Two Discoveries in One: A Child Prodigy Guitarist and a Reincarnation of Prince 

“An unbelievable guitarist,” AS said. “A must see/listen.”

AS didn’t leave a link, so I googled the name: Taj Farrant. And lots of videos popped up. Yes, he is amazing. And, in fact, he’s just a kid!

Here he is riffing on “Purple Rain” with Carlos Santana, and – in my admittedly amateurish opinion – he crushes.

From Letters Live: The hilarious story of Delmore the cat 

Woody Harrelson cannot contain himself when reading a letter written by John Cheever to a Josie Herbst, a fellow writer, about the behavior of a cat whom Herbst had foisted on him before moving to another state.

Click here.

The Masked Musician 

Is she amazing or what? Is all this music coming from just one instrument? Plus, she has beautiful eyes! Is the ever going to take off that mask?

Marketing idea: Playing without the mask as a paid upgrade to her vlog?

Click here.

“Hotel California” Played in the Distinctive Style of Stevie Ray Vaughan 

This little video had a big effect on me. I’m not sure why it was this one, rather than a thousand similar videos out there in the Metaverse, but it got me contemplating what a microscopically small bubble of the universe I (we) live in.

Like many people my age, I’ve heard “Hotel California” countless times played by many musicians. Likewise, I am familiar with Stevie Ray Vaughan. Now, here is Laszlo Buring, a Dutch musician I’ve never heard of, playing the song as he imagines it might have been played by Stevie Ray Vaughan.

I found it mesmerizing. Buring is not only gifted as a guitar player, he has a much deeper knowledge of both the song and both of the singers than I do.

A 1960s Motown Cover of “What I Like About You” by The Romantics

Here’s another music video for you.

Postmodern Jukebox collaborated with singer Tia Simone to perform this 1960s Motown era cover of the classic song by the Detroit rockers. Simone appears to be paying a tribute to Tina Turner in terms of her dress, her hair flips, and her absolutely stunning vocals.

Playing Nirvana Blind…

Julliard jazz professor Ulysses Owens Jr. plays drums to Nirvana’s “In Bloom,” a song he’d never heard before, and comes amazingly close to Dave Grohl’s original track. Click here.

An Amazing Conversation

Listen to this conversation between David Pakman of CNN and Dennis Prager of Prager U. Pakman is a Liberal. Prager is a Conservative. They are discussing some of the hottest issues that are separating Liberals and Conservatives today. And yet, by talking about what is reasonable instead of what is ideologically correct, they find common ground.

I can’t remember hearing any political discussion this hopeful since… well, in a long time.

Click here.

Matt Gaetz Grills Air Force Superintendent Over Gender Diversity Scholarship

This has all the markings of Russian anti-US propaganda. But it turns out to be true. Do you think the Russian military – or the North Korean military, for that matter – have programs like this?

Click here.

Jimmy Buffett’s Final Album

Jimmy Buffett’s posthumous album will be released November 3. Click here to listen to three of the new songs on it.

Douglas Murray on Tennyson’s “Ulysses”

Alfred, Lord Tennyson 

“Lord Tennyson’s poem lauds the strength of human will ‘to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield,” says Murray. Click here to listen to him talk about its importance… and then read an excerpt.

David Foster Wallace’s Legendary Commencement Speech 

LC sent this in. “Forgive me if this 23-minute recording is repetitive,” he wrote. “Perhaps you’ve posted about it before. I find it poignant.”

David Foster Wallace was a uniquely smart and inventive writer. Some of his novels are considered to be must reading for anyone seriously interested in contemporary fiction. He eventually killed himself. And that is a topic we could talk about for hours. But he was also practical and poetic, as you can see from this relatively short commencement address.

Click here.