Biography
I am Adam Baer, a New York-bred and Los Angeles-based writer/editor and consultant. A former NPR producer and Travel + Leisure correspondent, I have been a contributor to various national publications like The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Harper's, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Slate, The New Republic, Inc., Men's Health, Rolling Stone, Men's Journal, The Awl, GQ, The Financial Times Magazine, The Washington Post, and NPR.
My work has also appeared in books such as "Before and After: Stories from New York," "A Leaky Tent is a Piece of Paradise," and "Lost and Found: Stories from New York." Kind comments about some of my words have appeared in the New York Times Magazine's media column, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, Arts & Letters Daily, Curbed LA, and other publications.
I trained for this career as (what else?) a music conservatory survivor and violinist, following years at the Manhattan School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, Aspen Music Festival, and Tanglewood, the Boston Symphony's summer home. Also a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, where I combined studies in various humanistic departments, I did graduate work in the Sarah Lawrence College M.F.A. creative writing program while working as a music and culture critic in New York City.
What is this blog?
I chose the name "Glass Shallot" for this deeply meaningful blog because I wanted to spend my life answering questions about why I chose this title.
Perhaps mistakenly, Typepad once picked it as one of its "featured" sites and said the following:
"Adam Baer is a writer by trade... Online, Glass Shallot is home to his selected work, culled from the pages of the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Wired, Slate, and dozens of other reputable outlets. Browse Baer's left sidebar for the best of his printed work, covering an epic range of topics from Alain de Botton to Rodney Dangerfield to Space Invaders on cell-phones. Browse the right-hand sidebar for the best of the blog, which includes dispatches from current subjects Baer is researching, personal stories, and eclectic pieces on music, television, and many other topics. We love that Baer's "cultural shards" take him on a meandering path around the world (figuratively speaking) and his blog easily expands to ensconce them all. Sharp edges and odd angles aren't so scary when you wrap them in a reader-friendly blog."
Some former and/or current Glass Shallot bill-payers:
Magazines: Harper's, GQ, Rolling Stone, the Financial Times Magazine, Wired, The New Yorker, Details, Hemispheres, Best Life, Town & Country, Travel + Leisure, Men's Journal, Slate, The New York Times Magazine and T: Style (NY Times Style Magazine), The New Republic, The Atlantic, Radar, Men's Health, Parade, New York Magazine, Good, ReadyMade, Business 2.0, Maxim, Gramophone, The Strad, Symphony, The Washingtonian, Heeb, Robb Report, V Magazine, Martha Stewart's Body + Soul/Whole Living, Lexus, Departures, Real Simple, Inc., Bookforum, and others
Newspapers: New York Times & NYT Book Review, Los Angeles Times, International Herald Tribune, Washington Post, Newsday, New Jersey Star-Ledger, San Francisco Chronicle (Book Review), Village Voice, LA Weekly, New York Sun, Baltimore City Paper
Radio: NPR
Web: TheFasterTimes.com, NPR.org, McSweeney's, GQ.com, Conde Nast's Concierge.com (the online home of Conde Nast Traveler) and Men.Style.com (the online home of GQ and Details), AOL, and MrBellersNeighborhood.com
Books (anthology contributions): Before and After: Stories from New York (on 9/11, edited by Thomas Beller), A Leaky Tent is a Piece of Paradise (edited by Bonnie Tsui), personal anthology forthcoming
People I've had the pleasure to interview include:
Mel Brooks, violinist Gidon Kremer, Robin Williams, author Alain de Botton, Johnny Depp, Robin Williams, film producer Dick Zanuck, Tim Burton, Richard Lewis, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, fashion's Tom Ford, violinist Itzhak Perlman, Garry Shandling, director J.J. Abrams, David Alan Grier, superchef Jose Andres, Margaret Cho, Ferrari designer Battista "Pinin" Farina, Lewis Black, The Emerson String Quartet, author Nick Hornby, composer John Adams, filmmaker Jason Reitman, comedian Zach Galifianakis, writer/filmmaker Neil Labute, Dr. Andrew Weill, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, chef Bobby Flay, The State's David Wain, director Paul Mazursky, Louis C.K., Robin Williams (what can I say? It was memorable), comedian Jeff Garlin, chef Alice Waters, director Noah Baumbach, and... I'd list more, but I need to sleep now. Thank you.
Formal Job history:
Violinist
Record-store salesperson
Pancetta pimp
Political photographer
Classical music critic
Paperboy
NPR producer
Chamber music coach
Waste-management executive
Technology consultant
Teacher
Tag salesman
Bodyguard
Restaurant reviewer
Shipping clerk
Web designer
Garlic farmer
Fact-checker
Pop culture columnist
Fresh-mozzarella maker
Conductor
Pickler
Advertising strategist
Chauffeur
Editor
Nightwatchman
Patsy
Recent Publications:
Adam Baer NY Times Op-Ed
Adam Baer in Harper's
Adam Baer Atlantic piece on "Best Soundtrack" at the Academy Awards