I recommend “Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival,” by Norman Ollestad. It was a father’s day gift from my son, which coincidentally turned out to be a fascinating look at four generations of fathers and sons from one family, although the book is primarily about the author and his father, also named Norman.Norman the elder was an extreme sports guy before the term existed. For Norman the younger’s first birthday in 1969, big Norm strapped the kid onto his back and took him out surfing off the Malibu beach where they lived.
The focal point of the story was a February 1979 airplane ride over the San Gabriel Mountains that went badly. The pilot, Big Norm, and his girlfriend were killed. Little Norm, then aged 11, had to hike down from over 8000 feet, in the dead of winter, to survive. It is an amazing tale, very well told, although I agree with the Times review, which found the cross-cutting format a bit annoying. Never-the-less, the cross-cutting to some of father and son’s adventures before the crash, especially their trip to Mexico, were almost as thrilling as the crash. This is a terrific, and very fast, read.
As popular as the blues are, it is difficult to hear new blues music. You won’t see the latest blues stars hosting SNL, or playing on the Plaza for the Today Show. So I was really happy to discover Murphy’s Saloon, a podcast available both online and via i-Tunes.
The host is Murphy. I don’t know much about him except that he is Chicago-based, and kind of a goofily, earnest, blues-nerd, who gets all the releases from labels like Alligator and Blind Pig early, and pulls together great cuts for the show. He intersperses them with artist info, a lame-joke-of-the-week, and shout-outs to fans around the globe. Any more talking would be too much, but Murphy grows on you and there is nothing at all wrong with his taste in music.
Finally, I really like David Brooks. He is smart, funny, well-informed, and opinionated without being partisan. These are all the things I wanted to be when I was writing about politics, but reading Brooks twice a week guaranteed me two days of feeling inadequate out of every seven.
Read what he had to say today about leaving health care reform to the Senate. I guarantee you that you will feel smarter after reading it, which is how I almost always feel after reading anything by him.
Read what he had to say today about leaving health care reform to the Senate. I guarantee you that you will feel smarter after reading it, which is how I almost always feel after reading anything by him.
Posts
17 comments:
Welcome home to your blog.
I like David Brooks also. He is remarkably reasonable. His conclusion: stay healthy.
He's baaack!
I'm certain Brooks hates being known as the thinking liberal's conservative and I, too, like him. However, I consider the end of today's column a wimp-out: killing off this effort and better off starting again in a few years? Really. Polls show Americans (even the red-staters, can you hear me "hiking the Appalachian Trail Mark Sanford"?) say they'd raise taxes to pay for universal health care.
would it be a wimp-out if it is as he suggests -- an action that bankrupts the country? we really are in a pretty poor financial condition here these days.
I do not think Americans would want their taxes raised for universal health care if they receive an inferior plan in return. The cost of Obama's plan surpasses the government's ability to pay for it. Medical benefits can be taxed but not enough to pay for the plan. Obama's estimates at Medicare savings are unattainable (think Baby Boomers and rising costs). Other taxes would have to be instituted on top of the taxes needed to pay for the record deficits. The unavoidable conclusion is the majority of the American public will have to accept a reduction in health care services(73% say they are satisfied with their personal health care). This will be very difficult to accept when you are the patient.
http://finance.yahoo.com/focus-retirement/article/107225/retirees-may-well-worry-health-care-reform.html?mod=fidelity-readytoretire
As we all pick up our newspapers/read stories over the internet regarding how the government intends to solve our problems, we lose sight of our own empowerment.
We as individuals hold some cards that can directly influence our health and indirectly affect the economy and fate of our country. Diet, exercise and lifestyle might not do much if you are nailed by a head on drunken driver, but they do give you better odds on your health than Las Vegas does with your money. Reducing petroleum use takes the air out of Hugo Chavez, "I'm A Dinner Jacket" and V Putin. If you really support our troops, you will use less gas, whose revenues go towards paying for road side bombs.
Your fate doesn't entirely lie with national health coverage.
Who doesn't think all Americans deserve the same health care that members of Congress receive? Isn't that what "O" is going for? I have no children so I care not about the 'outlying' years :) this will drive some of you crazy: it appears Michele (that fist-bumping terrorist) is going to help sell health care.
Every nickel needed to house every homeless person,feed & educate every kid, give health care to every american, & protect our shores is in the military budget. Stop killing, start healing. This isnt old time hippy stuff. It's man at his best. Time for the worlds big brother to come home & take care of his own.
Surely someone's going to say something about yet another "Values" guy falling down the rabbit hole?
what can you say? at least this guy hooked up with some exotic babe and winged off to Argentia. beats the hell out of the guy in the next stall or some campaign wonk.
And I was left holding the bag thinking we had another William O Douglas, hiking the AT.
No, he wasn't using his stick for walking!
Hijacking this blog, now for something entirely different: leadership hypocrisy!
Playing drums to David Brooks lead guitar, Gail Collins pricking balloons:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/opinion/25collins.html?_r=1
I just love this moral hypocrisy "dust up" in the Palmetto State. I think we've seen the tip of the iceberg in this little story but I think there's much more. However, I think this guy's going to resign before we get to hear it. When the Spartanburg Herald calls for the resignation of a right wing Republican governor, you know he's toast.
I like David Brooks as well. Especially when he's on the news hour with Mark Shields (another guy I like a lot).
Someone call Art Modell
http://www.fanhouse.com/news/main/bernie-kosar-files-for-bankruptcy/535117?icid=main|htmlws-main|dl7|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fanhouse.com%2Fnews%2Fmain%2Fbernie-kosar-files-for-bankruptcy%2F535117
Another great decision by our elected officials. If this story was not so pathetic it would be funny. By the way if you keep going south on the Appalachian Trail I think you end up in Argentina. Sanford's new campaign song can be "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". I could go on and on.
I've got a question about Sanford. How does a guy who's employment in the last 15 years has been Congressman (about $140,000 a year while having to maintain two residences) and governor (probably less but a free house) afford an oceanfront house on Sullivan's island? That's probably a $5 million dollar house. Makes one wonder.
How in need of repair is our medical system? My partner had surgery to remove a benign tumor this week. She received a call on Monday from the Hospital. They had checked with our insurance and found that she would be responsible for 10%, so they needed that money up front before she came in for the surgery. Sort of a down payment on tumor removal.
I expect when someone is going to do work on my house that they would like a down payment but the Hospital?
The good news, I guess, is they were still accepting US dollars and she didn't have to pay with gold or jewels.
Post a Comment