“I hate writing. I love having written.”
-The late Dorothy Parker, of whom I was reminded by fellow Houston Press blogger Pete Vonder Haar. Check out his great post on the trials –and rewards– of a career in writing.
Sound Bite: Hank Williams Jr. and ignorance
“There is no excuse for being so ignorant. Not in the globalized world we live in. Not in the richly diverse country that we live in. Not when we have so many thousands of years of recorded history where dividing a nation’s population into “us” vs. “them” has resulted in so many horrific acts of violence, genocide, and oppression. Not when there are so many other marginalized groups that are dismissed, devalued, and degraded because they are “them” and not “us.”
From the Iowa State Fair stage on Friday night, Hank Williams Jr. made a blatant appeal to the most base and vile instinct that lurks in the darkest parts of us: “You are not like me. You do not believe what I believe. You are the enemy.””
-Kevin Coyne in this from-the-gut post. A must read.
Summer round-up: Music, wine and eighth birthdays
It’s been a lovely, chaotic summer – the best kind. Here are a few gems that caught my eye (and ear) over the past month or so:
This wine:
…from a winery on the outskirts of this incredible city:
(I spent a little over a week in Switzerland, Florence and Venice last month. Needless to say, it was an inspiring trip.)
This anthem from the Zac Brown Band’s action-packed new album,Uncaged (give it a listen and you’ll understand what I mean):
This funky, new-ish song by British group Graffiti6:
This kick ass and deserved title that Houston just nabbed. And yeah, we already knew we were the coolest. Why?
“I’ve never seen a city where people blend more gracefully than Houston.”
This surprisingly moving performance by tenth place finisher Erika Van Pelt (at the Idols Live concert I caught in Dallas):
This crazy-cool local band that I was jazzed to interview for Houston magazine.
This Kelly Clarkson cover of my favorite band’s breakout single:
…and finally, this wonderful milestone that Country Universe –my country music home– recently hit. I couldn’t be more grateful to have found my way into the CU family three years ago.
