Classic Style

It's amazing how the interiors of so many adults' homes resemble that of a particularly sloppy teenager.

Work-related Zoom and Teams meetings in the time of Covid-19 the last ten weeks or so have provided interesting, albeit unwanted, insight into how an awful lot of families apparently live their daily lives.  In a word, clutter seems to be the rule rather than the exception.  But a cluttered living space has adverse effects contrary to what a lot of people might claim.

Now, before you protest and point out that we are not living in 'normal' circumstances, hold on a second.  Living amid mess is not a recent phenomenon by any means, but something I began to notice about 20 years ago when The Grand Duchess and I, not yet married, or parents, and still relatively carefree young academics, began to accept a lot of dinner and party invitations from work colleagues for Friday and Saturday evenings. 

Almost always, I kid you not, the living spaces of most of the homes, to whi…

A few well-dressed men of a bygone age listening to the latest news broadcast.  Possibly from the BBC's Home Service about events in Spain?


What has happened to reason and common sense in the Time of Corona?  Where is our sense of decency?  Did we ever truly exhibit either, or were they simply nice ideals?  It seems that now, more than ever, we could all do with more of the three as well as a healthy dose of focus, calm, self-control, and cooperation.  More thinking about the good of others and the whole rather than simply just ourselves.  What is it about times of crisis that cause some of us to think, act, and speak in the most unpleasant of ways?
-- Heinz-Ulrich

As above in my basement office, a.k.a. Zum Stollenkeller. . .

Thought I'd use the two-hour meeting as an excuse to dress a bit more professionally than the usual corduroy jeans and Rugby jerseys of the last nine weeks or so since MSU sent all of us home and courses went remote through to the end of the semester at the start of the month. 
It's amazing how much I come back again and again and again to a navy blazer, olive chinos, and penny loafers.  Easily the most versatile pieces in what is, admittedly, an overly extensive professional wardrobe at this point, which ain't necessarily a bad thing in my book.  That much easier to stave off the pilled company fleeces in earth tones with corporate logos emblazoned across the chest.As far as today's attire goes, this time everything is worn with one of my brand spanking new Mercer button-downs.  This one is The James Bond small Tattersall by the way.  Comfortable fit, lovely collar roll, more than long enough to remain tucke…

Freshly showered and cologned for Mothers' Day 2020, though not shaven.  Hey, it's still the weekend.

Well, after almost nine weeks since my last visit to the stylist for a haircut, I finally gave up the ghost and decided to do something about it since I was beginning to look decidedly shaggy, and said stylist's salon won't be open again until the end of May.  At the earliest.  Late Saturday afternoon, I threw caution to the wind, fired up the recently purchased Wahl Color Pro trimmer, and went to work. 

This was on the heels of watching many, many how-to videos from the last couple of years on YouTube.  I played it safe and used the #8 guard (slightly longer then 1") plus the tapered right and left guards for around the ears and temples.  The Grand Duchess used my small, battery operated trimmer to clean up the nape of my neck and hairline there.  It won't win any awards, but it's about on a par with the cuts I got during my fascination with traditional ba…

Hurrah!!!  The Young Master just passed the test for his green belt in Tae Kwon Do about 30 minutes ago via Zoom.  Once again, I am just bowled over by his determination.  Since The Grand Duchess is usually the one who gets our son set up each afternoon and Saturday mornings with the computer, and often supervises from nearby, much of this was new to me. 

I have not really witnessed him in action since the last belt test at the end of February.  His increase in skill, coordination, focus, speed, and form in just a little over two months is head spinning.  He has practiced six days a week for 1-2 hours a day since the end of March when everything went into lock-down mode, so I shouldn't be surprised, and he has indicated that he wants to help teach the martial art once he turns 14. 

That's just 3.5 years away, by which time I expect he'll have his black belt, or be just about there.  Anyway, we pick up the belt in a drive-by ceremony early Sunday afternoon.  Wow.  Just wow.
…

Kills 99.9% of germs.  And, very likely, 99.9% of the people who might ingest it somehow simply because some ignoramus wandered off-script once again and gave voice to whatever half-baked thought drifted into his head.  Calls to poison control centers around the U.S. have been on the rise during the last several days.  It is difficult to  fathom and almost incomprehensible that there are actually people out there who might entertain using cleaners and disinfectants like this in the wake of the president's latest gaff last week.  As tragic as that desperate reality is, it does not say much for a certain segment of the electorate who might seriously consider drinking, snorting, rinsing with, or injecting household cleaners like Lysol, Clorox, and others.

Leading others effectively is a delicate balancing act of many things. 

In more specific detail, we should prepare ourselves to lead by being proactive.  We must practice and cultivate the art of informing ourselves through careful r…

All dressed for the office of days gone by.

We have only been lightly confined for a few weeks relatively speaking, so it seems almost incomprehensible when I see and hear in the news people of various ages and stripes complaining about one thing or another connected with self-quarantines, stay-at-home orders, or social distancing.  How entitled and soft we have become in the decades since The Great Depression and WWII, when so many people around the world had to make do with far less for much longer and often under far worse circumstances.  And that’s not even taking into consideration the sheer number of injuries and deaths endured by so many military personnel and civilians around the world between 1939-1945. 

Oh, I get it.  We’re disappointed if prom and graduation have been cancelled.  We’re scared. We’re frustrated.  In some instances, we disguise (we kid ourselves) our great anxiety behind politically charged bluster.  We may have lost our jobs, or been furlough…