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This morning I edited a piece about "silent book clubs," which are popping up worldwide, it seems.

They work like this: Word is put out that all are welcome at a given location (coffeeshops and breweries are popular) at a certain date and time. Bring a book (or Kindle) that you're reading and after everyone is settled in and phones have been switched off, the group reads for about a half-hour or 45 minutes, in silence.

Then the organizer breaks the silence, chairs are arranged in a circle and each participant gives a brief description of what they're reading, how they are reacting to it and answering any questions the group might have.

Those who have taken part seem to love the arrangement -- they get to read something THEY chose, they get some quiet time with their book and they learn about other books and other people.

Anyone familiar with these deals? Howard, it might be something to look into. New Yorkers read, don't they? Or do they all just write?

Every April 1, I am reminded of it being the date, in 2016, of Lonnie's cancer diagnosis. Lord, how I miss that man and his creative genius and his enormous, warm personality.

I learned today that April is International Guitar Month. An excerpt from a blurb by the St. Tammany Parish Library:


The guitar is an instrument that has been essential to music for centuries. While many people think of Spanish music when it comes to early guitar, historians believe that guitar-like instruments date all the way back to the days of ancient Egypt. The Moors are credited for bringing the guitar from Africa to Europe when they invaded Spain in 711 A.D. Spanish guitar maker Antonio de Torres Jurado designed the modern guitar in the late 1800s. In addition, Spanish guitarist and composer Francisco Tarrega developed the modern guitar-playing methods at that time.

Guitar evolved even further in design and music in the 1930s with the development of the electric guitar. Unlike the modern acoustic guitar, which uses the vibration of the strings with the resonant body of the instrument to produce sound, the electric guitar converts the string vibrations to electrical signals. These signals are then converted and shaped through an amplifier, which then produces the sounds through the speaker. Electric guitars typically have dials on the body used to control tone and volume. Some electric guitars feature a tremolo arm, also called vibrato arm or whammy bar, to tighten and loosen strings, creating textured sounds. Early electric guitars had the hollow resonant body of acoustic guitars. The solid body electric guitar design began in 1941 through American guitarist Les Paul. In the 1950s, Paul assisted the Gibson company in designing a popular line of electric guitars. In addition, American inventor Leo Fender also designed many popular electric guitars through the 1940s and 1950s, including the Telecaster and the Stratocaster. Fender’s electric guitar designs and other designs named after Les Paul remain popular today.

To be fair, the awareness date was established as March 31 in 2009. Since then, it has coincided with Easter only this year, and I just checked tables stretching into 2067 and they won't coincide again in that entire span.

Considering the complicated manner in which the Easter date is determined, a coincidence is almost inevitable. I don't think it's worth getting too worked up about.

(Addition edited in:)

So it was established privately 15 years ago. Biden made the first proclamation to note the annual event, recognized worldwide, in 2021.

How does he DO that upper register? Doesn't sound falsetto-ish whatsoever!

Excerpt from Strib:

'Steve!' (Martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces'

Those who have read the memoir "Born Standing Up" already know that Steve Martin is a calculating comic. There's a reason he stuck an arrow through his head. Part one of Morgan Neville's splendid documentary covers the same territory as the book, but now you can actually watch clips of the comedian plotting his goofy moves. The second chapter deals more with his later years and his quest to find happiness. It speeds all too quickly through the movies, but it's fun to see that his private interactions with Martin Short are just as entertaining as their interplay onstage. Anyone who considers comedy a craft will gobble up both parts. Apple TV+

Marty speaks truth. A couple of years ago, after switching every fall from summer to winter tires using the same factory rims, at a cost of about $100, I splurged on a set of custom wheels (Enkei brand) for my summer tires, saving 8 pounds of weight per wheel over the factory ones and paying only like $25 total to have all four tire/wheels removed and replaced.

My car still has enough performance to where I really appreciate having high-performance summer tires/wheels and a winter tire/wheel package that really delivers traction on snow and ice (aided by AWD).

My winter tires are pretty gnarly looking -- General Altimax Arctic, made in Amurica, as are the BFGoodies.

Altimax:

And maybe some abalone purfling?

Funny. I heard that many years ago as a blonde joke.