Interests
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens . . .
These are a few of my favorite things
Interests
- Philosophy, epistemology, and perception
- Politics, leadership, and how we want to be led
- Culture and the ‘personality’ of large organizations
- Global economics
- Logistics and complex systems
- Technology and electronics
- Movie and television production
- Wine, and craft cocktails
- Travel, especially by train
- Nature, grandeur, beauty, majesty, and being outside
- The Oxford comma
Books
I read a lot. Check out my profile on Goodreads for what I am currently reading and what I think about the books that I finish. Here are a few of the books that stimulated ideas that were truly transformational for me over the course of my life.
- The Brother’s Karamazov – Fyodor Dostoyevski
- The Cider House Rules – John Irving
- Never Eat Alone – Keith Ferazzi
- The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich – William L. Shirer
- Enders Game Quintet – Orson Scott Card
- The Discoverers & The Creators – Daniel J. Boorstin
- Managing with Power – Jeffrey Pfeffer
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galazy – Douglas Adams
- The Elephant and the Flea – Charles Handey
- The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni
- Million Dollar Consulting – Alan Weiss
- Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman
- The Warmth of Other Suns – Isabel Wilkerson
- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – Robert Prisig
- Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah – Richard Bach
Podcasts
I have been a devotee to podcast listening since their inception back in the early 2000’s — back when it was possible to listen to every podcast ever produced (well, except for The Dawn and Drew Show. I never got that one). I have listened to more than 20,000 hours in the 17 years that I have been an avid fan and still manage to ingest 20-30 hours of truly great and stimulating content every week. Here are a few of my current favorites.
News and Information
- Behind the News
- The Chauncey DeVega Show
- Citations Needed
- Democracy at Work (Richard Wolff)
- First Draft
- Gaslit Nation
- Humane Marketing
- Institute for Local Self-Reliance
- Building Local Power
- Community Broadband Bits
- Connect This
- Local Energy Rules
- MASH 4077 Podcast
- Movement Memos
- Slate Podcasts
- Amicus
- Culture Gabfest
- Hang Up and Listen
- Hi-Phi Nation
- One Year
- Political Gabfest
- Slate Money
- What Next
- Upstream
- Who What Why
- Warriors All-82
Music
A Few Favorite Movies
- Benny & Joon — Johnny Depp, Aidan Quinn , Mary Stuart Masterson, Julianne Moore and Oliver Platt – Great cast and a wonderful story on the theme of “who’s really the crazy one?”
- Shawshank Redemption — Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman – moving and inspirational.
- Fisher King — Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges – another great film on the fine line between sanity and insanity. Very moving.
- Leaving Normal — Christine Lahti and Meg Tilly – a road trip movie with two great actresses and a couple of very memorable scenes.
- The Milagro Beanfield War — Christopher Walken, Sonia Braga, et. al. – The movie that made me believe in magic … and fall in love with New Mexico.
- Fearless — Jeff Bridges survives a plane crash. Intriguing.
- What’s Eating Gilbert Grape — early Johhny Depp and a very young Leonardo DiCaprio.
- Se7en — Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman – tense, psychological thriller.
- Copy Cat — Sigorney Weaver and Harry Connick Jr. – another psychological thriller, this one set in San Francisco.
- Primal Fear — Ed Norton and Richard Gere – Wonderful acting debut for Ed Norton. Great plot twists.
- Toy Story — Voices by Tom Hanks and Tim Allen – Delightful plot and the voiceovers are astounding every time.
- The Station Agent — Patricia Clarkson and Peter Dinklange – A nice “little” movie with great acting.
- Die Hard — Bruce Willis — my annual Christmas Eve movie.
- Dave — Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver – As simple as politics should be.
- Pump up the Volume — I love Christian Slater and I love movies about outcasts. This movie has both!
- A Fish Called Wanda — John Clease, Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis – Brilliant on so many levels.
- Hands on a Hardbody — A documentary about a contest to win a truck. Never gets old.
- Hoosiers — Gene Hackman and Barbara Hershey – I got turned on to basketball while teaching in Indiana in the early 80’s. One of my students was an extra on a few of the opposing teams.
- Contact — Jody Foster rocks … as does the plot. Could happen.
- Dead Poets Society —It’s hard to pick, but probably my favorite Robin Williams movie.
Television Shows
- M*A*S*H
- The West Wing
- Mr Robot
- Halt & Catch Fire
- Boston Legal
- The Practice
- Extreme Engineering
- Nashville
- Homeland
- Glee
- Fixer Upper
- Justified
- Six Feet Under
- The Americans
Musicians
- Lyle Lovett
- Bruce Cockburn
- Neil Diamond
- Queen
- The Subdudes
- Simon & Garfunkle
- U2
- Van Morrison
- Chris Stapleton
- Josh Ritter
- Madison Violet