may 15, rust //... sunshine outside, sunshine within. hope you are enjoying these beautiful days and putting the cloudy ones behind! here near Freiburg I am typing the day away on the computer, before playing a couple sets at the Rock Cafe this evening. the month ahead looks terrific... so excited to get it on!! all the way through the studio of brothers Jake and Andy, in Regensburg... on to my man Smiley's new venue in Herzogenaurach, down to Austria for three days of songs and friendships in Bruck, St. Polten and Vienna, and then back to Bern for Kendra's birthday. and June is no less exciting, with the Vorderkaiserfelden show and studio time with brother Wawa, followed swiftly of course, by... the trip back to Vancouver! it's going to be a wicked, wicked summer and you can look for every picture I can muster, right up here on mf.com... while you're at it, go for the deluxe scoop and join the Inner Circle (click top left)... alles klah!

in the middle of all this excitement is a fundraiser for Cambodia Schools, on May 31 in Bern at the Kanu Klub. the event is for an organization that grew upon a bold and noble gesture by two Swiss women, Katrin Santschi and Anja Rettenmund, to establish a school and educate kids in the middle of the jungle in Cambodia. I wonder if any of us can grasp how much courage, selflessness and vision this must have taken. since then other good souls like Carmen and Carmen (two Carmens... but I DO need a coffee) and more have put their time in to make it go... much respect. I am honoured to have been invited to provide the soundtrack for the soiree, and would love to see you there! click over to their site to see more of what they are doing (www.cambodia-school.org)... the picture above is to teach the little boys and girls how to brush... everybody's gotta have a handle on that now, don't they?

along the same lines, a good soul named Stefan, of Gemeinsam Gegen Armut (Together Against Poverty), came to my recent show in Bern and we met for coffee just last week in the brilliant sunshine at Kornhausplatz... we spoke for a long time and I have to say that it is both refreshing and validating to relate with a brother who is putting his foot (AND his mouth) forward in the name of bettering society. G.G.A. is a coalition of sorts, of 60 different organizations (man that's a lot of people) who are pushing the Swiss government to stick to the United Nations Millenium Objectives... one of which is to halve poverty in the developing world by 2015. now, you may sidestep these sort of petition things (as I often do) but in case you are interested, Stefan and the organization are collecting online names on their petition, to present to the Swiss parliament on May 31... the link is here: http://www.gemeinsamgegenarmut.ch/ the site is in three languages, but english is not one of them unfortunately (really pretty straightforward... leave the box unchecked to say no to campaign updates). you don't have to be Swiss to sign... but act fast- the petition closes today.

well, both examples of doing the small things to bring about larger change. I invite you to consider your world and kick around some ideas of your own. 

ps. NOW... before time gets away from me (or I go breathless from all this speeching)... CONGRATULATIONS to Tom and Lloyd, celebrating their 25th anniversary!.. I miss you guys and hope to see you this summer.