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Frank Miles, Tattler Editor
frank@sinfoniantattler.com
Scott Erb, Tattler Staff
scott@sinfoniantattler.com
Phil Wilson, Tattler Staff
phil@sinfoniantattler.com
Tommy House, Tattler Webmaster
tommy@sinfoniantattler.com
Not Pictured:
Travis Bryant, Tattler Staff
travis@sinfoniantattler.com
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The Downbeat
Frank Miles, Tattler Editor
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Winter has finally reared her ugly head, but the Tat is
back to warm yo'
innards. This month, we'll recap the most successful
province workshop in many years, showcase an alumnus in the music biz, and
find out the state of the chapter in Troy.
And speaking of Troy, it's time to
mark your calendars! The Second Annual Alumni Reunion is right around the
corner. We not only challenge you to be there, but we also challenge you to
bring another alumnus with you. The guys who were there last year can tell
you how much fun we had, and this year will be even better. With the
reunion taking place on a Saturday, plans are in the works for a variety of
great activities. Read on!
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Workshop
Focuses on Music, Honors Alumnus
John Mitcham,
Province 34 Collegiate Province Representative
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 On
the weekend of January 12-14, Sinfonians from across the state gathered
in Tuscaloosa
to participate in the 2007 Province Workshop. Hosted by the Omicron Phi
Chapter at the University
of Alabama, this
year’s workshop proved to be a resounding success. Brotherhood attendance
during the weekend surpassed the expectations of everyone in the province
leadership. We planned for 100. We secretly hoped for at least 80. We got
115. As a result, the 2007 Workshop was the largest state fraternity
event in at least a decade.
 The
weekend commenced with a presentation of the Initiation Ritual, performed
by brothers of the Omicron Phi Chapter. The following morning, Iota Nu
alumnus Rob McFarland (’99) began a day of choral clinics aimed at
improving province musical abilities as well as educating the collegiate
brothers in proper rehearsal techniques. Under Rob’s direction, the province
chorus mastered several songs to perform at that evening’s recital. Other
events that afternoon included a message from National Collegiate
Representative Micah White, who graciously flew from Washington, D.C.
to join us for the workshop. Before breaking for dinner, Iota Nu alumnus
and Province Alumni Coordinator Frank Miles gave an excellent
presentation to the collegiate brothers on alumni retention.
 Following
an alumni meal at Dreamland Ribs, the fraternity held a public recital in
which the talent of the province was displayed. Under Bro. McFarland’s
direction, the full chorus sang two spirituals as well as numerous songs
from the Red Book. Iota Nu brothers put together a rock band that played two
covers from the legendary rock band Chicago©.
In addition, a group of Iota Nu alumni put together a small a cappella
ensemble. During the recital, Bro. Miles and Province Governor Tony Cowan
presented Bro. Jim Bennett with the national Signature Sinfonian Award.
Bro. Bennett (Epsilon Nu ’55), a former Marching Southerner, served for
many years as the Alabama Secretary of State and is currently the
Commissioner of Labor. He arrived for the presentation with his family,
including his son, also a Sinfonian from Epsilon Nu. As Bro. Bennett
received his shingle and medal, he remarked to the collegiate brothers,
“thank you for this award; Sinfonia has never been far from my heart.”
 After
the ceremony and recital, brothers adjourned back to the University of Alabama
for a special hypnotist show by Penn State
alumnus Dave Roush. The following morning, the province concluded the
workshop with a business meeting and elections for the following year. I
am happy to congratulate Iota Nu brother Lance Holman for being elected
Assistant Collegiate Province Representative and to Scott Sexton for
being nominated Province Music Director (to be voted upon in April).
Iota Nu was well represented at this year’s workshop.
With the exception of the host chapter, Iota Nu had a larger percentage
of their collegiates in attendance than any other school in the state.
Furthermore, there were more Iota Nu alumni in attendance than alumni
from every other chapter COMBINED! Now let’s hear from a few of our happy
alumni who attended this event:
Bro. Rob
McFarland (’99): “It was a
great privilege to lead such a fine group of singing men. I was glad to
see such a strong interest in the advancement of music in the fraternity
on the province level. It was also very gratifying to see IN brothers
(and members of my family) in the drivers' seat of what was a very well
planned and executed event.”
Bro. Terrance
Cobb (’97): “This year’s
workshop was truly an inspirational experience shared through music. The
addition of the public province recital in conjunction with the focus of
the workshop being about music brought to life the phrase fellowship in
exalted experience. As an alumnus of the Iota Nu Chapter, it was very
uplifting to see how strong of a presence we hold in Province 34. With
brothers from our chapter holding province offices, leading clinics at
workshop, and even just taking the initiative to sing solos and perform
group works on the recital, shows me the strength of this chapter. There
was one thought that played in my head at the end of the workshop as I
headed back to Birmingham.
The Iota Nu chapter of Phi Mu Alpha is not just about building men of
music for Sinfonia, but we also build leaders; men that do not mind
sacrificing time and energy to help carry this chapter, this province,
this fraternity into the future. To the current active brothers: Keep up
the good work, and let your light shine full on the campus at which the
Iota Nu Chapter is located.”
Bro. John
Phillips (’00): “This year's
province workshop was the best I've ever attended. There was more music
than we've ever had and the guys from every chapter were cordial and
brotherly. The fellowship with each other was more than I've ever seen.”
Bro. Scott Erb
(’96): “As an alumnus of
Province 34 and IN, I really enjoyed this year’s province workshop. The
brothers were friendly and very inviting to us alumni that showed up.
Fellowship was observed and music sung in harmony. I encourage all alumni
to make plans to attend next year’s workshop. You will be glad you did.”
Bro. Bryan
Reeves (’01): “I think that
this was a very successful workshop in that it provided an opportunity
for chapters to see what everyone else is doing musically. I also feel
that it was a very positive step towards improving the musical standard
across the province, an area which I think has been somewhat wanting for
several years. Hopefully, each chapter took something back that will
further their own musical stature for years to come.”
 For
anyone who missed out for various reasons, fear not! In April, Province
34 will be hosting its annual Spring Sinfonia Slash – a fun-filled day at
Oak Mountain. Featured events include
canoeing, football, Frisbee, fellowship, hot dogs and singing. I highly encourage any alumni in
the Birmingham
area or beyond to attend this event. Bro. Miles does an excellent job
incorporating alumni experiences into the many facets of fraternity life.
Take advantage of this excellent opportunity! I hope to see many of you
in April.
(NOTE: Details of the Spring Sinfonia Slash will be
released next month. Tentative date is Saturday, April 14, at Oak Mountain
State Park in Birmingham, Ala.)
Fraternally,
John Mitcham
CPR
Province 34
Iota Nu alumni ‘02
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Second
Annual Alumni Reunion
Scott Erb,
Tattler Staff
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As the active brothers of Iota Nu work feverishly to
educate this year’s probationary class and ready them for the journey of
Sinfonia, don’t feel like you are being left out. There’s plenty for you
to do, too, and you can find out what and how by making the now annual
trek to the alma mater to rub elbows with long-lost jovial spirits.
It’s time for the Second Annual Alumni Reunion. Last
year, alumni got to fellowship with brothers they haven’t seen or talked
to in years. Old friendships were rekindled while new ones were created.
It was truly an exalted night. For those of you who were there, this year
promises to be even better.
It is our goal to have more and more alumni turn out
for this event each year. The reunion will take place on Saturday, March
10. With this event on a Saturday, it will give us more time to get to Troy without
worrying about taking time off from work.
We have a lot more planned this year. It will be held
in the Arboretum behind the lower practice/intramural fields. Several
events are being discussed, including a golf outing, cookout and other social
activities that will lead up to the main event. Final details will be
sent out in the March edition of the Tat and an e-vite will be sent out
at the beginning of February.
And for you partiers, don’t worry, we’ve got you
covered, too. Just ask some of the guys who came last year how late they
stayed up. In fact, some of the “old school” guys outlasted the
collegiate brothers!
So mark your calendars. Saturday, March 10, 2007. Go ahead and plan for it now. Heck,
help us double the attendance by calling an old pledge brother of yours
and drive down together.
For those that went last year, we hope to see you
again this year with the same enthusiasm and Sinfonian spirit. Those that
couldn’t make it last year, come join us and help us make this reunion a
true tradition.
So let it be for Sinfonia!!!
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Man
on a Mission
Travis Bryant,
Tattler Staff
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 For
eight years, Bro. Shay Watson has been living outside of Nashville writing,
producing and playing backup for many well known musicians. Shay has two
albums already under his belt, but with the release of his third album,
“Farewell to Boxington,” Shay has again struck out on his own and is
poised to leave his mark.
“This project is by far the best,” said Watson. “The
sound is very different. I made a decisive change with this album. It is
a mainstream keyboard-based pop/rock project with a slight jazz
influence. It's intelligent lyrically with a Wonka-esque carnival-rock
quirkiness at times.”
 Watson
started penning the tracks after Ten Mile Drive parted ways and
recorded the first track back in 2005. Since then he has tirelessly
worked to amass a world class crew of musicians and technicians to help
compile this album.
“The
musicianship is awesome and vocally I've grown a great deal since my
first release,” he said. “I've begun to explore a good bit of vocal
textures. I'm a bit more comfortable in my own skin as a vocalist. The
album also has a world vibe at times.”
Over the years, Watson has worked with some of the
elite in the music industry and has developed his own process for making
and putting together music. It's a labor of love and skill that he says
no man can do alone.
“A good team is of major importance,” he said.
“Fortunately I have a
personal manager, Shannon Brown with Ten
Entertainment, who handles all of my business, contracts, etc. My wife,
Claire, is also very supportive. When I'm home she goes out of the way to
make sure that our living environment is one that is conducive to
creativity and relaxation.
“Also, I've become a healthy person. I exercise and
eat healthy and that really carries over into your stamina on stage and
in the studio. It keeps you energetic and focused. I also try to spend
time in prayer and meditation. This helps me to have a positive outlook
and reminds me of my purpose.”
And it's that purpose, his mission, which keeps him in
the sound studio day after day, marching to the beat of his own drum.
 “My
belief that God has given me musical talents and expects me to be a good
steward of them is one thing that keeps me going,” said Watson. “I choose
to use my talents in the capacity of the songwriting recording industry,
a medium that gives me a huge platform to influence people in a positive
way. The music has opened a door for me to speak at my concerts and
performances for Mission of Mercy, an organization that helps find
sponsors for children in underprivileged areas of the world.”
Mission of Mercy is a cause that Shay spends a lot of
time promoting and working for.
“In our country we have become so desensitized to the
images of strife and poverty that we see and hear about on television,”
he said. “We may pause for a moment and think, ‘Oh, how horrible,’ but
then we flip the channel to find something entertaining and go right back
to enjoying our evening meal. (Around the world) 100 million children
live on the street, 31 million are war orphans, 11 million are AIDS
orphans.”
You can learn more about how you can help by visiting
Shay’s website:
http://www.shaywatson.com/
Or by going to:
http://www.missionofmercy.org/catalog/index.cfm
It’s Shay’s devotion to his beliefs, his music and his
causes that is propelling his career into 2007. His world-wide tour will
take him through the U.S.,
New Zealand and the
Caribbean. It will be a lot of traveling
allowing for little time to work on his other projects.
”I'm in the middle of writing a fiction novel,
entitled ‘Tales from the Blueberry
Forest’,” he said. “I'm
in the middle of producing three other outside projects and I’ve already
begun writing songs for an exclusive online release that I plan to release
later in the year or early 2008. I’m finishing up a Latin Funk/Rap
project that I’ve been producing. I will also be starting a side duo
project with my Aussie friend Phil Baquie.”
You can bet the next year is going to be explosive for Bro. Watson and
his music.
You can keep up with Shay and his music over at www.shaywatson.com. You can also pre-order “Farewell
to Boxington” while you are there and also sign up for his e-newsletter.
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Q&A: Jamie
Grimsley, IN ‘95
Phil Wilson, Tattler Staff
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 What
is interesting about this issue’s Q&A is that this one has history
prior to Troy
with me. Jamie Grimsley and I were in the Pride of the Cook County
Marching Hornet Band together as well as The Sound of The South. Jamie
left Georgia in 1994
and moved to Troy
and I did in 1996. He pledged and crossed into Phi Mu Alpha in the spring
of ‘95 and I followed in the spring of ‘97. Jamie met and married Joy
Grimsley and she currently serves as the director of the Cook High School
Band where Jamie and I attended. Talk about traditions!
Tat: What
offices did you hold while you were active?
Jamie: Two
consecutive terms as president of Iota Nu, ACPR and CPR of Province 34.
Tat: Because I was there, please tell our
readers what you feel your greatest accomplishment was as prez. Are you
able to use any Phi Mu Alpha officer traits with your present job?
Jamie: No
great accomplishment comes to mind for myself, but the other officers
during my term helped me tremendously and I believe with their help that
Iota Nu flourished and it made its voice heard. If you’ll remember, we
performed on a TSU Band concert performing “The Sinfonians” with band
accompaniment and signed off one of the Troy
radio stations nightly broadcast with our arrangement of “The Star
Spangled Banner.”
Currently, I
serve Cook County, Ga.,
as Deputy Coroner and am also a state-licensed embalmer and funeral
director at Boone-Lipsey Funeral Home in Adel, Ga.
While Phi Mu Alpha really doesn’t prepare one for the death care
industry, I learned many lessons in dealing with the public and authority
figures. Also, being able to sit with one of my brothers and hearing his
problems and just learning to “listen” as well as “hear” have proven
invaluable in my job. After all, sometimes it’s not what you say but what
you don’t say at all.
 Tat: Now, you were active at a very
interesting time at Troy;
you were in between the… as I like to call them…legendary brothers and
the newer brothers (my class and up). What was the most memorable thing
you experienced during this time?
Jamie: It was a true time of change. Many of
the brothers I pledged under were what some referred to as “old school,”
yet change was in the air and we all know that certain things had (and
needed to be) eliminated while still maintaining the integrity and
educational value of truly pledging a fraternity. As far as memorable
moments, they are too numerous to list, but I think that having all of
you guys serenade to Joy (my then girlfriend and now wife) while she read
a wedding proposal poem I wrote and then giving her all those roses when
she said yes, that was a great moment. It even made the nightly news out
of Montgomery
(thanks to Bro. Scott Grossman!), Also, you guys singing at our wedding
during the Christmas break was a real treat. There were so many of you
who came, it made me really feel loved and that maybe I had touched your
hearts in a special way for you to return that kind of love and kindness
to me.
Tat: Remembering back, I recall a certain
someone with the nickname Lumberjack… please set the record straight and
tell us how this name came about.
Jamie: Well,
I always wore flannel shirts and blue jeans, especially on functions – it
got cold out there some nights. I guess that’s where it came from; that
and my undying FOB-ish hunger for Lumberjack PO-TAY-TOES from the Koffee
Kettle at 2 in the morning. Nuthin’ like ‘em.
Tat: Do people (brothers) still refer to
you as Lumberjack?
Jamie: Many
brothers still refer to me as Lumberjack and that is great. What really
gets me is how many members of the band still refer to me as Lumberjack.
 Tat:
I understand that you have a little Sinfonian in the making… Braddock
(named after you and your dad I suppose). What Phi Mu Alpha traits (if
any) would you like to instill in him early on?
Jamie: James
Braddock Grimsley, III. I believe that our ritual is a guide to life if
you will only use it. Living not for yourself but for those around you is
key, just as Orpheus did. And just as he did, we will all face trials and
doubt; sometimes we will overcome, sometimes we will not. Thus we are
human but we must press on and not dwell on the past but look to tomorrow
and the rest of today. Being a musicianly man is easy, but being the
manly musician takes courage and character. These are the things I would
hope for my son.
Tat: Any shout-outs?
Jamie: Kudos
to the Tattler staff – doing a great job. Also, I am now a Freemason, 32o
Scottish Rite Mason, and a Shriner, but I still bleed the Red,
Black and Gold. Long Live Sinfonia. Love you all.
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Notes in the Key of Troy
Lance Holman, Iota Nu Alumni Relations
Officer
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Status of
Spring Probationary Class
We currently have five guys going through the
probationary process. They are a strong class and I have high hopes for
all of them. They are tricky and smart as a tack. I think they will all
make fine brothers; unfortunately, it is a rather older class. Many won’t
be around very long, with one graduating right after he will cross. If
they all cross, I hope they use their time as collegiate members well,
and continue in the path of Sinfonia for years to come.
Fundraisers
We have some really good fundraisers lined up for this
year. We are looking into doing a carwash again this year and taking only
donations. We are also bringing back the “Singing Val-o-grams.” We will
continue the tradition of holding our annual “Battle of the Bands” competition. We
have a game that we will be doing that involves brothers moving on the
field like the alien ships in the old video game, “Space Invaders,” while
people pay for balloons to hit us for prizes. We are looking at doing a
“campus wide” cookbook with Kappa Sigma’s colony to boost public
relations with both sides and make a little bit of profit, too. And
lastly, I came up with a fundraiser idea to promote the advancement of
music in America.
I’m calling it the “Music Advancement Mission,” and I hope we make it
into an annual thing. Basically, we take one local band that isn’t all
that well known, and rent out a local bar for them to play at. We pay
them a little money to help them on their way, we take the door profits
as fundraiser money, and it gives the band a good amount of publicity
with both the public and with the bar owners. I think by the end of this
semester we will be well into the black.
Watch for E-mails from Province 34 and Iota Nu
List Servs
Here in the next week or so I will start sending out
definite dates and times for crossing night. We will have events planned
for alumni and brothers for earlier in the evening. Also, watch for an
e-mail this week giving information on a SEUS week luncheon here in Troy. If you have
any questions or comments e-mail me back at: Grasshopper386@yahoo.com. It
may take me a little time to reply. I’ve been really busy this past week
with school and fraternity related things.
Current Officers of Iota Nu Chapter (Updated)
President- Martin Sager
Vice President- Jamie Gray
Treasurer- Lance Holman
Secretary- Chris Hall
Alumni Relations Officer- Lance Holman
F.E.O.- Jamie Gray
Warden- Aaron Slayback
Historian- Robert Lee
Music Director- Scott Sexton
Faculty Advisor- Dr. John Jinright
Ray Smith
(EDITORS NOTE: It has been brought to my attention
that the chapter is also planning a construction project of sorts, plus
the Fraternity’s Leadership Institute in the summer would benefit the
chapter immensely in so many ways. I urge you to help in any way you can
to see that the progress the chapter has made over the last few years
will continue. We are in the business of building better men and it is up
to you to see that our business gets done. To find out how you can help,
please contact Lance today!)
SEUS Alumni Luncheon
Lance Holman, Iota Nu Alumni Relations Officer
On Saturday, Feb. 3, the Iota Nu chapter is holding an
alumni luncheon for all alumni of Phi Mu Alpha, not just our chapter. Any
brothers here in Troy on Saturday are welcome to come and go as they
want, so come and get a bite to eat and see some friends, free of charge.
The luncheon will be held from noon to 2:00 p.m. at brother Martin's
house. The directions are simple and fast:
1) Leave band parking lot and turn right onto College Dale Street.
2) As you go down the street you should pass our
marching band practice field on the left. Keep going down the road
till you get to a "T" in the road.
3) When you get to the "T" turn right onto Park Street.
4) Go straight past the first intersection and when
you get to the second one turn left onto E. Madison Street.
5) Brother Martin's house is the last house on the
right before you get to the next intersection. (It is right beside
the BELLSOUTH building)
Come by, eat, and relax!!!
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Iota
Nu Alumni Take Successful Band to Tuscaloosa
Conference
Phil Wilson, Tattler Staff
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What do you get when you combine three alumni
Sinfonians, a few pieces of music and an opportunity? You get one
fantastic concert, which my ears were privileged to hear in January.
Rusty Courson, director of bands at Smiths Station
High School,
recently applied and was granted the opportunity for his band to perform  at
the annual Alabama Music Educators Association (AMEA) conference on the
campus of The University of Alabama. This opportunity to perform at AMEA
is a true honor to the students and the director as it brings recognition
to their school for excellence in their music education efforts. It is
not afforded to just anyone.
The process for being considered to perform is a very
tedious task. “You have to complete an application, which can be found on
the AMEA website at www.alabamamea.org,”
Rusty explained. “You also have to submit a high quality recording
of the band that cannot be more than two years old, along with a minimum
of two letters of recommendation from someone that is familiar with your
program and has heard them in a performance within the last year.
 “You
also have to include programs from recent concerts that your group has
performed, along with a bio of the group and their conductor along with a
high-resolution photo. A committee then meets over the summer and
listens to all of the groups through a blind audition before making a
final decision.”
After the application process is completed and the
director gets the go-ahead from the committee, the real work begins. This
time of year is already pretty hectic as bands try and wrap-up marching
season as well as begin working on Christmas and concert-style music.
“We were playing football into the middle of November
this year, along with having to prepare for Christmas parade
performances,” said Rusty. “It is really difficult with high school
students to go back and forth every day between marching and concert band
and work to achieve that really dark sonority that you always want to
have with a concert group.”
A bright spot for SSHS band was that their scheduled
Christmas break came later than usual. The teachers and students got out
on Dec. 20 for the holidays, which allowed for a little more
practice time. This was quite beneficial since the students would not be
playing together for at least two weeks.
The program included some old classics as well as some
audience favorites:
American Faces - Holsinger
With
Quiet Courage - Daehn
King
Cotton - Sousa
Symphony
in G Minor - Mozart
The
Big Cage – King Conducted by Larry Wells (Iota Nu)
Bugler's
Holiday - Anderson (featuring five Smiths Station graduates who were
music majors or are currently in college as music majors, including three
Sinfonians: Scott Yeilding (Iota Nu), Jed Smart (current SSHS associate
director of bands/Omicron Phi), and Roger Redden (current Central High School
Band Director/Xi Gamma-Columbus State University)
American
The Beautiful - arr. Dragon assisted by the Smiths Station
High School choir.
 One
of the most interesting facts that I personally learned about Smiths
Station is that the instrumental and vocal departments share a number of
students. I had the opportunity to attend a preview concert before the
actual big event and heard first hand that these two groups are quite
dependent upon each other.
“We have many students that participate in both
activities at SSHS,” Rusty said. “I wanted to include these students
[vocal] as well and show people at the conference that instrumental
and vocal music can interact with each other with both groups benefiting
as a result.”
After hearing the spectacular performance from these
two ensembles, I am now convinced that both can live and thrive together.
Although I was not able to attend the actual
performance in Tuscaloosa
during the conference, I am sure the music department from Smiths Station
was well represented and is now known around the state as a quality
program. With all these Sinfonians behind the baton, what else would one
expect?
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Down Memory Lane
with Jeff Allen, IN ‘00
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 I became a brother in the year 2000, and
it's so hard to pick a favorite memory from the Iota Nu chapter of Phi Mu
Alpha at Troy
State University.
There are so many to choose from. Every second doing things with the
brothers was wonderful, whether it be when I was a pledge or an active
brother or even as an alumnus, every moment was wonderful. I'm just glad
I chose to be in Phi Mu Alpha because I've learned so much not only about
the fraternity but about life itself, which has gotten me pretty far at
every job I've worked since becoming a brother. The best part about it
was the best friends I made who I'll never forget.
I'll share a few of my most memorable times:
The American Composers Concert, the year 2000, “The
Jeff Allen Band,” thanks Rob McFarland, John Rogers, and Tony Hawthorne
for making it successful! And thank you to Rob McFarland for helping me
realize I have a “rock star” side (lol).
Scott Snell: thanks for letting me sleep on your
couch. God only knows how many times no matter how drunk I was, or when I
needed a place to stay in Christmas 2001.
Scott Erb
and Scott Snell for many fun nights at Sidelines!
I remember being the music DJ at just about every
party and formal we had, which also led to being the music DJ at many
Sound of the South parties and formals.
Great friends such as Tim Lutz, Josh Robertson, Randy
Boone, Jerome Williams, Tommy Kite, Jacob Reed, Rob Lyda, Rob McFarland,
Jason Bennet, Scott Snell, Eli Odum, plus countless others.
Nicky Bull: you were my pledge class's FEO, and you
were the best!
Daniel Holmes: I couldn't have asked for a better Big
Brother to have.
My pledge class: Matt Simechak, Greg Waters, Matt
Dobbs, John Rogers and John Philips: all of you are the best!
All 6 of my ALBs: John Jackson, Joe Ybarra (TIMMAY!!),
John Mitcham, Ronnie Echols, Adolpho Robledo, and Kevin Messar.
Singing on the field after football games and singing
on the band practice field during breaks was always enjoyable.
My family tree, 151, had some memorable brothers in
it, such as Nicky Bull, Daniel Holmes, Eli Odum, Joey Mitchell, Mark
Turner, and Brian Smith.
And finally: watching pledges officially becoming
brothers at Rituals was always a great experience, whether it was when I
was an active brother or when I was an alumnus because it's a great
feeling knowing the fraternity is still going strong and seeing future
brothers coming into it.
Now I'm currently living in Atlanta, Ga., working at
the Gwinnett Center and Arena (gwinnettcenter.com is our website if
anybody wants to check it out sometime), and it hasn't been very easy to
make time to come down to visit on alumni days or when we have functions
for anybody interested in pledging or seeing future generations at pledge
functions, but I'm currently trying to make more time, because I'd do
anything to do things with the brotherhood again. I loved it!
Being in Phi Mu Alpha was a wonderful experience for
me, I'll never forget it, I definitely do not regret joining it, and it’s
something I'm very proud I did in my life.
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Travis Bryant ,
Tattler Staff
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Welcome to da’dump! Each month Tattler staffers scour the web and lurk
in dark corners to find cool and fun stuff. From here you’ll get a
glimpse into what is going on and who is doing it. And anything and
everything is fair game. So if you know of something cool and neat that
folks should check out send it to us and we’ll see if it fits the
program! Email Travis
Bryant with your cool link.
Man is it cold outside! It's the perfect weather to
heat up some mulled wine or coffee and Kahlua or maybe just a nice warm
toddy on ice and bask in the glow of your monitor while you peruse some
of the coolest links to get dropped in da Dump this month.
American Idol has just kicked off its newest season
and the world is looking to Alabama
to produce another winner. If you've been watching then you've seen
countless folks get up and embarrass their moms and dads (hopefully not
fraternity brothers!). Here's a site that is tracking/posting each Idol
hopeful as they appear on the tube... and giving you their MySpace addy.
So now you can link to their pages and ad another three seconds to their
15 minutes of fame. But be warned, the guy compiling all that MySpace
stuff is a bit crass and is NSFW.
http://deathbycamera.com/?p=30
By the time you read this, Windows Vista will be out
and people will be leaving XP for a bigger, brighter media experience. As
a farewell we offer you this link, with accompanying video, of how to
play all of the Windows XP system sounds on the piano. All the greats are
there, including "Chimes" and "Tada."
http://musicthing.blogspot.com/2007/01/how-to-play-windows-xp-alerts-on-piano.html
As we climb out of this month's Dump let's stop and
take a look at The Hype Machine.
This is sort of a deli.cio.us for MP3 blogs. Of
course, MP3 blogs are just now gaining super popularity. We've linked to
a few before. Many are set up like homebrew radio stations and fun to
listen to. This site is a social aggregator and posts links to the most popular
MP3 tracks being circulated and posted on blogs. It's fun to check in
every couple of days and see what's there. But be warned, the descriptive
tags can be a bit misleading, though my ability to discern between
basement and trip-hop, and alternative and alt-rock, is not that finely
honed.
http://hype.non-standard.net/
Hope you all have a great February and keep the links
and recommendations coming!
We'll see you next month here at the Link Dump.
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Scott Erb , Tattler Staff
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Probationary
Schedule:
1/28 - 2/3 Inspiration Week
2/4 - 2/9 Secrecy Week
2/11 - 2/16 Truth/Honesty Week
2/18 - 2/23 Purity Week
2/25 - 3/10 Last Weeks
February School of Music:
1 – 3 SEUS HS Honor Band
14 – 16 District Festival
23 – 24 District Honor Band
25 – Collegiate Singers
Feb. 28 – Sunbelt Basketball Conference 1st
round
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