Monday, July 27, 2015: Decision fatigue can affect everyone from a judge on a long day of hearing cases, to a quarterback late in the game, to a shopper at IKEA trying to pick out wall mounts and drawer pulls. But what people don’t realize is that making decisions uses the very same willpower that you use to say no to doughnuts, drugs or illicit sex. New York Times science writer John Tierney investigates the connection in his book titled Willpower: The Science Behind Decision Making and Self Control. Then, Bob talks with multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird about his career and the music from his CD called Break It Yourself. Primarily known as a violinist, Bird has been playing since he was four, and collaborated with the Squirrel Nut Zippers during their later recordings.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015: The rest of the week is devoted to birthdays. Jim Davis turns 70 today. He started out writing and drawing a comic strip called Gnorm Gnat. It ran for five years in an Indiana newspaper, but when Davis tried to take it national, an editor told him, “Your art is good, your gags are great, but bugs — nobody can relate with bugs!” And so the bugs were replaced with an ornery, chubby, orange cat who loves lasagna and hates Mondays. Garfield made his first appearance in 1978. It’s now the most widely syndicated comic strip in the world — translated into 45 languages and delighting more than 200 million readers. Jim Davis has kept the Garfield operation in his home state, Indiana, where Paws, Inc., employs about 50 people, most life-long employees.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015: Long before he directed The Last Picture Show and Mask, Peter Bogdanovich was an enthusiastic moviegoer who spent hours upon hours in the theater, watching everything he could. So it makes sense that in 2005 Turner Classic Movies asked him to host The Essentials, their weekly showing of Hollywood’s greatest movies. Bob and Bogdanovich talk about his list of essential movies, the history of American film, and about the director’s art. Bogdanovich is turning 76 years old.
Thursday, July 30, 2015: Blues guitar great Buddy Guy celebrates his 79th birthday today. His father bought him his first guitar, a “worn-in instrument with two strings,” for $4.35. Since then, Guy says life “ain’t never been the same.” Bob talks to Guy about his music and journey from Lettsworth, Louisiana to Chicago and beyond. Buddy Guy wrote about it all in his memoir titled When I Left Home: My Story.
Friday, July 31, 2015: Stanley Jordan is one of the most innovative jazz guitarists around today. Known for his “tapping technique,” which he demonstrates for Bob, Jordan has inspired an entire generation of musicians. Jordan joins Bob in the studio to play a few tunes, discuss his career and his passion for music therapy. Today, Stanley Jordan celebrates his 56th birthday.
After hearing the Stanley Jordan interview on XM Radio, I thought that the album "State of Nature" was brand new (I also thought the title of the album was "A Place in Space.") But I discovered that the album came out in 2008, or at least it is dated as such on the Google Play web site. Was this a re-broadcast of a seven-year-old interview? Or did I just completely misunderstand the conversation?