In 1976, while working in Paris teaching ESL to middle managers at a French language school, I splurged and bought two tickets to the Béjart Ballet. I wasn’t making great money so this was a big expense. I had a hot first date, however, and wanted to have a special… A Memorable Night in Paris with Pierre Boulez and the Béjart Ballet
Original publication date: August 12, 2013 When I was 12 and 13, cycling was everything to me. I rode around 100-150 miles weekly, was on an informal team called “Le Voyageurs” (The Travelers), complete with jerseys, chamois-seated shorts, toe clips – the whole deal. A weekend ride would have us all ride… The Racing Bike I Never Got
I love to feel something when I drive a fast car, or as a passenger in a nice car with a good driver at the wheel. Rental cars don’t matter, though when in Europe on nice big autostradas I always drove small cars like Renault 5’s and would have loved a Ferrari… Me, My Dad, and Cars
Original post date: August 16, 2012 In 1973, fresh out of grad school and after an unhappy spell in law school, unable to land a job teaching in American community colleges, I found two job postings on a UCLA international job bulletin board. One was to teach English at a… The Road Not Traveled
I was both a literature and French major in college, so I could read Samuel Beckett’s novels and plays in both languages. His plays used a literary device called “stichomythia,” which had characters speaking short lines back and forth, so it was easy to read in French. Beckett, like Joseph… I Saw Samuel Beckett
I love David Byrne and Barry White, and I love cars, too. My favorites include the 1953 Packard Caribbean convertible, Henri Chapron Citroën DS 23 Pallas, 1956 Buick Roadmaster, Ferrari 365 GTB, Maserati 3500 GT… all cars I can ill-afford to own let alone properly maintain. When David Byrne once… David Byrne and Barry White and Their Rides
Categories: Jazz, Interviews, Album Reviews, Memoir, 1980s, KCRW Keith Jarrett has released another solo album, this time called Rio. As the title would suggest, it was recorded in Rio de Janeiro. On it we hear the now familiar musical mood swings: from angular vertical runs, acrid harmonies, to unbearably lovely… My Love-Hate Relationship with Keith Jarrett
I recently read about a new John Cage biography in the New York Times Book Review. I ordered the book, Begin Again by Kenneth Silverman, and it just arrived. Cage influenced people who don’t even know who he is. And then there are folks like Brian Eno and Ryuichi Sakamoto, both of whom owe huge… John Cage Remembered