Love Letter is one of R. Kelly’s best CDs. Many of the songs sound like they were recorded in the Sixties (except the sound on this CD is fabulous). Clearly, R. Kelly is channeling his inner Marvin Gaye. If you’ve been put off by R. Kelly’s mostly disastrous forays into rap and his sometimes tasteless sexual lyrics, Love Letter eschews all that nonsense by sticking to silky smooth R&B. Take a listen below. GRADE: A
TRACK LIST
1 Love Letter Prelude 0:49
2 Love Letter 4:48
3 Number One Hit 4:24
4 Not Feelin’ the Love 3:34
5 Lost In Your Love 4:34
6 Just Can’t Get Enough 3:10
7 Taxi Cab 4:00
8 Radio Message 3:50
9 When a Woman Loves 5:10
10 Love is 3:24
11 Just Like That 3:19
12 Music Must Be a Lady 4:35
13 A Love Letter Christmas 5:44
14 How Do I Tell Her? 4:23
15 [Untitled Hidden Track] Bonus Track 4:28

Stephen Burt and David Mikics present 100 sonnets, from Thomas Wyatt (1557) to D. A. Powell (2009), and proceed to analyze the sonnets to show how they work. This isn’t some dry, academic dissection. Burt and Mikics bring a vast amount of knowledge of poetics and literary history to their insightful analysis. This is the best contemporary book I’ve read on poetry in years. If you have any interest in poetry, you’ll love this book as much as I did. GRADE: A

I can’t imagine too many writers who could get away with publishing a book like Pat Conroy’s My Reading Life. Maybe Stephen King could. Basically, My Reading Life is a memoir of the books and bookstores and people who were part of Conroy’s writing life. Many books influenced Conroy in the writing of his novels like Prince of Tides and Beach Music. Conroy extols the greatness of Leo Tolstoy to such an extent you’ll want to drop everything and read Anna Karenina or War and Peace again. The same thing happens in the chapter on Thomas Wolfe. Conroy praises the influence James Dickey’s prose and poetry had on his style. He relates fun stories about the worst librarian in the world (she doesn’t want to lend her books out). Personal, painful, episodes wrap themselves around Conroy’s books. I found this memoir very moving. GRADE: A

For his annual Christmas visit, my son Patrick arrived with the Maxima stuffed from floor to ceiling with almost his entire wardrobe: 43 pairs of blue jeans and 300 shirts. Patrick starts his internship with INTEL today in Seattle. Patrick brought all that clothing home so Diane could wash it and help him decide what to pack for his trip, what to store, and what to get rid of (right now, Diane has 40 shirts ready for me to take to the Salvation Army Thrift Store). But, before he parted with any of his jeans, Patrick decided to take pictures of them all. Last year, you might remember, I posted Patrick’s collage of 365 photographs he had taken (Patrick tries to take a photograph a day). Now, for 2011, you can check out Patrick’s jeans collection. Trust me: Patrick got the clothing gene from Diane. I don’t even own a pair of jeans!

It’s back again: the “pins & needles” sensation of carpel tunnel. Basically, it’s a pinched nerve in my wrist. I had encountered this problem in 2000 in both wrists. My internist sent me to a neurologist who diagnosed my Carpel Tunnel Syndrome and treated it with wrist supports and a shot of cortisone in each wrist. So, after a decade, it was deja vu all over again: back to the neurologist and another cortisone shot. I’m back wearing a wrist support for my left hand. So far my right wrist is okay. If you experience that annoying tingling sensation in your fingers and your thumb, you’ll probably need wrist support and maybe a cortisone shot. Don’t ignore the symptoms! They only get worse without treatment: you’ll feel like you stuck your finger in a light socket!

Anyone interested in guitar music should check out this 2-DVD set of Eric Clapton’s yearly festival, Crossroads 2010. Eric Clapton plays brilliantly. Steve Winwood joins in. Plenty of top-notch guitarists play in this festival. I enjoyed the Earl Klugh selections. B.B. King’s extended version of “The Thrill is Gone” will stun you. Just glance at the performances including on these DVDs. There’s something here for everyone. GRADE: A
Scene Index
Disc #1 — Eric Clapton: Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010
1. Intro [3:27]
2. Promise Land: Sonny Landreth with Eric Clapton [5:16]
3. Z. Rider: Sonny Landreth [4:12]
4. Slide Guitar [5:03]
5. Traveling Shoes: Robert Randolph & The Family Band [4:39]
6. Going Down: Pino Daniele/Joe Bonamassa/Robert Randolph & The Family Band [6:37]
7. Killing Floor: Robert Cray with Jimmie Vaughan & Hubert Sumlin [5:59]
8. Six Strings Down: Jimmie Vaughan with Robert Cray & Hubert Sumlin [5:04]
9. Intro To Texas Blues [5:07]
10. Waiting For The Bus: ZZ Top [2:57]
11. Jesus Just Left Chicago: ZZ Top [5:01]
12. Gypsy Blood: Doyle Bramhall ll [5:12]
13. In My Time Of Dying (Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed): Doyle Bramhall ll [5:20]
14. Bright Lights: Gary Clark Jr. [7:54]
15. Long Road Home: Sheryl Crow with Derek Trucks/Susan Tedeschi/Doyle Bramhall ll & Gary Clark Jr. [5:17]
16. Our Love Is Fading: Sheryl Crow with Eric Clapton/Doyle Bramhall ll/Gary Clark Jr [8:34]
17. Blackwaterside: Bert Jansch [4:51]
18. Mississippi Blues: Stefan Grossman & Keb’ Mo’ [5:06]
19. Roll And Tumble Blues: Stefan Grossman & Keb’ Mo’ [4:17]
20. Country Music [1:21]
21. One More Last Chance: Vince Gil with Keb’ Mo’/James Burton/Earl Klugh/Albert Lee [7:05]
22. Mystery Train: Vince Gill with James Burton/Albert Lee/Keb’ Mo’/Earl Klugh [5:17]
23. Lay Down Sally: Vince Gill with Sheryl Crow/Keb’ Mo’/Albert Lee/James Burton/Earl Klugh [6:47]
24. Country Music Continued [1:33]
25. Angelina: Earl Klugh [2:03]
26. Vonetta: Earl Klugh [8:42]
27. Who Did You Think I Was: John Mayer [4:15]
28. Ain’t No Sunshine: John Mayer [4:52]
Disc #2 — Eric Clapton: Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010
1. Intro [1:39]
2. Midnight In Harlem: Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band [8:09]
3. Coming Home: Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band with Warren Haynes [5:04]
4. Soulshine: Warren Haynes [6:27]
5. Don’t Keep Me Wondering: David Hidalgo/Cesar Rosas with Derek Trucks [5:12]
6. Space Captain: Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band with Warren Haynes/David Hildalgo/Cesar Rosas/Chris Stainton [7:30]
7. Five Long Years: Buddy Guy with Jonny Lang/Ronnie Wood [9:11]
8. Miss You: Buddy Guy with Jonny Lang/Ronnie Wood [8:23]
9. Hammerhead: Jeff Beck [4:49]
10. Nessun Dorma: Jeff Beck [6:29]
11. Crossroads: Eric Clapton [6:07]
12. Hands Of The Saints: Citizen Cope/Eric Clapton [7:29]
13. I Shot The Sheriff: Eric Clapton [8:57]
14. Shake Your Money Maker: Eric Clapton/Jeff Beck [4:07]
15. Had To Cry Today: Steve Winwood & Eric Clapton [6:43]
16. Voodoo Chile: Eric Clapton/Steve Windwood [13:14]
17. Dear Mr. Fantasy: Steve Winwood/Eric Clapton [9:11]
18. The Thrill Is Gone: B.B. King & Ensemble [18:20]

Robert Silverberg has been writing essays about science fiction for over 50 years. The first collection of his essays, Reflections and Refractions was published by Underwood Books in 1997. This second collection of essays published from 1995 to 2010 reveals a contemplative Silverberg who tries to give a Long View of Science Fiction and its best writers. Silverberg writes marvelous essays about Poul Anderson, Cordwainer Smith, Henry Kuttner (and C. L. Moore), Murray Leinster, Avram Davidson, and William Tenn. Dozens of other writers are referenced in 80 essays collected in Musings and Meditations. Silverberg even includes 13 essays on how to write science fiction! If you have any interest in the science fiction genre, then you’ll find much to appreciate in Robert Silverberg’s thoughtful essays. And, almost by osmosis, you’ll want to drop everything and read some of Robert Silverberg’s fine fiction. I did.

Tonight Diane and I will be seeing Sarah McLachlan in concert at Shea’s Performing Arts Center in downtown Buffalo. This will be our third Sarah McLachlan concert. The previous two concerts thrilled us with the great sound and Sarah’s rapport with the audience. We loved Sarah’s latest album, Laws of Illusion. I’m sure she’ll be singing plenty of those songs tonight. Here’s what the New York Times thought of her most recent CD: “The songs are as direct as Ms. McLachlan’s have ever been, and as finely tuned…The album is as lush and measured…It’s a collection of ballads, hymns, and waltzes, sung in long arcs of melody with a voice that enfolds its strength in breathy intimacy. Acoustic instruments gleam, with unearthly keyboards and electric guitars billowing up around them.” For a sample of the music we’ll be enjoying tonight, click below:

Host Padma Lakshmi and head judge chef Tom Colicchio, alongside judges Gail Simmons and new this season, best-selling author and chef, Anthony Bourdain, serve up their patented cooking competition. Eighteen chefs will battle to show who can whip up the most impressive food. Rumor has it, the 18 chefs will be made up of former Top Chef contestants. We’ll see. I don’t watch much reality TV, but I’ve watched Top Chef the past three seasons. The food looks amazing and the challenges are innovative. You might want to give Top Chef a try. Look for it on the BRAVO channel in the 10 P.M. time slot on Wednesday nights.

You know the setup to this film: the Duke of York has a terrible stammer. Yet, his position demands that he make public appearances and make speeches. World War II is looming and the Duke becomes a King who needs to make an important radio speech. Colin Firth plays the troubled Duke and Helena Bonham Carter plays his devoted wife who finds Lionel Logue (played by Geoffrey Rush), an unconventional speech therapist. Firth and Rush are terrific in their roles so expect Oscar nominations. Helena Bonham Carter always brightens the screen, but she isn’t given much to do. The plot is predictable, but the strong performances keep you watching. GRADE: A-