Compulsively Aimless

  One Last Score It will be an inside job From the unmarked van. We'll synchronize watches  and our fast-talking ex-con wearing a stolen waiter’s uniform, will slip past the guard distracted by the spilled coffee while the trained monkey steals the keys. The loot is sure to be ours. No loose-cannon cop with a chip on his shoulder, or his desk-pounding police chief three days from retirement will have a last-minute revelation, to connect the dots from the hidden clue in plain sight. But I swear, if I go down, I’m taking you with me.   O, an Ocean of Nonsense Say it ain’t so, Geronimo— you don’t need to swap a feather from your weather-worn, war bonnet just to know what Columbus didn’t know. You never had to sail the ocean blue when oceans sailed others to you. Say it ain’t so, O-hi-o. Here you are  round on the edges, high in the middle  In your heart is Columbus without an ocean blue anywhere near you.  Say it ain’t so, old Pla-to— you stacked your question...

                  Continuing my Midwest series of book lists, I'm sharing a list of my Great Lakes Books. For more you can see my post on my Great Lakes books in 2013. You can see here .   Top Row (Left to Right)   1. Great Lakes Country – Russell McKee My favorite historical overview of the Great Lakes region, covering its exploration, commerce, industries, and cultural development. McKee blends maps, drawings, and photographs to show how the lakes shaped Midwestern identity. Bought this in a used bookstore in Northport, MI   2. The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas – Jerry Dennis Part travelogue and part natural history, Dennis recounts a voyage through the Great Lakes while exploring their geology, ecology, and environmental challenges. It’s both a personal narrative and a reflection on what makes the Lakes a singular freshwater ecosystem. The most poignant section is on his visit to Whitef...

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Perch Sandwiches, Baby Steps, and Other Memories of Growing Up on the Great Lakes   (Link to article)                     [Will return to Midwest series after this] 

  I've previously done a blog on a smaller collection of my Ohio books Round on the Edges, High in the Middle  that includes some of the books mentioned here. Since then, my collection of books on Ohio has grown and I've now broken it into two subgroups: History and Culture and Biography and Memoir. Into the next stage of life, I'm trying to expand my understanding of Midwest history and especially my Ohio roots.  Here are the highlights of my collection of History and Culture: Top Row Ohio – Walter Havighurst (1976). Broad overview of Ohio’s history, culture, and industries by one of the state’s best-known historians. I co-authored a commemorative article about him with Jacqueline Johnson of the University of Miami of Ohio for The Middle West Review ,  A Midwestern Storyteller of the Inland Seas: A Tribute to Walter Havighurst The Trees – Conrad Richter (1940). Historical novel about pioneers settling in Ohio; first book in The Awakening Land trilogy. A f...

Midwest Reading   I’ve been trying to develop my knowledge of the Midwest and trying to capture the different categories of my reading on the topic.  1. Midwest in general  2. a. Ohio history (my home state)     b. Ohio memoir  3. Michigan (my paternal state) 4. Great Lakes 5. Leelenau County, Michigan  6. Native Americans    I've written blogs on several of these topics before but adding to them here with more books read.   Here's the first of six posts on the different areas.  Midwest Generally How to Speak Midwestern ( Edward McClelland , 2016) A light-hearted linguistic study of Midwestern speech patterns, accents, and vocabulary. McClelland explains how regional dialects—from Chicago to the Great Lakes to the Plains—developed, while also examining the cultural identity reflected in Midwestern speech. Land of Promise ( Walter Havighurst , 1946) A sweeping narrative history of the Midwest, started from the Northwest Or...

  There are many reasons to buy a book -- the subject matter, you like the author, acquire knowledge, or entertainment. I bought this book ,  Trees of North America , purely for its beautiful aesthetic value. I love the strong colors of the cover. The pleasure of this book is due to small size (5.5" x 3.5") , beautiful illustrations accompanied by, short descriptions of over 90 trees. The book is over 90 years old, (1934) but looks almost new. Reading it, I learned there are 13 species of pine trees, and 12 of oak and a tree I’ve never heard of but love the name--the Kentucky coffee tree. A book to keep and enjoy. 

    I recently read Arthur Guy Empey's WWI account of serving in the British Army published in 1917.  At the back of the book is a glossary of slang terms used by the soldiers. Of course I had to select a few and repurpose as potential band names. It never ends...   Tommy‘s Cocker   Time X   Star Shell   Reinforcements   Minnenwerfer   Lonely Stab   Mass Formation   Covering Party   Mad Minute    Mentioned in Dispatches   Twelve in One    Waiting Man   Wiring Party

Another installment in a series of never-ending, pointless exercise to generate band names (and maybe microbrews). This installments theme is repurposing business jargon. Best Practice  Key Takeaways Moving Goal Posts Straw Man and the Game Changers Mission Critical Core Values Brain Dump Action Items Ducks in a Row Executive Summaries Timebox 80/20s 

  A Man of Contradictions He burned down the Library  but kept all the knowledge. He hated the artist but loved the art.  Miracles Seeing the glow of full moon for the first time must feel as if a miracle has occurred. But waking up on a random Tuesday at 63  and seeing the light of the early morning  push through the bedroom shades can also feel like such a miracle   It Made Sense at 11:30 at night Poetry is ancient. It’s always been that way. How else would Homer think of it when he recited the Iliad or the Odyssey before the invention of writing. I can’t imagine poetry being a fad in those pre-writing days even the old ones  couldn't remember when it started.    Meteorological Message The wind shifts without anyone noticing but the first to sense a change  in nature’s mood will be the sailors and farmers among us like animals that know when a storm is coming stick close to them when you feel a breeze.    The Past is Happenin...