Rajasthan is desert country, 70% of the state---India's largest---an arid mix of scrub and sand. We trekked by camel into the Thar Desert about 50 km outside Jaisalmer. Abdullah led our beasts on foot, their names Simon, Paulos, and---inexplicably---Johnny No. 1. Toward sunset we reached the Sam Dunes. The wind died down and we made … Continue reading Operation Sheltering Sky
Rock
Freddy!
I’m ready for this. I’m hanging on the edge of my seat. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP0VHJYFOAU ##
Another One Bites the Dust
All in one Mumbai day we enjoyed these musical interludes. At Malabar Hill we toured the Hanging Garden (The Cure, Pornography, 1982). It doesn’t hang so much as stand upon a series of reservoirs that hold—depending on who you ask—30 or 90 or 300 million gallons of water. The garden’s benches and clocks and topiary fill the paths, … Continue reading Another One Bites the Dust
The NRA’s Chosen People
As I watched Charlton Heston lead the chosen people out of Egypt last night I wondered: in a remake of The Ten Commandments, would Ted Nugent play Moses? Nugent, whose awful music from the 1970s apparently qualifies him to talk down to us about such weighty matters as constitutional law, seems to be the NRA’s … Continue reading The NRA’s Chosen People
1989
I always consider it my strange good fortune to have a past life that includes making music in Joe Frawley's basement. https://twitter.com/joefrawley/status/966849935193837569 Yes, in high school I'd haul my black Pearl drum kit to his house and set it up with Dan Cote for some three-man rock. Joe sang and played the bass & keyboard, … Continue reading 1989
When the Music Is the Trip
Speed-reading fans will rejoice in Ted Prokash’s latest gift to literature, Journey to the Center of the Dream. Pills, beer, and blow fuel this fast-paced account of a rock band's tour of 30 cities in five weeks, but even more than the chemical enhancements and a whole lot of weed besides, this epic road trip book … Continue reading When the Music Is the Trip
Work out! Rock out! Write on!
Here's an inspiration to kick off the new year. John Grisham built a reputation as a writer (love him, hate him, it's unimportant) by turning tax lawyers into the kind of people who drive fast cars, plot murders, and enjoy lives of sinister intrigue. Tax lawyers. Whatever you do for a living, it's got to be more … Continue reading Work out! Rock out! Write on!
Ben East Books 