Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Recommended reading: The Answer Is . . . Reflections on My Life by Alex Trebek (2020)


The Answer Is . . . Reflections on My Life

by Alex Trebek.
 
Published by Simon & Schuster.
Hardcover.
 
ISBN-10: 1982157992
ISBN-13: 978-1982157999
 
Description:
 
Longtime Jeopardy! host and television icon Alex Trebek reflects on his life and career.

Since debuting as the host of Jeopardy! in 1984, Alex Trebek has been something like a family member to millions of television viewers, bringing entertainment and education into their homes five nights a week. In 2019, he made the stunning announcement that he had been diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer. What followed was an incredible outpouring of love and kindness. Social media was flooded with messages of support, and the Jeopardy! studio received boxes of cards and letters offering guidance, encouragement, and prayers.

For more than three decades, Trebek had resisted countless appeals to write a book about his life. Yet he was moved so much by all the goodwill, he felt compelled to finally share his story. “I want people to know a little more about the person they have been cheering on for the past year,” he writes.
 
This book combines illuminating personal anecdotes with Trebek’s thoughts on a range of topics, including marriage, parenthood, education, success, spirituality, and philanthropy. Trebek also addresses the questions he gets asked most often by Jeopardy! fans, such as what prompted him to shave his signature mustache, his insights on legendary players like Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer, and his opinion of Will Ferrell’s Saturday Night Live impersonation. The book uses a novel structure inspired by Jeopardy! and features dozens of never-before-seen photos that candidly capture Trebek over the years.

This wise, charming, and inspiring book is further evidence of why Trebek has long been considered one of the most beloved and respected figures in entertainment.

J. A. Jance, on writing:

 
When you have an important story to tell, the words you need seem to come of their own accord.
- J. A. Jance.

On this day in music history - The album Beyond Dreams: Pathways To Deep Relaxation, by Hennie Bekker (2016)


Beyond Dreams: Pathways To Deep Relaxation

by Hennie Bekker

was released on July 22, 2016.

Track list:

Self Connect; Floating to Forever; Letting Go; The Calm; Quiescence; Beyond Dreams.

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

On this day in music history - The album Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été, by Susan Graham and John Nelson (1997)


Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été


by Susan Graham and John Nelson

was released on July 15, 1997.

Track list:

No. 1, Villanelle; No. 2, Le spectre de la rose; No. 3, Sur les lagunes; No. 4, Absence; No. 5, Au cimitière; No. 6, L’île inconnue; La damnation de Faust, Op. 24, H 111: D’amour l’ardente flamme; Benvenuto Cellini, Op. 23, H 76: Mais, qu’ai-je donc?; Les troyens, H 133: Je vais mourir; Les troyens, H 133: Adieu, fière cite; Béatrice et Bénédict, H 138: Dieu! Que viens-je d’entendre?

Monday, July 14, 2025

Happy Bastille Day!


To Do list: 14 Juillet

  • Buy baguette.
  • Debate existential concepts.
  • Storm the Bastille.
  • Nap.

Happy Bastille Day!

On this day in movie history – The Honor of the Press (1932)

 

The Honor of the Press
a.k.a. The Scoop


directed by B. Reeves Eason,

written by John T. Neville,

based on a story by J.K. Foster,

was released in the United States on July 14, 1932.

Cast:
Edward J. Nugent, Rita La Roy, Dorothy Gulliver, Wheeler Oakman, Russell Simpson, John Ince, Charles K. French, Reginald Simpson, Franklin Parker, Vivian Fields, Franklyn Farnum.

On this day in music history - Butterfly (2017)

 

Butterfly


Album by Natalie Merchant,

released July 14, 2017.
 
Track list:
Butterfly; She Devil; Baby Mine; Frozen Charlotte; Ophelia; The Worst Thing; The Man in the Wilderness; My Skin; Vain & Careless; Andalucia.