It's no longer a question of staying healthy. It's
a question of finding a sickness you like.
Jackie Mason
The idea behind this page is to introduce you to some new material that I personally recommend. We will update the contents periodically, so let us know what you think. Hopefully you will find something fun or enjoyable here
Music : Five Picks - This stuff works!
Reading : My Six Choices You Just Might Enjoy
Activities
Music : Five Picks - This stuff works!
Brett Dennen – So much more www.brettdennen.net
We caught this funky giant of a man at UC’s Zellerbach Auditorium (an excellent place to hear music) and our whole family fell in love with him. I hope you do too.
Favorite tracks: Track 10 – Someday, Track 1 – Ain’t no reason
Led Zeppelin – How the west was won www.ledzeppelin.com
This music has to be part of any serious rock and roll collection. Vintage Zeppelin from 1972, recorded between The Fourth album and Houses of the Holy in L.A.
Highlights: That’s the way, Going to California, Whole Lotta Love, and of course, Heartbreaker.
Missy Higgins – On a Clear Night www.missyhiggens.com
I can’t tell if Missy Higgins is going to be huge or not, but her voice is amazing and her music can reach places other (American) singers can’t or doesn’t. Her authentic Australian personality shines through both live and recorded tunes.
Favorites: Where I Stood, Secret
Stanley Turrentine – Rough and Tumble
If you don’t know about this jazz saxophonist, you can start anywhere in his collection of over 30 recordings. Let’s just say that Rough and Tumble is as good of a place as any.
Features the Song – Walk on by…check it out!
Santana – Ultimate Santana 
OK, I know you are thinking how uncreative to have a Santana pick. You’re right, but who doesn’t love “Evil Ways” and some of the newer stuff like “Maria, Maria” and “The Game at Love” featuring Tina Turner. I throw this on the Ipod for a tough Mountain bike ride – great stuff…that works
TOPReading : My Six Choices You Just Might Enjoy.
The Endurance, Caroline Alexander with photos by Frank Hurley – This legendary account of Shackleton's Antarctic expedition is both well written and spellbinding. The following quote captures the essence of the legendary explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and the spirit that enabled him to lead 27 other men for 17 and a half months in bleak and unfathomable conditions without losing a single man. "We had pierced the veneer of outside things. We had suffered, starved, and triumphed, groveled down yet grasped at glory, grown bigger in the bigness of the whole."
Hell or High Water, Peter Heller – If you love adventure,
you will love this true story about a kayaking expedition down the Tsangpo
River (perhaps a bit technical for some).
Warriors
of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade, Jared
Diamond – A fascinating read.
Undaunted Courage, Stephen Ambrose – Lewis and Clark’s expedition in search of a North West passage.
D-day, Stephen Ambrose – Historical. A day that changed the world.
A Man in Full, Tom Wolfe – Funny, long, real estate related – kind
of.
www.tomwolfe.com/maninfull.html
Activities :
Horseback Tour at Canyon de Chelly in Northern Arizona – The only way you are allowed to tour this beautiful canyon is with a Navajo guide. I recommend horseback, but jeep tours are available. It is a much richer experience on horseback with a Native American guide.
www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/canyon_de_chelly/national_monument.html
Kayaking – Fraser Island Australia
www.koalanet.com.au/fraser-island-intro.html
Treking in New Zealand – I recommend the Routeburn as an alternative
to the famous Milford Track. This can be linked together with the Greenstone
and Caples Tracks for an approximate seven-day trip. While good health is
strongly recommended, I was out-hiked by 70 year-old Kiwis! What great people down there.
www.ultimatehikes.co.nz./Routeburn_Track/
Hiking – Kauai's Napali Coast Trail, the whole thing.
www.state.hi.us/dlnr/dsp/kauai.html
Mountain Biking – Tahoe's Flume trail, the whole enchilada.
www.theflumetrail.com
Community Service
My goal is to perform 100 hours of community service a year. I encourage others to give at least 40 hours. From helping in the classroom or driving on field trips to removing trash from our Bay, serving food to the less fortunate, coaching, being a Big Brother/Big Sister, building or repairing housing with groups like Rebuilding Together or Habitat for Humanity, we're in this together. We're lucky to live and work in such a wonderful place, so roll up your sleeves and give back. It feels good.