Category Archive for 'Guest posts'

Blog nerd e-tag

Sunday, April 27th, 2008

Dear Sister Alex Shapiro has tagged me in a game of e-tag with the following meme:
Oy––
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.
Here is my quote, taken from Aaron A. Fox’s REAL COUNTRY:
Hoppy’s conclusion powerfully […]

William Burroughs reads “Thanksgiving Prayer”

Saturday, November 25th, 2006

Those that know

Thursday, August 24th, 2006

Those that know, know.
Those that don’t, don’t.
[James Merrill to RB during a recording session.]

“Should”

Thursday, August 24th, 2006

“Anything following the word ’should’ is usually bullshit.”
Rev. Michael Lafferty
[I guess this means we shouldn’t say “should.”]

CAGES preview; work in progress

Wednesday, August 9th, 2006

Bourland’s Studio; photo by Graham Streeter
[Today, I turn this post over to Graham Streeter, the director of the film I’m scoring, Cages. Below his post is a Quicktime video of an excerpt from the film. There are no sound effects or dialog in this copy, but we decided it was a good idea to give […]

Lewis Wolpert on “Beliefs”

Friday, July 21st, 2006

“Beliefs, once acquired, have a kind of inertia in that there is a preference to alter them as little as possible. There is a tendency to reject evidence or ideas that are inconsistent with current beliefs, particularly if they undermine central beliefs; this is known as the principle of conservatism.”
[from “Six Impossible Things before Breakfast: […]

Willing amateurs

Tuesday, May 16th, 2006

“I’d rather work with a willing amateur than a bored whore.”
[Composer Mel Powell to his student, Les Thimmig in a private lesson in the Yale composition program, ca. 1968.]

Teresina: Your own gym

Friday, April 21st, 2006

As with any exercise program, discuss the R4YL! plan with your doctor before you get started. Don’t jump ahead. This is a progressive program. Start where you are. Learn the difference between actions that are productive and those that are destructive. An injury can stop you in your tracks. Respect your fitness level; don’t think […]

Andrew Bourland: The Power of Interaction

Thursday, April 20th, 2006

My brother, Andy, has had his own blog for quite some time. Although he’s on a hiatus from blogging of late, I’m lifting a post from his blog that I found stimulating. Each of us is different in what stimulates us creatively. I have avoided “artist colonies” as I’m perfectly happy working at home. And […]

Mark Carlson and Pacific Serenades

Wednesday, April 19th, 2006

Composer, flutist, professor, and close friend Mark Carlson is celebrating 20 years of presenting chamber music concerts in the Los Angeles area. The group is called Pacific Serenades and they pride themselves, and have been awarded two ASCAP grants for adventuresome programming, in commissioning a new composiition for every concert. Mark was the first in […]

Buying a stationary bicycle; my parents

Saturday, April 15th, 2006

My father, ready to buy a stationary bicycle, wrote me to ask Teresina’s advice on what kind of bicycle to buy. Here is her response (I’ve kept her e e cummings punctuation and poetic lineation).
Dear Roger’s Dad,
I prefer a good sturdy upright bike.
however, you have to work harder to support
the upper body.
the recumbent bike makes […]