Daniyal Mueenuddin - In Other Rooms, Other Wonders

I'll be honest, if you had told me I would enjoy a book of 8 interconnected short stories about feudal society in Pakistan this much, I would not have believed you. However, I would recommend this book to almost anyone. The characters, while developed quickly, provide a deep dive into many levels of Pakistani culture, touching on the lives of the power­ful Harouni family, its employees, man­agers, drivers, gardeners, cooks and servants. The stories are dark, manipulative and gritty. Essentially, they feel real. 

NYT Review clip: "...like watching a game of blackjack, the shrewd players calculating their way beyond their dealt cards in an attempt to beat the dealer. Some bust, others surrender. But in Mueenuddin's world, no one wins."

Lafayette Farmers and Artisan Market at the Horse Farm

Today was the grand opening of the Lafayette Farmers and Artisan Market at the Horse Farm in Lafayette - a grand opening that has taken up the majority of the a last few months of my wife's time and it was an amazing success. It opened at 8am and I rolled in around 8:10 thinking I might beat some of the crowd. Definitely not the case!

The parking lots were overflowing, the weather perfect and the variety of locally grown produce, meats, artisan vendors and cajun music was a great way to start the weekend. My wallet wasn't thanking me too much but that's ok. Here are a few scenes from the market. If you are from around here, make sure to come out next Saturday!

Panorama of the market from under the cover the live oaks. 

Pickles, salted pecan and wild honey butter and house cured bacon.

Yes. Garlic.

And of course, the music. Check out the budding cajun musicians on the right.

Get in the hole...

The best part about rain storms on a golf course is that after all subsequent rounds are cancelled, Jozy gets to take to the tee box and play a bit of dogobie. This is one happy dog who does some good work on and off the fairway. Tough to see this in the distance but I think you can tell that she grabs this one in flight for sure.

Balance

Early morning on a back porch reading a book, coffee, birds singing in the background punctuated by the sound of impact, club head to ball, followed by scattered curse words of frustrated golfers, cart motors puttering, echoed by gravity and divots. 

Paulo Coelho - The Pilgrimage

A parable related to finding your own path, a journey that encourages you to find the extraordinary in the ordinary, a book that makes me want to throw on a backpack, leave it all behind, become a pilgrim and a poet. A dangerous read for that alone.

"....wisdom has value only if it helps us to overcome some obstacle. A hammer would make no sense in the world if there were not nails to be driven. And even given the existence of nails, the hammer would be useless if it only thought 'I can drive those nails with two blows.' The hammer has to act. To put itself into the hands of the carpenter and to be used in its proper function." - Paulo Coelho, The Pilgrimage

Smokin' Guns and Other Clues

1.      New Lover  ~  Josh Ritter

2.      Day Dreams  ~  Midi Matilda

3.      From California  ~  The New Amsterdams

4.      Red Hands  ~  Walk Off the Earth

5.      Green Garden  ~  Laura Mvula

6.      Fur Coat Blues  ~  Jamestown Revival

7.     Thrift Shop (feat. Wanz)  ~  Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

8.      Iron  ~  Woodkid

9.      Grace for Saints and Ramblers  ~  Iron & Wine

10.   Trouble Town  ~  Jake Bugg

11.   You Should've Seen the Other Guy  ~  Nathaniel Rateliff

12.   Ordinary Fool  ~  Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis

13.   Chez Keith Et Anita  ~  Carla Bruni

14.   Heart's Ease  ~  Josh Ritter

15.   Two Fingers  ~  Jake Bugg

16.   What Would I Do Without You  ~  Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors

17.   How'm I Gonna Get Back Home  ~  He's My Brother She's My Sister

18.   Safety Rope  ~  Mick Flannery

19.   Trojans  ~  Atlas Genius

20.   She  ~  Laura Mvula

21.   Bleeding Out  ~  Imagine Dragons

22.   Can't Hold Us (feat. Ray Dalton)  ~  Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

When you are moving toward an objective...

"When you are moving toward an objective it is very important to pay attention to the road. It is the road that teaches us the best way to get there, and the road enriches us as we walk its length."

The Pilgrimage - Paulo Coelho