Books
- Just finished A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe. I'd never read anything by Wolfe until this. What a terrific book! My travel companion in Siberia this summer was reading it and he recommended it. Sort of a modern Charles Dickens. Many richly drawn characters whose story lines overlap and intersect in interesting and surprising ways. Nice homage to good ol' fashioned Roman Stoicism.
Music
- Color me happy. I noticed that my favorite Pittsburgh band, Good Brother Earl, is now available from iTunes. I immediately submitted a review. Buy their music. Be happy.
- The new Mindy Smith CD is out. I've lately been exploring some of these neo-folk and alt-country artists. Neko Case. Lucinda Williams. Kasey Chambers. But right now for me, Mindy is the top.
- It probably doesn't classify as music exactly, but I've been enjoying What's He Building in There? by Tom Waits. It's like an Edgar Allan Poe short story. What a weirdo.
TV
- I hate watching TV. It's a gigantic waste of time. HOWEVER, there are some shows that I consider worthy. So I get them on DVD. I can't tolerate sitting through the advertisements. So, I just finished season 2 of Lost. Now I'm nearing the end of the second season of the new Battlestar Galactica. I think it's interesting that the humans are polytheists and the robots are monotheists.
Film
- Re-watched To Kill a Mockingbird. First, the novel by Harper Lee is genius. I love it. Can't believe she only wrote one book. Second, Gregory Peck IS Atticus Finch.
12 comments:
Under "music" you may want to check
out (on iTunes) Amos Lee. As one
review put it, he's kind of like
Otis Redding. A pleasant voice and
a good back up band! FWIW
Scott,
I went to iTunes and checked out
"Good Brother Earl". I thought I might give it as a gift to my son
(20 yrs old) but I'm not really sure I "get it"--what are they trying to convey? Are they a Christian group? Thanks much!
Hi Carl,
The two band members I know best are committed Christians. And they are the ones who write most of their songs. However, their music is not really categorized as "Christian" music. They're just songs. I think the lyrics do have interesting and thoughtful things to say. But they are not evangelistic.
I also just finished Lost season 2, and am finishing season 2 of BSG. Unfortunately, this means I've caught up to real time and have to watch Lost on the regular tv. It's terrible having to be there at the exact time. Then the commercials, plus you can't pause when you need to. DVD is the way to go. I've found netflix to be the way to go with dvd's. Seeing how an entire season can cost upwards of $40 (especially for the HBO ones, which are, in my opinion, the best), getting a netflix subscription can save a lot of bucks, and they have a huge selection.
I'll have to check out the Mindy Smith cd. I did like the latest Beth Orton cd.
Have you read the newest Chuck Klosterman book yet? I read Sex, Drugs, and Coco Puffs, but haven't gotten around to reading his latest. I think it's in the same vein--magazine articles and other short pieces.
scott adle
Tom Waits is not only a brilliant storyteller, his music often has some excellent theological content. On the Album Mule Variations (which contains "What's he building in there?"), Waits has a song about a young girl who is murdered in which the refrain is "Why wasn't God Watching?" ... it is followed on the album by a gospel song entitled "Come on up to the House."
Scott Adle,
I'm with you on the Netflix. Only way to go.
What's Klosterman's latest book?
Thanks Pastor Hansen for the recommendation. I'll check it all out.
Re: netflix DVD's. We rented the
3rd and 4th season of "24". It's
great, esply w/o commercials! The
one bad part is that once you've seen the 1st episode of a disk, you
can't just wait til another night
to see the rest. We've spent some
nights watching the whole 4 episodes cause we just *had* to know what was going to happen next!
Carl,
Yes, we've done the exact same thing many times.
Klosterman, of course, went with a rock reference and just named it "Klosterman IV". It's only in hardback right now, so I think I'll wait until it comes in paperback form, but I do plan on picking it up.
scott adle
Hey, Pastor!
Hope all of you are settling in well.
Tom Waits is a genius. I have been listening to his music for many years. Pure poetry in many cases.
My recommendations are as follows:
Closing Time...His first album (yes, album) with several classics done by bands such as the Eagles.
Nighthawks at the Diner...Each song builds on the previous with lots of great descriptive phrasing. If you want a good laugh, listen to "Better Off Without a Wife".
I enjoyed mindy's first cd, but is this new one really worth it?
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