Aloha Supreme! Micropatronage and Karma
Christine Bougie’s new CD ‘Aloha Supreme’ arrived with me this morning, and I’m like a kid a Christmas waiting to play the Canadian jazz-guitarist’s second solo independent release.
Why Buddhism? #1
I grew up in a family without any strong ties to religion, which I now see as something of a privilege – although at the time I used to envy those of my friends on their Sunday school adventures. Neither were my family overtly humanist agnostic or atheist. I just can’t remember any sort of conversations about faith or religion at all in our household.
School of Gamelan
This weekend, I’ve been attending a two-day workshop in Indonesian Gamelan in Glasgow, lead by the great John Pawson of the South Bank Gamelan Players. The weekend got me thinking about the history of my connection with Gamelan music, and inspired me to write this blog entry.
Introduction
Why a blog about Business, Buddhism and Creativity? Well, they are three things that I’m currently not so good at, but will need to be as…
Learning Another Life: The Vashti Bunyan Interview
In December 2008, I had the great privilege of interviewing the great folk singer/songwriter Vashti Bunyan for Northings Arts Journal. Amongst other things, we discussed her journey to the Highlands and Islands four decades ago.
Hotel California
HI-Arts has jokingly been referred to as “Hotel California” due to the length of time staff members tend to stay with the organisation. It must be doing something right. So it’s appropriate that I should end my sabbatical at a hotel in California.
It’s a Wonderful Life
The city of Yuma is a similar size to Inverness in the Highlands, and I came here to visit the Yuma Art Center.
On the road again
On Thursday morning, I was up early for a 200 mile round trip to the town of Sells to visit the new Tohono O’odham Native Cultural Center and Museum. This might seem a long way, but the roads here make life easier – the only trick is to stay awake on those long, straight desert roads in a car with automatical gears.
Andromeda Heights
Wednesday morning was my big event – I had offered to lead a session on marketing and audience development for resident artists and community businesses here in the Ajo area. Flyers had been sent out, notices posted and adverts placed, and we had a very respectable turnout of close to twenty people at the training.
A home from home in Ajo
I have found my new hot desk at the International Sonoran Desert Alliance offices in south-west Arizona. This week I’ll be in residence here in Ajo (pronounced ‘Ah-ho’), the largest town to be found in the US half of the Sonoran desert.
The Mexican Connection
I moved on from my retreat at Diamond Mountain in the middle of the week – brain and body sore from a strict regime of aikido, debate class and sleeping outdoors.
Martial arts and meditation on the mountain
On Sunday, I headed to Tombstone – the self-styled “Town too Tough to Die” and location of the infamous gunfight at the OK Corral, where Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and Virgil and Morgan Earp fought the notorious Clantons and McLaurys on 26 October 1881.
Bisbee bee
Last night, I headed out to see the Arizona Theatre Company’s latest production at the Temple of Music and Art theatre in downtown Tucson. I’m hoping to meet the theatre company’s managing director, Kevin Moore, later in the month, so thought I better do my homework!
Tucson, Arizona
Yesterday I picked up a surprisingly large hire car and moved on to the second stop on my Arizona sabbatical, Tucson.
