October 2008

  • Before Autumn Leaves

    Before autumn leaves, settle down into a bounty of words, sights and sounds that crackle with the color and energy of the season.  Then, take a few moments to take in an eclectic array of books and CDs that’ll bring an extra spark to warm the chill heading up that frosty hill. Let’s start with some… Continue reading

  • Tales of Wall Street

    The news from Wall Street has been a little too thrilling of late, but the high stakes world of high finance has provided a natural backdrop for some great fiction over the years. How do I balance my own need for a little respite from the increasingly bleak economic outlook with my creeping concern that… Continue reading

  • Top Ten Things to Do in our Music Practice Rooms

    Drumroll Please! You’ll have to imagine you are hearing one of those amazing announcer voices reading the list below (with no apologies to any TV show): #10 Play 1 piano 4 hand duets with a friend. #9 Play your favorite song with different keyboard sounds. #8 Improvise on that tune you can’t get out of… Continue reading

  • Book review: Night Shift by Lilith Saintcrow

    Night Shift introduces readers to a super-powered hunter called Jill Kismet. Jill is one of the few people brave enough to stand between humanity and all the demons of the nightside. When something from the dark tears through five cops and continues on with a killing spree that spreads death across the city, Jill must sift… Continue reading

  • The Russians Are Coming

    Seattle is a city of communities – neighborhoods, ethnic groups, churches, schools, clubs, etc. And even if you don’t belong to a particular group, they often sponsor events throughout the year that may be of interest to you. One of my favorite annual smaller events is the St. Spiridon (Russian) Orthodox Cathedral Annual Bazaar, which… Continue reading

  • The Piano: A Romance on Three Legs

    Few other instruments equal the piano for beauty, simplicity, engineering and sensitivity. For more than one hundred years pianos have been found in homes all around the world. It is the easiest instrument to make music on, but also fiendishly difficult to master. Our love affair with the piano has grown over the years. In… Continue reading