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Chinese opera is a long-established unique Chinese cultural expression.  The stage and costumes are over-the-top.  The music is stunning...for non-Chinese an acquired taste.  

Pandas are China's cultural symbol of its diplomatic efforts to promote peace through cultural exchanges.  The US has hosted pandas on loan for many years, as well as pandas loaned to other countries.  They are so cute.  But we must remember that they are a species of bear.  They are not aggressive.  But they can be dangerous under certain circumstances.

Traveling on the segment from New York’s JFK airport to Israel, I was coincidentally seated next to a guy from Reno.  He was an engineer named Paul, traveling to Israel for his company.  From previous familiarity, I correctly guessed the company, Ormat Technologies. . . 

This week marks my second visit to Venice. The first was in 2004. My opinion remains unchanged: Venice is one of the most interesting cities on the planet.

With all the upsetting news of the day, I'm happy to report some great news: the awarding of the Eminent Artist recognition by the Kresge Foundation, accompanied by a fifty-thousand dollar cash award, to our dear friend, Detroit harpist and educator Pat Terry-Ross. The awarding organization is the Kresge Foundation, which has awarded four and a half million dollars to various artists during the last seven years. Susan and I were pleased to be able to fly in to Detroit for the award ceremony. The award ceremony was held in an ornate theater in downtown Detroit, attended by a couple of hundred of Pat's friends and fans. Pat's ninety-five-year-old mother was present, as proud as one would expect her to be. . .

I write my blogs to give my readers the vicarious pleasure of sharing my experiences via text and photos.  During this first week in Kenya, I've taken hundreds of photos.  I'll post the best ones, including shots of the various species of animals inhabiting Kenya's rich environment. 

Be sure to click on individual photos in the gallery for fullscreen display!   Enjoy!

I try not to think too much about the fact that I’ve reached that lofty milestone in age of having attended my fifty-year high school reunion. I graduated from Columbus High School in Columbus, Georgia, in 1966. My graduating class had around four hundred seventy. . .

Having visited India at least fifteen times over many decades, I’ve made friends among the musical community that has enabled me to book events in advance of my visits, filling the two short weeks with musical opportunities.  Another enabling factor is my decades-long study of Indian (Hindustani) classical music, starting in 1975 at Ali Akbar College in Marin County, California.  My knowledge of Indian music has enabled me to collaborate with Indian musicians in both classical and jazz-fusion-world-music concerts...

Mysore is a city of two million in southern India. Two million is considered a moderate size city in India. The Mysore Palace is the second most visited building in India after the Taj Mahal, and for good reason as these photos will show. The 27th Maharaja of Mysore still occupies half of the palace with his family. The Indian government occupies 20 percent, which it uses for official meetings and as a reception area for honored guests. And the remaining 30 percent is open for public tours, from which the photos below are taken.