Kind of felt boring this weekend. I did not accomplish much nor have any substantial goals. Wrote a few emails, thought through the future, ran several miles, read a book, watched a couple of shows, a little yard work, took a Udemy course, and in general did not do much. Maybe this is okay every once in a while, but it also makes me feel unproductive.
Reading: as I have mentioned in earlier blogs, I enjoy reading and have read about two books per week for most of my life since I was about 7 years old I believe. My wonderful parents instilled in me a love of reading and I still feel the quickening of my pulse when I am around books of all types. My fiction reading generally leans on crime dramas or detective mysteries while my non-fiction preferences are for money management or history. I do occasionally dive into spiritual books or self-improvement ideas and am not afraid to read various ideas for different types of development. But I do tend to read crime fiction quickly but to read history slowly.
Finishing up the latest David Baldacci book while being halfway through the latest Jonathan Kellerman book, I am ready to read something a little more substantive. I did enjoy The Nightingale quite a bit and found The Lake House to be well-written and meaningful. I continue to enjoy books about the economy and money although some of those are hard to get all the way through. I am enjoying Cold Case Christianity and find it to be a fascinating approach to apologetics. Yet I do not really need convincing and am a flawed but devout believer. Still it is well-written and provides some tools for dealing with the occasional detractor. The recent Baldacci book has a fun and engaging plot but the dialog seems rather 4th grade and simplistic at times. He writes a good story but seems to water it down to reach a broader audience. I am not critical of this...after all he has a right to try to sell more copies, but it makes me want to read Dickens or Hardy and seek after depth of characterization. One can read an entire Baldacci book and not really know the emotional depth or complexities of the people in the book. It makes for a little too much detachment toward the people.
I did enjoy running this weekend and did a crazy thing on Sunday. I ran nearly 3 miles Sunday morning and felt good about it. Took a nice nap Sunday afternoon and went for another 3 mile run. But this time it turned into a half walk as I struggled with the hot sun and wind. This morning I am very sore from the extra miles and may need to take a day off from running.
It was fun playing my horn in church and I am playing well once again. I have been in a three year slump due to the earlier hospitalization, surgery on my thumb, and teeth reconstruction. But now I am moving around the horn better and almost have the tone I am seeking. Mainly I am rediscovering my old horn confidence and am ready to play in public again. Feels good. Keep in mind that musicians, horn players in particular, are a neurotic bunch who tend to allow their performance skills to govern their emotional state. It makes for a complicated and inconsistent emotional roller coaster at times. When playing or singing well, we are happy. When things are not working, sad. Kind of a mess I know.
My brother's recent article on Prince, David Bowie, and musical snobbery really intrigued me. He is such an amazing writer with perceptions about the world rarely encountered in our segmented society. https://fee.org/articles/prince-bowie-and-how-not-to-be-a-snob-about-pop-music/ is certainly worth a read. Jeff has written thousands of articles and each one contains a nice balance of opinion, data, and philosophy. This one reminds us of the pitfalls of snobbery and the problems of not taking a comprehensive and knowledgeable position when it comes to music. Too many trained musicians reject the popular, believing erroneously that it must be cheap or worthless to be popular. I really have little regard for snobbery and prefer to live in an eclectic world, embracing multiple styles and approaches to art.
Anyway, I apologize for this dull entry of various thoughts. I'll try to improve my excitement level in the future.
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