Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Quarantine’ Category

…And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead / Greenbeard (Voltage Lounge, Philadelphia, PA, July 13, 2020) [rescheduled date–CANCELLED]

Posted in ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Cancelled, Coronavirus, Greenbeard, Philadelphia, PA, Quarantine, Voltage Lounge, Warish on July 13, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: July 13, 2020] …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead /  Greenbeard [rescheduled from May 1]

indexI was really looking forward to seeing …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead.  I was bummed that the show was postponed, but pleased it was only pushed back a couple of months.

Of course it turned out to be the same night as the Parquet Courts rescheduled date that was right in the middle of Summer Camp.

Obviously that was all too optimistic because everything was cancelled.  This show was officially cancelled on June 27.  I do hope they try again next year.

It looks like Warish was dropped from the rescheduled dates.

I do hope they reschedule again, this time with a more realistic date.

I really enjoyed …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead’s first few albums back in the late 90s and early 2000s.  Then I lost touch with them.  I feel like they changed style, but I’m not sure that’s true.

The one thing that was always true was that a Trail of Dead show was a can’t miss, combustible experience.

It’s about fifteen years and six albums later and when I saw they were playing nearby, I thought it would be fun to finally see them.  I read a review of a recent show in which the reviewer said that they weren’t as intense live as in the old days (without major label support, they could no longer afford to smash up guitars), but that they (meaning Conrad Keely and Jason Reece, the only two original guys) still impress with their intensity.

I’d never heard of Warish, but how’s this for a bio blurb:

Imagine if Incesticide era Nirvana were crossed with Static Age era Misfits. You’d have sinister low budget horror rock with a visceral, twisted weirdness and bludgeoning riffs. Some might call it nightmarish, we call it Warish.

I listened to a track on bandcamp and their music is great, but their singer is a little too much like Marilyn Manson.  I’ll bet they’d be fun live though.

Greenbeard sounds like a little more fun

Desert rock from the sun stricken soil of Austin, TX. Greenbeard brings prolific vibrations to the universe via drums, bass, and guitar.

The fact that they have an album called Lödarödböl makes me like them immediately.  They have a good stoner vibe too.

Read Full Post »

Andrea Lee–“The Birthday Present” (New Yorker, January 22, 2001)

Posted in Andrea Lee, Chicano Batman, Coronavirus, Huh?, Italy, New Yorker, Prostitution, Quarantine, Sex, Sexism, Short Story, Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts, Tiny Desk Concert, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on July 13, 2020| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: CHICANO BATMAN-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #46 (July 7, 2020).

I first became aware of Chicano Batman (what a great name) a couple years ago either from WXPN or from a Tiny Desk.  I didn’t know they’ve been around for ten years.

They have an interesting mellow psychedelic sound that seems to center around Bardo Martinez’ soft croon.

they’ve crafted their musical identity with layers of sound, from vintage organs to the most nuanced of funk grooves.

Although I feel like their music is pretty recognizable, the blurb says that their new album Invisible People

is a major shift in their group sound. As you hear in songs like “Polymetronomic Harmony,” their sound is now much denser, with full-on references to a variety of influences, including the 1973, Herbie Hancock funk-jazz classic Head Hunters, which makes a walk-on appearance in the stack of vinyl just behind guitarist Carlos Arévalo.

“I know It” starts the song in perfect style with Bardo playing guitar and singing along to the melody he’s playing.  There’s a funky bass line from Eduardo Arenas and the soft echoing guitar chords from Carlos Arévalo.  The time changes at the end of the verses are a nice touch.

Bardo introduces the band and then for “Moment of Joy” Bardo switches from the guitar to a great retro-sounding keyboard.  Carlos plays a slow echoing guitar as the band lays a groove around them.

“Color my life” opens with great sliding then high note bass from Eduardo with scratchy wah wah from Carlos and clicky drums from Gabriel Villa.  Carlos plays some unexpectedly wild buzzy guitar solos throughout and then ends the song with another sound change for the guitar before the song abruptly ends.

“Polymetronomic Harmony” opens with a pretty guitar intro and thumping bass.  The song just feels like it’s building to something and after a fake out with soft keys after the first verse, the song takes off with roaring guitars and the propulsive rhythm section.

This is a really fun set and I’ll bet they are great live.  They were scheduled to play in Philly during the quarantine.  I’m definitely going to have to check them out next year.

[READ: July 11, 2020] “The Birthday Present”

I wanted to like this story more than I did.  It had an intriguing premise but it seemed to get lost in the musings of the main character.  Some of what she thought about was interesting, but I think it could have been much shorter.

Ariel has been married to Roberto for many years.  She is younger than he is (she is his second wife). Things have gotten steady and calm in their marriage.

She has classic American beauty–she is tall and solid–which is something of a novelty in Italy.  Roberto’s friend Flavio had often pursued Ariel but had recently given up.  He now liked to give her a hard time instead.  She had been talking to Flavio and he suggested that she get Roberto a prostitute for his fifty-fifth birthday.  He wanted to see how she would react (she was believed to be an American prude), so she told him she thought it was a great idea.  And she called the woman he had jokingly suggested.

Ariel believed wholly in fidelity.  But she she was Roberto’s second wife.  He had a few indiscretions during their marriage.  But she felt this would be an interesting gift.

She would make a date with Roberto for dinner.  But she would arrange for two prostitutes to show up and dine with him.  And then they would all go back to Flavio’s apartment to do whatever they wanted.

On his birthday, their children greeted him as is tradition–waking him up early and jumping on him.  Ariel gave him a package that he was not supposed to open until dinner–it contained money and silk underwear.  The underwear was to go to the woman he liked better.

Then she had the whole day to herself.  She never once had misgivings about her plan.

She drives around, checking out the prostitutes who line Italy’s streets–she felt badly about them being there when she first arrived in the country.  But she has gotten used to them.  There were one or two that she slowed down in front of to really look at–they were very pretty.  She wondered about the women who were with her husband.

He called her at 8:15 to say his surprise had arrived, They weren’t dressed for a fancy restaurant and he did not look forward to eating with them.  But he thanked her for the present.

She spent he rest of the evening in her own head and then was pleased at how clean he smelled when he arrived home that night.

I’m not sure what I expected from this story but it was too meandering.

 

Read Full Post »

Stephen King–“All That You Love Will Be Carried Away” (New Yorker, January 29, 2001)

Posted in Coronavirus, Dirty Projectors, Funny (ha ha), Motels, Pee, Poo, Quarantine, Short Story, Stephen King, Suicide, Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts, Tiny Desk Concert on July 12, 2020| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: DIRTY PROJECTORS-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #45 (July 6, 2020).

  I have a mixed reaction to Dirty Projectors.  I love some of their songs but am indifferent to a lot of other ones.  They have a new song “Overlord” (performed here) that I absolutely love.  But the final two songs are just okay to me.

That said, I love the overall sound of this session.

David Longstreth’s guitar sounds fantastic on “Lose Your Love”.  Although the highlight is obviously lead vocalist Felicia Douglass (her dancing is super fun).  The soaring gorgeous high notes of backing singers Maia Friedman and Kristin Slipp (with the keytar) are otherworldly.

Kristin introduces the second song, “Overlord” the one that I think is so great.  The lead vocals are from Maia.  There’s great guitar sound from David and a lot of fun percussion from Mike Johnson (and Felicia).  But once again it’s those vocals that are wonderful.

Kristin stars lead vocals on “Inner World” while David starts on piano and then jumps to bass.  Maia plays guitar on this one and it’s fun to see everything that Mike is banging on.  “Search for Life” ends the set with no drums.  David is back on guitar and Maia sings lead.  For this song she sings in a very deep voice–it’s quite arresting.  The backing vocals soar high as she sings.

Dirty Projectors’ lineup is always changing.

The lineup often shifts, but the creative nature of this band, headed by David Longstreth, doesn’t. It’s a band in which any member can take the lead, and that’s the beauty here. The band is releasing 5 EPs this year.

I think it’s time I give them more of my time.

[READ: July 10, 2020] “All That You Love Will Be Carried Away”

Stephen King is a truly masterful writer.  He can write a story about a man looking to commit suicide and have you laugh out loud in the middle of it.

It’s not explicitly stated why Alfie wants to kill himself.  He is a salesman (ahh).  He is (happily?) married and has a daughter.  It seems like perhaps the life of a salesman has gotten to him.  He plans to go to a motel and shoot himself.

So how can this terribly sad, genuinely terribly sad, story be funny?

Because for the last dozen years or so Alfie has been collecting graffiti in a book–a small spiral bound book that he has been carrying with him forever.  He looks for graffiti in bathrooms, in phone booths, anywhere he might find some.  He is not interested in the mundane–the ones you might see everywhere: Here I sit, broken hearted–he is looking for the poetic. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Richard Yates–“The Canal” (New Yorker, January 15, 2001)

Posted in Coronavirus, Guns, New Yorker, Quarantine, Roddy Richh, Sexism, Short Story, Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts, Tiny Desk Concert, Ty Dolla $ign, War, World War I on July 11, 2020| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: RODDY RICCH-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #47 (July 8, 2020).

Here’s another rapper I hadn’t heard of, but who is apparently huge.  (Huge enough to have Ty Dolla $ign join him).  The blurb assures us

This was slated to be Roddy Ricch’s summer. He was having the breakout moment that I’ve seen from so many other Compton emcees before him… including the biggest song in the world in “The Box,” which spent 11 weeks at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 and will probably go down as the last pre-COVID club anthem.

Richh raps in front of a fantastic band.  They have a fantastic groove and really jam fantastically.

Backed by the juggernaut musical collective 1500 or Nothin’, this set exhibits the many dimensions of his [suddenly prophetic] debut album title — Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial.

Christopher “Brody” Brown brings a fantastic bass sound throughout the set.  You can hear it right from the first song “Perfect Time” which showcases the band and Richh’s rapping skills.  Richh even plays keys at the end of the song.

It segues perfectly into “Bacc Seat.”  The band tightly and seamlessly shifts gears from that rocker to this slower song.  The song features a cool guitar riff from Charles “Uncle Chucc” Hamilton and a guest appearance from Ty Dolla $ign who sings and plays guitar!

The backing vocalists are great; however, they are not social distancing at all.  Shaunise R. Harris, Garren Edwards, and Tayler L. Green are all shoulder to shoulder back there, which makes Richh’s shirt “that’s an awful lot of cough syrup” seem more ominous than funny.  T

But the band is on fire and there’s some serious drums from Nick Smith at the end of the song.

Gentle keys from Lamar Edwards open “High Fashion.”  Edwards has a few banks of keys getting all kinds of interesting sounds.  Richh says this song is about the type of relationship he like to be in–high fashion: “I like to be fly, like shorties be fly.”

Once again, this song ends with some great drums from Smith and percussionist Larrance Dopson.

Richh is pretty young so it’s surprising to hear him say that he doesn’t spend a lot of time on the internet: I don’t like to be bothered” (which jibes with the Anitisocial title).

The final song “War Baby” opens with a quiet, lovely piano. But the song builds to a big jam by the end with some great guitar soloing from Uncle Chucc interspersed with some fantastic drum soloing from both Smith and Dopson.

I’m not all that impressed with what Richh is rapping about–lots of vulgarities so i started tuning out–but the band is fantastic.

[READ: July 8, 2020] “The Canal”

With a title like this I didn’t expect this story to be about World War II.  Although it is set at a party several years later.

Two couple are drinking and talking.  Lew and Betty Miller are bored out of their minds listening to Tom Brace tell yet another war story from his days in Germany.  Tom’s wife Nancy couldn’t have been prouder, listening to him go on and on.

At some point, something that Tom says reminds Betty of something that Lew told her about the way.  She asks if Lew was in the same place as Tom.  Lew says no, although he grudgingly admits that he was in the same area at the same time. (more…)

Read Full Post »

The Dears (Boot & Saddle, Philadelphia, PA, July 10, 2020) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Coronavirus, Murray A. Lightburn, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine, The Dears on July 10, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: July 10, 2020] The Dears

indexI don’t remember when I discovered The Dears, but I have liked them since their 2000 debut.

I enjoyed their 2011 album Degeneration Street and then sort of lost track of them.

They released a pair of albums in 2015 and 2017 and toured Boot & Saddle in 2017.  I was really interested in going then, but it was a very busy night so I couldn’t go.

But now they have a new album and a new tour and I was all ready to finally see Murray A. Lightburn sing in person.

I trust they will reschedule this show (especially since Lightburn was scheduled to play a solo show at Boot & Saddle in April which was also cancelled).

Read Full Post »

Debbie Levy & Whitney Gardner–Becoming RGB : Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Journey to Justice (2019)

Posted in Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Biography, Children's Books, Coronavirus, Debbie Levy, Eleanor Roosevelt, Graphic Novel, Jimmy Carter, KT Tunstall, Law, Nazis, Quarantine, Religion, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sexism, Supreme Court, Vladimir Nabokov, Whitney Gardner on July 10, 2020| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: KT TUNSTALL-“Wash ya Hands” (2020).

KT Tunstall has been on my radar a lot lately (I think she’l l have about five posts about shows I’m not going to).  Turns out that she released a special COVID-19-related song called “Wash Ya Hands.”

It’s not a great–but it is danceable and funny–for a song that’s all about a message.

The music starts kind of menacing (which is appropriate I suppose) with some swelling strings.  But it’s all about dancing and washing your hands.

Lyrically it’s pretty straightforward and easy:

Here’s the rules you have to follow
Wash your hands while you can
Keep on following the plan
Keep your fingers off your face
Keep your distance, give a wave
Call your fiends that you love
Shout out who you’re thinking of
If you gotta cough don’t be dumb
And don’t forget your thumbs.

Those last two lines fall flat, for sure.

However, the video is pretty cute and it’s full of kids dancing around (and the song is clearly for them).

The middle breakdown section is interesting with strings and lots of percussion, including water droplet sounds.

The end adds a bit more fun when the song moves up a step and the lyrics continue:

Wash your hands while you dance
in your favorite underpants.

It’s a positive message in a negative time.  Remember: all you’re spreading is love.

[READ: July 4, 2020] Becoming RGB

Why is is that children’s (graphic novel) biographies are so good?  Is it because they can focus on all of the important things in a short amount of space?  Is it because it is written at a levy that is easy for anyone to understand?  Whatever the reason, this biography of the amazing Ruth Bader Ginsburg is fantastic.  The illustrations from Whitney Gardner are great too–clean and informative.

Most Americans know that Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the tiny woman on the Supreme Court.  She’s been there for a long time and she is steadfast and true–very much unlike the two jokers who were recently appointed.

But aside from that, what do most of us know about her?  Well, for me, that was a big “not much.”

Her real name is Joan Ruth Bader.  But there were three Joans in her kindergarten class so she went by Ruth (everyone called her Kiki anyway). She grew up in Brooklyn.  She was left handed and the school forced her to switch (which she refused to do).  It was the first of many time she bristled at what a girl was supposed to do.

Ruth’s family was Jewish and they listened to the horrors of the Nazi progression on the radio.  Her grandparents immigrated from Russia and Australia years earlier assuming they could escape prejudice in America.  But Antisemitism was alive in New York.  As was racism and sexism.

And yes, it’s still here–somehow more vocal than ever.

But RBG saw it and wanted to do something about it.  She was inspired by Eleanor Roosevelt who said that “cruelty is a double-edged sword, destroying not only the victim but the person who indulges in it.” (more…)

Read Full Post »

The Go-Go’s (Parx Casino, Bensalem, PA, July 9, 2020) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Bensalem, PA, Coronavirus, Parx Casino, Postponed, Quarantine, The Go-Go's on July 9, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: JULY 9, 2020] The Go-Go’s [moved to July 8, 2021]

indexI’m not exactly sure when this show was postponed, but sometime in May this announcement went up:

Due to COVID-19, The GO-GO’s upcoming summer dates have been postponed to Summer 2021. More information on the rescheduled dates coming soon, and in the meantime, we’re happy to announce that The GO-GO’s documentary will premiere on Showtime, Saturday, August 1 at 9pm ET/PT.

I thought that The Go-Go’s would be a fun band to see live.  I mean I know every single one of their big hits and I’m quite certain the whole room would be singing along to them.

I wouldn’t have thought about getting tickets for this tour, but it was going to be a brief tour and they were going to be playing at Parx Casino, which is an intimate venue with seats.

I also thought it would be fun to take S. who didn’t especially want to go, but who I’m sure would have had a good time.

I’m looking forward to them coming back next year.

Read Full Post »

Parquet Courts / P.E. (The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, July 8) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Coronavirus, Jersey City, NJ, P.E., Parquet Courts, Postponed, Public Practice, Quarantine, Summer Camp, The Stone Pony, White Eagle Hall on July 8, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: July 8, 2020] Parquet Courts / P.E.

indexParquet Courts were scheduled to play Jersey City on April 4.  With the rescheduled dates, they added a show at The Stone Pony, which has now been cancelled.

Parquet Courts was one of the first shows that was postponed because of the coronavirus. They postponed their show by two months.  Needless to say that was very optimistic and they have now cancelled everything.

I had tickets to see them at White Eagle Hall, but the rescheduled date of July 13 wasn’t going to work for me, so I was thinking of going to this show instead (even though White Eagle is 10X better than The Stone Pony).

I’ve seen Parquet Courts twice and enjoyed both shows more than I thought I would.  I wasn’t sure if I’d need to see them again, but when I saw that they were playing White Eagle Hall in Jersey City–a great venue that is pretty close to me, I immediately grabbed tickets.  It then sold out.  And then I found out that our Scout Troop had an even planned that night so I couldn’t go anyway.

So this postponement worked out pretty well.  Except that the rescheduled show is right during out Troop’s Summer Camp.  The Scouts don’t want me to see this band!

Public Practice was supposed to open.  Now the openers were P.E.

P.E. were supposed to open for Pottery back in May  Pottery cancelled their tour and now P.E. is getting cancelled again.

P.E. is a band formed out of the band Pill (who I’ve not heard of but who were a skronky and intense DIY art-punk band).  Three members of Pill have gone on to form P.E.  The song I heard “Top Ticket” was a propulsive thump, strung along by drill whirs and Torres’ snotty deliver: “I want the top ticket/ Nothing average, nothing contrived/ None of that consumer-grade shit.”

 

Read Full Post »

Kurt Vonnegut–Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction (1999)

Posted in Coronavirus, Death, Funny (ha ha), Futility, Gangsters, Kurt Vonnegut, Language, Magazines, Military, Poland, Quarantine, Racism, Set at School, Sexism, Short Story, Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts, Tiny Desk Concert, Trupa Trupa, World War II on July 6, 2020| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: TRUPA TRUPA-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #44 (July 3, 3030).

Trupa Trupa is a band from Poland who play some really great indie rock.  They were supposed to be touring the U.S. and doing a Tiny Desk, but instead they are home.

In a little dirty rehearsal room basement in Gdańsk, we find Poland’s great rock band Trupa Trupa on lockdown. Had it not been for COVID-19, this band would have been behind my desk this week, but as it is, they’ve settled into their rehearsal space.

Their songs are pretty intense, but this Home Tiny Desk features lighter versions of the songs.

They open their set with “Another Day,” from the 2019 record Of The Sun.  It has a great throbbing bassline Wojciech Juchniewicz while singer Grzegorz Kwiatkowski plays acuostic guitar.  He says its the first time he’s played the acoustic guitar in a really long time.

There’s a cool theremin-type sound that is coming from Rafał Wojczal.  The credits say the instrument is called an ondes Martenot, but this is a homemade device–and it sounds pretty cool.

I’ve seen them perform this; it’s always had an apocalyptic feel, but now the words “another day, waiting for another,” prompts Grzegorz to mention how this has turned into a quarantine song.  Grzegorz tells us that life in Poland has been difficult in this young democracy, but they are staying optimistic and playing music.  There’s darkness in the basement, yet their music is a bright beacon.

“Dream About” starts with a snappy drum from Tomasz Pawluczuk.  Kwiatkowski plays as scratchy rhythm on the guitar before  Juchniewicz plays a great rolling bassline that runs throughout the song until it abruptly stops for a some single notes.  Then it resumes again.  Wojczal adds some guitar before bringing that Martenot back.

“None of Us” is slow and deep basslines.  Initial vocals come from Juchniewicz who has switched to guitar.  The acoustic guitar is more prominent on this song.  And Juchniewicz’  fuzzy electric guitar sound is deep and menacing.

Their U.S. Tour was cancelled, but they weren’t going to play near me.  Maybe when they come back they can squeeze in a Philadelphia date.

[READ: June 20, 2020] Bagombo Snuff Box

This is a short story collection that I read when it came out.  When I read all of Vonnegut’s books a few years ago, I decided to re-read this collection.  It has only taken me several years to get to it.

But what a great bunch of short stories.

The Preface explains that these stories were written in the 1940s and printed in magazines before he had written his first big novels.  After the War, there were many magazines that featured fiction, so Kurt was able to make some good money on the side while he worked at General Electric.  He left the company in 1950.

Vonnegut has an introduction as well.  He talks about the beneficial effect short stories can have on a person.  He also says he generally feels good about these stories although he feels a bit badly for the way some (many) of the women are treated–not that Vonnegut specifically treated them badly, but that was sort of the way it was then. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Admiral William H. McRaven–Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life … And Maybe the World (2017)

Posted in Admiral William H. McRaven, Baden Powell de Aquino, Bob's Burgers, Brazil, Bullying, Coronavirus, donald tRUMP, Fabiano Do Nascimento, Iraq, Leo Brouwer, Military, Quarantine, Saddam Hussein, Sharks, Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts, Tiny Desk Concert, War on July 5, 2020| Leave a Comment »

31423478SOUNDTRACK: FABIANO DO NASCIMENTO-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #43 (July 2, 2020).

fasbiFabiano Do Nascimento was born in Brazil and now lives in L.A.  he is an amazing guitar player, creating gorgeous soundscapes–‘an amalgamation of Afro-Brazilian jazz, folklore, bossanova and samba.”

For the first piece, “Nanã,” he plays what I think is a 10 string guitar (the fretboard is so wide!).  he starts a lovely melody and then the screen splits into four.  David Bergaud adds quiet piano and Julien Cantelm adds some complex drum patterns.  The fourth quarter is Fabiano again (it took me a moment to realize it, because he is in a different room).  He plays a lead guitar melody on a tiny ten stringed guitar.

The combination of his overdubbed rhythmic and melodic guitar lines, coupled with the delicate hands of piano player David Bergaud and drummer Julien Cantelm … flow into the first number, “Nanã,” a folkloric composition that “is the spirit that comes from African lineage and represents the forest … and is the primordial mother of earth.”

Up next is “Etude,” a composition by Fabiano inspired by Cuban classical guitar virtuoso Leo Brouwer.

For this piece, he switches to a six string guitar.  He has a different accompaniment.  Adam Ratner plays electric guitar (quietly) and Leo Costa play a some great complex drum (and cymbal) patterns as well as the chocalho.

Both Fabiano and Adam play leads, slow jazzy, pretty, while thr drums really do take much of the action.

Fabiano expresses

love for his motherland Brazil — an “endless foundation of inspiration” — is threaded deeply into the tapestry of his sound and ethos. If you’re looking for a musical moment of zen, this set comes highly recommended.

The final piece “Tributo” is a tribute to Brazilian composer Baden Powell de Aquino.  This piece is for solo guitar.

[READ: June 20, 2020] Make Your Bed

My son completed a leadership training course for the Boy Scouts and he was given this book as a gift.  I was intrigued by the title and because I like the guy who gave it to my son, so I thought I;d read it.

It’s a fast and easy read and I think a younger person (this was originally a college commencement address) could be inspired by it.  I’m a little too set in my ways t make many changes (although I have made sure my bed has been made ever since reading this).

The book is set up in ten chapters: the ten points that he made during the speech.  Each chapter gives a suggestion.  It is followed by the practical origin of that suggestion and then a more intense incident in life in which he used that suggestion. (more…)

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »