How Larry Rolls – 2009 Edition

The question that I am most frequently asked is, “Larry, please tell me what can I do to be more like you?”  To assist you in your feeble efforts to emulate me in every way, I submit for your approval my Nearly Annual Report on Larry’s Alcoholic & Media Consumption:

Books

I am probably reading for leisure more now than at any other time in my life — 300 pages a week is typical, double that if I have my hands on a real page-turner.  I read almost exclusively non-fiction, particularly American history.  In the past 6 weeks I have been focusing on the Gilded Age, which is something of a blind spot in my history education.   Devil in the White City by Erik Larson is a parallel account of of the mounting of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and the story of serial murderer H.H. Holmes — it is nice piece of popular history.  Currently I am about half through Titan, Ron Chernow’s excellent biography of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. Chernow’s book is so good that I plan on launching straight into his biography of J.P. Morgan as soon as I finish up with Mr. Rockefeller.  I am also trying to make room for a rare piece of fiction on the recommendation of a colleague.

Booze

Like many Americans I am economizing in these times of uncertainty.  So I have been sticking with mid-level beer (read: Sam Adams) at home.   When I am craving the good stuff I join friends for a few premium brews at the local watering hole. I am especially pleased that Bell’s has returned from their Illinois exile — try a Best Brown and you shan’t be disappointed.

Movies

Are you kidding?  We’re lucky if we see one movie a year.  I honestly do not remember the last movie that I saw in the theater.  However we did recently get a Netflix membership, but that is mainly for Jack’s benefit.

News

No dead tree newspapers for me, but I do visit about a half dozen news Web sites everyday — I definitely need to re-think this list:

• CNN – I should probably drop this one — it has become way too sensationalistic.
• Slashdot – It is getting a little long in the tooth, but it is still an essential geek read.
• MSNBC – Another one I should probably drop or replace.
• Pantagraph – Not exactly hard-hitting journalism, but it is probably the best source for B-N news.
• STLtoday – I read it mainly to keep up with news about the Cardinals.
• New York Times – It is still the paper of record, in my opinion.
• ESPN – The content has always been first rate, but the horrid site design led me to drop them from my regular rotation last winter.  Fortunately the site was redesigned recently and is much improved.

Tube

My TV is currently lying fallow — I have canceled all my Tivo Season Passes and ceded the field to my boy and his pal Scooby Doo.  It has been nearly a month since I sat down to watch a TV show.  The trigger event was an episode of 24 that was so stupefyingly awful that I lost 3.8 ounces of brain mass while watching it.  So I decided to shut down for a bit and feed myself some brain food (i.e. more reading).  I’ll probably get sucked back in once baseball season gets under way.  We are also plotting our move to digital TV and HDTV sometime later this year.

Tunes

Some of my favorite artists have recently released new albums — I have purchased, but not yet thoroughly listened to new albums by Bruce Springsteen, John Hiatt & U2.  Ironically I am probably listening to Springsteen’s Magic (2007) more than anything else right now — that is not surprising since it usually takes quite a while for me to thoroughly absorb his stuff.  I can never get enough Dylan and Sinatra — Tell Tale Signs (2008) & Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! (1955) are getting a lot of play.  (Make sure you get the 1998 remasters of Sinatra’s Capitol albums — they sound astonishingly good.) Both Dylan and Neil Young have new albums coming out next month — I plan to get both and I will try to take some time to write up quick reviews.

Web

Beyond the news, I visit Twitter and Digg daily.  Digg seems to be getting more juvenile, so I am putting it in on probation in 2009.  The more I use it the more I appreciate Twitter — I finally have an outlet for all those tiny pearls of witticism that have been clogging up my synapses all these years.  Oh, and it is great for stalking keeping up with friends.  Of note:  I do not have, nor have I ever had, a Facebook account — please tell me why I should get one.