Tuesday, November 1, 2011
I won first prize at a Zombie Freestyle Dance Competition last night.My routine, made up on the spot, involved lots of flailing about on the ground.It was quite postmodern.
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 04:18PMMonday, October 31, 2011
I spent Saturday doing something I've never done before: performing a section from an opera accompanied by an instrumental ensemble. We're not talking Wagner at The Met, mind you: I was sing…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 08:27PMThursday, October 27, 2011
Peter Sellars is an extremely articulate person. When the theatre director opens his mouth to speak -- and it doesn't matter whether he's discussing the inner workings of the US State Depart…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 07:53PMOn Tuesday morning at around 10.30am in Oakland, I became a citizen of the United States of America along with 1202 people hailing from 93 countries.I was surprisingly moved by the experienc…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 07:24PMTuesday, October 25, 2011
I attended two concerts at opposite ends of the scale spectrum this weekend. Both were delightful experiences. Herewith, a few words about each.1. Verdi Requiem with the San Francisco Sympho…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 01:06AMFriday, October 21, 2011
Some notes on an an cappella workshop at Stanford and a performance in San Jose:1. Spent a couple of hours yesterday afternoon in the company of the members of Vocaldente, a men's a cappella…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 12:40PMThursday, October 20, 2011
Today I have a vapid question and a comment that will probably get me into trouble with my more politically-correct readers. I'll air my thoughts anyway because, heck, why not. It's a blog, …
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 12:22AMTuesday, October 18, 2011
The Occupy Wall Street protests are in full swing and I'm at the end of a long weekend in New York, where I've encountered a couple of cultural events -- one that shed some light on the curr…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 03:53PMThursday, October 13, 2011
I am encouraged to see the way in which organizations that care about the media are throwing themselves at trying to find new, sustainable ways of creating and disseminating journalism. What…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 02:49PMMonday, October 10, 2011
Sometimes works of art that don't go over very well on paper are fantastic in actuality. In the absence of being able to make something sound appealing in the marketing materials, the tricky…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 05:25PMFriday, October 7, 2011
Last night, I found myself sitting in someone's living room with around 40 other strangers, listening to Brendan Begley & Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, two amazing Irish folk musicians, play…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 08:00PMThursday, October 6, 2011
Silicon Valley is in mourning today for one of its biggest heros -- Steve Jobs. Unless you've been hiding in the basement of an art museum or stuck in rehearsals for a play over the last 18 …
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 02:32PMWednesday, October 5, 2011
The teacher of the French viticulture class I attended yesterday on campus said the following about wine:Know what you like.Know why you like it.Never be afraid to try something new.It strik…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 11:55AMMonday, October 3, 2011
I heard two contrasting Thomas Ades pieces over the weekend, demonstrating the composer's amazing emotional and sonic range.As part of a program that included, incongruously to my mind, Moza…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 07:52PMThursday, September 29, 2011
...does today's edition of the college newspaper include a glossy, full-color magazine-style insert produced by the high-end French fashion house Hermes. Move over H&M and Forever 21. Oh, an…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 01:48PMWednesday, September 28, 2011
Life as a "student" on the Stanford Campus is amazing and energizing. I've been mixing up a bunch of different classes and other experiences from taking "design thinking" bootcamps to lectur…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 01:19PMMonday, September 26, 2011
It's always a humbling experience critiquing other people's artistic efforts and attempting to put your own out there.I spent Saturday morning in the company of some talented San Francisco C…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 07:20PMWednesday, September 21, 2011
Stanford is very proud of its "D.School," the nickname for the much grander-sounding Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford.The Kool Aid-drinking that goes on when people talk about …
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 12:56AMMonday, September 19, 2011
A few thoughts about the weekend past, and two recommendations for the one that's just around the corner...1) Mark Morris' Dido and Aeneas at Cal Performances: The famed American choreograph…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 12:33PMThursday, September 15, 2011
One thing I've been thinking about lately is the relationship between journalism and advocacy.The word 'advocacy' has a slightly pejorative ring to it, or somehow seems antithetical in some …
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 04:05PMMonday, September 12, 2011
Sometimes in life you go looking for one thing and end up finding another.On Friday night, I set off for the De Young Museum in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, fully intending to spend the…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 08:12PMSunday, September 11, 2011
There seems to be a sense of relief among my colleagues on the Knight Fellowship program at Stanford about not having to cover 9/11 commemoration stuff. Most of them are hard news people of …
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 11:27AMFriday, September 9, 2011
"Gabriel's Oboe," Ennio Morricone's haunting theme from the 1986 film The Mission has a special place in my heart as an oboist. The melody is so beautifully written for the instrument. It so…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 11:13AMTuesday, September 6, 2011
My life seems to be all about endings and beginnings at the moment. I spent the eve of the start of my John S Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford last night wandering around downtown Pa…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 06:24PMSunday, September 4, 2011
A friend of mine based in Asia just forwarded me this email from a friend of his who's based in Amsterdam. The Dutch and Belgian papers are all over this story about a religious nut's attemp…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 12:05AMSaturday, September 3, 2011
Memorial Church on the Stanford campus is probably the loveliest religious buildings I've seen in this country to date. I walked around the space with my eyes like saucers and my mouth agape…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 08:18PMTuesday, August 30, 2011
Two unrelated thoughts for Tuesday:First of all, I read an interesting bit of trivia about the actor Bela Lugosi yesterday. Apparently, when the Hungarian native started appearing in English…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 12:15PMMonday, August 29, 2011
Experiencing acute nostalgia as I grab a cup of coffee at Arlequin, the cafe where I have spent almost every weekday morning for the past two years blogging about arts and culture.I am decam…
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 01:01PMWednesday, August 24, 2011
I knew I was in trouble last night when within five minutes of the start of the Mayoral Arts Forum, a panel discussion led by radio host Michael Krasny exploring the arts policies of 10 San …
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 01:42PMTuesday, August 23, 2011
Two topics to air this morning:1) House concerts can be tricky to do well. Either the hosts are super rich and hold the recitals in some purpose-built hall or barn which lacks the warmth of …
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 12:51PMMonday, August 22, 2011
It's a rare treat for me to embark upon a road trip armed with a stack of long-overdue-to-listen-to CDs for the journey. I don't own a car, so only get to drive in rental vehicles. And when …
SOURCE: Chloe Veltman at 11:57AM 
