Last Day of July

 

Quakes

This is an interesting literary/art project from Basar, Obrist and Coupland. Talks about how technology is rewiring our brains and society. Interesting stuff. 

Victory City

Victory City was the first Rushdie book released after he was brutally attacked at a literary event. It is another great example of his literary genius. A true masterpiece of magic realism that at the same time felt very real. 

The Ducks

Went to see the famous Peabody Ducks. Always a highlight in Memphis. 

 

Beale Street!

Enjoyed strollin’ Beale Street. They were having a Jeep show. We ate and watched live music at BB King’s Blues Club. A nice evening in Memphis. 

 

Hiking in the Hills

 

The Smokys were great to hike in. The national park is fantastic. But we also enjoyed Burgess Falls State Park. Their water falls were as impressive as any we saw in the NP. And state parks in Tennessee are free! 

American Pickers

In Nashville, we stopped by Antique Archeology, the store owned by Mike Wolfe of American Pickers. Lots of cool stuff there. Also cool they were located in the renovated Marathon Auto Factory. The whole place is a mall of little boutique shops. Nice to see these old ruins revitalized. 

The Nashville Parthenon

When I was a kid my Dad went to Nashville for a job interview (which didn’t work out). He brought home a postcard of the Parthenon in Nashville  I thought it was strange yet cool that there was a life sized replica of the Parthenon in Tennessee. I wanted to go see it someday. And last week we did. My kids wanted to see it because an important scene in the Percy Jackson movie was filmed there. It’s a neat place and a good museum doing good things by promoting returning art objects to their place of origin  

 

The Mother Church

 

The Third Man N-Ville

 

Happy Fourth!

 

The Honor of Your Presence

Just finished The Honor of Your Presence by Dave Eggers. This is the second of a series of hard bound novellas together called The Forgetters. Very poignant and transports you out of your current reality. Isn’t that what stories are supposed to do? 

Sixty Days and Counting

Finally finished all 1,068 pages of the Science in the Capital Trilogy, now complied into one massive volume called Green Earth by Kim Stanley Robinson. Sixty Days and Counting was the final installment. I enjoyed this entire series. It wasn't what I expected. I liked it a lot. It's a weird but compelling story. Frank, the main protagonist, is one of the strangest main characters l've encountered in a long time. An interesting utopian view of how to solve our current climate crisis wrapped up in a political mystery. Good stuff.

 

Old Days

 Found this old photo. The good old days.