The Audacity of a Yard Sign and a Pussy Hat
After the Women's March (I caught the tail end in Dublin, while my husband/son marched in Boston), I'm reflecting on what it means to me to speak out. And on why I'm fearful of NOT putting up a yard sign, sharing potentially divisive passions with my audiences, or...
Why We Need to Tell Our Stories
After months of interviews, I'm assembling Episodes of the Irish Music Stories Podcast. Here's why I'm compelled to share the bigger stories behind the Irish tradition. (Hint: it's not just about playing tunes together): People from all over the world come together to...
How I Hope to Leap Through This Tainted New Year
Since January 2009 (just days before Pres. Obama was sworn in to his first term), I launched Leap Little Frog. I needed a place to chronicle my own personal successes and failures, on and offstage. Today the stakes are higher. It's time to look beyond my own creative...
Rocking it Without a Net
December is CREATIVE HABITAT month. I'm looking at ways artistic people manage to make fulfilling lives, despite and also because of structures and limitations. Today I'm celebrating independence, with just a little chip on my shoulder: Alec Baldwin is a great...
Intellectualism and Oatmeal Are Not Un-American
December is CREATIVE HABITAT month. I'm looking at ways artistic people manage to make fulfilling lives, despite and also because of structures and limitations. Today I'm (re) constructing my own world view, which seems in opposition to prevailing rhetoric: It's been...
How One Singer Manages Career and Family
December is CREATIVE HABITAT month. I'm looking at ways artistic people manage to make fulfilling lives, despite and also because of structures and limitations. Guest blogger Zara Bode shares her story of touring with a kid. You don't need to be a touring parent to be...
How to Help Kids Soar at Factory School
December is CREATIVE HABITAT month. I'm looking at how artistic people make fulfilling lives, despite and also because of structures and limitations. Guest blogger Clare Tallon Ruen shares her story about how and why she balances public school for her kids with...