a good description of many operas if you switched the names out and maybe added a little sword waving and romance.

Thank you Uncle Rich and Aunt Julia. We are grateful for your efforts on our daughter’s behalf. The only thing that might have made it just a little bit better is if it would have been a Russian opera!

Betty Blonde #496 – 07/12/2010
Betty Blonde #496
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Famous hockey people on the plane

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On Tuesday, October 14, 2014

In culture

Yesterday was a travel day and a very interesting one. While I was sitting at the airport waiting to get on the plane to Charlotte, a fellow about my age came and set beside me. We struck up a conversation and it turned out that he had had a career as a hockey player in the NHL. He had been in town doing scouting of some kind. As in most of those kinds of conversations, I never got his name. He was a very nice guy and I enjoyed the talk.

When I got on the plane, I sat by another guy about my age who greeted and had a brief conversation with the first guy. When they were done I asked my seat mate if the first guy was a known hockey player.

He gave me a funny look and said “That is Mark Howe” like I should know who he was.

I didn’t, so the guy said, “Gordie Howe’s son. He is an NHL hall of famer, too.”

I know that guy, so I thought that was very cool. Both Mark and Gordie have Wikipedia pages and very impressive careers. It is a short flight to Charlotte, but this other guy and I had a great conversation. It turns out he is a famous Hockey personality, too. His name is Dave Strader and he is currently NBC’s play by play hockey announcer. We spent almost no time talking about hockey. The thing that was totally fascinating about him was that he had three very impressive grown children. Two of his kids were, what we call in the Chapman household, math kids. A math major and a physicist with a strong chemical background, both from very strong universities.

When I heard that, I was very surprised and probably a little ungraciously said, “How did that happen?”

What are the odds a hockey announcer is going to have two kids that did hard math.

He laughed and said, “It had to be their mother” who turns out was a stay at home mom.

All this was very impressive for a guy like me, but then he told me about the third son who got a degree in voice at a school where it is extremely difficult to even get accepted. He is currently in New York working on kick starting his singing career. He told me about a youtube video of his son singing Ave Maria. Judge for yourself:

Betty Blonde #186 – 04/02/2009
Betty Blonde #186
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Switching to Opera

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On Wednesday, April 9, 2014

In culture, Politics, Software

Day 960 of 1000

Due to Mozilla’s unconscionable and extreme treatment of their former CEO, Brendan Eich, I have decided to kick Firefox to the curb.  Daniel Greenfield explains the issue quite well in his blog post at Frontpage Mag.  He also makes a great case for why Chrome is a bad choice for a replacement.  I thought I would try Opera first because I have heard so many good things about it.  I am writing this post from the ScribeFire extension that I used previously in Firefox.  I have been able to import all my bookmarks and am blocking ads with AdBlock Plus.  The browsers is noticeably faster.  I will have to retrain myself to use the Opera layout, but that does not look to be too onerous.  So far, admittedly only one day, I am quite happy with the change.  I will leave Firefox installed for a few more days to easy the transition, but will put up a post when I am Firefox free.

Betty Blonde #99 – 12/02/2008
Betty Blonde #99
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