Perplexing image, right? I snapped it while wandering in flâneur-fantasyland (i.e. Kensington, London) the other day. It's the crowning detail of a public statue, and it's a bit disturbing, at least from this unusual perspective. And, lest clarification begs, the statue is not in any remote way connected to Edgar Degas. Until today. The words, however, are his. “Art is not what you see, but what ...
Midlife Mashup
Brooding & Sultry
In search of a lift (think therapeutic laugh of the deep-soul variety), I'm rewinding to December 3, 2011. Flash back. Inspired (not really the right word... maybe provoked?) by a review in the Wine Spectator, I uploaded a slightly irreverent and unnecessarily looong audio sketch. By way of introduction: You might enjoy this curmudgeonly if slightly pompous fart that wafted out of the magazine ...
Little Pot Belly
What little pot belly? Me? Are you kidding?!?! [Suck in gut. Turn sideways. Gaze confidently into mirror.] Nope. No little pot belly. Nothing. Not me! I'm trim. Fit. Svelte. Looking better than my thirties. Little pot belly... whatever! Billy Crystal's Midlife Crunch So you're feeling optimistic. You're advancing on your midlife quest for greater creativity and curiosity (and a healthier, ...
Your Goldfish Attention Span Just Got Shorter
Feeling flighty? Wondering why? Your attention span is shorter than a goldfish! The average attention span for the notoriously ill-focused goldfish is nine seconds, but according to a new studyfrom Microsoft Corp., people now generally lose concentration after eight seconds, highlighting the affects of an increasingly digitalized lifestyle on the brain. Researchers in Canada surveyed 2,000 ...
Midlife Balance
In a moment of abandon — or obsessive noodling — I dictate "midlife balance" into my digital tutor. The answer is out there, in the internets, waiting, tucked between middle and mindfulness. Only, it's not, or not quite, or I spelled it wrong because I conjure up an avalanche of herbal supplements. Magical elixirs for women. [pullquote]I sense that I'm not in the club. Manopause, yes; menopause, ...
Equinox
Welcome to autumn. This post marks — as close as technology permits — the precise moment that summer ends and autumn begins. The fall equinox 2016. That precision, like a celestial click between one reality and another is an enticing metaphor in many respects. It offers a sort of predictability and certainty that appeals to our innate yearning for order. And yet, I wonder, how much of that ...