The Language of Waves

The Language of Waves

I’m sitting here at Doran Beach with my eyes closed, deep in meditation and listening to the waves in stereo. In the absence of sight, sound is all I have so the sounds of the waves become intensified. I’m hearing four distinctive sounds. First there’s a woosh as the...
A Haven For Birds

A Haven For Birds

I’m watching the birds come and go, they flit and flutter from tree top to branch to feeder. The titmice peck contentedly at the seed feeders until they are supplanted by a larger species like the towhee or golden crowned sparrow. When the magnificent scrub jay with...
One Second

One Second

How long does a second last? As long as it takes for a hummingbird to beat its wings 70 times, as long as it takes for you to blink your eyes. The difference between winner and runner up in the Olympics is one second, it could also be the difference between life and...
The Best Job I Ever Had

The Best Job I Ever Had

On a typical day at Tower Records there was sex, there were drugs and there was most definitely rock and roll. Rock stars and movie stars were regular customers, members of the San Francisco Giants and 49ers could be spied browsing the racks. Famous bands would make...
The Marriage of Music and the Movies

The Marriage of Music and the Movies

Since the dawn of cinema, music and the movies have been integral to one another. Even before the advent of sound, films would be accompanied by live musicians in the theater. Back then a movie theater was a palace, the viewing of a film a shared experience in the...