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The first image is Van Gogh’s, “Wheat Field, with Cypresses.” It’s one of the most famous and expensive paintings (over $100 million adjusted for inflation) of all time. The second is a stock photo I found when googling “wheat fields with cypress trees.” It sells for $19.99. Both are beautiful. Both have value. Both engageContinue reading “Wheat Field With Cypresses”

“‘The Only True Wisdom Consists In Knowing That You Know Nothing.’” “That’s Us, Dude!” “The Best Time To Be Is Now, And All’s We Can Say Is…Let’s Rock!” “All We Are Is Dust In The Wind, Dude.” “Be Excellent To Each Other.” “San Dimas High School Football Rules!“

“The Art Of Fielding” by Chad Harbach is one of my favorite novels of the last decade. It’s about a college baseball star, Henry Skrimshander, whose life is upended when he makes one bad throw. Henry spends the majority of the novel wrestling with his own self doubt and trying to recapture the person andContinue reading “We All Want To Be Pushed”

How would you complete the sentence? …A Game. …A Test. …Fun. …Meaningless. …Precious. …Hard. And Then You Die. …Suffering. …Magical. …A Constant Chance To Help Others. …Short. Might As Well Make The Most Of It. …A Box Of Chocolates. You Never Know What You Get. …Whatever You Make Of It. As Viktor Frankl advises, ourContinue reading “Life Is…”

I once had a conversation with a successful independent film director…He was always curious about the theater and had flirted on and off with writing and directing a play. I asked him why he hadn’t done it yet. He said he just couldn’t justify all that time and effort going into an ephemeral art form.Continue reading “Here Today. But Not Gone Tomorrow”

We all walk around with a story in our heads. Sonder helps us remember that. We all want to hear and tell stories. It’s in our DNA. Art enables us to do that and have empathy for others. Culture is the collective story we’ve all consciously and unconsciously agreed to. To change the culture, weContinue reading “Story And Culture”

There’s an exchange towards the end of “Top Gun” where Stinger, played by one of my all-time favorite 80’s character actors, James Tolkan, asks how long until he can launch another fighter with Willard and Simkin aboard. They’re needed to assist Maverick and Iceman (Gotta love those pilot names!) who are engaged in a dogfightContinue reading “Top Gun Wisdom”

“You are the average of the five people you hang around the most.” -Jim Rohn Think of the 1920’s and Paris. Or The Harlem Renaissance. Or the 1950’s and The Beats. Go way back to Ancient Greece. Or the Italian Renaissance. Incredible art was created during these periods. Why? A main reason has to beContinue reading “Find Your Scene”

The first “book” or chapter of Meditations is entitled “Debts And Lessons.” Marcus Aurelius devotes it entirely to thanking those people who’ve helped him throughout his life. He also names the specific qualities that each person imparted on him. Examples… “My Grandfather Verus….Character and self control.” “My Mother…Her reverence for the divine, her generosity, herContinue reading “Debts And Lessons”

Supposedly… …Sylvester Stallone wrote the screenplay for “Rocky” in three and a half days. …Karl Malantes wrote the Vietnam novel, “Matterhorn”, over a period of thirty years. …Bob Dylan wrote “Blowin’ In The Wind” in ten minutes. …Leonard Cohen wrote “Allelujah” in two years. Does it really matter how long it took someone else toContinue reading “It Takes What It Takes”