Rick Danko Turns Eighty

 

Rick Danko 

Rick Danko would have turned eighty years old yesterday. He was born December 29th, 1943 in Blayney, Ontario, Canada. He is best know as being a member of The Band. He was a multiinstrumental musician who is considered to be one of the best bass guitarists of all time and known for his talent vocally. 

Danko played several different types of bass including a Fender Jazz Bass (as seen above) and Gibson Rippers (as seen below.) 

Rick with a standup bass

In 1977 after the breakup of The Band the previous year, Danko released a self-titled solo album. One of my favorite albums filled with fun songs. All former memebers except Robbie Robertson of The Band were featured on at least one song each in the album.

Danko's debut solo album

In 1983 The Band was reformed by Danko, Helm, Manuel, and Hudson. Dankpo played in the newly formed band, did solo shows, and collaborated with other artists until his death in 1999. He was 55 years old. 

Richard Clare Danko

1943-1999

A Review of Flashman at the Charge by George MacDonald Fraser

 

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This was one fun book. Flashman yet again finds himself somehow in the thick of chaos and history. This time entering the Crimean war as the mentor to a young German prince named Willie who he had earlier taken out on the town, gotten drunk beyond recognition, stripped and painted black and abandoned. Willie was none the wiser. He is part of several historical events in the Crimean war and by the skin of his teeth and blind luck lives without a scratch and is taken prisoner by the Russians. There he is taken to an estate in what is now present day Ukraine on the left bank of the Dnieper. He meets a young Nicholas Pavlovich Ignatiev who scares Flashman. He is kept at Count Pencherjevsky's estate where he of course beds Pencherjevsky's daughter, and sister-in-law. There he also meets Scud East, a fellow POW who he knew back at Rugby.

Charge of the Light Brigade by Richard Caton Woodville Jr.

Scud East and Flashy eaves drop on a conversation and learn of the Russian plans to attach British India. Scud East wants to make a break for it and try to get back to British lines. Flashman wants nothing to do with escape and the foreseeable capture and execution by Pencherjevsky's cossacks. One night there is a peasant rebellion at Pencherjevsky's estate and Pencherjevsky demands that Scud East and Flashman take his daughter and make a break for it. They do. After getting a few miles out of town they both realize that they now have the perfect opportunity to escape. Their escape tales them to the Arrow of Arabat (a spit linking mainland Ukraine to the Kerch peninsula). They are chased by Cossacks and East makes it away.

Arrow of Arabat

Flashman is captured sees his old enemy Ignatiev and is taken across the Russian steppe, Caspian Sea, and Aral Sea. He is thrown in a jail cell with two Tajik prisoners who are Yukug Beg and Izzat Kutebar. Miracurasly they are freed from prison due to a cunning and daring young lady named Silk Eyes.

Flashman wants to make a break for India via the Afghan mountains but the Tajiks want him to help them attack the Russian camp in order to stop their invasion of their country and India. Flashman finally gives in and they make a daring attack blowing up Russian munition ships and make there escape. Flashman is escorted to India by two Afghans via Kabul. He visits some of the locations that we know so well from the first installment of the Flashman papers and reports to the first British soldier he sees. They think he is a mad man and it takes some convincing for Flashy to be believed. Flashman has done it yet again.

This was a really fun book. Flashman is the center of things, bedding women, getting up to no good, caring only for his own behind, and yet making it out unscathed after being involved in some intense battles. GMF is a great writer.

A few lines I like from the book are:

"However fearful my present predicament, however horrid the odds and danger ahead, they'd get no better with being fretted over"

"One thing tribulation teaches you, and that is to wear the mask when there's nothing else for it."

A Review of A Private Venus by Giorgio Scerbanenco

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I liked this book. Dr. Duca Lamberti is an MD who has just recently gotten out of prison for euthanasia. He is given a job to sober up a wealthy man's son, Davide. He starts the job and through a trip to a cemetery learns that Davide killed a woman the year prior and that is why he drinks. But it is not so simple. Davide carries the blame of a young woman's suicide when in reality she fell prey to a human smuggling/prostitution ring when she fought back against what was happening.

Now Duca, Davide, police officers and one of the murder girl's friends set a trap to catch the killers.

I enjoyed the prose, I enjoyed the tense scenes, I enjoyed the violence and I enjoyed the metaphors when Dr. Lamberti describes how Davide will be sober when he is done with him. "Drinking mineral water", "drinking cream and honey". Nice metaphors. Duca's father was a police officer who took the mafia on when he was on the force. That is until a would be assassin tried to kill him and ended up ruining one of his arms in the process. Duca's father also gave him the advice that you have to answer violence with violence. Sometimes it is the only language that a person speaks. You don't speak French to a German. You don't play nice with a mafioso or a pimp. You use their language.

I think that revenge was also well used in this book. Duca's father was forced into a desk job after the attempt on his life and died while Duca was in prison. Now Duca has the chance (and uses it) to enact some revenge on the type of men that hurt his father.

Good book. My library has the second installment which I'll read. Who knows if I'll read all four.

 

A Review of The Terra-Cotta Dog by Andrea Camilleri

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Second entry in the Inspector Montalbano series. This one starts with Montalbano meeting with his friend and manager of the pasture, Gege Gullota. Gege relays to Montalbano a message that mafia member Tano The Greek would like to meet with the inspector. Montalbano meets with Tano and Tano tells him that he is tired of the mafia life and would like to be taken in in a staged arrest so he can save face. Montalbano agrees and sets up an arrest. Tano's now angry former mafia buddies now enact revenge and kill Tano. Before Tano dies he tells Montalbano about a cave near Vigata that used to store WWII black market goods but now stores illegal arms.

Montalbano finds the caves and searches it connecting it to a grocery store heist that occurred in town a few days prior. Upon further inspection of the cave, Montalbano is able to find out that there is a second portion of the cave that was sealed off. He and his team make their way into the second cave with pickaxes and shovels and find the bodies of two young lovers placed in some ritualistic resting place.

The bodies are placed on a rug with a bowl with coins in one corner, an empty jug of water, in another corner and a terracotta dog watching over them in the final corner. Montalbano is able to piece together information from the bodies and interviewing local townsfolks to figure out who the two lovers are. Now he wants to know who killed them and who placed them in their ritualistic rest. He learns that the grave is a combination of the Christian legend of the Seven Sleepers (coins and water jug) as well as an Islamic symbol of the dog called Kymtyr.

Knowing that the person who placed them there must be someone familiar with both Christian and Islamic traditions and customs he searches and determines that the dead girl's younger cousin, Lillo. Lillo hasn't been heard from since the allied invasion of Sicily and is presumed to have either changed his identity or is dead.

Montalbano using his clever mind makes a big scene at the cave where the bodies were found using an advertising airplane and gets the story all over news stations and newspapers all over Italy. Finally Lillo contacts Montalbano and tells him the story. Lisetta Moscato and Mario Cunich were to young lovers. Lisetta's father raped Lisetta so she ran away. Her father sends one of his men to murder the couple. Right after they are murdered, Lillo walks in and kills the assassin. Lillo then stages the bodies in the cave, is presumed to have either been killed in the allied bombing or somewhere else and isn't seen from again.

Very good book. This is not one of those detective books that is all action, interrogations, and murder. This is a detective that uses his brain to solve cases. Here we see an old mystery accidentally surface and Montalbano solves it. Looking forward to the next installment.

 

My 2024 Reading Goals

I have done a lot of reading in the past year. I broke my record for books read, pages, read, countires read from, and more. I think it was a succesful year of reading. However, there is something that I think I am lacking. I think I am lacking the pure point of reading. To me, reading should be about cracking a book open and getting lost in another world. Or reading a book that opens your eyes to a new way of living. Or making yourself feel better when you are feeling blue. Reading shouldn't be about seeing how many books you can read in a year or trying to read everything an author has ever written. While yes it is good to push yourself and read more than you normally would, and yes it is nice to read everything written by an author you enjoy, reading shouldn't be all about accomplishing goals. Unecessary goals nonetheless. So while I have read 49 books this year with just under two weeks left in it I don't feel as if I accomplished what reading should be all about. 

My 2024 reading goals are as follows:

1. Read whatever book my mom gets me for Christmas

2. Read the book that my friend L gave me last year

3. Read the next installment in the Bosch series

4. Read 5 books on the "100 book you should read poster"

5. Read more of the Inspector Montalbano series

6. Read Day

7. Read the book F gave me on finance

8. Read the next book in the Flashman series

9. Read a Peter Mayle book

10. Read a few classics

11. Read a nonfiction book

So there it is. Who knows if I will just read these 16 books the whole year. I highly doubt it, honestly. But what I am going to do is not try and cram books and not fully enjoy them. It is like listening to music. You can throw it on in the background while cleaning and you'll like it but not fully appreciate it or you can sit down and listen. I have been just throwing book on in the background. I am going to sit down next year and really appreciate every book I read.

A Review of The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri

 

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A little bit different of a detective book than what I am used to reading in the sense that Inspector Montalbano is a fleshed out character already. He is a police inspector in the fictional town of Vigata (inspired by Camileri's hometown of Porto Empedocle in Sicily).

When a dead man in found in "the pasture" an outcrop near an abandoned factory where prostitutes and drug dealers practice their trade by trash collectors, Inspector Montalbano is assigned the case. After being told that the man, Silvio Luparello, died of natural causes due to a weak heart Inspector Montalbano decides to fully flesh out what happened. What unfolds is a case of political power strives, mafia practices, and incestious affairs.

I enjoyed this book. I think Inspector Montalbano is a good character and has certain values that pair well with being a detective. This case was one that didn't follow the usual detective book formula and was very enjoyable. I think that the only things that was a little confusing was all of the names. Of course I am not complaining that I, as an American, had a hard time with the Italian names, but I think that the next book in the series I read I'll make a list of the names and who they are while reading.

A Review of Dawn by Elie Wiesel

Thought provoking and sad. Elisha is a holocaust survivor now resistance fighter in post WWII Israel who is fighting for his country's independence. He has been with tasked with the reprisal execution of John Dawson, a British army captain. Wiesel touches on philosophy, religion, what makes a person, justice, morality, and death.

A Review of Suspicion by Friedrich Dürrenmatt

 

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I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Inspector Barlach is sick and recovering in the hospital. To kill time he flips through magazines. One being a copy of Life Magazine that has a photo of a concentration camp doctor/torturer, Dr. Nehle. Barlach's doctor, Dr. Hungertobel spots the photo of the Nazi doctor and turns pale. The tortuer bears an extremely similar resemblance to an old acquaintance of his, Dr. Emmenberger. Barlach coaxes out the reason why Dr. Hungertobel turned pale and grows a suspicion that Dr. Nehle and Dr. Emmenberger are one in the same. Forced into retirement he is tasked with solving the case and bringing some justice to the world on his own. 

Stutthof Concentration Camp

He puts a call out for his longtime friend, the Jew Gulliver, to come to his room and help him on the case. Gulliver enters his room one night and the inspector and Gulliver speak. Gulliver not only can help the inspector with his case, but also knows the torturer. Gulliver was at Stutthof conventration camp just outside of Danzig. He was not only there but his life was saved by the infamous torturer. The story goes that Dr. Nehle would allow any Jewish prisoner leave Stutthof and return to a different camp if there were to undergo a procedure with no anesthesia. Hundreds of Jews tested fate and were operated on by Nehle but only Gulliver survived. Gulliver was allowed to leave, part of a mass execution that he mirracurasly survived and has lived like a ghost ever since. He also is the one who gave the photo of the torturer to Life Magazine. 

Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Barlach also gets help from his aquantance Fortschig, the owner of a small newspaper. Fortschig is tasked with writing a story saying there is a famous Swiss doctor who was an infamous nazi torturer during the war who now lives a normal life. He does so. 

Barlach is admitted to Dr. Emmenbergers private treatment facility and is on a mission to find out if Nehle is Emmenberger or it was a big coincidence. 

This book is a fun read. Barlach is an old tom cat who can't stop chasing mice. He goes into a hospital run by someone he believes is a Nazi torturer alone. Fun read. Wish more were made. 

A Review of Blood Work by Michael Connelly

 

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Medically retired FBI agent Terry McCaleb just recently received a new heart. He got the heart from a woman who had been shot in a gas station robbery. Easy enough. Then Graceiella Rivers steps on his boat asking for his help. Her sister is the one who was killed in the gas station. Terry takes the job against his doctor's orders. Ok this is interesting. A highly trained FBI agent taking on what appears to be a "simple" murder rather than some crazy killer that no one else can solve. Then in the last 100 pages he loses me. Would have been a lot cooler to see Terry solve this case rather than turn it into some crazy killer story. Looking forward to reading more Bosch stories rather than side characters in the Bosch universe.

A Review of Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

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6.8/10 

Oh man. This is a sad book. The unnamed narrator is a middle school student in 1990 Japan. He is ruthlessly bullied and has a lazy eye. He has been tormented for years and is all alone in this world. That is until he finds a note from a classmate in his pencil case. The sender is Kojima, a girl in his class who is also bullied. She is bullied because she has "signs". Signs are remembrances she purposefully has in order to keep her father's spirit alive in her. She doesn't wash, wears dirty clothes, and doesn't eat enough. They become friends. They continue writing each other notes and occasionally meet in person. However, no matter how close they become neither one sticks up for one another when the other gets bullied at school. 

One summer day the narrator and Kojima go on a trip to a museum to see what Kojima calls "heaven". Heaven is a painting that she likes very much. While on this trip they bond and become even closed. Kojima tells the narrator that she likes his eyes. Something that he has never heard before. 

The narrator one days gets beaten so bad he goes to the hospital. There he sees and confronts one of his bullies. He asks why all this torment is directed towards him and the bully just says that is the way life works. He doesn't care about him and isn't going to stop because he has fun doing it. The bully tells him that if he wants it to stop then to do something about it. The narrator knows he wont have the strength to do anything.

The narrator's doctor tells him that fixing his lazy eye would be not a problem and a cheap one at that. Not sure what to do with this news he tells Kojima. Kojima is upset. She thinks that their "signs" is what makes them them. She says to allow the bullying to happen is what makes them bigger people than their bullies. She allows it because she allows it. Kojima shies away from the narrator and stops replying to his notes. 

One day she finally agrees to meet up with him at the place they first met. Turns out the bullies intercepted the letter and forced Kojima to reply to the narrator. There they attempt to get the narrator and Kojima to have sex in front of them. The narrator can't do anything to stop it. He is frozen. Meanwhile Kojima strips naked and scares off the bullies. An old lady intervenes and this is the last time the narrator and Kojima see each other. 

The narrator gets the eye surgery. His life changes. Finally things are in focus and the colors he sees so much more vibrant. 

I took down some notes while reading this book. I am just going to write them here exactly as I wrote them initially. Trapped in a helpless situation. "Next year it'll get better". Staying in room. No one to talk to. Suicide a way out. But what comes after death. Cold November. One friend that you can relate with and not feel so alone. So insecure that you can't even turn your head in class. Not leaving room. Escape reality via books. Doctor is that one adult that wants to help but isn't quiet sure how. Don't want to disappoint parents. Momose is an asshole. Doesn't care. Thinks that nothing matters. Seasons bring back memories.

A Review of Elegy for Kosovo by Ismail Kadare

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Elegy for Kosovo is a short novel written during the Bosnian war in the late 1990s. It does not cover the modern war in the region but rather a battle from 1389 and the aftermath. On the plains of Kosovo in 1389 two armies stood face to face. One being the Ottoman army trying to get a foothold into Europe and spread Islam. The other being an amalgamation of Serbs, Albanians, Romanians, Wallachians, Croats, and Bosniaks defending their home countries. The crescent versus the cross. 

Battle of Kosovo, by Adam Stefanović (1870)

During the battle men are slaughtered on the plains of Kosovo and the leader of the Ottomans, Murad I, is killed in action. He is said to be killed by Serbian soldier Miloš Obilić but it is uncertain. His double may have been killed and then his inner circle seized the opportunity to kill the read Murad I and install his son as the Sultan (his son being the one who wanted to turn the empire's attention toward Europe rather than Asia). Christian banners can be seen from the edge of the battle until one by one they fall.

Miloš Obilić, the alleged assassin of Sultan Murad I.

After the battle we follow a ragtag group of Christian minstrels who flee from the battle making their way north. With them is one Turk who wants to convert to Christianity but still feels his Muslim faith inside of him and one Jew. They make their way north through small villages who often do not help the group and bar them from entering their towns. Eventually they make their way far enough north where a phony trial is held for the Turk. He is burned at the stake for holding on to two faiths simultaneously. His final works while he being engulfed by the flames is a cry for his mother. 

The minstrels finally make their way to a welcoming land where they are told to perform for her.

This woman realizes that Europe must not only protect the castle of Europe (the heartlands) but also the courtyard (the Balkans). 

This region of Europe is still tense with ethnic tensions and death. One day I hope that the plains of Kosovo contain no more spilled blood. 

Richard Eder puts it brilliantly in his review when he says "He has the gift of writing parables of great weight in the lightest of tones." 

Murad I's quote to end the book is also poignant. "O Lord, hear my prayer! Take away all the mud around here, for even a few drops of blood are enough to hold all the memory of the world."

The Plains of Kosovo

A Review of The Fortress by Meša Selimović

A Review of The Fortress by Meša Selimović

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Synopsis from Goodreads: A novel on 18th century Sarajevo under Ottoman rule, featuring a soldier returned from the wars. A Muslim, he marries a Christian girl who supports him while he dabbles in politics, eventually leading a raid to rescue a friend from jail.

My review: Ahmet Shabo is a Bosnian war veteran from Sarajevo. He saw many of his friends killed in the marshes around Chocim in one of the many Russo Turkish wars. He comes back from the war a changed man. He doesn't fit into society. His family has all died while he was away. He finds solace and love in Tiyana, a Christian woman. They live together and shortly she falls pregnant. Meanwhile, Ahmet loses his job for speaking out against the society he lives in. He is blackballed. He is fired from his job as a scribe by a man he saved at Chocim. He can't find a job and suffers great turmoil. He eventally gets involved in a rescue of another man who spoke out and is investigated bya quasi police member.

This is a very intersting book that explores the suffering that man can go through. A theme that I saw often was fatalism. Shabo thinks that his fate is decided and there is nothing he can do (and often times should do) in life. No matter the choice he makes people will suffer. Hard to put my thoughts about this book down in writng. Ahmet Shabo and Prince Myshkin from The Idiot seem to be cut from the same cloth in my opinion.

Also I think I am going to count this book as a Bosnian book. I was thinking of counting it as Serbia but then I thought that I wouldn't count Richard Rodriguez as Mexico so why would I count Mesa Selimovic as Serbia? 

Been watching day in the life reels on Instagram

And I like them. There is something soothing about watching a video called "Typical Saturday as a 27 year old" and then its just a guy going to the gym and then watching football with his friends. Instead of pumping out a bunch of garbage about going to clubs or expensive restaurants, this guy hits the gym, makes lunch then takes a 12 pack to his friends house and hangs out. I need to implement this in my life I think. I start a new job on Monday (same company new role), I moved out 2 weeks ago, and I am feeling like there is part of my life that isn't filled in completely. Like I am 75% full. I know I need to add an exercise routine to my life (not using the dumbell set but rather a gym membership), and also a class or two I think would really help me. I think also joining some sort of organization would be a huge benefit. I was googleing information about Free Masons and that caught my attention. My grandpa was one so that would be pretty cool to also be a Free Mason. We'll see. I know I want to join a gym. 

One of the Instagram accounts I watch is a guy called Hubs.life I believe. He lives in Dallas and works as a senior benefits analyst at a forture 500 company. He has a dog that he loves, a wife (I think), and hits the gym a couple days a week. His videos popped up on my feed and M, M and I would make fun of him for putting his laptop into his backpack super slowely. But now that more of his videos showed up on my feed I have started to watch more of them and like them. He has a pretty chill life but still takes time to hangout with friends, enjoy the creature comforts of life, workout, and exercise his dog. 

I just also found a new guy who is some 9-5er in Houston. He works, hits the gym, then cooks a nice dinner. I have to get onto this level. Right now I wake up, activate my teams so it looks like I am working, go back to bed for 30 mintues, and then grab my laptop and work from my bed for an hour or so. I then make coffee and half work half read books/dick around on my phone for the next several hours. I need to better structure my life! I can feel it slipping by and by. I have been 26 years old for over 2 months now. Soon I will be 27. 

I went on a date Thursday and Friday. Both with women that I met on Bumble. First date was a date at a self-serve wine bar in Phinney Ridge. Was pretty fun. We had pretty decent banter and I felt that our rapport was solid. I texted her the next day and said I had fun and we should do it again and she agreed. Friday's date was at a dive bar close to my new apartment. Was a really fun date (in my opinion). We just chatted and laughed for about four hours. The date ended with me walking her to her car. She said she had a good time and would like to do it again. I texted her today telling her that I had fun and we should do it again soon and no word (yet). We'll see if either work. I hope that one or both do because I enjoyed myself on both dates and would like to see them again if possible. If not no worries I'll find someone. 

Played pickle ball with M and his coworkers. It was actually a pretty fun time. M's punkass coworker was there though and this dude takes it way too seriously. M's coworker's boyfriend, B, was there and he is a cool guy. I'd like to hangout with him again if possible. Not sure how I'd ever be able to broach that though. But he would be a fun guy to get beers with or be in some sort of club with. 

Ok I think I am going to end this blog entry here. Next I am going to start my new book A Tomb For Boris Daviddovich, do some googleing on Free Mason stuff in my city, look up some gyms near me, and try and get the upcoming week planned out a little. We'll see how it all goes. I'll try to update sooner than I did this time.

Moved in to the new crib

I'm moved in to my new apartment. Feels good to have a place of my own. Room is 90% set up. Just need to hang up some art and get a lamp for beside my bed. The living room is tastefully furnished but a little bare. I think I'll get a plant for it and maybe another table to stick between the corners of the couches. I really need to go grocery shopping. My wares are bare. I had two pb&j sandwiches and an apple today for lunch. Gotta get some more pasta, deli meat, canned stuff, and spices so I can chef it up a little. 

Roommate is cool. Pretty quiet guy but has offered to do me a favor already (grab quarters for the washing machine). He works a little different hours than I do so it seems like I have the apartment largely to myself. One thing I did today that I want to not do in the future was that I had to pee at 5 am but held it because I didn't want to wake up my roommate when I went to bathroom. Got to realize that this is my space that I pay for. I'll use it how I want! Anyways, I digress. I put up my string lights, got my bookshelf set up, my guitar there. It is a pretty cozy place. We'll see how this year goes!

Moving out

Finally moving out. Found a good spot in a cool neighborhood for under a grand. Chill roommate. It is also close to work so that'll be nice. Gotta onsite more now that I can have a home game!

Scotland Trip 2023

Got back a few days ago from a 12 day long trip to Scotland. I went with my mom and brother. We flew into Glasgow, spent two days there, then rented a car drove up A80 to Inverness, spent the night there, then drove to the Orkney islands, spent two days there, then drove to Edinburgh and spent three days there. Was a tiring trip. I don't know why but I feel like it was underwhelming. I think I overresearched it and overplanned it. Then when I actually got there it didn't live up to expectations. Next time I think I am going to not plan as much but learn more about the country in general. Read some books, watch some movies and learn about the people instead of planning every day out. This trip has also confirmed that I prefer the calm rolling hills over the hustle and bustle of a big city when on vacation.

View of The University of Glasgow

Kelvingrove Museum

Statue of Lord Kelvin

Kelvingrove Museum

University of Glasgow

Close up of the statue of Homeless Jesus

Mural in Glasgow

Glasgow Cathedral

Glasgow Cathedral

Glasgow Necropolis

Over the River Clyde

The Highlands

Ben Nevis

River Moriston

Inverness

The Atlantic taken from the ferry

Stones of Stenness

St Olaf Scottish Episcopal Church

St Magnus Cathedral

Sunset in Kirkwall

Skara Brae

Beach at Skara Brae

Detals of rocks at Skara Brae

Harvesting on Orkney

Birsay

Birsay

Birsay

St. Magnus's Church, Birsay

Birsay Earl's Palace

Ring of Brogdar

Beach at Scapa Flow

St Magnus Cathedral

The Gloup

Deerness Parish Churchyard

The Italian Chapel

The Italian Chapel

Viking Totem Pole

Edinburgh Castle

St Giles' Cathedral

St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral

Dean Village

Scottish American Memorial

Holyrood Abbey

Swan on the Locks

Harrison Park West