It isn't certain yet, but just because moM is so curious.

There is a 90 percent chance that the James River Ringers will be playing on a statewide 30-second television commercial. And there is a 45 percent chance that the song being played will be A Matthew Prins Arrangement.

A blatant attempt to receive more comments.

Everyone who posts under this thread's comments will receive $50,000 if the numbers 3, 4, 34, 36, and 51, along with Mega Ball 9, are chosen in tonight's Mega Millions drawing. I am completely serious. If all but the Mega Ball are chosen, I will give you each $500. I am completely serious.

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The nicest compliment I've received in recent memory (in which I choose to ignore the linguistic mistake because the compliment is so nice).

I was at choir practice yesterday, and a very accomplished vocalist who'd been on hiatus from choir was there. She, excitedly, said she was "literally blown away" by my mass parts that we've been singing and, later, in the sternest whisper imaginable, mandated that I "must finish the other parts of the mass setting and must get it published." That made me happy.

I cannot figure if this is a mistake or a sad commentary on society.

From Reuters: "A record nine high school seniors were selected in the first round [of the NBA draft], including six teenagers."

This post has no discussion of handbells, as I do not want to mention my rather big handbell news until I have more confirmation that it's happening.

Twice in the past three days, I have gotten what must be rather expensive mailings from the Republican National Committee: One included a "signed" picture of G.W. and Laura Bush (with a "to Matthew" "signed" on it as well, as I recall), and one included a "membership card" in the Bush-Cheney campaign with my name in raised letters (although the "hew" was messed up in the printing). I've never received a personalized letter from either party before, and I can't recall anything I've done in the past year that would get my name on Republican mailing lists. (For the record, I vote about 60/40 Republican/Democrat: more Republicans for President and Senate [since those offices have an impact on the Supreme Court, where conservativism is most important], and split pretty evenly for the U.S. House and local and state offices.) My magazine subscriptions are either non-partisan (Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly) or slightly left-leaning-to-moderate (The Atlantic Monthly, Newsweek), I've been on the Christian bookstore rolls in Richmond for years, and I haven't bought merchandise online from any store that would have a particular political or religious leaning.

So. Here is my working theory: It is our new zip code (by which I mean the zip code we have now, not the new new zip code we are getting at the beginning of next month). Demographics of our old zip code: $38,285 (average household income), $89,600 (average house value), 69 percent (white). Demographics of our new zip code (pre-split): $67,917 (average household income), $171,700 (average house value), 89 percent (white). (Current statistics for our new zip code from the same website: infinity, infinity, and infinity.)

Now. If you were a Republican, who would you be trying to hit up for money?

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Actual, legitimate quote of the week.

"I was so exhausted I fell asleep while the stripper was dancing and the goat head was looking up at me." -- Bill Clinton, My Life, page 197 (as quoted in Slate)

Somewhat interesting fact of the day.

The smallest post office box at my local post office would set me back $18. A year. (Explanation: I'm seeing how much it would cost me if I were to set up my own publishing business, and Kim and I would rather not have to give out our street address.)

The smallest box at my local UPS Store (formerly Mailboxes, Etc.) would set me back $15. A month.

Speaking of ASCAP.

After the approval of my composer application for ASCAP, which I'll work on later today, it makes financial sense for me to also fill out a publisher application, since (a) it doesn't cost anything and (b) as the ASCAP website tells me, "If the work is unpublished, any royalties attributable to performances will not be distributed," and besides (c) it allows me to come up with a calm, professional title for my publishing company, such as "This Song Is Awful Publishing" or "Uuuugggghhhh Music" or "Michael Jackson Publishing." So. You have a couple weeks to help me come up with a name, not to exceed 35 characters including spaces.

I like "Thelma Dawn Esprit Publishing."

Greatest website of the week.

Ain't it?

Party at my house!

Kim's staying in D.C. tonight for work, so everyone who reads this journal and who is in Richmond tonight come over to my house and we'll par-TAY into the deepest of night! (Which, yes, means that it will be me on my new recliner watching reruns of Law & Order alone.) (Actually, ideally, it means that I will continue working on my handbell arrangement of "There is a Balm" for moM, which already contains four time signatures [2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8] at the arrangement's midpoint [which is where I'm at right now (and who knows how many more time signatures the second half holds [certainly not me])].)

Also, please vote at the bottom of this page, particularly for obscure, not-previously-bell-arranged carols.

Um, 'kay.

As I've mentioned before, there have been three houses for sale in our subdivision in the six months since we moved into our house, and each of them were/are (a) smaller or the same size as our house and (b) selling for a Corvette more than what we paid. (Oh, and regarding speculation of gold trim and diamond faucets: We visited an open house for the third one last week, and the interiors of our house and theirs were almost the same, quality-wise. The only differences are that they have a brick front and we have [for now] an ugly back yard.)

Anyway, there is now a fourth house for sale in our neighborhood. It is about 250 square feet smaller than our house. It has no brick front, and the only exterior embellishment I can see is that it does have an aggregate driveway.

It is for sale for a Corvette more than we paid for our house. Plus a midlevel Honda Element. Plus -- since there's $4000 in rebates on Corvettes right now -- a Segway. This ought to make me feel good, and it does, but it also makes me feel, I don't know, slightly weird. I'm not completely sure why.

Anyway.

The greatest e-mail in the history of e-mails.

"Dear Yahoo! Mail User,

"Thanks for using Yahoo! Mail. It's our goal to offer you an email experience that makes it easy and enjoyable to stay in touch. Periodically, we make service changes to enhance that experience for our users. As of June 15, 2004, you'll enjoy the following benefits:

"Increased storage capacity – from your current level to 100MB"

...and then who really cares what the e-mail says after that.

Blah blah blah handbells handbells handbells.

So what I have heard, both through the grapevine and through more public means, is that there will be publishers at the AGEHR par-TAY next month looking to print music from young, talented composers. And despite that I'm only the former of those two adjectives, it seems prudent to still bring a diversity of music to the conference for men and women with buying power to peruse.

My thought is to bring in the neighborhood of 10 pieces, including:

• "The Upper Youghiogheny" (completed, full choir, 3-5 octaves, level 4- or so)
• "An April Frost" (completed, a rescored sextet version, 3 octaves)
• "Bluebirds' Autumn Flight" or "Psalm 148" (completed, bell tree and piano duet, 3 octaves)
• "Breathe on Me, Breath of God" (completed, full choir, 3-to-5 octaves, level 1)
  
• "Meditation on 'There Is a Balm in Gilead'" (about 20 percent finished, full choir, 4-to-5 octaves, level 3)
• "Bethena" (Scott Joplin) (about 80 percent finished, quartet, 3-to-4 octaves)
• "42º19' S, 121º53' W" or "The Americanization of Toyko" or some other title to come (0 percent finished, full choir, 5-to-7 octaves, level 5 or 6)
• a rewriting (and retitling) of "Ordinary Time Ordinariness" (60 percent finished, full choir, 5-to-7 octaves, level 3)

Bluebird MIDI.

Since some of y'all were requesting it.

See, this is why churchgoers, such as Kim and I, ought not go on vacation, because when they get back...

...at the following Sunday's service, they find out that their pastor has been transferred after 11 months on the job back to the parish he had been at until a year ago, and then they (or less informed of the they) find out that he had actually never moved from the house (or perhaps rectory) near his old church, presumably with the expectation that he would eventually be transferred back.

It seems that everyone, Father included, believes this is for the best, so I can safely say yay new Bishop and his decision for Father's relocation.

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However.

Rumor says Father New is very litergically, um, uncontemporary (and pro-Latin), so I wonder how he will take to (a) handbells and particularly (b) handbell pieces such as "Ordinary Time Ordinariness." But for reasons I won't get into right now, I might not have kept my position under old Father, so we'll take our chances with Father New.

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My accidental present to Father Old.

The two competed parts of my mass setting premiered sans choir yesterday and with choir today. Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, with at least five people (outside of the music program, even) seeking me out to say not only that it was great but that I need to write more of it now now now (plus another 10 or so with general positive comments).

I do not wish to make a habit of this.

However, due to a request, there are now free PDFs of a bell tree solo (or, more accurately, a bell tree/piano duet) I wrote a couple months back. Please consider it for your summer music needs. Or not. Whatever.

Also, please ignore (assuming that the mistake is still up when you download the PDFs) that I wrote "D5, E5, G5, A5, B5, C5" when I actually meant "D6, E6, G6, A6, B6, C7." Always remember, Matthew: As 5 is the middle of a standard numberline, so is C5 the middle of the Cs.

Dear people who play in four-octave handbell choirs, which is I think all of you (other than Kim) who play in handbell choirs.

Imagine a G3, which is the lowest note in a four-octave handbell set and has a diameter of about 8". Now imagine a C3, which is four notes lower than the lowest note in a four-octave handbell set and has a diameter of about 11". Now imagine a C2, which is, like, a whole lot lower than the lowest note in a four-octave handbell set and has a diameter of about 1'7", assuming you are imagining it in aluminum rather than brass. Yeah. We now have that bell. If not most of the other ones between C2 and C3.

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Because I am chasing y'all away with all my handbell talk, more reviews of objects that should not be reviewed.

Minute Maid Premium Light, B-

"An orange juice beverage with half the calories and sugar of orange juice," they say, and of course they neglect to mention that it has approximately half the taste as well; specifically, it tastes like orange juice after letting ice melt in it for about half-an-hour. Still distinctly orange-juicy, however, and since the demise of All-Sport, it's probably the best 50-calorie-per-serving drink around.

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Travelocity's new look, B

An odd mix of colors if you think carefully about it, but somehow it works; the right shade of orange and the right shade of blue can live together in harmony. What are those wacky star-shaped objects in the logo, however?

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Hershey's Chocolate World, D+

Look! It's a fake manufacturing plant, where tour groups ride in fake cars to see fake people make fake chocolate bars and, oh yes, they pipe in a fake chocolate smell to make the experience feel more realistic, except you know what, it isn't! Bring back Ben & Jerry's where we get to see real people making real ice cream and then at the end we get to have real samples of flavors that haven't been released in America. Also, crazily crowded with munchkins.

Now that my AGEHR contest entry is sent off, it's time to look for my next contest.

And for the money alone, I am pretty much obliged to do this.