During my recent DIY adventure (see the articles WoodWork and My Startup) I faced some practical challenges. Namely, how to use powertools to cut and shape big pieces of wood, without injuring myself (or destroying my home). I did what anybody seeking knowledge does these days. I went to YouTube. It wasn’t hard to find [...] Read full article
Musical Values
This morning I was looking through Jamey Abersold’s Jazz Handbook, a little newsprint magazine you can pick up free with any order from Aebersold Jazz (or download a PDF version from here). It’s a great resource, full of scales, playing ideas, thoughts on music improvisation and all compiled with a view to encouraging the budding [...] Read full article
The Universal Mind Of Bill Evans
Bill Evans was an extraordinary Jazz pianist, composer and arranger. Best known for working with Miles Davis, Evans changed the face of modern Jazz with his approach to harmony and chord composition. In this beautifully put together interview, from 1966, we get some deep and revealing insights into Bill Evans approach to music. The video [...] Read full article
A Little Publishing Story
Earlier this week my daughter was showing me a recent school project. Her class was doing a unit on Leadership. The assignment involved retelling the life-story of a famous leader in the child’s own words and in the format of a Children’s picture book. But, when it came time for my daughter to show me [...] Read full article
Having Fun While Learning
The rise of Social Media has tended to make most people think that being online is largely a revolution in self-expression and the sharing of personal information. Of course, that’s a big part of the story. But, for me, being online was always first and foremost an educational experience. Read full article
Notes From The Road – Penang
This morning I’m packing up and getting ready to fly back to Singapore. It’s been a long and tiring week and I feel like I’ve grown a lot as a photographer this week. Photographing Thaipusam was hard work. On Monday I was up before 5.30am and didn’t get to bed till after 2am the next [...] Read full article
The Cult Of Collaboration
Susan Cain is the author of an upcoming book called Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. She recently penned an excellent NYT op-ed piece entitled The Rise Of The New Groupthink. I’d encourage you to take a read of the article as it covers a lot of important ground [...] Read full article
Do You Code
One of the reasons I dislike going to networking events and conferences is my aversion to answering the “so, what do you do” question. I know it must seem odd for a blogger to say that they hate talking about themselves. But, answering the “so, what do you do” question in a concise (i.e., non-boring) [...] Read full article
Finding Your Voice (As A Blogger)
I’ve had a number of comments in the past few months, regarding changes on this blog. Am I becoming more professional, chasing readers or in some way changing gears? The short answer is, no, not really. My reasons for blogging haven’t changed much over the years. However, my voice, as a writer has changed. The [...] Read full article
Don’t bring demos – Bring product
This morning I was reading Eric Beall comment on Berklee’s recent Perfect Pitch music and songwriting event. What Berklee is trying to do (as always) is prepare musicians and songwriters for the realities of the music business they will encounter. In his post Eric made this startlingly honest comment, “In case you didn’t get the [...] Read full article