Artists of the Month
- Calvin Harris: Still the artist of my life. He put on a very good show in Northampton, despite the prom-like venue. And he has fantastic taste in t-shirts.
- Duck Sauce: Calvin opened his Northampton set with "aNYway." It was perfect.
- My Tiger My Timing: I have the Londonist twitterfeed to thank for turning me on to this band. Totally addicted to their song "I Am the Sound."
- Daniel Merriweather: Finally got to see him perform live, and it was well worth the wait. Highlights were "Impossible," "Getting Out," and a cover of Paul McCartney's "Amazed." Daniel's voice is so soulful and his live performance puts his record to shame, since his incredible energy cannot be captured by a static medium.
- Leona Lewis: "Love Letter" and "Fly Here Now" are well written, well sung songs. Nothing on the sophomore effort is as good as the debut, but these two come pretty darn close.
- Phonat: "Set Me Free" continues to be a song I simply cannot live without. The perfect addition to the soundtrack of my life.
Things I Cooked
- Crab salad sandwiches
- Spicy apricot chicken
- Fried rice
- Chicken sausage with leeks, spinach & mushrooms
- Lemon pound cake
- Steak tacos
Movies
- (Untitled)
- The Men Who Stare at Goats
- Pirate Radio
- Fantastic Mr. Fox
- 2012
- Harry Brown
Books
- Oscar Wilde & The Dead Man's Smile, Gyles Brandreth. This entry in the Oscar Wilde mystery series was not as strong as the others. The crime being investigated was simply not all that mysterious or compelling. However, the change of scene from London to Paris helped to keep things interesting.
- The Design of Business, Roger Martin. This one was for work. It includes interesting case studies of BlackBerry and Cirque du Soliel, but on the whole it reminded me of many of the innovation focused business books I read during my MA course.
- Change By Design, Tim Brown. Another one for work, this book is part of the IDEO innovation cannon, which means that it is well written and enjoyable, even if it isn't giving you much new information. However, if you haven't read a ton of books about innovation already this one offers a very current view of how businesses can best harness its power.
- The Constant Gardiner, John le Carré. FINALLY a le Carré book that I not only understood, but also fully enjoyed! This one was a real page turner, with everything - from characters to scenery and from big business to government - rendered with the utmost clarity. A literary triumph.
- The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, Steig Larsson. Glad I finally got the Millennium trilogy wrapped up, but there is just something about third books this month. I was certainly able to get through the 600 pages of this book at a fair clip, and there were lots of interesting plot threads all over the place, but I felt let down by the end. Everything was a little too tidy and simple, especially after the puzzle like way the second book and the first half of this book were constructed. The climax was hardly climactic, and after working so hard to get there, I felt a bit let down by the author. The first two books in the series are definitely worth a read though, and if you can get through those two, there is no way you won't want to read the third.
