1971 Is It The Greatest Year in Rock??

 John Prine’s First Album and Others Make 1971 a Stellar Year – at least for me!!

There were many great albums released in 1971, but, only a few of the commercially successful albums made their way into my vinyl collection.However, a lot of the less commercially successful albums did! Even back then, the music that I sought out and enjoyed was from the albums and artists whose albums, if they were on the charts, weren’t at the top! So let’s take a look at some of the big albums and then some not so big ones, that have been favorites of mine over the years!! Read More

The Greatest Year in Rock was it 1970???

Renaissance Granddad  takes a look at some of his favorite rock from 1970!

The other day when I was writing about my favorite books from the 1970s, I mentioned that I considered my college years (1970-1975) as the greatest years in rock history! After writing that post, I was in the car and heard on the radio that WXPN is asking listeners to vote for what they consider the greatest year in rock music! My thoughts first went to 1971 and then quickly to 1970 then 1969, 68 and 67!! Actually, I think the ten-year period between 1967 and 1977 is the greatest decade in rock music and the five years that I was in college at the University of Florida and the University of Georgia (yes I am a mutt – a Gator DAWG?) maybe the pinnacle years of the decade! So with that being said I would like to take a stroll down memory lane and in a series of posts remember each year those five years! Read More

RGrandad Searches for New Rock!

Are  New Bands out there this Old Rocker May Enjoy?

Over the last few years, I have found few new rock bands that I like. Lately my wife has requested that the radio be tuned to Philadelphia 104.5 Philly’s Alternative Radio and while I like some of the music, nothing really jumps out and makes me say wow! I like that band! Yesterday afternoon, I decided that I’d check out the College Radio Chart to see if there is anything different on their chart, that would possibly interest an old rocker like me! Read More

Renaissance Granddad’s Favorite Books of the 70s!

An AARP Post leads to a list of My Favorite Books from the 1970s!

This morning my wife said “you’re old. please join AARP so we can at least derive some benefits from you ancientness!” Actually, she didn’t say that, but she did ask me to join AARP so that we can hopefully get a discount on our Ancestry.com renewal! While I was on the site registering and paying the whole $16.00 a year membership this post Readers’ Picks: 10 Books Boomers Love caught my attention.These are the books that the readers picked: Read More

Badlands – C.J. Box

Badlands author C J BoxBadlands – C.J. Box – Cassie Dewell Book #2

After finishing Windigo Island, I read Badlands from C.J,Box. Box is the author of the Joe Pickett series, another of my favorite series.During his career Box has written several outstanding standalone thrillers A while back The Highway one of the standalones features Detectives Cody Hoyt and Cassie Dewell. and a terrific villain the Lizard King, A long-distance trucker who preys on the women who service long distance truckers a rest stops along the nation’s highway. The women are known as “lot lizards”. Badlands is book two in the Cassie Dewell series and while I wished that there was more about the Lizard King in the storyline, the rest of the storyline made up for it. Read More

Windigo Island – William Kent Krueger

Windigo Island-  William Kent Krueger – (Cork O’Connor # 14)

William Kent Krueger - Windigo Island authorI started reading the Cork O’Connor series from William Kent Krueger back in 2003 when I picked up Purgatory Ridge, Book #3 in the series, at the library. After finishing the book I quickly sought out the first two books in the series and have not missed a book since!! Cork O’ Connor is the former sheriff of Tamarack County, Minnesota, he is part Ojibwe and Irish. He is also the father of Jennie, Annie and Stephen O’Connor and is constantly battling evil in the County and beyond. Cork uses all the forces that he can gather to fight the evil, that includes the powers of his spiritual mentor Henry Meloux. In Windigo Island Cork and Henry battle a Windigo both the mythical and the rel versions! From Goodreads.com…. Read More

Oliver Visits the Sheep Farm Again!!

Babysitting Oliver Tomorrow – Is it Back to the Sheep Farm Again?

So tomorrow it’s back to babysitting Oliver solo, well at least for the morning, Through July and August both my wife and I have been babysitting Oliver on Wednesdays, with the reserves Elizabeth and Nick coming in the afternoon. But my wife started back to work today and Elizabeth started working at her new school job (her last year in her Masters program working a year in a school) last week, so all that’s left is me in the morning and Nick and I in the afternoon. I am sure everything will go fine, a lot of times he is better when there are fewer people around, i.e. there is less to get him stimulated when it’s just DA! Read More

Reading Challenges Update End of August

Only Two Books Read in August, but Overall Reading Challenges are Being Met!!

So in the months this year that I read five to six books a month I had no problems in writing updates for my Reading Challenges! But August was a slow reading month to say the least. I only finished two books and  have yet to write reviews about either one.of them or a Reading Challenge update. The two books I read were Windigo Island by Wllliam Kent Krueger and Badlands from C.J. Box. Both of these two books were really really good! Read More

Morning Music: Van Morrison – Turns 70 Yrs. Young!

Van Morrison – Northern Ireland – Born August 31, 1945

So last night as I was looking through old posts from Me, Myself, Music and Mysteries I kept seeing old morning music posts.When I first started blogging those posts were a staple of my blog. They were often just videos of musicians that I like, sometimes it was connected to the musicians birthday, while other times it was connected to a day in music or the artists birthday. When I looked down the list of jazz musicians who share birthdays today I saw Van Morrison’s name and thought that today would be a good day to re-introduce morning music!! The jukebox in my head immediately began to play Morrison’s “Tupelo Honey”. So I decided to make that today’s morning music! It could have been “Brown-Eyed Girl” for my brown-eyed girl, but hey “Tupelo Honey” works, too! Read More