Gmail at it again -- with Shelfie

It's tailor-made for Gmail to pull it off on April 1. That is the day when the service was launched as a beta release in 2004. So, when Gmail tells you that on their birthday, they have something new on offer, it's quite natural for anyone to be taken in, unless of course, you remember what Google had been up to the previous year or years.

Almost all Google services relish pulling a fast one on April 1. Cashing in on the current narcissistic craze, they poked fun at selfies. As millions of Gmail users around the world logged in, they were greeted with a pop-up announcement: the box that lets you select or change the background theme. At the end, they added: Create a Shelfie. The idea is simple, don't be so selfish: don't just keep looking at your own photo, share it with others, so that they too can look at you, forever. That's a shareable selfie or a Shelfie.

Gmail said it all in their blog post.

It didn't strike me at first, let me confess. In fact, only after I read the last line of the blog post, it occurred to me that it is April 1 and it's Google.

Candi Staton "I Ain't Easy To Love"

Candi Staton had a strange path to a mainstream comeback.

Her vocals from her 1971 song "He Called Me Baby" were sampled in 2009 for the One Eskimo hit "Kandi."

And with that attention, she's poised for a more traditional-style comeback---an album of new recordings, featuring some young supporters, including John Paul White of The Civil Wars and Jason Isbell.


Hear the song on Youtube.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Newspaper seen as credible source of information

Those days there were no apps, mobiles, computers, internet or 24x7 news coverage on a dozen television channels. After getting to know very briefly about news developments on All India Radio or Doordarshan, we had to wait for the next day's newspaper to know the details.

Cut to the present. The widespread belief is that fewer and fewer people, especially teenagers and youth, are interested in reading the newspaper. They, instead, turn to websites of their choice or apps on mobile phones or tablets.

The number of newspapers might dwindle, even substantially, over a period of time. But it may be too early to write their obituary.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend an open house of some readers of the newspaper I work for. And, in many ways it was an eye-opener. Some of the points I gleaned from the interaction were:

• Newspaper, especially the broadsheet format, is considered as the most credible source of information
• Children are not put off by the language. In fact, they look up to newspapers to learn new expressions and usages.
• Youngsters love to see colour and illustrations in newspapers.
• Few people think that newspapers should minimize or abandon their predominant serious role of informing and educating people, in favour of trivia and entertainment
• It's very difficult to understand what exactly readers want since they are interested in everything from local civic issues to international political developments.
• Web editions are mainly to check out the latest news developments. But there is huge demand for the e-paper format, the digital version of the physical paper. Because people want to see different sections and page numbers.

Even though lot of news is disseminated via blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Buzzfeed, Reddit etc, most people turn to news organizations for confirmation. The web formats may be catching on, but for the average reader, the printed word on paper seems to still comes across with a stamp of authenticity. Just as movie houses have thrived, though in fewer numbers, in spite of DVDs and online, many years down the line, we would still see physical newspapers coexisting with the web and e-paper formats.

Little Store

Hello!
So It is not a little secret that I have that little tab on the top for a little store. Hopefully I'll figure out soon to add a store for books, especially for signed ones. I already had a store that I could do stuff with my covers, put them on shirts, mugs, and jewelry. However I wanted to work with quotes. So I set up a second little store. I only have a couple of things up there now. If you can think of a quote of mine you like or a design that works with my books that you don't see, tell me! Email me at ottilieweber (at) gmail (dot) com. I'd love to hear suggestions. I'll probably add a couple more next weekend because this week and next is a lot of homework and two midterms (yeah I said midterms this late in the semester). I hope people find these quotes as funny as I did last night so I know it's not the lack of sleep coming through. The new store is named Ottilie's Closet because I didn't know what else to call it. I'm thinking of adding Riley's letters to shirts soon. You can change the colors of the shirts and the color of the fonts.

Ottilie's Closet.

Interview with Faye Hall

Hi Everyone!
Happy Saturday! I know it's been awhile since I posted. Grad school is kicking my butt a little and I've been working on a couple of projects, my goal is to have a couple of books come out back to back so I'm getting this ready. On a happier note I have an author interview today! This author is Faye Hall and she is very nice and you should take a minute to get to know her. Also you should check out her books if you are interested in historical fiction novels with twists then she is the author for you!

Interview with Faye Hall

1. What is your favorite part of writing?

My romances all have a certain amount of mystery and deceit in them as well as passion.  I love writing the twists and turns, the part that almost tears the hero and heroine apart, just before they are drawn back to each other.  It really is my favorite part.

2. What is your favorite genre to read?

I do enjoy regency romances, especially those by Amanda Quick.

3. What is your favorite dessert?

My husband makes the best Black forest cheesecake ever!

4. What was that moment that made you step up and take that step into the world of writing? To get from story on my computer to seeing who would publish my work?

That moment…I’d had my first child, was in a very unhappy relationship and I just thought one day that there must have been more to life than what I was living.  At the time I had about 50 half written scripts on my computer, so I picked one, finished it, and sent it off.  Unfortunately it was rejected, but it gave me the drive to just keep going.  When I reunited with the man who is now my husband, I gave him some of my scripts to read through.  He immediately told me how brilliant they were and insisted that I should start resubmitting them again.  So I did…and they rest, as they say, is history.

5. What was your favorite part of writing a story that took place in the past?

All of my books are set in the late Victorian years of Australia, a historical part of my country I was never taught at school, and barely knew existed.  So searching local history books, and trying to find what was available on the internet was really so very fascinating.  I’ve learnt more about the history of where I grew up in the last few years then what I ever knew before.

6. What is the hardest thing for you to write?

Definitely beginnings.  I struggle with them so much.

7. What is your favorite book?

Favorite would have to be Amanda Quick’s Deception.

8. When do you find time to write?

Not often lol.  Seriously, my husband and I have 9 children, so I literally write when I can where I can.  A lot is done after the children are in bed, but I do tend to jot notes down on my phone whilst waiting to collect them from school too.

9. Other than becoming an author what other jobs did you consider doing?

When I was eight I wanted to be a beauty therapist.  When I was 12 I wanted to be a fashion designer.

10. What advice would you give to those who want to write? 

Just keep writing.  If it’s what you love then you should never give up, no matter how many knock backs you may get.

My Gift to You

She's alot like You

website

Beavis & Butthead with Cher "I Got You Babe"

March 28th, 1994:

This cassette has been packed away for year, but I pulled it out, because it contains my debut as a radio DJ, 20 years ago today.

I've written plenty about how I ended up with a job in radio, and told a few stories about being a DJ on a Pop Station.

This first gig, at WABN in Abingdon, Virginia, was as the host of a nightly, call in Request Radio show.  And I've written about at before, here and here.

And I've even written about my very first time on the air.

But here it is.  Warts and all.  On a cassette.  (And in a stream, below)

All things considered, it's not too bad.  The mishap that happened off air is not heard on this tape.  And I very consciously was careful to say as little as possible on my first day, exercising great caution so as not of make a fool of myself.

I recall that after this first shift, Rita, one of the station owners taught me a very important lesson.

She drew on a piece of paper.  "What's this letter?"

"Dubya?"

"You pronounce it 'Double U.'  Not 'Dubya' or "Double-ya.'  The letter is two U's."

So on this tape, you can hear the one and only day that I went on the air and pronounced the "W" in "WABN" as "Dubya."  I have strictly adhered to Rita's correction for following 19 years and 364 days.

To this day, if I hear another DJ on the radio say "Dubya-MVY" it makes me crazy. 

I'm grateful to her, and her husband Craig, for the early guidance and shepherding.  I honestly had no idea that a little detour into a part-time radio gig would result in a 20-years-and-going career.

And certainly nothing on this tape would suggest a bright future.

So, if you can bear it, it's all here.  My first hour on the radio ever.  It's an hour of requests and dedications on a Pop radio station, with Dionne Warwick and Ace Of Base (and surprisingly, some Grateful Dead!), and yes, the hit of 1994-ish, Beavis & Butthead with Cher.

Enjoy.

Click here to open a stream of my radio station debut, 20 years ago.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Paul McCartney "Let Me Roll It"

I went out on Tuesday night to see St. Paul And The Broken Bones at Great Scott in Allston.

Paul made a joke early on, that they only had one album's worth of material, and so they were going to have to pad the set with a few covers.

I wasn't too surprised when they launched into the Sam Cooke tune "Shake," as it fit right into their wheelhouse of classic soul.  Nor was it surprising that they ended the show with a cover of "Try A Little Tenderness."

I WAS surprised, near then end of show, at a pretty interesting cover choice:

Paul McCartney & Wings "Let Me Roll It."

It seemed like an usual, but fun choice for a retro-Soul outfit.

But it was particularly surprising for me, considering that the last band I went to see live, Lake Street Dive, also covered "Let Me Roll It" during their live show.

It's a great McCartney track, but I feel like its a bit of an obscure one.

Now, if you're over 45, you are probably offended by that.

But if you are under 35, like all the band members of both bands mentioned, then you weren't born when "Band On The Run" came out.  And "Let Me Roll It" isn't like (the song) "Band On The Run" or "Jet" which still get regular radio airplay.

If you didn't have an older sibling who owned the record, or didn't grow up to be a McCartney fanatic, "Let Me Roll It" is an easy one to have missed.

But now I've heard it two shows in a row.

Could this be a trend in my life?  I hope so!

Next week, I'm going to see Rocket From The Crypt in Boston.  Is it likely that a punk-with-horns reunion show will contain a cover of "Let Me Roll It"?  Well, it's as likely as a retro-Soul band doing it, I guess.

And what about the following show I have on my calendar?  Part of the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival, at Berklee Performance Center on May 3rd,  "Comedians Who Have Been On The Daily Show And Also Comedians Who Have Not."

Is it too much to ask that you perform "Let Me Roll It" on that night, John Hodgman?

Hear Paul McCartney's "Let Me Roll It" on Youtube.


Hear Lake Street Dive's version on Youtube.


Hear St. Paul & The Broken Bones do it live on Youtube.

Aloe Blacc "The Man"

While we're mostly singer-songwriter, acoustic instrument and roots based, MVY does love to mix in a little bit of Soul music.  Especially if it connects back to classic mid-to-late 60s artists like Otis Redding and Sam Cooke.

What about that next generation of Soul performers like Bill Withers or the Isley Brothers?

That question was asked by my wife, who loves this new song by Aloe Blacc and thinks it recalls the groove of songs like "Be Thankful For What You Got" by William Devaughn.  To her, it sounds like something MVY should have on its playlist (the Old School AND the New School).

I can't picture it, but maybe I'm wrong.  What do you think?


Hear the song on Youtube.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Hindu Love Gods "Raspberry Beret"

A Throwback Tuesday post:

Warren Zevon had enlisted 3/4ths of R.E.M. as his backing band for the recording of the album "Sentimental Hygiene."  Somewhere during the recording of the album, the gang turned to recording a series of covers, including this one.

Usually these Throwback posts are tracks I haven't heard in ages, but I actually play this one a couple of times a year on my Live Acoustic And Covers segment, because 20+ years later, it's still fun.


Hear the song on Youtube.

MH370 tragedy: questions for which we may not have answers

Ever since the Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew members vanished about an hour into its flight on March 8, conventional wisdom all along, though not explicitly stated, was that it had crashed. Only runaway, bizarre conspiracy theories spoke of possibilities ranging from abduction by aliens to hijack by terror groups.

It was always hard for the kith and kin of the missing travellers to believe the obvious. The vacuum of information was filled only by the belief that all the 239 would be alive somewhere on earth and would one day emerge to tell the tale.

Since there were no sightings of MH370, the suspicion was that it had come down either over sea or over some remote forested land. Satellite images turned the focus area first to Strait of Malacca, then to South China Sea and then to Southern Indian Ocean.

New analytic method

After 16 days, yesterday, the time had come to face the inevitable. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said, "... with deep sadness and regret ... I must inform you that, according to this new data, flight MH 370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean."

The new data he was referring to was an analytic method, "never before used in an investigation of this sort".

Full text of Razak's statement here and the video here

Two agencies -- the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch and British satellite communication agency, Inmarsat -- were involved in the research. They used a mathematical model which was described by Inmarsat Senior Vice President Chris McLaughlin as ground breaking, to determine which way the plane flew and the point of last contact.

McLaughlin explained to CNN how they came to the conclusion. Read here.

In short, scientists analysed the pings the aircraft emitted and picked up by the satellite, to determine the direction the plane flew and and the approximate location of last contact, not long after which the plane would have gone down.

Bigger mystery

What we now know is only an area where the plane may have crashed. But it's no consolation to the kith and kin, who are demanding evidence, either wreckage or bodies. Going by the efforts being made, surely the wreckage would be found, may be after many months, or even many years.

But questions still remain, which are quite unlikely to be answered.

• How and why did the internal communication systems get turned off? 
• Why did the plane turn back from its normal flight path?
• If the pilots wanted to make an emergency landing, because of a mechanical fault, the plane should have headed to a land mass. Why did it fly to the remotest part our planet over sea, thousands of kilometers away from land mass? Unless something catastrophic happened too soon for the pilots to attempt a crash land, and the plane flew on auto-pilot.
• Was it a mindless deadly fantasy trip of someone on board?
• Was it a flight adventure of one of the pilots that went horribly wrong?
• Was it a hijack attempt that went wrong? Even if the pilots or crew wanted to thwart the hijack, the pilots would have guided the plane to land mass. 

The black box, when found, will yield a number clues. But we may still not know what went on in the minds of the pilots, crew and the passengers.

The Kairali ship mystery

The MH370 tragedy reminded me of the disappearance of Kairali, a ship owned by Kerala Shipping Corporation. It had sailed from Mar Goa to Rostok, Germany, via Djibouti, Africa, on June 30, 1979 with 53 people and 20,000 tonnes of iron ore. It vanished in Arabian Sea. That was a big story during my school days, and we used to spend time spinning conspiracy theories.

There is technology to locate the debris. The Kerala government periodically reiterates its determination to find an answer, but nothing really happens. Probably because the technology is very expensive. It was and might still remain a mystery.

Need for continuous tracking

How paradoxical that we can track both spacecraft that travel to outer space as well as a palm-sized mobile phone, but planes and ships vanish without a trace. Did technology fail us, or we failed technology? May be both.

The MH370 tragedy surely drives home the need to summon all the technological resources to put in place a system that will ensure continuous real-time tracking of aircraft and ships. It may be expensive, but might just be worth it.

Galactic with JJ Grey "Higher And Higher"

Two artists who can each lay down a dirty groove . . . together.

Too rocking for MVY?


Hear the song on Youtube.

Parkington Sisters "Inside My Head"

Radio is great for Theater Of The Mind.  But sometimes you just want a picture.

I mean, yes, as DJs we can actually engage the listeners brain more/better by saying "the purple elephant ran gracefully through the shopping mall" and allowing them to imagine it, rather than just showing them a Photoshopped facsimile.

That being said, we live in a multimedia world.  So sometimes it's good to share the visual.

I read a suggestion somewhere, that DJs using Social Media should approach connecting with the audience in the same way they might do a live break on the radio.

So we're doing some experimenting at MVY.

The video below is being posted on our Facebook page today.  It's a short promotion for our upcoming Monday Free CD, where yes, I tell a quick personalizing aside and then tell you how to win the CD, just like I would if I were doing a break on the air.

Hopefully this is more effective and engaging than just posting a Facebook status "Our Monday Free CD is from The Parkington Sisters!"

BTW, how cool and classy, to send a note just showing simple appreciation?  The world (not just the radio world) would be a better place if this kind of thing happened more often.


See the video on Youtube.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Bambi "Let's Sing A Gay Little Spring Song"

Hopefully, you are celebrating the end of winter and the first day of Spring by singing a gay little song . . .

Here's to getting Twitterpated!


Hear the song on Youtube.


See the scene on Youtube.

Suzanne Vega "I Never Wear White"

I love that Suzanne Vega is in her 50's, and is still wishing to push the sonic boundaries of the Folk and singer-songwriter genre.  I surprisingly rockin' tune.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Redd Kross "Lady In The Front Row"

A Throwback Tuesday post:

Aahhh, some 90s Power Pop.  These guys knew what they were doing.

For fans of Fountains Of Wayne . . .


Hear the song on Youtube.

The Chieftans & Brak "I'll Tell Me Ma"

Is it sad or funny that this is the first Irish tune I could think of, when I was trying to come up with something to post for St. Patrick's Day?

"Brak presents The Brak Album starring Brak" (he's a Space Ghost From Coast To Coast character, if you don't know) is full of delights.  And good on The Chieftains for playing along!


Hear the song on Youtube.

A political rally with a difference

Political party rallies aren't very different from one another, barring the party that organizes them. There are huge crowds; and an implicit assumption is that they have been hired, brought by the volunteers from neighbourhood villages and towns for a price. Speakers portray themselves as saviours of the poor and downtrodden while tearing into their opponents. Speeches dissolve into bland political rhetoric, notwithstanding the speakers' high vocal pitch and oratorical theatrics; finally everything sounding like pots calling the kettles black.

Today, I went for the Aam Aadmi Party's public meeting at Freedom Park, Bangalore. It was a political rally with a number of differences.

I reached the venue at 3 pm. There was a fairly a good crowd. At a booth near the entrance, one could pick up the AAP caps. They were for free, but the organizers expected a contribution -- of any amount -- towards the party. One could also register as a volunteer or even formally join the party. I made my way towards the podium, through the crowd, with some difficulty. I noticed that there was a barricade separating the audience -- women who had come alone or along with men, and senior citizens on one side; and men on the other side.

The composition of the crowd stood out. They were definitely not brought to the town from neighbourhood villages. No one paid them. But on the contrary, the members of the audience had offered whatever they could to the party's kitty. The audience comprised middle class and upper middle class people in the 25 to 40 age group. But there was a significant number of elderly people as well. Definitely not the ones who would normally go to such rallies, they were the new breed political followers who were evidently attracted by the pitch of the greenhorn party.

The huge crowd of young middle class and upper middle class people who had come to the AAP rally in Bangalore 

The atmosphere was festive. It made me feel as if I was at some college reunion or some youth festival. On the stage were youngsters with musical instruments like drums, keyboard and violin, playing well-known patriotic songs and a few ones composed by the party's lyricists mocking the current political culture. The rhythmic numbers and the young lady moderator's exhortations steadily electrified the atmosphere, with the crowd continually breaking into handclap and loud cheers. There was also a performance of "broom dance": a few young men and women doing an amateurish jig with brooms in their hands, and a song resonating with AAP theme playing in the background.

The podium wasn't covered. Obviously, since the party doesn't have the money to get an ornamental pandal and decorations. Everyone was sitting in hot (by Bangalore standards) sun.

At 4.10 pm, Arvind Kejriwal arrived to a thunderous applause and cheers of the crowd that had swollen to huge numbers by then. The AAP candidates were introduced to the crowd and there were speeches by a number of people, including a 96-year old person, Doraiswamy, if I remember the name right. He spoke so vociferously and passionately on the state of the nation lamenting the lack of progress even after decades of independence from the British. A former career diplomat, who resigned after the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition, too spoke, singing paeans to Kejriwal's dream of a new India.

Around 4.45 pm Kejriwal began speaking. It was the usual tirade against Congress, BJP, Rahul Gandhi, Narendra Modi and many others of both the national parties, besides Mukesh Ambani. Most of the attack was targeted against Modi, since he is tipped to the next prime minister going by multiple opinion polls. He read out names of many politicians of the BJP and the Congress who were allegedly involved in corrupt deals. He kept asking why Modi had to have people involved in dubious backgrounds in his ministry or in the party.

Arvind Kejriwal addressing AAP's Bangalore rally

He said he would consider himself fortunate if he had to lay down his life for the country. Mocking Modi for looking for a safe seat, he said if the party decides, he would contest against Modi in Varanasi. The speech went on for close to an hour. There were constant cheers on the lines of "Kejriwal, we are with you!".

This was definitely a political rally with a difference; at least for the following reasons:

• The type of crowd, comprising young, educated middle class and upper middle class people. 
• The lack of any decorations at the venue. There was no shade or even chairs on the the podium.
• The festive atmosphere, with music, songs and dance.
• The determination of speakers to plough a new and different track in India's political discourse. 
• Speeches free of old rhetoric of freeing the country from poverty, a staple of usual political speeches; 
• Projection of common man's problems as the most pertinent political theme. 

AAP's ideals sound noble. They reflect the frustration and disappointments of common people. Kejriwal seems to be a good leader, is a good speaker and knows how to steer political agendas. He has positioned himself as a politician with a difference; and AAP as a political party with a difference.

But the challenges before Kejriwal and AAP are huge. Because they are not fighting an issue or two. They are taking on an entire system which has run the country all these years, and to which we all have got used to.

Not many realise that this is a challenge not just for Kejriwal and AAP but for all the common people too, since they all will have to get used to a new system crafted by Kejriwal and AAP. Fired-up party leaders may be ready for the required sacrifice, but are the common people ready for that sacrifice?

Only time will tell, but surely, a beginning has been made -- a beginning that will, for sure, have a bearing on the results of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Andrews Sisters "Ferry Boat Serenade"

You can walk into a grocery store, or department store, or restaurant, or just about ANY kind of establishment, and they'll be playing music on the overhead speakers.

There are a couple of reasons a business will do this.

Sometimes it's to "brand" themselves.  As in, "we're a hip store that listens to the hip music of today so buy our clothes."

Sometimes it's to set a pace.  Fast food restaurants typically play upbeat music, which may encourage folks to eat faster and therefore turn-over tables more quickly.  A fancy Italian restaurant may play slower, more romantic music, hoping to set a mood and encouraging you to order that one more bottle of wine.

Usually, though, the music is there in a public place to make the whole experience of being there a little more pleasant.  Pleasant music, along with pleasant aesthetics and even pleasant smells can elevate a person's perception of their visit.

I've thought about this recently whenever boarding one of the Steamship Authority Ferries.  Wouldn't a little music on the boat make the ride a more pleasant experience?

Now let me say that nearly 15 years after my first Steamship ride, my personal experiences with the SSA are overwhelming positive.  That being said, you don't talk to too many folks on the Island, who don't have a quip about the ferry service.

They have the overhead speakers---a whole soundsystem---in place.  Why don't fill the journey to the Island with a soundtrack?  Carly Simon's "Never Been Gone."  "Van Morrison's "Into The Mystic."  James Taylor's "Lighthouse."

I heard this Andrews Sisters song for the first time recently.  How have I traveled by ferry for 15 years, and never heard this once while cruising across Vineyard Sound?

Oh, I'm sure there's a good reason there isn't music on the boat.  They would have to pay ASCAP/BMI fees.  Someone would have to operate it.  With the boats running 18 hours a day, the song turnover would be maddening to the folks who spend all day working the ferries.

But it would make the voyage more aesthetically pleasant.

Alternate suggestion:  The SSA workers should bake a fresh batch of cookies for each ferry ride for an aesthetically pleasant-smelling boat ride.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Pete Droge "If You Don't Love Me"

A Throwback Thursday post:

This would seem to go well with the old journal entry I posted 2 weeks ago.

From the "Dumb And Dumber" soundtrack, it's novelty-ish enough that I thought it would still be hanging around a bit, but I haven't heard it in ages.

)
Hear the song on Youtube.

The Hold Steady "Spinners"

I love love love The Hold Steady, but, as always, programming the station isn't about what I like, it's about what fits the station's style and the listeners' expectations.

And this one is a little too rocking for us, I think.  Hopefully, when "Teeth Dreams" comes out, we'll find another track on the album that is a better fit for the station.

Meanwhile, this one fits ME just fine.

)
Hear the song on Youtube.

Big Audio Dynamite "C'mon Every Beatbox"

A Throwback Tuesday post:

"Sit tight and listen keenly, while I play for you a new musical biscuit."


Hear the song on Youtube.

Elvis Costello "45"

When this song was out in 2002, I wondered if "45" meant 1945. Or 45 RPMs (like a record single).

Today I'll just imagine he's singing for my birthday.


Hear the song on Youtube.

The Monkees "DW Washburn"

When I was a little kid, I was a HUGE fan of The Monkees.

Oh sure, the TV series had been cancelled years and years earlier.  But the show lived on in syndication.

And during the show, they would run commercials for this amazing, incredible, one-of-a-kind "Greatest Hits" LP.

It had all the songs I loved, plus many many more.

It seemed like the most colossal, important and special thing a Monkees fan could ever ever own.

It would make my life complete.

I pestered and pestered and pestered my folks to get it for me.  And they did.

I watched the mailbox every day for months for my package.

And it arrived.

I may have only been around 8 or 9.  But I was old enough to know that I'd been rooked.

The album cover was some very, very basic pencil drawings of the guys.  And the BACK of the album cover, which would normally list an album's songs, was just the same image repeated.  And it it was on cheap, cheap cardboard.

The paper sleeve was plain and you could find the song titles, written on the sticker.

But there was no gatefold.  No liner notes.  No song credits.  Nothing.

This spectacular spectacle of a once-in-a-lifetime collection, was as minimal as possible, and pretty darn cheap-ass.

That being said, the music was still great, and I got to know some fun deeper cuts like "DW Washburn." 

I wore out all 4 sides of "The Monkees" on my little record player, a bit wiser in the knowledge that while the music can move you, the TV is probably lying to you.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Siouxsie & The Banshees "Kiss Them For Me"

A Throwback Thursday post:

This song was written about Jayne Mansfield and named after a film she was in.  In the early 90s, it would have never occurred to me that this song would be popping into my head on a regular basis 20 years later.

Now that I'm a parent---and I'm doing the parent-thing of constant schedule juggling with my wife, to make sure one of us is with the kids while the other gets stuff done---I hear the phrase "kiss them for me" on a semi-regular basis.

Not what Siouxsie intended, but sweet nonetheless.


Hear the song on Youtube.

upcoming thriller

Title: Chasing Prophecy
Author: James Moser
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Thriller
Ebook available at: Kindle | Smashwords  





Book Description:

Mo is a shy teen who is just trying to survive high school. He has secretly fallen in love with a girl named Prophecy who lives with a group that some call a commune and others call a cult. When she disappears, Mo must find the courage to face the monster that her family has become. Chasing Prophecy is a contemporary coming of age story that is heartwarming, suspenseful, and beautifully written. This book chronicles the adolescence of one boy who must transform himself to save the girl of his dreams.

Kirkus Reviews:

"A stellar read for teens and adults, full of hilarious growing pains, tenderness and a few surprises. Moser’s debut is an unflinching young-adult novel that sees a group of friends tested by bigotry and the illegal machinations of a religious cult. The author serves up an irresistibly wisecracking narrator in Mo Kirkland. Every page ripples with a controlled cleverness. There’s also a rawness to this tale similar to that which many teens face in the real world. Moser can wax rhapsodic about young love, but he shows that he knows how to raise the tension in the second half of the novel."


Excerpt:

Richard said, “Why are you even talking, Maureen, I mean Maurice? Go sit in your highchair and let the grownups work this out, OK, little guy?”

Even with my new growth spurt, he never missed a chance to let me know I lived every second of my life ten seconds from a surfing lesson.

Max said coldly, “Don’t you clowns talk to him that way.”

Kazzy said, “—or we will kick your cracker asses.”

I looked up at her and realized I’d been looking up to her my whole life. She was calm and still when she was standing up for herself. She didn’t have to stand on her tiptoes or raise her voice. When I tried to stand up for myself, I knew people saw the question marks in my eyes.

Kazzy’s eyes were full of answers, and I loved her. Deep inside me I felt something break, heal, and get stronger all at once.

Richard watched another carful of mourners pass us by. “Your little cult funeral all done?” he said.

Kazzy said, “Why do you say ‘Cult’? Do you see a fence keeping anyone in or out? Do you see us trying to blow anything up? There’s not a weapon on our whole ranch. You crackers have more guns than I’ve seen in my whole life.”

I pulled out my pocketknife, found a smooth spot in the pine railing, and pushed the blade into the sun-bleached log. I worked the blade up and down, back and forth, deeper and deeper.

Kazzy said, “So let me get this straight. One of us jumps, and you don’t say ‘cult’ for two years? You don’t say a word to any of us all the way til graduation night?”

“That’s the deal.”

I pushed the tip of the blade across the wood. I made a rectangle and rounded off the corners.

I pulled off my Seattle Mariners baseball cap and dropped in my keys and phone. I found a safe corner to stash my stuff near a gigantic steel bracket joining two logs. I walked to the other side of the bridge, across from the others.

Richard said, “We’re waiting, Kazzy, I mean Prophecy.”

“Hey, Richard!” I said.

He looked at me. They all looked at me.

“Catch!” I yelled, tossing him my knife. I said, “It’s August twentieth. If you can’t spell ‘August,’ just write eight-dash-twenty.”

They all stared at me. I held up three fingers. “Redneck Honor,” I said. I pulled off my shirt, dropped it to the ground, and ran right at Richard and Boo. They stepped back. Their eyes were full of questions.

For the first time in my life, my eyes were full of answers.

“He’ll never . . .” Richard started to say.

“Mo, DON’T!” Kazzy yelled.

Max screamed, “Oh, YEAH!!!”

My left foot landed on the orange Bigfoot “X”.

My right foot landed on the low rail. I pushed off.

I closed my eyes. I opened my eyes. I saw sky and mist kicked up by white water crashing into rocks.

I closed my eyes. I opened my eyes. I looked down. I was either going to just clear the boulder closest to the bridge or I was getting an ambulance ride, or I was about to die.

I screamed, “AAAAAAAAAAAAHH!”

The bottoms of my feet smacked the water hard, then all of me was underneath, then my feet hit the bottom. Knees and elbows on rock. I looked up through ten feet of clear, freezing water. Through the bumpy surface I could see the shapes of my friends, the colors of their clothes. I pushed off the bottom and shot through the surface.

Bloody. Dizzy. Alive. Icy water—snow the day before—stretched my skin tight.

I squinted up at the bridge, saw Max and Kazzy jumping up and down, arms over their heads, screaming. I pulled myself up to the flat top of a giant rock. I stood and raised my arms to the sky, the mist throwing little rainbows all around me. I held up the three-fingered redneck honor salute. My friends threw back their heads and laughed. They turned to Richard and Boo, showed them three fingers. The bullies walked slowly to their car. I stood on a rock but felt myself floating.

I thought, So this is what it means to fly.

About the Author:
James Moser has always loved stories in all forms. He is in his fourteenth year of working with high school students. The author’s goal was to write a book that would inspire even his most reluctant readers. Young adults have always inspired him. As such, he wanted to show teenagers transforming themselves to overcome obstacles, which is what he watches them do, every day.

Moser has a B.A. in English and a Master’s degree in Secondary English Education. He lives in Seattle with his beautiful wife and eight year old son. When he’s not reading and writing, or thinking about reading and writing, he’s watching way too much television while snacking on frozen treats from Trader Joe’s. Man, those things are good.


Where to find James Moser:

Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Yael Naim "New Soul"

When he said "Adele Hazeem" maybe John Travolta though he was introducing Yael Naim. 

(It certainly sounds closer to what he said than "Idina Menzel")


Hear the song on Youtube.


Hear John Travolta mispronounces Idina Menzel's name on Youtube.

Nine Days "Story Of A Girl"

 A Throwback Tuesday post:

It's probably taken you a good decade to forget this earworm . . . and now I've brought it back.  Enjoy it until 2024!


Hear the song on Youtube.

At the Harry Price Library

Karen Attar expounds

Images of a visit with a group of my students to look at early printed books about witchcraft in the 

Harry Price Library, Senate House (London University).

Thanks to the curator, Karen Attar, we were allowed to look at 24 select items from the collection: a couple of copies of the Malleus Maleficarum, all three early editions of Reginald Scot, a Johan Weyer, a Bodin, Peter Binsfield the malefitzmeister, King James's Demonologie, works by John Webster, Glanvill, Francis Hutchinson, the pamphlet about the 1682 witches executed at Exeter, even a copy of the English translation of that mocking novel, Monsieur Oufle. A work I'd wanted to see was elsewhere on display, and as a late substitute I picked William Lilly's Christian Astrology, 1647. I'd seen some of these books before, but by no means all of them. As Karen said, once you see a compact edition of the Malleus, printed in as cheap as style as possible, then you realise the reach of that awful book.

An early owner annotates his (or her) text, happy to live in more enlightened times.

Getting used to book cushions.

Communication technologies meet as Natalie H photographs one of the engravings in Scot.

Nickel Creek "Love Of Mine"

In the same journal that was mostly a month filled with angst, I went to my first Merlefest.

While much of what I wrote about for the Merlefest trip, had to do with the girl I had gone with (we had, in effect, a 2 day first date!), here's the big musical takeaway:

"Chris Thile will be the name to remember . . ."

That was April 2000.  And here I am 14 years later, thrilled to have seen Chris Thile, Sean Watkins and Sara Watkins, together and in other configurations another half-dozen times, with the promise of seeing them together again this summer when they come to Newport Folk. 


Hear the song on Youtube.

E-book Week

Hello!
Did you know it is e-book week on smashwords? From today to the eighth smashwords is having sales on e-books. Of course the author has to okay the sale, but there are a lot of books that are 50%, 70%, and even free! Who wouldn't be interested? I'm going to go through the sale books myself tonight because I love helping out other indie authors. I enjoy finding new authors. Heads up my stuff are free on there right now, but towards the end of the week I'll probably only have them 50%, so grab when you can! Have fun exploring books!

Smashwords
1. Click the link.
2. on the left hand side you'll see 'Read an e-book week'
3. click Browse Books on Sale
Happy Readings!