Blog Archives

Writing the Next Chapter of Our Most Interesting Story

Half-way.

Encouraging, yet frustrating.

How have I gone so far, but still have so far to go?

The horizon is teasing me by barely revealing my ultimate destination.

Of course, timing is entirely relative to the individual and his or her situation, whatever it may entail. This arduous journey of ours could require a dedicated half-hour, a long day, a marathon week, an enduring month, year or precisely 16-months of slight variations of feeling like the shell-shocked Bill Murray character in Groundhog Day.

What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same…

This quest of sorts could present metaphorical (or possibly literal) steep mountain faces, hot, sweaty and overwhelmingly never-ending jungle terrain or a maze of mathematical madness that looks and feels like an alien planet.

How does one become a master of administering the internal guidance for these types of convoluted circumstances? How does one trek through and ultimately survive the expedition?

The answers for each person (obviously) will vary. However, there is someone who has discovered a universally advantageous approach, mindset and style to facing life’s many battles with what seems like ferocious lions in the center of a magnificent, sprawling coliseum filled with a cheering crowd.

While his name is unknown, his stories are not. Whatever he faces in his life, he has managed to turn lemons into gold. His inspiring tales of adventure are incomparable. He makes every challenge look like an amazing opportunity (easier said than done). But, regardless, he wins…every time.

He is the most

Sometimes, all it takes is a sip of a particular honey-colored nectar to refresh one’s ambitions, confidence and assurances of their original goal. And doing so in the most interesting way imaginable.

Well, that’s my forecast anyways…(Operations Management: Check)

P.S. Do you know why there are two XXs on the bottle?

Because when the bearded adventurer found his treasure, he was so impressed, he had to mark it twice.

Stay positive my friends!

The Infinite Possibilities of the Unknown

Two things:

First, Matthew McConaughey has officially transitioned from a charming romantic comedy staple to a character actor that explores deep, complex and sometimes morally conflicting terrain and alleyways. To clarify, his transition is not necessarily permanent and is somewhat representative of a Game Show portfolio. He can pick Door #1 (serious), Door #2 (comedy) or Door #3 (sports/drama).

It’s not a bad hallway to walk through each day as an actor. However, it’s not yet clear which door he’s built or walked into with his most recent adventure with a relatively unknown, independent British filmmaker…

Some of his roles recently (Mud, Dallas Buyer’s Club, The Wolf of Wall Street) surely have taken McConaughey into new levels of the unknown. The same likely goes for some of his longtime fans. Will these more serious character portrayals shine a new light on a before darkened corner in the actor’s study to reveal a gold envelope containing a decorated card stock with his name written on it?

Time will tell…

Speaking of time, the second note today involves the recent release of a trailer for director Christopher Nolan’s latest mind-bender: Interstellar. From Memento (psychological) to Inception (dreaming) to The Dark Knight trilogy (pain, fear, chaos, belief), Nolan and Co. (& Syncopy of course) has now entered the world of science fiction with Interstellar.

Here is the first glimpse:

The question isn’t whether or not Matthew McConaughey can successfully propel himself into a new horizon in the stars that leads him to an Oscar, but rather if Christopher Nolan will have a good reason to invite him on another crazy road trip in the future, as the director tends to do with a select group of actors and actresses.

The better question today is will you take the ultimate journey to explore the unknown with McConaughey one year from now?

Happy Monday!

Snow is falling. Cheer is in the air. The spirit of Christmas and the holiday season is being captured and celebrated in cities and towns across the country and the world.

This time of year calls for impromptu ski/snowboarding trips or venturing off to a cabin nestled within the majesty of nature.

However, today is Monday. Sorry, it’s the truth. The likelihood of escaping the grind of the work week is slim to none. But wait, today is Monday

Monday + 8:00 p.m. + CBS = “How I Met Your Mother” = A high probability of something happening that is Legen-wait for it…

dary!

Happy Monday and Make This Week Legendary! 

The Coolest Cobra Strike You’ve Ever Seen

Every Mom at some point or another has worn a particular pair of glasses in her life.

It’s true.

As Beverly Goldberg demonstrated last night with a simple stroll past her two sons wrestling (excuse me, doing kara-te!) in the living room, she showed that she owned a pair of “Mom Goggles.”

Spoiler Alert: This is a recap of “The Goldbergs” from December 10, 2013

What are “Mom Goggles” you ask? It’s a specific type of lens a Mom sees the world through whereby which everything her child or children does is unequivocally amazing, perfect and life-altering. This special perspective is the equal combination of excitement, denial and a unique kind of love that only a Mother can give.

This guidance and encouragement can even lead to showing up at her son’s high school to threaten (in the funniest way possible) the talent show director, Mr. Glasscott, for denying her breathtaking Barry from shining a light on the world with his incredibly uncoordinated and non-karate karate performance in front of the entire school.

The performance would not be considered “cool” by any stretch of the imagination. The cool kids in the crowd would surely ridicule him.

Strangely enough though, after Beverly Goldberg’s meet-and-greet with Mr. Glasscott, that had elements of verbal karate, news broke in suburban Philadelphia the the Tri-State Talent Show Committee had overruled the high school and would, therefore, give Barry his black belt/his Dad’s robe belt back!

The only other thing standing in Barry’s was, well, a dinner roll.

And yes, this matter clearly warranted a Tri-State ruling. Those talent shows are incomparably high octane. Just be sure not to mess with the National Talent Show Committee.

While “The Karate Kid” was getting a Goldberg-reboot courtesy of director/robber with a panty-hose mask and lethal red light saber Adam, Erica was preparing to act cool by sitting in the front row to witness her brother’s genuinely spectacular knockout (KO). It’s what older sisters do (I know from personal experience). However, Pops didn’t see it that way. He saw the situation differently.

Call it “Pops Goggles.”

First, it was singing. Then, it was the banjo. The accordion was also mentioned as an alternative. No dice. Erica was as unmoved as Pops reading a magazine with “Eight Ways to Catch a Hunk.”

Then, after a frank discussion from Murray Goldberg to Mr. Glasscott, news broke again in the talent show universe when the National Talent Show Committee overruled the Tri-State Talent Show Committee to allow Barry to continue his dream of kara-te. What are the odds!? Although, it does makes sense: national would trump the tri-state.

The night of the talent show was ripe for glory, as well as a surprise or two…

The time had come for Barry to showcase his ninja skills, despite the very unusual bickering between the Tri-State and National Talent Show Committees and his Dad’s wisdom to refrain from performing with a touching story from his youth.

It was time to transform the high school auditorium into Barry’s own personal dojo.

There was just one thing standing in the way of Barry annihilating his competition: a last second realization of the humiliation of what was about to occur stage right. Then, out of nowhere, a familiar face appeared backstage. Finally inspired by her grandfather’s persistence (and a guitar with a sweet note), Erica decided to pull out her own ninja moves…

With a new, but trusty red electric guitar, Erica decided to hit the talent show audience “with her best shot” Pat Benatar style. It was sensational.

But what do you get when one Goldberg gets on stage?

Answer: Three Goldbergs!

Inspired by his sister’s courage, reception and song choice, Barry built up his own courage (and cobra strike) and took the stage for an unforgettable kara-te demonstration with zealous brother Adam. Not only did Barry and Erica shock the world/high school talent show audience that night, but a Christmas tree and a giant candy cane also got an unexpected surprise. The crowd erupted in cheers (not laughter), which led to a standing ovation of family and friends.

Even Murray was overcome with excitement and uncharacteristic pride.

What really sealed the deal was a magical move from Barry who, somehow, manged to break a piece of wood with his foot!

It looked something like this…

(It also helps if the director/younger brother replaces real wood with balsa wood)

Every parent wants their children to succeed and there are moments of unfiltered pride that may seem utterly strange and, by all accounts, bad from everybody else’s perspective. But sometimes that overzealous, unrelenting support can lead to a pretty spectacular result.

And Beverly couldn’t have expressed her love for her children any better than the following statement of poetic genius for her middle child Barry.

“No one tells my baby he can’t cobra strike!”

“Mom Goggles” can be pretty cool.