ClimbingSky

Why Baseball, Books, and the Grateful Dead matter

  • MUSIC Monday: “In the Slow Lane”- Kenny Barron Trio

    There is something irreplaceable about the experience getting to listen to truly curated radio stations. Knowledgeable DJs are something that no algorithm is ever going to be able to replace. My local Jazz station, KBEM, has a number of very knowledgeable DJs that regularly introduce me to new tunes that broaden my musical horizons. He… Read more

  • SHORT STORY REVIEW: “Who Killed Zebedee?” by Wilkie Collins

    Wilkie Collins (1824–1889) is an English novelist best known for his two novels: The Lady in White and Moonstone. Both novels are credited with establishing the ground rules of modern Detective Stories. For aficionados of Detective Fiction, like me, both are essential reading. While Lady in White and Moonstone are very long novels, “Who Killed Zebedee?”… Read more

  • FOOD FOR THOUGHT FRIDAY: “Mr. Cub” on Spring Training

    Spring training means flowers, people coming outdoors, sunshine, optimism and baseball. Spring training is a time to think about being young again. ~ Ernie Banks Read more

  • Pitchers & Catchers Have Reported

    Here in the North Country, we finally have temperatures above 40 degrees after a brutal, arctic January. Meanwhile, in Fort Myers, Florida—where the Minnesota Twins hold camp—the temps are in the high 70s and low 80s. It is perfect weather for America’s pastime. Knowing that baseball is being played somewhere where the sun is shining… Read more

  • MUSIC MONDAY: Lightnin’ Hopkins – “It’s a Sin to Be Rich, But a Low-Down Shame to Be Poor”

    Here is one of my favorite Lightnin’ Hopkins’ tunes. With some pretty good Theology to boot! Enjoy! Read more

  • SHORT STORY REVIEW: “Three is a Lucky Number” by Margery Allingham

    Margery Allingham (May 1904 – June 1966) was an English novelist and considered alongside Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and Ngaio Marsh to be one of the “Queens of Crime.” She is probably best known for a series of stories featuring Albert Campion. These include:: Over the years, I have read a number of her Campion stories… Read more

  • FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Goethe on Art

    “One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,  Read more

  • THURSDAY THOUGHTS: Minnesota Proud

    February has arrived in the North Country. The inevitable Arctic temperatures of January should be behind us for the most part now. I wish I could say the same for ICE. They are still here, after all—though supposedly in fewer and less visible numbers. But the damage to Democracy has been done. The America that… Read more

  • MUSIC MONDAY: Jerry Garcia & David Grisman “Sitting Here in Limbo”

    The first Monday of February calls for another tune from Saint Jerry. Here he is with Grisman. Enjoy! Read more

  • 600 Days and a New Cadence

    When I started blogging again a year and a half ago, I knew from experience that posting daily would only last so long. I knew that, eventually, that cadence would need to be adjusted. After almost 600 daily posts, that time has come. My habit has been to do most of my work on ClimbingSky between 5:30… Read more