John Colton's blog

As I've commented before, stupid criminal stories never grow old.

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from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080221/ap_on_fe_st/odd_stolen_car
Man drives stolen car to police station

ANDERSON, S.C. - Authorities say a man drove a stolen car to the Anderson County Sheriff's Office to demand the return of nearly $2,000 officers seized from him during a drug arrest last June.

Deputies said after they told Charles Chambers, 36, to leave Tuesday afternoon, an officer noticed he got into a car that matched the description of a vehicle stolen about three hours earlier.

Another officer pulled the man over and told him to stop the car. The officer said Chambers stuck a screwdriver in the ignition to shut it off because the vehicle's key switch had been removed.

Authorities say Chambers was charged with possession of a stolen automobile, driving under suspension and a tag violation.

Last week I got the word back from one of the choirs I had auditioned with, the Utah Baroque Ensemble. When I auditioned, I had been told that they were only looking for people right now that could go with them on a European Tour they have scheduled for the summer (which I likely cannot go on). They said that I could go ahead and "pre-audition" for the Fall, though.

Anyway, last week they told me(*) that I could join the choir and sing with them for their Utah concerts in May, even if I can't make the Europe trip in June. So I've got a choir!

Here's their new website:
http://www.utahbaroque.org/ube/


(*) It was actually kind of odd--the director never got back to me, but a friend in my ward who introduced me to the choir (Deron Bradford) told me he had spoken with the director and she said it was OK.

I thought this Washington Post article was interesting, about the challenges facing new LDS church president, Thomas S. Monson.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/04/AR2008020401526.html?hpid=sec-religion

My sister Marci recently sent me a hymn based on a poem from Pres Hinckley, that Janice Kapp Perry had written. I wasn't a big fan of her recent setting, but it made me remember that I had sung the words in some church choir 10-15 years ago. I don't recall the details, but I still had a copy of the music that I was able to dig out of a box. The copyright notice says that it may be copied for noncommercial use, so here it is: "The Gift of Life". Words by Gordon B. Hinckley, music by W. Herbert Klopfer.

http://www.physics.byu.edu/faculty/colton/the%20gift%20of%20life.jpg
(I scanned it in at a fairly high resolution, so the file is ~3 MB.)

I hope some of you musical types enjoy it.