I have a tradition on this blog of writing a post on celebrating the Martin Luther King holiday (here, here, here (especially) and here). The holiday is special to me for a number of reasons that I go into in the earlier posts on the topic and it’s one of my favorite holidays of the year.

I enjoy reading blog posts and other materials posted on the holiday, and today is no exception.

I especially liked Curt Rosengren’s Martin Luther King Day: 4 steps to making it personal.

The money quote:

This year, instead of just thinking, “Whoo-hoo! I have the day off,” or “Hey, there’s a sale at the mall,” spend some time exploring one simple question. “What could this day mean to me?” You can do this with any special day, but since today is MLK Day, that’s a good place to start.

Curt’s four steps:

1. Explore what it means to you.
2. How does this relate to my life?
3. What action does this suggest?
4. What is the first step, and when will I take it?

A great exercise.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog; follow me – @denniskennedy

Now Available! The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell. Visit the companion website for the book at LawyersGuidetoCollaboration.com. Twitter: @collabtools

Technorati tags: martin luther king mlk

For the last few years, I’ve enjoyed reading the posts of several bloggers who are trying to read 52 books in 52 weeks. I’ve also wanted to find a good way for me to keep track of the books I’ve read.

Last year, I decided to try to do the 52 books in 52 weeks meme (and encourage others to do so). I made it to 63, which seemed pretty good. Here’s the post with the 2009 list.

I’m doing the same thing in 2010. My approach is the same as last year – I’ll simply update this specific post from time to time throughout the year as I finish books.

December

52. Social Media Strategies for Professionals and Their Firms, Michelle Golden
51. What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People, Joe Navarro and Marvin Karlins
50. Million Dollar Speaking, Alan Weiss
49. Thinking in Systems: A Primer, Donella Meadows

November

48. Awareness Through Movement, Moshe Feldenkrais
47. The 39 Steps, John Buchan
46. Seven Days in May, Fletcher Knebel and Charles Bailey

October

45. Beyond Code, Rajesh Setty
44. The Pale Criminal, Philip Kerr

September

43. March Violets, Philip Kerr
42. Zero History,William Gibson
41. The Man Who Lied to His Laptop, Clifford Nass
40. The Shape of Things to Come, Greil Marcus

August

39. The Good Son, Michael Gruber
38. The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain, Barbara Strauch
37. Priceless, WIlliam Poundstone
36. Intelligence, Susan Hasler

July

35. The Nearest Exit, Olen Steinhauer
34. The Rembrandt Affair, Daniel Silva
33. The Bourne Objective, Eric Van Lustbader
32. The Cabal, David Hagberg
31. Doors Open, Ian Rankin
30. Patton, Montgomery, Rommel, Terry Brighton
29. A Quiet Flame, Philip Kerr

June
28. The One from the Other. Philip Kerr
27. The Tears of Autumn, Charles McCarry
26. The War That Killed Achilles, Caroline Alexander
25. Mariposa, Greg Bear
24. The Bell Ringers, Henry Porter
23. Point Omega, Don DeLillo

May
22. Red and Me: My Coach, My Lifelong Friend, Bill Russell and Alan Steinberg
21. Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age, Kurt Beyer
20. Tom and Jack: The Intertwined Lives of Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock, Henry Adams
19. Talking about Detective Fiction, P.D. James
18. The Book of Basketball, Bill Simmons

April
17. WordPress for Dummies, Lisa Sabin-Wilson
16. The Wayfinders, Wade Davis
15. The Midnight House, Alex Berenson

March
14. Light at the Edge of the Word, Wade Davis
13. The Department of Mad Scientists, Michael Belfiore
12. The Year of the Flood, Margaret Atwood

February
11. Burned, David Hagberg
10. Last Snow, Eric Van Lustbader
9. Lawyer’s Guide to Working Smarter, Marc Lauritsen

January
8. Unclutter Your Life in One Week, Erin Doland
7. The Guide for Inclusive Leaders, Joerg Schmitz and Nancy Curl
6.Can You Hear Me Now?, Kate Peters
5. Just Kids, Patti Smith
4. Freedom, Daniel Suarez
3. Trust Agents, Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
2. Vicious Circles, Otto Penzler
1. Whole Earth Discipline, Stewart Brand

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]
Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog; Follow me – @denniskennedy

Now Available! The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell. Visit the companion website for the book at LawyersGuidetoCollaboration.com. Twitter: @collabtools

Listen to The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast on Legal Talk Network. Twitter: @tkmreport

Technorati tag: 52 books in 52 weeks 52 books reading

We went to see the Bruce Springsteen show in St. Louis on Sunday. I planned to blog about it last night, but the story of the cancellation of last night’s Kansas City show because of the death of Springsteen’s cousin and road crew manager had just broken and it seemed best to wait a day.
In addition to extending my sympathies, I did want to note that I specifically noticed the performance of the road crew during the show – they seemed especially professional and attentive. As we waited for the show to start, I noticed the attention to safety as the crew crawled up the ladders into the lights.
As long-time readers of this blog know, I’ve seen Springsteen play live many times and I can fairly be characterized as a big fan. I’m not going to write anything like a review here – just sketch out a few notes and observations, especially for my friends Jim and Dr. Jeff – and note that this show is definitely worth seeing if it comes to your town.
I knew before we went that Springsteen would be playing the entire Born to Run album from beginning to end in order during the show. I also suspected before I went that that performance would be among the highlights of shows remembered as I look back in future years. It will indeed be.
This show features the E Street Band and we got the full E Street Band experience, with a wide-ranging rocking show that featured all of the players from time to time. I’ll also note that you do start to wonder if this will be the last E Street Band tour or, at least, how many more there will be. Danny Federici is gone already. It’s an older group, to be sure, but they have tremendous energy as a band.
Here’s the set list:
Wrecking Ball
Seeds
Prove It All Night
Hungry Heart
Working On A Dream
Thunder Road
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Night
Backstreets
Born To Run
She’s The One
Meeting Across The River
Jungleland
Waiting On A Sunny Day
Working On The Highway
The Promised Land
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Badlands
No Surrender
For You
Roll Over Beethoven
Surprise Surprise
Detroit Medley
American Land
Dancing In The Dark
Rosalita
Highlights:
1. Born to Run – The Live Version. Bruce’s intro was simple and to the point. It’s interesting to realize now how much really depended on this album selling. It would have been the third strike if it hadn’t and none of the other records might have come after. Bruce made a reference to that and the fact that it is a young person’s record. As the album unfolded, I was struck by how little it sounds like the rest of the music that came out at the time. Standout moments included a breath-takingly good version of Backstreets, the moment the lights come up on the entire audience in Born to Run, the trumpet work on Across the River, and an elegiac version of Jungleland to end. Bruce brought out the guys in the band who created the record (with a reference to the missing Danny). I’d call it a great gift to long-time fans and one of the great memories I’ll have of his shows.
2. I could have made a zillion predictions for what he might play and never come up with the solo piano version of “For You” he played by request. Quite a rare treat and a compelling performance.
3. Nils Lofgrin’s guitar solo in Prove it All Night – almost other worldly – I’ve never seen/heard anything quite like it. I’m a big fan of Bruce’s solos in Prove it All Night over the years, but this one was a stunner and worthy addition to the history of solos in the song.
4. The sequence of Lonesome Day, The Rising, Badlands and No Surrender, which to me seemed to follow a compelling logic. At the end of each song, I was thinking that I wished he’d play the next song, and he did.
5. Rising Just a great St. Louis moment – playing Roll Over Beethoven, by request, in Chuck Berry’s hometown.
It was almost 3 hours, basically non-stop, and quite enjoyable. As I say, worth checking out if it omes to your town, especially if he will be doing one of the entire album segments. And, Bruce’s dynamic energy at age 60 is an inspiration.
[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]
Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog; Follow me – @denniskennedy
Now Available! The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell. Visit the companion website for the book at LawyersGuidetoCollaboration.com. Twitter: @collabtools

Listen to The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast on the Legal Talk Network.
Technorati tags: springsteen e street born to run st. louis

Lots of interest in St. Louis about the baseball all-star game. On Saturday evening, we took in the opening of a new photography exhibit featuring some prominent baseball photographers, including my brother-in-law, Dan Donovan, who has several excellent photos (see the show’s home page for one of my favorites and you’ll see more here).
The show is at the Maryland Gallery in Clayton, Missouri, and even the most casual baseball fan will the images. If you’re in town for the All-Star Game or are in Clayton from now through August, you’ll want to check out the exhibit.
[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]
Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog; Follow me – @denniskennedy
Now Available! The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell. Visit the companion website for the book at LawyersGuidetoCollaboration.com. Twitter: @collabtools
Technorati tags: dan donovan baseball photography

Anyone else notice this phenomenon lately? I’m starting to wonder if it’s a symptom of the economic turmoil.
Here’s what I’m talking about:
You are driving on a highway and cars are moving at 60 – 70 miles an hour. Then you see one of two similar things happen:
1. A car comes up behind another and begins to follow at a distance of one or two car lengths.
2. A car changes lanes roughly one or two car lengths in front of the car in the other lane.
Often this occurs with no other traffic around.
When it occurs to you, it’s scary.
I see this every day, it seems. For example, tonight someone cut over into my lane with what I would gauge was one car-length to spare (at 60 miles an hour).
Is this phenomenon a response to economic stress? Do people think the laws of physics no longer apply to braking distances? Is this just a St. Louis phenomenon? I’m curious. And I’m not the only one who has commented on this lately.
This is also something different that tailgating out of road rage (I saw an incident of that recently and that’s really scary to see). People appear to think that they are driving normally.
I welcome your thoughts.
[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]
Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog; Follow me – @denniskennedy
Now Available! The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell. Visit the companion website for the book at LawyersGuidetoCollaboration.com. Twitter: @collabtools
Technorati tags: car length musings