My Back Pages - June/July

I'm back! Miss me?

An extended illness and hospital stay prevented me from posting since the middle of June but I have nevertheless been reading up a storm. Four books in June and six in July puts me at 25 for the year - half way towards my end of year goal of 50.

I started June with Lust and Wonder(****) by Augusten Burrows, an author I've been reading since his Running With Scissors hilariously described his sorrowful childhood. This wasn't quite as good but nevertheless entertaining.

I then moved on to a trilogy recommended by a former colleague - the Lewis Trilogy(****) about a cop in northern Scotland. The Black House, The Lewis Man and The Chess Men filled the rest of my June's reading.

July saw me complete the the final volume of the Stephen King Trilogy, begun with Mr. Mercedes, titled appropriately enough End of Watch(****). As well, Jeffrey Archer's 6th instalment of the Clifton Chronicles - Cometh The Hour(*****) - came out and I devoured it too. Both books were excellent reads.

The quite enjoyable The High Mountains of Portugal(*****) by Yann Martell, detective yarns Taken (****) by Robert Crais (Elvis Cole) and Dixie City Jam(****) by James Lee Burke (Dave Robichaux) and finally the superb The Corrections(*****) by Jonathan Franzen rounded out July.

On the "watching" front I'm happy HBO's Ray Donovan is back. I've also been watching Roadies, created by Cameron Crowe with Luke Wilson and Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth. a behind-the-scenes documentary series about the 2016 American election.

And you? What have you been reading and watching of late?

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My Back Pages - October

Well, folks, I read seven (count 'em) seven books in October. One I didn't finish but even at that I hit the magic number 50 I estimated for myself by the end of the year. The six books I successfully waded through were, firstly, What Happened, Hillary Clinton's book on her bid for the Presidency. I''m a bit of a political junkie so I get off on this stuff but still it kinda struck me as one long whine over losing. Next up was the excellent Canyon of Dreams: The Magic and Music of Laurel Canyon. Laurel Canyon was the fabled area outside of Los Angeles where many musicians and artists lived. Known as a 60s enclave, the book takes a look at just who lived there over the last 80 years. A fascinating read. Next up was Lightfoot, a biography of Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot. He may have been responsible for some iconic folk songs but he was also quite the womanizer and boozer. Enough said. Then I read Dan Brown's new tome Origin, the fifth ...

30 Days of Photos III #4 Sour

Check out Ziva's Inferno for the rest of today's photos.

The Polka Dot Door

A long time ago, when I was 22, my first child was born. That kid grew up on a little Canadian kid's show called Polka Dot Door, produced by the TV Ontario network. And Dad, more often than not, sat through those shows with his little one. Nine or so years later when a brother, and a year after that when a sister came along number one son was moving on to Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazzard. But there was a nice overlap where his siblings picked up where he had left off with Polka Dot Door. And Dad was right there to welcome them. So you're looking at a Polka Dot Door veteran. The show began in 1971 and ran to 1993. I didn't watch the full run but I did get in my fair share. The formula was pretty simple. A young male and female host, which seemed to change every week, sang songs, told stories, made crafts and generally did their best stimulate little brains. The show opened as follows... Imagination Day! Oh boy! ...

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