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  • A World In Crisis: Russia and Ukraine

    A World In Crisis: Russia and Ukraine

    Readers and friends will know that I was a foreign service officer and/or worked in the area of international relations for much of the 1970s and 80s. This domain has never ceased to be of interest to me, and I regularly follow evolving diplomatic crises and developments. Today, we are confronted not only by the… Read more

  • Music to Write By: Domenico Scarlatti

    Music to Write By: Domenico Scarlatti

    This is the fourth and final post about the music I listen to while writing, editing, researching or, let’s be honest, napping. I’ve previously talked about listening to nature music (rain falling, waves lapping on a beach, the sounds of a tropical jungle) and the composer/musicians, Deuter and R. Carlos Nakai. Both compose in what… Read more

  • Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

    Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

    To all my faithful readers and fans of The Ravenstones,I wish you the best of the seasonand a most successful 2022. 2021 may be one of those years we’ll never forget, for good and bad. So, for a change of pace, here’s a poem for Christmas. My contribution to this collection follows below. It may… Read more

  • Music to Write By: R. Carlos Nakai

    Music to Write By: R. Carlos Nakai

    This is the third in my series on inspiring music for writers (for those who haven’t been paying attention). The third musician I regularly listen to while working is the Navajo/Ute flutist, R. Carlos Nakai. (The R stands for Raymond, although he doesn’t seem to use it.) Some consider both Deuter (see my earlier post… Read more

  • Music To Write By: Deuter

    Music To Write By: Deuter

    How many of you work, write, study, speculate about life on distant planets, consider the extent of the universe or ponder life’s true meaning while also listening to music? If so, what music genre predominates during those hours? I wrote about this subject two weeks ago (Oct. 30/2021). Here’s the second in this series. But… Read more

  • What Music Do You Work To?

    What Music Do You Work To?

    A recent post by Justin Cox (July 6, 2021), on Medium’s Writing Cooperative, This Week In Writing entitled “What’s On Your Desk-Work Playlist?” spurred me to post a comment about what I listen to while working on my Ravenstones series. (I hesitate to call it “work” because the process is so enjoyable; I’d say the… Read more