WordTwit | Aye Wonder

Photo Hunter #23 – Walking

On 05.02.09, In Photo, Photo Hunt, Photo Hunter, Photo of the Week, Photography, By Mike

I wasn’t expecting to post today but I woke up at 4 AM and thought; what else is there to do at this time of the morning? When I remembered that Saturdays are Photo Hunter day, I went over to TNchick’s site to check out today’s theme. As soon as I saw that today’s theme is walking, I knew right away which photo I was using.

This photo was choreographed in the sense that we asked our 4 caddies at Golf House Club in Elie, Scotland to walk ahead of us and flip us off for the photo opp of the century. After a little coaxing, this was the result. Thanks to Steve Walsh for having the vision for this shot!

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Tagged with: Ahead • Caddies • Elie • Golf Club • Golf House Club • Golf Scotland • Photo Hunter • Saturdays • Scotland • Steve Walsh • WordTwit

Truth in Advertising

On 04.17.09, In Don't Miss This, Food, By Mike

Fast food restaurants deserve their reputation. Are they convenient? Yes. Do they serve up slop? Yes, again. These photographs show the food as advertised and then again as served in their restaurants. Big diff, as the kids say.

This is the advertised McDonald’s skillet burrito

And this, the purchased one.

This is the advertised Arby’s Beef ‘n’ Cheddar

And one served at the restaurant

Here’s the advertised version of KFC’s famous bowl

And this one, the dog’s dinner:

If you have an appetite (pun intended ) to see more of these you can visit here.

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Tagged with: Appetite • Arby S • Burrito • Cheddar • Fast Food Restaurants • Food • food restaurants • Kfc • Mcdonald • McDonald's • Photographs • Pun • Reputation • Skillet • Slop • Truth • Truth In Advertising • WordTwit

Woe is Me

On 04.16.09, In Mind the Gap, Scotland, By Mike

Woe, Woe is MeI really miss Scotland. I do. My cynical friends from England will read this and think I’ve gone off my meds. But England and Scotland have been wedded for just over 300 years and have predictably grown apart (like the US north and south appear to be doing now!). Truth be told, it’s Scotland that is the self sufficient county. They have great cattle, game, fish, poultry, vegetables, ale, whisky and most importantly, oil. Like England, it is a beautiful country but Scotland has a much more diverse topography. The Highlands are breathtaking as are the Inner and Outer Hebrides, an archipelago of islands off of Scotland’s northwest coast. Visit once and Scotland will get into your bloodstream faster than a dram of Glenmorangie. It’s an amazing place and a place that I haven’t visited in 20 months, the longest dry spell since I visited there for the first time 30+ years ago. Go behind the tab for more…

Why I miss ScotlandSometime ago I wrote a post about the 10 Reasons I Love Scotland. You can read part one, here and part two, here. Today, I’d like to tell you, a year and half removed from the country, what I miss the most about Scotland; why after all this time is it a place I think about every single day.

I have considered this scrupulously. I know what I love about Scotland but the reasons can’t entirely be why the country is so under my skin. No, my rapturous love for Scotland is all about the way of life. One of the things about living in America that we take for granted is that everything is so incredibly convenient. We have huge fridges that store a week’s worth of food. We live in a world where the town center is no longer important; the mall is important or the Super Stop & Shop. In Scotland (and England) the town center is the cog of life. I must admit that when I was younger, the town center was even more important there than it is now. But for better or worse (I say worse), the US way of doing things is rubbing off in the UK. I think there’s something really great about walking to the butcher, the fish monger, the produce store, the cheese and bottle shops to pick up the evening’s meal. You see your neighbors, stop for a pint, share a laugh with your pastor or make golf plans along the way. The town center has a pulse, its own life. I positively LOVE that. In St Andrews, where my home is, I can walk everywhere. If I wanted to go out for dinner, I could walk to 25 restaurants and an equal amount of pubs. If I wanted to see a movie, I could walk to the local cinema where three current movies are on offer. I wouldn’t have to jump in the car and drive to the multiplex where there are 15 films vying for my attention. OK, so I don’t have as much of a choice but is that a terrible thing? I could wait until next week when all three movies change. Even though I live today in the middle of a large city, I long for a simpler life. But I don’t want to live in isolation. A small town, where I can walk to everything, suits me. I can walk to golf, the beach, the botanical gardens, the theater or the cafe. Is that available anywhere in the US? Maybe in a resort town but then you are faced with isolation in winter. Scotland has everything I want.

Yet, I am still here.

Here’s a quick joke for you:

What’s one thing you will never hear in Scotland?

Oh that car? That’s the bagpiper’s Porsche.

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Tagged with: Amazing Place • America; • Amp Shop • Archipelago • Beautiful Country • Bloodstream • Butcher • Cog • Dram • Dry Spell • Food • Fridges • Game Fish • Glenmorangie • Living In America • Meds • Northwest Coast • Oil • Porsche • Poultry Vegetables • Scotland • Single Day • Topography • United Kingdom • United States • Way Of Life • Whisky • Woe • WordTwit

Public Declamation

On 04.15.09, In This Time It's Personal, By Mike

One of the time honored traditions of Boston Latin School, where I went to High School, is public declamation. I wrote about this once before here. Three times a years, pupils in the 7th-10th grade had to recite a poem or prose, committed to memory, in front of their English class. If the teacher thought it was one of the best, you had the opportunity to compete in the school wide assembly. In retrospect, it was a great way to learn public speaking. In many ways, picking the right poem/prose was like selecting the right song on American Idol. If performed badly in front of the class, or worse yet – in front of the entire school, you were done. Toast. Finis. As a result, I always selected my recitations with great care. First I Look at the Purse, the Smokey Robinson/Robert Rodgers tune, was one of my favorites and best received. I also loved Rudyard Kipling’s work, which clearly is a far cry from Smokey. Kipling’s Gunga Din was great fun to recite because of the cockney dialect that you could use in its delivery. But one of Kipling’s poems has stayed with me even now. It’s called If and it was written in 1895. If is all about leadership and it is as poignant now as it probably has ever been. It’s worth revisiting.

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man my son!

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Tagged with: 10th Grade • American Idol • Boston Latin School • Cockney Dialect • Entire School • Far Cry • Finis • Fools • Gunga Din • Heap • High School • Imposters • Kipling Poems • Knaves • One Of My Favorites • Prose • Pupils • Recitations • Retrospect • Robert Rodgers • Rudyard Kipling • Smokey Robinson • Teacher • WordTwit • Wornout Tools

Aye Wonder Tuesday – The Beginning of a Streak?

On 04.14.09, In Aye Wonder Tuesday, By Mike

A post Passover/Easter greeting to all of you. I seem to be writing with slightly more frequency. Will it continue? Time will tell but I am guessing – yes! I must start by saying that the plethora of bad news is brutal on the psyche. There is no escaping the economic news that is top of minds and newspapers. Crime seems to be up or at least it feels that way. We are getting “fee-ed” to death because local state and city governments budgets are out of balance. North Korea is restarting their nuclear arms plant. Somali Pirates have taken over the North African seas. It all makes a news lover and follower want to never pick up the paper or tune into CNN. When I am uniformed, I feel empty. News constantly fills my brain and perhaps it is the root of my sleep problems. So today here at Aye Wonder, there will be nothing but good news and entertaining thoughts. Your regularly scheduled, miserable post will be back next week. Same Bat time. Same Bat channel.

☞ I want to start by putting you all in a good mood. I always say that British advertisements are the best. They always are chockablock with humour. In the UK, it seems you can’t sell anything unless it is funny. This ad from Wilkinson Sword takes the cake. It is filled with hillarious sexual innuendo and double-entendres. Sounds like a good start, n’est pas?

☞Mark Fidrych died yesterday. He was a baseball player that played at the major league level for a brief but memorable period in the 70s before suffering a career-ending injury. There is nothing happy about Mark Fidrych’s death but I will tell you this: anyone who ever saw him pitch will tell you that not only was his craft superior, he approached the game like he was 8 years old. He talked to the baseball, he groomed the pitcher’s mound on his hand and knees and he ran out to his teammates when they made great plays. His curly hair stuck out of his hat like the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. You couldn’t wait to see him pitch again. When the newsreel comes on this weekend, watch Big Bird as he was called. It will make you feel young, happy and sad. RIP Mark Fidrych.

☞I have always wanted to go to Cuba. I hear that the food is wonderful, the music invigorating and the culture a throwback to the 50-60s. Yesterday, President Obama made a long overdue policy change that will relax travel restrictions to Cuba. I won’t be the first person in line but I cannot wait to visit. We debated going once while we were in Turks & Caicos but thought the better of messing with the State Department. Cuba will change with a tourism influx so make your plans if you ever wanted to go.

☞I like to share some of the music that I listen to with you. Usually, it is new music but sometimes I like sharing things you haven’t heard in awhile but are likely to be familiar with. Today, you get both! I was listening to an old soundtrack from the 80’s and was reminded what a magnificent frontman and writer Joe Strummer was. This track from the movie Sid & Nancy is called the Dum Dum Club. It got some limited play when it came out but it definitely stands the test of time. See if you agree. The second song is called Easy Beat by Dr. Dog. Dr. Dog is a Philly outfit that immediately sounds familiar but at the same time brand spanking new. Their vocal harmonies are easily reminiscent of the Beatles or the Beach Boys. Easy Beat starts off with a Dick Dale Misirlou surf riff that immediately makes you think that you know the song. You don’t of course, as it goes careening on a different path. I like this band a lot. Check them out.

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☞Guess what? It’s getting close to lunchtime and I am thinking about sandwiches again. Not that I am going to have one, mind you. But since I fancy myself a sandwich artisan, I wonder how you think this sounds? We had a pork roast for dinner on Sunday and I got to thinking about a great sandwich I had ages ago with pulled pork and eggplant. It really is delicious. But what could be better? How about this: pulled pork and melted Fontina cheese with a slight drizzle of maple syrup on a richly cut sourdough bread? Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Thank you very much.

☞I think it is highly likely that Eliot Spitzer will run again for public office, perhaps even the New York Attorney General job. Spitzer, by no means above the law, seems like too good a public servant to call it a day. I really believe that the same people he was investigating are the ones that dropped a dime on his prostitution issues. I hope New Yorkers can forgive (no one ever forgets). David Patterson is a good example of inept public servitude. Spitzer looks like the second coming by comparison.

☞Can you see how difficult it is to come up with good news? I mean, I don’t want to resort to talking about Bo, the new Obama dog.

☞Good News: The Yankees have started the season with 3 wins and 4 losses. Bad News: The Red Sox are 2-5. Are the Sox auditioning for a part on Life on Mars?

☞Now, this is truly great news for us males over 50: a drug, that at the moment goes by the unmarketable name of MDV3100, could halt prostrate cancer if taken daily. It could be ready in as little as 3 years. This is a major breakthrough in the fight against cancer. Lets hope this is the real deal. Read the story here.

☞As I wrap up today’s Aye Wonder, I remember that I failed to give you last week’s quote of the week. I will not forget today. This week I have an old Welsh proverb for you that while the language is dated, the sentiment is not. Just remember this, the press views good news as no news at all. Hang in there.

Bad news goes about in clogs, Good news in stockinged feet.

Aye Wonder what good news today will bring.

And I hope you’re wondering right along with me.

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Tagged with: Attorney General • Baseball • Baseball Player • Bat Channel • Bat Time • cancer • City Governments • Cnn • Cuba • Curly Hair • David Patterson • Department of State • Dick Dale Misirlou • Dog • Dum Dum Club • Easter • Economic News • Eliot Spitzer • Follower • Food • Good Mood • http://www.ayewonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/04-easy-beat.mp3 • http://www.ayewonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/06-dum-dum-club.mp3 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC0uGcorAl0 • Joe Strummer • Mark Fidrych • Memorable Period • North Korea • Nuclear Arms • Obama • Passover • pitcher • Plethora • President • Scarecrow • Sexual Innuendo • Sid & Nancy • Sleep Problems • Somali Pirates • the Beach Boys • The Beatles; • travel restrictions • United Kingdom • Wilkinson Sword • WordTwit • writer • Youtube

To Twitter or Not to Twitter? That is the Question.

On 04.13.09, In Technology, This Time It's Personal, By Mike

I hope you’re nothing like me. If you are like me, I am very sorry because you would be doing some of the same inane, unproductive things that I do. You would be sitting in front of your computer or your iPhone or BlackBerry tapping out incessant Facebook statuses or Tweeting on Twitter; or you might be sharing your mood with every Tom, Dick and Fiona on your MySpace page. For that matter, you might be blogging, texting, emailing, Skyping, downloading or im-ing. I’m sure I am missing something. My God, what would happen if I was statusless on Facebook? Would thousands freeze in their tracks by not knowing that I was about to have a peanut butter and banana sandwich? Would I feel less triumphant if I had no one besides my family to share it with? Or is it important now that my 6258 friends on MySpace have access to my every lucid mood?

When I think back, I realize that I have been moving in this direction for a long time. I know it didn’t just come about recently. I can remember sitting in front of my Commodore 64 with the blinking green cursor using DOS prompts to get into an IRC chat room. (If you don’t know what that means, you may be safe. ) I think back to 1984 when it may have been me and the CIA that was online. Did my unproductive behaviour then make me rich and famous now? Was I another Steve Jobs or Bill Gates in waiting? Ah. No. What was it about chatting with someone in Santa Fe, N.M. about the type of winter they were having there that had so much appeal? Wait. Now that I think about it – Santa Fe & the CIA…hmm….maybe the weather was a euphemism for something else entirely only I was an unwitting conduit for a message to someone else. Whoa.

I wonder about technology all the time and wonder if it really has made us a better nation or people. Some of it is really terrific and has made life more enjoyable. An iPod comes to mind imediately. Email has it good points and bad points but I cannot imagine living without it. I’m not sure where MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, blogging et al. fit on the productive/unproductive continuum. Are we a better world without newspapers? Can blogging or internet reporting take their place in the world? We certainly won’t have to stick around long for that answer. Will there ever be another Beatles, Rolling Stones, Who, U2 or Radiohead? Or has the demise of the music industry due to free/pirate digital downloading killed the album and music promotion?

There is no stuffing the genie back into the bottle. We have made our bed with technology. It is here for good or until the next great application, gadget or social network superceeds it. I’m ok for now but if I read one more Facebook status that says “[Name] is chillaxing” I may just go off my Gmail.

By the way, I can be reached via Twitter on Ayewonder.

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Tagged with: Add New Tag • Amp • Bill Gates • Blackberry • Central Intelligence Agency • Cia • Commodore • Commodore 64 • Cursor • Dick • DOS • Euphemism • Fiona • Iphone • Irc Chat Room • Missing Something • New Mexico; • Peanut Butter And Banana Sandwich • Rolling Stones • Santa Fe • Skyping • Social Network • Statuses • Steve Jobs • Texting • Tom • Tom Dick • Twitter • Weather • WordTwit

Opening Day Aye Wonder Tuesday

On 04.07.09, In Aye Wonder Tuesday, By Mike

I think about blogging all the time. I think about how much I love doing it, how much I hate it and how much time it requires. The time factor is what always stops me dead in my tracks. It’s not really about how long it takes to write. That part is easy. It’s about how much consideration I pour into writing. It may not get written about but whenever I sit down to think about all the wacko things I think about, I end up spending 2, sometimes 3, hours on a single Aye Wonder post. Wouldn’t you agree that it’s difficult to carve out an extra 2-3 hours out of your day? All that aside, if it appears here, sometimes it becomes a weight that has been lifted, if you will. I think about it less. I feel like – if you are thinking about it now too that somehow it lightens the load for me. I know it’s not true. I was telling a friend of mine that sometimes I think of the strangest things. For example, on a recent trip to St Barth (alternatively spelled St Barths, St Bart or St Barts), I began thinking about why some of the towns named after a saint have a “s” at the end; St Andrews immediately comes to mind. Was the town named after 2 or 3 or more St Andrews? I know that’s not true, so why the multiple insinuating “s?” Was it possessive and over time the apostrophe was dropped? Try googling that one puzzle-master. I don’t know what to say. My mind is constantly in motion and I suppose…it beats the alternative. Over the past several months while I wasn’t writing, I have been thinking and thinking and thinking. Sometimes I ponder about the most mundane of issues and other times, most other times, about the issues that plague us as a nation and as a world. Lucky you. I am sharing today.

☞Since President Obama was elected, I thought his demeanor and thoughtfulness would win over some of his detractors. So far? I couldn’t be more wrong. Yesterday, the Pew Research Center produced a study that shows that the partisan gap in approval ratings is the highest in 4 decades. In other words, 88% of Democrats think that the President is doing a bang up job while only 27% of Republicans think the same. How is it possible that we can all look at the same body of work and come up with such disparate opinions? I know the argument; Democrats think that government is the solution and Republicans think that government is the problem. Is it possible that we are all mired in thinking that is conventional and not reflective of the times? Just wondering.

☞Bernie Madoff is really the scum of the earth.

☞In 1976, George Harrison lost a lawsuit that claimed Harrison’s My Sweet Lord was plagiarized from the Chiffon’s He’s so Fine. Since then, there have been many claims of copying songs but the most recent instance will definitely draw a lot of publicity. Coldplay was in court yesterday defending themselves against claims that their Viva la Vida was directly copied from Joe Satriani’s If I Could Fly. Have a listen for yourself and remember….there are only 8 notes.

☞Many of you have asked about how my recent foray into band management is going. Hmm…great, terrible, rewarding, frustrating, exciting, depressing…well you get the idea. It’s like parenthood. ENDWAY is five incredibly talented, mid-twenty guys who want success and they want it now. We have had some exciting moments together. The band played SXSWin Austin, TX., the largest independent music festival in the world. Tomorrow, Morgan Dorr, ENDWAY’s lead singer, belts out the National Anthem at Fenway Park where the Red Sox host the Tampa Bay Rays in the night game home opener. But in fairness, we also have had our struggles. In all, I love doing it. The guys are genuine, big-hearted and open to learning the process. We have a plan that requires execution and will surely give us a leg up in the industry. Stay tuned for the unearthing of the plan. Below is the press release for tomorrow and underneath that is a clip of Morgan singing the Anthem.

***MEDIA ALERT***

MORGAN DORR TO BRING ENDWAY TO FENWAY
Lead Singer, Boston Favorite to Sing National Anthem at Red Sox Game

WHAT: Morgan Dorr, lead singer of Boston’s very own Endway will make his “major league” debut as he sings the National Anthem at Fenway Park in Boston, MA, as the Red Sox take on the Tampa Bay Rays for the first night home game of the 2009 season.

WHO: Morgan Dorr, lead singer of Endway will perform the National Anthem, with the sideline support of band members, Kevin McHugh (Guitar / Vocals), Scott James (Drums), Brian Lempert (Keyboard) and Alex Sandman (Bass / Vocals). Their album, Action, was released in the summer of 2008 and follows their successful self-titled 2005 release. Following their recent performance at SXSW in Austin, TX, the band drove an additional eight and a half hours to go to New Orleans to volunteer for the Animal Rescue New Orleans (ARNO) with animals that were abandoned and lost during Hurricane Katrina.

Also, while touring in Costa Rica in January 2008, Morgan, Kevin, Brian and Scott worked hands-on with the Roberta Felix Foundation, a charity that benefits underprivileged children with special needs. “During the day we were contributing in any way that we could,” says guitarist Kevin McHugh. “It was an eye-opening experience to see that every little bit counts.”

Four songs from the debut album are featured on five successful MTV shows including The Real World, Road Rules, and The Hills. Endway has shared the stage with national acts: All Time Low, Brand New, Boys Like Girls, Hoobastank, Dashboard Confessionals, A New Found Glory, Fair To Midland, Damone, The Lost Prophets, and The White Tie Affair.

WHEN: Wednesday, April 8, 2009
7:00 pm National Anthem

WHERE: Fenway Park
4 Yawkey Way
Boston, Massachusetts 02215

CONTACT: Traci Coulter / traci@tcopr.com / 917.776.9184

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☞Two weeks ago, a senior Chinese official floated the idea that the dollar should be dropped as the key reserve currency. While our financial leadership, Geithner & Bernanke, rejected the Chinese proposal, don’t think for one second that issue is going away because we want it to. Given our domestic financial conundrum, we are no longer dictating policy to the world. Expect China to push this issue. What happens with it may be the key to our future.

☞In my last post, I mentioned my disappointment over Scarlett Johansson’s decision to trade in her blond locks for brunette ones. I misreported and I am happy to say, she is not brunette but a redhead. I am perfectly fine with this. That is all.

☞I just made myself a lovely little sandwich for lunch. It had soppressata, provolone cheese, oregano, fresh basil and a glisten of extra virgin olive oil. I would have loved to put it all on a richly sliced French boule but I settled for a more diet conscious wheat wrap. I think I mentioned this awhile ago here that I love to make sandwiches. Combining ingredients across a variety of different cuisines to make a mouth watering lunch appeals to me. If you are ever in Boston, venture over to La Verdad on Lansdowne St. Make certain that you are hungry and then order Ken Oringer’s Chicken Milanesa Torta. It is a griddled sandwich that has oaxaca cheese, molasses-chipotles, avocado, Mexican herbs, refried bean & mayonesa. (It is also served with Yucatan slaw and spiced plantain chips.) It is an amazing amalgamation of heat and cool, firm and messy, contrasting textures and all round goodness. It is without question the best sandwich I have EVER had. So there.

☞My friend, Mary Grace knew North Carolina was going to win the NCAA Championship last night. And while my hat is off to her, I will go out on a limb and predict that your Boston Red Sox will win the 2009 World Series. Jed Lowrie will turn out to be the second coming of Dustin Pedroia. Jacoby Ellsbury will be the league’s most potent leadoff hitter and his play in centerfield will be a marvel to watch. Most importantly, the pitching staff will be the envy of all. 100+ wins is within reason. You heard it here first.

Aye wonder if I should be in the prediction business.

And so should you.
Welcome back.

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Tagged with: Action • Alex Sandman • Anthem • Apostophe • Apostrophe • Approval Ratings • Array • Austin • Bernie Madoff • Boston • Boston Favorite • Boston Red Sox • Boston'S Very Own Endway • Brian Lempert • China • Costa Rica • Decades • Demeanor • Detractors • Dustin Pedroia • Endway • Fenway Park • Gap • George Harrison • Googling • Guitarist • Http://Www.Ayewonder.Com/Wp-Content/Uploads/2009/04/06-National-Anthem.Mp3 • Http://Www.Youtube.Com/Watch?V=UvB9Pj9Znsw • If I Could Fly • Jacoby Ellsbury • Jed Lowrie • Joe Satriani • Ken Oringer • Kevin McHugh; • Lead Singer • Mary Grace • Massachusetts • Morgan • MTV; • NCAA Championship • New Orleans • North Carolina • Obama • Official • Opening Day • Pew Research Center • President • Puzzle Master • Roberta Felix Foundation • Scarlett Johansson • Scott James • Spiced Plantain Chips • St Andrews • St Bart • St Barth • St Barths • St Barts • Strangest Things • SXSWin Austin • Texas • The Real World • Thoughtfulness • Time Factor • Tomorrow • Traci Coulter • Traci@Tcopr.Com • Virgin Olive Oil • WordTwit • World Health Organization • Yucatan

Save Your Brain…Listen to Music

On 01.26.09, In Uncategorized, By Mike

Old show (missed dearly) and a new category for Aye Wonder.

As you undoubtedly know if you’re a reader of this blog, I love music. I don’t stay within the friendly confines of the music I know. I love to discover new sounds and I am constantly on the look out for them. I read once that listening to music as a child helps with brain development, Now, studies show that listening as an adult may save your brain. That’s as good a reason as any to keep listening.

I realize that my love of music has been an obsession for years. It began innocently and relatively normally with a regular weekly purchase of 45’s. It was hit song or bust for me. I had to have them. (I still have a box with all of my old singles, most of them by either the Beatles, Stones or Motown.) Then, I bought my first two albums, Mudslide Slim and the Blue Horizon by James Taylor and Who’s Next by the Who. It was at this point that you could stick a fork in me. I was hooked. But the problem was money. How could I buy more music? While I pondered that, I went to the library to see what else I could score. My excitement brimmed over thinking about what I might turn up at the library but it all quickly turned to disappointment when I discovered that the library didn’t have any popular music. I didn’t want to leave the library empty handed so I blindly checked out a 1955 performance of Verdi’s romantic Italian opera, Rigoletto, featuring the great Maria Callas. The moment I first heard this opera was likely my biggest watershed moment. I was gobsmacked at the beauty of Callas’ voice, the intricacies of the music and the sheer power of the story. I walked around the house singing at the top of my lungs:

La donna è mobile
Qual piuma al vento,
Muta d’accento — e di pensiero.
Sempre un amabile,
Leggiadra viso,
In pianto o in riso, — è menzognera.

I didn’t know what it meant but I could sing it. Constantly. Loudly. Annoyingly. I knew the lyrics to Act 3, Scene 1 as well as I knew (I can’t get no) Satisfaction. Clearly, I needed to buy more records. I stuck my head through the door and there was no turning back. I tried every job that I could that was related in some way to music reasoning that if I worked in music I was exposed to more new music (it continues today). At age 16, I started All Ace Attractions, a booking agency finding bands for local school dances. A regional agency found out about the inroads I was making and gave me a signing bonus to join them. I leaped at the chance to begin booking colleges and national acts. During this time, I was balancing high school and subsequent to that, university. During college, I would drive back to school in order to DJ a nighttime radio show. I collected more and more records.

My record collection peaked just before the floor boards gave out at 0ver 10,000 albums. Regretfully, I sold all but the collectibles in 1995-6, when I realized that I couldn’t continue to store them all and also, when MP3s or digital recording were replacing even CDs. Now, I have built back my collection. I have 75,394 songs in 11,592 albums over 30 different genres, a Capella to Zydeco. All are in digital files. They are backed up in triplicate. 1/3 of my collection was released in this century, most by new artists. The artist with the most entries is Elvis Presley at 574 tracks. The Beatles are lurking right behind Elvis with 570.

Big and Rich offered some advice in their song, Save a Horse…Ride a Cowboy. While my advice doesn’t have the same catchy ring to it, it does have some longer lasting implications. Save your brain…listen to music.

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Tagged with: Act 3 Scene 1 • All Ace Attractions; • Beatles Stones • Blue Horizon • Brain Development • Friendly Confines • Intricacies • Italian Opera • James Taylor • Maria Callas • Motown • Mudslide Slim And The Blue Horizon By; • New Category • New Sounds • Opera Rigoletto • Pianto • Piuma • Popular Music • Sheer Power • The Beatles; • Top Of My Lungs • Vento • Viso • Watershed Moment • Who\'S Next; • WordTwit

Photo Hunter #23 – Walking

Truth in Advertising

Woe is Me

Public Declamation

Aye Wonder Tuesday – The Beginning of a Streak?

Opening Day Aye Wonder Tuesday

Save Your Brain…Listen to Music

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