“If you slice your thumbnail down your cheek while smiling, it means you are flirting. The same gesture while looking askance means danger.” Thus began the lecture on Italian hand gestures we received from mountain guide Georg on a recent trip to the Dolomites. Georg...
Tenor Robert Dean Smith was appearing in a French production of Tristan and Isolde. His character Tristan had just died. Smith suddenly felt a 467-pound prop rock inches from his face. To the shock of the French audience, Tristan suddenly rose from the dead and...
As a young man, Albert Einstein hated rote drills, memorization and force-fed facts. He found a mentor in Johann Pestalozzi who encouraged him to visualize scientific concepts. This revolutionary way of problem solving led to Einstein’s “thought experiments” and became a significant aspect of his...
We were speaking with Napa friends Jeff and Kari about the 2021 wine harvest. Kari is the Winemaker at Cornerstone Cellars. Jeff is a Wine Educator. Right now, grape varietals are ready to be harvested, requiring many hands for picking. Jeff supported Kari and did...
There is a dirty word in the theatre; it is “upstaged.” If you do it, or it is done to you, all hell breaks loose backstage. However, in two recent episodes of AGT (America’s Got Talent) we were astounded by the prevalence of upstaging. For the contestants,...
Recently, Eloqui ran a Communication Immersion workshop in Santa Fe. As participants ran through various exercises, the use of right? and so were rampant, ultimately becoming humorous because of how difficult they were to eliminate. Then on Sept. 1st, we saw an article in the...
Watching the evening news is depressing. The Taliban retakes Afghanistan; there are rampant fires and floods; and COVID continues to surge. There’s no question we could all use a dose of laughter. The benefits are legion: it boosts our mood; strengthens our immune system; diminishes...
In Santa Fe, Indian Market is a huge yearly event, bringing together Native American artists from around the U.S. and Canada. During the recent long weekend, the town buzzed with activity and visitors. We went to a glassblowing demonstration by Preston Singletary (see photo) and Dan...
CBS Sunday Morning recently covered the Young at Heart choir. It was founded 38 years ago and the members’ average age is 85. The focus of the piece was about being creative at an advanced age and the thrill of live performing. Singing in front...
Track and Field star Allyson Felix returned to the Tokyo Olympics at age 35 after enduring a difficult pregnancy and facing daunting odds of winning a medal.Behind the headlines lies a richer story. After Felix’s childbirth, her sponsor Nike proposed a 70% pay cut. Felix...