Music MAD

God Hates Fags - sooo not true

Chad Voller — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:02:50 GMT

Do you remember the first time you heard about the "christians" that picket funerals of gay people? They really exist. And they hold signs that say "God Hates Fags." Does it make you want to vomit, too? How many times has Christ been misrepresented in history? How many times have I misrepresented him? Sobering thoughts. These words from Andrew Peterson have a way of melting my heart. Can't remember if I've posted them before, but no matter...

Come, Lord Jesus
by Andrew Peterson

Tonight in the line of the merchandise store
While they were packing up my bags
I saw the pictures of the prophets of the picket signs
Screaming, "God hates fags"

And it feels like the church isn't anything more
Then the second coming of the Pharisees
Scrubbing each other 'til their tombs are white
They chisel epitaphs of piety

Oh, there's a burning down inside of me
'Cause the battle seems so lost
And it's raging on so silently
We forget it's being fought

So, Amen
Come, Lord Jesus
Amen
Oh, Amen
Come Lord Jesus
Amen

It's taken me years in the race just to get this far
Still there is no end in sight,
There's no end in sight

'Cause I've carried my cross into dens of the wicked
And you know I blended in just fine
Well, I'm weak and I'm weary of breaking His heart
With they cycle of my sin, of my sin
Still He turns His face to me and I kiss it
Just to betray Him once again

Well, I've got oceans down inside of me
I can feel the billows roll
With the mercy that comes thundering
O'er the waters of my soul

So, Amen
Come, Lord Jesus
Amen
Oh, Amen
Come, Lord Jesus
Amen

Tonight in the light of the gathering rain
I could hear creation groan
And a sigh rose up from the streets of the city
To the foot of Heaven's throne

Oh, and the people hear the sound of a sweet refrain
An absolution in the fray, in the fry
It tells of the death of the one for the lives of the many
More than any picket sign could say

So, Amen
Come, Lord Jesus
Amen
Oh, Amen
Come, Lord Jesus
Amen

Back and Forth from Side to Side (a New Year's Dance)

Chad Voller — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:50:11 GMT

Don't think Joe doesn't have the moves, because he does. Here's the video to prove it!

On a side note, I'm not sure why my videos keep coming out grainy when I upload to YouTube. They aren't grainy on my computer before upload, so what happens when I upload? Argh! Still funny, though.

Schley Christmas Video

Chad Voller — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 15:19:14 GMT

We had a terrific time on Christmas Eve Eve over at the Bockas' place. The ride home was a different story, but we made the most of that and helped a young driver who had just been in his first wreck. It felt very Christmassy... and seemed like it might make for a good movie scene... or something...

Anyway, the Schley chili cookoff was fantastic, 8 different chili choices, and the chance to vote on your top 3. Everyone did a great job, and #4 was definitely interesting. I'm still new the whole video editing thing, so bear with the choppy action and transitions, I'm still learning! ;-)

I Think I Found My Calling

Chad Voller — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 16:10:00 GMT

So, Laurel walks into the kitchen and says, "Anybody want to play Rock Band, too?" Well, that's what I thought she said. She really said, "Anybody want to play Rock Bank, TWO?" as in the second version of the game. "Does it have songs from the 80's?" was my first question. "Yes," came the answer. "Can I sing?" was my second question. "Yeah, you can sing," the second answer came. My heart leapt.

They've had it for a week, and apparently Laurel doesn't really "get into it" when she plays the singer on the game. I think I set a fine example for this young lady, so now she'll be able to look back on this video and remember how to really rock. Let your hair down, everyone, and roll on the floor laughing at my dancing. You know you're jealous of my moves.

Credits for the song: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_the_tiger (but don't worry, I don't think I'll be making any money off this video...though I might grab a still from it for my Facebook profile pic.). Also, please note the Super_Geek stylish example I am setting w/the Blackberry. And no, my belly is not that big, that's my shirt pooching out.

EDIT: Actual dancing and singing starts at around 2:30, in case anyone doesn't want to watch all the "figuring it out" stuff at the beginning.

More Tuba Christmas

Chad Voller — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:40:17 GMT

Here's a fun long video compilation of our Tuba Christmas extravaganza!

Tuba Christmas -- What it Was!

Chad Voller — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:12:27 GMT

Music, with all of its amazing qualities, is also sometimes strange. Without further ado, here is a series of videos (these are the "serious" ones) detailing our adventure at Tuba Christmas... they get a bunch of tuba players together and play carols...

UPON ARRIVAL THE PLACE WAS PACKED (b/c it's free and first-come first-served)

Ben sat with me and Allyson (we all had to split up b/c it was so crowded!

Ben was attracted to the video recorder. He recorded this video, then put
it up to his EAR. He wanted to hear the video, naturally.

Merry Tuba Christmas

How did Tuba Christmas start?

How many types of tubas can you name?

Are there some Christmas carols you don't really know the words to?

There's more than one tuba Christmas!

The plug for ongoing music education in our schools

There are more videos of TC that I'll try and find time to publish. Publishing videos to YouTube is cool and fun, but it can take a while. ;-) Enjoy!

Talk Right Now

Chad Voller — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 02:34:27 GMT

I've posted this song before in the downloads section... but thought I might put up a living room version. Enjoy!

You can find the words here.

A Hawaii Post

Chad Voller — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:26:33 GMT

We did go to Hawaii, and I know I haven't posted about it yet. Let me tell you, though, it was great. I would even say, that at times, it was awesome. And I really mean awesome. You might hear me say, "There is just something about the ocean." Do you have a favorite place you like to go? I don't mean like a favorite hang-out, or a favorite coffee joint, or a favorite book store. I mean do you like to go to the mountains, to the ocean, to the lake, to the canyon, to the fields? What strikes awe in you? To me, the mountains and the oceans are the most amazing of places, and Hawaii has them both. I was thinking about sipping a beverage on the shore long before we ever got there. One, because I wanted to take in the magnitude of the ocean and two, because I wanted to soak in the rays (sunblocked, of course). Then, when it came time to be there, sitting alone on the beach, observing the rhythmic waves rolling in, I knew I had finally arrived in Hawaii. It wasn't wearing a lei or putting on a flower-covered shirt... it was the ocean. Never had I seen it from Hawaii, though I have seen the ocean in many places. There I was, sipping my beverage, and I was small, and it felt terrific (some might even say tremendous).

The power and vast nature of the ocean fill me with awe. There is a mystery to it, and something tangibly frightful about it. I was mentioning to Heidi that you don't have to get very far from shore when swimming in the ocean to understand that it is a very lonely place. Yet, it is also a delightful place, and one to which I will constantly return as I am able. The ocean has a music all its own.

I also enjoyed the greatest cup of coffee I have ever enjoyed, mostly because of where it was consumed. I collect Starbucks mugs from across the globe, from Allyson's cousin, Meredith, or from Allyson, or from me... The only rule about collecting Starbucks mugs is that they must be collected on-site, in person, by any of these 3 people. I suppose I would accept a gift-mug from anyone else, though, as long as they were actually in the place represented on the mug. No fakes will do.

Music is a Legacy (discovering who you are)

Chad Voller — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:23:46 GMT

Some might have expected the first blog post since my return from vacation to be about Hawaii. Makes sense, I was just there for a full week, enjoying time away from work and having a wonderful time of rest, relaxation, and primarily non-work. I even mentioned on Facebook that I would be telling folks about things they should try out if they visit the island of Oahu. If time permits, I may end up doing that, since sharing that type of stuff is fun. This post has a bit of a different feel, though.

While on vacation last Sunday, I got a call from my Dad, informing me that his mother has passed away. So, Grandma Voller passed on to the next life. That's what I believe, that's what my family believes, and what I believe one day everyone will believe. For most of my life, my immediate family has lived quite a distance from the relatives on the Voller side. In fact, one of my oldest cousins mentioned that it had been close to 29 years since he had last seen me. He said I was a little shorter back then. Let's hope so, since I was 4 years old. Anyhow, as things change over the years, cousins grow up and get married, the times we got together were rare. Funerals and weddings tend to bring large sets of family members together, though, especially when it's the patriarch or matriarch of the family. My grandmother had 4 kids, 3 of them having 3 kids, 1 of them having 1. Not a huge family by any stretch, but plenty of people to keep track of. Do you have the type of family where you have to continuously remind each other who is related to who and how? Conversations like that abound in my family, as a result of us not growing up in close proximity to each other.

Losing someone doesn't seem to get much easier as I get older. It's one of those things that you can think about, prepare for, study up on, but you can't really practice and you never get used to it. Nothing truly compares to the actual experience of a death in the family. (on a side-note, Allyson and I know a married couple who lost both sets of parents simultaneously in a tragic bus accident years ago...if you ever think you have it bad, imagine that.) You think you're ready, then you hear the news, people tell you they're sorry, but when you're finally there, at the funeral, sometime it hits you when you least expect it, and the tears begin to flow.

Between the tears, we got to hear stories about our grandmother, her husband, their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Those stories taught me something that I didn't really know. Somewhere along the line I'm sure someone told me... but with my memory, it's no wonder that that I might have forgotten. Turns out that my love for music is something that began long ago. My grandmother played instruments, directed and taught music, played and led in church, and passed that love and passion on to her kids and many others. My cousin, Craig, spoke at the funeral, talking of grandma's legacy in his life and in the life of others. Sometimes in life, you discover that someone before you left a legacy that you never knew about, and suddenly you know a little more about yourself.

Need So Little

Chad Voller — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 12:29:02 GMT

Some songs I wrote long ago have not been shared online. This is one of those whimsical writes from years past. My favorite line in this one: "I am a rose, I want a weed..." Why is it that we need so little, but want so much?

I want to run, I want to weep
I cannot, no I must not sleep
I want to live, I want to dance
I cannot die and miss romance
I want to climb, I want to fly
I want to take you through the sky
I want no splinters in my cross
I want to slide by at no cost
I want to feel, I want your touch
I need so little, want so much

I want to read, I want to be
I want to give myself to thee
I want to sip, i want your drink
I want your drugs, but not your shrink
I want to fight, I want to win
I want to lie beside my sin
I want to scream, I want to bleed
I am a rose, I want a weed
I want to cry with all my might
I want to flee into the night
I want to feel, I want your touch
I need so little, want so much

Championship

Chad Voller — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:45:20 GMT

This is my favorite fantasy football commercial... ever. Enjoy it if you can.

Kiss a Wookie

Chad Voller — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:07:13 GMT

Thanks, Liz.

Yeah, unreal. Enjoy!

Synching BES Blackberry Email with Outlook/Exchange

Chad Voller — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:26:00 GMT

When I first started using a BlackBerry with BES service, everything synched perfectly except for when I deleted items from either Outlook or the BlackBerry. Here's some information that will help you if you run into a similar problem.

If you delete an email item on your BlackBerry, and it doesn't delete from Outlook, the first thing you should check is the following setting on your BlackBerry device:

1. Go into Messages (Email)
2. Click your Blackberry button (or thumbwheel on older models) and select Options
3. Select Email Reconciliation
4. Change the "Delete On" option to "Mailbox & Handheld"
5. Verify that the "Wireless Reconcile" option is "On"
6. Verify that the "On Conflicts" option is "Mailbox Wins"
7. Save your settings

If, on the other hand, you delete an email from Outlook and it doesn't delete on your BlackBerry, the first thing you should think about is whether your Deleted Items folder is emptied on a regular basis. Your BlackBerry device will only know to delete an email from itself if the email is in your Deleted Items folder in Outlook. If you empty your deleted items folder (as I used to do, many times a day in an insane bid to keep my mailbox "clean"), any messages emptied that are still on your BlackBerry will remain on your BlackBerry.

So, before you empty your Deleted Items, make sure your BlackBerry is up-to-date (as far as deleted items are concerned). I don't think the email reconciliation for deleted items is as "real-time" as it for receiving new emails. I've found the "Reconcile Now" option to be useful in getting emails deleted from my BlackBerry that are in my Deleted Items in Outlook.

If neither of these two things solved your issue, you can request that your service books be resent to your device.

If that doesn't resolve your issue, you may need to do a factory reset on your BlackBerry and do a brand new setup to try to resolve the issue.

(This article gratefully borrowed from: http://blogs.lanlogic.net/)

July 4, 2008 -- Family Gathering Random Videos

Chad Voller — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:08:37 GMT

We had a really cool family gathering for July 4, 2008... this year I didn't have to work! While there, I took a cool video of what it feels like to be the HOLE in Corn-hole.

Also, Jordan and I were trying to have a bubble blowing contest... with that cheap Double Bubble style gum that you had when you were a kid. Yeah, it's not that great, and here's the evidence! These are pretty lame, but somewhat funny.

Bubble Blowing 01

Bubble Blowing 02

Bubble Blowing 03

Bubble Blowing 04

Bubble Blowing 05

Halloween 2008

Chad Voller — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 01:59:41 GMT

"We need to get the Flip," she said.

"It's in the basement, I'll get it," I said.

The Halloween video 2008 ensued...