Synapses

I just saw the movie Limitless tonight. My modest review on Facebook was:

I really liked it, lots of fun, action and an interesting premise. Plot could have taken a little more load, but all together, very entertaining. Gotta go and connect a few new synapses.

I then checked my Yahoo email and found an email from Luminato regarding the addition of the New Yorker series, which includes one my favourite authors and big thinkers - Malcolm Gladwell. I'm really excited about the opportunity to see him and hopefully hear about his new ideas.

Oh, and the coincidence ?  Limitless is based on the plot premise that what if there was a pill you could take that would allow you to use more/all of your available brain capacity.  And, if there's anyone who can quickly get your synapses firing and expanding your brain around new ideas, it's Malcolm Gladwell.  I'd highly recommend all his books, my favourite being Blink.

Santa Monica Blvd.

I was in Santa Monica for our sales conference this week.  Mostly business, but I managed to see a some of the city with a little walkabout with work colleagues Thursday night, incl. Santa Monica Blvd.  On the flight home I was reading a novel called The Lock Artist and the main character was on Santa Monica Blvd.

Girls on motorcycles

I just flew back home from Los Angeles and on the flight I read a few chapters of a book and caught a movie.  I'm currently reading a novel called The Lock Artist and in the chapter I was reading today, the main character whisks away his 17 year old girlfriend on the back of his motorcycle.  I also watched The Kids Are All Right and there's a scene where Ruffalo's character takes his 18 year old daughter for a ride on the back of his motorcycle.

Duke

I came home from my ultimate game tonight just in time to see the last 13 seconds of the NCAA Final Four Championship game.  Duke won by a couple of points.  Before bed, I then sit down to ice my ankle and I pick up What the Dog Saw to continue with a chapter I was reading a few days before.  After a few pages I read that one of people Gladwell is talking about went to law school at Duke.

High Fidelity

In my coincidence last week, entitled An Education, I noted the work of Nick Hornby and have since started reading his latest book, Juliet, Naked.  One of Hornby's books that was turned into a movie and one I really liked was called High Fidelity.  I just saw in this week's NOW magazine that the stage version is opening tonight running through the end of month at the Hart House Theatre.

An Education

I was in the bookstore today and also doing some browsing online (Amazon always seems to have the best prices in Canada).  I recently finished The Lost Symbol and I was looking for some new fiction (as I already have a few Gladwell non-fiction books I'm currently reading).  I came across Nick Hornby, I'm not familiar with his books, however I've seen some of the movies adaptations, incl. High Fidelity and About a Boy.  I liked the premise of his new novel Juliet Naked and order it on Amazon.  But I did notice another title that sounded interesting, An Education, and also saw that it had been made into a movie.  I hadn't heard of the book or whether the movie was new or had already come and gone.  But the list of actors was pretty decent.  After work, I duck into 10 Dundas West where there happens to be an AMC movie theatre to make a quick call home.  While I'm talking to my wife, I notice a poster for An Education, now playing !

Gladwell goes Private

I'm really enjoying Malcolm Gladwell's new collection of articles - What the Dog Saw.  The article I was reading today discusses the invention of The Pill and more interesting the mistake the inventor made.  In true Gladwell big brain thinking style, the article delves deep into related fields, in this case, cancer.  He also talks about the circular design of The Pill's case and it's significance.


I pop downstairs in the evening and catch a few minutes of one of my wife's favourite TV shows - Private Practice.  There's a scene where one of the doctor's slyly hands the familiar looking, circular Pill case to a Jewish lady for medical and perhaps contraceptive reasons.


Haven't thought about The Pill for a long time and there it is "popping out" twice in one day. 

Role Models

I was in the waiting room of my physiotherapist's office and a father and son walked in from the elevator and the son was wearing a t-shirt with Role Model written on it. I couldn't see the logo or a clue to the inner meaning, but fair enough, maybe this kid really is a role model, say for other students at his school. Anyway, I was enjoying reading a novel called No Time for Goodbye as I'm waiting for my appointment, and a few pages after I see the kid, I read "I'm not the best role model". Which is rather an understatement coming from this criminal character in the book. Just as I'm writing this I remember a clever mass email I got around to reading today from my brother-in-law in Manitoba. It was entitled Who is your Role Model ? It goes something like this...

Each of us is the result of the influence of many people. However some individuals have played a significant role in our development, They are often called "role models" that we consciously or unconsciously imitate. Perhaps you know who that person is, or perhaps you don't. The world renowned Sir Trevoir Rigelsworth, Ph.D, has given us a simple way to determine our role model. It is easy and only takes a minute and it may surprise you.

WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL???*

Be sure not to peek! You don't want to skew your answer.
Try this - it's really neat ..
Don't look at the answers:

1) Pick your favourite number between 1-9

2) Multiply by 3 then

3) Add 3, then again Multiply by 3 (I'll wait while you get the Calculator....)

4) You'll get a 2 or 3 digit number....

5) Add the digits together


Now Scroll down ..............



With that number, see who your ROLE MODEL is from the list below:

1. Einstein
2. Oprah Winfrey
3. Mother Teresa
4. Randubius Raji
5. Bill Gates
6. Johann Von Stueckenberg
7. Brad Pitt
8. Babe Ruth
9. PJMixer
10. Barack Obama

I haven't done the math, but the simple logic is there somewhere, but these games are still a fun.

Loyalty ?

My wife was blogging and ranting about customer loyalty today (Bell vs Rogers). I stopped in at World's Biggest Bookstore (not sure if it truly is, but it is the closest bog book store to my office, and it is big and has a great selection) after work and the first book that caught my attention was Loyalty Management.