Sunday, November 16, 2008

fly through snowy mountains

fly through snowy mountains (Via tingilinde.)

Strong reminder of favorite heli rides into the heart of the Monashees, and of the view over the Eastern Sierra from the ridges above Tioga Pass. Where's the snow?

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Freedom and music from Africa: April 25, 1974-November 5, 2008

Revolução dos CravosMr. PresidentToumani DiabatéThe overthrow of the fascist dictatorship in Portugal as a consequence of the failure of the colonial war in Africa and its impact on Portuguese officers. The election of Barack Obama. Twice in my lifetime, in my direct experience, the horrors that Europeans visited on Africa, the moral rot of discrimination and prejudice, were returned to us Europeans and descendants of Europeans as an opportunity to start afresh. Tonight, the great Malian musician Toumani Diabaté dedicated his overwhelming performance in San Francisco to the New America. As Diabaté played, I so wanted to hug the "kids" — Elena, Daniel, and Deva — hoping with them for a bit more peace, a bit more fairness, a bit more tolerance, a bit more reason, and a lot more music and reawakening of our better natures from Africa.