I’m in Amsterdam, up to my neck in Dutch vocabulary, learning the language. Although free time this trip isn’t plentiful, I did manage to slide in several engagements. Stopped by the Poezenboot today after class to say hi to my feline (and human) friends. Took some nice pics of the kitties and sent them over. SEE ALSO: ALL ABOARD THE…
I’ve been accumulating books for years, waiting for retirement to finally hunker down and start reading them. In 2018, I made a good dent in them, reading 39 books. In 2019, I made the big breakthrough, I went nuts. With a book going simultaneously at the gym, on the subway, in parks, and by the side of the bed, and…
Every December, Mark and I try to take a big trip somewhere. Mark works for a huge international pharmaceutical company, and his company closes down the week of Christmas, and the week after. He will usually tack on a few extra days of vacation at the beginning of this stretch, giving us a little over two weeks to take a…
Two weeks before Mark and I were scheduled to leave for our trip to Africa, our cat Mittens developed some diarrhea and vomiting. She had been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease 8 years ago and has been receiving medicine for it ever since, and has done amazingly well. Her main symptom has always been vomiting; diarrhea was something new. I…
A short book written by a talented music writer and major Bowie fan. It’s not just a biography, but a major tribute to one of the most creative musicians/artists of the past century. The author goes through every phase of Bowie’s career, describing with encyclopedic knowledge everything you might want to know about the music, and Bowie’s motivation behind it. …
An autobiographical novel that recounts the days when a generation of young people dared to dream of a better world, and sought that world by throwing their stuff in a backpack and traveling the world, with the journey being more important than the destination. In this book, the author recounts the story of how he met the beautiful Karla in…
Last year, I had an amazing experience volunteering for Mission Rabies and participating in their vaccination drive in Goa. I blogged extensively about it (start here), allowing me to joyfully relive the experience as I went through all my photos from the trip. Traveling has always been one of my pleasures in life, and being retired has afforded me even…
A very dense, but enlightening book that discusses the difficulties gay men have faced, and still face, trying to live their lives productively and authentically in the face of intense trauma and discrimination. He focuses on the stigmatization that gay men experience early in life, and the shame, self-doubt, and isolation that results from being seen as different from the…
Nostalgia-Vu – A “reliving reminiscence;” A feeling you get when you return to a personal memory from your childhood triggered by taking part in it present-day. A great example is going to your high school reunion. It’s a remembrance from years past, while also taking part in the present-day version. I live in New York City, fairly close to Macy’s. …
I love the summer, especially in New York. During a heatwave, when temps soar above 90 degrees and everyone starts whining, I’m in my glory. Perhaps I wouldn’t feel this way if I was still working and I had to descend into the steaming, crowded pit of commuter filth (i.e. the subway) every day, but as a retiree, summer in…
This is the seventh book of Eggers’s that I’ve read over the years. Like most of his recent books, it takes place in some unnamed, mysterious war-torn country. Two men, using the pseudonyms Four and Nine, are assigned to build a highway using new, very high-tech paving machines. The highway will connect the needy villages with the country’s capital. Four…
This is really a book about pop culture, and the author has made a pretty good career as a writer on the topic. Addressing pop culture through these music rivalries was very entertaining. As a fan of classic rock and alternative music, I really enjoyed the chapters on Oasis vs. Blur, Nirvana vs. Pearl Jam, Eric Clapton vs. Jimmy Hendrix,…
My cats, Mittens and Glitter, are the perfect models when it comes to testing out my new iPhone 11 Pro camera.
The author is better known as a novelist, but she’s written this non-fiction exploration of the divide between Western and Eastern culture. She basically divides West from East by how the self is seen. Western people are characterized by individualism and self-esteem, compared to Eastern people, who are flexible and interdependent. In the West we value uniqueness, while in the…
A long, detailed autobiography by a performer I’ve always liked, even though I haven’t kept up with his career. Elvis’s father was a very accomplished musician, and I enjoyed hearing about Elvis’s musical upbringing, and his early years at Stiff Records and on the punk scene. Elvis has very broad musical tastes, and he describes encounters and collaborations with George…