In this book, the author recounts a decades long journey through the gay bars that have played important roles in his life in the many cities that he’s lived in, both in England and the U.S. The book, however, is much more than just a (often sordid) memoir of parties, sex, and drugs (prudes beware). Every chapter asks, in some…
The author is a British screenwriter. He’s also a music fanatic, and has attended hundreds (possibly thousands) of concerts. In this unique memoir, he takes us through his life using concerts (15 in particular) that he’s attended. These concerts serve as touchstones in his life. He starts with a Cliff Richard concert that he attended at age 10, and stops…
I’m a Beatles fan and have read a number of books about them. At first glance this book looked pretty cheesy, and I thought to myself, does the world really need yet another Beatles book? Yes, it does. This book was a gold mine of fascinating stories, in little chapters that you can easily skip if you’ve heard the story…
I woke up early today to watch the sunrise again. The sky was pretty overcast and the sunrise wasn’t as dramatic as yesterday. Plus, the hotel dogs were nowhere to be seen, which was a bummer. Today, the colors in the sky were magnificent, and they changed by the minute. Today, Mike and I toured the island with a guide,…
As someone who has been meditating (almost) every day for the past few years and has also gotten into photography since my retirement a few years ago, I’ve been interested in exploring the possible connection between the two. Both require you to be in the present moment, both require total focus and awareness, and both are most attainable when the…
An excellent book about animal behavior. This isn’t simple stuff like cats not using their litterbox or dogs jumping up on counters. The book addresses true mental disturbances in a variety of animals, and it’s pretty fascinating. The author sucks you into the book with the tale of her rescue dog, a Bernese Mountain Dog that had such severe separation…
I fell asleep last night around 10:30 and woke up at 4:45 a.m. Fell back asleep and woke up at 5:30. Mike was still asleep. It was still dark out, but I decided to go out and see what the beach was like this early. I walked over to where the beach chairs were located. The cushions had been stored…
A really great debut novel by Ling Ma. It’s a post-apocalyptic zombie novel about a millennial workaholic, Candace Chen, who works for a book publisher in Manhattan. When Shen Fever (a fatal plague that causes people to become non-violent zombie versions of themselves) begins spreading throughout the world, Candace, one of the fortunate few who manages to not become infected,…
I took a plane to Zanzibar immediately after Mission Rabies Tanzania completed. Start HERE to check out the Mission Rabies Tanzania Journey from the beginning. We (Mike and I) got a ride to the airport, got through security, and boarded our flight to Zanzibar. It was a small plane, and there were about 50 passengers on it. The plane was…
I’ve been a Sex Pistols and a Public Image LTD fan from day one. I read Lydon’s first two books. This book is a limited edition (only 10,000 copies printed), autographed, individually numbered, in a clamshell box. The paper quality and graphic design are great. The content… that’s another story. The book is a random collection of Lydon’s thoughts and…
Well, it’s upon us: the last day of the project. Hard to believe how quickly this project has flown by. Despite all of the Covid-related logistical nightmares that Mission Rabies has had to put up with, the project has been a remarkable success, with the vaccine numbers about to exceed last year’s numbers. In fact, Mission Rabies is sending the…
A simple, emotional tale, both heartbreaking and hopeful, about finding love late in life. Addie Moore and Louis Waters are neighbors in the small town of Holt, Colorado. She’s a widow; he’s a widower, both in their 70s. They live alone, in their respective houses. One day, Addie knocks on Louis’s door and asks him if he might consider coming…
Great day today. We were roaming again, in an area called Singisi. It’s a pretty area, with lots of lush green foliage. Many interesting pathways and homes. Courtnie had to get her pre-flight Covid test this morning, along with several other volunteers who are flying to the UK on Thursday, so I was by myself in the morning. I had…
In this (very) unique book, we follow Patti’s year of wandering in the year of the monkey, according to the Chinese zodiac. It’s part memoir (as she talks of concerts, museum visits, politics, the hospitalization and subsequent death of her friend Sandy Pearlman), part fiction (conversations with hotel signs), and I dunno… part fever dream? If you’re looking for any…