Super cool!

September 1st, 2005: Commissioned for the 2005 TMEA convention, "Lux Aurumque", is a gorgeous grade 3 transcription of one of Eric's most popular works. Originally written for a cappella chorus, Eric has brought the work to life for wind symphony, transcribing and expanding the original work in scope and depth. "Lux Aurumque" will be exclusively distributed by the Hal Leonard Corporation, and will be available in music and web stores worldwide.

Eric Whitacre's site is all flash-based, so you can't get links to anything, so the above link is directly to the MP3 file. It's luscious - download it and listen when in a contemplative mood. October is still my favorite, but I'm going to like this one, too.

From the editors of the Merriam-Webster dictionaries. My favorite comment:

Dropping out of the Top Twenty are, among others, metaphor and irony - a sure sign that fewer college English papers were written in July.

The fastest-rising word?

July’s peloton of words whizzes by, and up at the front of the pack is … peloton. Just as it did last summer, the Tour de France leads to a tour du dictionnaire, or at least a tour of the entry for peloton.

(It's "the main body of riders in a bicycle race," dates from 1951, and is related to the word platoon. Now we both know.)

Cross-posted from a comment at the fabulous Backup Brain, where Tom encourages people to consider donating to the Red Cross.

Or, please, please, consider not donating to the Red Cross.

As noted last year when it was Hurricane Charley, consider a group like Catholic Charities, or from my own church, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. Both of those are included in FEMA's list of agencies that need cash to assist hurricane victims.

So is the American Red Cross, but hopefully we've learned more this time. Note that on the ARC's online form, you cannot donate specifically to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. You can only donate to the "National Disaster Relief Fund," where they may use the money for anything they consider a disaster, or simply bank it for some future point. You must call the toll-free number (1-800-HELP-NOW) to "stipulate your gift for a Red Cross effort that's not listed," and unless you're very specific, they'll hear "Katrina" and put it in the National Disaster Relief Fund anyway.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, I note, allows you to give to one of three separate accounts: US Hurricane Response, Pastoral Care, or Church Damage. They know that non-Presbyterians may not want to donate money to non-secular relief efforts, and they segregate the money. The secular Red Cross can't even manage that.