Welcome Spring!

April 9, 2013
After a two-week vacation in which I logged 7 ski days (@Wildcat, Black, Burke, Stowe and Magic!) I am ready to spring into some warm weather, and today was the first T-shirt day of the year. The windows are wide open and I hope I don't have to close them until October (early Spring naïveté). While I worship the winter and its white alpine bounty, I might have a harder time appreciating it without the warmth of summer. Being outside can be beautiful or miserable, depending on surroundings and weather, so anytime the factors align pleasantly, I am sure to…

Jay Peak

March 13, 2013
Jay Peak has Mystique. As far North as you can drive in Vermont, it is the one major New England Ski mountain I have never sampled in all my years of obsession. You need to really want Jay all the way to drive by countless other great resorts and make the epic trek, but it is worth it. Jay Peak is unique in its terrain and has skiable trees everywhere, from steep one liners to gently sloping sapling slalom tracks. Getting lost in the glades of Timbuktu and running into the occasional ski area boundary sign feels about as remote…

Nemo

February 12, 2013
The snow predictions began the previous weekend and steadily rose throughout the week. Emails were exchanged remarking on the prospect of glorious Northeastern powder and arrangements were made. Massachusetts looked ripe for a slamming so we honed in on Berkshire East in Charlemont, but just before we left, Massachusetts ordered a statewide driving ban, sending us up the Taconic to Vermont. It was a slow and slippery drive, but I had full confidence in Captain Jack to deliver us safely. Fortunately, southern VT was also graced by Nemo and Saturday morning we were whoopin' down Magic Mountain. It was a…

Teaching Music

February 1, 2013
I have a fun career. Going to work is great when you play music with kids. Getting out of bed is hard, and dealing with occasional bad behavior can be difficult, but in general, I am always excited to be working in such a joyful environment. I am inspired by young people everyday and admire their playfulness and emotional investment in activities. They learn fast, locking into rhythm and tone as they walk and talk, and without inhibitions to mute the pure enjoyment. I often record classes and lessons to playback with the students and I pulled a few from…

Zero Dark Thirty

January 29, 2013
We all know how this movie ends; there is no possibility that the bad guy gets away to set up a sequel. Spanning 10 years, from the frantic 911 calls on 9/11 to the raid on Bin Laden's compound last year, we watch the inside of the story that we lived during that time, and despite the fact that we can anticipate all the major events of this drama, it is one of the most suspenseful and compelling movies I've ever seen. I passionately hate war, torture, terrorism and murder, but I sat through all of it without judgement; I…

Amour

January 23, 2013
It is hard to think of a less fun movie than "Amour". It had its chuckles here and there, but they were just brief respites from the pain and suffering of the film. In entertainment, one of life's great escapes, we generally choose easy/painless and happy/fun. This seems like a reasonable choice, but misses out on some of humanity's heaviest emotional responses. Without sorrow, would there be joy? As I sat through this film, I was uncomfortable and depressed, but also perfectly aware that I was in the presence of great art. Interestingly, the most profound aspect of the movie…

New Year’s Family

January 4, 2013
Two weeks of Holiday time with friends and family is a perfect end and beginning to the year. We went transatlantic to the tiny village of Sydling St. Nicholas in Dorset, England for the first week to spend time with the wonderful Buckland family. Although it rained every day (we saw the record broken for rainiest year ever in England) we were not deterred from some relaxing and inspiring jaunts into the countryside and seaside as well as some cozy, fireplace warmed evenings with great food and wine. We flew home and spent one night in our Brooklyn bed before…

Triumph and Tragedy

December 15, 2012
Today is my 35th birthday, which is fun. I am living an awesomely fantastic life. I have been surrounded by wonderful and loving people for all of my years and have had unimaginably beautiful experiences and adventures. Today is just one day of 12, 783, but a birthday represents the completion of a larger cycle and is a time to imagine the past and remember the future. I have been so loved in life and I want to give it all back and more. And yet, somebody else can feel so traumatized by life that he would walk into a…

Hurricane Sandy

October 30, 2012
An epic storm blew through the Northeast US yesterday and while I am always skeptical of weather hype, this one seems to have lived up to the billing. Satellite images revealed a hurricane core far bigger than most (making last year's Irene look puny) barreling down on the Eastern seaboard, and the wind began accelerating 24 hours before landfall. Schools were shut down days in advance (and remain closed today and tomorrow) and subways and buses remain out of service, effectively shutting down the entire city. It appears that many subway tunnels were flooded with salt water, which could destroy…