Preparation for the Next Life, by Atticus Lish

Preparation for the Next Life – Atticus Lish (****)

One of the Reading Challenges that I created for 2016 was to read more literature the goal I set was 24 books. The challenge includes books classified as general fiction, along with classics that I should have read, New York Time Bestsellers and Award-Winning books.   Since there are four subcategories I made it six books for each subcategory!  Preparation for the Next Life by Atticus Lish is the seventh book I’ve finished in 2016 and it’s the first in the subcategory of award-winning books. The book won the 2015 Pen/Faulkner Award for Fiction. In addition to that award the book was also among the …. Read More

A Valentine’s Day “Morning” Playlist!

A Valentine’s Day Playlist with the Word “Morning” in the title!

Back when I was posting a song a day to Facebook, I figured it out,if I posted one song a day to Facebook, it would take me 54 years to post all of the songs on my iPod!Not that they are all favorites but a good number can be ranked as favorite, so let’s say half that still is 23 years!! So the answer is playlists, LOL! Not that I’m going to do it everyday, but maybe occasionally it may not be a bad idea!
Anyway back before the bronchitis hit me, I created this playlist from songs from my iTunes library. I searched for the word “Morning” since I was creating some morning music! Anyway here are 14 monrning songs! Read More

Seven Favorite Songs in Seven Days….

Here are Seven Favorite Songs as Posted in Seven Days on Facebook 

A couple of weeks ago, I was nominated by my wife to post seven favorite songs in seven days on Facebook. Here are the songs and my comments….

Day 1 -I’ve been nominated for the 7 songs in 7 days challenge by my wife Kathleen Karn The challenge is to post seven of your favorite songs in 7 days, and each day nominate someone else to do so.
Today I am nominate Eliot Kamenitz My college roommate and my best man at .our wedding!
So let’s go back to near the start of Kathy and my 40 plus years of togetherness and a song from the movie we saw on our first date McCabe and Mrs. Miller -“The Stranger Song” by Leonard Cohen . The song is still one of my favorites (Kathy is too!) Is there a better line in a song then “he was just some Joseph looking for a manger”? Read More

February 5th – Al Kooper’s Birthday

Happy Birthday Al Kooper！ let’s listen to  “Green Onions” Yeah!

Today is Al Kooper’s birthday. Al was born in 1944 and while none of his solo records or the first Blood, Sweat and Tears albums can’t be found in my collection. Super Session with Mike Bloomfield  (Side 1)and Stephen Stills (side 2), The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper are there. Also there are the album he recorded with Shuggie Otis and Rekooperation.Here’s some background on Al Kooper from Wiipedia…. Read More

Steven Troch Great Blues Harp From Belgium!

Steven Troch’s album Nice ‘N’ Greasy brightens my night!

So this evening I was browsing the Euro-Americana Chart and there are several new albums from musicians whom I like. The chart includes new albums from: Peter Cooper & Eric Brace, Cam Penner, and Grant Peeples. One of the several artists on the Tips list whose name I didn’t recognize was Steven Troch. The title of Troch’s latest album is Nice ‘N’ Greasy and any album with a title like that is worth checking out! Read More

Life or Death – Michael Robotham

Michael Robotham’s Life Or Death – (Book 5 of 2016)

Yesterday I finished book 5 for 2016 Life or Death from Michael Robotham and I certainly support its nomination for the 2016 Edgar Award for Best Novel. I have been a fan of Michael Robotham’s Joe O’Loughlin series for a long time now. The series is one of my favorites, but this is the first stand alone novel by Robotham that I have read. What surprised me most about the book’s Texas’ setting. The setting for the O’Loughlin series is England, which is surprising in an of its self considering Robotham is Australian, but Texas! Well, Robotham makes it work and he seems right at home with the setting! Read More

RGrandad Starts National Bird Feeding Month Right…..

February is National Bird Feeding Month – Who Knew?

So this morning I actually remembered to go out and feed the birds.  I did feed them last week, after the storm, but I only shoveled a pathway to two of the feeders, today after the thaw I was able to get to all of them. I must have known something (not really) because this evening I discovered that February is National Bird Feeding Month in the United States. February officially proclaimed National Bird Feeding Month, when John Porter (R-IL) read a resolution into the Congressional Record. proclaiming it such, on February 23, 1994. From Wikipedia…. Read More