Matthew

Like a lot of others, the pandemic gave me a chance to do more reading. Here are my three favorites of the year. Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristian Kobes Du Mez. A well written and important book to see just how Evangelical Christianity reached its present state. Great insights and highly recommended if anyone is interested in this topic. The First Fall Classic: The Red Sox, the Giants and the Cast of Players, Pugs and Politicos Who Re-Invented the World Series in 1912 by Mike Vaccaro. A fun and interesting read on the 1912 World Series. There's a great cast of characters involved, great games to read about, and it all adds up to a fun read. Henry David Thoreau: A Life by Laura Dassow. For some reason, I found this a deeply moving book. Thoreau comes across as a person who never felt at home in this world, and his commitment to a honest life cost him dearly. At the end of reading this book, I had so many conflicting emotions, it took awhile to sort them out. Thoreau is endless in his inspiration and impact.

Phil Spector has died

Al Stewart: Time Passages

The Style Council: Cafe Bleu

Bobby Hutcherson: Farewell Keystone Bobby Hutcherson: Four Seasons

Echo and the Bunnymen: Live in Liverpool

Old Hullabaloo shows.

A Flock of Seagulls S/T. I've been revisiting a lot of 1980's stuff, and gladly (for me at least), it's stood the test of time. When I first heard I Ran, I thought it was one of the coolest songs I ever heard.

Been going down a New Order rabbit hole, now on Power, Corruption and Lies.

California continues to be a mess, my mother, who is 82, can't even get an appointment on-line or by phone, just keep getting the message that appointments are full. Meanwhile, I get stuff like this:

Marc Almond: The Stars We Are

I hear you, V-8 tastes terrible!

I'm reading Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem The Wreck of the Deutschland tonight, such a great poem! Can you imagine what Hopkins thought when this poem was rejected by a fellow Jesuit? Didn't think it was good enough for some Jesuit journal. Just the opening stanza alone shows the wondrous creativity of Hopkins. Thou mastering me God! giver of breath and bread; World's strand, sway of the sea; Lord of living and dead; Thou hast bound bones and veins in me, fastened me flesh, And after it almost unmade, what with dread, Thy doing: and dost thou touch me afresh? Over again I feel thy finger and find thee.

Thought Forms by Annie Besant & C.W. Leadbeater. Read about this reprint in Dangerous Minds and it is fascinating. A Theosophical work from 1905, and it revolves around the question: what do invisible realities look like? Has fifty-three illustrations and it is a wonderful book to ponder over.

Ray Price: The Essential Ray Price 1951 - 1962. A confident singer, I'm amazed every time I listen to this.

David: I've been listening to Strum and Thrum while driving around, and it's great! Right now, I'm going through videos of the Sadistic Mika Band, wild and creative.

Vashti Bunyan: Just Another Diamond Day

Duerme by Tito Puente. This has such a nice, smooth, easy swing to it, a great dance number.

Tito Puente: Mucho Puente

Pre-pandemic, I had to drive all over the West, and on Sunday mornings, going through small towns that had an AM radio station, I'd hear some very.... interesting sermons.

On The Road With St. Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts. by James K. A. Smith.

I always loved Astoria - Portrait of the Artist, thought it was a high quality album.

Buck Privates

For what it's worth Dan, I have similar symptoms (though my public speaking it still there, which is good since that's basically my job!), and last week underwent an Dementia test, and fully passed. To say I'm relived is an understatement! My father had Dementia (the violent kind), my maternal uncle has it, and I'm very concerned about the present and future -- I'm 62. It can seem to us that we're losing it, but sometimes we're the worst judge of these things. Praying for the best for you.