..... what about five people we meet on earth? With Apple Pencil in one hand poised over my iPad, and a cleansing ale in the other hand, I sat on a patio and started playing with words and acronyms. The result? This morning’s M5T with an admittedly cheeky slant about people we meet on this side of eternity.
Monday 5 Things…..Finding Rest….. A conversation this weekend about Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ gave me pause. It is one of those songs that I cry whenever I hear it. No matter what artist is covering the song. And of course, I then had to listen to multiple covers; if the price of Kleenex has mysteriously increased over the weekend, now you know why. It just hits me to the core. Every time.
Even mortality finally caught up with 007. This morning M5T shares some life lessons from the philosopher known simply as ‘Bond, James Bond’.
.....Touch & Go's.....For as long as I can remember, I have had this intense, unrelenting personal love affair with speed and with flight. I’ve mentioned in M5T a few times that I am like a kid when I get to the airport and onto a plane. When I get into these moods, I am always reminded of one of my favorite books on flight. Each page of the book is a reminder of the thrill of learning to soar, being true to yourself, flying in the face of conformity, and accepting that not all will understand you or your passion. As such, if you would please, revisit with me in this morning’s M5T, thoughts on Bernoulli’s Principle from a seagull named Jonathan.
Sprezzatura is an Italian word coined by Renaissance author, Baldassare Castiglione, in ‘The Book of the Courtier’. Castiglione took 20 years to write the book and it was published just before he died in 1558. He defined sprezzatura as “art which does not seem to be an art.” In other words, when you act and live your life naturally, seemingly effortlessly with a certain nonchalance; a joie de vie, or to stick with today’s Italian tema, a gioia della vita. This morning’s M5T was written with sprezzatura with a nod to the art of living as such.
.....Eruption..... The passing of Eddie Van Halen last week gave me pause to reflect on not only the artistic brilliance of a true guitar virtuoso but also music from the 70’s and 80’s.This morning’s M5T is a lighthearted look at songs from the 70’s and 80’s that may have different meanings to us today than we may have considered when we first heard the songs four to five decades ago…which seems to be a kinder, gentler way to say we are flirting with almost a half century since we first heard some of these songs!
.....Just Be..... I spent three days in the Blue Ridge mountains photographing over 50 classic air-cooled Porsches at the 2020 Targa Carolina event in Little Switzerland, NC. Each morning started with a brilliant sunrise illuminating fog and cloud shrouded valleys between the mountains. Each evening finished with a full moon rising whilst dining and laughing with old and new-found friends. We started on Route B. We spent each hour of each day just being in the moment. Those ‘Be’s’ inspired this morning’s M5T.
Monday 5 Things…..The Most Tragic Poet….. Aristotle (that philosopher guy who was a student of Plato, taught Alexander the Great in Macedon, and wrote some rather light reading material on metaphysics, poetry, theater, science, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, etc., etc.,…
Monday 5 Things…..Moments….. I had the privilege to be on a shoot last week in Asheville. Cooler temperatures were a welcome respite from Savannah humidity. Yesterday, rather than rushing home, I turned what should have been a 5-hour drive into…
Monday 5 Things…..Extraordinary….. Perhaps my most favored aspect of Facebook has been reconnecting with friends, some of which I have not spoken with in many years. Last week I reconnected with one such friend and I have found myself taking…
Monday 5 Things…..Labor Ipse Voluptas….. Today is the day we celebrate our labor. Labour is celebrated north of the border. Wherever you are in this world, because of Covid, where, how and the perhaps even the type of work you…
Monday 5 Things…..A(nother) Monday Manifesto….. Early this morning, I had to change this morning’s preamble to Monday 5 Things before publishing. I realized it was too raw, too dark and didn’t contribute to the positive messages that I hope to…
Monday 5 Things…..Re….. There is one, sort of, strange thing that I have done since high school (those that know me better at this point are likely saying ‘only one strange thing?’, but I shall not go there); I keep…
Monday 5 Things…..Bueller? Bueller?..... There are a number of movies that I will re-e-re-re-re-re-watch. A few of those movies are Wall Street, Joe vs. the Volcano, Le Mans, Ben Hur, Citizen Kane, Bullitt, Top Gun, Rush, and newly added to…
Monday 5 Things…..Upping….. I once again had that child-like excitement in my stomach and a big smile on my face - even if it was covered by a mustachioed mask. I had a spring to my step, despite the weight…
Monday 5 Things…..Go Ahead, Smile….. Enough of bad news, politicizations, half-truths and out-right lies. This morning’s M5T is meant to put a smile on your face with some delightful stories of the wholesome side of human nature that can be…
Monday 5 Things…..Free Choices….. Last week was crazy for me to say the least. A relatively good crazy but one that left me thankful that I was able to call ‘do-over’ for this morning’s M5T. As such, I ask your…
Monday 5 Things…..Verba Pandemus….. Psychologist Jerome Bruner was quoted as saying “We are story telling creatures and as children we acquire language to tell those stories we have inside us.” This pandemic certainly has given fodder for young and old…
Monday 5 Things…..Forces….. Every day for a week, from the balcony of the condo, I would watch this scene unfold. Like clockwork at 2:30, the storm clouds would start to form from the west and the beach-connoisseurs would start to…
Monday 5 Things…..Of Hemingway & Icebergs….. A week in which I didn’t accomplish much of my considered agenda. A week of sleeping with the windows open despite the humidity, waking to the sound of pre-dawn sea waves that served as…
Monday 5 Things…..Never Give Up….. He had an F1 seat from 1991 to 1994 and then again in 1999. By the time he was 34 years old, he had won CART championships in 1997 and 1998. In the 2001 CART…
Monday 5 Things.....Breaks..... I had a very different preamble planned for this morning, until last Saturday afternoon. After a jaunt to the local grocery store, I opened my trunk and thought, ‘I can carry ALL of these grocery bags AND…
Monday 5 Things…..High Hopes & Division Bells….. “Encumbered forever by desire and ambition / There’s a hunger still unsatisfied / Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon / Though down this road we’ve been so many times.” Lines from…
Monday 5 Things…..Chronicles of Covid.….. The past few months have been rich for observation of our lives in this time of Covid. Notes in my iPad have been growing with each passing week. This morning’s M5T shares a few of…
Monday 5 Things…..What?..... Sitting properly socially distanced, I thoroughly enjoyed a proper Australian brunch at Collins Quarter this past Saturday. I was thankful that my friends Anthony and Rebecca Debreceny (along with other restauranteur friends of whom I am anxiously…
Monday 5 Things…..Of Remembrance….. Last week I did something I haven’t done since moving to Savannah. I walked around the 30 acres of Forsyth Park and took a very close look at the monuments in the park that are devoted…
Monday 5 Things…..Epidemics….. “Get back here right now or you’re going to get Covide!” I couldn’t believe my ears. The grandfatherly man yelled this at two exuberant boys as they laughed and ran down the hallway of an empty Oglethorpe…
Monday 5 Things…..Thank You Mom….. I took a very long drive leaving the house well before dawn and returning home well after dark. I was disgusted with the media yelling over each other and couldn’t listen to the news. Music…
Monday 5 Things…..Of M’s….. Whether taking spirited or at times somewhat slower drives, sitting at home, or on a park bench, this morning’s M5T is a culmination of thoughts I’ve had while reflecting on the speed at which change has…
Monday 5 Things….Think, Again….. Thinking. We have all had a lot more time to think as we have been under ‘house arrest’ for the past few weeks. Re-re-re-re reading Atlas Shrugged, I was triggered by a quote from Dagny Taggert…
Monday 5 Things…..One Year….. With all things COVIDE consuming us, I nearly missed a sad anniversary last week. The fire at Notre Dame was just over a year ago. One year. How fast the world has changed in a year.…
Monday 5 Things…..Promises….. Yesterday, for possibly the first time ever, Easter around the world was not celebrated in churches. This may not be much of a big deal for many who attend ‘The Church of C&E” - The Church of…
Monday 5 Things…..The Sun Still Rises…… I was thankful that the beaches re-opened up this weekend with the conditions of social distancing of six feet and groups no larger than ten people. Given I pulled into the Tybee Island Beach…
Monday 5 Things…..Distanced….. I went to Sam’s Club a week ago and was fascinated with (a) the number of empty shelves in each aisle; (b) the nasty nature of people trying to get the last few available packages of TP…
Monday 5 Things…..Stoic….. Well. Here we all are in the middle of COVID-19. If ever there was needed a time to keep a clear head it’s now. I have been torn this past week on whether to pen a lighthearted M5T…
Monday 5 Things…..Postponed….. Today’s M5T would normally celebrate all things Padraig, but alas, the venerable 196th St. Patrick’s Day parade has been cancelled in Savannah. My guard-moose, Mountie, (pictured here) managed to buy the last face mask in the Lowcountry…
Monday 5 Things…..Shrugged Again….. I’ve decided to read more books this year. I read a fair amount, but for well over a decade, my reading has been electronically, starting with a Kindle, then to my iPad, and finally to my…
Monday 5 Things…..…..What’s In A Number?….. Last week in Savannah, I once again had the privilege to attend the ‘Tak Argentinis Valor Awards’ with the ‘Two Hundred Club of the Coastal Empire’. Each year, Valor Awards are presented to First…
Monday 5 Things…..T-I-DOUBLE-G-ER….. As I waited for colleagues to arrive for a dinner meeting last week, I interloped on a conversation (which has become more of a sport for me after years of active listening to other tête-à-têtes) between two…
Monday 5 Things…..Big Buts….. There are big butts, but there are even larger, and more ominous, buts in life. In his catchy 1992 ditty, Sir Mix-a-Lot professed his affection for larger derrieres. At this point, I shall entreat your forgiveness…
Monday 5 Things…..No Loss of Words….. Mark Twain wrote that “Repartee is something we think of twenty-four hours too late.” Frustrated with a mild case of a loss of words from writer’s block in a week that simply just got…
Monday 5 Things…..Deliberate….. I’m often asked how I come up with M5T ideas each week. Some M5T’s come very quickly; sparked by someone I’ve met or a situation I’ve found myself in on any given week. Other M5T’s take longer…
Monday 5 Things…..Life is the Pits….. I had the privilege and elation to photograph Speedbourne Racing Services and the Ferrari of Atlanta Challenge race team this past weekend at the storied Daytona International Speedway and the Rolex 24 Hour race.…
Monday 5 Things…..A Dream….. In a day and age that is framed and fraught with destructive words, thoughts and deeds, I wonder what Martin Luther King Jr. would say today. Would his words even be heard? Would his dream be…
Monday 5 Things…..Paradiddles….. It was a blustery day in Toronto in the early 90s, and I was chiding myself for not getting my head and hands to syncopate on a new paradiddle my drum teacher had me working on. With…
Monday 5 Things ….. I Am… I Said ….. Ok, I’ll start this New Year with some disclosure: I’m a Neil Diamond fan. A big Neil Diamond fan. Whew, that was good to get off my chest. Should you have been…
Monday 5 Things ….. Quinque Verba ….. At the risk of sounding painfully obvious and cliché, it is hard to believe that 2019 is drawing to a close. That being said, I approach every new year with abundant excitement and…
Monday 5 Things…. Inventions that Changed Christmas….. This time of year can often be chaotic and stressful, with beliefs, traditions and meaning changing right before our eyes. This morning’s M5T takes a look at some of the inventions that have changed Christmas.…
Monday 5 Things…..Graham. Paul Graham….. Ahhh yes. I can’t wait. I recently watched (with full disclosure, I may have re-re-re-re-re-watched) the trailer for the upcoming 25th Bond movie, "No Time To Die," that will be released in April of next year.…
Monday 5 Things…..Monday Motivations….. Following a feverish start to this month, today I have opted for a motivational update and redux from M5T three years ago, with an effort to stay focused and determined on tasks at hand for the…
