New Ukulele!

A few days ago I went out shopping for a new ukulele. My old purple one just wasn't cutting it anymore. It was great to see if I liked playing and for $30 bucks it wasn't a bad deal. But now I knew I did like it and I did need a new one.
We found a store we liked that had good instruments for good prices and there it was. My Oscar Schmidt OU-3 concert uke.

The case was a used one which the clerk threw in for free, it mostly fits.

Ah, the abalone inlay...

Side view

Back view

My old uke was a soprano which is one size down from a concert. Concert ukes have a slightly deeper sound, but there's not a huge difference other than that I don't think.

Concert and soprano

Inside the case was a felt pick. Apparently most people just use their fingers, but if they do use a pick it's traditionally felt.

I really need a better background for my images.

I've sort of dropped clarinet temporarily. But being the type of person that doesn't usually keep up with goals like that, 1 out of 2 is a big achievement.
Maybe a new goal will be to learn a new instrument every summer. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Well, I'm off to obsess practice some more.

Thanks for reading,

Dorothy

Improv Everywhere!

I'm part of a local group that does, well, improv everywhere, much like the original group from New York.

We recently did a mission for some random runners just going for their weekly run. We made a finish line and everyone had signs cheering them on. It was really neat, and we brightened a few people's days as well as confused many.

So next up we have a Where's Waldo thingy where one guy will dress up as the "real" Waldo, and the rest of us will be decoy Waldos holding signs to encourage the participants (AKA random bystanders) to find the real one.

It's really cool, because it adds something new, something weird and unexpected to their day. Even though our group is fairly small, everyone seems really excited about it, and for this mission I think we'll have enough people to pull it off.

That's my post for the day, I'll try to think of some more soon (and write them down so I don't forget!).

~Dot

What I've done recently (other than Clarinet and Uke)

Okay, so I thought it might be fun to do a post that's 90% pictures. See if you can figure it out.


What I've actually done recently:







Things I really should be doing but am not:

Hamster

Okay, I thought I would randomly post this...Maybe 'cause it's really late at night and my brain is fascinated by the fact that it moves, I dunno.
Anyway, how often does someone give you a random hamster? Well, today you get one.

New Layout!

As you probably noticed, I added a new layout as well as a header/banner thingy...What do you guys think?

Ukulele and Clarinet!

So, lately I've been working on teaching myself how to play both the ukulele and the clarinet over the summer. I play piano as well, but I wanted to expand my horizons. Pianos aren't portable, and a lot of people play it so auditioning for something with piano might be difficult.
Unfortunately I can't afford lessons for either of them (I'd have to drop either piano or a dance lesson) so I decided to self-teach.

I had the clarinet sitting in the basement from a long time ago when my dad bought it at a second hand store.

We think it used to be a school instrument.

For quite a while I'd toyed with the idea of playing with it, so when I asked for reeds and a book on how to play for my birthday and got them I figured it was time.
It's hard. And very, very different from piano or trumpet (which I played briefly in a band).
I often wish I could have lessons, or at least someone who plays to nag via Facebook or something. But I love the tone of it, and I think I'm (slowly) getting better at it. Maybe if I keep up with it and graduate from a few of the self-teaching books in the series then I'll consider doing something more serious with it.

And then, the ukulele.


This was one of those spur of the moment, "what the heck!" type of purchases. My mom and I went into a music store and they had these colourful, toy-like ukes. They were only $30 bucks so we split the cost of one, they were too awesome to resist. (And this is why we have so many instruments in our basement...But I'll save that for another post.) So I found some music and chord charts online and started playing. It's actually really easy and fun. You only have 4 strings to manage, it has a really cool, bright sound and while mine is bottom-of-the-line, it's playable and perfect to start off with.
I've decided that if I'm still playing it by the time Christmas rolls around I'll ask for a good-quality one as a present.

I think I'll make another post later about other summer activities, but for now I will go and practice my purple ukulele and second (third?) hand clarinet.

As always, I adore you guys for reading this. You rock! Comment and then maybe I'll buy you some chocolate as a gift. And you can buy me a $200 uke!

Dot

Graphic Novels

I recently read two graphic novels, The Plain Janes, and it's sequel, Janes In Love, both by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg.
They were good, but I wouldn't say they were excellent. Parts of the plot were very unoriginal, there's a Jane for each stereotype. Jayne, the nerd, Jane, the theatre geek, Polly Jane, the sporty tomboy. The protagonist of the story (Jane of course), however, was more original. The plot and writing style also seemed more authentic.
The story starts when Jane (the main one) is a victim of a terrorist attack. After she has recovered, her parents and her move away to the suburbs/country (where exactly they move didn't seem completely clear to me). Starting at a new school, it's the story of her emotional recovery in a way, and how she tries to escape through art.

These were one of the first few graphic novels that I've read, so today I went to the library to look for more. I didn't really want manga, or a graphic novel entirely about relationships so I didn't manage to find any at that particular location.
I think a good graphic novel can be really cool, sort of like a comic book, but with a deeper message and more interesting plot and dialogue. You can visualize it better with the illustrations and it's fun to see the characters "acting it out."

Anyone know of any graphic novels like this? Or graphic novels different from my idea of a good one? Do you like graphic novels? Comment!