Setting a High Bar

One of the highlights of 2022 was a full-scale return to seeing live music. I didn't fully appreciate how much I'd missed that element in my life until I recently reflected on a few moments of musical magic from the past year. Those moments included seeing John Scofield at the Blue Note, Glen Hansard in Washington DC, and the amazing Django-influenced guitarist Stephane Wrembel at a free concert in Red Bank. What memorable shows did you see in 2022? 

And now Branford Marsalis so thoroughly transported me earlier this month I'm having trouble imagining I'll see a better show over the remaining eleven months of 2023. For almost two hours, Marsalis and the piano trio supporting him played at a nearly super-human intensity. Mixing originals with material by Duke, Monk, & Irving Berlin - interspersed with a few nods to traditional New Orleans jazz - these four exemplary musicians personified what it means to be at the top of your game. Their interplay, creativity, and fire never let up. In addition, because I was seated near the front, it was easy to see how much fun all four of them were having as each prodded the other to take another leap into the musical unknown. It was exhilarating to be close to excellence of this caliber. 

What shows are you looking forward to in 2023? In my case, I'm a little worried Branford and his band set the bar so high that disappointment could be difficult to avoid. I desperately hope I'm wrong; seeing live music is too important to me.     

Storyworth

 https://welcome.storyworth.com/faq

If you've not yet heard about Storyworth, I highly recommend you check out the link above with some frequently asked questions about it. Although I just began my experience with this new company's concept several weeks back when my daughter gave her mother and me a holiday gift, I know already it's going to work better for me than many of the earlier attempts I've made using a similar concept.  

Even though I write continuously and always have good intentions as I begin capturing memories in those books that you see everywhere designed for that purpose, what sets Storyworth apart from those books is the ease and convenience of their model. Because Storyworth was conceived in the digital era, the prompts designed to take you down memory lane arrive in your e-mail in-box. You respond like you would to any e-mail and after you do, Storyworth does the rest. At the end of the year - ours will end near Christmas day 2023 - a bound book, filled with the memories you captured using those prompts is delivered to you. No saving hard copies of anything; no need to worry that someone in the future will have trouble reading your funky handwriting; no feeling overwhelmed looking at a book containing hundreds of prompts - just one prompt at a time and you get to decide how often that prompt will appear in your in-box.

If you have already used or are currently using Storyworth, tell me and others about your experience. If you are unfamiliar with it, check out that link. I think you'll be intrigued.   

A Bookworm's Catnip

Foremost of the benefits I derive by frequently hanging out with people who share my passion for reading is being directed to treasures like Great Short Books: A Year of Reading - Briefly (2022). Each essay by author and literary scholar Kenneth C. Davis uses a simple, effective framework: first lines, brief plot summary, about the author, why you should read it, what to try next by the same author. His approach is sure to appeal to passionate readers as well as entice those with less leisure time who might be searching for worthwhile novellas. Both groups, and anyone else looking for an easy re-entry into the world of great literature, will enjoy Davis's intelligent explorations of the fifty-eight books he tackles in depth. In addition, he lists about eighty more novellas at the tail end of his useful volume. 

What worked best for me was how Davis transcended the canon with his selections. Alongside Voltaire, Stephen Crane, and Hemingway are more than a dozen short books published after 2000. Authors featured include several from countries under-represented on many lists of this type, e.g., Nigeria's Chinua Achebe. Sandra Cisneros, Yu Miri, and Toni Morrison are among the notable women included. 

End-to-end, Great Short Books was a peak reading experience. This bookworm is grateful for the other bookworms in his life who reliably direct him to catnip like this.          

A Not Exactly One Hit Wonder

For today's exercise - which might appeal primarily to film buffs - begin by thinking of a movie that has remained in your mind or is familiar to you, for whatever reason. This post was inspired by my recent re-watch of Four Weddings and a Funeral. 

Step #2: Recall a powerful scene - length doesn't matter - featuring an actor/actress who is not a household name, i.e., someone who would likely not be widely recognized in public. Step #3: Describe briefly how or why or what in particular is seared into your memory about that performance in that specific scene. Think of the scene as the rough equivalent of a one hit wonder with no disrespect aimed at the actor you select. That actor may be continuing to reliably ply their trade today and perhaps he/she has delivered many equally credible screen performances before and/or after the scene you'll briefly describe.

About 2/3 through Four Weddings and a Funeral, the eponymous funeral scene features John Hannah ("Kenneth") using a reading of a W.H. Auden poem to eulogize his partner Gareth, played by Simon Callow. Hannah is a well-known British actor but hardly a household name. I suspect some people - especially we film buffs - might recognize him if we saw him in public but I also suspect he is rarely mobbed by adoring throngs. But that few minutes of Hannah's performance in Four Weddings is perfectly modulated; it is eternal film magic. Did the directing contribute? Of course. Is the scene well written? Without a doubt. Was the selection of the stunning Auden poem a stroke? Yes, in triplicate. But in the end, without Hannah, it could have easily turned into just another scene in another movie. There is no doubt in my mind about this, awards bestowed - or not - aside. Hannah can be proud the rest of his life for what he did in those few moments, just as the writer of Play That Funky Music can be for his role in that one hit wonder.  

Your turn. What's your nomination for an acting equivalent of a not exactly one hit wonder?

Reflections From The Bell Curve: #54: The Mt. Rushmore Series     

Becoming Someone

An unwritten but nearly inviolable rule most parents follow is to acknowledge - in some fashion - every birthday of their children. Twentieth century norms included cards or phone calls. Today, an e-mail or text might replace those minimal forms of acknowledgment. Making plans to be together on a birthday or giving a thoughtful gift takes the acknowledgment up a level. 

Failing to acknowledge the significance of January 19 in my life is unimaginable. Is this because I have just one child? Possibly. It's become a cliche to remark how much life changes when a person becomes a parent. And my life did change that day. But something more significant happened. I changed. On or near the day my daughter was born I began closely examining parts of the old me that needed to be discarded in my new role guiding a life as it evolved.  The stakes were too high for me to ignore those pieces of me that weren't ready for the challenge ahead.  

As the two of us talked on a long hike today, I tried recalling the me of thirty-four years ago. I had difficulty doing so. I suspect that is because the me that began forming soon after January 19, 1989 is someone I like better than the old version.       

Book Club Report: Year Six

Gotta be honest; I'm disappointed no reader noticed there was no annual book club report published this time last year, looking back at the fifth full year of the No Wine or Whiners Book Club. 

And though I'm tempted to combine both year five and year six in this post, I know that would be pushing my luck. Consequently, what follows are some highlights for year six only. Best news: Except February, 2022 - when there was a slight uptick in Covid-19 - all of our meetings this past year were face-to-face. Sweet. 

Top prize for fiction: Bewilderment (2021) - Richard Powers. Powers has recently ascended into my top tier of authors, making the club's warm embrace of his most recent novel gratifying for me, given I select most of the books we read. 

Top prize for non-fiction: American Baby (2021) - Gabriele Glaser. One thing I like most about my club is how many of our members are discerning readers. This unqualified winner was recommended to me by one of those members. I knew immediately while ramming through it that it would generate a rich discussion. That discussion far exceeded my expectations. 

Including our first meeting in 2023 - discussing I Am, I Am, I Am (2017) by Maggie O'Farrell - the club has now met sixty-four times. Five of the six charter members are still fully engaged, our attendance has remained stable, and I intend to maintain the guideline of never repeating an author. I welcome hearing about any book club you're in, especially how you benefit from your involvement.  

  

Exploring a Tension

Tradition plays an important part in my life; I suspect this is true for many people. I enjoy most traditional American holidays and look forward to traditions my family of origin has, some of which are related to those holidays. And I also like many of the traditions, including the silly ones, that have helped sustain my marriage. 

Since preserving tradition is one important element of conservatism, I'm beginning an exploration of my long-held resistance to that word. To those out there who share my resistance, I'd like to hear how you deal with the tension between these concepts. To those out there who identify with the word conservative, which tradition(s) have you willfully abandoned? How difficult was that for you? 

In the nearly 2200 blog posts I've published, I'd estimate less than 5% have contained anything even remotely political. I've got no plans to change that. Politics have never had much appeal for me and these days I especially find the public discourse on politics too shrill as people become more and more tribal. But as I reflected recently on the tension between my enjoyment of tradition and resistance to conservatism, seeking help from all of you seemed a good place to start. Please share your thoughts. It's safer here than on talk radio. 

My True North

After almost sixty years writing songs, one thing is clear. The most worthwhile ones are those that come to me nearly whole. 

Returning from meditation one day in late 2019, three words - my true north - wouldn't leave me alone. Almost immediately I recognized how that common phrase captures what my life partner has been for me since our first date on April 17, 1978. From there, the opening melodic phrase and most of the lyric and melody for the refrain came to me. Scheduled to visit an ailing friend that day, I was initially concerned about leaving directly from the spot where I'd been parked while meditating. I worried the rest of the song might get lost, something that frequently happens.  

My concern was misplaced. As I drove the nearly sixty miles to my friend's home, the remaining words arrived, accompanied by a melody that pleased me. By the time I got to my destination, the composition had nearly written itself. I got it down in my journal, confident the harmonies would reveal themselves as soon as I had a guitar in my hands. When I got back home, those harmonies - as well as an opening guitar riff - were right there. 

https://patrickbarton.bandcamp.com/track/my-true-north

The journey from that day in late 2019 to the finished product above - with my daughter singing - ended in late 2022. On Christmas morning my daughter and I - along with her new husband - cued up the recording and played it for my life partner. I'm thrilled with my daughter's performance, grateful for all the help a good friend gave me to bring the song fully into the world, and proud of the song itself. There were more songs written between late 2019 and late 2022 but none arrived nearly as whole as this one. I hope you enjoy listening to it.