News & Notes...

I've been working a lot and I canceled cable so I haven't had a ton of opportunities to watch the new season of TV. I have caught two shows that I have enjoyed. One of them is 'Modern Family' and the other is 'Flashforward'. Both are on ABC.

I am loving me some playoff baseball. Yankees up 2=0. Cardinals down 0-2.

'Esquire' named Kate Beckinsale the 'Sexiest Woman Alive'. Who am I to argue?

Dancin' Nancies -

Two weeks ago I attended the Dave Matthews Band concert at 'The World.' It was an excellent show and an excellent show. One of the things I enjoy most in life is going to Dave s -hows. I always have a good time and am never disappointed. This was my 14th. I hadn't been for two summers and this was the first time I had a chance to hear songs from the new album live. B was in town, if was a good day.

On the bookshelf -

'The Story' - Read the Bible as one incredible story from beginning to end.

'The Lost Symbol' by Dan Brown - The latest from the author of the 'Da Vinci Code' and 'Angels & Demons'.

'The Good Soldiers' by David Finkel - It was the last-chance moment of the war. In January 2007, President George W. Bush announced a new strategy for Iraq. He called it "the surge." "Many listening tonight will ask why this effort will succeed when previous operations to secure Baghdad did not. Well, here are the differences," he told a skeptical nation. Among those listening were the young, optimistic army infantry soldiers of the 2-16, the battalion nicknamed the Rangers. About to head to a vicious area of Baghdad, they decided the difference would be them.

Fifteen months later, the soldiers returned home forever changed. Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter David Finkel was with them in Bagdad almost every grueling step of the way.

On the bookshelf soon -

'The Tao of Wu' by The RZA - The RZA, the Abbot of the Wu-Tang Clan and hip-hop culture's most dynamic genius, imparts the lessons he's learned on the journey that's taken him from the Staten Island projects to international superstar, all along the way a devout student of knowledge in every form he's found it-on the streets, in religion, in martial arts, in chess, in popular culture. Part chronicle of an extraordinary life and part spiritual and philosophical discourse, The Tao of Wu is a nonfiction Siddhartha for the hip-hop generation -an engaging, seeking book that will enlighten, entertain, and inspire.

'The Book of Basketball' by Bill Simmons - There is only one writer on the planet who possesses enough basketball knowledge and passion to write the definitive book on the NBA.* Bill Simmons, the from-the-womb hoops addict known to millions as ESPN.com’s Sports Guy, is that writer. And The Book of Basketball is that book.