17% off for St. Patrick's Day. Trees, that's what it is about. Richard Powers will make it interesting.
I thumbed through this while at Barnes and Noble. Didn't have a coupon then. A quick review, packaged in graphics. I need it for the plays I haven't seen or read. A small lot.
Sirius XM Channel 30 had Irish Music all weekend. Flogging Molly‘s Dave King and Bridget Regan hosted traditional jigs and contemporary Irish rock songs — from folk groups like The Chieftains and The Dubliners to Celtic punk bands like Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys, and The Pogues. Real good stuff.
A quick trip to the Library resulted in these two books. I've read Isaacson before: 1-The Wise Men(with Evan Thomas): Six Friends and the World They Made: Acheson, Bohlen, Harriman, Kennan, Lovett, and McCloy,2-Benjamin Franklin and 3-Einstein. He's a terrific writer who simplifies the complex as well as anyone.
I've never read this early Richard Powers work. This looks good. Science and emotions, a recurring theme.
Shine On Harvest Moon By Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth (1903)
Shine on, shine on harvest moon Up in the sky, I ain’t had no lovin’ Since January, February, June or July Snow time ain’t no time to stay Outdoors and spoon, So shine on, shine on harvest moon, For me and my gal.
On my must read list: Generosity by Richard Powers. Reviewed in today's New York Times Book Review by Jay McInerney.
Pumpkin Ale, not bad. Ale Street News has a column by Lew Bryson on why Pumpkin Ales generally suck.
My own Oktoberfest Taste-Test. The line-up minus Blue Point.
Brooklyn Oktoberfest wins, a close race and beats out Spaten Oktoberfest on tap. Blue Point Oktoberfest was very good but I have to rate it a close third. Sam Adams Oktoberfest on tap is last but not least. I liked them all. You can't miss with any of these brews.
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.
