I’ve mentioned working on my book, which I intend to translate into video somehow—TV, movie, net, not sure. I’m at least a hundred pages into the first draft. I’m going to start sharing what I’d call sketches here of parts of the book that I think stand on their own. I’d love your thoughts. Any book I write needs to be personal, so I have to introduce myself. Experience has[…] Keep reading →

What does it mean to master a field? It comes from practicing, performing, reflecting, and practicing more. The result is liberation and freedom. Self-expression. Seeing mastery happen before your eyes Everyone who masters anything goes through a similar process that includes inexperience, looking less than amateurish, practicing, reflection, self-doubt, despair, progress, regress, anxiety, improvement, moving backward, mentoring, and so on. Years ago I found a site that showed the sketches[…] Keep reading →

Two weeks ago I presented online how to make my famous no-packaging vegan stew with a group called Plant Powered Metro New York. I apologize that Murphy’s Law struck hard. Everything that could go wrong did, but I couldn’t tell what in the moment so only on viewing it now did I hear how much the microphone distorted my voice. The lighting was off. After starting we found out they[…] Keep reading →

I’m reading a book of poetry a friend just published. I like a few poems—generally the big ones like Ozymandias and Sonnet 116. I haven’t read much Whitman, but occasionally a work of his has drawn me in and enthralled me. The year I lived in Paris I saw a live performance of Rimbaud’s Une Saison en Enfer in French, though my French wasn’t great so it lost me quickly.[…] Keep reading →

As you probably know, I pick up at least a piece of litter every day from the ground and put it in a trash can. I’m not reducing the amount of trash, but at least saving some from reaching the ocean. More importantly, I’m developing skills, experiences, and beliefs about changing culture around trash. Since restaurants and bars started serving outdoors on mostly single-use plastic, the amount of litter has[…] Keep reading →

In yesterday’s podcast conversation, educational leader Tony Wagner suggested starting and keeping a question journal as a way of keeping curious and young. At least, I took how he described it that way. I don’t know if people have found ways to make them work better, but I’ve learned that starting first leads to improving faster than trying to start perfectly. As I put it, I have low standards the[…] Keep reading →

Growing up in Philadelphia in the 70s meant Bruce Springsteen was a part of my life. I’ll always remember a fan in a promotional radio b-roll clip from one of the classic rock stations saying excitedly, definitively, “He’s the best, he’s Bruce. . . He’s the Boss!” One of the earliest albums I bought was Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ. My high school girlfriend’s older brother saw every show of[…] Keep reading →

James Lipton, who started and hosted the show Inside the Actors Studio, died yesterday. Here are the notes I read from for this episode: I could talk about how much I enjoyed the episodes, his humor, and a few things I learned from his guests that only his interviewing could have elicited but I will go deeper, to share how fundamental his work has been to mine. Many times I’ve[…] Keep reading →

My blog archives show that on January 23, 2011, after a few years of posting irregularly, I wrote my first post of a still-unbroken streak. This post is number 3,764. I posted twice many days, such as my during my North Korea trips. Friends had recommended I start a blog for years. I began thinking I contained a few dozen ideas worth posting about, maybe 50, at least as far[…] Keep reading →