Category Archives: Food

Confucius & Columbus: From Chinatown to North Beach in San Francisco

22 Saturday Mar 2014

Posted by in Big Sur, Contemporary Music, Food, LA International New Music Festival, Travel, Uncategorized

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A mural on the wall of Eastern Bakery in San Francisco.

The Buddha & The Dragon mural on the wall of Eastern Bakery in San Francisco.

I believe in mystery. Describing cultural magic is tricky. But like you, I know it when I see it or learn of its presence.

As in my mom telling me about the wedding reception in Hollywood she served at Chasen’s for Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall (yes, missing her I now cry a little inside every time I see them on TCM…). Street food in Hanoi. Sigmund Freud’s house in Vienna. Washington Square in Greenwich Village. Tanglewood. Cherry blossoms in Kyoto. Schoenberg’s living room in Los Angeles. Everything in Paris. Tea in Taipei. Visiting Elliott Carter at his apartment on W. 12th St. in the Village. Big Sur. The Star Ferry in Hong Kong. Diego Rivera murals in Mexico City.

And the energy of a bookstore and its neighborhood in Chinatown and North Beach in San Francisco. City Lights. Vesuvio Bar and Caffe Trieste. Eastern Bakery. The Buddha Bar.

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On the Road to Big Sur: California Dreaming on a Cold Winter’s Day

05 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, Elliott Carter, Evan Hughes, Food, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Moonstone Beach in Cambria, CA.

Moonstone Beach in Cambria, CA.

Sooner or later this was bound to happen….

We have an important meeting in Big Sur about our next LA International New Music Festival. Our friend Virgil Blackwell has relocated from New York City to Highway One on the Pacific Coast after taking care of Elliott Carter during his final years. 

Since my blog is now read in 74 countries and has 3,100 followers, I’m looking forward to sharing tips about the Golden State in numerous blog posts as we go “on the road” to Big Sur. Wineries. Landscapes. Seacapes. Rock formations. Farmer’s markets, more wineries, restaurants and a few days in San Francisco.

Wish you were here…..

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For John Cage & Betty Freeman in Los Angeles: Yoga from India & Zen from Japan

08 Saturday Feb 2014

Posted by in Betty Freeman, Composers, Contemporary Music, Food, John Cage, Kyoto, LA International New Music Festival, Latin Grammy Awards, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Uncategorized

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Cage looking for his childhood home in Los Angeles (photo by Betty Freeman).

John Cage looking for his childhood home in Los Angeles in 1987 (photo by Betty Freeman).

Though I’ve spent time writing about Southeast Asia, Mexico and our recent Latin Grammy nomination with Gabriela Ortiz, my blog is rooted in my LA International New Music Festival. I am very grateful that since September I’ve acquired over 2,900 readers in 73 countries. My posts will continue to cast a wide net describing the personality of my programming. But with this blog I now want to spend time here at home.

No, I’m not moving to Southeast Asia or Mexico. I don’t need to because I live in LA.

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Bangkok in Los Angeles: Glass Noodles & Green Curry

28 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, Food, LA International New Music Festival, Laos, Luang Prabang, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized

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Reclining Buddha in Ayutthaya, Thailand.

Reclining Buddha in Ayutthaya, Thailand.

Last post I promised to devote my next chapter to the meal prepared in my home by Thai massage-yoga-guru Lawan and her cousin Supapan. I often think that cooking is the root of successful relationships. Jan and I are a summer Tanglewood romance that is still going strong and we love to cook together. The performing arts demand physical stamina so paying attention to your health is part of your job.

And how your body is functioning cannot be separated from how your mind is functioning. Separating the two is, for me, one of the big blind spots of Western culture. To change how you think, change how you eat.

Before I take you through our Thai meal in my Pasadena home (for my many international readers we live just a few miles from downtown Los Angeles), memorize these five words:

Sweet. Sour. Spicy. Salty. Bitter.

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On The Sugar White Elephant Mountain: Journeys in Thailand

22 Wednesday Jan 2014

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, Food, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel

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Faith moving mountains in Thailand...

Faith moving mountains in Thailand as a little boy prays for his entire country.

It was around 6:30 A.M. on the morning of December 26, 2004 in California. My wife Jan and I were boarding a flight at the Burbank Airport to San Francisco to proceed on to Bangkok (via Seoul) beginning a long awaited trip to Thailand. Frequent flier mile tickets often route you in strange ways but the price of free airfare is hard to turn down. We were gearing up for a long flight and a little sleepy because of the hour. Over the CNN television monitor we didn’t really notice anything alarming regarding Thailand.

“We have news just in of a major earthquake around the island of Sumatra. More details as they become available.”

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“Gabriela! Gabriela! Gabriela!” A Latin Grammy Keepsake

08 Wednesday Jan 2014

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, Food, LA International New Music Festival, Latin Grammy Awards, Mexico, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized

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Latin Grammy 2013 in Las Vegas.

Latin Grammy 2013 in Las Vegas.

My recent posts have spent a lot of time with Asia and tea, but I want this new post from the Latin side of my LA life. I’ve got a strong readership in Mexico and Brazil. In fact all of South America except Uruguay and Paraguay follows my blog.

And a trip to Latin Grammy events will be a great reconnecting point for us all. There’s lots to tell and so I’ll get started with this hymn to two of my favorite people: my wife Jan Karlin and composer Gabriela Ortiz.

They made quite a combo at Latin Grammy!

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From the Fragrant Harbor of Hong Kong: Thank You, Harry Woo!

18 Wednesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Contemporary Music, Food, Hong Kong, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Taipei, Tea, Travel

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Hong Kong & Kowloon.

Hong Kong & Kowloon.

Trying to describe Hong Kong is like writing an encyclopedia – you’re going to need a lot of pages to cover all the subjects and possibilities. My marriage is a combination of Hollywood and Broadway: I’m from Los Angeles, California and my wife Jan is from Newark, New Jersey. Which means she spent all her teenage weekends in the Big Apple, as in attending the first Earth Day. Grandma took her to Radio City Music Hall with, of course, white gloves. She still has family in Brooklyn. I used to wait in the parking lot of 20th Century Fox with my uncle for my mom to get off work. Between the two of us, we know the two largest cities in the U.S. from childhood.

Each major city holds a lifetime of experience. I don’t think you’d get tired of any of them. Worn down by traffic and congestion, sure. But tired? Not me. Big cities equal endless opportunity. And just crossing from Kowloon to Hong Kong on the Star Ferry is the single greatest commute on Planet Earth.

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In the Month of Wintersweet Tea

11 Wednesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Contemporary Music, Food, Hong Kong, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Taipei, Travel, Uncategorized

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The Autumn Fire Dragon in Shanghai.

The Autumn Fire Dragon in Shanghai.

Maybe it’s because my wife’s family is from Western Massachusetts. Perhaps it’s good luck or a gravitational pull that is mysterious and karmic. But we’ve now been pulled three times to Asia in the autumn. Be it China, Taiwan or Hong Kong, it’s a mirror image of my wife’s New England fascination with changing light and color this time of year. And now with the last final days of autumn leading into winter, we’ve arrived at the month of Wintersweet Tea.

I like epiphanies. Mine with tea happened in Taipei.

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Tea For Two in Kyoto, Shanghai, Hanzhou, Taipei & Hong Kong

01 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, Education, Food, Hanzhou, Hong Kong, Kyoto, LA International New Music Festival, Southwest Chamber Music, Taipei, Travel, Uncategorized

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The viewing & tea of Haiku master Basho in Kanazawa, Japan.

The viewing & tea pavilion of Haiku poet master Basho in Kanazawa, Japan.

I’ve started writing this post the day after Thanksgiving here in the U.S. I’m so gratified that over 50 countries have followed my blog in its first three months. Holidays are good moments to rest and reflect. After an energetic trip to Hanoi, Luang Prabang and Hong Kong married to a trip to the Latin Grammy Awards in Las Vegas last week, the combination of Thanksgiving with Hanukkah – Thanksgivakkuh – has put me in a mood to unwind.

And there is no better way to do that than with a slow gong-fu (read complicated) tea ceremony…

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En La Mezcla Starts Latin Grammy in Las Vegas!

20 Wednesday Nov 2013

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, Food, LA International New Music Festival, Latin Grammy Awards, Mexico, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized

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Gabriela Ortiz waiting for Latin Grammy...

Gabriela Ortiz waiting for Latin Grammy…

The Latin Grammy week started last night. When I found out about the nomination in Hanoi, Vietnam, I knew I’d be in for some serious contrast from Southeast Asia to the Nevada desert. The parties started last night with En La Mezcla!, the first event for producers and engineers at the Palms Casino.

Jan and I arrived yesterday morning. Breakfast at Peggy Sue’s in Yermo CA breaks up the trip nicely from LA. But Vegas is its own world.

Disneyland with Booze… Continue reading →