Michael Kannengieser's Substack Page

January 5, 2024

Surprise! People Seen Reading in a Bookstore

 A few weeks ago I bought a new wallet. As per standard operating procedure, I waited a while before I went through the task of switching everything from my old wallet to the new one. It’s always a surprise as to what I will find buried inside that I had completely forgotten I had. In this case I discovered a Barnes and Noble gift card. I can’t remember where I got it from or who gave it to me. Anyway, I went to the bookstore and was surprised to see that not only was the store packed, people were buying books. Yes. The lost art of reading seems to be making a comeback— a least from my perspective. It was refreshing to see folks in the comfy chairs with an open book in their hands. I bought a copy of Bhagavad Gita and felt happier because the internet, cell phones, iPads, and online apps have a tenacious, enduring competitor — books.

*Originally posted on my Facebook page 1/15/2022

Urgh! A Memory Returns


Urgh! A Music War came out in 1981. However, I did not see it until years later. The film features bands I like and some I don’t. There are songs here I enjoy live, but I don’t care for the studio version. However, while the film and the album are out of circulation, loyal fans have curated videos of the film on YouTube. Damn, time has flown by. I graduated high school in 1981 and this movie and the music brings me back to the halls of Copiague Senior High School during the age of typical teen rebellion and planning for the future. While I don’t want to wander down a treacly path of nostalgia, I need to pull up the covers and warm myself to the memories of my youth now and then. If you get a chance, look up the videos on YouTube and sink into your teens again. Then look forward to a brighter future.

 


I often set three or four alarms five minutes apart so I am sure to wake up. However, when asking Siri to set the alarms she relentlessly announces that she set the alarm. Her tone is so triumphant and proud that it annoys me. And telling me that she set the alarm when I can see that it is done is really unnecessary. So, tonight when I was trying to get her to set an alarm she kept congratulating herself for doing so. I told her, rather rudely to shut the f*ck up. So she went
ahead and set a shut the f*ck up alarm for 5:55 am.