Saturday, October 6th, 2007
Ahhh…my first audio book. I don’t know how Laura finds these things, but she does.
I like to think of her sitting at her computer, very studiously analyzing and contemplating my psyche. “Who is Jay?” she would ask herself. “What makes this guy tick?” In actuality, she probably sees what is popular that day on Amazon, but we try not to think about that.
I can’t get over the clarity of the new stereo I installed in my car today. Just a moment ago, I walked outside, across the driveway to it. I sat down in the driver’s seat and turned the key. The radio came on so I could hear 95.5 WPLJ, down in the city. I changed the channel to 100.3 Z100. It’s remarkable how clear the radio receives the signal. My old one never did that.
I opened the package of the audio book, “Wandering Home – A Long Walk Across America’s Most Hopeful Landscape: Vermont’s Champlain Valley and New York’s Adirondacks,” by Bill McKibben. I really didn’t know what to expect. My mother has been raving about audiobooks ever since she lived back in my home town. I think they helped make her drive everyday to work in Danbury a little bit easier. She used to say, “My car can steer itself on the trip to work. That’s how used to it I am.” I think she really believed that at times. Well, when she told the story, she sounded very convincing.
I pushed the CD in the brand new slot. Everything is so shiny. The radio stopped and the CD started. A very faint, but clean guitar sound started. It got louder, and then a very soothing voice, that introduced himself as the author, Bill McKibben, began to speak. I though, “Ooh, this is going to be good. I listened for a few minutes and turned the key back, so the sound stopped. I didn’t want to ruin the first part of the story during a time when I wasn’t focusing on it. I turned the key forward, so the CD turned on again. Yup, it picked up right where it left off. This was going to work out fine.
So what’s the story about? Well, Bill’s website tells it like this…
“The acclaimed author of The End of Nature takes a three-week walk from his current home in Vermont to his former home in the Adirondacks and reflects on the deep hope he finds in the two landscapes.”
That’s not all, you can read the rest here.
As you can see, I am quite excited about using my frontal lobe even more than I currently am. It is going to be nice to break out of the mold of NPR and bad local radio. Yeah, it’s going to be nice.
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Friday, August 3rd, 2007
I heard this story on the radio this morning, while the DJ was reading off those ridiculous things that happen around the good ol’ US of A.
I am not sure how I felt about this. I think I remember a little bit of rolling over and a hint of eye rolling. I do have my opinions, but more importantly, I have some questions.
1. How many children is too many children?
2. Is there a little “Natural Resources” problem on this planet?
3. 17 kids – Is the body really made for this sort of thing?
I know that there are all different kinds of thoughts about this kind of thing. I know that in my part of the country, this sort of lifestyle is frowned upon. Perhaps in other places, this is the cool thing to do. Maybe?
The story said that this family has gone through 90,000 diapers. C’mon, that can’t be true. No municipality in the great nation would let that happen, right? Is there a limit on how much garbage a household can toss in the landfills, or can anyone just keep contributing and contributing and contributing and contributing and contributing and…
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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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Saturday, January 6th, 2007
A while back, Laura and I were driving home from Lowes in Middletown, NY. I have a bad habit of turning the radio dial to NPR with other people in the car. I don’t think a lot of people appreciate that station like I do. Anyway, there was some sort of request hour on and there was a pretty interesting request. Someone called in and said that they haven’t heard, “Peter Kagan and the Wind” in such a long time. The DJ played the story/song…it lasted for about 20 minutes! I have to say that it was rather strange, but one of those things you go home and look up on the internet. It sounded deep too…but there are some things in the story that I just don’t get. I liked the tone of the story because it reminded me of some trip I have been on in the past…something like sitting at a dark bar in Vermont or something.
If you ever hear this story, please share some of your insight here. I certainly would appreciate it. There is a pretty good post about this story/song here…
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Friday, December 29th, 2006
Hours – 19.4Â
Ahhh, what a beautiful morning. The birds were chirping sweet melodies, the sun was settling on my silky smooth skin and the air was calm…WHAT? The air was calm? FINALLY! Yes, that’s right. I checked the weather last night and knew today would be the day I have been waiting for through many torturous weeks. Actually, I haven’t even flown in a few weeks due to weather. I was starting to think Mother Nature didn’t like me anymore. I’m not sure why…I always recycle.
Anyway, I got to the airport at 8AM. This is a little later than usual for me. Yigal was waiting in the parking lot. I know EXACTLY what he was thinking. “Hey, look. Here comes my best, brightest and not to mention, my favorite student.”
I walked over to the Cessna 172 and did the fingertip numbing preflight inspection. It was a little chilly. I went back inside and met Yigal. He was putting on his heavy coat and had his radio in his hand. All set, ready to go.
We hopped in the plane and taxied to runway 3. We took off and did a few landings. On the third takeoff, at about 1000FT, Yigal pulled the throttle back and told me I had a dead engine. He caught me by surprise, but showed me that it is quite possible to make a 180 degree turn and land back at the airport at that altitude. You just need to react very quickly. I like the fact that he enjoys teaching the tough stuff to teach. This is the stuff no one likes to learn, but could save your life one day.
After I landed that time, we taxied back to the beginning of the runway. He told me I was ready to solo and that he was gonna hop out. I kept thinking of all the articles and blog posts I have read on the topic. Was I supposed to be nervous? Excited? I am not sure what I was feeling. I think I may have been a little nervous right when he was getting ready to exit the airplane, but the minute he closed the door, I know for a fact that I was ready to roll. I mean I was really excited. I just adore that fact that a few months ago, during a conversation with my father, I was almost kidding when I said I was going to learn how to fly, and now I was sitting next to a runway, alone in a running airplane. An airplane that would be in the air in about 30 seconds. I have to hand it to these instructors. I mean, the way they get their students to do the things they do is pretty incredible. This is a pretty challenging skill to learn.
I made my radio call and pulled onto the runway center line. There was so much space on the seat next to me…kind of weird. I set the heading indicator and pushed the throttle in all the way. 60KTS…the tires came off the ground. I did notice that the airplane seemed lighter. I have read that you can’t really feel a difference anymore, with the higher horsepower airplanes, but I certainly did. I climbed at 70KTS and really noticed the lighter and more maneuverable airborne vessel (you like that?). I made my trip around the pattern and came in for final approach. Everything seemed right. It’s amazing that it really didn’t seem any different that any other time I have ever done this. I came in for my landing and it turned out to be very smooth. I taxied back to where Yigal was standing and he waved me on. I had two more to do. I pulled over for a quick mag check and took off again. This time, on my final approach, I was pretty high. I cut the throttle and lost some altitude. When I saw the VASI lights turn one red, one white, I gave it some throttle. I maintained my approach at 65KTS and came in for another nice landing. Taxied back and took off for another. Landed that one and everything was great. I let out a sigh of relief and headed towards Yigal to pick him up. Over the radio, he told me to do one more and meet him back at the office. Gladly. Now I was having fun. This time, when I came in for my landing, I floated a little bit. All those hours, about a month ago, trying to correct my ballooning paid off. I leveled out and just kept pulling back on the yoke. Smooth.
We talked for a little while back at the office. I have to say that I was beaming. I asked Yigal how he felt. “What do you mean?” he asked. I said, “How do you feel having a new member in the club?” He laughed and shook my hand.
Of course, now I can’t wait for my next lesson on Sunday. I feel good.
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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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