Ali Akbar Khan
Ali Akbar Khan passed away at the age of 88, leaving a massive musical impression upon the world.
Bad Words
Don’t ever refer to yourself as “quirky” or an “entrepreneur”.
And whatever you do, don’t compare yourself to Picasso.
On my second day of vacation I enjoyed an eight mile hike in Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space. The salamander above was photographed by setting the iPhone down on the ground, hitting the shutter, and hoping for the best.
On the way back home the steep 1500-foot trudge back up the hill was moderately exhausting, but worth it.
Tomorrow: Two days in Big Sur with Kate. See you at the Henry Miller Library open mic tonight.
NRA to award Palin a .50 caliber AR-15
(stock photo; Palin’s NRA gift will be white, not black).
The curiously-named FasTrack
I’ve been trying to sign up online for two days. After four attempts I think I’ll give up.
First attempt: can’t get past the “agree to these conditions” screen. I get a message saying too many users are trying to access the system. This goes on all Sunday night.
Today I logged in again and, mercifully, got past the problem screen. I fill in all the billing info, click ‘next,’ and am told my credit card info is wrong (after a 3 minute wait). I click the button that tells me to correct the info and find that I have to re-enter everything again.
I grit my teeth and do so. I click “next”.
Five minutes later I get kicked out of the system with a timeout message. Apparently my card hasn’t been charged, but there’s no way to determine that.
I decide someone has to politely inform these folks that their online ordering system sucks.
I go to the contact page and find no email contact, or way to get in touch with a web admin.
I decide waiting in line at the Bay Bridge tollbooths is slightly less frustrating than this.
Emmylou Harris quote – whence?
Can anyone give me a source for this oft-quoted Emmylou endorsement? I keep reading it in Lucinda Williams articles, yet no one ever mentions where it was first published.
“[Lucinda] is an example of the best of what country at least says it is. But, for some reason, she’s completely out of the loop. And I feel strongly that that’s country music’s loss.”


