Inside the Mind of the Monkey

There are more than just bananas in there...

Month: August 2024

The World…Reversed

August 21, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Life is all about learning. Whether you like it or not. In my experience, as important as it is to get yourself a solid basis of knowledge, your education really begins once you are out of a formal school setting, exploring this big, wonderful world and all of its idiosyncrasies. I kind of love that, but then I have always hungered to know more, to understand new concepts and to dig not only into the what, but the how and most importantly, the why of most everything I encounter. The thing is, life is going to teach you lessons, over and over, so you might as well take advantage of the opportunity to learn and turn that experience into a sort of hard won wisdom. So, with a nod to just how much we have left to learn, won’t you join me now as we stand and make, The World…Reversed.

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See No Evil

August 16, 2024 / / 0 Comments

“What I want, I want now,” sang out from the television as I made my way to the bar. It made sense. The right sentiment for the right time. As much as I enjoy respectful patience and longing from afar, today I have a thirst. A particular kind of thirst that requires a particular kind of satiety. This longing is an oddly welcome pain. In some strange way hunger reminds you that you are alive. So much of life slips by in a mundane, grey sort of stumble from one task to the next, that the inner grumblings, those unsatisfied pangs, are like a wake up call. Usually, you keep them quiet, pushed down, under control, not even acknowledging their existence, making a conscious choice to not speak of this, but sometimes, well, sometimes you just need to let go and give in to temptation. So with a nod to the wisdom of Oscar Wilde and his unique self help routine, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the See No Evil.

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Consensual Objectification

August 15, 2024 / / 0 Comments

The first lesson in Robert Fulghum’s “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” is “Share Everything.” There are lots of other bits of wisdom in there like play fair, clean up your own mess, say you’re sorry when you hurt someone or hold hands and stick together when you go out in the world, but the sharing part is what always struck me. Which is funny because, as kids, we know that. From a an early age we are hammered with the message to share and not be selfish, to look out for our fellow humans and remember that we are all in this together. Seriously, this seems to be the super critical message of childhood, which is funny, since kids seem to get the importance of sharing almost instinctively. As we get older, well…maybe we can get into that later, but for now let’s focus on the positives as we stand and make the Consensual Objectification.

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End of the Road

August 14, 2024 / / 0 Comments

It has been a while since I took the time to make a drink here at Stately Monkey Manor. This last year, the majority of my mixing has taken place helping out behind other folks bars or while teaching a class or technique, so it was nice to take a break at the end of the evening and play around a little. A lot has changed since the last time I broke out that mixing pitcher, you may have noticed that it is on a new counter in a different place, but we are thriving in the face of these unexpected challenges and rewards. It is kind of funny that I chose this cocktail as the first drink to make in a new bar, but it also makes sense, from a certain point of view. Anyway, I hope that it all works out and that you will you join me now as we stand and make the End of the Road.

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The Doctor

August 7, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Fear. That is what keeps most of us from greatness. Being scared of the consequences, what people will think, the possibility of failure, keeps us on the sidelines instead of getting out there and speaking or living our truth. It’s a shame we can’t just start in the middle sometimes, but the journey begins with that scary first step. It is like Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Still, even knowing that eternal truth, how often do we let opportunities pass us by, because, unlike Lin-Manuel, we throw away our shot? I know that I am guilty of this, in so many ways and on so many levels. You could fill the pages of many books with lists of the things I have not done, the chances I let slip by because I was too afraid to seize the moment and carpe that diem. But I am trying to do better, to be more free and to embrace the possibility that a “yes” can bring. So in the spirit of fewer regrets and swallowing some bitter pills, won’t you join me now as we stand and make The Doctor.

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Ashtray Heart

August 6, 2024 / / 0 Comments

“This is gonna want for words…”, that is what I wrote as a placeholder way back in August of ’23 when I first made this one. Now we find ourselves with the calendar nearly back to where it sat that day when I reminded myself that the work remained unfinished. Clearly, I am a big fan of procrastination, but I do hate leaving a job half done, so in the spirit of Van Halen we’re gonna finish what we’ve started, if you will join me now as we stand and make the Ashtray Heart.

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