Snowblower and other stuff

Up until today, I had been hunting around for a strong but affordable snowblower. The driveway in my new home is mighty long, and so it would take an awfully long time for me to dig my way out. I needed a snowblower badly.

I was balking at the expense, though. A new snowblower would cost about $349--closer to $376, with taxes. I really wasn't looking forward to that, since I've had a lot of unusual expenses lately. I had to get vinyl siding installed on my garage, and I also had my driveway resealed. On top of that, I had to get part of my flooring replaced, and my sunroom will need some foundation repair in the spring. Add to that some outrageous automotive repair costs, and these expenses really hurt.

Thankfully though, I found a functional snowblower at a second-hand store today. It only cost me $78 plus change, which means that I've saved nearly $300. Thank you, God!

As an aside, somebody gave me an old snowblower last week. I was really hoping that it would work; unfortunately, it was in horribly bad condition. I pretty much gave up on it after my best efforts at getting it to work. At least the expenses that I incurred were pretty minimal.

What else can I ruminate about? Well, I wish that I could attend this conference, as it would be nice to visit Switzerland for a while. Oh, and I borrowed some obscure CDs from the public library. Why? Because the dear, departed Laurie Beechman performed on them. What a voice! What a treasure! What a shame that she's gone.

Things I'd like to learn

There are an awful lot of things that I'd like to learn about... things that I'd like to master. Here are just a few.

Balboa, lindyu hop, mechanical design, machining, how things work, cryopreservation, Japanese, German, kanji, hiragana, katakana, Latin, microbiology, cellular biology, string theory, M-theory, existentialism, codebreaking, detective work, copywriting, copyrights, intellectual property law, Don Quixote, The Canterbury Tales, Gargantua and Pantagruel, Arthurian legend, Beowulf, combat techniques, archery, fiction writing, theatre, impressionism.

Dreamcoat comparisons

I recently rewatched the DVD recording of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat which had Donny Osmond in the title role. It was pretty good, and it had numerous nice touches, such as dressing Potiphar up as though he were a modern corporate bigwig. Still, I can't help but think that it could have had a better cast. Donny was very good, but he wouldn't have been my first choice. Sam Harris might have done a better job, for example.

I also listened to the original London, Broadway, and Canadian cast recordings. It quickly became clear that the narrator, more than any other character, sets the tone and potentially steals the show. I was disappointed in the Canadian version, but I thought that the London recording was pretty good, and I think that Laurie Beechman did an excellent job in the original Broadway version. Her rendition of Pharaoh's Song was positively mesmerizing.

I hear that Jodi Benson once played the part of the narrator as well. That must have been incredible! The Dreamcoat storyline is highly secularized though, which is disappointing. It fails to mention God at all, and it ascribes Joseph's success to "a lucky break." This must not have sat well with both Jodi Benson and Donny Osmond, both of whom are known for their religious convictions. (I have real issues with Mormonism, BTW, so I'm not praising Mr. Osmond's beliefs. However, I do commend him for the parts of his convictions that I do agree with.)

Laurie Beechman

I just learned that Laurie Beechman passed away about ten years ago. What a shock. What a shame. Her cast recording of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" was the very first Broadway cast recording that I ever purchased, and it was worth it. I could listen to her sing over and over again.

I liked Kelli Rabke, and I though that Kristine Fraelich was quite fine as well. Both did a wonderful job as the Narrator in this play. Laurie was quite special though, and her voice is completely unforgettable. I wasn't thrilled with her CD of Andrew Lloyd Webber songs, but her performance in "Joseph" was absolutely incredible.

Here's hoping that she's in heaven somewhere. Here's wishing that we could hear her sing one more time. Sigh.

A new set of angels?

A friend and I were discussing costume ideas recently. We talked about the kinds of creative outfits that we'd like to wear at a costume party. She has a twisted sense of humor, so she prefers to add some gory details, whereas I prefer to use costumes that are understated but clever.

She belongs to a trio of friends, and we got to talking about a costume for one of her pals. Her pal is a trim blonde gal, and I suggested that she could go as Cheryl Ladd. There's nothing distinctive about a Cheryl Ladd costume though, so to make this work, we'd need to dress up the entire trio as Charlie's Angels.

Which is a bit of a problem, since the third member of their trifecta is black. Oh, well.

Helping the Third World

This is nice. A biotech company is offering to help past customers donate their used analyzers to deserving laboratories in underprivileged nations. This is contingent on upgrading to a newer model, of course, but that's reasonable. After all, it costs time and money to place these units in laboratories that are worthy of these goods.

I think about how much faster science could progress if we could get more scientific research going in the Third World. This would ultimately benefit everyone, especially as scientific progress becomes more equitable.