First up, check out this site: Free-Albums Galore. I’d never heard of it until they linked here, but now that I’ve found it, it’ll be on my list of regularly-viewed info blogs. Very cool idea for a blog.

And now, the main event! Yes, it’s time for photos from XMas 2005!

A few days before Christmas, AEJ and I drove over to Griffith Park for the big Christmas light show. After a roughly 40-minute crawl through traffic in the park, we reached the first of the lights. (DWP stands for Department of Water and Power, the sponsor of the big festival.)

Watch out, little Toyota! That triceratops is gonna get you! (I’m not quite sure why the Christmas light festival featured dinosaurs.)

After passing a light representation of the Griffith Park Observatory and the LA airports, we reached Hollywood! Lights, camera, holiday cheer!

My personal favorite holiday symbol, the snowman.

Look! A Christmas elf, flying a jet! This should totally be the image on the cover of Turbine.

Wow, what are the chances? Not only was there the display about Turbine, but there was a display about AEJ’s movie!

And just like jets, dinosaurs, and cowboys, what says Christmas more than this?

On Christmas, Loki found his wrapping paper.

I’m serious. That’s really Loki on all of that paper. AEJ had the paper custom-printed. It was hilarious seeing that many Lokis. The sad thing was tearing the paper.

Stocking time! Loki made this stocking for AEJ.

In my stocking, I got this handsome pirate eye patch. Aarrrr, matey. After I drink my coffee, I’ll make you walk the Christmas plank. (That sounds like a euphemism.)

Here’s what Loki put in AEJ’s stocking. I pitched in a little for the Chococat clock, but Loki managed almost all of this himself, courtesy of the local $.99 store. Loki is very frugal.

Loki was most excited about this beautifully-crafted little item — again, from the $.99 store, if you can believe that. What is that cat whispering? I don’t know if you can read the bottom, but it says “Sports Jian Jian.” Indeed. How could this have only cost $.99?!?!

After stocking time, it was breakfast: monkey bread! Yummy. It’s basically biscuit dough, cut up and shaken in a bag of cinnamon and sugar, covered in loads of butter, and baked. Mmmm….

Gift-opening ’05: The Aftermath.

As we waited for dinner, I started a fire. My first fire ever (in my first working fireplace)! Loki liked it.

Instead of one of the usual Christmas dinners, we opted to mix it up a little. We wanted AEJ’s delicious mashed potatoes, but that was our only requirement. AEJ suggested that I make pork & sauerkraut, one of my childhood favorites. Not very photogenic, but delicious.

Our cozy fire is totally cracklin’ now!

After dinner, it was time for playtime. AEJ (or, rather, Santa) got me two sets of pirate-themed Legos. (Now you understand the above eyepatch.)

We had a lot of fun putting them together. Here’s the captain, complete with parrot.

We’re under attack!

This guy was clearly not keeping guard, so he has to walk the plank.

Arrgg! Here’s me ship!

This is Skull Island (the other Lego set).

The pirate ship is attacking Skull Island! Oh no!!!

WTF? Is that a whale? A shark?! No! It’s AEJ’s killer bunny slippers that she got for Christmas!

And that crazy cat is back, attacking the mast of the ship!

Captain! Look out behind you! They’re coming at us from all sides!

Oh, the carnage!

That’s it, I’m afraid. Fortunately, this weekend, Newman and his better half are coming to stay with us, and I’m sure there will be pictures of our activities (including Eric Whitacre’s highly-anticipated New Year’s party). Stay tuned, and until then, beware the killer bunny slippers.

A few dozen people have found it already, but I may as well make an official posting about it. I uploaded “Turbine” — the MP3 of the MIDI realization and the PDF of the full score — to the new Turbine page yesterday. Give it a look (and a listen, but be kind about the MIDI-ness of it), and let me know what you think!

Redline Tango has won the 2005 Ostwald Prize. Along with the $8000 award, the work will receive a performance by the Dallas Wind Symphony at the upcoming ABA convention on March 3 in Dallas.

From the not-yet-updated Ostwald page: “The American Bandmasters Association Proudly announces the 50th ABA/Ostwald Original Band Composition Award. The ABA/Ostwald was the first competition of band music composition in America, and is one of the most prestigious awards in that field. Since 1956 it has stimulated the creation of many important new compositions, thereby enriching the entire spectrum of concert band activity. Because of its continuity, this award has produced more concert band music than any other competition of its kind. Literally thousands of musicians have performed the works of the contest winners for additional thousands in their appreciative audiences.“

It’s a huge honor to be included with other past winners such as Donald Grantham, Ron Nelson, Dan Welcher, and Tim Mahr — to name just a few. My sincere thanks to the committee. I really don’t know what else to say. I’m incredibly grateful — and feel extremely fortunate (and lucky).