Uncategorized

I wrapped up my reading year with seven books in December – more than a quarter of my 2015 reading. Part of this was the break: a few days away can do wonders. But another big part was chain-reading. Like chain smoking, it’s using the last book to get started into the next book. Here […]

I hate to be the one to break it to you: break’s almost over.
Teachers and students: you are likely beginning again tomorrow.

It’s time to play the music, It’s time to light the lights. It’s time to get things started On The Muppet Show tonight! Have you ever re-watched the first season of The Muppet Show? They had no idea what they were doing. I don’t mean technically – clearly Jim Henson […]

My 2016 New Year’s Resolution is simple.

2015 has been a year to remember. Here’s a look back at what I did this year. Writing I published this blog every day, by my count 367 total posts. Of those, I wrote 363; I published four wonderful guest blogs from Jeremy Fox, Justin Binek, Jonathan Van Eck, and my son Owen. I totaled around […]

Endings and beginnings have rituals. New Year’s/New Year’s Eve. Christmas/Christmas Eve. Last day of vacation/first day of school. Cherish the penultimate. The day before the last day. The rituals of endings and beginnings can lead to a locked-in feeling. You are doing what you always do. The penultimate day is free of […]

I published a post here every day this year. Here’s my favorite post from each month.

I’ve kept a composition book since 2005 simply listing the books I read. As I write this, I’m reading my 25th book for 2015; well off my peak of 44 in 2009, but showing an encouraging trend: the last three years I’ve read 6, 8, 16. Here are a few books I […]

I listened to a lot of music in 2015. Of course I lean heavily on old favorites (new favorites for my kids!) but here are some new or newish music I enjoyed this year. 1. The Real Group: Three Decades of Vocal Music. Released February 2015. I think I might have […]

It used to be difficult, expensive, and/or near-impossible to get the song you wanted in the right key. Pay someone to transpose it for you, or spend hours to do it yourself. That’s if you could find the song in any key in your local music store. That’s all changed. It’s suddenly ridiculously easy […]