Once || Swell Season

Went to see The Swell Season (Oscar award winners Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová from the movie Once) with Andrew, Reachel, Natalie, Patrick, and Becky last night at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Phoenix.

Calexico opened and The Frames served as support. It was a great show at a great venue...with delightful company to top it all off. We dined in style at Cibo beforehand.



If you haven't already seen it, rent Once. It's a good flick. One f-bomb that ClearPlay took care of.

Here is a link to a very similar live show recorded last year.

Recent Readings

I've been plowing through books recently. Here's what I've covered so far this year, in chronological order:

Joseph Smith’s Relationship with God -- Some interesting points. I liked it.

The 8th Habit -- Covey probably should have stopped at 7.

Made to Stick -- Very good. I will "reread" this one.

Great Speeches of the 20th Century -- Funny how the political speeches all pretty much sound like they could still be given today.

The Tipping Point -- My third time through this book. I'm a big Gladwell fan. He is a fascinating storyteller. See Blink below for more...

Principle Centered Leadership -- Very good stuff.

Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon -- Like chiasms, there are unknown gems in the text.

The Wisdom of Crowds -- My second read of this one. I recommend it.

Blink -- Probably my third time through this one. Very good. For a taste of the unusual author, watch this...

Words that Work -- Some will find the author's approach and background unsavory. He has some very good points, though.

25 Things to Say to the Interviewer to Get the Job You Want -- Pretty hoacky

Analyzing Financial Statements -- A snoozer

Freakonomics -- My second time through. I disagreed quite strongly with most of his conclusions the first time through. This time it was less offensive. I still think he is wrong on many topics. Despite having said that , I recommend it.

Rich Dad's Guide to Becoming Rich -- Robert Kiyosaki has become an industry unto himself, but he has some very good advice.

How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less -- Pretty weak. I lost interest about 1/3 of the way through it.

Super Crunchers -- Very closely related to Freakonomics & The Wisdom of Crowds. I recommend it.

The Birth of Plenty -- Similar academic tone as Collapse. I liked it. More on one particular finding of this book in a future post.

Woman in White -- Becky recently read this in her book club. She was so excited about it that I decided to read it as well. A good read. I recommend it.

A Perfect Mess -- A few good points. I think the authors wanted very badly to find evidence for a position they supported.

Crashes, Booms, & Panics + Government Regulations -- Decent info and history of the markets

22 Immutable Laws of Marketing -- My second listen to this book. Most of the examples seem quite anecdotal. I would like to see examples backed by stronger evidence.