Harmonic Journal 05/31/15

Harmonic Journal
Sunday, May 31, 2015

"Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers

Harmonic Journal 05/30/15

Harmonic Journal
Saturday, May 30, 2015

"Lovers Lane" by Steve Dorian

Sing It On 1.3

Sing It On

Season One

Episode 3: Northeast Quarterfinals

• Uh oh.  Eric's having a hard time in Nor'easters rehearsal, and he's cut.  Poor Eric.
• Ladies of Pitch, Please! are sick and breathing on each other.  Great.
• I was afraid that the song from "Frozen" was going to be in No Comment's set, but phew!  It was only a karaoke session.
• Ooh, aca-drama!  A couple from All-Night Yahtzee broke up, and as revenge, she formed the Acabelles, their rivals.  But I'm a shipper, so I want these two  to get together, partly because I want to see Michael freak out
• Northeast Quarterfinals take place at MIT.
• The Nor'easters get a standing ovation.
• Callie of Pitch, Please! is freaking out that she has a hole in her jumpsuit, but someone sews her up, and she's OK, but nervous because she's still sick.  They sound OK, but I don't think it's great.
• The Vassar Devils are small, but they have a nice, full sound.  
• Pitch, Please!  does not move on to Semis.  But Nor'easters and Vassar Devils do, with Nor'easters winning the evening.

All caught up now!  Next time:  South Quarterfinals.

Sing It On 1.2

Sing It On

Season 1

Episode 2: Midwest Quarterfinals

• No Comment auditions for the solo in their closer.
• The Nor'Easters goes to an a cappella party by all-female group Pitch Please!, "born out of the girls that didn't make it into the Nor'Easters".  Not nice, dude.  I've decided that I don't like him.
• Ooh, Aca Battle!  Oh, they actually get a chance to practice their arrangements (to Britney Spears' "Toxic") first.
• Pitch Please does sexy choreography throughout their song, more than the Nor'Easters, but the Nor'Easters have a better arrangement, and they win.
• Meanwhile, Michael of All-Night Yahtzee feels badly about all of the tension that he cause during the audition bargaining process, and puts together a scavenger hunt.  he didn't make it a fair game, though, so yeah, I'm not much liking Michael either.
• No Comment's Jessica is focusing too much on choreo instead of getting the music right, and Micah is unhappy.  I would be, too, especially when she wants an additional song.
• Uh oh.  No Comment is being really loud on the party bus, and one of the gals doesn't know why their group is called "No Comment"..  
• Top 2 from Midwest Quarters go to Semifinals.
• That vocal percussionist is outstanding, but I don't know which group he was from.
• Is Micah a human metronome AND a human pitch pipe?  Is she also a one-woman band?
• "Penalization" is a big word.
• The Huskie Hunks and No Comment advance to Semis.  I mean, of course, No Comment makes it.  Why would we be focusing on them so much if not?  I wonder if the other groups were being followed, or just the ones they predicted would go to Finals.

Sing It On 1.1

Sing It On 

Season 1

Episode 1: Auditions

How can I not blog about a new reality series about a cappella competition?  Especially when I'm almost done reading "Pitch Perfect", the book upon which the movies were based!  The new series (and the book) is about the International Championship of Collegiate of A Cappella competition.  The competition has already taken place in real life, and I'm playing catch-up today.  Here we go!

• Really? The Nor'Easters (of Northeastern University) hold 24 hours of auditions?  That's too much, dude.  Aw, they want to find more best friends.
• All-Night Yahtzee (of Florida State University) is rivals with the Acabelles.  Michael (of ANY) seems to be kind of a diva.
• Acabelles sound really good in the "Royals" video that went viral on youtube.
• No Comment (of University of Illinois) is a family that doesn't sleep together.
• Ooh, that "secret preference" is interesting.  So is that bartering thing.  I'm with the others and want to punch Michael.
• All of their auditions seem tough.  I know that I wouldn't have auditioned back when I was a freshman, because it was my first year of actual singing.  My friends would have needed to talk me into it, I think.

Not much to this episode because it was auditions, but I hope to hear more music in the next one.

Harmonic Journal 05/29/15

Harmonic Journal
Friday, May 29, 2015

"Pomp and Circumstance" by Edward Elgar

Harmonic Journal 05/28/15

Harmonic Journal
Thursday, May 28, 2015

"Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" by Benjamin Britten, as performed by the 1981 Santa Clara Vanguard

Harmonic Journal 05/27/15

Harmonic Journal
Wednesday, May 27, 2015

"California Sad-Eyed Girl", by Scott Leonard, as sung by Rockapella

Happy Birthday, Wendy from San Bernardino!  May you always be a-flutter when you think of our favorite band.  In a good way.

Harmonic Journal 05/26/15

Harmonic Journal
Tuesday, May 26, 2015

"Roxanne" by The Police, as performed by The Ragtime Gals with Sting

Harmonic Journal 05/25/15

Harmonic Journal
Monday, May 25, 2015

"Taps"

There's A Great, Big, Beautiful Tomorrow

I put on my t-shirt with the schematic of the Space Mountain vehicle today, and walked to the movie theater to watch "Tomorrowland".

• Love the opening logo!
• I wish that pin wasn't orange and blue, but I know those are the colors that the CMs wear in Tomorrowland, so whatever.  Does that have to be my future?
• GBBT music!  It's A Small World!  1964 World's Fair!  Jetpack! Happiness.
• That set is amazing.  WOW.
• Giacchino's music is gorgeous, as usual.
• Athena was cute and mysterious and she kicked butt.  
• Britt Robertson does a fine job as the optimistic Casey.  I love her wide-eyed reactions to everything. 
• Clooney.  Love.  Always.  
• I always knew that Eiffel Tower was more than just a tower.  I knew it!
• Space Mountain!
• It's Keegan-Michael Key again!  (Just saw him in Pitch Perfect 2).
• The next time I ride IASW, I'm going to be looking for that laser.
• "I will never give up."
• "Dreamers should be with other dreamers."

I really liked this movie.  I might see it again in the theater because I really liked the cinematography.  

Harmonic Journal 05/24/15

Harmonic Journal
Sunday, May 24, 2015

"The Chairman's Waltz" from Memoirs of a Geisha, by John Williams, as performed by Itzhak Perlman and Yo Yo Ma

DLR LotD 05/23/15

Disneyland Resort
Line of the Day

Saturday, May 23, 2015

"Skyway!  Skyway buckets!!!" -- Sherry, to anyone who could hear her, on Matterhorn Bobsleds

Harmonic Journal 05/23/15

Harmonic Journal
Saturday, May 23, 2015

"Alma Mater" as sung by the Mickey Mouse Club

DLR LotD 05/22/15

Disneyland Resort
Line of the Day
Friday, May 22, 2015

"Oh, no.  Oh, no!" -- Sherry, spying the The Little Mermaid float in the new Paint the Night parade, at Small World Mall

Harmonic Journal 05/22/15

Harmonic Journal
Friday, May 22, 2015

"Baroque Hoedown" by Jean-Jacques Perrey and Gershon Kingsley,as performed in Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade

Harmonic Journal 05/21/15

Harmonic Journal
Thursday, May 21, 2015

"Flashlight" from Pitch Perfect 2 as performed by The Barden Bellas

Harmonic Journal 05/20/15

Harmonic Journal
Wednesday, May 20, 2015

"Festive Overture" by Dmitri Shostakovich, as performed by the 1986 Santa Clara Vanguard

Harmonic Journal 05/19/15

Harmonic Journal
Tuesday, May 19, 2015

"How Deep Is Your Love" by the Bee Gees, as sung by Scott Leonard

Harmonic Journal 05/18/15

Harmonic Journal
Monday, May 18, 2015

"Even Though" by SpiralMouth

Harmonic Journal 05/17/15

Harmonic Journal
Sunday, May 17, 2015

"I Won't Say (I'm In Love)", by Alan Menken and David Zippel, as sung by Susan Egan in Hercules

Pitch Perfect 2: A Capella Boogaloo

We're back, Pitches!  Bro, V and I hightailed it to the AMC in Fallbrook to see Pitch Perfect 2, and we had big leather reclining seats, but the only seats left online were in the front row, so my neck ached by the end of the movie.  But we had fun!

• Opening Universal logo was done in a capella by Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins, which was a great start to the movie.
• How could we not love this thing?  After that opening, a marching band.  Then a capella.  I mean, YEAH, baby!
• Not enough Treblemakers.  Or, "Treblahmeckers".  I want to hear more Jesse!
• Too much Bumper.  He was already a little too much in the first movie, so this was way too much for me.  I did like his story with Fat Amy, especially the pause in her serenade to him, but I didn't need to see that much of it.
• I love the way Anna Kendrick does her throwaway lines about the woman from DSM.  "Your sweat smells like cinnamon!"
• Pentatonix! Filharmonics!  Hi, you guys!!!
• Cried.  Twice, I think.  Maybe more than that.  That campfire scene.  The Worlds.  Sigh.
• That battle was intense.  I love those battles.  I don't know if I would have been able to participate in one back in my college days, but that would have been fun.
• Do you think that Snoop Dogg/Lion will really release a Christmas album now?
• I like that "Flashlight" song.  I need to stop typing for a moment and get that CD.
• Packers.  So randomly aca-awesome.

I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me.  No, really.  I keep singing songs from the CD that I just purchased.

Because I can't get enough of these riff-offs, especially when they involve Anna Kendrick:

Harmonic Journal 05/16/15

Harmonic Journal
Saturday, May 16, 2015

"Cups" as performed by the Barden Bellas in Pitch Perfect 2

DLR LotD 05/15/15

Disneyland Resort 

Line of the Day

Friday, May 15, 2015

"To the new girl in the commune!" -- Sherry, toasting to Linda, at Catal

Harmonic Journal 05/15/15

Harmonic Journal 
Friday, May 15, 2015

"Just You, Just Me", by Brian Auger, as performed by Rockapella

Harmonic Journal 05/14/15

Harmonic Journal
Thursday, May 14, 2015

"Papa Oom Mow Mow" as performed by the Muppets and Rockapella

Harmonic Journal 05/13/15

Harmonic Journal
Wednesday, May 13, 2015

"Superstition" by Stevie Wonder

Happy Birthday, Stevie!

Harmonic Journal 05/12/15

Harmonic Journal
Tuesday, May 12, 2015

"Simple Gifts" by the 2009 Santa Clara Vanguard, in "Ballet for Martha"

Harmonic Journal 05/11/15

Harmonic Journal
Monday, May 11, 2015

"Sixteen Tons" as performed by Rockapella

Harmonic Journal 05/10/15

Harmonic Journal
Sunday, May 10, 2015

"Home" by Garth Brooks, as sung by Home Free





Happy Mother's Day to all of my mom friends.  I'm going to go wipe away these tears now.

Harmonic Journal 05/09/15

Harmonic Journal
Saturday, May 9, 2015

"Sherry" by Bob Gaudio, as performed by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons

Watching "Jersey Boys" on HBO tonight....how could I *not* choose this song for today's blog?  :)

I've Got No Strings On Me

Like about a billion people, I saw "Avengers: Age of Ultron" last weekend.  Linda and I decided to see it in 3D, which turned out to be a good thing, because we didn't have to wait in line, and our theater wasn't totally full.  

• That opening scene with all of the Avengers in action together looked like a comic book come to life, especially the freeze frame.  (Yes, I know that this is based on a comic book).  
• "Language!"
• I want to live at Hawkeye's house.  
• Spader!  Awesome as usual.
• I'm never going to hear that song from Pinocchio the same way again.
• I don't think that all of those Korea shots were authentic.  Not enough Hyundais.
• Love the scene of the guys all trying to pick up Thor's hammer, especially the look on Thor's face when the hammer moves for Cap..
• "Well, I was born yesterday."
• "He's fast, she's weird."
• "Is Thor going to be there?"
• " Every time someone tries to stop a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time."

Fun movie, looking forward to the next one!

Harmonic Journal 05/08/15

Harmonic Journal
Friday, May 8, 2015

"Passionate Kisses" by Lucinda Williams, as performed by Mary Chapin Carpenter

Harmonic Journal 05/07/15

Harmonic Journal
Thursday, May 7, 2015

"Have I Told You Lately"  by Van Morrison, as performed by Rod Stewart

Harmonic Journal 05/06/15

Harmonic Journal
Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Theme from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" by John Williams

Harmonic Journal 05/05/15

Harmonic Journal
Tuesday, May 5, 2015

"The Imperial March" from Star Wars

Chewie, We're Home. In Anaheim.

Star Wars Celebration

April 16-19, 2015

Anaheim Convention Center

Anaheim, CA

I went to my first Star Wars Celebration this year!  I was really excited when I signed up back in June of last year, and the time finally arrived.  Before the first day of the festivities, it was announced that JJ Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy (JJ & KK, for short) would be present for the opening ceremony, so people started to line up the day before.  I was not one of those people.  I needed to finish up stuff at work since I'd be gone for two days.  Also, I needed to sleep.  So here's my experience as of the first official day.

Day 1: Thursday, April 16

• Wake up at about 3:30. Go to McDonald's for breakfast.  Realize that I don't have my pass.  Go home to get pass.  Drive to Anaheim, and the signs say that the lot is full, and to go to Angels Stadium.  Not enough signage to get there, then I realize that the lot won't open until after I need to be inside.  Drive around.  Get to the 5.  Go the wrong way.  Turn around.  Get to the convention center, don't know where to park.  Drive around a bit.  Park at the Hilton.  My parking spot is on floor 4, row C.  4C.  FORCE!  I am finally in tune with the universe and it is 5:45 a.m..
• Find Glendy and tell them of my ordeal.  We laugh and laugh at my stupidity as we wait to get our wristbands.  Katie finally arrives, but before she and Cindy could get back in line, they start handing out our wristbands.  My text to Cindy:  "Wristbands.  NOW."  They hurry back, and Cindy hears someone calling her name.  Yay!  RyanB!  So happy to see him.  Get a wristband!  Sit around and talk geek talk with my fellow geeks, while listening to people cheer for those whom knock over the metal barriers in attempts to get back to their places in line.  Dude walks around while holding out his phone, which is playing the Star Wars score.  We name him Red Beard.  Because he has one.  
• Finally walk into the big hall, and RB keeps climbing stairs, so we follow.  We have a nice view of the screen.  The MC asks if we thought we might cry today.  Cindy says she can't think of any reason that she'd cry.  Me neither.   

  

  Screen at Celebration Stage

• JJ and KK appear, and the crowd cheers to thank them for the pizza that they brought to the line of people that waited overnight.  The trailer for Episode 7: The Force Awakens is shown.  The crowd goes effing insane.  It's louder than loud when Han and Chewbacca appear on the screen.  Cindy has tears streaming down her cheeks. 
• JJ says he wants to see it again, and asks if we do, too.  Crazy applause. This time, everyone is silent for Han's line:  "Chewie, we're home."  The crowd goes even more insane.  People are throwing babies in the air and crying buckets and all Star Wars Geekdom is at one with each other.  My friends and I decide that the trailer is perfect.  Cindy and I never saw the first one, so we have nothing to compare.  We don't care.  
• The newbies of the cast are introduced.  They are in awe that they are in the movie.
• The droids arrive.  We meet BB8. APPARENTLY, there is a rivalry with R2D2.  How they get that emotion across to us, we have no idea, but they do.  Everyone now wants a BB8, just like everyone wants an R2.  But how?  How in the world does it work?  We puzzle over it for the next 4 days.
• The original cast (Hamill, Fisher, Mayhew, Daniels) arrives.  Carrie seems to be leaning on Mark a lot.  This is probably really overwhelming for her, poor thing.  Daniels says "CP3O".  RB looks at me with a question mark on his face.  I nod, "Yes, he said it."  He was not hearing things.  New Star Wars emojis:   #C3PO, #BB8, #Stormtrooper.

  

  The Cast of The Force Awakens

• Katie takes off, my phone battery is dying, Glendy need to plan, and we lose RyanB.  Where did you go?  I can't text him because of my battery.
• I turn into my mother as I say, "Is that TIE fighter LEGO?!!!!"

  

  That Thing Was Big

• Lunch from Grilled Cheese Truck, and we sit on the floor.  We don't care.  It's a Con.  Our food is yummy.  TATER TOTS.  Enough said.
• I stand in line for over an hour just to GET INTO THE STORE.  Meet a guy who pre-ordered online, and still has to stand in the line to pick up his stuff.  Someone says that the registers were down for 2 hours, which is why the line to purchase is taking at least that long.  I don't have 3 hours to spare.  I get out of line to meet my friends.
• Disney Parks and Star Wars merchandise panel: Cindy's Jedi Mickey meets the new Jedi Mickey.

  

  With her future Mickey, her current Mickey, and her TaunTaun

• Ian McDiarmid: The Emperor Strikes Back panel.  The Emperor himself cold reads out of Star Wars Shakespeare, and he is AMAZING.  Of course he is.  He's British.  It's like, the law.

  

  The Emperor Attacks James Arnold Taylor

• Screening of SW1: The Phantom Menace in 3D.  Assholes behind us won't shut the eff up.  We were going to leave early anyway, but this is the catalyst.  At least we have special Star Wars Celebration 3D glasses.
• Used a VIP pass to get into the store and shop quickly, and use a discount.  Thank you, Robert.
• Dinner at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles.  YUMMY, but dude acts like he doesn't actually work there.
• Phone is finally charged, and I see a text from RyanB.  He was trying to find us.  Sorry!

Day 2: Friday, April 17

• Park at Angels Stadium and take the shuttle.  Wait in line to get in, and it isn't too bad.  I am again in a place where I hate double-wide strollers.
• As I look for my friends, I hear a girl call this an "AT&T".  
  
  She seems to seriously think this is its name.  I mutter under my breath that she does not deserve to be here.  Glendy meets up with me, as does Katie and we laugh at the idiot girl.
•  First panel: Ray Park: The Man, The Sith, The Legend.  It's the same "Back in Black" intro video as for McDiarmid.  Hope it's not the same for all of them.  Ray Park writes a novel on someone's double light saber. He was on set during the filming of Episode 1, and has a little cameo as one of the guards in the battle scene at the palace.  During the scene, he shoots and says, "Pew! Pew!"  Yes, folks, his Darth Maul-ness says that when shooting space guns, just like us!

  

  Ray Park demonstrates with James Arnold Taylor

• I like the Bantha shirt that I bought yesterday, and wore today.
• While in line for Date With the Princess: Carrie Fisher panel, RyanB catches up to us to say hi, then goes to the Fantasy Flight panel.  We get a different video, yay!  Carrie is on a roll, and makes out with MC James Arnold Taylor, as well as a fan whom asked to take a picture with her.  Glenn wonders if her dog, Gary, is named after her father-in-law.  Cindy and I didn't even know that Carrie was married to Penny Marshall.  Carrie says the F word when telling a story about her mom.  JAT almost has a heart attack, and recommends that she use the word "Force" in its place.  He asks about the time she partied with the Stones, which surprises me because of the family environment.  Billy Dee talked dirty to her right before their scenes together, so she had a hard time keeping a straight face when the cameras rolled.  She kissed a lot of SW people, as evidenced in a slide show.

  

  Carrie, Gary and JAT

• Lunch at the Food Truck festival.  White Rabbit!  I want a beefsteak burrito, but they ran out of the steak, so I have a chicken adobo burrito instead.  It is ma sarap.  Cindy enjoyed her food from there, too.  RyanB catches up to us and he and Glenn have lunch from the Viking truck.  That corn dog looks yummy and I crave one for the next week.
• Walk around the booths and buy stuff:  Death Star charm from ThinkGeek, as well as Han and Leia guest towels.   
• RyanB says that I would like something, and says, "Look, Asian!" They are Stormtroopers with Asian hats.  I wonder why they need hats over their helmets.  Apparently, this was not the point.  He is then asked to take a picture with them ("Hey, Mustache, get over here!"), then tells us the reason he doesn't like Hot Wheels.  We chase him around so that he will tell us what the heck that means.  Then he says he made that up.

  

  This is my favorite photo of the weekend.

• RyanB's mustache looks like the Rebel Alliance symbol, and he gets asked to take pictures by several strangers.
• Katie is frightened by Furbacca.  I take a picture of Cindy with him and it appears that her arm was cut off.
• We get free light saber-shaped candy.  I declare that it is too small. I say that many times.
• Anthony Daniels: Inside the Heart & Chaos of C-3PO panel.  I am horrified by the giant balloons bouncing around.The emoji was spelled wrong for him on his screen.  Oops.  He is hilarious.  At one point, he demonstrates the pose for the tape dispenser.  A woman in the audience has one.  He is amazed.  He puts on the Mickey ears.  JAT puts on the R2D2 ones, and kneels to be R2 height.
• Dinner at Mix at the Hilton.  They have short ribs and mac and cheese, but none of us order it.  I enjoy my salmon salad.  We can read the pats of butter:  "BUTTER".

Day 3: Saturday, April 18

• Linda and I carpool to Anaheim, and we park at the Toy Story lot, which now says "Convention Center Parking OK".  We wait in line with a LOT of other people, as today will be the busiest day.  Red Beard walks by, playing Star Wars music again.  Anthony Daniels walks by, too, but not at the same time.

  

  Hi, Tony!

    Glenn meets up with us while Cindy shops.  I never get a hold of RyanB, whom is there with his roommate.
• I am wearing my new "Keep Calm and Join the Dark Side" shirt.  I have ill feelings toward many people.  It must be the shirt, as well as the Death Star charm that I am also wearing.
• New Allies and New Villains in Star Wars Rebels Season 2 panel.  I have a great seat.  Dave Filoni caves when a couple of kids ask him spoiler questions, but he only whispers to the little girl so that we can't hear who voices Chopper.

  

  Vanessa Marshall, Freddie Prinze Jr., and creator Simon Kinberg

• Lunch from the food trucks, and this time I order from the Lime Truck.  Pork Belly Nachos.  Wow.  But what I love more is the corn, because it's not as heavy in my stomach.  That corn is delicious.  Linda learns about ceviche.
• Linda and I attend the Composing Star Wars Music With Kevin Kiner panel.  It's about Rebels, so Linda isn't familiar with it, but we love the process, so we're good.  Oh, it's Rebels Day, red carpet and all.  It is also Costume Contest day, but for some reason, I don't take pictures of these people.

  

  Oh, wait, I did, from afar.

• We join Glendy and Katie for the double feature panels of "Talking to Myself" Starring James Arnold Taylor and Mark Hamill: The Return of the Jedi.  Someone stupid lets in the wrong lane of people before us.  There is much booing.
• JAT's show is funny and jam-packed and poignant.  The day he lost his voice and thought his career was over was the same day that his daughter was born in China.  He sure does a lot of voices, including those of all of the minions from Despicable Me.
• Mark. Freaking. Hamill.  He is just what I hope that he is, and talks about being the Trickster for The Flash, the Joker for Batman Beyond, and maybe there's some Luke in there, too.  :)  "My father has it -- er, had it."  He, like Carrie, watched the trailer the night before the opening ceremony, and got excited, too, even though he knew what was going to be said in the voiceover because he recorded it.

  

  The Joker

• Dinner at Whitewater Snacks at DLR.  Katie and I miss the party.  2 weeks later, I find out that the dance mix included Rockapella singing "Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego".  I think that if I had been present at the party for that, I might have lost my mind.
• Linda stays over to avoid too much driving.

Day 4: Sunday, April 19

• The Toy Story lot now says "No Convention Center parking", but we are DLR passholders, so we don't care.  
• Linda and I have a hard time getting to Glenn in the line to get in.  RyanB doesn't make it at all, and we are bummed.  
• Cindy tells me that the charms are on sale, so I ask her to buy them for me.  I can now make a bracelet of Dark Side and another of Rebel Alliance.  I have lost my mind.
• I wear the Hello Kitty Stormtrooper shirt that Linda gave me, so my quest for the day is Pictures with Stormtroopers.
• William Shakespeare's Star Wars On Stage! panel.  Verily, 'tis a wonder to behold. The actors are all the ones on the official audiobook.  They are awesome, especially the dude that plays Han/Obi-Wan.  Writer Ian Doescher is a genius.  Glenn hurries up and buys an audiobook immediately afterward.  They sell out before Linda and I get there.
• I get pictures with the Stormtroopers costumes on display.  

  

  Hello Kitty and Pinky Stormtroopers

   I also get a picture with a polite Vader.  He asks me if it's weird that he's polite.  Yes, Lord Vader, it is weird, but thank you!

  

  Aren't you a little short for an Anakin?

• Lunch from the food truck with Mexican food.  It is tasty, and I wish now that I could remember the name of it.
• Billy Dee Williams: Baron of Smooth panel.  People are stupid and ask for pictures with him during the Q&A.  He loves doing the voices for the different animated SW series.

  

  Lando!!!

• Star Wars Celebration Closing Ceremony panel.  I come close to tears when they show the crowd's reaction to the trailer.  What an emotional day that was!  We get to see the Rogue One artwork, but not the trailer, because that was on a special projector during the panel that Cindy attended.  The next SWCA is announced for London in July 2016.
• I finally get a picture with a new-model Stormtrooper.  
  
• Linda and I get dessert from the food trucks before we leave.  I enjoy my Mighty Mango Italian Ice.  Glendy go to DLR.  We think they're crazy.  We go home.

I would definitely do another one of these if it's local, and would probably look at more exhibits next time, and maybe go to a couple of the smaller panels.  I've seen the new trailer many times, and I still whisper-screamed when I saw it in the theater before Avengers.  December 16 will be a fun day!

Harmonic Journal 05/04/15

Harmonic Journal
Monday, May 4, 2015

"Baby, I Believe In You" by New Kids On The Block

Never mind that there are other things to celebrate today.

Just when I think "Nah, I don't need to go see NKOTB this time...", my dreamboat posts this on Instagram.

As my fellow-fangirl Merc used to say, "I think I just ovulated."

"Baby I Believe in You".. 25 yrs later.. #TheMainEvent NKOTB #stillkickinass

A photo posted by Jordan Knight (@jordanknightofficial) on May 4, 2015 at 8:53am PDT

Harmonic Journal 05/03/15

Harmonic Journal
Sunday, May 3, 2015

"Bang" by Rockapella

Found a video with the "Thunderball" intro!

Godspeed, G-man

Rockapella in Reno IV

March 21, 2015

Sammy's Showroom at Harrah's Reno

Reno, NV

I got up at 4:00 a.m. to get ready for our Rockapella Road Trip to Reno.  This is not easy under normal circumstances, but is even more difficult when I've had about 3 hours of sleep.  The night before, I had made 2 batches of goodies for the guys, and then when KP said that Scott had asked where I was, I decided to add another batch for his favorites.  I mean, he ASKED for me!  So Sweet.  Linda arrived, and we packed up the car to meet up with Glendy at their house, then off we went to the Ontario airport to pick up our rental car.  There were only 2 rental agents in the building because it was so early.  Our guy, Richard, was a bit overwhelmed at first when he saw 4 people walking toward him, but eased up when he realized that we were all going to be in the same car.  He was cool and we talked about him playing basketball and getting injured when he ran into some huge guy on the court.  Our car was a Nissan Altima, which has a push button ignition, and tends to confuse us old-fashioned key users.

We left at about 6:15 a.m. and made our way north.  Our first stop was at McDonald's for breakfast, which was next to a Sweet Frog yogurt place.  The Sweet Frog guy looked like Keroppi from Sanrio.  Our drive went very smoothly, and we were blessed with pleasant weather.  There was snow on the Sierra Nevada mountain range, which made for a beautifully scenic drive.  Aside from the Sierra Nevadas, the flora was varied, like sometimes it was black with square-ish rocks, sometimes a bunch of green trees, some Joshua trees (which Cindy termed as "mangled trees"), and then a random red hill.  At one point, we saw people on a cattle drive, like on "City Slickers".  We stopped for lunch in Bridgeport, CA, at Rhino Bar and Grill.  There was a General Store located across the street, where I bought some needlenose pliers so that I could fix the clasp on my necklace for the night's outfit.  Rhino's had some pool tables inside and a modern-day jukebox, along with pool table lights with covers shaped as NASCAR vehicles.  There was also a strange-looking animal's head on the wall, which kind of looked like a flattened coyote or a huge rabbit or something.  When I couldn't figure it out, I decided that it must be a chupacabra.  

Do you see the chupacabra?

When we arrived in Reno, we had a couple of hours before the show, during which time I made sure that the Posse signed George's tribute book and Calvin's birthday card before getting gussied up for the show.  At one point, I tried to call the Showroom to find out if Vic was working so that I could give him a bag of goodies as a thank you for the fabulous birthday weekend in January.  Wendy and Karla saw that I was getting quite flustered, and went to the Showroom for me.  It's a good thing that they went to check, because whatever arrangements Wendy had made the previous night, this night was not all set as they had been told.  They remedied that, kinda.

I write "kinda" because when we arrived at Sammy's Showroom, we were ushered to tables that were *not* in the front row.  APPARENTLY, there were other VIPs that night.  Whatevs.  So we somehow made the tables work for us, since we were willing to be away from center stage, as long as we were at the front.  I ordered the "Brick House", which was an Angry Orchard hard apple cider with a shot of Fireball whiskey.  Yeah, baby.  The server told me that she mixes it all together, and it tastes like a cinnamon candy apple.  OK, let's do it!  I also supplied the posse with some goodies.  At one point when I left the table, Jim expressed his...concern (?) that the goodies were unattended, and quickly took care of the situation.  :)  KP was happy that the warm-up music was still Fred's mix even though he wasn't there. 

Oh, wow.  I just noticed there was printing on the shot glass.

Rockapella took the stage.  G E O R G E !!!!!!!!!

Tell Me That You Love Me / Rock Around the Clock / Tell Me Something Good
New song, new song!  YAY!  This is the one that Scott said they'd be debuting after the weekend of my 100th show.  Ooh, there's a bit of a vocal percussion section in there.  I like it, guys!

Jailhouse mash-up
(Yeah, that's what I'm calling it until I can figure out all the songs they included, because I don't learn from the past, and I'm writing this more than a month later, and I don't remember whatI wrote in my notes.  Perhaps the posse will help me before I post this...or not).  Scott shot a man in Reno.  JT was in jail.  In the song, I mean, in both instances.  They are not outlaws in real life...I think.

Scott said that JT had mics on his throat, something about Sammy. (Gosh, I hope this gets better).

Scott asked who had seen Pella before, and there was a big response.  "Wow, usually it's just mom and dad."

Dancing in the Streets
Hi, Steve!  Hi, Scott!  Nice dance solos.  JT got really into his own dance solo.  I've gotten used to hearing Steve sing this because of "Motown and More", although it still won't be the same without Kevin dancing with me.  You know, Steve, there's nothing stopping you from coming over to our section and dancing with us.  I'm just saying.

Just My Imagination / Imagine
CALVIN!!!  Nice.  I love that.

When Scott talked about finding Calvin, there was a big cheer.  "Tampa, or Busch Gardens, or just Busch?  BUSCH."

Hard Time
Geo and Steve:  HI!  
Haven't heard this song in a while.  I wonder if Ryan's learned it yet.

Scott:  "Hey, if you leave us your email, we can all be connected forever."
Then Scott said about Steve: "We all love Steven...great looking guy," to which Sherry responded with a way out of control "WHOO HOOOOOOOO!!!!"  Did I mention that I had some alcohol that night?

Cupid
I got a wink from Steve.  HI!!!!  And Swoooon!  As he was talking to a reluctant audience member, he said to the rest of us, "He said, 'Don't gamble, and stop talking to me.'"  And from Sue, "I am, get away from me."  I would not say such things.  He probably knows that, though.  Drinks on Bob later!

My Cherie Amour
I really like the way Calvin sings that!  I like the little high hat beat from JT, too.

Scott said that Geo has been with Rockapella for over 13 years.  (My notes seem to say "JT telling KP to calm down."  Or melt down.  Or...something).  

Scott said the word "records", and Calvin turned to Geo to ask him what those are.  He talked about the plaque of the Mills Bros outside the showroom.  We showed that to him.  I'm so proud.

Paper Doll
Well, hello there, Steve!  So nice to hear Geo with that wicked bass part again.  I held hands with KP at this point, because who knows if we'll ever get to see that live again with Geo?  There would be more hand-holding later.  I was so very torn at this point, because I wanted to watch Steve AND Geo, and my eyes can't handle all of that at once.  Nor can my brain.  I think that I was too busy observing to cry.  Because if I had gone there, I might not have stopped.

Blame It On The Boogie
Calvin came over to get our attention for the shouting.  Go, Nick, Go!  Yup, Nick was all into it.  Steve's leg looked like he had been electrocuted.  Scott was dancing in circles with Calvin and they almost ran into each other.  Laughter ensued.  I love seeing them laughing and having such a good time.

Commercials
Scott: "As we growed up."  
Geo saying "Chocolate!  Yum Yummm!" will never be topped, because it's Geo, and it reminds me of his old spiel about chocolate milk.  JT mouthed to us the word "coconut".  What's that supposed to mean?  OK, perhaps it wasn't personal.  Love the "NBC" with the JT flourish.  I may have been a little bit loud when I whispered "Steve's butt! Steve's butt!" during the ointment portion, because Wendy heard me from across the table.  I just hope they didn't hear it from the stage, because....well, really, it probably doesn't matter because I'm me.

Scott said that he noticed a moment of tension with someone in the audience, and asked Pat, "Do you like coffee?"  Pat said, "Love it."  So Scott brought her onto the stage.  He told Pat that they've had a few requests, and wanted to bring her on stage because she sings fantastically.  Pat:  "You got the wrong message."  HA!

Stand By Me
Pat sang anyway.  What a sport she was!  

Ain't Too Proud To Beg
Ooh, she was all touching everyone, and ignored Geo.  It was funny to see the tenors play up that part because the gal usually ignores them during that part.  As Steve helped her down the steps, he started to sing "I know you want to leave me" again, then said, "Just kidding."  He's so damn cute.   

Geo talked about his deep voice, and was singing this at 3 years old: Old Man River.  He then said that he wanted to sing to the ladies...

Thrift Shop / Celebrate
I like seeing Geo and Calvin riff off of each other.

Carmen

Encore

Papa !!!!!
I held Cindy's hand throughout this song.  Sigh. Geo, you're just...I love you, man.
Also, Calvin sang "bills" instead of "debts" and all was right with the world.  Sorry, John, but it drives me crazy when you sing the wrong word.  One is not supposed to cry during this song.  Yet I fought back tears.

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
O.M.G.  I absolutely love this!  Scott's got Moves Like Jagger.  No, really, he does.  It was awesome to see him do the Jagger strut. 

Up On The Roof / Wonderful World
Sung from the stairs and in the audience area.  Cindy loves that they end the show without mics.  It's especially nice in this intimate setting.

I needed a picture of Sammy before leaving the showroom.  Here it is.

Meet and Greet

JT thanked us for leading the clapping for the encore.  You're welcome!  He touched my hair.  A LOT.  So, of course, I said, "Jeff touched my hair, you guys."  Then he touched it again.  He also pet Kyoko's hair.  Then he pet my hair again.
I tried not to faint, and went back to our conversation of the venue in Oakland, "Did you like it?"  
JT:  Your hair?
Sher:  No.  I mean, well, yeah...but Yoshi's.
JT:  That's our new home.  We love it.
Sher: I didn't go to that one.
JT:  Well, that's not my fault, Dear.
Sher: I know!  I'm just saying.
Just pet my hair again, and we're good, Dude.  Also, please keep calling me "Dear".

Scott was told about this exchange and he said, "Oh, he strokes my hair all the time.  He does it in his sleep."  Ooooohhhhkkkkaaayyyy...  He also said that they tried to straighten Elliott's hair once.  "It was horrible."

We told Steve that we'll be pledging to his CD fund for the house concert deal.  He was excited about it and started to talk about flights and inside/outside, potlucks, and whatnot, saying that he's looking forward to it.  I hugged him, like, a lot of times.  He talked about the video that they shot while they were in Reno, and that it was for "Rock Around the Clock".  I was not paying attention to this because I kept thinking that he and I kept hugging each other.  But here's the link to the video.  

I punched Geo in the arm.  (I told the Posse that this would happen, so I needed to live up to my promise).  Then I hugged him and said, "How dare you leave me!"  We talked a lot about Sandra, as well as his excitement about going to Japan one more time. He said that when he walks into the office, nobody applauds like they do when he's with Rockapella, and he misses it.  I told him that he needed to give us all a chance to say goodbye.  He agreed.  I hugged him a lot of times, too.  Geo said that he sees me and Cindy on FB: "You guys and your Olympics or whatever you've done, getting those medals." Cindy showed him her Avengers race purse.   I told him Liz couldn't make it because Joe was teaching all day.  He said that he had hoped he'd see her.  Awwww....then he made a face at her for my camera.

To Liz, From Geo

 

I told Calvin that I was excited to finally see him in a non-holiday show, especially because he sings "bills" on Papa.  He laughed.  He was excited about going to Japan for the first time, and said that he'd be awake for 6 days straight because he'd be looking at everything.  I told him that he *was* Stevie during My Cherie Amour.  I mean, it was awesome.  Linda and Cindy said they noticed he was having a good time.  He said, "I'll tell you a secret.  I was."

Scott said that he'd try to get me into his dressing room.  I mean, Sammy Davis Jr.'s dressing room.  Same same.  I told him that I heard that he had been looking for me the night before, and he said, "Yeah, I was, like, 'She's the one that asked to go!' and you weren't here."  He was worried that he wouldn't be able to get me in because they were striking that night.  I'm just happy that he wanted to grant my request.  I told him that I love Satisfaction.  Linda said that she loved all of the new stuff. Cindy talked about having cable and watching "Law and Order" all day.  Scott tried to get the right pitch of the theme song/sound, and finally got it right because he's seen so many episodes.  Cindy is happy that she has something to talk about with him now. 

Then Scott led me back into the Showroom and asked the stagehands if he could show us the dressing room.  It turned into "us" because the Posse came along, naturally, as well as a couple of fans that I didn't know (Steve asked them if they wanted to join us).  Perhaps Steve thought maybe Scott and I needed a chaperone or 7.  The dressing room was Swank To The Max, man.  The table was Sammy height.  There was a shower.  (Don't get me started).  There was a whole lounge area with a bar and couches and a TV, which Scott told me was always on TCM.  Linda told him that he needs to have this kind of pad everywhere they go, and it should be on their rider.  Oh, had there been alcohol, we might have had some at that point.  It was awesome.  Scott couldn't wait to open the card and goodies I gave him, so he dug into his gift bag as we stood at the bar (Kyoko also put some mochi in my bags for the guys).  The card I included for the guys was a thank you for the 100 shows and Scott's was especially heartfelt from me.  He said, "That's really nice, Sherry.  Thank you so much."  I tried not to cry while beaming with happiness.

The table is even short for Scott and me!

Swanky Bar

Stylin' with the Posse

In the hallway

Another wall in the hallway

My favorite musical

As we walked out of the dressing room and back up to the stage, the guys were assembling to take a picture with all of the stagehands.  Being in Reno for 3 months, the guys made some lasting friendship with some folks, and they'd be missing each other.  Sweet.  We watched them from the wings of the stage.

Steve then walked us out, and as we walked down the stairs together, he turned around and started, "I know you want to leave me..." and we all laughed.  I told him that I honestly forgot about that when I was on stage with them.  

I saw Geo again and hugged him one more time before leaving, saying, "I love you!" He said he loved me, too.  

I like that Geo's holding up his book for this picture.

We finally said good night to the guys and some of us went to Hash Hash A Go Go for some eats and debriefing.  Later, I made sure to bring some goodies to Karla and Jim to enjoy during their road trip back to Sacramento.

The next morning, I was up early and got breakfast at Starbucks.  When we checked out of the hotel, I think I talked the ears off of the desk clerk about Rockapella.  She said that she had seen them, and liked Nate and Ryan, and that she also saw the show last night.  I told her that I had yet to see Nate.  She didn't know most of the songs.  I said to her, "Oh, you're so young."  She knew Thrift Shop, of course, which was her favorite on their set list.  I realized that I left my sweatshirt in the hotel room, and had to go back to get it.  I woke up the earliest and ended up being the one to delay us the most.  Crazy Sherry.

We stopped at Burger King for French Toast sticks for Glenn and Linda, then we were on our way.  More silliness.  At one point, I was driving and could not get around a white Subaru station wagon.  I thought that I would be able to pass it when we finally got to an intersection.  But the 2 cars in front of me decided to slow me down and turn into a gas station, so I cursed at them.  Let's just say that my language was particularly colorful, and when I was thwarted from passing again later, I added on to it.  If you hear my friends saying to watch out for your grandmas and their horses, they are referring to this day.  

We stopped for lunch in Bishop at Holy Smoke Texas Style BBQ.  So did an entire high school marching band.  Well, the whole band wasn't at the BBQ place, but a whole lot of them were there in line.  Turns out that they were traveling back to Reno from Disneyland.  We told a couple of them that we traded places with them, because if we hadn't been in Reno, we probably would have been at Disneyland.  The food there was quite yummy.  I was grubbing on their banana pudding.  It was banana-y.  We were happy.

We talked about the show and the meet and greet, and wondered if Steve takes requests for his house concerts.  Cindy wants him to sing "Venus", and proceeded to sing the song for us.  Later on, the traffic was getting pretty bad, and I needed to put gas in the car, so we stopped at a gas station.  We decided to wait out the traffic by having dinner at Summit Inn Restaurant in Oak Hills.  Glenn used to stop by this place a lot on his road trips, but it had been a while since he'd been there.  Their decor was filled with Route 66 stuff, and they had a jukebox.  Lo and behold on the jukebox:  "Venus" by Frankie Avalon.  Of course we played it.  We also added Sam Cooke's "We're Having A Party" to keep with the Steve theme.  Before getting back on the road, we used the facilities.  On my way out of the restroom, I noticed a picture on the wall.  Of the Rat Pack.  Yup, we had come full circle, and Sammy Davis, Jr. was in the restroom.  I mean, his picture was there.  It was perfect.

We returned the rental car, and when we arrived at Glendy's house, Linda and I spotted a white rabbit on their neighbor's lawn.  Curious.

I had a great time.  I am going through withdrawal, but looking forward to seeing Steve before whenever I see the whole group again.  Sigh. 

Thank you, Harrah's Reno!  Thank you, especially, to George, for letting us see you perform with Rockapella (at least) one more time.  We love you!

On the Ceiling of Sammy's Showroom