Day 7 of the TV Experiment

I am still sick, but feeling a bit better. The challenge today is not overdoing it. I took a nap after church, and that seemed to help. Hopefully I can get to sleep tonight.

Jacob and I played oh-Wah-Ree, a game I played with my dad when I was about his age. The first game I beat him handily, but taught him strategy all the way along. The second game I helped him more, and made a few intentional not-the-best-moves and he won. He was quite pleased :-) So was daddy.

I read a book today, Go Green, Save Green (review to follow) and wasn't terribly impressed. At least the music was good:

(1) Shelly Berg Trio - Blackbird. - This is an excellent CD suggested by my friend Brett. Well performed it is not terribly adventurous musically, but most enjoyable.

(2) Star Wars Episode III soundtrack - I don't even remember buying this one. I think I must have imported it into iTunes and then dropped it in the box at home. I am not sure I've ever listened to it end to end. Although the movie was good, the music isn't all that special.

(3) Phil Collins - Hello, I Must Be Going! - This is pop at its best. Phil's vocals are awesome and the whole album is light hearted and quick.

(4) Billy Joel - River of Dreams - This album is very hit and miss. It opens strong with "No Man's Land" which laments the commercialization of America, and goes right into The Great Wall of China, a song that is at least memorable. The album pauses for the forgettable Blonde over Blue, and then launches into the soulful "A Minor Variation" a song that sounds like it belongs on the Storm Front album. Next up is the overproduced and very forgettable Shades of Gray followed by the equally forgettable All About Soul. Lullaby (Goodnight my Angel) follows, and it is beautiful, a borderline masterpiece. The signature piece of this album is the wonderfully complex river of dreams, the one big hit from this CD. Unfortunately, these two songs are by far the high point of the CD. It finishes with the Goodnight Saigon rehash Two Thousand Years and the bland Famous Last Words. In this day and age I'd say buy the high points on iTunes and skip the rest...

(5) Genesis - Nursery Cryme - The first Genesis album worth listening to. The strongest number, The Return of the Giant Hogweed, is better on Genesis Live. Still, The Musical Box and Harold the Barrel are quite good.

(6) Genesis - Foxtrot - Not as good as Nursery Cryme. It starts strong with Watcher of the Skies (also on Genesis Live) and then but for a few brief moments is unremarkable.

(7) Cusco - Apurimac - Some albums age like fine wine. This is not one of them.

I also read Saint Thomas More: Selected Writings. I'll review that in another post.

Joel