Band Practice

Choral Style:

• The Erie Canal (SATB, unaccompanied.  Soprano line has splits and requires at least two people. Alto line has melody throughout and requires at least three people.  Someone needs to be able to whistle briefly.)
• L'il Liza Jane (SATB, unaccompanied.  No splits, can be done by a quartet.)
• "Sing We And Chant It.", 16th century madrigal (SSATB).
• "O occhi, manza mia", 16th century madrigal, in Italian.  'Oh eyes of my beloved'. (SSAA).
• "Can't Buy Me Love", Beatles, but in the style of the King's Singers.  (SSAA).
• "That Lonesome Road", James Taylor. (SSAA. Two middle lines have splits, so requires eight people.).

Modern A Capella Style:

• "Something", Beatles (SSSAAA).
• "Landslide", Fleetwood Mac. (SSSAAA).
• "Breakfast at Tiffany's", Deep Blue Something. (Solo line with SSAA accompaniment.)
• "Seaside Rendezvous", Queen.  (SSAAA with splits. Melody mostly in middle line).
• "Take a Bow", Rihanna. (SSAA with splits. Melody mostly in top line.)
• "Dancing Queen", ABBA. (SSAA).
• "Fix You", Coldplay.  (SSAA with splits).
• "I Got Rhythm", Gershwin, in the style of the Swingle Singers (SSAA).
• "Mon coeur se recommende a vous", 16th century madrigal, in French. (SSSAAA).
• "Sing Me To Heaven", (SSAA).
  
• "Heart of Glass", Blondie.  (Solo line with SSAA accompaniment).
• "If", Beatles. (SSA).
• "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". (SSSAAA).
• "True Colors". (Solo line with SSAA accompaniment. Top line splits.)
• "Don't Get Around Much Anymore". (SSAA)
• "Blue Skies".  (SSAA. Top line splits.).

Wildflowers - The Wailin' Jennys

 Here are a couple of links to versions of the song.  They play it in the key of B (five sharps).

• original album version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_87VZAXZAug 
• live version where you can see who does what, when:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XhVILjWkNg 

Music, written out in PDF form.

• Chord chart and lyrics for the ukulele players, but changed to be in the key of C:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dEd-Xsfh_0UHJ9G7BTSjO77F8KjvvlPd/view?usp=sharing 
• The three vocal lines, also in the key of C:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1akGITCT6bXNReq5Hpb4mWL4QSOAqESy6/view?usp=sharing
• A mashup of the banjo and violin parts, in the original key for playing along with the recording: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g26f-pj8XxBR9s5A55p_OiRYAetdqtOv/view?usp=sharing
• The same mashup, transposed to be in C:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T3VplS5f8BYA3JwgWt3jNoQ4fJYYYGHM/view?usp=sharing

Marion Almassizadeh

 

They might be a slightly silly crew who don't see the point in being serious for the camera (or even looking at it), but Marion Almassizadeh is very proud of her seven adopted teenagers.  Through good investing she will even be able to start them out well in life, helping some of them to start businesses and getting others launched in their chosen careers.  The second-youngest, Bayleigh, has agreed to continue running the foster home as a condition of inheriting the tall house.

This is one of the first user-created homes I remember playing, created by someone with the username "plasticbox".  It's three stories with a lavishly-furnished apartment on the first floor, which I kept solely for Marion.  The upper two stories had four small bedrooms of varying sizes, suitable for single beds or a crib, a little office area with a computer and a third-floor sitting room with a TV.  Combined with Marion's want to have ten children, having her adopt children who were left alone in the early stages of the challenge seemed like a natural choice.  The oldest, Hollis, has just turned into an adult and will move out the next Monday at 9am.  There's a gap of a few days, but there will be a string of five birthdays in a row.  Perhaps I'll have some of them move out en masse into a 'new adult' home where they can continue to have fun together while they find mates and jobs!

Cindy and Uriah Newson

 

Cindy scolds the cat.  "Do I not have enough to deal with, without you destroying the furniture?".  Her partner Uriah is off at the new house with most of the older kids, fixing it up for the family.  This one-bedroom house has held the family for a long time, but with a teenager, five school-age kids, and a toddler (Clarance is asleep in the crib), it's bursting at the seams.  In fact, it has been in the family since Uriah's grandmother Una Underhill moved to town.  One of their ten children will inherit it and continue the tradition.

Apocalypse Challenge G: end of week 20

 

Wayland brushes her teeth three times after getting home from school, like the good girl she is.

Children getting minimal hygiene from the "wash hands" interaction mean that the children in my Apocalypse Challenge end up brushing their teeth about eight times a day.  In my head it's like this obscure religious imperative that has popped up after the Apocalypse.

Wayland aged up to a teen later the same day.  Her mother Garland is an elder now, but her father and uncle Christopher are still adults with some days to go.

I have Wayland and her eventual spouse earmarked for the Medical and Military careers.

Apocalypse Challenge G: end of week 18

 

Garland has had a busy couple of days; she gave birth to her daughter Wayland, and was promoted to Theorist. Her younger half-brother Christopher is an adult now, and will be caretaker to his little niece so that Garland can shoot for that final promotion to the top of the Science career.

Oddly, the thing that held up the next generation the most was the lack of a mate for Garland.  I didn't have many walkbys, and even when I did, there wasn't enough time in an evening for Garland to get to know them well enough to stay overnight or move in.  Finally Waylon Menon walked by, who she had known previously, and I quickly grabbed the opportunity to move him in. He's already in the Culinary career, so I'll have him lift that restriction.  If Wayland or her spouse can get into the Medical career, that will be good; and perhaps the other can do Military. Christy died before getting to the top of the career, and the restrictions about leaving the lot really hurt Garland.  I also have a cat ghost causing trouble, and unfortunately I didn't notice Christy getting old and her headstone is right outside the house, so I anticipate her causing trouble soon too!  But without the ability to go to college I can't lift the Paranormal restrictions and move their headstones.

Apocalypse Challenge G: end of week 16

 

Garland goes off to work while her little half-brother Christopher heads to the school bus.  Not sure why she looks unhappy here - her mood was good and I'm hoping she'll do well in her new Science career.

I've tried the Apocalypse challenge before, but this is the first time I've had any success with an adult that didn't start in college.  Garland's father Gary got to the top of the Politics career as an elder, managed to quickly meet, marry and move in Christy Stratton, and their daughter Garland was born the same day Gary died.  Fortunately Gary had socked away about 60,000 simoleons in savings, so Christy could stay home with Garland until she was a teenager.  

Christy is an elder now and has a decent shot at getting to the top of the Military career before she dies.

Important things I learned that have helped a lot in this go-round:

• Children don't get any significant hygiene benefit from washing their hands, but if I get one of the medicine cabinets and have them "brush teeth", they get by well enough.
• One of my attempts ended up with twin brothers who made it adulthood, but their mother's ghost keeps frightening them to death... I've killed the poor brothers a dozen times or more!  With Gary I made sure he was on the furthest corner of the lot when the Grim Reaper came, and he died happy, so that seems to have kept the terrible haunting at bay.