So, When I was thinking about all my favorite albums of 2010, I could not really help but also think about the best books that I had read in the previous year as well. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell is not only choice, but also happens to be contemporary, pressed in, you guessed it, 2010! The book mostly takes place on the Island of Dejima, an artificial island created in the port of Nagasaki, where Dutch traders were allowed stay and trade with the island of Japan. If you like historical fiction and are in anyway interested in the period of Japanese seclusion or the links between trading and European imperialism this book is for you! If those things don't tickle your fancy, check it anyway, because there is tons of adventure, romance, and adventure in there for you-it is incredibly intelligently written, fun and easy to read. I hope that if you do, it will be your gateway book to some of David Mitchell's
other treasures: Ghostwritten, number9dream, Cloud Atlas, and Black Swan Green.
The Beauty of a Hermetic, Corrupt World by Ruth Franklin | The New York Review of Books
MUSIC!!!
Well here it is, my number 7 album of 2010. Now this guy didn't really make very many people's Best Of lists, but I'll chalk that up to it's late release date, it came out in mid December, which in it self is proof positive that Best Of lists should only come at a leisurely pace, lest little gems like this get over looked. Anyway, R. Kelly's, Love Letter, proves again, that when R Dot decides to actually focus on something with a majority of his attention, the sky is the limit. This record, supposedly inspired by a Sam Cooke party thrown by the Pied Piper of R and B himself here in Chicago, is an homage to classical soul. Now, I don't really hear a lot of Sam Cooke on the record, probably more Marvin Gaye circa, For You My Dear, but just the same, the record is full of the harmony, simple, but direct, catchy vocals hooks, and cheerful loving spirit that R Kelly beguiled us with at the beginning of his career. The only real downside to this jump-off, it is a reminder that I have not full filled one of my major life goals: seeing R Kelly Live in concert with someone that I am in love with. Luckily, this record is an inspiration for all those unlucky souls, like myself, that need to learn to love again.
R Kelly- Love Letter
Interview between Will Oldham and R Kelly for Interview Magazine-MUST READ!!! (foot note: Josh Kalven).
SNOW!!!
This is a public service announcement. Despite the city of Chicago's best efforts to clear away the residual snow left over from our most recent blizzard. There still are numerous snow mounds on street corners, vast quantities of narrow passages between what can be only described as straights of snow, and hidden patches of slippery ice on every side walk and street. Please be on the look out for heinous predators that will use these aforementioned phenomena as instruments of advantage for their violent agendas . Watch the following video and be forewarned.
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