Tag: lists
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Steve Miller Band and ‘chocolate cake’ rock
This is a great profile of Steve Miller of the Steve Miller Band, written by musician Max Marshall, whom Miller befriended as a middle schooler and has mentored ever since. In one part Marshall describes the enduring appeal of Miller’s music: To a lot of Steve Miller Band fans, the seventies hits are like “chocolate…
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Top 5 ‘Lord of the Rings’ moments
It’s been 15 years since Lord of the Rings: Return of the King was released, prompting Filmspotting to dedicate an entire episode to the trilogy. And it’s been 10 years since I wrote my own appreciation of the films and the fond memories surrounding them. My feelings haven’t changed since then. In fact I have…
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‘Remember what’s important’ and other principles of the modern hunter-gatherer
Humans are not hunter-gatherers anymore, but we were for a long time. Nicholas Bate has a list of 50 skills we collectively gained from that era can go to waste in our modern existence, unless we realize how useful they still are. I like the list because it combines small practicalities with big-picture stuff. For…
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How to have better conversations
Via Kottke, here are radio interviewer Celeste Headlee’s 10 tips for better conversations: Don’t multitask. Don’t pontificate. Use open-ended questions. Go with the flow. If you don’t know, say that you don’t know. Don’t equate your experience with theirs. Try not to repeat yourself. Stay out of the weeds. Listen. Be brief. I’m better at…
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Favorite Books of 2017
Goodreads tells me I read one less book this year than last. Though always tempted to read ever more and more, I’ve become less concerned about hitting arbitrary reading quotas, so I’m able to better enjoy the books I do read. Here are the 2017 books I enjoyed the most, with links to reviews I…
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#SheToo: Favorite Films of 2017
The overarching theme of the year in film, to me, was Wonder Women. Not only was the Wonder Woman film good, but in a year when badly behaving men dominated the news, I’m grateful there were so many richly drawn female protagonists who ran the gamut of strong, vulnerable, funny, and complicated, and who made…
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2017 in review
See other year in review posts. This is the view from my New Year’s Eve. Since I can count the number of degrees it is outside on one hand, I decided to stay in this morning to look back at my 2017 calendar and remember the notable events, trips, and people that made up my…
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Highlights from #XmasMusicBinge2017
As I near the end of my annual Christmas music binge, a few songs have stuck out. Check them out while the mood is right and the spirit’s up: “Mvmt II: Begin and Never Cease” by The Oh Hellos, The Oh Hellos Family Christmas Album. You really ought to listen through the whole (short) album in…
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Top films of 2007: will ‘There Will Be Blood’ be there?
Filmspotting’s recent Sacred Cow review of There Will Be Blood inspired me to rewatch it for the first time since seeing it in theaters, and go back and look at my top films of 2007. They were: 1) The Lives of Others (technically 2006, but released in the U.S. in 2007) 2) Once 3) Waitress 4)…
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The Christmas Songs
It’s that time of year When the world falls in love Every song you hear seems to say Merry Christmas May your new year’s dreams come true — “The Christmas Waltz” For a while I only listened to Christmas music in December. This rule kept that music fresh, even sacred (something I like to do), and…
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Things I’m thankful for: a Thanksgiving list
my wife family friends my job my banjo books the coming winter movie theater gift cards the Judge John Hodgman podcast Sam Cooke the smell of evening air Thanksgiving a warm bed in a cool room lakeside morning runs egg nog health insurance trees
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It’s fall: what music are you listening to?
Here’s an incomplete, totally subjective playlist of music that reminds me of fall. Let me know in the comments what music reminds you of autumn. “October” by Eric Whitacre. Played the orchestral version of this in high school, but the choral version is just as good and beautifully evocative of the season. “Oh Shenandoah” folk…
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Music of the Moment, ctd
It’s been almost 10 years since I last did a “music of the moment” post (then called “soundtrack of the moment”), so I figured it was time for another. There’s no use trying to summarize a whole decade of musical discoveries and interests, so I’ll just try for the last few weeks. “Hole in Your…
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Favorite Films of 2016
According to my records I watched 83 films in 2016, 33 of which came out this year. As is the case with my reading, I’m in a “watch as much as I can” zone because I love movies and there’s so much great stuff and there are too many movies and I’ll never have this…
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Favorite Books of 2016
According to my records I read more than ever in 2016. Partially this was due to starting as a book reviewer for two library trade journals, thus increasing the volume of pages coming my way. But I also made more time overall for reading, because I love it and I work at a library and…
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The Apu Trilogy
Finally watched all of Satyajit Ray’s Apu trilogy: Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1956), and Apur Sansar (1959). The Criterion editions are, no surprise, beautifully rendered. Filmspotting’s recent Satyajit Ray marathon compelled me to finally give them a go. I’d heard of the trilogy first from Image‘s Arts & Faith Top 100 Films list, which I’ve…
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Favorite Films, Books & Albums of 2015
Resurrecting my 2013 choice to include all my best-ofs into one omnilist, here are 15 films, books, and albums I loved from 2015. Film 1. BrooklynThere’s a scene about five minutes into Brooklyn that setup the whole film for me. Eilis (Saoirse Ronan), soon bound for a new life in 1950s America, watches as her…
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Fourteen Memories
Fourteen scattered memories, in no particular order, written at whim on the occasion of my birthday on the fourteenth of September. 1. Every summer, on their way down to or up from Texas, Grandma Helen and Grandpa Cliff stayed with us in Madison for a few days. Knowing they’d be there when I got home…