Azalea Trail

Spring has sprung in the Coastal South. We may not have mountains but we have a glorious spring.  From Houston to Pensacola, the  Azaleas -- huge glorious flowering bushes -- will be smiling on the South. So come on down and enjoy.

Etiquette and Style

 "Using the combination of good intent and etiquette will change the way you see people, and the way they see you." That is a sentence I read on a website titled the Gentleman's Way.

I agree that knowledge of etiquette allows you to confidently and kindly express yourself.  It is proper etiquette that gave Gene Kelly the confidence to gracefully saunter across the room in a Hitchcock film, or gave Audrey Hepburn  her timeless charm in Roman Holiday.  Indeed it is etiquette that gives any of us the ability to carry ourselves gracefully through life. 

Of course etiquette sometimes gets a bad name.  Some people use the rules to point out their own intelligence and other's ignorance.  People use it to prove that they are sophisticated or proper.  Snobbish application of etiquette only demonstrates that the person has totally missed the point.

Etiquette is about how you express your kindness and love for others.  It is about removing distractions from the conversations that you have with others.  It is not about you, it is about them -- doing the right thing in a given situation shows that you care.  So show the love, check out the Gentleman's Way.  You can also check out this book.  It works very well.

Happy Valentine's Day

A. Hays Town a Gentleman and an Architect

A. Hays Town was a Louisiana architect.  By all accounts he was a wonderful gentleman who knew how to express his own style and confidence in the homes he designed.  It certainly shows through in the work that he has left behind. He is another fine example of knowing yourself and communicating that expression in the work that you perform.

Albert Hays Town:Obituary

Carry Yourself with Confidence

Link to Amazon
This is a good book not only for focusing on the clothes you wear, but also it forces you to focus on your entire image.  It is well thought out, giving us an understanding that the image we present is critical to making sure that the world understands our authentic selves.  As the author suggests, confidently projecting your image in the world starts with knowing yourself.  This book is a great book for reinforcing the confidence to live life with an understated elegance.

The Final Episode of Friday Night Lights

If you subscribe to Direct TV then the  final episode of the series Friday Night Lights airs tonight on Channel 101.  It has been a wonderful show.  The story line explores the characters and pulls you into a world of triumph and defeat (and sometimes both at the same time). The football coach is more of a life coach, and the lives that get portrayed are inspirational stories of overcoming adversity to be our best.  Enjoy this montage of Tim Riggins.  Be sure to turn up your volume, the speech that Coach Taylor is giving in the background is very moving.  And for those who do not have Direct TV, NBC will begin airing the final season on April 15th.  Its a great season don't miss it.

More George Orwell 1984 for the Super Bowl

The Super Bowl advertising this year featured a Motorola XOOM commercial.  The XOOM is a Google Android based tablet/ipad competitor.   Interestingly our hero finds himself looking cool, reading Orwell’s 1984 on his XOOM, in an Orwellian world where everyone else is wearing all white, with white hoods and earbuds that look suspiciously like the standard issue Ipod earphones. 

Everyone around seems to have taken on a clone like quality and has lost the ability to feel emotion.  But our cool hero is in love with a girl and he uses his Xoom to cutely demonstrate his love and thereby fill this cold environment with warm feelings.

Again, it’s a sound Super Bowl message that technology sets us free and while technology is a great tool it is no substitute for love, integrity, emotion and liberty.

Door County Wisconsin

Just outside of Green Bay, Wisconsin is a peninsula jutting out into Lake Michigan known as Door County.  The peninsula is full of quaint towns with great restaurants and wonderful B&B's.  Its a friendly Scandinavian area that is wonderful to visit.  So next time you go check out Door County.

Perpetual Revolution and Super Bowl Advertising

George Orwell’s book 1984 is about a horrible future in which a fictional world is dominated by a totalitarian regime that uses technology to read our minds and control our thoughts.  As Orwell writes: "Never again will you be capable of ordinary human feeling. Everything will be dead inside you. Never again will you be capable of love, or friendship, or joy of living, or laughter, or curiosity, or courage, or integrity. You will be hollow. We shall squeeze you empty and then we shall fill you with ourselves."

The turning of the calendar on January 1, 1984 did not create a particular uneasiness about whether this nation would fall into a totalitarian abyss.   But I do recall that it was a time when American office workers were starting to use computers more and more for word processing.  Automation was coming to American factories, carburetors were being phased out of cars in favor of electronic fuel emissions, typewriters were on their way out, stock brokers started carrying around these large box like things called cell phones and every now and then a document was sent over the phone lines, it was called a fax.   It did seem that technology was changing the world.  And true to most change, the world was resisting these technological changes.

In that background comes Apple Computer appealing to the revolutionary inside of every American and points out beautifully, in a Super Bowl commercial in January, 1984, that the Macintosh is the computer that will crush totalitarianism and bring you freedom in this new technological age. 

This great nation was founded on the belief that we the people should have the ability to govern ourselves.  Only when we select our own government through a democratic process do we experience true freedom.  Consequently, we as American’s think of ourselves as perpetual revolutionaries – we give our consent to be governed by living here and electing officials, but we reserve the right to withdraw that consent and vote the government out. 

Snow Day: Conde Naste Where Are You

Have you found yourself snowbound at home.  If so, then your mind needs somewhere to go.  Try playing Conde Naste's "Where are You."  This month you will be able to learn about geography and art at the same time. Plus, if you get the answer correct you might get a free vacation someplace sunny and warm. Enjoy!

Conde Naste: Where are You

The Modern: Fort Worth

The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth's building was designed by the Japanese architect Tadao Ando. The Modern is located in Fort Worth's celebrated Cultural District, directly opposite the Kimbell Art Museum, designed by Louis I. Kahn, and near the Amon Carter Museum, designed by Philip Johnson. Ando's design, which embodies the pure, unadorned elements of a modern work of art, is comprised of five long, flat-roofed pavilions situated on a 1.5 acre pond.

The styling of the building along with the general atmosphere of the museum envelopes you in style and grace.  All for the general admission price of $10.   Certainly one of the least expensive and best ways to broaden the mind and fly away for a couple of hours.

Classic Beauty

Rita Hayworth in front of a 1941 Lincoln Continental.  The car is wonderful. You notice the split wing waterfall grill on the car.  This is a classic design element for Lincoln cars.  All of the current Lincoln's are employing this split wing waterfall design in a return to the understated elegance that Lincoln once exuded. I'll have to ask my wife what she thinks about Rita's style, but the car looks great.

To our Friends Enduring the Blizzard of 2011

May your hearths be warm and your kettles be full.