rootofthechord

(takes the bait) (puts on historian's hat) The French Revolution was an extremely long, complex historical event that went through countless stages. After the overthrow of Louis XVI in 1789, France became a republic, dictatorship, republic, empire, monarchy, and republic again over the next 60 years. Included in this time period are Napoleon's empire (whose failed invasion of Moscow inspired the 1812 Overture) and Les Miserables, which occurred during the Bourbon Restoration immediately afterwards from 1815-1832. In a nutshell, they are connected, but you are totally right to question the historical link because it is kind of weak.

Thanks for the additional info. I do know some things, but I don't know everything.

From what I can tell, everybody's going about this the wrong way. It shouldn't matter how many devices are plugged into a single outlet. A circuit overloads when there is too much amperage (current) going through it. Since voltage (V) * amperage (I) = power, we can look at a typical 120-volt, 15-amp outlet and calculate that the maximum load on an outlet is 1800 watts. Here are some typical chargers one might see in a drum corps and their required input wattage: Game Boy Advance - 4 W iPhone - 5 W iPad - 10 W Nintendo DS - 12 W LG Octane (not a smartphone) - 24 W HP laptop (generally rare in drum corps settings) - 65 W Notice that you'd need to have 27 laptops (which very few people bring on tour), 75 LG Octanes, 180 iPads, or 360 iPhones to overload the circuit. Keep also in mind that people don't charge their electronic devices every day, so you won't have 150 people charging their things at once. (The most I ever saw was 53 chargers with a 120-person corps, less than 0.5 devices per person.) It is possible for a corps to overload a circuit, but only in a perfect storm of circumstances.

Mandarins: Temple Middle School - 275 Rainey Rd., Temple, GA 30179

^This. I think for three OC corps to get into semis, it's going to require both an excellent show by them and a bad show by whoever's in last in WC. At least for this year.

25 spots in semis - 23 World Class corps = at least 2 Open Class corps in semis (most likely BDB and SCVC).

Already covered here: The Ultimate Guide to the Atlanta Regional

Umm... yes, if they somehow increase their scores by ~50 points.

5.5 hours across some of the most expansive nothing I've ever seen. Words fail me.

Wow. I am shocked and saddened for the Cascades. I will definitely look at buying something or donating at their souvie booth tomorrow in SA. For those of you who aren't familiar with I-35 and the Waco area, it is a terrible stretch to be driving at night. There are so many things that make it dangerous - lots of traffic and overnight truckers, only 2-3 lanes, road construction (it was down to 1 lane where the accident occurred), and lots of bad drivers. It's just unfortunate that the Cascades got the bad end of the stick this time...

Stellar commentary as usual, Michael. For those of us who weren't at the show and don't have FN, your blog makes a good substitute.

Disagree. They were 0.9 behind Cavies in both CG and percussion. Even if they had tied in both captions, they'd only gain 0.9 (those two captions are weighted half in the final score), putting them 0.5 behind Cavies.

Biggest difference between sousa and contra: Sousa just sits on your shoulder, and is fairly effortless to carry. Contra also sits on your shoulder, but it also taxes your arms because you have to hold the front up. To emphasize what everybody else has said... if you have a good amount of strength and determination, you can definitely make it as a tuba player. I have seen everybody from a 5-foot girl to a bassline guy (he ended up marching Phantom) successfully march contra.

We have. My high school hosted our weeklong move-in camp in 2008 and for months afterward I heard complaints from neighbors about the relentless metronomes. Some even wrote into the local newspaper complaining about the disturbance.

Maybe I'm missing something, but why are people saying Blue Devils? It seems like between the full repertoire, explanation of show concept, and inspiration poem, they have offered among the most information out of all the corps.

I always kept a shirt on for the summer. It cut my sunscreen needs and future skin cancer risk in half, and kept me cooler because the heat wasn't hitting me directly. Shirt on/shirt off is totally a personal preference, though. Biggest lifesavers for me were: - a good hat (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Glacier_Glove_Mojave_Sun_Hat/descpage-47SH.html - it's worth every penny) - UV-resistant sunglasses - DCT - Some sort of menial activity for the bus. For me, a Game Boy with Tetris did wonders when I needed to relax before a show or calm down after a bad day of rehearsal. - Hoodie and sweats for the bus (for some reason, ours were always Arctic cold)

It seems somewhat formulaic - well-known European music worked in 2010, so let's try well-known English music in 2011. Still, if they can replicate last season's success, I'm not complaining.

For me, drum corps was about pushing the boundaries of my true potential. Before drum corps, I was a stick-skinny 15-year-old clarinet player. I never could have imagined that I was physically or mentally capable of marching DCI until I actually did it. Since drum corps, I have been in a constant process of challenging my paradigm of "what is possible for me?" Had I never marched, I would not be the same person I am today. I would not have jumped from California to Texas for college or even dreamed of joining a fraternity, both of which are among the best decisions I've ever made. I never would have discovered the joy of low brass playing or begun to come out of my shell socially because I wouldn't have thought it possible. I also learned the value of not giving up - when I hit my own personal "wall", I could either give up or keep going at it. Through DCI, I learned how to keep fighting through it all, best known as "fake it until you make it". The power of a false smile is not to be understated.

I agree. It does look a bit gimmicky. However, the idea of four sub-corps doing their own thing simultaneously could be very interesting if designed correctly and executed well.

The "quadriphonic sound" seems especially intriguing to me.

Semis are top 25 now. I would be immensely surprised if BDB didn't make semis. Top 17? Doable.

The Bluecoats' 2011 show will be titled "Brave New World". Music selections will include Radiohead's "Creep", Michael Daugherty's "Deus Ex Machina", and John Mackey's "Harvest: Concerto for Trombone".

Baritone/euphoniums: Dynasty baritones - physically durable, and they play well in all ranges. They are heavy, though. King baritones - very light, good for horn snaps, and they have a great upper range, but they are poop in the lower register and are much more bell-heavy than other baritones. King euphoniums - great resonance and awesome lower range sound. My favorite horn to play, but since it's King and it's a euphonium it is obscenely bell-heavy. They also tend to have a lot of breaking-parts problems. Haven't had enough experience on Yamaha or Quantum to compare. Which one is "best"? It depends. In a perfect world where I have infinite arm strength and horns don't break down, King euphs. Dynasty baris over King baris, though - they are more useful in every non-drum corps situation and play well in all ranges, not just middle Bb and higher.

The Alamodome is much smaller than the other DCI domes like the Georgia Dome or LOS. Personally, I love it; although there's a lot more echo, you don't have the dull reverb/sound getting sucked up into the ceiling effect of the other two. Even sitting up on the 20-yard line, third deck, you get a great sound and good sight lines.