Seven years ago, I swore I would never, EVER drive in Chicago again ( Read more... )

 I listen to a fair amount of podcasts, which is interesting considering ten years ago I didn't know what a podcast was.
About that long ago Emily bought me my first iPod, to listen to music while walking or doing chores.


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I've got some editing and polishing to do (on my writing), and I'm thinking of having a classic rock day while I'm doing it in honor of my late brother Jeff, who passed away on January 30th. Jeff was a big classic rock fan, or, as he would put it, he was a big rock fan.

After all, when we were teens "classic" meant a bunch of people in formal ( Read more... )

My initial reaction when hearing about the Broadway musical Hamilton was surprise that all these historical characters were being played by non-white actors. How was this better than having a white actor play a real black person? How would black people feel if they did an all-white version of Roots? Pissed, that's how they'd feel, and with good ( Read more... )

This was first published in my weekly column, way back in 2011. And yet, the songs remain the same.

I was going to do something serious for my Christmas writing this year. It’s a serious time; besides, as I write this there’s a special on Discovery about various disasters that could destroy the world.

Way to get into the holiday spirit, Discovery!


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I'm listening to Yo-Yo Ma play ennio morricone's spaghetti western music (on Pandora). Seriously.

And it's fantastic.

It's the weirdest thing. I'm feeling kind of icky -- not sick, just a general malaise kind of a thing -- and at the moment I'm feeling oddy comforted by .... you might want to sit down for this ( Read more... )

Tagged by Keith5X5

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now, shaping your summer. Post these instructions in your LJ along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they're listening to.

most of them ( Read more... )