Kansas State University’s “K-State First” asked me to talk to undergraduates about Ernest Cline‘s Ready Player One (2011), this year’s “First Book,” at a “Beyond the Classroom” event. So, this past Tuesday (Oct. 1st), I did. In case it may be of interest to others, I’m posting my (admittedly somewhat hastily assembled) talk here, along
Looking for a mix that has one song for each of the 50 U.S. states? This isn’t it. Nor are any of these official state songs. (Or, at least, I don’t think they are.) Instead, this mix has 24 songs (one each for 23 states, plus one for DC), and some of them refer to
Boston is the U.S. city that feels most like home to me. I grew up north of the city, in Lynnfield. Some of my family still live in the Boston area, though most are spread out around the globe. Indeed, I haven’t lived in Massachusetts in nearly three decades. But it’s still where I’m from.
Here are the best covers of 2012! Â Well, they might be. Â I haven’t kept up with music as well as I’d like to this year, and so I’m sure I’ve missed some good ones. Â (I’m sure I can trust you to tell what I’ve missed, in the comments below.) Â Though I recognize that there is
Happy holidays!  A couple of years ago, I posted a mix of “Essential Holiday Tunes.” Here is the sequel to that mix – and, yes, of course these selections are also idiosyncratic. Unlike the previous mix, I’ve ventured a little further afield here: that is, I’ve deliberately veered towards some lesser-known songs. Like the previous
Here is a mix to celebrate the publication of my new biography, Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss: How an Unlikely Couple Found Love, Dodged the FBI, and Transformed Children’s Literature (2012). Its official publication date is today (Sept. 1st), though it’s actually been available for a few weeks now. Given my own interest in music, it’s
While riding my bike last Tuesday morning, a car hit me. It was 7:45 am, I was cycling uphill and due west. A car coming due east – blinded by the sun, the driver later told me – took a left turn and hit my bicycle on its (and my) left side. Fortunately, neither of us were
There’s a new Facebook meme: “How to determine who to unfriend on Facebook.” Click on the link, and you get a list of “Friends who like Nickelback.” The joke depends upon pervasive dislike of the popular Canadian band. At best, I find the group’s music benign. I could imagine it being used to sell soda
Delightful remix of clips from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, in which (thanks to auto-tune) Fred Rogers extols the virtues of being curious. Â John Boswell (a.k.a. MelodySheep) has done a fine job here. Â If you’re interested in purchasing a copy of the song (“Garden of Your Mind”), it’s included on his album Remixes for the Soul. And
In honor of Mother’s Day (May 13), here’s some footage of Bruce Springsteen dancing with his 90-year-old mother. Â The clip, recorded on March 29, comes to you here courtesy of Springsteen fan TheMagikRat. Happy Mother’s Day!