A Conversation with Jim Brooks: The Right Stuff I'd come to Elko to take in their annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering. A first-timer, I was neither a cowboy nor a student of cowboy poetry, but I'd been enjoying the performances and the friendly atmosphere among the ranchers, cowboys and the friends of cowboy culture.       It was the second day of the festival and I'd taken a break to visit Capriola's, a place I was told not to miss. It was full of all kinds of cowboy gear. Looking around, I almost wished I owned a horse or two.      Someone walked past me carrying ... Jan 2, 2005, 43692 reads

A Conversation with Haricharan Das: In the Company of Saints Photo: R. Whittaker 11/20/09 Meeting Haricharan Das was one of those happy improbabilities you could never have made up. My wife had been reminding me for months that the paint on our house was peeling off and that if I didn't get on the ball and deal with it, we'd regret it. So finally I got online and looked at the Berkeley Parents' Network, a great resource for recommendations. I called a painter with rave reviews and a few days later, my doorbell rang. A tall man with a shaved head and olive complexion stood there smiling. He was ready to take a ... Jul 27, 2010, 43691 reads

Interview: Brian Rood, Avenue Books: Losing Ground, Berkeley 01/16/04 I’d heard the end was near for Avenue Books, the kind of intimate bookstore that now seems to belong the past—Brian had told me himself. It had to be a depressing event, but Rood had not lost his dry wit. I took it as a matter of character. Nothing to be gained by dragging customers into the sad story.  One evening some years ago I’d been strolling north along College Avenue toward the U.C. campus when I discovered the place. Tucked neatly in between neighborhood businesses it could easily have been missed—another feature of its charm. It ... Jan 16, 2004, 43691 reads

Who Makes Originals, Ever?: A Conversation with Viola Frey   I first saw a piece of Viola Frey’s work at the Oakland Museum many years ago, a large ceramic figure—maybe nine feet tall, a man in a suit. The figure leaned forward stiffly, shoulders hunched up, and wore an aggressive, threatening expression. The encounter made a lasting impression which settled somewhere in a strangely equivocal inner space.         What was the meaning of the brightly colored glaze on this menacing figure? I tried to read into the oversized, cartoonish figure some knock on the bourgeoisie, but it ... Aug 8, 2002, 43668 reads

WHO AM I? AND FOR WHAT?: From a talk at the Toronto Institute of Noetic Sciences About James George: Although perhaps best known as a distinguished Canadian diplomat and an effective environmental and political activist, James George is first and foremost a spiritual seeker. He has been a devoted student of the Gurdjieff Work for more than fifty years and was a close disciple of the late Madame de Salzmann, one of Gurdjieff's primary students. With her encouragement, he and his wife, Carol, explored the spiritual traditions that formed the foundation for Gurdjieff's early training. While stationed in India, Sri Lanka, and the Middle East, the Georges met with ... Aug 13, 2013, 43392 reads

A Conversation with Ursula von Rydingsvard: Objects of Presence I first heard of Ursula von Rydingsvard from my friend Jane Rosen. "She's a great artist," she told me. "You should interview her." But Ursula lives in New York and I had my hands full in the Bay Area. It didn't seem likely to happen. Then one day I got a call from Jane— Ursula would be in San Francisco to give a talk at the Art Institute. She would be in town only briefly, but perhaps I could arrange to meet her. It turned out that she would be staying with Ann Hatch who had brought Ursula to SF years before for a residency at the Capp Street Project. ... Feb 16, 2003, 43326 reads

A Conversation with Professor Ron Howard: Waking Up Prof. Ronald Howard directs the Decisions and Ethics Center at Stanford University. He founded the field of Decision Analysis in the 60s, and has been teaching this subject for almost five decades now. In addition, he also teaches classes on voluntary social systems and ethics. His approach to each of these three subjects is often considered life-changing by those who take it.   I first met Ron as a Masters student in front of the elevator. I was a nobody, and for some reason, he stopped to say hello. We got chatting, and the next thing I knew, I was telling him my story. It had to ... Oct 17, 2013, 43222 reads

Interview with John Mason: No Simple Answers photo - r. whittaker Two or three years had passed since my last visit to Los Angeles, and as I neared the LA basin, I felt the stirring of memories. Many were connected with years I spent in Claremont, California. There was even a faint echo of John Mason in there. Sometime in 1964, thanks to a girlfriend at Scripps, I had my first experience of putting hands to clay. That moment had the same magic for me as for so many others. Claremont was full of potters in those days. The mystique of clay and its transformation by fire was one of the several enchantments of that ... Sep 18, 2011, 42723 reads

Interview with Donald Schell: Risking Song I first met Donald Schell on the mat of the dojo on Clement Street in San Francisco where we both began practicing aikido almost thirty years ago. As the years went by, I heard about his work as a rector in a local Episcopal church on Gough Street, and then about the exciting work of building St. Gregory of Nyssa, on Potrero Hill, an extraordinary  church designed to provide space for the congregation to move and dance and sing during the service,  with portraits of dancing saints of all hues and faiths—from Christ to Gandhi and Sojourner Truth—painted on a mural ... Dec 15, 2012, 42709 reads

Donna Billick and Diane Ullman at UCD: The Art & Science Fusion Program I remember hearing about Donna Billick from John Toki some years ago. John is generous in spreading the word about artists who impress him. Thinking for oneself, passionate commitment, resourcefulness and actually getting things done would rank high among the qualities he values. John’s glowing description stuck in my mind.      So when a few months ago, at an open house at Toki’s Leslie Ceramics in Berkeley, I happened to meet Billick, I was already primed. She was arranging a display of handmade ceramic honeybees. I asked her what were they all about ... Oct 14, 2013, 42226 reads