http://jeffrags.com All-things Jeff Ragsdale! Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:07:39 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Next week will be busy, though it will also be a really nice respite from the daily grind.  Portus 2008 is a Harry Potter symposium (replete with papers, panels, presenters, parties, pageantry, pomp, etc.) that will be held at the Hilton Anatole hotel in Dallas, Texas from 10-13 July.  It's ... http://jeffrags.com/2008/07/01/284/ I am quite happy to not only toot my own horn about my own music, but to also let everyone know of good music written by another. Jeremiah Joseph is a composition major at Houston Baptist University, and if this excerpt is any indication of the quality of the ... http://jeffrags.com/2008/06/11/jeremiah-joseph-writes-beautiful-music/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXwYruAEPnA Enjoy! Jeff http://jeffrags.com/2008/06/04/preces-responses-i-draft-3-june-2008/ A little late this is, but liturgically still just fine. Happy Easter, everyone (including my Orthodox friends who will celebrate it about a month from now)! Jeff http://jeffrags.com/2008/03/27/easter-mmviii/ YouTube is a gift from God. Always on the news and elsewhere, we only get the famous last two minutes or so of this most-famous oratory of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But seeing the entire thing (yes, from the moment the gathering's MC introduces King) for ... http://jeffrags.com/2008/03/05/the-complete-i-have-a-dream-speech/   Игорь Фёдорович Стравинский (Igor Fjodorovič Stravinsky) As a part of this season of Da Camera of Houston, the Houston Chamber Choir will perform Свадебка (Les Noces) by Igor Stravinsky under the direction of noted conductor Reinbert de Leeuw. In an interesting twist, this performance is coming the week before ... http://jeffrags.com/2008/03/01/houston-chamber-performs-stravinskys-%d1%81%d0%b2%d0%b0%d0%b4%d0%b5%d0%b1%d0%ba%d0%b0-les-noces/ The Mocking of Christ by Titian. The Bach Society of Christ the King Lutheran Church will be performing the Matthäuspassion (Passion according to St. Matthew) during this coming Holy Week. Palm Sunday March 16, 2008 • 5:00 p.m. Tuesday March 18, 2008 • 7:00 p.m. Good Friday March 21, ... http://jeffrags.com/2008/03/01/bach-society-performs-bachs-st-matthew-passion/ "Whenever I try to explain the Society to folks who have never experienced it, I always seem to end up dragging out my photo album. Why? Well, because, as the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words." - From Mistress Anastasia Guta, Province of Malagentia, East Kingdom - ... http://jeffrags.com/2008/03/01/a-picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words-sca-photos/ How on earth do I describe the Society for Creative Anachronism? Well, I think the best way is to watch the above 8-minute piece from CBS Sunday Morning and see for yourself. A picture speaks a thousand words, and this report speaks perfectly of this remarkable organization. Jeff http://jeffrags.com/2008/02/03/the-sca/ The Nativity by Petrus Christus, c. 1445. Photo taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativity_of_Jesus Growing up Baptist, "Christmas" was just the one day (25 December), and after that, thoughts of getting ready for Easter come into play. Having been a part of the life of the Episcopal Church for almost six years, ... http://jeffrags.com/2007/12/27/christmas-mmvii/