Among the great rituals of life are the periodic poker games in the Bogdanski Hut. Tonight the Mrs. and I threw one together, in a week that already had a lot going on. On paper, too much. In reality, a tonic for the soul. I really needed it, and everyone came through.
Two of the usual "Magnificent Seven" players were unavailable, but adult sons of two of the five who were in attendance stepped up to take their seats. Lo and behold, they relieved us of some money, and promptly headed off for more interesting adventures. But not before we all spent a few hours together, drinking and dining and laughing and talking and thinking and checking each other out. What great kids. How lucky we all are.
I came out only $4 down, and there's more than that lying around in leftover beer. I even got to hear some nice new music by Alison Krauss and her new partner, egads, Robert Plant!
My head's really been spinning this week, but this night was so good. Bring on the dark and the cold.
Comments (3)
Oh my God! Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. That's great. One of my lifelong hobbies is thinking about harmonies between big stars like this. I remember listening to a TV show where Alison harmonized with Shania Twain and it was beyond beautiful. Then you combine her with the monster vocals of Robert Plant. Amazing. My only question here is whether the phrasing coincides okay. I've always kept track of these star harmonies like when Steve Winwood sang with James Taylor on "Back in the High Life." Or George Harrison and Eric Clapton on some versions of "Run So Far." Call me wimpy, but I even love the one sound when Diana Ross and Lionel Ritchie hit the high part of "Endless Love." Even ones that don't work very well - like Paul Simon singing "Sounds of Silence" with Bob Dylan - fascinate me no end. Thanks for the tip on this.
My lovely wife brought home the Alison Krauss/Robert Plant album and it's wonderful. I still love progressive and rock and lots of alternative, etc., along with the more melodic and laid back. Contrary to the garbage that makes it to most of the airwaves, there is so much wonderful music available. All the Emmylou Harris projects with various artists, like Mark Knopfler - great stuff.
I you don't already, tune in internet stations like www.radioparadise.com/ or www.radioio.com/ which offers many streams appealing to different tastes. Both have done so much to expose me and others to music otherwise unknown, and have served to vitalize the music industry through sales of CDs as a result.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Hope Larson - A Wrinkle in Time, the Graphic Novel
Rudyard Kipling - Kim
Peter Ames Carlin - Bruce
Fran Cannon Slayton - When the Whistle Blows
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 32
At this date last year: 66
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (3)
Oh my God! Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. That's great. One of my lifelong hobbies is thinking about harmonies between big stars like this. I remember listening to a TV show where Alison harmonized with Shania Twain and it was beyond beautiful. Then you combine her with the monster vocals of Robert Plant. Amazing. My only question here is whether the phrasing coincides okay. I've always kept track of these star harmonies like when Steve Winwood sang with James Taylor on "Back in the High Life." Or George Harrison and Eric Clapton on some versions of "Run So Far." Call me wimpy, but I even love the one sound when Diana Ross and Lionel Ritchie hit the high part of "Endless Love." Even ones that don't work very well - like Paul Simon singing "Sounds of Silence" with Bob Dylan - fascinate me no end. Thanks for the tip on this.
Posted by Bill McDonald | November 3, 2007 10:11 AM
What a nice surprise - their voices are more similar than I thought.
You can listen to the whole album online too.
Makes the next hour or two at work more pleasant.
Thanks Jack.
Posted by Ben Schoenberg | November 3, 2007 1:47 PM
My lovely wife brought home the Alison Krauss/Robert Plant album and it's wonderful. I still love progressive and rock and lots of alternative, etc., along with the more melodic and laid back. Contrary to the garbage that makes it to most of the airwaves, there is so much wonderful music available. All the Emmylou Harris projects with various artists, like Mark Knopfler - great stuff.
I you don't already, tune in internet stations like www.radioparadise.com/ or www.radioio.com/ which offers many streams appealing to different tastes. Both have done so much to expose me and others to music otherwise unknown, and have served to vitalize the music industry through sales of CDs as a result.
Posted by Alexander | November 3, 2007 1:59 PM