Uintah Basin Orchestra and Chorus

So...this week has been insane.  As I am sitting down to my computer tonight, I really wish that I didn't have to write something.  The last two nights have come to you with strategic planning and scheduling done earlier this week because of the UBOC practices.  What is the UBOC? It is the Uintah Basin Orchestra and Chorus.  We had our first concert tonight and it was pretty darn cool.  We sang like 12 songs....the whole concert was an hour and 15 minutes.  And these songs weren't easy either :P I'm super glad that we didn't fall apart majorly or do any major screw ups!

Highlights of the night:

1. Performing with a choir that sounds awesome for the first time again since Rising Generation (my BYU non-audition choir could count but I don't remember get this many chills singing with them)
2. Getting chills all night long with a variety of songs
3. Sounding soooo tight on the Hallelujah chorus--we were sooo in-sync with the ending consonants
4. My feet falling asleep and wondering if I could walk off the risers
5. Knowing that my sister is singing Christmas songs in Provo too--its kind of cool to be both performing on the same night, though too bad we couldn't see each other's concerts :P
6. Getting the hardest part of the Three Ships out the best I've done it yet....still not right on but close enough!

KSL did a nice story on us...and I didn't think we made it in to the shot--but we're in this one
Just really really tiny!
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=27930541&nid=148&title=uintah-basin-community-orchestra-choir-debuts-friday&fm=home_page&s_cid=queue-1

Current Events Day

So today I would do a Five Favorite Front-Page Features moment but I feel like I just did that on Sunday...cuz I did! And I feel like what was news on Sunday is still news today...so I am going to do one local story I found out about today.

So living in Roosevelt, we are very close to a Ute Indian Reservation.  They have a governmental body called the Ute Tribe Business Council.  These six members have a lot of power in the tribe.  They make decisions about when the tribe receives their monthly government checks, manage the money they get from the oil fields, and other economic business things. Today the Council decided to boycott all Roosevelt city businesses that are not "companies affiliated with or doing business for or in partnership with the Tribe, such as oil and gas operators or contractors that maintain an office in Roosevelt."  

The picture from the Deseret News article

The reason for this boycott makes very little sense to me. The biggest reason they cite in the original press release I read (see Geoff Liesik_KSL facebook page) is that they are treated unfairly by the police.  The tribe is citing racism as the treatment along with jurisdiction issues.  The article in Deseret News shines more light on the fact that this is not the first time that they have boycotted before, and more about the fact that they are frustrated with city officials too for not negotiating further with them.

I wanted to share a little bit of my opinion on this today, because this is a serious problem in Roosevelt.  We have many races that live in our small town--we are to a certain extent a microcosm of America with everyone from Caucasian to African Americans to Asian Americans to Native Americans.  We all have to respect each other and the rules of the city.  If we just treated each other with respect, the world would be a happier place.

Current Event Friday

So today is a serious packing day so I am writing quickly and late.  I just wanted to point out one article today that I found interesting....the letter from the attorney general to the Russian government saying that Snowden will not receive the death penalty if sent back to the United States.  What is most interesting to me about this too is that the lawyer for Snowden's father points out that the letter assumes guilt before a trial has been held.  As silly as it sounds, he has a point.  As US citizens we are innocent until proven guilty, and we deserve a fair trial whether we have publicly shared military/intelligence secrets or not.  Thank you Bill of Rights.  Check out the AP article here:  http://www.ksl.com/?sid=26163764&nid=127&title=no-death-penalty-for-snowden-if-convicted-us-says&fm=home_page&s_cid=queue-19

Current Events Day

So it's late and I'm tired...so we're not doing the full favorite five thing today....I am just going to tell you about news stories from KSL that I found interesting this week. KSL is a local Utah news channel, my favorite in fact.

So...have you seen this? It is a gazelle jumping into a car to get a way from a cheetah!  This was freaky.

This story got my attention: Scout leader could face charges for shooting a bear  So apparently the boys left food out and the bear got in it. They tried to get rid of the bear, but that didn't work so the leader shot the bear.  While on the one hand it makes sense, but on the other it seems a little bit extreme.  I guess that's the DNR's problem.

This is a perfect example of how the news likes to make things such a big deal that really aren't.  Here's the headline New Utah NSA center requires 1.7M gallons of water daily to operate. So why is that startling...well we are in Utah which is a desert and the normal person is regularly asked to conserve water.  So why would the government take that much?  It is a huge number...however you read the article and realize that its not that big of a deal.  That's the same amount of water that a bottling company and other similar industrial buildings would use, and it's only 1% of the demand in that area.  Also, the city is going to have to time to get ready for the demand. Finally, a third of the water is going to go back to Bluffdale parks and other green things that need watering.  So seriously, headlines are just there to get you to click on them!

A rendering of what the data center will look like when it's done from
http://nsa.gov1.info/utah-data-center/