Featured Artist and Book Reviews

This place isn't just for political or current events. It's my place for writing whatever comes to mind. Today I've got a featured artist.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
I've been watching Ken Burn's series on the jazz and Martin Scorsese's series on blues. Watching the series have turned me on to some incredible artists. They are not lost to time obviously. I think they are vastly under appreciated. I'm pretty sure artists and students of music are very familiar with most the names mentioned in the documentaries. I wasn't until I watched them and it exposed me to a list of artists that I look forward to acquiring the music of and listening to.

One such artist is Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Like many blues and jazz artist, Tharpe learned and started performing in gospel music. When she was still young, she'd play gospel at church and blues and jazz at home. Eventually she started to record music and give live performances. She was able to meld gospel, jazz and blues into her own style and showmanship. Some in the gospel world were appalled by her ventures into the secular. Regardless, many performers have sited Tharpe as an influence including Elvis Presley, Isaac Hayes, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard.

Just watch her performances and it's easy to see the influence she's had on musicians of all types through the years.

"Up Above My Head" is my personal favorite:


Two other great ones:




Book Reviews
I've just finished reading two books off my Amazon reading list.

The first is Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich. It is the story of a group of MIT students who are trained to count cards and beat casinos in the game of blackjack. The students are trained and then a group of investors stake them to seed money. They then embark as teams in casinos working their trade. They take on different disguises, names and alternate lives in order to keep casinos from stopping. Card counting isn't illegal but casinos can ban clients if they discover they are doing it and then threaten them with arrest for trespass if they are caught again.

Overall the book is a fast and easy read. The book details how the lead character was recruited, his training and then the adventures once he started counting cards. The book describes some hairy situations they got into and their escapes. Overall, I enjoyed the book but the whole time I was reading I felt something was lacking. I'm not sure what. It was mostly based on fact. I don't think anything was embellished. Some how I came away feeling like I was left hanging even though the book ends with a conclusion. I do recommend the book though. It's especially a good read for a flight or travel.

The second book I just read was Paul of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. The book is a telling of the story of Paul Atriedes in the few years after he defeated the Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino and wrested control of the Dune universe. It also delves into Paul's life growing up on Caladan as son of Duke Leto Atriedes.

Paul is a troubled soul. He is gifted with prescience and he can see both the destruction of the human race and the path he can take to save humanity. He knows to save humanity he must turn into a tyrant and it goes against all that his father taught him. As he consolidates his new empire, Paul also deals with the conspiracies and court intrigues against him.

As with the other post-Frank Herbert Dune books, I enjoyed Paul of Dune. Herbert and Anderson capture vividly the new tasks facing Paul Atriedes. They also weave the story that tells of the conspiracies against Paul. They richly describe some of the battles Paul's fanatical Fremen jihadists run off to fight in Paul's name. They also pry more into Paul's mind and reveal the burden he feels as Emperor of the Known Universe. He knows people love him. He also knows people hate him. The authors do a good job of putting many stories and elements in a tale the bridges the gap in Frank Herbert's original Dune. They enrich an already wonderful universe that Herbert created.