Prelude to A Book: Aug 3, 2009

Books I've read in 2009

-- What the Dog Saw, by Malcolm Gladwell
-- The Football Fan's Manifesto, by Michael Tunison
-- Eating the Dinosaur, by Chuck Klosterman
-- Brothers Karamozov, by Fyodore Dostoevsky
-- The Book of Basketball, by Bill Simmons
-- The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown
-- Crime and Punishment, by Fyodore Dostoevsky
-- American Lion, by Jon Meacham
-- Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell
-- Seabiscuit, by Laura Hillenbrand
-- As They See 'Em, by Bruce Webber
-- Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell
-- Winston Churchill, by John Keegan
-- Boys Will Be Boys, by Jeff Pearlman
-- The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell
-- Bowls, polls and tattered souls, by Stewart Mandel
-- How to Rig an Election, by Allan Raymond
-- The Breaks of the Game, by David Halberstam
-- Southern Storm, by Noah Andre Trudeau
-- The Watchmen, by Alan Moore
-- Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
-- Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, by Chuck Klosterman
-- Me of Little Faith, by Lewis Black
-- Have a Nice Day, a tale of blood and sweatsocks, by Mick Foley
-- Ernie Davis: The Elmira Express, by Robert Gallagher
-- Born Standing Up, by Steve Martin
-- Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Books I've read in 2008 (24)

-- God in the White House, by Randall Balmer
-- Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown
-- The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman
-- Bearing the Cross, by David J. Garrow
-- Bringing Down the House, by Ben Mezrich
-- 1776, by David McCullough
-- Friday Night Lights, by H.G. Bissinger
-- Dreams From My Father, by Barack Obama
-- Ball Four, by Jim Bouton
-- Can I Keep My Jersey, by Paul Shirley
-- What Happened, By Scott McClellan
-- Against All Enemies, by Richard A. Clarke
-- Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
-- The Great Derangement, by Matt Taibbi
-- I May Not Get There With You, the true Martin Luther King, Jr., by Michael Eric Dyson.
-- '77, Denver, the Broncos, and a Coming of Age, by Terry Frei
-- The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, by Jeffrey Toobin
-- The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama
-- Hatemail from Cheerleaders, by Rick Reilly
-- The Kings of New York, by Michael Weinreb
-- Turning of the Tide, by Don Yeager
-- The Second Civil War, by Ronald Brownstein
-- The Last Shot, by Darcy Frey
-- I am America (and so can you)!, by Stephen Colbert

Monday, August 3, 2009

More Music

I've decided to explore some music performances to supplement my music post from before.

Lately I've enjoyed searching Youtube for interesting music performances that I either remember or had heard about.

First up is this Michael Jackson clip. I remain fascinated by how popular Michael Jackson was during life and how that popularity has inexplicably increased after death. No one in the public eye has ever remained an icon despite charges of sexual abuse of children. No politician, no celebrity, no athlete. No one except Michael Jackson has survived even an allegation of that particular offense. Without comment toward his guilt or innocence, it's just amazing that the accusation didn't ruin his popularity.

I actually remember when MJ was on top of the world. I remember when Beat It was released on video and how that sent shockwaves through the schoolyard. I remember dad showing us his recording of the video for Billie Jean. So, I actually remember when he ruled pop culture above everyone else. Just look at the people in the audience during this clip and you will see it.

No amount of plastic surgery, no allegation and no weird behavior could stand up to the love fans seemed to feel for him (which is just intesting to me). And, he could sure dance.

(As a side note, check out old interviews on Youtube with Michael Jackson and you will see that even in his Thriller days he was "eccentric" and showed the beginnings of a life as a strange recluse. For some reason his story fascinates me).

I remember hearing Fleetwood Mac a lot growing up. I even remember working for a newspaper and noticing how often I typed Rhiannon when entering the accomplishments of local children. The band made its mark on a generation.