From the archives: Mel Daniels, Slam Old School – A classic ABA interview
I just got word that the great ABA player Mel Daniels will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame this year. A well-deserved, far-too-late honor. To celebrate, here is a Slam Old School interview with Mel, conducted...several years ago.
I…
B.B., Buddy, the Allman Bros, Pres. Obama and me
I was enthralled watching the live stream of last night’s White House celebration of the blues, the music which has been so central to my career and my life’s soundtrack. Mick Jagger was a big draw, of course, but he doesn’t mean that…
Jinshanling-Simatai Great Wall hike
I came across this video I made several years ago capturing the wild Wall hike I always loved to do. This time, I completed it with Jacob, then 10 or 11, my nephew Jesse, about 16, and a visiting friend Nico, 14. It was scorching hot and this…
Thank you Canadians – check out this CBC broadcast
I suddenly started getting emails from Canadians; notices of new YouTube comments on "Beijing Blues" videos from Canadian readers; and CD purchase orders from Canadians. All of them said they had just heard a CBC broadcast about me, Woodie Alan…
RIP Jeffrey Zaslow – updated with eulogies and links to his columns
I was devastated to hear yesterday about the death of Jeffrey Zaslow, the great Wall Street Journal columnist and reporter and the author of many best-selling non-fiction books - a remarkable four in the last two years. I never met Jeff, but…
Big in China Video
John Prine's "Great Rain", Uncle Mike's, NYC.January, 2012.
Unrest and beauty in Sichuan, China’s Wild West
I have a real soft space in my heart for Western China. It's a beautiful place filled with fascinating people - many of them Tibetan. Though outside the border of Tibet, much of northern Yunnan and western Sichuan are on the Tibetan plateau…
Are pink ribbons evil?
The headline above is intentionally confrontational and I don't really think pink ribbons are evil. I believe there has almost certainly been at least one very positive outcome from all of this, which is that women going through chemo or…
The Ultimate Soul Train clip – the O’Jays featuring ReRun
Well, I'm a little late weighing in on the sad demise of Don Cornelius because I didn't think I had anything special to add... until I found the following clip. It was hard to pick a favorite Soul Train clip because there are so many wonderful…
God Shammgod and basketball in Taiyuan, China
Today is the release date of Jim Yardley's Brave Dragons: A Chinese Basketball Team, an American Coach, and Two Cultures Clashing, a book I have been thoroughly enjoying. Jim, the Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times Bureau Chief, was a…