Last night, I stopped by the car dealership to pick up the set of floormats and the wheel cover they owed me. There was a huge champagne-wine-and-hors d’oeuvres kickoff party going on for the new Volkswagen Phaeton. The kids grabbed a couple pieces of cheese toast, and I looked for my salesguy. A few minutes …
Success
Success: To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden …
Metropolis
Here’s another song that’s been stuck in my head. I like the way the lyrics capture the feeling of being in a huge city (which is where I am as I write this, oddly enough). This is from the Manhattan Transfer’s Brasil album, which is a gem– you can listen to it end-to-end and walk …
Jo
Saw Joao Gilberto at Ravinia last night. He is a true legend. Here’s a guy who would just sit in his robe and play his guitar and sing for hours and hours, sometimes in the bathroom (where the acoustics are perfect, of course) and he came up with an entirely new musical style. My one …
Fourth of July Recap
The Fourth was pretty cool. We saw American English at Frontier Days. I’ve seen these guys at various festivals over the past 10-plus years, but this is the first time I ever saw their entire show. They pull the Beatles thing off really well. After the show, we bought their latest CD, “What If… 1971.” …
Hardrock and Frosty and Snow
If you grew up in Chicago, you’ll remember the neat little stop-animation films they used to show on WGN-TV at Christmastime. I’ve ripped the audio portion of these films to MP3, and they’re attached for your enjoyment. Click the links to hear them: Susie Snowflake Hardrock, Coco, and Joe Frosty The Snowman
Remembering 9/11/01
In August, 2002 the suburban Chicago newspaper The Daily Herald asked readers for their thoughts on the events of September 11, 2001. On September 3, 2002 they published my letter below: