I've been hither and yon and flat out busy, the blog has suffered accordingly. Etc. At the end of February I was happily down in Texas in participate in a festival and symposium on Texas polka music, put on jointly by Texas Folklife and Texas Dancehall Preservation , Inc , at the restored and truly lovely Senglemann Hall in Schulenburg, Texas. This is a grand old dance hall which was just perfect for the array of bands all day. This was a great event filled with music of all kinds, alternativing with a series of really worthwhile presentations on dance halls, food, and music. I was there to talk about sustainability theory and vernacular music, in a session along with the great Czech musician Mark Halata and Texas Polish musician Frank Motley. The audio for each of the sessions can be heard her e (mine is the last) along with a bunch of pictures of the festival overall. A great event overall which is intended to start running on an annual basis. I already look forward to it. ...