Today is the perfect time to give thanks to those who regularly read my blog. It would be difficult to over-state how energizing it is when someone tells me a post has provoked, moved or amused them.
Though the stats provided by my hosting site are comprehensive, they are not viewer-specific. This means I can know for sure specific individuals are reading only if they publicly comment or, for those who know me personally, contact me some other way offline. Based on the stats, many others are reading and do neither; among that group it's not possible for me to determine who I know. So to those who wish to remain anonymous, whether I know you or not, thanks for reading. If you ever emerge, I welcome your feedback.
One grovelling plug to accompany this Thanksgiving message: If any reader thinks a particular post will be of interest to someone else, please forward it using the e-mail icon located at the bottom of the screen near my name. And thanks in advance for considering this.
Final item of thanks today is for the newest addition to my family - a healthy girl born on October 15 to my niece/Godchild and her husband.
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
#17: Mt. Rushmore Series
Which four musical solos deserve to be enshrined on your Mt. Rushmore?
Hope you'll forgive me for spending way too much time thinking about this particular iteration in my Mt. Rushmore series. First, I had to be sure not to duplicate any instrument. Second, the solos had to come from a piece featuring a vocal. And last (!), I wanted to include at least a few things some of you may not have heard so you'll be tempted to seek out these amazing performances. Apologies to any youngsters reading for the codger-like flavor here.
1.) Clarence Clemmons (Tenor Sax) on "Jungleland" (from "Born To Run" by Bruce Springsteen): No doubt the most widely played of these four tunes - don't let that discourage you. This is the most majestic sax solo on a rock record (probably not improvised) I've ever heard.
2.) Carlos Santana (Guitar) on "You Can Have Me Anytime" (from "Middle Man" by Boz Scaggs): Not the most famous Carlos solo. For my money, deserves as much attention as the better known ones.
3.) Don Brooks (Harmonica) on "Song For Martin" (from "True Stories and Other Dreams" by Judy Collins): Less a solo than a featured role between the vocal verses but you've simply got to hear this guy's playing. If his harmonica and this lyric are not perfect together, I don't know what is.
4.) Carmine Appice (Drums) on "Lady" (from "Beck, Bogert, and Appice"): Carmine was never a critical darling, probably because of the bombast of his first well known band (Vanilla Fudge). Put that aside and listen to his brief solo near the end of this short rave-up. Whew!
You don't need to put as much thought into this as I did. But do share your Mt. Rushmore with me, especially if you're a lot younger than I. Always good to get juiced by a solo.
Hope you'll forgive me for spending way too much time thinking about this particular iteration in my Mt. Rushmore series. First, I had to be sure not to duplicate any instrument. Second, the solos had to come from a piece featuring a vocal. And last (!), I wanted to include at least a few things some of you may not have heard so you'll be tempted to seek out these amazing performances. Apologies to any youngsters reading for the codger-like flavor here.
1.) Clarence Clemmons (Tenor Sax) on "Jungleland" (from "Born To Run" by Bruce Springsteen): No doubt the most widely played of these four tunes - don't let that discourage you. This is the most majestic sax solo on a rock record (probably not improvised) I've ever heard.
2.) Carlos Santana (Guitar) on "You Can Have Me Anytime" (from "Middle Man" by Boz Scaggs): Not the most famous Carlos solo. For my money, deserves as much attention as the better known ones.
3.) Don Brooks (Harmonica) on "Song For Martin" (from "True Stories and Other Dreams" by Judy Collins): Less a solo than a featured role between the vocal verses but you've simply got to hear this guy's playing. If his harmonica and this lyric are not perfect together, I don't know what is.
4.) Carmine Appice (Drums) on "Lady" (from "Beck, Bogert, and Appice"): Carmine was never a critical darling, probably because of the bombast of his first well known band (Vanilla Fudge). Put that aside and listen to his brief solo near the end of this short rave-up. Whew!
You don't need to put as much thought into this as I did. But do share your Mt. Rushmore with me, especially if you're a lot younger than I. Always good to get juiced by a solo.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Yes I'm 64
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDt26gJYVB4
Instructions: 1. Get out your copy of Sgt. Pepper's; 2. Load youtube clip (above); 3. Use my words to sing along; 4. Write some verses of your own; 5. Rinse and repeat.
Now that I'm older, losing my hair, seems like yesterday
Playing music with my pals summer blew past, Sgt. Pepper's first song to last
If I had known how years would race by, I'd have asked for more
Hard to believe it, hard to conceive it, Yes I'm 64
Friends are older too
And if you don't speak up, they might not hear you
I played that album til it wore out, bought a second one
Learned the words and sang them til my voice was gone, all day, all night, all the year long
Now on most days lights go off by twelve, some nights well before
Hard to believe it, hard to conceive it, Yes I'm 64
Every summer since I've searched for albums that could top that one, haven't found it yet
Not through all these years
Names that are still with me - Rita, Kite and Shears
She's Leaving Home and Fixing A Hole, Lucy in the Sky
George sings one, Ringo too (with help from his friends)
Pepper's Reprise comes near the end
Paul's Getting Better, John says Good Morn, heard the news and more
Hard to believe it, hard to conceive it, Yes I'm 64
Instructions: 1. Get out your copy of Sgt. Pepper's; 2. Load youtube clip (above); 3. Use my words to sing along; 4. Write some verses of your own; 5. Rinse and repeat.
Now that I'm older, losing my hair, seems like yesterday
Playing music with my pals summer blew past, Sgt. Pepper's first song to last
If I had known how years would race by, I'd have asked for more
Hard to believe it, hard to conceive it, Yes I'm 64
Friends are older too
And if you don't speak up, they might not hear you
I played that album til it wore out, bought a second one
Learned the words and sang them til my voice was gone, all day, all night, all the year long
Now on most days lights go off by twelve, some nights well before
Hard to believe it, hard to conceive it, Yes I'm 64
Every summer since I've searched for albums that could top that one, haven't found it yet
Not through all these years
Names that are still with me - Rita, Kite and Shears
She's Leaving Home and Fixing A Hole, Lucy in the Sky
George sings one, Ringo too (with help from his friends)
Pepper's Reprise comes near the end
Paul's Getting Better, John says Good Morn, heard the news and more
Hard to believe it, hard to conceive it, Yes I'm 64
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Key Learnings: Year 64
Solipsism alert: This once a year series is a favorite because it keeps me focused on growth and (mostly) obviates a tendency to feel sorry for myself on my birthday.
What did you learn between your last two birthdays? Reviewing my key learnings from years 62 & 63, I'm pleased to report most of the lessons have stuck. Below are three from year 64 I hope will do the same.
* Inspired by Daniel Pink's "A Whole New Mind", I've added a new page to one of my journals to capture pertinent metaphors of my own or ones others invent. My favorite this year? A friend described empowering his employees as "...turning over the oars..." Nice, Dennis.
* Another friend turned me onto a website called "Sound Recorder" which will allow me to cull favorite tracks from my ridiculously large collection of LPs and add them to my I-tunes library. OMG!
* Thanks to my wife's course of study in Positive Psychology, I've codified an old awareness by folding it into an existing discipline. My journal now includes regular (vs. sporadic) entries on gratitude. It's remarkably easy to find things to be grateful for when I keep the awareness in the forefront vs. background.
One of my most treasured public comments came as a response to last year's post in this series. So, ignore the birthday bit - just share some of your recent key learnings with me and others. Maybe doing so will help yours stick better too.
What did you learn between your last two birthdays? Reviewing my key learnings from years 62 & 63, I'm pleased to report most of the lessons have stuck. Below are three from year 64 I hope will do the same.
* Inspired by Daniel Pink's "A Whole New Mind", I've added a new page to one of my journals to capture pertinent metaphors of my own or ones others invent. My favorite this year? A friend described empowering his employees as "...turning over the oars..." Nice, Dennis.
* Another friend turned me onto a website called "Sound Recorder" which will allow me to cull favorite tracks from my ridiculously large collection of LPs and add them to my I-tunes library. OMG!
* Thanks to my wife's course of study in Positive Psychology, I've codified an old awareness by folding it into an existing discipline. My journal now includes regular (vs. sporadic) entries on gratitude. It's remarkably easy to find things to be grateful for when I keep the awareness in the forefront vs. background.
One of my most treasured public comments came as a response to last year's post in this series. So, ignore the birthday bit - just share some of your recent key learnings with me and others. Maybe doing so will help yours stick better too.
Friday, November 22, 2013
A George Bailey Goal For Year 65
After reviewing the goals I publicly declared here on this date the last two years (a day before my birthday), it dawned on me - time to develop a goal putting more emphasis on others.
A model I've found useful for turning goals into more than words is to make them specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic and time framed = SMART. So...
Every week for the next year (time framed/measurable), I will acknowledge out loud or in writing a contribution one person has made that has enriched my life (specific/action oriented). Realistic? I think so. I've already begun composing a list (surprise!) of 52 people to acknowledge to ensure I'll reach this worthwhile, more outward-focused goal.
I'm calling this my George Bailey goal, in honor of the character Jimmy Stewart played in "It's A Wonderful Life". Why not join me over the next year and acknowledge a few George Baileys from your life? Most of us have plenty of them, don't we?
A model I've found useful for turning goals into more than words is to make them specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic and time framed = SMART. So...
Every week for the next year (time framed/measurable), I will acknowledge out loud or in writing a contribution one person has made that has enriched my life (specific/action oriented). Realistic? I think so. I've already begun composing a list (surprise!) of 52 people to acknowledge to ensure I'll reach this worthwhile, more outward-focused goal.
I'm calling this my George Bailey goal, in honor of the character Jimmy Stewart played in "It's A Wonderful Life". Why not join me over the next year and acknowledge a few George Baileys from your life? Most of us have plenty of them, don't we?
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
.333 For The Year
http://reflectionsfromthebellcurve.blogspot.com/2012/11/goals-for-year-63.html
With just three days left, looks like I'll fall short on two of my goals for year 63. But that's a .333 batting average for the year - Ted Williams territory - and the book I finished early today that got me to the one goal I did make is a nearly unqualified winner - "Beautiful Ruins" (2012) by Jess Walter.
This novel was a pretty sure bet from the start. My wife loved it and the librarian who recommended it has rarely let me down. And, sucker for romance that I can be, the last sentence ("And even if they don't find what they're looking for, isn't it enough to be out walking together in the sunlight?") made me gasp with pleasure. The sweep, style and architecture of "Beautiful Ruins" brought back "A Visit From The Goon Squad" by Jennifer Egan, a book that still has me reeling two years later. Like "...Goon Squad", "Beautiful Ruins" explodes with rich characters - good (Pasquale Tursi, Lydia Parker), "bad" (Shane Wheeler, Pat Bender), ugly and uglier (Gualfredo, Michael Deane).
If any of you have read this winner or pick it up in the future, I've got to know who you'd cast in the Debra "Dee" Moore/Moray/Bender role. Of course I've already got someone picked, need you ask?
With just three days left, looks like I'll fall short on two of my goals for year 63. But that's a .333 batting average for the year - Ted Williams territory - and the book I finished early today that got me to the one goal I did make is a nearly unqualified winner - "Beautiful Ruins" (2012) by Jess Walter.
This novel was a pretty sure bet from the start. My wife loved it and the librarian who recommended it has rarely let me down. And, sucker for romance that I can be, the last sentence ("And even if they don't find what they're looking for, isn't it enough to be out walking together in the sunlight?") made me gasp with pleasure. The sweep, style and architecture of "Beautiful Ruins" brought back "A Visit From The Goon Squad" by Jennifer Egan, a book that still has me reeling two years later. Like "...Goon Squad", "Beautiful Ruins" explodes with rich characters - good (Pasquale Tursi, Lydia Parker), "bad" (Shane Wheeler, Pat Bender), ugly and uglier (Gualfredo, Michael Deane).
If any of you have read this winner or pick it up in the future, I've got to know who you'd cast in the Debra "Dee" Moore/Moray/Bender role. Of course I've already got someone picked, need you ask?
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Getting There Without Siri
Those of us who can afford them are generally happy with many technologies modern life offers. For example, I have no interest in going back to washing dishes by hand. How about you?
Aside from the obvious environmental cost attached to our growing dependence on convenience, what other downsides have you observed? Though I've come to rely on Mapquest and the GPS app on my wife's cell phone as much as the next person, I'm beginning to question the wisdom of doing so. On several recent occasions, instead of heeding my instincts in an area familiar to me, I mindlessly obeyed what the tools instructed me to do. End result? I got completely screwed up.
Yes, in the pre-GPS etc. years, relying on directions provided by family or friends could be frustrating or worse. And I'm no Luddite (although my texting daughter might disagree) and these technologies can be very useful for the directionally-challenged. But when driving alone, I'm reverting to paying more attention to my instincts. When my wife is in the car with me? Stay tuned re that.
Aside from the obvious environmental cost attached to our growing dependence on convenience, what other downsides have you observed? Though I've come to rely on Mapquest and the GPS app on my wife's cell phone as much as the next person, I'm beginning to question the wisdom of doing so. On several recent occasions, instead of heeding my instincts in an area familiar to me, I mindlessly obeyed what the tools instructed me to do. End result? I got completely screwed up.
Yes, in the pre-GPS etc. years, relying on directions provided by family or friends could be frustrating or worse. And I'm no Luddite (although my texting daughter might disagree) and these technologies can be very useful for the directionally-challenged. But when driving alone, I'm reverting to paying more attention to my instincts. When my wife is in the car with me? Stay tuned re that.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
My Twitter Tryout
What to say with just 140?
Would "minds narrow" warnings (like "lanes narrow" highway signs) help me avoid bigots?
Spaces count, right?
Would "minds narrow" warnings (like "lanes narrow" highway signs) help me avoid bigots?
Spaces count, right?
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