Blog Categories and Entries

My first love, as well as my first career, is music—and in particular the cello. My second love, as well as my main career, has been exploring music, discovering new ways of sensing music and thinking about it, and sharing my discoveries with other musicians, whom I train, coach, and otherwise interfere with. My books for musicians include Indirect Procedures and Integrated Practice.

Tips for Writers

I’ve been writing seriously since 1990, and over the years I’ve accumulated a body of work that includes fiction, non-fiction, articles, and essays. Here I share my ideas about the writerly process: creativity, structure, improvisation, work habits, and all the elements that together generate a writer’s Rhythm & Flow.

A Skill for Life

Coordination, perception, habits of thought and speech, posture and movement, identity, intention, reaction, gesture: these are the mainstays of the Alexander Technique, which I started studying as a college student in 1978 and teaching in 1986. Here I tell anecdotes about who we are, who we think we are, who we feel we are, and who we might become if we started paying attention. Curious for more? Order my book The Alexander Technique: A Skill for Life.

Book Recommendations

A book becomes good or bad, pertinent or boring, constructive or not depending on how you read it. In fact, no two readers will ever read the same book in the same way. For that reason, recommending books we love for others to read may be tricky. What if you hate the books I live by? What if you resent me for making you read a lousy book? Well, you can always post a comment on my blog offering counter-recommendations. And don't forget nobody made you do anything in the first place!

The Naked Beginner

For decades I was one of those people who couldn’t draw to save his life. I didn’t draw because I couldn’t, and I couldn’t because I didn’t! One day I finally broke free of this vicious circle, and in this blog I share my learning experiences as a beginner artist.

Paris Photojournal

Paris must be one of the most photogenic cities in the world, as well as one of the most photographed. Its beauty is infinite, renewing itself every day, all day long. In this purely visual blog I share my love of the city, bring you some familiar images you’ve come to cherish, and show you something new and different from the infinite city.

New York Photojournal

New York City is my second home, and I never tire of exploring it. In this blog I propose to show you how my eyes and my imagination see New York.

Elsewhere Photojournal

An occasional visual travelogue from France and other locations.

The Videoblog

An occasional video clip, shot by yours truly. The clips are hosted at YouTube.