Super Tuesday

It's dang cold here in Rochester today. The wind is howling making it a tad bit nipply out. Sure would be a good time to go to Mexico.

Speaking of Mexico - Best wishes on a speedy healing to Eddie (groom to be in Mexico) who finally had surgery on his limp yesterday! I have been trying to get him to play tennis with me over the past few months cause I know I can beat him this time!!

The book I just finished was the interview with Bono that was done by French writer Michka Assayas. It's a great read of the conversation over two years (during the recording and editing of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb) about the band U2, about Bono's childhood, his relationship with his father and mother, his involvement with Africa, his interaction with world leaders, and even a lot about his spirituality.

So I know that Bono has a lot of critics (among many of my readers) but read the rest of this with an open mind. The reason I enjoy reading this book so much is that it's not a biography, or an auto-biography because Michka is able to challenge even Bono to discuss things he had no intention of discussing. I love reading or listening to Bono speak mainly because he is the extrovert that I hope to be someday - absolutely nothing to hide and an educated opinion on just about anything in life. I also find his faith and confidence in his own spirituality to be encouraging and admirable. I also learn the reasons he became so involved with trying to help out Africa with their debt problems. Whether you agree with him politically or not, you have to appreciate a celebrity that dedicates as much time as he has to a cause for this many years. He isn't someone who just jumps on the bandwagon before a big movie release in order to create more publicity for himself and the movie. I do read his passion for helping the poor and needy of the world. Before I can criticize someone that probably can give more of his money to his own cause, I need to look at myself and realize that I too could give more to a needy cause.

A couple of the highlights of the book for me:

• Michka is asking what Bono thinks the other band members would be if they weren't in a rock and roll band. When asked about Adam Clayton, Bono replies that Adam would make a good sheriff in the middle of America.... like Ames. No joke, Ames gets mentioned in the book!! GO CLONES!!! Now to get Bono a Cyclone hat, or better yet... a shirt that says "BEAT IOWA"!!
• When asked what his favorite U2 song is, Bono replies "we haven't written it yet". When asked which songs he admires in their current repertoire, Bono chooses "Please" from Pop and "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" which is from my favorite album Zooropa. Both are some of my more favorites with "Please" being a top 5 of mine.

So onto my next book on the list. I enjoyed the candid and open nature of the book and like I said, I appreciate the uniqueness of Bono and how he rides that very fine line between confidence and arrogance/ignorance. I know I've commented before how people develop the ignorance and Bono will admit that he has been pulled back to earth many times when he was getting out of control - but what I like about that is how he doesn't let that slow him down.

And yes, they are recording again so expect another kick ass album sometime soon (no planned release yet) and of course - a tour to follow!!

Song of the Day - Another song that I love is "The Wanderer" that they did with Johnny Cash. Bono speaks a lot of his relationship with Cash and other artists such as Roy Orbison. From a fan of music, the company that he surrounded himself is amazing. U2 and Johnny Cash - only thing better would be to add an Elvis and U2 hit to the mix!

Video of the Day - An interesting movie from this past weekend... This Film is Not Yet Rated is a documentary that talks about the MPAA and basically exposes them as the corrupt and ultra ultra conservative people that they are. It's amazing to learn of the process that goes into rating a movie and the differences between what they deem as "NC-17" and "R". It's hard to agree with them. I agree with the statement made that in a post 9/11 world, we have grown so much more tolerant to violence in this country where the most graphic of movies will still only receive an "R" rating. But put in a love scene that includes one non-traditional position between a married couple who are in love with each other and you're slapped with "NC-17" and thus it makes it much more difficult to have your film picked up by any of the major distributors. For anyone that is interested, I really enjoyed the movie. Lots of interviews with Kevin Smith and the one dude that created Southpark.

Webpage of the Day - I have been known to light up the dance floor once or twice with my "Interpretive Dance" to a certain Thriller song..... but this wedding party takes the cake with their moves! I have a lot of work to do!!!