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Summer '09 - Day 14

We spent a few days trekking north to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. While there, we visited Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I'm not sure the precise difference between the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Smoky Mountains, and the Appalachian Mountains, but I think the Smokies are part of the Blue Rigde, which are part of the Appalachians. And by the way, it's "ap-a-LATCH-ans," not "ap-a-LAY-chans." Here we are in front of the Blue Smoky Appalachians.

Ever since I was a kid I've wondered why people take pictures in front of signs. Are we really apt to forget where a picture was taken if we aren't in front of a huge sign that says "Smoky Mountains National Park?" With his 8mm movie camera, my dad always filmed a "title" shot, which was nice when you had no sound and couldn't edit, even though the Coliseum was a dead giveaway we were in Rome. So just to prove we were actually there, here's the sign.

Anyway, on to the rest of the trip. In the park, there is an area called Cade's Cove, which is a nice low, flat area where settlers once farmed. A lot of the old buildings are there - some of them have been moved, but many have not. It was a nice combination of nature and history, and a good way to spend a half a day.

One of the neat things about Cade's Cove is that because of its geographical properties, it's a great place to see wildlife - specifically black bear. We saw four while we were there. At some points, it was pretty comical. All traffic on the tiny one-way road would grind to a halt as dozens of people climbed out of their cars and halfway up the hillside to photograph these cute, fuzzy, lazy-looking wild animals that can run 30 m.p.h. and tear your entrails out with one paw. But I digress. Here's one in a tree, and yes, although I have a 10x zoom, I was a lot closer than I should have been.

This was a really fun day. But the real reason we came up to Gatlinburg? Yep. Dollywood, baby.

Summer '09 - Day 6-12

Not everything we've done is so exciting. We spend a while just kind of hanging out. I did polish my car, though. You know that new Subaru commercial where the guy says "I don't wash my Outback. I just let nature take care of it"? Well, it's LIES, all LIES. I have a problem with washing my car, and the paint job is pretty lousy now. I did find a nice polish though, and the kids helped me. It's actually a nice green now, instead of that dull gray-green color it was!

While we were there, Cason and Jack also went to VBS with my mom during the weekday mornings. I don't have any pictures, but if I get some I'll post them. Other than that, we hung out on the front porch alot.

Summer '09 - Day 5

A summer trip to my parents' place in Alabama wouldn't be complete without a trip to Chattanooga. We love the Children's Discovery Museum, the aquarium, and everything about the place. Down by the river, there is a great antique carousel that the kids love to ride.

The Walnut Street Bridge was build in 1890. It was closed to vehicle traffic in 1978, and is now one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the world.

Another place we frequent when we're in Chattanooga is Clumpie's Ice Cream. The ice cream is great, and it's got a lot of Chattanooga charm!

Summer '09 - Day 4

When Elisa posted pictures of Noccalula Falls on Facebook, it didn't take too long for people to start making comments like, "where is THAT?" and "I didn't know Alabama had places like that!" It's a really pretty place, and like a lot of Northeast Alabama, pretty unexpected. Here's a shot of Dr. Cottrell and Dr. Cottrell. I'll let you figure out which one is which.

Noccalula Falls park has some beautiful scenery.

It also has a train, a wildlife petting park, and a pioneer village.

Summer '09 - Day 2-3

We drove to my parents house in Fort Payne, Alabama, which I'm sure you know is the hometown of the famous country band Alabama. One of our favorite things about my parents' is going to DeSoto Falls State Park on Lookout Mountain. Here we are hiking in the park.

Cason and Jack love to go "off trail."

Elisa is usually the photographer, but here is a rare shot of her with the kids.

Summer '09 - Day 1

It's been a long time since I've posted, and to be honest, I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do with my blog. While I'm deciding how to balance Facebook, this blog, and the parenting blog that Elisa and I try to keep up with occasionally, I've decided to chronicle our great summer tour of 2009.

I graduated from UNT in May, we moved out of our house and are spending the summer on the road. Eventually, we'll end up in Portland, Oregon, where I will start work at Portland State University. We actually started this trip a month ago, but I'm going to post-date these posts.

So the first thing we did on the day we started our trip...we bought a Thule!

Last time we did this 4 years ago we used a soft car-top carrier, but this year we decided to upgrade. It holds more, it's waterproof, it's lockable, and best of all, we can use it to haul skis in the winter!

I know it's not that exciting, but we think it makes our Subaru look pretty cool!

Life Updates

Just because I know everyone is on pins and needles, thinking to themselves, 'just what IS Duane up to?"

In the past few weeks I've gone to three job interviews for university jobs, and I'll soon be going to another one.

Last week, I completed the first draft of my thesis, and when it has been edited it will be presented on April 1.

Last week I also ordered my doctoral cap and gown. Yes, the color for a DMA is pepto-bismol pink. Fortunately, it only has to be on the hood. The velvet on the gown is black.

Graduation is May 15 at 7:00 P.M. and you can all come.

If you can't come, you can see it live on the web here.

El Sistema and the Social Value of Music

Faith and music form the two most important components of my professional life and career. I've sometimes struggled with where and how these overlap. I know they do, but have never been able to express is with as much clarity as Jose Antonio Abreu, founder of El Sistema in Venezuela. He speaks of the social mission of music, and about a spiritual crisis we are facing in the world. He states, "Only art and religion can give proper answers to humanity, to mankind's deepest aspirations, and to the historic demands of our time."

I am left with some hope that perhaps the U.S. will realize that there is more than capitalism, more than economics, and more than free market that make a society rich and strong. Maybe one day we will value music the way Venezuelans do.

What Capitalism Leaves Out

If you've heard about Bill Gates releasing mosquitoes in a recent talk he gave, here it is. The essence of the talk, though is worth paying attention to. The first half is dedicated to childhood deaths, specifically mosquito-borne illnesses like Malaria (no, the mosquitoes he released weren't infected!); the second half focuses on education in the U.S.

Both of these issues are important, but as Gates points out, neither one is going to be solved by a free-market economy or capitalism. It's going to take people who are smart, innovative, and concerned to solve them. Since global poverty and education are two of my favorite pet topics, I thought I'd share this TED talk from earlier this month.

The End of Exams

Looking back over the past year of this blog, it's pretty sparse. That's disappointing to me, but I guess a reality of life right now. That this year has been busy is probably an understatement in Elisa's opinion, but sometimes it's more difficult to see it when you're in the middle of it all.

Nonetheless, yesterday I passed a pretty significant milestone. I'm studying to receive a Doctor of Musical Arts degree -- it's a Doctoral degree, but not a PhD. The main difference is in the dissertation. In lieu of a major paper, my "dissertation" is a series of 4 recitals, or 3 recitals and a lecture. I've completed the three recitals, and will present a thesis paper at a lecture in a few months that will officially be the final component of my degree (besides coursework).

However, most every doctoral program I know of has a series of examinations. Mine is no exception, and the process has taken longer than it should have due to the interruption of the Christmas break. Back in October, I sat for the first component of the examination, the written portion. I was given 10 excerpts from choral scores and was asked to identify salient features and suggest a probable composer and approximate date of composition. I was asked to write significant essays on three questions dealing with various topics such as 20th century settings of the mass text, the effects of the Council of Trent on sixteenth-century polyphony, and the Oratorios of Felix Mendelssohn. I was also asked to write on how I would improve a choir's note-reading and rhythm-reading skills, and what choral works I might program in the first two years of a university job. For my related field in Music Education, I was asked to write a significant essay outlining my philosophy of teaching.

After I passed that two-day ordeal, I was assigned a research project. In two weeks time, I was to research and write a comparative analysis of Frank Martin's Mass for Double Chorus and Ralph Vaughan Williams' Mass in G Minor.

Once the research project was turned in, it was time for Christmas break, so I had to sweat a while. Finally, yesterday I sat for my oral examination and defense of my project. I sat in a room with 5 professors, with a collective 150 years of experience between them. They got to ask me anything they wanted. ANYTHING at all. They started with the paper I wrote, but proceeded to venture out into other areas of music that they felt would scare the crap out of me.

I call it "academic hazing." Sitting in a room with incredibly brilliant people, it is made very clear that no matter how much you know, or think you know, it is FAR LESS than they know. Fortunately, I didn't pee in my pants or pass out. In the end, I was sent out into the hallway to sweat for 5 minutes while they talked about who knows what, my future hanging in the balance.

Then my major professor walked out, looked at me with a frown on his face and shook his head from side to side. Lucky for me, I had seen him pull this little joke several times before so I had a hunch that everything was okay. He extended his hand, broke into a smile and said, "congratulations!"

So, I'm done with the exams. All I have to do now is finish up my Thesis and present the lecture in March. Once that's done and I finish my coursework in May, I'll be finished with school forever. At least until I decide to get another degree!