With no further ado ... here's the Year in Review.
Kids
Reagan is 25 and has been working for the same company for about two years. He's a software and application engineer at W-Systems (formerly UpCurve Cloud). His original employer, Epicom, was bought out by UpCurve this year and, while the office environment isn't quite as fun as it was before, he seems to be getting along alright. I mean they constantly have dogs in their office and they just went on an axe-throwing trip a few weeks ago, so it certainly could be worse. He's still doing rooftop concerts pretty often and is managing to navigate (or at least ignore) the Austin hipster scene. I don't teach in the spring semester and I'm hoping to get down there to hang out with him for a day or two at some point during the next few months.
Hunter is 22 and graduated from Trinity in May with a major in Art and a minor in Business. He went on a choir ensemble performance trip to China in March and then was in Austria for a couple weeks in August performing Haydn and such for the locals. He doesn't seem to be a huge fan of international travel (?????), but I have to think it was cool performing in St. Stephen's Cathedral. We have no clue what the future holds for Hunter, but we're enjoying having him around as artist-in-residence. If you're interested, you can see some samples of his work here.
Hadley is 20 and is a junior Communication major at A&M. She would love to work with the 12th Man Foundation, so if any of you have any connections where that is concerned please do let me know. Seriously. Former athletes on the list? Other Ags with influence? Let me know. She road-tripped to Tuscaloosa this year to take in the Alabama game (word has it that 'Bama fans are awful) and lost probably two or three years of her life during the seven-overtime win against LSU on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Now that basketball season has arrived I guess she'll go back to being bored and having to spend more time studying than she would prefer.
Hollis is 15 and is navigating high school just fine. He's in the drum line (snare) for band, sings bass in choir, and is taking way too many classes. The schedule hasn't killed him yet but my sense is that the cool factor associated with "being ahead" has, for the most part, worn off. He and I went to Tucson for a few days during spring break, and it was very nice (particularly for me) to be in the desert southwest again. He also had what we thought were complications associated with his shunt (flashback to 2012) in August, but after almost a week in Children's Mercy Hospital in KC, that ended up not being the case. It was just a random infection. And for that, there was much rejoicing.
Us
Paige and I took a few short weekend trips within 3 hours or so of Lawrence this year, including going to the Kansas State Fair and learning, among other things, how to bathe a chicken. We also spent 8-9 days in Rome and Florence in June. Although we didn't bathe any chickens there, it was really nice to be completely away from things for a while. Florence is my favorite city and I enjoyed playing tour guide for Paige. If you missed my blog entries and would like to see what all we did, you may visit the 2018 sidebar (June) here. We also went on our first proper family vacation in several years. I was rather desperately wanting to go to Newfoundland and Labrador so we compromised and went to Oahu. The house we rented for our first few nights is close enough to the actual island from the opening scene of Gilligan's Island that Reagan and Hunter kayaked to it one evening. For that reason and several others, the consensus among the kids was that this vacation was, hands-down, the best ever. I don't know that I would agree, given how much I enjoyed all of our other trips. But it was a fabulous time and I definitely can see taking everyone to one of the other islands at some point. Again, if you missed the blog entries for Hawaii and you want to see them, go to the 2018 sidebar (July) here.
Work-wise, things at KU are good. Paige is still enjoying the Dean gig and has made substantial headway on some important things (including a new strategic plan and a gigantic increase in full-time faculty lines for the School of Business). My work situation is terrific. The accounting faculty are great, I like the KU undergrad and MAcc students, and it's also nice working with doctoral students again. So while there are the usual frustrations associated with any university situation, we do like the work and the people here. We haven't yet learned to eat cinnamon rolls with our chili -- that is a Kansas thing and, no, I'm not kidding -- and Paige isn't a huge fan of temperatures in the teens and snow in November. But for the most part, Kansas continues to get a thumbs-up.
The Year in Entertainment
My top musical discoveries for 2018 -- representative samples linked here -- included Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five (1940s big band music), Chris Jones & the Night Drivers (sort of a blend of Americana, very light bluegrass, and traditional country music), and Cara Dillon (Irish / Celtic). I think Reagan actually likes Cara Dillon more than he likes Kate Rusby. I view that as semi-blasphemous, of course, but Ms. Dillon does have the voice of an angel. I recommend starting with her Hill of Thieves (2009) and Wanderer (2017) albums. And her Upon a Winter's Night (2016) Christmas album is absolutely magical. Finally, you need to check out the Bach Trios album by Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Thile, and Edgar Meyer. As always, my music recommendations are nothing if not eclectic.
I "read" a bit more than usual this year, primarily because I'm now listening to books (using Audible through Amazon) rather than music while I run. Nothing on earth is worse than running, but hearing people with good voices read good books makes it borderline tolerable. The most notable old-stuff entries this year were The Woman in White and The Moonstone (both by Wilkie Collins), while the most notable new-stuff entries were The Cellist of Sarajevo (my top pick), The Alchemist, and The Aviator. The Aviator is written by the same person who wrote Laurus (which I've mentioned in these pages twice, I believe). It's not as good as Laurus, but it's still worth your time. Finally, I'm currently revisiting Powell's four-volume A Dance to the Music of Time, also in audio form. The narrator is Simon Vance and I would be happy to hear him read cookbooks. Vance completely "gets" Powell -- truly, no one writes as British-ly -- and he really makes the work sing. Highly, highly, highly recommended. Seriously, the Powell books are in a league of their own to begin with and this guy kills the delivery.
The year in television has been a bit slower, but The Secret Life of Books (through the BBC or BritBox option on Amazon Prime??) certainly was a winner. 2018 also brought a new season of Shetland and also the final season of Detectorists. Finally, we completed the original Morse series, moved through all eight seasons of Inspector Lewis, and are now looking ahead to the last season of Endeavor. All of those focus on the same setting -- murder in and around Oxford -- and are exceptionally well done, so I'll be sorry when they're gone. It does seem that there is an endless supply of outstanding British crime drama, though, so I feel fairly confident that we'll continue not having much of a problem filling the odd evening.
As the final notable piece of entertainment, we returned to San Antonio for the Final Four in April. Kansas got demolished by Villanova (as did everyone else in the NCAA tournament) but it was a cool experience. Plus we got to eat Mexican food and Whataburger. So there's that.
Random StuffMy top musical discoveries for 2018 -- representative samples linked here -- included Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five (1940s big band music), Chris Jones & the Night Drivers (sort of a blend of Americana, very light bluegrass, and traditional country music), and Cara Dillon (Irish / Celtic). I think Reagan actually likes Cara Dillon more than he likes Kate Rusby. I view that as semi-blasphemous, of course, but Ms. Dillon does have the voice of an angel. I recommend starting with her Hill of Thieves (2009) and Wanderer (2017) albums. And her Upon a Winter's Night (2016) Christmas album is absolutely magical. Finally, you need to check out the Bach Trios album by Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Thile, and Edgar Meyer. As always, my music recommendations are nothing if not eclectic.
I "read" a bit more than usual this year, primarily because I'm now listening to books (using Audible through Amazon) rather than music while I run. Nothing on earth is worse than running, but hearing people with good voices read good books makes it borderline tolerable. The most notable old-stuff entries this year were The Woman in White and The Moonstone (both by Wilkie Collins), while the most notable new-stuff entries were The Cellist of Sarajevo (my top pick), The Alchemist, and The Aviator. The Aviator is written by the same person who wrote Laurus (which I've mentioned in these pages twice, I believe). It's not as good as Laurus, but it's still worth your time. Finally, I'm currently revisiting Powell's four-volume A Dance to the Music of Time, also in audio form. The narrator is Simon Vance and I would be happy to hear him read cookbooks. Vance completely "gets" Powell -- truly, no one writes as British-ly -- and he really makes the work sing. Highly, highly, highly recommended. Seriously, the Powell books are in a league of their own to begin with and this guy kills the delivery.
The year in television has been a bit slower, but The Secret Life of Books (through the BBC or BritBox option on Amazon Prime??) certainly was a winner. 2018 also brought a new season of Shetland and also the final season of Detectorists. Finally, we completed the original Morse series, moved through all eight seasons of Inspector Lewis, and are now looking ahead to the last season of Endeavor. All of those focus on the same setting -- murder in and around Oxford -- and are exceptionally well done, so I'll be sorry when they're gone. It does seem that there is an endless supply of outstanding British crime drama, though, so I feel fairly confident that we'll continue not having much of a problem filling the odd evening.
As the final notable piece of entertainment, we returned to San Antonio for the Final Four in April. Kansas got demolished by Villanova (as did everyone else in the NCAA tournament) but it was a cool experience. Plus we got to eat Mexican food and Whataburger. So there's that.
Quote of the Year - As I have told various people, Lawrence is Austin's little brother. The best typically Lawrence quote of 2018 came from a waitress who told us, having discovered that we were recent Texas transplants, that she knew we would love it here because "Lawrence is an island of normality in a sea of red." It might not surprise you to hear that this particular waitress has purple hair. Maybe I'll dye my hair purple so that I can be "normal," too.
Prohibited Words List - For 2019 I am introducing a Prohibited Words List. Words are powerful and I appreciate people who are able to use them well. I'm also of the opinion that when words cease to have meaning, they should be prohibited. With that in mind, the entries for 2019 are craft (breweries and distilleries), disruptive (as in disruptive business models), literally (which either means literally or not at all literally), and artisanal (as in artisanal literally everything). Regarding the latter, nothing makes me want to eat hot dogs, Ding Dongs, and Wonder bread more than the word "artisanal." This year, I have seen (among other things) artisanal jewelry, artisanal popsicles, artisanal iced tea, artisanal donuts, and artisanal water. That is not a typo. I'm pretty sure God (and God alone) makes artisanal water. You want more? A few weeks ago, I refused to buy some bread that I really wanted because the grocery had labeled the package as "artisanal ciabatta rolls." People who work in the bakery of a grocery are not artisans. They are employees. Lawrence also has a new artisan pub and coffee house featuring "craft-roasted beans." What does that even mean? Do they roast coffee beans over a fire built from popsicle sticks, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, and other random things from Michael's and Hobby Lobby? People have been making fun of artisanal stuff forever (including Portlandia's fabulous artisanal light bulbs sketch), but it doesn't seem to matter. Maybe I should just give up and start teaching artisanal accounting.
Wakeup call of the Year - After the KU tennis season finished at the end of the spring, I started playing about once a week with the young woman who alternated between #1 and #2 for us. She's a top 50 player and is now in our MBA program. It was very good for me and she at least pretended to get something out of it as well. Anyway, most of the people who work at the KU tennis center knew that we were playing and also know who I am. However, one day back in August I came in and the woman at the desk -- whom I had seen only once before -- says, "Are you here for the Seniors group?" Really? I mean yes I am 51 years old so I could legitimately get an AARP card, but the Seniors group? Maybe I should get some artisanal hair dye. Purple, of course.
In closing, I leave you with this. Regardless of your religious bent -- Christian, Jew, Other, Atheist -- if you have even one musical bone in your body, I have no doubt that you will appreciate this performance. I first became aware of the Wilberg arrangement about ten years ago and it is the absolute best of its kind. There are several recordings on YouTube and this one has the best audio quality, so here we are. Anyway, make the appropriate volume adjustments (ear-splitting is preferred) and enjoy. As my dad would say, if this doesn't light your fire, your wood's wet.
Peace,
Mike and Paige
1118 Brynwood Court
Lawrence, KS 66049
mw0705@gmail.com
lpaigefields@gmail.com
