Steel Kaleidoscopes

Shakespeare and Birds

What would the world be like if Shakespeare never existed?

For one, the bird population in Central Park would look quite different.

On March 6, 1890, a New York pharmaceutical manufacturer named Eugene Schiefflin released 60 starlings into Central Park, following his plan to introduce every species of bird mentioned in Shakespeare into the New World.

Those 60 birds swelled to more than 200 million birds today. They are seemingly everywhere.

Blame it on the Bard.

On the Road

So I'm listening to books on CD as I commute these days.

For years, I've heard about Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" as a groundbreaking literary work that helped define a generation.

Not sure how it will play out, but it has captured my attention.

The prose takes a little while to get used to, but then the spirit of what Kerouac is doing, a subconscious stream of thought, makes sense.

Interesting guy.

'Reading' While Driving

As you grow older, you realize you will never get to all of the books you want to read.

So you choose carefully.

At one point, I thought for sure I would read War and Peace, just because of its length. I thought it would be a challenge. But that's not going to happen.

I went through a period where I devoured books from the writers of the Lost Generation— Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Pound, Stein. But even then, there are so many.

As a music fan, I enjoy biographies. Syd Barrett. Jim Morrison. Kurt Cobain. Tragedies, I guess.

As life becomes even busier, I've found a new way to cherish a story.

Books on CD.

Commuting into Boston every day, it's the perfect medium. You can only listen to news, weather and traffic for so long. And with a job in the music industry, I listen to music all day at work.

My current book is "The last Lecture," by Randy Pausch, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2008.

Interesting story. And I never turn a page.

Rumpelstiltskin and Rapunzel

Rumpelstiltskin is a Brothers Grimm story about a girl locked up in a castle who spins straw into gold.

Rapunzel is also a Brothers Grimm story about a girl with long hair who uses it to give the prince access to the castle in which she was being held prisoner.

Both stories originated in Germany.

1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die

Music journalist Tom Moon recently came out with a book called "1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die," which is essentially a catalog of musical suggestions from the soundtrack of his professional and personal life.

Moon touches on all genres to ensure comprehensive representation.

Despite choosing the two predictable Who albums — "Tommy" and "Who's Next" while leaving off  "Quadrophenia" — it's quite a list.

Just when you thought you've heard everything.

I'm Only Sleeping

Not sure what to make of this recent dream.

I'm in a bookstore, perhaps a Borders, and I'm standing along a circular reading area that spirals from the third floor to the first floor.

Everyone is reading Beatles songs out loud from a songbook, and John Lennon is leading the reading.

I find an empty slot and start reading aloud.

One of the clerks, a woman, comes up and I realize that the reading is probably not free.

I ask her how much it costs to participate and she says something about bringing back some strawberries.

Setting the Record Straight

So I go to check my traffic last night and see a spike in traffic. A big spike.

Turns out that Stephen J. Dubner, the co-author of "Freakonomics," picked up on my post about the debate over wine corks vs. screw caps.

In my post, I mention that Steve Levitt's wife gave me a "strange look" when I unscrewed a bottle of South African Sauvignon Blanc. This was one of three examples I used while making a point that unscrewing a cap off a bottle of wine can be "uncomfortable" for the host because it's relatively new and messes with tradition.

Dubner interpreted this by making some silly comments about Jeannette, a great friend of my wife's and someone we have known for 20 years.

For the record, Jeannette is anything but a wine snob. She's one of the most engaging, thoughtful, caring, sensitive and personable friends we've ever known. My wife worked side by side with her for many years. We attended their beautiful outdoor wedding. For Dubner to take a shot at his co-author's wife is simply irresponsible.

Should I have used her as one of my examples? Probably not, considering her connection to one of the most talked-about books in the last 20 years. But I often write about what's going on in my life, and she just happened to visiting last weekend. It was a fresh thought.

Jeannette and Steve — if you're reading this — you know my musings are innocent snippets of life and all intentions are good.

As for Mr. Dubner, well, you should know better.

Amusing Ourselves to Death

With everything in the "news" these days, it's hard not to think about Neil Postman's 1985 book "Amusing Ourselves to Death."

Postman writes that television has transformed meaningful conversations into entertainment, where the power of the sound bite has more of an effect than thoughtful dialogue.

He also writes that a good looks trump talent, which is why you rarely seeing a female newscaster over 40.

Indeed, the fact that John Kennedy beat out Richard Nixon largely based on the televised 1960 debate aligns with this theory. And the 300-pound Howard Taft would have never been elected president had TV been a medium to promote campaign efforts.

When we study history, the famous Lincoln-Douglas debate played out for hours. Think that would translate well to TV? It's all about sound bites. Give us your elevator pitch. Tell us how you'll defend the country, balance the budget and save the world in two minutes or less.

So is it any surprise that Anna Nicole Smith clogs the TV news? And why should we care about who Tom Brady slept with? And why is Britney Spears' shears news?

Without television, these events would not have nearly the impact they do. Never has a communications medium had the power to create and manipulate content.

It's not that the current state is appalling. We all have our guilty pleasures. We just need to admit what's happening.

Clearly, Postman is right. We are amusing ourselves to death.

Steve Levitt

In the '90s, my wife worked closely with Jeannette.

Jeannette met this guy, a Harvard and MIT intellect, who seemed shy but had a creative thinking process that made you take pause.

I remember having beers with Steve and he starts talking about some of the projects he's working on as part of his graduate thesis. He says he's analyzing how people who play football pools contribute to society. Or something like that. I'm nodding my head, but I'm thinking "huh?"

We're invited to Jeannette and Steve's wedding, an outdoor ceremony in Belmont, Mass. Nice summery day. I spend some more time with Steve. And the football pools come up again.

I say to my wife that Jeannette's new husband is a nice guy, clearly smart as hell, but what is he talking about?

It's not until years later that I find some validity in what he's saying. And he's doing quite well.

Steve Leavitt, the co-author and brains behind "Freakonomics," found his niche. And some fame. Just goes to show, you never know.

We're happy for Jeannette and Steve, good folks now living in the Windy City.

Barry Bonds

The evidence is damning. And overwhelming.

After reading the excerpt from the forthcoming book "Game of Shadows" in Sports Illustrated, it's clear that Barry Bonds has been taking steroids since 1999.

I was 13 when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's home run record with his 715th career homer off the Dodgers' Al Downing. I remember the night perfectly. The next day, I cut out the article in the newspaper and put it in a scrapbook.

When Bonds passes Ruth, probably next month, it will be a non-event.  Ditto for when he passes Aaron. The scissors will stay in the drawer.

I'm not that naive to believe that all baseball players are on the up and up. Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro are equally as guilty. We just don't know to what extent. In hindsight, the 1998 home run derby between McGwire and Sosa was a sham. And that's a shame.

What I do know is that one of the most sacred records in baseball is about to be broken by a cheater. What Bonds is doing is way more damaging to the game than what Pete Rose did.

The sad part about Bonds is that he's a gifted athlete. He didn't need to take steroids. He was already an elite player. Taking the juice just transitioned him into a freak of nature, adding synthetic power to natural talent.

And that's just not fair.

Here's to Hammerin' Hank Aaron, baseball's all-time home run leader.