reading watching listening

Reading

• An Unquiet Mind -- terrifying and wonderful book, outlining the author's descent(s) into madness and how she learned to cope.
• Why photographs work : 52 great images -- smart format makes it easy to appreciate and understand the excellent images.
• The Continuum Concept -- I wish I would have read this before we had kids. The author studied the parenting of tribal peoples as a way of understanding our evolutionary history. Sort of like applying the paleo diet to parenting -- matching up strategies with what worked for a few hundred thousand generations. Tough read, clunky at times, but fascinating and mostly convincing.

• Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman -- I'm not quite halfway through this one, but it's rocking my world. Brilliant researcher, good writer and a theme I'm into -- cognitive biases and  decision making.
• Blink by Malcolm Gladwell is like the pop-culture version of the book above. Wonderfully entertaining, highly readable and very convincing, yet after reading it I figured out why I had resisted it -- just because people tend to make snap decisions does not mean that it is good strategy to do so. I prefer Kahneman's cautionary tone and his deeper dive into the pitfalls of "Blink" decisions.
• Closer -- this fourth book in the Tunnels series is the only fiction I read for myself (actually re-read), in anticipation of the fifth book, which has been sitting in cataloging at the ORL forever. This is real guilty-pleasure reading for me, where the fantastical settings, speedy pacing and creepy vibe help me suspend my disbelief and ignore the huge holes in the plots.

• The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler -- classic junior novel following a brother and sister who run away and hide out in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. Ivy and I had read it before, but it was a first time for Ella.
• Breadcrumbs -- more bedtime reading with the girls; this was a very pleasant surprise. Some interesting twists on the usual fairytale conventions.
• With Ezra, we finally finished the last few books in the Nate the Great series, really enjoyed Kenny and the Dragon, and happily blew through the entire Lighthouse Family series.

Watching

• Industrial Revolutions --Danny McAskill can do stuff on a bike that nobody should be able to do. This is great sports film-making. 
• It Might Get Loud --I'm not a fan of Jack White's music, but thought he was so compelling in this documentary.
• Brazil -- I should know better than to try old cult films. Terrible.
• Two Towers -- Sometimes when I'm out of energy, an old favourite is just the thing.
• From the Inside Out -- the Penticton bike club showed this at the college, and Ella and Ezra decided to join me. Good fun, familiar formula for a mountain biking film.

Listening

• Brasstronaut -- Hollow Trees -- I should have gone to see these guys in Kelowna last week. Dumb! This song is a free download.
• Dan Deacon -- Lots -- another free download from a guy I've followed a bit over the years. Fascinating, innovative music that is hard to classify.
• Dan Mangan - About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All
• The Kilimanjaro Dark Jazz Ensemble -- I Forsee the Dark Ahead, If I Stay -- amazing band doing mostly down-tempo instrumental music that would make incredible soundtracks. More free downloads on that page...

• Weakerthans -- The Reasons -- terribly corny video, but I still love this song. Classic.
• Japandroids -- Celebration Rock (streaming on NPR) -- awesome new album of rip-roaring new rock. These guys evoke a band from Winnipeg that we loved called Banned from Atlantis (listen to "Subtle Suggestions" for a great slice of raw early-'90s pop/post-punk)
• Michael Mizrahi – The Bright Motion (streaming on Bandcamp) -- gorgeous new solo piano compositions, beautifully played.