Cyrus Farivar

Taco trucks are once again under threat, this time in Tulare County. This smells of the saga down in Salinas. The Fresno Bee: By Erik Lacayo / The Fresno Bee 12/08/07 22:21:02 TIPTON — Taco trucks across Tulare County could be driven out of business, some vendors fear, because of a proposed ordinance that would regulate where they can sell food. The Tulare County Board of Supervisors is expected to vote Tuesday on the new rules for mobile food vendors…

More music tourism news, but this time, from my alma mater. Santa Monica Daily Press: The Santa Monica High School marching band will be marching over the Atlantic to London, England in 2009, ringing in the new year by performing in the city’s holiday parade. The 130-member marching band and colorguard will head to perform in the New Year’s Day Parade in London, the entertainment unit’s first trip out of the country since the 1960s when it performed in Mazatlan.…

The New York Times: The Philharmonic, led by its music director, Lorin Maazel, has been considering the visit since an invitation arrived by fax in August. It was a typed letter from the North Korean culture ministry, in English, accompanied by a cover letter from a private individual in California who said he was acting as an intermediary. The orchestra had the invitation authenticated by the State Department, which has provided advice and help in negotiating the terms of the…

The first piece that I ever heard by Percy Grainger was “Molly on the Shore“. Its tick-tock opening of the lower clarinet and bassoon voices provide an amazing support for the rapid-fire but flowing melody for the first clarinets that remains as captivating now as it was the first time I heard it. That melody became one of the few phrases that I can easily play on my own clarinet with joy and ease. I was a freshman in high…

Hossein asked me to blog about his libel case. I don’t have much to say about it, other than what Ethan Zuckerman has already said: I’m not in a position to argue the veracity of many of the criticisms of Derakhshan by Iranian bloggers – I don’t read Persian, and I don’t have all the facts. And I will happily admit that Derakhshan can be abrasive and difficult, and that I disagree with much of what he’s currently been writing…

Dear Friends, I’ve been informed that my radio piece on in-flight WiFi will air on Morning Edition tomorrow! It will be available on any of these stations (and their Internet streams). New York – 5 am to 9 am Eastern – WNYC – 820 AM – www.wnyc.org Washington, DC – 5 am to 10 am Eastern – WAMU – 88.5 FM – www.wamu.org Los Angeles – 2 am to 9 am Pacific – KPCC – 89.3 FM – www.kpcc.opg Boston…

Dear Ms. Ali, I’m really not sure what your credentials as an Islamic scholar are, beyond the fact that you are a Muslim-turned-atheist and have aligned yourself with the ideals of American conservatism. As such, I’m not sure why when you speak that the whole world sits up and listens. I too, do not claim to be an expert on Islam, but having a secular Muslim father, and an observant Muslim grandmother, I feel that it is my obligation to…

Gabe and Max answer questions on Boing Boing TV:

As promised, here’s the 47-minute unedited interview with MC Hammer. Interview with MC Hammer (47:21) – MP3