dks

Texas state minimum salary for a bachelors and 4 years experience is $30,320. My suburban district pays right at $40,000. Other districts are higher. Our band directors also get paid for some extra days. dks

I happened to see that Discovery Channel's Extreme Engineering show is about this stadium this week. It is on Tuesday at 7 ET, 6 CT. "Super-Staduim View the construction of the new Arizona Cardinals' Super Stadium! The NFL is betting that the Cardinals' new home will help re-brand the 'Cards' as a winner, and kick-start a new era in sports arenas - away from the nostalgia of baseball parks." The web site for the show is http://dsc.discovery.com/tvlistings/episod...amp;channel=DSC Note that they can't spell "stadium" so googling this link may not work!! dks

I just know that one of my son's first comments after getting off the plane this morning was about getting booed by 25,000 people!! However, it didn't ruin his exhilaration over the great show and effort that the Blue Knights had at Finals! dks

Crown and BK were so close several times. In Semis, Crown pulled ahead. In Finals, BK pulled ahead. If the season continued they would probably keep inspiring each other to improve. I loved Crown's show. But I am so proud of the Blue Knights!! dks

Copied and pasted from DCI: DIVISION I 1 The Cavaliers 97.200 2 Phantom Regiment 96.850 3 Blue Devils 96.550 4 Bluecoats 93.175 5 The Cadets 93.075 6 Santa Clara Vanguard 92.350 7 Blue Knights 90.125 8 Carolina Crown 89.975 9 Madison Scouts 87.700 10 Boston Crusaders 87.325 11 Glassmen 86.000 12 Spirit from JSU 84.825 I'm a BK mom and I am speechless!! I bet they are insanely celebrating right now. Maybe I won't believe in slotting anymore. Crown lost it in percussion (16.75) to BK (17.95). dks

You should be in Austin. It is halftime of the pro football game and the local station is sponsoring a high school marching band contest. They are showing the drumlines for each high school right now! dks

I did really love the Madison Alum group! You have probably discussed this already, but are they holding all the scores until the end tonight? dks

It's just so quiet after listening to the shows last night! dks

Season pass has the short video clips. Will they have those tonight? Also, where it says "Shots from the box and game time commentary" I have not been getting any commentary. Are they still doing that part? dks

I lost the feed on both PC and Mac at the same time. I was really thinking they were going to let me see my son's age out ceremony! I was going to forgive Season Pass for all there other problems over the last 2 years! dks

Crown 90.275

BK has been scoring pretty consistently in this range for awhile, with a number of different judging panels. I don't pretend to understand the system, but I think you have got to accept that they're doing something right! dks

Getting it on a PC with IE and on a Mac with Safari! BK 89.350 dks

I've seen them several times in person this year. I'm a teacher and it is the first of school and I'm exhausted. And it was good because when I left I was able to give my stub to another mother who couldn't get in to see her daughter because it was sold out! It is different in the theater. For example, Crossmen were much more entertaining on the big screen than when I saw them from the upper deck in San Antonio. On other shows, though, I didn't like when they went in close and I couldn't see the overall pattern. Maybe it would have been different if the close-ups where of my son! dks

Way to go BK! I saw them at the theater and thought their show looked really good, cleaner than the last time I saw them in Charlotte when they beat Crown. dks

Austin, Texas was also sold out. I had a ticket ordered so I went in and saw my son's corps. I left and there was a mother on the curb almost in tears because her daughter was about to perform and she couldn't get in. I gave her my stub and I hope she got in to see the performance. (Don't be judgemental--mothers have to stick together!) It would have been nice and profitable if the theater had opened another screen. dks

Just buy them online and pick them up when you get there. dks

My son is aging out this year. I can't go to Madison. Is there any video record of the age out ceremony that I could get for him? dks

First off, let me say that my son is with BK, but I will try to be fair. I have seen both BK and Crown now 3 times (SA, Midland, Charlotte). BK has improved their sound. It is richer and more confident than it was earlier. They have added some pleasing visual effects. I am not expert enough to comment more than that. Crown has a beautiful show and I have always enjoyed it. Last night they were really going all out for their home audience. They were energetic and projected well. Possibly they were more nervous than usual. They did have an excellent show and there was only .05 difference in the scores. I am just thrilled to see BK getting some deserved notice. I have been to the rehearsals. The kids work very hard, as does the staff. The music is Barber's Piano Concerto which won him the Pulitzer Prize. Someone on DCP wrote that there wasn't any theme to the music, but the Pulitzer committee felt differently. Since my son is a Music Ed. major I was pleased to see that they were playing quality music. I have been very happy with the BK organization and hope they continued to receive the recognition they earn. Crown obviously has a wonderful group of supporters as well, judging from the support at the show last night. dks

They are all at Sunday School. dks

Please take this seriously as I am new to this activity and really don't know the answer. I have been to several shows and followed these forums. There are shows that are executed skillfully and played eloquently, but do not entertain the crowd except for people with a lot of music knowledge. There are shows that are entertaining, but not as technically difficult or as well-performed. There are the rare shows that are both. I thought the Caveliers at San Antonio accomplished both. Which are the judges scoring? How are these aspects figured into the scoring? Thanks for any advice you can give without making fun of me!! dks

I was trying to say that it is also annoying that all the sites that post scores are picking up the afternoon scores, which are quite different from the evening scores. It throws off all the statistics and I wonder if anyone will ever bother to correct them. dks

I think that us BK fans are the only ones who really care. Wasn't that a great jump! dks

The problem with the recaps is that they still do not have the scores (which I know) or the recaps for the four corps that advanced from the afternoon. I can't imagine why. dks