A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert. | |
― Andrew Carnegie | |
[Found at one of the blogs I follow: “I didn’t have my glasses on….“ | |
Located at: https://ididnthavemyglasseson.com/ | |
The specific post is at: https://ididnthavemyglasseson.com/2017/03/11/im-a-reflection-of-the-community-tupac-shakur/ | |
Please visit the original blog / site if you have a minute… — KMAB] | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | And Usually The Former |
The Real Heir… | |
2020 | The Doggie Dab |
A Fork In The Road | |
2019 | #LyingDonald’s Problem With The News And Truth |
2018 | Oh, Hell |
2017 | No Welcome Mat Here |
2016 | Making It Up |
A Missed Beat | |
2015 | We Are All Explorers |
2014 | Still Trying To Cope |
2013 | Dear Diary (A good chuckle!) |
2012 | Conveniently Sequential |
2011 | King’s Speech Number Four |
Rational Probability | |
Posts Tagged ‘Reading’
Desert Springs
Posted in Education, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, tagged Andrew Carnegie, Community, Deserts, Education, Libraries, Other Blogs, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, Springs on February 22, 2022| 2 Comments »
Overbooked
Posted in Faith Family and Friends, Family and Friends, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, tagged Books, Neighbors, Nooks, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, Robert Southey, Rooms on February 20, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Give me a room whose every nook is dedicated to a book. | |
— Robert Southey | |
[We recently had a neighbor drop in. She had been discussing books with my wife and wanted to drop off one she had just finished and was recommending. (Readers are the biggest “pushers” in the world.) Anyway, the neighbor was saying she had far too many books and she needed to donate / give away some of them. My wife chuckled. The neighbor looked quizzical… I opened the door to one of my rooms and she saw a wall of books / LP’s / CD’s approximately 18ft long and shelved from floor to ceiling (mostly books). I said that’s only one of two rooms. My wife thanked her and said she’ll be happy to borrow some books. — KMAB] | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | One Month In: Learning To Play Guitar |
Cause The Melody Keeps Haunting Me | |
2020 | Working On My 2019 Tax Returns |
2019 | Three Beliefs |
2018 | He Found Them On-Line |
2017 | Maybe In A Future World |
2016 | Largely A Mystery |
2015 | Tools And Weapons |
2014 | Likes And Dislikes |
2013 | Pillars Of Learning |
2012 | Another JCoM Review |
Move It | |
2011 | Expected Value |
What Should Be Universal Exercise
Posted in Education, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, tagged Ability, At The Same Time: Essays And Speeches, Exercise, Literature, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, Susan Sontag, Training, Weeping on December 12, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Literature can train, and exercise, our ability to weep for those who are not us or ours. | |
–– Susan Sontag | |
From: “At the Same Time: Essays and Speeches“ | |
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On This Day In: | |
2020 | Trying To Keep On Keeping On |
Bending | |
2019 | Ooops (Again) |
2018 | Two Start Up Front |
2017 | I Love America Because… |
An Act Of God | |
And So It Came To Pass (Act Of God part 2) | |
2016 | As Far From |
2015 | Rocky 7 |
Just Like Politics | |
2014 | Game And Legend |
“Scientific” Pride In Humanity | |
2013 | Real Honor |
Catching Up | |
2012 | Thoughts And Communications |
2011 | But How Does Peter Feel? |
2010 | Name That Regret |
Four Fifths Of Music
Posted in 2021 Book Review, Book Review, Guitar, Guitar Stuff, Music, Reading, Reviews, tagged 2021 Book Review, Book Review, Guitar, Joseph Alexander, Music, Reading, Strong Book Recommendation, The Circle Of Fifths For Guitartists -- book review on November 18, 2021| Leave a Comment »
“The Circle Of Fifths For Guitarists” (2017©) — book review | |
This review is for the first guitar book (non-song book category) which I have finished reading. Hopefully, there will be many more in the future… | |
The book is written by: Joseph Alexander and is part of a series of learning about music / guitar titled: “Fundamental Changes“. There is an associated website at: www.fundamental-changes.com. It also has associated Facebook and Instagram blah-blah-blah… | |
Background: | |
In January of this year (2021), I decided to teach myself to play guitar. I’ve now purchased multiple guitars (acoustic and electric) and about a dozen books on learning music and learning how to play various genres of guitar. I am trying to “find” my voice on both hardware and in music. I am doing this (journey / vision-quest) “mostly” through YouTube, Wikipedia, Google and my local second hand bookstore. I am averaging about one hour a day of hands-on practice and another couple of hours exploring genres, music theory, musicians / bands / songs, and hardware reviews. Although I have (probably) over 300 hours of hands-on practice, I still consider myself to be a near complete-beginner guitarist. I have watched multiple hours worth of videos on “The Circle of Fifths” and given this book is only a little over sixty pages of material, I’ve spent far more time watching videos than I actually spent reading this book. | |
Review: | |
Having said this, the questions remain: is THIS a good book about the topic and would I recommend it to others? The answer to both is: “YES“. | |
First (good): this is not a particularly easy topic to cover / explain. I may feel this way simply because I’m such a beginner, but I’ve asked a few people who’ve “played” guitar in the past and they (mostly) said: “Just learn some chords and play songs. Nobody is interested in theory.” The problem is: I AM!! Not only am I interested in guitar (as a physical instrument), I am also interested in it as a means of musical expression. I seek to “Grok” guitar. This means I have to learn the how’s and why’s of just about everything “guitar”. Hence, my interest in the topic: “The Circle of Fifths” (TCoF). | |
Alexander has written a very easy to read explanation of TCoF and I feel this book significantly increased the depth and breadth of my understanding of this music tool. Obviously TCoF is a tool for all musicians and not limited to just use by guitarists. Having said this, the author appropriately makes the effort to explain things from / for a guitarist’s point of view. He defines words / terms when he first uses them, so ensuring the budding guitarist knows what he is talking about. Alexander also takes the time to briefly explain some things beyond the scope of the book and cautions readers when a side topic is going to get deep. Basically, he explains fundamental concepts clearly and then builds on the foundation to round out the reader’s understanding. | |
As mentioned earlier, there is an associated website with audio files which can be played to increase understanding by ear training and not simply expecting the reader to “understand” a point by reading about it. This is a book about practical application of theory to music (sound). | |
Second (bad): If that’s the good, what’s wrong? Well, my copy came to me with every third page glued together. Not consecutive pages, but facing pages and every other set: two pages open, two pages glued, etc. The glued spot was pretty uniform at about two inches in from the center / binding. Most were only spots. A few were lengths (a quarter inch to two inches) running from binding margin to the center of text. A couple were the full height of the page as well as being over an inch in width. Most could be pulled free. Three of the sets completely shredded the opposite page – which meant you couldn’t read the back of that page either, even though it wasn’t glued. Fortunately, the worst pages were at the extreme front and end of the book. When contacted, the response was: the books are printed and delivered by Amazon; take it back to them and they’ll arrange to give you another. If this was a hardbound book or more expensive, I would have done this. Weighing the cost versus my time, I just decided to live with what I have. And, after all, the book was still readable. Although annoying in multiple locations, I could figure out the missing words from surrounding context. | |
Third (bad): The book had a handful (less than five) of editing errors where either a word was dropped or an incorrect word was used. Only one was so bad (impactful) that I had to go back and re-read adjoining text to ensure I knew what the author was saying instead of what it looked like he was saying. I would add, I personally would NEVER buy this type of book in kindle format without having seen the complete book on whatever hardware version I owned. There is too much valuable information easily accessible by laying out two pages and seeing them next to each other in a readable size / format. In fairness, I am a “book” person, not an “ebook” person. Of course, with kindle I wouldn’t have had the glue issue. | |
Final recommendation: strong recommendation. If you are interested in learning a bit about music theory, how chords and keys are built and how chords work together to create music, this is an excellent beginner’s resource. Is it going to “vastly” improve MY music skills. Not in the immediate future. I’m not that good, yet. But I’ll get there some day and I believe reading this book will have helped me get there sooner than if I’d not read it. I will look for this author and series in my local used book stores where I can open and check the pages before I buy the book. | |
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On This Day In: | |
2020 | Doctor’s Orders |
Make That Seven Orders… | |
2019 | Innocent |
2018 | Ripost |
2017 | Just Asking… |
2016 | And 4 |
How Tall Do You Stand? | |
2015 | More Prejudice |
2014 | Say What? |
2013 | Daring Errors |
2012 | Are You Comfortable? |
I Just Have To | |
In Flux | |
2011 | True New |
2010 | A Job Well Started Is A Job Half Done |
I See With My One Good Eye | |
Or Internet Access To My Blog
Posted in Humor, Quotes, Reading, tagged Diary, Oscar Wilde, Quotes, Reading, Train Rides, Travel on July 18, 2021| Leave a Comment »
I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train. | |
–– Oscar Wilde | |
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On This Day In: | |
2020 | The Spirit Of A Fighter, The Heart Of A Saint |
Corporate Cults | |
2019 | Most Hire |
Just The Three Of Us | |
2018 | Sounds Like #45’s White House |
2017 | Have We Started Winning Yet? |
2016 | Still Springy |
2015 | Well Concealed |
2014 | The History Of Warriors |
2013 | A Cult Of Ignorance |
2012 | Counting Valor |
Understanding Faith | |
2011 | I Can Hear You Now |
2010 | Inception |
Sift And Stir
Posted in Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, tagged Eleanor Roosevelt, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, Thinking on July 3, 2021| 2 Comments »
What counts, in the long run, is not what you read; it is what you sift through your own mind; it is the ideas and impressions that are aroused in you by your reading. It is the ideas stirred in your own mind, the ideas which are a reflection of your own thinking, which make you an interesting person. | |
— Eleanor Roosevelt | |
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On This Day In: | |
2020 | Role Reversal |
Time To Defend The Constitution (Part I) | |
Time To Defend The Constitution (Part II) | |
2019 | Right Or Wrong |
2018 | Open Doors |
2017 | When It Deserves It |
2016 | Expiation For Rest |
2015 | You’ll Get Through It |
2014 | A Special Kind Of Fall |
2013 | Very Rewarding |
2012 | MIB3 – The Team Is Closer Than Ever |
Yet | |
2011 | Little By Little |
A Chance Meeting Finds A Way
Posted in Other Blogs, Quotes, Reading, tagged Books, Bookshops, Cecelia Ahern, I Didn't Have My Glasses On, Magic, Other Blogs, Quotes, Reading on May 29, 2021| Leave a Comment »
I believe in the magic of books. I believe that during certain periods in our lives we are drawn to particular books — whether it’s strolling down the aisles of a bookshop with no idea whatsoever of what it is that we want to read and suddenly finding the most perfect, most wonderfully suitable book staring us right in the face. Unblinking. Or a chance meeting with a stranger or friend who recommends a book we would never ordinarily reach for. Books have the ability to find their own way into our lives. | |
― Cecelia Ahern | |
[This quote is available at multiple locations on the web, but I originally found it as a post on one of the blogs I follow: I didn’t have my glasses on…. | |
The specific post is: the magic of books. Which can be found at: https://ididnthavemyglasseson.com/2021/05/08/24719/ | |
Please give the site a visit if you have some spare time. — KMAB] | |
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On This Day In: | |
2020 | The Magnitude Of The Challenge |
2019 | Still Tearing, Still Being Rewarded |
2018 | Nothing More, Nothing Less |
2017 | Memorial Day – 2017 |
No Wonder I’m Smiling | |
2016 | Thinking Science Fictional |
2015 | Dawn Is Coming |
2014 | Back When I Was A Firebrand |
2013 | Pen In Hand |
Word Up! | |
2012 | Disturbing |
Trying To Keep Up | |
2011 | Unreliable And Selective |
2010 | Adult-Onset Athlete |
And Most Adults Don’t Either
Posted in Education, Quotes, Reading, Science and Learning, tagged Carl Sagan, Exploration, Quotes, Reading, Science Fiction, Scientific Literature, Scientists, Solar System, Ten-Year-Olds on November 28, 2020| Leave a Comment »
Many scientists deeply involved in the exploration of the solar system (myself among them) were first turned in that direction by science fiction. And the fact that some of that science fiction was not of the highest quality is irrelevant. Ten-year-olds do not read the scientific literature. | |
— Carl Sagan | |
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On This Day In: | |
2019 | Happy Thanksgiving (2019) |
2018 | And Smiles… |
2017 | Or Savor A Little Longer… |
2016 | Sometimes I Just Want To Smell The Flowers |
2015 | One Truth – Done Well |
2014 | Now In Imagination, On The Other Hand… |
2013 | No Plan, No Map |
2012 | Singing About Love |
2011 | The Awesome Power Of Truth |
Books And Blogs
Posted in Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, Writing, tagged Experience, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, Socrates, Time, Writing on November 21, 2020| 2 Comments »
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for. | |
― Socrates | |
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On This Day In: | |
2019 | #45 Is The Inverse |
2018 | A Message To The White House Press Corps |
2017 | Eeny Meeny Miny Moe |
Binge, Binge, Binge | |
2016 | Feeling Warm Yet? |
Four Documentaries | |
2015 | Just Like All The Others |
2014 | In My Own Vanity |
2013 | Filled With Words |
2012 | Lectio Auget Existentiae Meae |
2011 | Lied Lately? |
2010 | Born To Work At Faux News |
Lost Again (Uh, Make That Still) | |
Qui Genus Humanum Ingenio Superavit | |
They’re Back… (Part 1) | |
And The Same Goes For Blogs / Posts
Posted in Quotes, Reading, Writing, tagged Blogging, Books, Meaning, Quotes, Reading, W. Somerset Maugham, Writing on July 11, 2020| 2 Comments »
The only important thing in a book is the meaning that it has for you. | |
–– W. Somerset Maugham | |
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On This Day In: | |
2019 | Not Enough |
2018 | One Thing We Do Know |
2017 | Preservation |
2016 | Going Back |
2015 | Just For Today |
2014 | Reaching For Destiny |
2013 | Still Just Passing Through |
2012 | Live Or Die |
2011 | On Secession |
2010 | A Rocky Weekend |
I Think Reading Books Is A Good Place To Start
Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Quotes, Reading, Writing, tagged Empathy, How to Talk To Each Other When There's Little Common Ground, Institutional Change, Novels, Philosophy, Politics, Quotes, Readers, Reading, Road Rage, The American Conversation, Time Magazine, Tommy Orange, Understanding Others, What Novels Can Teach Us, Writers on September 24, 2019| Leave a Comment »
…The onus is always on us, we the oppressed, to challenge a system that wants to conserve its traditions and traditional values. We come to understand that if we want to be included in the American conversation, we have to work twice as hard while being told that we’re lazy, or that the government gives us money, and then told that we’re angry if we bring up the problem of racism in public spaces or when it doesn’t feel like the right time. So we keep putting off these conversations, or we’re having them on the Internet, where it’s too easy to be anonymous and therefore cruel and selfish. It’s like car drivers behaving dangerously on the road, simply because they’re hidden behind metal, glass and distance. In our more personal online spaces we fill our feeds exclusively with people we agree with. If there is conflict below a post or tweet it never feels like a conversation – only like road rage. | |
So if we can’t seem to find ways to talk in person, or online, when and where and how do we talk? I think a novel is a kind of conversation. Both the writer and the reader bring their experience to the page. The reader’s experiences and ideas can be reshaped, challenged, changed. I know, I’m a writer, so of course I think the answer is books, but I think reading books is a good place to start thinking about and understanding people’s stories you aren’t familiar with, outside your comfort zone and experience. A novel will ask you to walk in a character’s shoes, and this can build empathy. Without empathy we are lost. I tend to read mostly novels and have come to understand the world better through the lens of novels. When someone else’s world is different from our own, we see how we are the same. We not only become more empathetic to their experience but we see how we are equal. We also see how much upper-middle-class white male writing has been the only thing taught in schools, the only experience for so long – most of the time anyway. I think institutional change can come by teaching women, teaching writers of color. We will all be better for it. I like that novels ask us without seeming to ask us to think about other people, to understand the many-storied landscape of this country we live and die in – with or without truly knowing or understanding them. | |
— Tommy Orange | |
Excerpt from his editorial / opinion piece: “What Novels Can Teach Us“ | |
Appearing in: Time Magazine, dtd: 5 November 2018 | |
Online at: https://time.com/5434396/tommy-orange-novels-conversations/ | |
Online the article is titled: “How to Talk To Each Other When There’s Little Common Ground“ | |
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On This Day In: | |
2018 | And Pay In Full |
2017 | If Only |
2016 | Equal Justice |
2015 | Not Enough |
2014 | Are You Even Listening? |
2013 | Namaste |
2012 | Looking Up |
2011 | Et Tu Brute? |
What Do Your Children See You Doing?
Posted in Education, Quotes, Reading, tagged Books, Dr. Leo F. Buscaglia, Quotes, Reading, Students on July 1, 2019| Leave a Comment »
The best students come from homes where education is revered: where there are books, and children see their parents reading them. | |
— Leo Buscaglia | |
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On This Day In: | |
2018 | Is #45 STILL Losing America |
2017 | We Sleep To Remember And We Sleep To Forget |
2016 | Useful Gift |
2015 | Who’s The Boss? |
2014 | What Counts In The Future |
2013 | Improper Sequence? |
2012 | Two Gems |
2011 | A True Test |
And / Or A Great Soulmate
Posted in Family and Friends, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, tagged Great Books, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, William Styron on June 24, 2019| Leave a Comment »
A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading. | |
–– William Styron | |
[In life, a great partner / soulmate / spouse should share their life and deepen yours. — kmab] | |
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On This Day In: | |
2018 | Dead Red |
You Ain’t Done Yet | |
2017 | Just Because |
2016 | As Close As They Can Get |
2015 | And So I Blog |
2014 | Take Flight |
2013 | Contributing Joy |
2012 | More Than A Race |
2011 | Institutionalized Leadership |