The Hot Stove
Cloud Cuckoo Land, Steve’s Deli, Brandi Carlile, Paul Silas, Range Reject
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. I hope you enjoy the picks and pics.
Fave Five 11: The Hot Stove. Past/Present/Prospective (Cloud Cuckoo Land), Hanukkah Haul (Steve’s Deli), Sensational Singer (Brandi Carlile), Redoubtable Rebounder (Paul Silas), and Range Reject.
In baseball, this time of year is called The Hot Stove.
“The Hot Stove” refers to the Major League Baseball offseason, particularly the time around the Winter Meetings when free-agent signings and trades are most prevalent.
In the early days of baseball, Hot Stove Season referred to an actual baseball season: Hot Stove Leagues, in which MLB players would stay in shape by playing baseball in their hometowns while staying warm with actual hot stoves.
The term soon expanded to become a kind of predecessor to the water cooler—on a cold day, fans would gather around the hot stove to discuss their favorite team.
This week’s issue features a book set in three different moments in time, an authentic Jewish deli, the musical guest on the most recent Saturday Night Live, a late legend of basketball, and a not-so-hot stove.
Book Best Bet
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
My sisters, Ann and Joan, and my wife, Barb, held an informal book club while we were vacationing in northern Michigan this past summer. Joan suggested this book, and the three of them met to discuss it.
Barb recommended it to me, so I read and liked it. The book covers three different time periods and sets of characters over its 608 pages, and Doerr manages to tie them all together. It’s very entertaining and moves along nicely.
From Amazon:
If you’re looking for a superb novel, look no further.—The Washington Post
Wildly inventive, a humane and uplifting book for adults that’s infused with the magic of childhood reading experiences—The New York Times Book Review
Among the most celebrated and beloved novels of recent times, Cloud Cuckoo Land is a triumph of imagination and compassion, a soaring story about children on the cusp of adulthood in worlds in peril, who find resilience, hope, and a book.
In the 15th century, an orphan named Anna lives inside the formidable walls of Constantinople. She learns to read, and in this ancient city, famous for its libraries, she finds what might be the last copy of a centuries-old book, the story of Aethon, who longs to be turned into a bird so that he can fly to a utopian paradise in the sky. Outside the walls is Omeir, a village boy, conscripted with his beloved oxen into the army that will lay siege to the city. His path and Anna’s will cross.
In the present day, in a library in Idaho, octogenarian Zeno rehearses children in a play adaptation of Aethon’s story, preserved against all odds through centuries. Tucked among the library shelves is a bomb, planted by a troubled, idealistic teenager, Seymour. This is another siege.
And in a not-so-distant future, on the interstellar ship Argos, Konstance is alone in a vault, copying on scraps of sacking the story of Aethon, told to her by her father.
Anna, Omeir, Seymour, Zeno, and Konstance are dreamers and outsiders whose lives are gloriously intertwined. Doerr’s dazzling imagination transports us to worlds so dramatic and immersive that we forget, for a time, our own.
Restaurant Recommendation
Steve’s Deli 6646 Telegraph Rd., Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301
My dad loved a good spread from an authentic Jewish deli, and our family grew up enjoying corned beef, pastrami, salami, and tongue, along with good rye bread. I love the sandwiches, soups, blintzes, latkes, and stuffed cabbage at delis, so I don’t require any convincing to dine at one.
After fasting for a routine medical procedure, Barb was ready to eat. She craved matzoh ball soup, so I took her to Steve’s Deli, a place where we had dined several times before, and it was brought right out.
Hanukkah starts this Sunday, December 18 at sundown. In an email, my brother David said, “I’m going to a deli to celebrate Hanukkah with latkes and all the goodies :-).” I got a jump on him by ordering a latke (potato pancake) at Steve’s, along with a pastrami Reuben.
Barb liked the looks of my sandwich so much that the next day, she returned to Steve’s and ordered one to go. It was big enough to provide several delicious meals for both of us.
Marvelous Musician
I discovered Brandi on the very first Cayamo music cruise in 2008. I was a fan of all of the other headliners, but she was new to me. In fact, when the original t-shirts were made, she was not listed as a headliner, just as one of the other performers.
When I attended her first show, I was blown away by her voice and loved her songs. I have made some great friends on Cayamo, two of whom are uberfans of Brandi — Robin Mueller and Traci Westin.
I have seen Brandi on Cayamo 9 times: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018. She now hosts her own festival, Brandi Carlile’s Girls Just Wanna Weekend, which Barb attended along with Robin in 2020. Brandi is one of the supergroup The Highwomen along with Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires.
Brandi produced Tanya Tucker's album While I’m Livin’, Tanya's first album of all-new material in 17 years. Tanya said, “I don’t know where Brandi Carlile came from. I think God pushed her off a cloud or something, right into my lap. Because here’s a girl, her whole career is just busting out right now, it’s now just coming to fruition; she’s playing the big halls, she’s got great hit records and she’s winning all these Grammys, and there she is working with me and spending time. Not just in the studio for three weeks, I’m talking time. Whether it’s an album cover photo shoot, an interview or a performance.”
Joni Mitchell will join Brandi 0n June 9 and 10, 2023 for two Echoes Through The Canyon shows at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington. It will be the first time since 2000 that Joni's fans can buy a ticket to see her play an announced show.
From Wikipedia: Brandi Marie Carlile (born June 1, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and producer whose music spans many genres, including folk rock, alternative country, Americana, and classic rock. She has received 6 Grammy Awards and earned 25 Grammy nominations.
Born in Ravensdale, Washington, a rural town southeast of Seattle, Carlile dropped out of high school to pursue a career in music, teaching herself piano and guitar. Her debut major label album, Brandi Carlile (2005), was released to critical acclaim yet achieved limited commercial success. Carlile garnered wider recognition with her 2007 single "The Story," from her album The Story. Carlile has been a part of several activism campaigns and an advocate for causes ranging from spreading awareness for health issues to LGBT rights and empowerment of women.
In 2022, Joni Mitchell performed with Carlile and her associates as the closing act of the Newport Folk Festival. Mitchell's presence was an unannounced surprise, the performance was billed as “Brandi Carlile and Friends.” This was the 78 year old Mitchell's first full-length performance since the early 2000s and her first appearance at the festival since 1969.
On October 23, 2021 and December 10, 2022 Carlile was the musical guest on NBC's Saturday Night Live. She headlined the 2022 Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival in Franklin, Tennessee. She thanked the organizers for the opportunity and for placing a woman in this role. The Tennessean called her “Americana’s brightest star” and “(A) beaming presence on Pilgrimage’s main stage.”
The Story (Live on Austin City Limits)
You and Me on the Rock (featuring Lucius, live on Ellen)
My Playlist
Sports Star
The world of basketball was saddened on Saturday to learn of the death of Paul Silas. I recall watching him play for the Boston Celtics as a dominating defender. I think of him as one of the greatest offensive rebounders ever. And as a beloved coach.
From Wikipedia: Paul Theron Silas (July 12, 1943 – December 10, 2022) was an American professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, he was a two-time NBA All-Star and earned five selections to the NBA All-Defensive Team, including twice on the first team. He won three NBA championships: two with the Boston Celtics and one with the Seattle SuperSonics.
In high school, Silas was named a second-team Parade All-American and voted California Mr. Basketball. He played college basketball for the Creighton Bluejays, earning second-team All-American honors as a senior in 1964. He was selected in the second round of the 1964 NBA draft, and played 16 seasons in the league. After his playing career, Silas was a head coach for 12 seasons.
Silas set an NCAA record for the most rebounds in a three-year career and was the Division I rebounding leader for the 1962–63 season with 20.6 rebounds per game. His college career scoring average was over 20 points per game.
Career History
As a player:
1964–1969 St. Louis / Atlanta Hawks
1969–1972 Phoenix Suns
1972–1976 Boston Celtics
1976–1977 Denver Nuggets
1977–1980 Seattle SuperSonics
As a coach:
1980–1983 San Diego Clippers
1988–1989 New Jersey Nets (assistant)
1989–1992 New York Knicks (assistant)
1992–1995 New Jersey Nets (assistant)
1995–1997 Phoenix Suns (assistant)
1997–1999 Charlotte Hornets (assistant)
1999–2002 Charlotte Hornets
2002–2003 New Orleans Hornets
2003–2005 Cleveland Cavaliers
2010–2012 Charlotte Bobcats
Three-time NBA champion and former coach Paul Silas dies at 79
He was an exceptional defensive player, making the All-Defensive Team five times, and one of the NBA's best offensive rebounders. He retired as the No. 10 player in defensive rating in NBA history, and No. 8 in playoff defensive rating.
But what set Silas apart, as both a player and a coach, was his tremendous leadership ability and smarts. In David Halberstam's The Breaks Of The Game, Silas is described as “the best of NBA players, a triumph of intelligence and character over pure athletic skill.”
In Loving Memory from Creighton University
Silas’s 21.6 career rebounds per game are third-most in NCAA history and his 1,751 rebounds are sixth in NCAA history as well as the most ever by a three-year player. Silas, along with Bill Russell, Julius Erving, Artis Gilmore and Kermit Washington is one of five players to average at least 20 points and 20 rebounds for an NCAA career. Silas owns the top 29 single-game rebound performances in Creighton history, including a 38 rebound effort vs. Centenary on Feb. 19, 1962 that ranks tied for ninth-most in NCAA history.
He was the first Creighton student-athlete to be named an Academic All-American in 1963-64, was a member of Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit Honor Society, and received the College of Business Administration's Alumni Merit Award in 1993. In an old article, Silas boasted about his education, saying “I'm more proud of my academic success at Creighton than of all my athletic accomplishments. What Creighton University does for an athlete or any student is that they teach you how to think, how to deal with everyday living. What I learned at Creighton has helped me close the gap between professional sports and the business world.”
Picture Pun
I cooked up a wide range of schemes for hauling this home, but they were all half-baked.
