"hey, ms tambourine gal..."

(2 comments)
2006.06.20
Every once in a while I get reminded that there are some parts of Salvation Army culture that would seem very odd to me if I hadn't grown up immersed in it. Most have their roots in the paramilitary "war against sin" format; the uniforms, "ranks" for the "Officer" clergy, calling a church a "corps" and an offering an envelope a "cartridge" (it took me a while to get that joke, since mostly I associated cartridges with Ataris.) Today I was reminded of "Timbrel Brigades"... small groups, mostly young women, who would do synchronized routines with tambourines, most often to some militaristic Salvation Army brass band music (the 'Army has a strong brass band tradition with a lot of marches.) Here's a page on the Playa Ancha Timbrel Brigade with some photos and a little more detail.


Quote of the Moment
I think that past the age of thirty there is no obligation to be clever at all. Cleverness is a burden after that. You are supposed to settle down and be a good person, raise your children, and be good to your friends, which you may not have been back when you were clever.
Garrison Keillor quoted in this Slate piece on his appeal.
I need to see, or at least netflix, that Prairie Home Companion movie...


Video of the Moment
A parody but supposedly done by Microsoft employees, iPod packaging as redesigned by Microsoft.... Wickedly amusing and also with some neat insights into the design and layout process: