Following on from my post about Gretchen Parlato last week, I’ve decided to instigate a new regular feature on this blog for your listening pleasure, dear reader: the jazz/pop cover of the week. Snappy title, no? As I wrote in my review of Parlato’s latest recording, it’s been a long tradition of jazz musicians to take the popular music of …
Happy Birthday Diz, and others
Big day for birthdays, today. My friend Martin turns 40 today. I’ve known him since we were both 13. Weird. It’s also my nephew Jack’s birthday, and for the nth consecutive year I have totally failed to get him a present or a card on time. He is always very understanding about this, but it doesn’t make me feel any …
Bit of Politics
Who would have thought an iPhone commercial would become such a rich a satirical tool? This is going to annoy some people, but if anyone can show me an equivalent spoof for the other lot, I’ll post that, too. Thanks to my friend Chris for passing this on. By the way, if have a moment, go to the original YouTube …
Dead Mouse
This was not a good way to start a Thursday morning. The dead mouse in question was an actual, literal dead mouse, not a metaphorical dead mouse. I found him, at 5.13 this morning. He had drowned in the downstairs toilet. This raises so many questions, of which the most intriguing is: how the hell did he get there? Two …
Healthy Eating?
As parents, we try and feed our children as much healthy food as we can. I spent a long time last night trying to cajole Catherine into eating a delicious bean casserole thing that Christina had lovingly made. She ate it in the end, but it was an effort. (Rather like her father, she can detect healthy food at fifty …
Recent Listening – Gretchen Parlato
Gretchen Parlato is a young jazz singer who has charmed much of the jazz world with her new release, In a Dream. It’s a clever, soulful record, full of interesting tunes and top notch playing and singing. I admit that I did not immediately warm to Parlato’s voice. It’s clean and unfussy – almost to a fault. Unencumbered by any …
Easy Like Saturday Morning
I wrote a while ago about Catherine’s first ballet lesson. I’m pleased to report she is still enjoying her Saturday mornings immensely, learning to skip, curtsey, play possum, and maybe do some dancing as well. But she’s not the only one who enjoys these weekly outings. Hallam and I have begun our own little routine, too. The three of us …
Paradise, Missouri
See that map? That’s Paradise, Missouri. Yep, there’s actually a place called Paradise, Missouri. It’s in Clay County, in between Kansas City and St Joseph. I should explain: my new novel is set in a town called Paradise. And Paradise is (or at least was) also the title of the book. I’ve been chuckling to myself for the past five …
New Words
The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternative meanings for common words. The winners are: 1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs. 2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained. 3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat …
Patriotic?
Just my opinion, obviously, but I thought the right-wing jubilation that met Chicago’s failure to bring the Olympics to America in 2016 was pretty disgusting. The rabid, frothing pundits of Fox News and AM talk radio hate President Obama so much that the failure of anything he’s associated with – like, you know, the whole country – is now something worthy …