Day: October 18, 2008

Lake Geneva Gets It

I was able to catch the last presidential debate between Obama and McCain.  To be honest, at one point I was stunned and left just starring at the TV.  Both candidates clearly have their faults and quirks, but the last time I witnessed the statements like – we need to redistribute the gains of the wealthy to others and a patriotic duty to pay your (unfare) share to the government – I was reading about Marxism.  This is completely unbelievable and quite frankly the most disgusting thing I’ve heard so far in this campaign… with exception of course to Biden telling a wheelchair bound individual to stand and Palin purposely leaving off her G’s.  I clearly do not have the assests of the individuals at the top of the wealth lists in the US, but in no way, shape, or form do I think they should be obligated to give it back to those who didn’t take the same chances or make the right decisions.  Last time I checked, America was built on capitalism, not a share the wealth commune. 

I was close to the Wisconsin boarder this weekend at a dog show and happened to have the opportunity to run up to Lake Geneva to find out why Chicago natives flock there every weekend.  It is definitely a pretty nice area and the lake is clearly large enough to have some fun on, but honestly, it didn’t leave me with the unquenchable desire to rush home and book a hotel.  Beyond the lake, there didn’t look like a whole lot to do – other than checking out the georgeous houses out there.  On the other hand, when Lake Delton fills up again, we will be heading up there for more fun on the jet skiis, casino and all the miniature golf you can handle.  Now what did catch my attention at Lake Geneva was the near 15 to 1 ratio of McCain signs to Obama.  Apparently they get it… which isn’t surprising based on some of those dwellings.  Sure, I am a little envious of their opportunities, but glad I live in the land of choice that provides everyone that opportunity should they have some initiative.

Now we just need to figure out how Joe the Plumber is going to pay his back taxes.

Book Recollection: Song Man

As you may recall, my brother gave me Will Hodgkinson’s previous body of work called Guitar Man which I blogged on back in May.  Well, he also gave me his second book entitled Song Man.  Having successfully learned enough about the Guitar to complete his mission of playing a gig, Will now took on the task of learning how to actually write a song.  The goal of this effort is to learn enough about composing a song to write an original work and record it.  I definitely enjoyed the guitar learning saga and was hoping his second book would be just as entertaining (although I currently do not have a thirst to develop my own songs so I did have a little bit lower expectations compared to the fact I too have been experiencing the torture of learning the six string.)  The gang was all back from Guitar Man so it flowed very nicely from the first book.  Similar to the process in that book, Song Man is constructed around Will’s journey to seek out experts in the field, gain insights into their approach to making great songs and then tried to apply those nuggets of genius into his own songs.  The disappointing aspect of these books is that it doesn’t come with a CD of the created material.  After awhile, you start wondering how the transformations in the various songs actually sound, was the advice he was getting from the experts actually improving the work or was it stifling his creativity.  Something tells me I am going to have to seek out a copy of his pressed songs and take a listen.  The nice thing about it, I will have a complete understanding of how the song came to be which has always interested me more than just hearing the actual song.  This is probably why I like VH1’s Behind the Music and their Unplugged show so much.  In those short sessions, the artist usually gives a glimpse into the creativity process, the catalyst for their particular piece of art.  Of course every once in awhile you get the heart wrenching “it was just luck” or an “accident” when questioned how a particular riff was constructed or a particular beat was established. 

From Song Man’s perspective, he must be commended for setting a goal, formulating a process to achieve that goal and ultimately delivering on his Life List entry.  In comparison to Guitar Man, I thought the first book was a little better read, but I still enjoyed this particular work and now looking forward to what journey he dreams up next.  It actually just occurred to me that I am developing a common theme for some of my favorite types of books to read.  Many of them tend to involve the subject putting himself under some type of challenge followed by a detailed account of the journey to that end.  Both Will and probably my favorite author A.J. Jacobs fit this description to a T.  I would definitely recommend Will’s (and Jacobs’) if you also like this type of theme. 

Follow the link below to read my highlights in Song Man

Continue reading Book Recollection: Song Man