Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Off Script

 


When Robert Downey Jr. went off script in "Iron Man" in 2008 with the immortal words "I am Iron Man," it changed the trajectory of the Marvel universe from that point forward.  It became an iconic part of the story, even up until the very end. 

Once again...art imitates life. 

There is no script to life.  It is the largest improv theatre you will ever see. 

You expect a right turn on the horizon and you go left.  You expect the roller coaster to turn back up but it plummets back down towards the earth.  You think it's your happily ever after moment but then a sequel appears. 

Off script. 

It's similar to the scene in "Pleasantville" when Tobey Maguire tells Jane Kaczmarek, "There is no right house.  There is no right car...it's not supposed to be anything." 

Life isn't supposed to be anything.  It just is.  Life isn't supposed to be lived on script.  It just happens.

You can't stage your life...but your life is a stage. 

Action. 
















Thursday, February 29, 2024

Random Red Thoughts


"...random thoughts, an overflow of gazing at the unseen." 

Love that quote from Michael Bassey Johnson, a brilliant writer and poet. 

Random thoughts give you permission to daydream a bit.  Experience a Walter Mitty moment every once in a while. Just gaze at the unseen and see what happens. 

I tip my glass in the direction of randomness.  

A good bartender is just as valuable as a good doctor or lawyer. 

Sometimes, you just need to go and have sex with your wife in a hotel. 

I am envious of people born on February 29th but feel bad for those who lost someone on that same day. 

February really is a long month despite the actual number of days. 

Sunrise or sunset?  I can't choose. 

You are never too old to hug. 

Everyone should have five go-to restaurants; Italian, Bar-be-que, Hole in the Wall, Steak joint, and Mexican. 

It really does feel good being nice. 

There is no better bite than the first bite of buttered toast dipped into the yoke of a sunny-side-up egg. 

Light a fire in a real fireplace...often. 

I don't want to live past 90. 

Stemmed wine glasses for dinner.  Stem-less for lunch or happy hour. 

Cheers to randomness. 

'Clink'



















Monday, February 19, 2024

Life at an Unsquared 90 Degrees

 


My wife and I went to see famed jazz trumpeter, Wayne Bergeron the other night.  It was wild and beautiful.  As we were getting into the syncopated beat and delighted by the range of his magical trumpet, we asked ourselves if our architect friend, Dave would be into jazz. We thought "There's no way someone with an exact mind would be into the un-exactedness of jazz."

Remember...close enough for jazz. 

But then we remembered, Dave was totally into Dave Brubeck. 

Brubeck...the father of cool jazz; the unlikely matrimony of bebop and big band combining frenetic chaos with silky smooth undertones.  Brubeck's music had a random exactness to it. Coordinated spontaneity. 

The Unsquare dance.  A delightful morsel of his music, which combined blues, jazz, and country western, was edgy, cool, and undefined.  But there were precise corners to the piece too. 

As my wife and I broke down our evening, we started talking about our friend again and realized his delicate balance of structure and bedlam was a microcosm of life. 

Life has wide bumpers, baby, and use every inch of them.  Draw outside the lines and not off the paper. Be adventurous and humble.  Ride the teeter-totter between falling off and balance. Experience everything life has to offer and be selective. 

Life is jazz.  Fun, unexpected, and crazy, with notes to live by. 

"Jazz is about freedom within discipline." 

Jazz and life.  It's a gas. 

Dig it?  












Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Random Thoughts from the Road




As the ice melts and the wick burns...
Randomness rules. 

Tobacco candles are sublime...especially in hotel rooms. 

As a middle infielder, you need to trust your first baseman...unless he sleeps with your wife. 

There is still nothing quite like turning the pages of a real book. 

There's no better brotherhood than a tight-knit coaching staff. 

Basil Hayden is delicious. 

Those who are critical of talent that executes "dog and pony" flawlessly don't know a dog's ass from a pony's. 

Quarterbacks and Tight Ends...the linchpins of a successful offense. 

M*A*S*H was brilliant. 

Lust is better when married to love. 

Enjoy every sunset and sunrise you can. 

Spooning is a lost art. 

Dave Brubeck is still cool. 

And...

Those who are truly wealthy, don't show their wallet.  Those who are truly smart, think quietly.  


I'll take another...

...just put it on my tab. 






Friday, January 12, 2024

Let's Just Call it a Ghost Cat

 



Walter Mitty:  When are you going to take it? 
Sean O'Connell: Sometimes I don't.  If I like a moment, for me, personally, I don't like to have the distraction of the camera.  I just want to stay in it. 
Walter Mitty:  Stay in it? 
Sean O'Connell:  Yeah.  Right there.  Right here. 

This is the exchange between Ben Stiller's character, Walter Mitty, and Sean Penn's character, Sean O'Connell in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty where O'Connell is a world-renowned photographer and Mitty is a Negative Assets Manager at Life Magazine. O'Connell passes on capturing a picture of a beautiful Snow Leopard in favor of capturing the moment. 

We all are guilty of missing the moment sometimes.  We drift away from the moment because of the past.  We dream away the moment because of the future.  Our commitment to the moment is destroyed because of some other distraction and it's lost forever. 

Alan Watts, an English writer, speaker, and self-styled "philosophical entertainer" said it best, "I have realized that the past and the future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is." 

The Pike Place Fish Market was the impetus for The Fish Philosophy, training that inspires workplaces and individuals to choose to create the kind of life they desire.  One of their pillars is to "Be there."  Be emotionally present for people in the moment. 

Enjoying the moment.  Living the moment.  Savoring the moment as you would your last bite of your favorite meal. This is the key to life. 

Put down the phone. Stop over-thinking the past and hopelessly waiting for the future.  And just be right there. 

Right here. 








Wednesday, January 3, 2024

I Resolve

 


It's January 3rd.  I've yet to make a New Year's Resolution. 

It's tradition, right?  You can already see the weight loss, cottage cheese, and Pelaton ads screaming at you letting you know "This is the year." 

Here's the thing...

Your resolution should not be an annual ritual that comes around every 365 days.  It should be a monthly resolution...a weekly resolution...a daily resolution (Hell, make it an hourly resolution if you can). 

Wake up and resolve. 

I resolve...to be "there" more.  To stay in the moment. 

I resolve...to read more.  To feel the pages in my hands and absorb the fiction and non. 

I resolve...to get back into Yoga. It's a wonderful physical and mental stretch. 

I resolve...to tell people I love them more. 

I resolve...to try to not worry about making moments 'perfect.' 

I resolve...to drink more water. 

I resolve...to eliminate debt.

I resolve...to walk more. 

I resolve...to learn from the past, but not live in it. 

I resolve...to forgive (maybe, not forget). 

I resolve...to exhale. 

I resolve...

...to continue to try to resolve. 







Wednesday, December 27, 2023

Under The Tuscan Neon


Have you ever seen "Under The Tuscan Sun" with Diane Lane? 

It's a beautiful film about a woman who is lost and finds herself again in golden Tuscany. 

As we watch her slowly regain her footing in life, she continues to look out her window and catches a glimpse of an older man who also appears lost as he sadly puts flowers out on a pedestal. 

He was mourning the loss of his wife. 

Last night, at our favorite watering hole, my wife noticed an older man at the bar and said "That's the man from Under the Tuscan Sun." Not literally, but figurately.  My wife said he was looking for something. There was a sadness in him.  My wife noticed his book and engaged in conversation.  It turns out his wife was in the hospital in critical care after open heart surgery. 

My wife was so right.  The random stranger in the bar was hurting. As we talked to him into the night, he talked about his architecture career, his love of trains, and life with his wife Helen.  His sadness ceased growing for a moment in time. 

Once again, art imitated life. 

Once Diane Lane's character starts to really find herself, she finally catches the eye of the old man and he doffs his cap in acknowledgment as if to say "I see you and I know you have hurt too." 

I've often talked about human connections and how important they are. However random they appear, they serve a purpose. 

Bar neon or a Tuscan sun.

Both shine light into darkness.