Helpful votes received on reviews:
86% (18 of 21)
Location: Seattle, WA United States, via Scotland
In My Own Words:
A member of that small subset of males more interested in cooking than eating. I'm WAY too slow to cook professionally, but paradoxically I really enjoyed working a chaotic soup kitchen, where we would arrive, see what the supermarkets had donated, come up with a menu, and serve a three-course dinner for 100-150 three hours later. This all done in a tiny kitchen with me, a Cornell professor, and … Read moreA member of that small subset of males more interested in cooking than eating.
I'm WAY too slow to cook professionally, but paradoxically I really enjoyed working a chaotic soup kitchen, where we would arrive, see what the supermarkets had donated, come up with a menu, and serve a three-course dinner for 100-150 three hours later. This all done in a tiny kitchen with me, a Cornell professor, and 15-20 co-eds all jostling for space, yum.
Many interests: astronomy/cosmology, sailing, the politics of food. I love music, especially opera, but my special musical passion right now is Zimbabwean music, both modern (Thomas Mapfumo et al) and classical (Dumisani Maraire).
I cannot run to save my life, but I love to ride mountain bike trails. If I can’t get at least ten miles in per day, I’m not happy. I’d love to add kayaking, so that I can get upper-body exercise as well.
I was a software engineer for many years, but these days I write English for a living (with occasional forays into Scottish, unless I’m very careful :-)
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Reviews
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It shocks me to give this just four stars. "Summer With Monika" is a neglected gem - one of the great epic love-poems of the 20th Century, here read by Roger himself in all his ineffable Scouseness. The gilt that has been applied (by the producers, surely, for I cannot imagine Roger so choosing) is an intrusively awful string-n-sappy-guitar accompaniment. Still well worth it though. Some of the expressions are rather obscure. I defy any American, and any Brit under 40, to explain what the shilling is doing in: or just sunbathed lazily
in front of the fire
until the shilling set on the horizon Mr. McGough is a wonderful poet, fond of using agglutination to great effect, who… Read more
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The best thing about a collection of essays like this is that you get to read articles by writers you've never heard of, on topics you never realized could be at least interesting and sometimes even compelling. The writing ranges from dry and technical to almost purely emotional. I can't think of a single dud, which is little surprise, given the editor. So, read it for elucidation or inspiration. You will come away with a few previously-unfamiliar names firmly lodged in your head for future reference, like Ian Frazier. The end of his (quite literally sensual) ode to icebergs is so beautiful it almost hurts. Here it is in full: "A lot of what is exciting about being alive can't be felt,… Read more
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What comes out most surprisingly here is how Dylan, for all his famous causticity, is obviously unsure of himself and genuinely dismayed by the response he's getting. At times he almost seems to be begging the audience for just a little kindness and consideration. But oh boy do I relate to that crowd! I despised Dylan for going electric! I'd much rather have spent the next 30 years sitting at his feet with my legs crossed and a look of blissful awe on my sappy upturned phizog... The BBC played some of the songs from this tour (from Glasgow, I believe, with the Scottish audience MUCH more creative in their lack of respect), with me literally cradling the radio in my arms, only to recoil… Read more
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