On Being “Professional”
Recently I was subjected to one of those “icebreaker” exercises with coworkers at what I call my “day job” (that is, the one that provides most of my income). When asked to share something “interesting” about myself, I mentioned that for decades I’ve had a parallel...Musical Barbarians at the Gates
My previous Blue Ear Books blog recounted my travails presenting a group of distinguished Mexican musicians at a very small music festival in Seattle during the reign of the rabidly xenophobic (particularly when it comes to Mexico) Donald Trump. Among the responses to...Hitting Homeland
My wife pointed out recently that, in practical terms, the blitzkrieg ascension of Donald Trump had yet to directly affect her daily life in any appreciable way. (Unsurprising disclosure: We both vehemently oppose Trump and his fellow travelers.) I stopped and thought...Power of Ridicule / Ridicule of Power
Blue Ear Books ringleader Ethan Casey recently asked if I had any thoughts to share on the current North Korea crisis, given my modicum of empirical expertise in things East Asian (see my BEB title Live at the Forbidden City). My initial reaction was “What do...Song for Insane Times*
(* a nod to the tune of the same name by the late, brilliant songsmith Kevin Ayers) As the calendar advances to what is perhaps the most ominous new year of my lifetime to date, a look back at my musical activities over the past few years reveals a somewhat unsettling...Home Free: An American Road trip
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"Ethan Casey listened hard and well in his books on Haiti and Pakistan. Now he's listening to America." - Paul Rogat Loeb
Alive and Well in Pakistan: A Human Journey in a Dangerous Time
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"Compulsory reading for anyone visiting Pakistan" - Harvard International Review
"The author's real journey is a search for common humanity." - The Daily Telegraph
Bearing the Bruise: A Life Graced by Haiti
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"A heartfelt account" - Paul Farmer
Live at the Forbidden City
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"A vivid account of China's musical past" - Songlines