Wednesday, September 26th, 2007
I actually read quite a bit last night. I don’t know…I guess I was inspired. My frontal lobe is getting a workout and, believe it or not, I feel better.
I am almost done with “Wobegon Boy” by Garrison Keillor. Let me tell you, this book had good reviews. Even what they said on the back cover was good. HAHA, what they say on the back cover is always good. When I first started reading this book, I was having fun. The story made sense and all was nice in the world. I think, about half way through, when “John’s” father died, things got a little weird. To me, the story lost track. It seems like Garrison is almost just trying to get all the punch lines he had in his head for all these years on paper. It almost doesn’t make sense. I have to admit that I have been only reading a few pages each night, but it is hard to get back into the story when I do decide to pick up the book again.
Have you ever read, “It” by Stephen King? That book is kind of fat. That is, “thick,” not “phat” with a PH. I think I got about half way through it when I looked deep into my soul and told myself I had absolutely no idea what this man was talking about. I was slightly sad about that because Stephen Kind is so famous and I really tried to enjoy his writing. I had to put the book down forever. Now, I am not saying that what I write makes any sense either, but then again, I am no author. All I can claim is that I am an amateur blogging hack.
So, back to the frontal lobe. Yeah, it feels better. It has been a while since I did anything educational-wise-ish and I miss it. I get so excited when there is something to learn. I have been very focused on business lately that I almost gave up on intellectual stimulation. The most I have done in the past year was to complain about my problem during dinner.
I can tell I am a new man. Can you believe that the whole transformation has happened in less than a week?
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Monday, May 28th, 2007
Have you ever listened to a radio show and thought you have been taken away to someplace else. Man oh man…last night’s Thistle & Shamrock with Fiona Ritchie was spectacular.
It always seems as though when I have my great experiences while driving and listening to the radio, I am alone. I already told you all about last summer’s drives with Garrison Keillor, but this one was just as nice. All I ever want to do is share the fun, but I suppose this is just the way it is going to be.
Here is what the Thistle & Shamrock is about…right from their site…“Take a trip to the foothills of the Scottish Highlands where The Thistle & Shamrock®, one of NPR’s longest running and most popular music offerings, is created each week.” It’s great music with great commentary. Fiona Ritchie does a nice job of describing what each song is about with some good history. It’s pretty refreshing to hear someone care about what they do, kind of without the commercialism.
Last night (May27, 2007), Fiona described a song that she was going to play as one of the most beautiful songs ever played with a fiddle. She described it as written by a man over 200 years ago for his second wife of thirty years. When she played the song, I discovered that she was right, it was a very beautiful song. There really is nothing I enjoy more than my evening drives while listening to great radio. The temperature was perfect, the sky was perfect, everything was perfect except the fact that my destination was a bit too close.
Anyway, I took a look on her playlist and discovered that she keeps each show’s playlist up for only two weeks. Last night’s isn’t up yet, but I will take another look. Perhaps, if anyone knows which song I am talking about, they can leave a comment to enlighten me. If I find it, I will write another post about it.
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Wednesday, April 25th, 2007
Have you ever heard of the Epiphany Project? I was just sitting here and a weird thought popped in my head. It was “Epiphany Project.” I know…it’s strange.
Laura told me yesterday that she started listening to the “Chill” channel on the Sirius Satellite Radio I got for her two Christmases ago. I like that kind of music, it’s very relaxing.
If you read my previous post about Peter Kagan or Garrison Keillor, then you would know that I have many a “epiphany” while I am driving, listening to NPR. Well, one night a while ago, NPR aired an interview with the Epiphany Project. They seemed very deep and worthwhile exploring. I like some of the song titles. Here they are:
• Gone
• Lockerbie
• Jealousy
• Walkin’
• Long Gray Line
• Tubwahun
• To The Lighthouse
• Mission Bells
• Blackbird
• Chasing The Moon
• Widow’s Walk
• Goth
• Black II
• Black I
You can listen to some of the sample music here, or purchase the CD.
I like this review found on Amazon’s site:
In a galaxy far… far… away… resides the most exquisite compilation of piano and vocals. It is a galaxy created by Bet Williams and John Hodian. I had the pleasure of seeing this duo perform it “live” and they literally transported my mind to another place… a wonderful dimension. Like another reviewer, I had this in my CD player for months on end. I return to it often. A rare and UNIQUE treasure.
That about sums it up…give it a try.
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Wednesday, September 13th, 2006
Usually, I try to finish up what I am doing at about 10:30PM and hop in bed to read for about a half hour. There have been times when I intended to do that, say to myself, “Oh yeah, one more thing” to then look up at the computer to see the clock read 2AM. Whoops.
Lately, I have been very good. Partly due to my new book, “Wobegon Boy” by Garrison Keillor. Let me tell you why.
A few years ago, Saturday nights were a much more popular “going out” night for me than they are now. Every so often, while driving in my car, I would be flipping through the channels on the radio to hear this very odd radio show. I never quite knew what it was…a guy talking, people singing…kind of like a variety show. I found it very interesting, but never listened long enough to quite get the name of it. I used to refer to the show as the one with the “Story Teller Guy.” I told everyone I knew about it.
After moving to the new house a little more than a year ago, I began listening to NPR (National Public Radio) a lot more. The station I listened to comes in much clearer here. Well, just as luck would have it, at about at 8:30AM, just as I begin driving across the the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, I began to hear the same voice as the Story Teller Guy give a short narration of the day’s importance on poetry, called the Writer’s Almanac. It took a few times listening to be sure it was him, and then I got curious and did some research.
Well, apparently, this man’s name is Garrison Keillor and he hosts “A Prairie Home Companion,” usually on Saturday nights. I began to listen more and more and when 7PM hit on the right night, I made it a point to get in my car for a drive. This past summer was a great one for cruising around with the radio on listening to the program. There was lots of haze and humidity…perfect for a drive at dusk with all the windows open. I tried to keep my hair a little longer than usual just for the sake of it blowing in the wind. Who knows how much longer I will have it.
Listening to this show had become one of my favorite things to do. If I missed it, I would stream it on my computer through their website. Give it a try, you might like it.
The season closer this year was held up the Berkshires at Tanglewood, one of my favorite places under the sun. Laura and I made plans to go to the show. It would be like a dream for me to see it live.
Saturday night came and went, and for some reason, we didn’t go. We didn’t talk about it…we just didn’t go. I don’t know why. Sometimes, things like this just happen. We did talk about it a few days later and decided to go up the next weekend to see the Boston Symphony Orchestra perform. We did and it was like magic. I really enjoyed laying on the blanket on the lawn listening to the music and looking at the stars. Everything was perfect…the food, the wine, the candles and the music. It couldn’t have been a better night. If I could, I would go to every show Tanglewood offers every night. Next summer, I am sure that Tanglewood will see a lot more of us.
I told my mother how much I enjoyed listening to Garrison Keillor, going to the Berkshires and…well…drinking wine. To my surprise, a few days later, I found a small package in my mailbox. It was the book, Wobegon Boy by Garrison Keillor. Thanks mom.
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