Reports in the last couple days of Facebook accounts being compromised and messages left on friends profile pages referring to the websites ShiverSail.com and RiderBark.com
The message on your Facebook wall may say “I saw a site displaying your pictures on shiversail-com-check it.”
Haven’t found the purpose of the spam yet, but I’m sure that information will follow shortly.
Tags: Facebook Security, Facebook Shiversail, Riderbark, Riderbark.Com, Shiversail, Shiversail.Com
And to the Parents of Anonymous from a former Scientology member:
Well this burned several hours of my time to get cronjobs running on a new server. I was manually setting crontab permissions to 4755 as CPanel requested before inputing a cronjob - but the permissions kept resetting themselves so my cronjob wouldn’t save. Do it from your ssh console as root instead; here is the fix:
If you are receiving the error “/usr/bin/crontab permissions are wrong. Please set to 4755″ when in the cron section of cPanel, the commands below may correct the error for Redhat/CentOS/Fedora servers.
Log into the server via ssh or the console as root and run:
chmod 4755 /usr/bin/crontab


For Christmas 2008 Guy Laliberte had a fantastic gift for the artists of the Cirque Du Soleil ZAIA show (and other CDS artists worldwide): a handbag made from the tarp of a retired Cirque big top tent. The handbags are made of the recycled material and fit into Cirque “eco-friendly” attitude, as well as featuring the wonderful bright yellow and blue of the traveling Cirque big tops. Just like the tarp you see behind Guy in the photo above.
Thank you and Merry Christmas 2008 to Guy!
Tags: Accordion Player, Amp, Big Tops, Bigtop, Chief Executive Officer, Circus, Cirque Du Soleil, Cirque Soleil, Fire Eater, Guy Laliberte, Handbag, Handbags, Merry Christmas, Quebec City Quebec, Quebec City Quebec Canada, Recycled Material, Share Holder, Synthesis, Tarp, Young Entrepreneur, ZAIA
For Christmas 2008 the cast of Cirque Du Soleil’s ZAIA show, along with matching funds from Cirque, have raised over 45,000 MOP ($5,500 USD) to buy Christmas clothing packages for the babies and children of CRADLE OF HOPE and the FOUNTAIN OF HOPE groups in Macau (SAR) China.
ZAIA artists and staff helped wrap the gifts and even took the older children on shopping trips in Macau to pick out their own clothes. A couple days before Christmas the older children will get to see the ZAIA show live and meet Cirque artists in person. Merry Christmas Macau!
Tags: Artists, Babies, Christmas, Christmas Clothing, Cirque Du Soleil, Cirque Soleil, Couple Days, Cradle Of Hope, Days Before Christmas, Fountain Of Hope, Hope Groups, Live Person, Macau Sar, Matching Funds, Merry Christmas, Own Clothes, Sar China, Shopping, ZAIA
Email question received about Elton John AIDA orchestrations:
I wondered if you knew of some great orchestration companies or tracks to enhance our production of Elton Johns Aida. We have a small venue and could really use some tracks specifically for transtitions.
Any information is helpful. Thanks!
Tags: AIDA, Cd Soundtrack, Conrad, Cymbals, Drummer, Elton John, Elton Johns, Ethnic Percussion, Keyboardists, Orchestration, Orchestrations, Original Cd, Percussionists, Plastic Soda Bottle, Synth Pads, Textures, Transition Music, Transitions, Wails, World Percussion

Photo November 2008 at the ZAIA Theater - Venetian Macao.
Manchester United visited Cirque Du Soleil’s ZAIA Theater in Macau, China as part of their promotion for the new Manchester United Interactive Football Experience located at the Venetian Macao. Here is the photo of MU with the ZAIA cast (I’m on the far right in the top photo).
Update December 2008: Manchester United wins the World Cup!
Tags: Alex Ferguson, Array, Asia, Asian Region, Atmosphere, Brian Mcclair, Bryan Robson, Cirque Du Soleil, Cirque Soleil, Dressing Room, Excitement, Football Experience, Interactive Football, Las Vegas Sands Corp, Macau China, Manchester United, Match, Mu, New Manchester, Old Trafford, Photo Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, Spirit, Venetian Macao, Weaver, World Cup
A large group of us from Cirque Du Soleil’s ZAIA show went to see the Chime Long International Circus in Guangzhou, China. It was a fantastic show. The Chime Long circus is more of a traditional circus that includes animal acts. Music for the show is pre-recorded - no live band.
There were so many elements in this show that makes Circus so mesmerizing. There were truly death defying acts including long and high jumps without nets and the Wheel of Death - a Circus favorite. I thought the animal acts were great, although it was a little disturbing to some. There were also great moments of beauty with lush slow aerial acts.
My absolute favorite part was the end of the show when four rows of birds fly from stage left and right across the front of the stage and over the audiences heads. First I think it was pelicans followed by doves. So beautiful. If I hadn’t seen it myself I would have thought it was a projected special effect. Bravo to Chime Long International Circus!
Tags: Aerial Acts, Animal Acts, Audiences, Birds, Chime Long Circus, Chinese Circus, Cirque Du Soleil, Death Defying Acts, Doves, Fantastic Show, Guangzhou China, High Jumps, Httpv, International Circus, Large Group, Moments Of Beauty, Pelicans, Stage Left, Traditional Circus, Wheel, Wheel Of Death, Www Youtube, ZAIA

Macau Expats 11-08
Macau Business Magazine has a chilling front page article in their December 2008 issue called “You’re Fired - Expat Exodus” about the mass exodus of Expats working in Macau. You can read the original article at: http://www.macaubusiness.com/index.php?id=1451
Overview from Macau Business Magazine
The wave of lay-offs that has hit the expat community has left a bad taste in the mouth. The whiff of betrayal is in the air and for many, there will be no coming back.
Tags: Adelson, Bluecard, Bluecards, Conspiracy Theory, Cotai Strip, Disposable Incomes, Expat Community, Good Graces, High Praise, Home Countries, Late November, Lay Offs, Lvs, lvs layoff, Macanese, macau expat, Macau Government, Mass Exodus, Mass Influx, Mass Panic, Necessary Skills, World Economy
Approach to Bach with the Swingle Singers - with original member Ward Swingle. He says if we can listen to Bach in the morning we lead better lives because of it…
I remember hearing the Swingle Singers a LOT as a kid in the early seventies. Great stuff and some of my favorite all time renditions of Bach and Mozart. Vive la mystere.
In early December 2007 I had let go of all but one of my posts in preparation of leaving to work for Cirque Du Soleil. I received notice at the beginning of December that my date to join Cirque had been moved to three weeks later so I had some time on my hands. My last job I still retained was music director at Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church in Mount Vernon, WA.
I wanted to do something with my newfound free time; so decided to do something crazy that I had always wanted to do: To write a complete orchestral and choral work in one week like JS Bach used to do for his weekly church services. My last service for the church was Christmas Eve 2007 so I decided to write a Gloria for presentation at the evening Christmas Eve service.
Tags: Array, Choir Rehearsal, Choral Work, Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve Service, Christmas Gloria, Church Staff, Cirque Du, Email, Excuse, Intention, Js Bach, Last Job, Little Taste, Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church, Music Director, Newfound Free Time, Time Constraint, Time On My Hands, WA, Work Style
Two video recordings of a Badinerie by JS Bach. I have heard several absolutely horrible renditions on YouTube - but I like both of these. My favorite of these two is the first on top. The musicians take a little more chance with the tempo and interpretation - and to my ears it has a little more sizzle than the performance at the Vatican.
Tags: Badinerie, Ears, Http Www Youtube, Httpv, Js Bach, Musicians, Renditions, Tempo, Vatican, Video Recordings, Www Youtube

WITTENBERG THEATER CLOSES 2001
Theater Wittenberg Closes Its Doors -
The Theater Wittenbergs sustaining institution, a special purpose association, has resolved to close the theatre beginning in summer 2001. The decision will affect 156 jobs. A theatre for children and young people and a project-based music theatre will remain in operation.
HISTORY OF THEATER IN WITTENBERG
Wittenberg has a long tradition in cultural events. The City Theatre Mitteldeutsches Landestheater reached a great importance in GDR times. Since 1996, the City proposes Open-Air theatre shows based on the Lutheran history still alive in many historical places of the ancient town. As highlights, in 2001 and 2005, Fernando Scarpa became the artistic director of the “Bühne Wittenberg” (Stage Wittenberg), a project for theatre, art and culture in the whole of Germany which attracts to the City plenty of audience and whose success achieves European echo. Hamlet is said to have studied here.
Tags: Array, Art And Culture, Artistic Director, Audience, Doors, Fernando Scarpa, Gdr Times, Germany, Hamlet, Jobs, Landestheater, Lutheran History, Music Theatre, Operation History, Special Purpose, Success, Theatre Art, Tradition, Young People
The years 1927-37 were critical for artists in Germany. In 1927, the National Socialist Society for German Culture was formed. The aim of this organization was to halt the “corruption of art” and inform the people about the relationship between race and art. By 1933, the terms “Jewish,” “Degenerate,” and “Bolshevik” were in common use to describe almost all modern art. http://fcit.usf.edu/HOLOCAUST/ARTS/artDegen.htm
Kristallnacht — the Night of Broken Glass
On November 9, 1938, the Nazis unleashed a series of riots against the Jews in Germany and Austria. In the space of a few hours, thousands of synagogues and Jewish businesses and homes were damaged or destroyed. For the first time, tens of thousands of Jews were sent to concentration camps simply because they were Jewish. This event came to be called Kristallnacht (”Night of the Broken Glass”) for the shattered store windowpanes that carpeted German streets.
“Those that do not learn history are forced to repeat it.” Never forget.
http://www1.yadvashem.org/exhibitions/kristallnacht/homepage.html
Tags: Anti Semitism, Concentration Camps, Crowds Of Spectators, Events Leading To The Holocaust, German Reich, Ghetto, Hitler Youth, Holocaust, Holocaust History Project, Html Overview, Html Question, Jewish Businesses, Jewish Shops, Jews In Germany, John Stendahl, Kristal, Kristalnacht, Mazal, Mob Violence, Moths, Nazi Government, Nazi Storm Troopers, Newton Center Massachusetts, Night Of Broken Glass, Night Of Broken Glass Kristallnacht, Night Of The Broken Glass, Obe, Ondemand, Persecution Of The Jews, Reinhard Heydrich, Schindler S List, Significant Events, Social Restrictions, Ss Guards, Torah Scrolls, Wiesenthal, Windowpanes, Www1
I have been doing a lot of reading on Martin Luther lately. The book HERE I STAND is a classic biography and THE WIT OF MARTIN LUTHER gives insight to his lighter and naughtier side. But the two shocking discoveries were his encouragement to use violence against peasants in the early 16th century as well as his vehement and bold anti-semiticism. I have spent many hours grappling with these events; trying to reconcile that this is the great Luther of the Reformation. The hero. The changer and uplifter of society and religion.
As of yet I have not been able to personally reconcile these events. It is a painful chasm in once again realizing the world that history is perhaps not the same as we were brought up to believe. Here are the thoughts of Nadine E. Ridley on the same issues. This is a sermon she gave on November 20, 2005 at The King Lutheran Church in Vestal NY called “Things They Didn’t Teach Me About Luther In Sunday Schoolâ€.
She tidies up the end with a happy ending which I think can work well for a Sunday sermon. But the truth may be that in reality the end is not so tidy after all….
I was also raised Lutheran, and went to Lutheran Confirmation, attended Pacific Lutheran University and a summer at St. Olaf; was even an acolyte in the Order of St. John in my youth. And yet this side of Luther is nothing that I remember ever discussed. Thank God for the internet.
[Les Miserables] 10th anniversary - 17 VALJEAN Do you hear the people sing.
Tags: 10th Anniversary, Les Miserables, People
Angela Lansbury and George Hearn starring in Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim
A great scene from Sweeney Todd that keeps the attention with the growing anticipation of the shave’s outcome…
Tags: Angela Lansbury, Anticipation, George Hearn, Shave, Stephen Sondheim, Sweeney Todd

















