by Bert Daniel | Jan 28, 2026 | Uncategorized, Welcome Column
I am reading a book now called the Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. The premise of the book is that a generation of children, the so called Gen Z, has been doomed to an increased predisposition to anxiety disorders and other mental health issues because of a...
by Bert Daniel | Jan 8, 2026 | Welcome Column
With the new year having arrived, I have been seeing a lot of ads on social media for language lessons like Babbel. I guess it’s New Year’s resolution time and vows like getting more exercise, losing weight or learning a new language seem to be very popular. The...
by robin | Jan 1, 2026 | Bluegrass Musicians
In this series, Joselyn explores what it takes to make the leap from campground picker to professional performer. In this ninth installment, we hear from Tristan Clarridge, whose many accolades as a fiddler and cellist include five-time winner in the Grand National...
by robin | Dec 20, 2025 | General News
Jack Saddler (center) with fellow CBA co-founders Carl Pagter (left) and Jake Quesenberry at the 2005 Father’s Day Festival – CBA File Photo by CBA’s Bluegrass Breakdown Jack Sadler, one of the three founders of the California Bluegrass Association and a...
by Bert Daniel | Dec 7, 2025 | Welcome Column
“Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you” (Satchel Paige) Lot’s wife looked back and she was turned into a pillar of salt. Orpheus looked back and he lost his love Eurydice forever. Maybe looking back is a bad thing. How does that possible wisdom apply to...
by robin | Dec 1, 2025 | Bluegrass Musicians
In this series, Joselyn explores what it takes to make the leap from campground picker to professional performer. In this eighth installment, we hear from Keith Little, whose many accolades as a multi-instrumental performing and recording artist, composer and...
by Bert Daniel | Dec 1, 2025 | Welcome Column
Important takeaways regarding CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species): 1) CITES is neither an investigative nor an enforcement agency—contrary to frequent but completely unfoundedbelief, there are no “CITES agents” inspecting listed species...
by Bert Daniel | Nov 9, 2024 | Welcome Column
Acoustic music has a special resonance in certain places. I remember one time hiking through the Armstrong Redwoods near my home in Sonoma County and hearing a flutist playing in the hollowed-out stump of an old redwood tree. You could tell he enjoyed the special...
by Bert Daniel | Nov 21, 2024 | Welcome Column
My mouth is watering already for the food I will relish at the Great 48 event this January in Bakersfield. Bakersfield is one of the few places in California where you can get good grits because the town is populated with so many descendants of Okie migrants who went...
by Bert Daniel | Nov 25, 2024 | Welcome Column
I have been watching a new direct to consumer drug ad recently that reminds me of a spoof article I wrote a few years ago. The new ad is for a drug called upadacitinib which goes by the brand name Renvoq. The amazing thing is that the commercial actually includes a...
