Why do things stay the same, when they could be better? And then why, when desperation knocks, does innovation finally kick in? Take a new design for milk jugs, being sold at Sam’s Club and other grocery outlets. Because of the new containers’ efficient shapes, dairies can save fuel and water, while stores better use [...]
Archive for June, 2008
Desperation, Innovation
Posted in Uncategorized on June 29, 2008 | 2 Comments »
LA Lofts
Posted in Uncategorized on June 29, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Tonight, we went to a “harvardwood” party in downtown LA. Now this was no ordinary upscale downtown that you see advertised in all the slick pubs. This was an urban setting like Soho back in the early 1980s, a wild west frontier of an oasis in the (receding) desert of urban decay.
Don’t faint, but I [...]
Men Only
Posted in Uncategorized on June 28, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Growing up in Chapel Hill, NC, I entered first grade soon after the public schools were racially integrated. I have only dim memories of separate water fountains at the bus station, and white-only restrooms at the local Gulf station. Some 20 years later, I was surprised, when performing at the elite Century Club in Manhattan, [...]
Life After Juilliard?
Posted in Uncategorized on June 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
There was a fascinating story by Dan Wakin in the NY Times last Sunday, about a new program that provides recent music school graduates with public school teaching jobs. It was a terrific portrait of a dedicated young musician. But I question how a performance degree prepares someone for teaching — when those who went [...]
Hiatus
Posted in Uncategorized on June 19, 2008 | 1 Comment »
This blog has been an experiment — and it’s going into hibernation for awhile. See you all later!
Drugs in Australia
Posted in Uncategorized on June 16, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Well, the thirst for info about classical musicians and drugs has gone global. Now my Guardian article was published in the Sydney Morning Herald! The paper linked to an encouraging commentary by Saul Lewis, president of the Australian musicians’ union, who observed that drugs and alcohol weren’t problematic in Oz. Unfortunately, Mr. Lewis was written [...]
Auto-tune Me
Posted in Uncategorized on June 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The New Yorker has a fabulous podcast on the uses of Auto-tune, a software package that can change or correct the pitch of a note. It’s a great example of a product that some creative minds have commandeered for something other than its original use. It was intended to fix notes here and there when [...]
Green Fatigue
Posted in Uncategorized on June 11, 2008 | 2 Comments »
I’ve had an interesting week; in three days alone, I heard Magic Johnson, Ted Turner, Arianna Huffington, and Thomas Friedman speak. Friedman’s topic was the most compelling, however; where the “green movement” is headed, and what must change for America to lead the revolution. Green has hit main street, said Friedman, but it hasn’t [...]
Lookin’ Native
Posted in Uncategorized on June 10, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Today, I had a lunchtime appointment near the beach in Santa Monica. People streamed up and down the Third Street Promenade, shopping and enjoying the sunshine. Why was it so obvious which ones were tourists? No matter where I’ve been — east, west, or abroad — it seems you can always separate the locals from [...]
A View from the Buoy
Posted in Uncategorized on June 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Today, I shot video for which I prepared many weeks. It was at the Marina del Rey Hotel, in the center of one of America’s most picturesque boat hostels. By divine provenance, a friend was cruising off the coast, and when we called on my cell phone, the yacht Amazing Grace swooped in to pick [...]
