I have spun up a separate blog for my Newfangled project!
Check out blog.newfangled.live and subscribe via email or add it to your RSS reader if you feel so inclined!
Your support is so appreciated. I have some fun ideas and plans for the future.
You may have noticed my writing was pretty much non-existent in 2023. In recent months, I have found a new creative outlet in a rediscovered passion: music. Specifically, collecting physical media – vinyl, CDs, and cassettes – and playing music from my collection on live video streams on Twitch.tv.
I also have been playing musical instruments – Irish whistle, Native American flute, and recorder – live on-stream.
Feel free to check out newfangled.live, my new website for this project. Or you can go directly to my Twitch page and follow me there.
My first stream was in September 2023 (on Labor Day) and I have been streaming several times a week since then. It has been an amazing experience so far, and I plan to continue and evolve this endeavor for the foreseeable future.
I may eventually start a blog related to this new project and will make sure to post about it if and when I do.
One last Christmas video. Despite some disappointing turns of events that prevented us from seeing some loved ones, this has been the most joyous Christmas season for me in at least three years.
There are certain traditions and activities that embody the spirit of Christmas. Live performances of Handel’s Messiah are certainly in this category.
Tonight I participated in our Stake “Choirside” (a play on the word “fireside”). All of the ward choirs performed a Christmas song centered on Jesus Christ.
At the end, the entire congregation sang O Holy Night together with piano and organ accompaniment and it was quite a powerful and moving experience.
Traditions like these really help me get into the real spirit of Christmas and set the tone for the season.
#100DaysToOffload (No. 76) #Christmas #music #faith
A favorite Christmas song of mine that has been covered countless times is David Foster's Grown-Up Christmas List.
Another favorite Christmas video that I have watched every year since I first saw it is a music video of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square singing Infant Holy, Infant Lowly.
I think I first heard this song on a Christian radio station as I was driving one day. Scars in Heaven by Casting Crowns is a beautiful and comforting song for anyone who has lost a loved one.
It's a Thanksgiving miracle! I wasn't expecting my clarinet to be repaired for at least another week or so, but I got a text from the shop late in the afternoon today that it was ready to be picked up.
Streaming music services like Apple Music and Spotify provide unprecedented convenience and instant access to more music than we've ever had before. But when it comes to my favorite music – music I want to be assured I can listen to whenever I want – I still purchase or burn CDs.