Bridging Hemispheres

Like so many people here and around the world, I eagerly anticipated the broadcast of the Presidential Inauguration this past Tuesday. I was not disappointed. Notwithstanding the historical significance, one thing that struck me was the role of the arts. Visual and performing arts budgets are amongst the first to be cut in the midst […]

A few days ago, I suddenly found myself longing for the Sundays of my youth. When I was growing up, Sunday was a day for lounging around, for clipping coupons and reading comic strips. We received The Martinsville Bulletin and/or The Roanoke Times. Ever since I was old enough to read and turn the pages […]

During scary movie scenes, I usually bury my face in my hands (or in my neighbor’s popcorn).  When life presents us with images or stories that are hard to handle, we may choose to avoid them altogether, especially when we come across them in the midst of our daily routines.  So the next time divisiveness creeps in […]

In spite of the mixed reputation that MySpace has earned in the social media space, I have had the opportunity to connect with some wonderful artists and musicians through that very medium. For example, if I had not posted my music on MySpace, I might not have had the pleasure of meeting Wendell Wiggins, who […]

In early October, there were some people who were curious about my two cents on the upcoming election. With November 4 around the bend, I decided to post this entry to the blog. I leave it to you to determine the worth of these pennies that I’ve been jingling in my pocket. Cent 1. What’s […]

This entry is a follow-up to The Waiting is the Hardest Part (Tom Petty) post. Sometimes after “the waiting” is over, you actually continue to wait. This kind of lingering behavior often occurs when you don’t get a response. Participants were to be notified by Tuesday, October 28. I was not notified, so it appears […]

Today I feel bold. So I’m going to share a bit of my journey in real time. First of all, today marks the end of the repayment period of yet another school loan. Hurray! And, though it is great to report accomplishments, they don’t represent the hardest part of the journey, which is of course, […]

The ocean breeze coming down Santa Monica Boulevard on this first evening of autumn gave me a chill as I looked around for the nearest Big Blue bus stop. It was September 22, around 6:15pm, and the sun was on its way to calling it a day. I walked one block and stationed my dark […]

A couple of days ago I got the opportunity to attend a seminar titled Creating Music Videos, offered by award-winning director Nigel Dick through the UCLA Extension School. In addition to Nigel’s long list of music video credits over the last 25 years (among them Guns N’ Roses, Cher, Sting, Sheryl Crow, Britney Spears, Pussycat […]

I just got home from a session of Ego @ The Door where I played with Marcus L. Miller (drums), Dawn Norfleet (flute/vocals), Rod (electric bass guitar), Keven Brennen (sax and more), and Jas Shepherd on a variety of instruments (including the gong). I met Jas last summer on his radio show, Forward Motion, on […]