5 Things I’m Thankful For

Thanksgiving_iconIt’s never a bad time to show some gratitude, and no better excuse than the dawn our annual Thanksgiving day here in the US. As I write this I’m pumped full of Flexeril and Ultram to mellow a lower back spasm, so I’m tempted to thank big pharma – but this is intended as a serious meditation on things I’m deeply thankful for and an encouragement to you, no matter what your current circumstance, to do the same. Continue reading 5 Things I’m Thankful For

Facebook Gibberish

FacebookGibberishThings pass in and out of my porous brain with such alarming rapidity, I often use Facebook as a digital notepad to catch some of it. Some are things I see that I want to capture for future use, some just musings I’m too ego-maniacal to keep to myself, mostly it’s just random gibberish. My hope, of course, is that it’s also entertaining and that you’ll get a smile or positive juju from it! Continue reading Facebook Gibberish

Objects: 4 Things I Love

IconWhat do you love? For the topic of “things I love” I’m taking “things that can love you back” off the table, that’s a whole different meditation. No, I’m talking about the things we encounter in life, things that trigger a response in us – art mostly – that not only linger long, but attach themselves in some way to our identity. Of course I can only speak for myself, but I hope it’ll trigger similar reflection in you – an excuse to remember deeply things you may have slipped into the greyer corridors of memory.
Continue reading Objects: 4 Things I Love

Psych-Hack: Self-hatred and the Billionaire

Icon_StivanoMy core philosophy posits that Success, Happiness and Freedom are distinct and unrelated, and must be pursued separately if you’re to achieve any of them in a sustainable way. I don’t like playing amateur psychiatrist (well, maybe a little), but this Donald Sterling guy is too good of an illustration of the canard “money doesn’t buy happiness” to let it pass. Continue reading Psych-Hack: Self-hatred and the Billionaire

Vital Art: The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Falcon_Icon(Vital Art is my ongoing attempt to cobble together a list of what I consider “essential” works – basically a low-brow version of Harold Bloom’s “How to Read and Why”, only encompassing all forms of art.)

I stumbled a little when deciding what the initial piece of Vital Art I’d discuss would be, and decided to take it easy on myself and pick something I love, and that’s often dismissed as guttural or “common”. Continue reading Vital Art: The Maltese Falcon (1941)