David LaMotte

Speaker • Author • Musician

David LaMotte

Down Under in March

Dec 22, 2010
I’m very much looking forward to getting back down to Australia in mid-March.  I’ve been invited to speak at a Rotary conference in the nation’s capitol, Canberra, and will go down a few days early in order to get back to Brisbane for a visit there, and possibly a concert as well.  It will be […]

Down Under in March

by David LaMotte

I’m very much looking forward to getting back down to Australia in mid-March.  I’ve been invited to speak at a Rotary conference in the nation’s capitol, Canberra, and will go down a few days early in order to get back to Brisbane for a visit there, and possibly a concert as well.  It will be […]

UQ graduate helps nominate Nobel Peace Prize candidates

Dec 21, 2010
This from the University of Queensland News: Recent UQ graduate and former Rotary World Peace Fellow David LaMotte has been appointed to a prestigious committee that selects Nobel Peace Prize nominees. Mr LaMotte graduated from UQ in June 2010 with a Master of International Studies (Peace and Conflict Resolution) and returned to the United States […]

UQ graduate helps nominate Nobel Peace Prize candidates

by David LaMotte

This from the University of Queensland News: Recent UQ graduate and former Rotary World Peace Fellow David LaMotte has been appointed to a prestigious committee that selects Nobel Peace Prize nominees. Mr LaMotte graduated from UQ in June 2010 with a Master of International Studies (Peace and Conflict Resolution) and returned to the United States […]

David LaMotte Visits O’Neal

Dec 20, 2010
The Pilot, Southern Pines, NC David LaMotte, folk artist and humanitarian, visited O’Neal on Thursday, Dec. 2. He spoke to the Upper School students in the afternoon about his life experience from being a professional folk singer to founding a nonprofit in Guatemala and furthering his humanitarian efforts as a recipient of the Rotary World […]

David LaMotte Visits O’Neal

by David LaMotte

The Pilot, Southern Pines, NC David LaMotte, folk artist and humanitarian, visited O’Neal on Thursday, Dec. 2. He spoke to the Upper School students in the afternoon about his life experience from being a professional folk singer to founding a nonprofit in Guatemala and furthering his humanitarian efforts as a recipient of the Rotary World […]

Back to Guatemala

Dec 18, 2010
I woke up early this morning — very early. I think it was due to too much caffeine yesterday. 4 AM was a good time to work on a few things with no chance of interruption, though, so I spent some time looking for plane tickets to Guatemala. I’ll be going back down to visit […]

Back to Guatemala

by David LaMotte

I woke up early this morning — very early. I think it was due to too much caffeine yesterday. 4 AM was a good time to work on a few things with no chance of interruption, though, so I spent some time looking for plane tickets to Guatemala. I’ll be going back down to visit […]

The Tortured Truth

Dec 10, 2010
The following article of mine first appeared on NCPolicyWatch.org, and has since been published in the and on Patheos. In recent days, the Internet has been abuzz with revelations brought to us by the latest “Wikileaks” disclosure. Thousands of leaked communiqués reveal various officials’ comments publicly, though they were originally intended to be private. Apologies, […]

The Tortured Truth

by David LaMotte

The following article of mine first appeared on NCPolicyWatch.org, and has since been published in the and on Patheos. In recent days, the Internet has been abuzz with revelations brought to us by the latest “Wikileaks” disclosure. Thousands of leaked communiqués reveal various officials’ comments publicly, though they were originally intended to be private. Apologies, […]

Rosa Parks and me (and you)

Dec 3, 2010
Wednesday was the fifty-fifth anniversary of Rosa Parks’ arrest.  That event is a powerful reminder for me, not of the power of heroism, but of the power of day in and day out activism. For most of us, Rosa Parks’ life was one day long. Her real story is usually edited to fit our prevailing […]

Rosa Parks and me (and you)

by David LaMotte

Wednesday was the fifty-fifth anniversary of Rosa Parks’ arrest.  That event is a powerful reminder for me, not of the power of heroism, but of the power of day in and day out activism. For most of us, Rosa Parks’ life was one day long. Her real story is usually edited to fit our prevailing […]

The biggest myth of Democracy

Oct 31, 2010
My first shot at a video weblog, or vlog, as the kids say... a few thoughts on misconceptions of what democracy means and the importance of voting - or not voting - in mid-term elections.... Read More →

The biggest myth of Democracy

by David LaMotte

My first shot at a video weblog, or vlog, as the kids say… a few thoughts on misconceptions of what democracy means and the importance of voting – or not voting – in mid-term elections…. Read More →

International Burn a Koran Day – cancel/clear

Sep 9, 2010
At the time of this writing, Thursday afternoon, the minister in Florida who had planned to burn Korans two days from now has called off the event, or “stunt,” as President Obama rightly referred to it. That’s good news.... Read More →

International Burn a Koran Day – cancel/clear

by David LaMotte

At the time of this writing, Thursday afternoon, the minister in Florida who had planned to burn Korans two days from now has called off the event, or “stunt,” as President Obama rightly referred to it. That’s good news…. Read More →

Settling in and looking forward

Aug 7, 2010
I suppose there is a continuum with “stability” on one side and “adventure” on the other, and most people find themselves most comfortable somewhere along it. It’s a good thing that I have more need for adventure than stability in my life, as it seems like that is my lot. My time in Australia came […]

Settling in and looking forward

by David LaMotte

I suppose there is a continuum with “stability” on one side and “adventure” on the other, and most people find themselves most comfortable somewhere along it. It’s a good thing that I have more need for adventure than stability in my life, as it seems like that is my lot. My time in Australia came […]

Where To From Here

Apr 25, 2010
“What is it you plan to do with your one wild precious life?” – Mary Oliver 17 April, 2010 train from Brisbane, QLD to Grafton, NSW As I write this I am riding through the Australian countryside on a train, headed to a conference where I’ll be speaking about the Rotary World Peace Fellowship and […]

Where To From Here

by David LaMotte

“What is it you plan to do with your one wild precious life?” – Mary Oliver 17 April, 2010 train from Brisbane, QLD to Grafton, NSW As I write this I am riding through the Australian countryside on a train, headed to a conference where I’ll be speaking about the Rotary World Peace Fellowship and […]

In the Margins

Feb 4, 2010
Lately For the past six weeks I have been living in eastern Andhra Pradesh, India, dividing my time between the city of Vijayawada and a small village an hour and a half away, Srikakulam. I’m working with a grass-roots non-profit agency called Arthik Samata Mandal (ASM), which began as a disaster relief organization, and now […]

In the Margins

by David LaMotte

Lately For the past six weeks I have been living in eastern Andhra Pradesh, India, dividing my time between the city of Vijayawada and a small village an hour and a half away, Srikakulam. I’m working with a grass-roots non-profit agency called Arthik Samata Mandal (ASM), which began as a disaster relief organization, and now […]

In the Margins

Jan 5, 2010
Lately For the past six weeks I have been living in eastern Andhra Pradesh, India, dividing my time between the city of Vijayawada and a small village an hour and a half away, Srikakulam. I’m working with a grass-roots non-profit agency called Arthik Samata Mandal (ASM), which began as a disaster relief organization, and now […]

In the Margins

by David LaMotte

Lately For the past six weeks I have been living in eastern Andhra Pradesh, India, dividing my time between the city of Vijayawada and a small village an hour and a half away, Srikakulam. I’m working with a grass-roots non-profit agency called Arthik Samata Mandal (ASM), which began as a disaster relief organization, and now […]

More pictures from India

Dec 29, 2009
Here are forty+ more pictures from India. This batch focuses a bit more on the work done by the organization I’m working with, Arthik Samata Mandal. There are some cute Mason pictures as well, though. India is an incredible place to shoot pictures. I visited another village today and I took 243 pictures. That’s with […]

More pictures from India

by David LaMotte

Here are forty+ more pictures from India. This batch focuses a bit more on the work done by the organization I’m working with, Arthik Samata Mandal. There are some cute Mason pictures as well, though. India is an incredible place to shoot pictures. I visited another village today and I took 243 pictures. That’s with […]

A Brief Article on Heroes

Dec 27, 2009
I was asked to write a short piece for the Eagle, a quarterly magazine published by the Anglican Cathedral in Brisbane, on Desmond Tutu. Here it is… From Tutu Desmond Tutu speaking at the Rotary World Peace Symposium Archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu is a hero of mine. I make that statement with full awareness that […]

A Brief Article on Heroes

by David LaMotte

I was asked to write a short piece for the Eagle, a quarterly magazine published by the Anglican Cathedral in Brisbane, on Desmond Tutu. Here it is… From Tutu Desmond Tutu speaking at the Rotary World Peace Symposium Archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu is a hero of mine. I make that statement with full awareness that […]

Pictures and captions from India

Dec 14, 2009
Here are fifty+ pictures and captions showing our first couple of weeks in India and some of the work that ASM is doing. It’s been quite an adventure thus far. Click on the picture below to go to the photo album: India One

Pictures and captions from India

by David LaMotte

Here are fifty+ pictures and captions showing our first couple of weeks in India and some of the work that ASM is doing. It’s been quite an adventure thus far. Click on the picture below to go to the photo album: India One

Of AIDS education and office space

Dec 8, 2009
Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, India Our first full day in Srikakulam is drawing to a close and Deanna’s taking her turn going down to dinner. There are two volunteers from a non-profit in the U.K., Becky and Hannah, who are teaching English here, and we all usually have meals together. Since Mason goes to sleep before […]

Of AIDS education and office space

by David LaMotte

Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, India Our first full day in Srikakulam is drawing to a close and Deanna’s taking her turn going down to dinner. There are two volunteers from a non-profit in the U.K., Becky and Hannah, who are teaching English here, and we all usually have meals together. Since Mason goes to sleep before […]

Arthik Samata Mandal

Dec 8, 2009
Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India From India One As I write this note I am sitting under a ceiling fan in a simple room with concrete walls and screenless windows on a bed that is covered by a mosquito net. Mason is sleeping in his little tent/crib just beside the bed. The room is on the […]

Arthik Samata Mandal

by David LaMotte

Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India From India One As I write this note I am sitting under a ceiling fan in a simple room with concrete walls and screenless windows on a bed that is covered by a mosquito net. Mason is sleeping in his little tent/crib just beside the bed. The room is on the […]

An Interview

Nov 29, 2009
From blog pix About a week ago I received an interview request from Rebekah Tucker, the Editor of Longwood University’s newspaper, the Rotunda. She sent a few questions along and I thought it would be appropriate to post the answers here. They are good and important questions, and I’m glad that people like Rebekah are […]

An Interview

by David LaMotte

From blog pix About a week ago I received an interview request from Rebekah Tucker, the Editor of Longwood University’s newspaper, the Rotunda. She sent a few questions along and I thought it would be appropriate to post the answers here. They are good and important questions, and I’m glad that people like Rebekah are […]

Hair Changing 101

Nov 23, 2009
It’s been some time since I’ve checked in, and much has happened in the meantime.  I’ve finished the second semester of my Masters program, Mason turned one, I’ve made trips to Newcastle and Canberra for Rotary, friends have visited from the U.S. and New Zealand, and yesterday Deanna had her thirty-fifth birthday, just to name […]

Hair Changing 101

by David LaMotte

It’s been some time since I’ve checked in, and much has happened in the meantime.  I’ve finished the second semester of my Masters program, Mason turned one, I’ve made trips to Newcastle and Canberra for Rotary, friends have visited from the U.S. and New Zealand, and yesterday Deanna had her thirty-fifth birthday, just to name […]

The answer, my friend…

Aug 24, 2009
A few weeks ago I heard a man speaking about aid work. At one point, in the middle of a litany of problems in the world, he spoke of “countries where the winds of political change are blowing.” I don’t know whether anyone else noticed what was happening through the plate glass windows behind him […]

The answer, my friend…

by David LaMotte

A few weeks ago I heard a man speaking about aid work. At one point, in the middle of a litany of problems in the world, he spoke of “countries where the winds of political change are blowing.” I don’t know whether anyone else noticed what was happening through the plate glass windows behind him […]

Eunice Shriver

Aug 11, 2009
Eunice Kennedy Shriver died yesterday. To call the Kennedy family influential is kind of like calling Coca-Cola a pretty big company, and Ms. Shriver was born into that. She didn’t have choices in whether she had that power or not, she simply did. What she was free to choose was where to point that power, […]

Eunice Shriver

by David LaMotte

Eunice Kennedy Shriver died yesterday. To call the Kennedy family influential is kind of like calling Coca-Cola a pretty big company, and Ms. Shriver was born into that. She didn’t have choices in whether she had that power or not, she simply did. What she was free to choose was where to point that power, […]

Seeing and Being Seen

Jul 29, 2009
“He made us realize that dance is a way of seeing as well as a thing to be seen.” – choreographer Margaret Jenkins, reflecting on the life of Merce Cunningham, as reported in the San Francisco Chronicle I came home from campus this evening and, after rolling around on the floor with Mason a bit, […]

Seeing and Being Seen

by David LaMotte

“He made us realize that dance is a way of seeing as well as a thing to be seen.” – choreographer Margaret Jenkins, reflecting on the life of Merce Cunningham, as reported in the San Francisco Chronicle I came home from campus this evening and, after rolling around on the floor with Mason a bit, […]

New Rotary Peace Fellowship video

Jul 11, 2009
Rotary International recently released a new video about the Rotary World Peace Fellowship, of which I am a recipient. I got to see the video in Birmingham, England a couple of weeks ago, and I’m happy to be able to share it with you now. If you’d like to know more about what I’m doing […]

New Rotary Peace Fellowship video

by David LaMotte

Rotary International recently released a new video about the Rotary World Peace Fellowship, of which I am a recipient. I got to see the video in Birmingham, England a couple of weeks ago, and I’m happy to be able to share it with you now. If you’d like to know more about what I’m doing […]

Mason at and approaching eight months

Jul 11, 2009
By popular demand, here are thirty recent Mason pictures. Click here for a slideshow, or on the photo below to peruse the album at your own pace. Mason @ 8 months Deanna and I celebrated our fifth anniversary yesterday— best move I ever made. It’s such a joy to see this little guy who is […]

Mason at and approaching eight months

by David LaMotte

By popular demand, here are thirty recent Mason pictures. Click here for a slideshow, or on the photo below to peruse the album at your own pace. Mason @ 8 months Deanna and I celebrated our fifth anniversary yesterday— best move I ever made. It’s such a joy to see this little guy who is […]

Police Covers

Jun 25, 2009
On my most recent record, Change, I covered a song by the Police, Walking In Your Footsteps. I was just alerted to a cover song blog that featured that track in a collection of Police covers, and another that features Police and Sting covers by folk artists specifically (that site didn’t feature my track, but […]

Police Covers

by David LaMotte

On my most recent record, Change, I covered a song by the Police, Walking In Your Footsteps. I was just alerted to a cover song blog that featured that track in a collection of Police covers, and another that features Police and Sting covers by folk artists specifically (that site didn’t feature my track, but […]

The Real World

Jun 24, 2009
the Dubai airport, complete with indoor palm trees It’s five in the afternoon in Brisbane, and about 10 AM here on this airplane. According to the flight information on the little screen embedded in the seat in front of me, I’m flying over Damascus right now, on my way to England. I spent a few […]

The Real World

by David LaMotte

the Dubai airport, complete with indoor palm trees It’s five in the afternoon in Brisbane, and about 10 AM here on this airplane. According to the flight information on the little screen embedded in the seat in front of me, I’m flying over Damascus right now, on my way to England. I spent a few […]

Remembering Columbine

Apr 25, 2009
From random blog photos News stories about the ten year anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings seemed to jump out from every corner of the internet in the last week. The academic journal Psychological Review gave a whole issue to “Lessons of Columbine.” That experience is etched in our national memory, and though it’s […]

Remembering Columbine

by David LaMotte

From random blog photos News stories about the ten year anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings seemed to jump out from every corner of the internet in the last week. The academic journal Psychological Review gave a whole issue to “Lessons of Columbine.” That experience is etched in our national memory, and though it’s […]

New Faces of Peace at UQ

Apr 15, 2009
by Naomi Smith For some, the word peace conjures up images of hippies and free love. Not so for the new 2009 cohort of UQ Rotary World Peace Fellows. For the nine new scholars housed at UQ’s Rotary Centre for International Studies in peace and conflict resolution in the School of Political Science and International […]

New Faces of Peace at UQ

by David LaMotte

by Naomi Smith For some, the word peace conjures up images of hippies and free love. Not so for the new 2009 cohort of UQ Rotary World Peace Fellows. For the nine new scholars housed at UQ’s Rotary Centre for International Studies in peace and conflict resolution in the School of Political Science and International […]

New Header Picture

Apr 8, 2009
I took the picture above last weekend in a park in Brisbane. Kind of works here, I think.

New Header Picture

by David LaMotte

I took the picture above last weekend in a park in Brisbane. Kind of works here, I think.

My First Paper

Apr 8, 2009
From random blog photos I turned in my first paper of my post-grad career today. I’ve been deeply immersed in it for the last couple of weeks, and have learned a great deal. The education has come not only from wrestling with the content, though, but also from wrestling with writing an academic paper, which […]

My First Paper

by David LaMotte

From random blog photos I turned in my first paper of my post-grad career today. I’ve been deeply immersed in it for the last couple of weeks, and have learned a great deal. The education has come not only from wrestling with the content, though, but also from wrestling with writing an academic paper, which […]

A Taste of My Old Life

Mar 26, 2009
From random blog photos Let your voice ring back my memories 
Sing my songs to me – Jackson Browne It’s a strange thing to suddenly be a student. My life is filled with writing papers and reading articles and books, other people’s schedules and agendas. That’s very, very different from the last eighteen years of […]

A Taste of My Old Life

by David LaMotte

From random blog photos Let your voice ring back my memories 
Sing my songs to me – Jackson Browne It’s a strange thing to suddenly be a student. My life is filled with writing papers and reading articles and books, other people’s schedules and agendas. That’s very, very different from the last eighteen years of […]

A fascinating article

Mar 9, 2009
Joseph Hongo, my fellow Fellow from Kenya, handed this article to me a couple of days ago. It’s an interesting read, and outlines some of the great ideological and practical challenges faced by those who would work for peace. So what do you think?

A fascinating article

by David LaMotte

Joseph Hongo, my fellow Fellow from Kenya, handed this article to me a couple of days ago. It’s an interesting read, and outlines some of the great ideological and practical challenges faced by those who would work for peace. So what do you think?

First week of classes

Mar 7, 2009
From random blog photos It’s Saturday morning here in Fig Tree Pocket, our little corner of Brisbane. Deanna was up with a restless Mason through much of the night, so she’s getting some sleep while he is, and I’m watching the morning in a quiet house. I’ve finished my first week of classes at the […]

First week of classes

by David LaMotte

From random blog photos It’s Saturday morning here in Fig Tree Pocket, our little corner of Brisbane. Deanna was up with a restless Mason through much of the night, so she’s getting some sleep while he is, and I’m watching the morning in a quiet house. I’ve finished my first week of classes at the […]