January 19, 2009 -- MLK Day

This is a great read and topical for today. A novel about Music,
prejudice and little Physics thrown in. A description:

"On Easter day, 1939, at Marian Anderson’s epochal concert on the Washington Mall, David Strom, a German Jewish émigré scientist, meets Delia Daley, a young Philadelphia Negro studying to be a singer. Their mutual love of music draws them together, and—against all odds and better judgment—they marry. They vow to raise their children beyond time, beyond identity, steeped only in song. Jonah, Joseph, and Ruth grow up, however, during the Civil Rights era, coming of age in the violent 1960s, and living out adulthood in the racially retrenched late century. Jonah, the eldest, “whose voice could make heads of state repent,” follows a life in his parents’ beloved classical music. Ruth, the youngest, devotes herself to community activism and repudiates the white culture her brother represents. Joseph, the middle child and the narrator of this generation-bridging tale, struggles to find himself and remain connected to them both."

As for the concert, from Wikipedia: "The Roosevelts, with Walter White, then-executive secretary of the NAACP, and Anderson's manager, impresario Sol Hurok, then persuaded Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes to arrange an open air Marian Anderson concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.The concert, commencing with a dignified and stirring rendition of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" attracted a crowd of more 75,000 of all colors and was a sensation with a national radio audience of millions."

"My Country, 'Tis of Thee" , of course, time-travelling to the
I Have a Dream speech at the same location(15:40 mark.)
Let freedom ring!


Happy 200th Birthday Edgar Allan Poe.

Lots of good stuff at this web site:
The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore . I know he was
born in Boston and raised in Richmond, Va.,but I always associate
him with Baltimore. He is buried there. He also spent three
years in the The Bronx.

From The Cask of Amontillado.
"It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given
Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued, as was
my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that
my smile now was at the thought of his immolation."



This is another good Ale. Lots of flavor and bite.

From the Brewery Web site:

"Tröegs Brewery’s Flagship beer, HopBack Amber Ale derives its name from a vessel in the brewhouse called a hopback. As the ‘wort’ is being transferred from the brewhouse to fermentation it passes through the hopback vessel. Packed full of fresh whole flower hops,the wort slowly circulates through this vessel extracting the essence of the aromatic hops. This vessel adds more time and more hop character that creates a fresh, spicy taste and rich caramel note that defines this signature ale."



Yeah, I like wine too. This was a gift and it is comprehensive.
Will be poking around and seeing if it helps. My usual tastes
run in Red.