Category Archives: Autobiography

A Barack Obama quip

Posted on June 5, 2023 by odeboyz

“If I had to name my greatest strength, I guess it would be my humility. Greatest weakness, it’s possible that I’m a little too awesome.”

Posted in Autobiography, Humour, quips | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Muhammad Ali’s a humane man: A great man

Posted on May 8, 2023 by odeboyz

“I’ll tell you how I would like to be remembered: As a black man who won the heavyweight title – Who was humorous and never looked down on those who looked up to him – A man who stood for … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiography, Philosophy, Sport | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Cricket Obsessive Meets Reality

Posted on March 20, 2023 by odeboyz
Posted in Autobiography, Humour, Sport | Leave a comment

Film Review: Bank of Dave (NetFlix) (Rory Kinnear) (2023)

Posted on March 2, 2023 by odeboyz

This is the biopic of Dave Fishwick, a self-made millionaire, from Burnley, Lancashire. He lives and works there and is grounded in the community. As a wealthy man he was often asked for loans. No paperwork just a handshake. None … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiography, Film, Finance, Review | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Billie Holiday: a genius that got lucky

Posted on February 13, 2023 by odeboyz

“One day, we were so hungry we could barely breathe,” she told Downbeat magazine in 1939. “I started out the door. It was cold as all hell and I walked from 145th to 133rd down Seventh Avenue, going in every … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiography, History | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Menachem Kaiser ~ Plunder: A memoir of family property and stolen Nazi treasure (2021)

Posted on January 26, 2023 by odeboyz

This quirky book instantly attracted me. The story is straight-forwardly about property in Poland. Jewish Holocaust survivors made it to the USA. Two generations later a grandson tried to prove ownership rights over a house plundered by Nazis. Kaiser’s book … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiography, History, War | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

George Harrison as a parent

Posted on November 21, 2022 by odeboyz

In 1978, George married Olivia Arias and in the same year they had a son, Dhani.  Dhani only discovered his father’s past when he was at school.  “I came home one day from school after being chased by kids singing … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiography, education | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Miles Davis on racism in classical music, 1940s

Posted on September 26, 2022 by odeboyz

“…I knew that no white symphony orchestra was going to hire a little black motherfucker like me, no matter how good I was.” Note Miles attended the Julliard School of Music, which is world renowned and for a black student … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiography, education, Politics | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie

Posted on May 16, 2022 by odeboyz

People have told me that they’ve heard a song of mine and it’s changed their lives. Now I can only believe that or disbelieve it, but I know what it is to feel that, because I’ve felt that way myself … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiography, Literature | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Franz Kafka’s humanity

Posted on April 28, 2022 by odeboyz

At 40, Franz Kafka (1883-1924), who never married and had no children, walked through the park in Berlin when he met a girl who was crying because she had lost her favourite doll. She and Kafka searched for the doll … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiography, education | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment