Moby - Play

I thought Moby was OK the first time I heard him, but can you trust a memory from some show out in the middle of the California desert, which you had to travel two hours to get to and many of the finer details (like how you got home) are missing? Many of my friends were heavy into techno when I moved to LA and all I could think was, didn't this suck the first time when they called it disco (at least the clothes were better). I also had a hard time with the hours, techno was no 11 pm to 2 am club outing. Usually it was well past midnight before you finally found the "venue" - an abandoned building in Long Beach, a VFW hall in Riverside or a turnoff in the middle of the desert. The djs seemed willing to play as long as you were willing to stay or until the police finally came and sent everyone home. I heard a lot of music I liked at these shows, but it was hard to find out who put out the records as the djs were very protective. Finally some good compilations came out and for a few months in 1991 a radio station in LA featured only techo music. Most of this music has not survived, but a few stars emerged: Fat Boy Slim, Chemical Brothers and most notably Moby. Play is Moby's most commercially successful record, but if you are feeling brave, you should also check out his first, self titled record Moby from 1992.

The Who - Who's Next/Live from Leeds

Like any male music fan my age, I love The Who. I've seen them in concert a dozen times, I love the movie Quadrophenia, I have the concert video with Keith Moon, but it wasn't until I started writing this that I actually looked at the records I own: Who's Next and Live at Leeds, that's it. For some reason I thought there would be more. Then I looked at their discography, and you know what, these are the only two Who records worth owning.

Most of their biggest hits came from Who's Next, and Live at Leeds captures the band at it's best, live. The rest is like their final concert tour, never ending repeats. So to prove my point, here are the songs you'll find on Who's Next: "Baba O'Riley," "The Song is Over," "Behind Blue Eyes," and "Won't get Fooled Again." Throw in an amazing version of "My Generation" on Live from Leeds, and you have all the Who you'll ever need.

Del Frisco's Steak House - Ft.Worth, Texas

Chances are you'll never need a restaurant recommendation in Ft. Worth, Texas, but if you somehow find yourself hungry and your wallet full, I would suggest avoiding all the cheap BBQ and Tex-Mex joints downtown and treating yourself to one of the best steaks you'll ever eat. Del Frisco's is everything you'd expect in a steak house: dark, wood paneled, intimate, overly helpful waiters, great wine list and of course huge amounts of delicious food. The wine list was impressive and a little on the expensive side. We ordered a nice bottle of Oregon Pinot for about $10 more than you'd normally pay in Portland. We started with the Shrimp Rimulaud, which was the perfect combo of tangy and hot. To accompany our steaks we added some king crab legs, which were as good as any I have every had. Of course the steak was fantastic, but you may want to get it cooked a little more than you normally do, as rare is practically raw in Texas. Still have room? There is a great list of deserts, including a classic cheesecake. If you are not in cardiac arrest by the end of the meal, the bill will put you over the top. Del Frisco's is not inexpensive, but it is worth every penny.

Del Frisco's Steak House

812 Main St.

Fort Worth, TX 76102

(817) 877-3999

www.delfriscos.com

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz

I really wish I had learned Spanish. I am not sure I would have understood all the Dominican slang in Junot Diaz's wonderful book The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, but at least I would have felt a little more on the inside. Apart from speaking Spanish, it will also help to know that the vast majority of the story is about Oscar's Mom, sister and the larger Dominican experience. The book is footnoted with hugely informational insights on Dominican history that can feel a lot like learning, but don't let that scare you off.

Oscar is an overweight young man who spends his time writing sci-fi and dreaming of the day he'll hook up with a girl. While he is prolific at the first endeavor, he is woefully lame at the second. He falls in love easily and with the wrong people and in the end this leads to his demise.

While this is a highly readable story and the historic footnotes are a great element, it is Diaz's narration style and tone that make this an excellent book. He writes in a modern hip hip style that moves at a fast clip and is rich in vernacular. Diaz also was the deserving recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2008.

Professor Longhair - Rock and Roll Gumbo

If you are looking for that original New Orleans rock and roll sound look no further than the 'fess. Professor Longhair perfected the boogie woogie sound that NOLA is famous for with Dr. John, etc. This record originally came out in 1977 and features all his classics: Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu, Jambalaya (On the Bayou), Tipitina and my favorite version of Stagger Lee. I suspect he was playing in and around New Orleans for many years before he cut this record as there are so many of his most popular songs on it. There are also some pretty well know musicians helping him out, not least of them Clarance "Gatemouth" Brown on guitar.

Knitting seat warmers?

I have always wondered how some people can treat the bus like their living room. You see people sprawled out across two seats sleeping, people reading hard cover books - I know this is not so strange, but honestly is it worth carrying that heavy book for 15 minutes of reading? - people putting on make up, and as I have documented before people talking about intimate medical issues in loud voices. Today I saw a first. There were two women on the bus knitting. They had a bag full of wool and several big needles. Again I have to wonder is it worth bringing all that stuff on the bus for 15 to 20 minutes of knitting, then it hit me: maybe they're knitting a little blanket for the homeless guys fake baby.

Baby on board

I see this guy on the bus almost every day and at first I thought it was a little strange that a old, homeless looking guy was carrying a baby. When I looked a little closer I saw this is not a real baby. This guy is stuck in high school home economics class taking care of a fake child. Now the truth is I have seen him a lot and he still makes me chuckle every time I see him get on the bus, but the best thing is watching other people's reaction. Today the woman sitting next to him had this happy look on her face as he walked past her, as she looked in to see the "baby's" face, she suddenly freaked out and became horrified. Priceless.