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In some of my entries, I am directly addressing my brother, Gordon Bazsali. This doesn't mean you can't like or comment or join in the conversation.
Just home from traveling in Korea and Japan. I stayed with my brother and sister-in-law in Busan, and it was wonderful. But I’m home now and working on cleaning the garage. The vestiges of my parents’ lives are in that garage, and I’m supposed to get rid of most of it. It’s pretty sad when you think about it. So of course I’m thinking about it. Read post →
Two weeks is a long time to travel, a long time to be away from home, a long time to be a stranger. But I do not feel like a stranger here. Read post →
I was hoping to play a solo gig in Busan at a vegan restaurant called Home Bistro, where in my first days here I played a few songs impromptu on a small guitar the owner had propped up next to the counter. Read post →
I like the original meaning of the word “strange” when it meant unfamilar, foreign-feeling, new, unknown, and even exciting, without the negative connotation of weird and somehow wrong and what in academic circles is called “othering”. Read post →
Actually, I’ve arrived, but “Busan Arrived” lacks alliteration. Read post →
The Great Books of the Western World is an encyclopedic series of books that contains most of what has traditionally been considered the most important books in Western thought. It first came out in 1952 (and was expanded in 1990) and was the brain child of Dr. Mortimer J. Adler at the University of Chicago. Read post →
I’ve always been thrilled that I share a birthday with William Shakespeare. As an English teacher, I feel like it was part of my destiny. Read post →
As a public high school teacher, I have had a lot of opportunity to witness the 6-7 phenomenon in real life. Let me talk about how fascinating and disturbing the 6-7 mania is to me as an example of pure, unadulterated herd behavior. Read post →
Brother mine: That soundtrack represents everything we got into music for in the first place. [Takes a drink.] Read post →
It has been a while since I have been to a record store. Today was a beautiful 70-degree day in Madison, so what else can I do but go out record shopping? Read post →
Brother mine: This morning, during choice book reading time, I put an old, warped but still playable copy–a copy that used to belong to you–of Abbey Road on my classroom turntable, on side 2. You know what song that is: “Here Comes the Sun”! I wrote on the board “Vernal equinox Happy first day of SPRING!” Vale. Read post →
Brother Mine: Last week I was tuned into a local radio station, WVMO 98.7 in Monona, listening to a radio show co-hosted by a friend of mine, Kevin. Earlier in the day we were texting about an obscure Dylan track he just discovered and was really enjoying. Later, he played it on the radio show and gave me a shoutout regarding our conversation. (And generously made a plug for our upcoming Dylan concert.) Read post →
Are you reading this because you saw the link to my website on Facebook? If so, please like or comment and say hi! Read post →
To: Gordon Bazsali From: Colin Bazsali Read post →
I recently finished the book Strata: Stories from Deep Time by Laura Poppick, which was published last year. I’ve been fascinated by geology ever since I had a rock collection when I was a kid. Today, it’s the incredible age of rocks and strata that captures my imagination the most: the concept of deep time has amazed, humbled, and comforted me since I first read Time’s Arrow, Time’s Cycle: Myth and Metaphor in the Discovery of Geological Time by Stephen Jay Gould ten years ago. Read post →
My brother is Gordon Bazsali (gordonbazsali.com), and he is a composer, musician, former teacher living in Busan, South Korea. He’s pretty awesome. You should visit his website and especially his latest project, 365 Pieces in 2026, where he composes and posts a short piece of music and accompanying video art every day. Read post →
Lots of Mardi Gras shows with the Cajun Strangers! Last weekend we played for a Mardi Gras-themed party at Carthage College. Tomorrow, we’re playing a Petskull Brewery in Manitowoc. On Tuesday itself we will be at Full Mile Brewery in Sun Prairie and then later at Mickey’s Tavern in Madison. See the Cajun Strangers schedule for details. Read post →
I thought I’d set up a blog here. It was fun setting it up without any services like Blogger or Squarespace. However, I did use ChatGPT quite liberally with the python scripts needed to hook it up to my vimwiki diary. Read post →