Cult of Sundries

In a few weeks Canada will kick off its  Awesome Music Project  and related book launch with an evening of "songs, stories, and science" whose aim is to explore the emotionally healing power of music. The Awesome Music Project Canada: Songs of Hope and Happiness brings you behind-the-scenes glimpses into the music lives of a diverse array of Canadians. Olympic skier Jennifer Heil reveals the soundtrack that brought her the gold medal in Torino; singer-songwriter Michael Bublé celebrates the way music cemented his bond with his grandfather; and mental health advocate Eric Windeler shares the poignant song that helped him through the devastating loss of his son to suicide.  These and other inspiring tales fill this beautifully illustrated tribute to the songs, musicians, and composers that comfort us, move us, and life our spirits. Rounding out The Awesome Music Project Canada are descriptions of the neurological research confirming the ways in which music is good for us.

I only wish it were not so common. That probably disappoints a lot of you, maybe even makes you wonder if I am being satirical. Most assuredly, I am not. Plus, this is my second rodeo on common sense. I am not as certain that people will take it any more seriously, but I do hope that they'll.  It may be written rather flippantly, but I am completely serious. Common sense usually serves as a proxy for obvious solutions to easy problems. Which then prompts people to recommend commonsense solutions to all problems. Consider some that you might have heard: "If only we had some common-sense gun laws, we would not have these mass shootings." "Our healthcare system is far too complicated. What we need is to replace it with some common-sense solutions." "People losing their retirement savings in the financial crisis was sad. If only these investors had exercised some common sense and not bought houses they could not afford!" "You do not ne

Hi Cult friends! Sorry we haven't been around much this week - a lot going on irl. This will be an open chat so please feel free to share music, comments, and gifs. I'd like to share a couple topics I've been learning about online security. I know this can be a boring subject but it's VERY important, so I hope you'll read this and check the links when you have time. I'm not an expert but if anyone has questions I'll try to help in the comments. First we'll talk about 2FA (two-factor authentication) and then a related topic involving a growing scam putting our mobile numbers at risk . 2FA 2FA is an additional login step after your username and password. The idea is that if your user and password are compromised, the hacker still has to enter a one-time code sent either to your phone by SMS, email, or an authenticator app. (SMS isn't the best way to do this, but it's still worth doing - we'll talk about that in a minute.) Here'

Hi Cult friends, How about a books and music discussion? In recognition of National Read a Book Day in the US (Sep. 6) Newsweek lists the top ten books of 2019 so far. Post any songs you can think of about books or reading- and writing-related subjects and we'll listen while we discuss. Have you read any of the Newsweek books, or want to? What else have you read lately that you liked or disliked? What makes you decide on reading a certain book? For example, how important is the cover illustration or the title? Do you read both fiction and non-fiction? Both ebooks and paper? I'm a little superstitious when I borrow books from the library. When I start browsing the first book I pick up often seems to be a clue about how I'll do that time. If I end up liking it I usually find more, and I go home with an armful (or a full e-basket). But if I don't like the first one I often end up not finding anything else either. When you start a book and don't like it