I love you…

Hollywood Style primer for Valentine’s Day. Find your favorite movie scene here?

Monday Mantra: Cleaning Piece III

Cleaning-piece Yoko Ono


This one made me think.  (And I averted my eyes away from the double negative as I re-read this 3x.)

If you are curious about Yoko Ono’s Cleaning Piece I, II and IV (I was), you’ll find them @ Ibloghappiness.


Source: thisisnthappiness

Event of the Thread

I’m sorry I missed it…An excerpt of the review from the NY Times: “Anyone who liked swings as a child — and that should include quite a few of us — will probably feel a surprisingly visceral attraction to Ann Hamilton’s installation “the event of a thread” at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City…The swings are there for us, to swing on.  The piece has other components, about which more in a minute, but if people are not using the swings, “the event of a thread” does not fully exist. When they are in action, the immense, diaphanous white curtain, made of a lightweight silk twill, rises and dips, and the air is stirred, causing further billowing and fluttering.  And in the middle of it all, the curtain, which resembles a low-cost indoor version of Christo and Jean-Claude’s 1972 land art piece “Valley Curtain,” was doing its silent, discombobulated dance. In addition, if you paused in your swinging, you could feel the rest of the interconnected system pulse and gyrate, a momentary demonstration — at once silly and profound — that we are, indeed, all connected.”

Here’s a short and wonderful video clip that makes it all come alive…

the event of a thread from Paul Octavious on Vimeo.


Related Posts: Be sure to check out Olivia’s terrific post on the same event at Your Effect on Me Is Incredible

Patience Grasshopper. Patience.

foot tapping, funny, laugh, business, multitasking, work, professional,

Michael’s in my head again. Jabbing. Jabbing. Jabbing. Gracefully dancing and landing punches like Sugar Ray. With similar effectiveness. Each one leaving a mark. Punch line popping: You are RUDE.

If you want to pay someone a quiet compliment, give them some serious attention when they are speaking.

I’m in the groove. Making up lost time on a long neglected project with a looming deadline. And, then a colleague with unscheduled “drop-in” meeting walks through my door. My flow is interrupted. “It will just take a few minutes,” was the request. Rather than setting expectations as to my time upfront or scheduling a meeting to accommodate the discussion, I reluctantly shoe-horn it in.
We’re five minutes in. And we are wading. In a swamp. My mind begins to wander. (My foot starts tapping. I start playing with my pen. I sneak glances at my watch. TRIGGERS. Susan’s post intrudes: You see the triggers pal. The alarms are coming at you in waves. Pull up. Pull up. Do not go to the “automated response.”

Making Same Mistakes. Certainly.

Power, Jeffrey Pfeffer

We’re back to work after a wonderful two week siesta with the family.  No travel.  No stress.  Just watching movies, eating and napping sprinkled with a well intentioned but woefully under-executed exercise regimen.  Time to shift gears to work-mode.  A post I came across during my vacation by Eric Barker @ “Barking Up The Wrong Tree” reminded me of an earlier conversation with a bright (very), ivy league educated, younger colleague.  He posed these following questions:

You have achieved modest success in your career, what key learnings can you share?  (Modest?  Do I ooze underachievement?)

I’m sure you have made mistakes along the way?  Would you mind sharing?  (Why not start with the wins?  Is it that obvious that this captain has weathered too many rough seas?)

Have you made repeated mistakes in the same area and why?  (Cringing. How does he know? Do all ex-collegiate hockey players have a reputation of diving into the same scrum and looking for trouble?)

What tips would you share with someone just starting their career?  (In contrast to me, that is, one who is just finishing or finished?)

Continue reading “Making Same Mistakes. Certainly.”