La Clique

Last night we visited perhaps the most tourist-infested neighbourhood in London: Leicester Square, where we saw “La Clique”, a cabaret show which combines the gymnastics of Cirque de Soleil with the sexual humor of French burlesque.  After seeing Cirque de Soleil in Las Vegas four years ago, we compare, however unfairly, every rendition of similarly hyper-theatrical circus acts to our original experience which inevitably results in disappointment followed by a sudden, inexplicable urge to re-visit Vegas.  The individual acts in “La Clique” start out strong, but the show quickly loses its momentum after the fourth act.  However, I appreciated the paean to Freddie Mercury (in London, one unknowingly breathes in Queen like gnats in an English garden during the summer months) and the gymnast duo whose skits put my acroyoga skills to shame.

Sam R. on Seduction

Sam R., known as the “voice of erotic liberation”, provided today’s sermon at the School of Life. Much publicized by the Saturday Financial Times and Vanity Fair magazines, the secular “sermons” moved to a new venue, Conway Hall in Bloomsbury. In celebration of Valentine’s Day, Sam presented the notion that the purpose of life is the pursuit of happiness, or pleasure. In danger of reducing life’s meaning to a selfish hedonistic pursuit of pleasure, she quickly explained that one must satisfy “egotistical”, or the individual’s, need for pleasure, as well as work towards pleasure for all, for the “universal”. Wary that her words might help others rationalize having one too many helpings at the buffet at Ponderosa or return to Harrod’s to purchase the inexplicably expensive designer hand bag, Sam differentiates conspicuous consumption from pleasure as an insatiable desire that is globally destructive in addition to spiritually empty. Although I appreciated hearing Sam R.’s point of view, the notion that the pursuit of pleasure can one day ultimately result in enlightenment is dubious, to say the least.

NLP with Leo

Leo from Futuremind was the first guest speaker at my book club:  for our February meeting, we discussed “Brilliant NLP” (Neuro Linguistic Programming). CC and I agreed with Leo’s suggestion that we read an introductory primer on NLP; however, the introductory nature of the book was one of the many reasons why his talk was so valuable for our discussion. One of the youngest NLP practioners in London when he first started, LL coaches corporate executives to fulfil their potential and perform their best whether in the boardroom or meeting with clients by accessing and
chaneling emotions, altering body language and adjusting the tone of one’s voice, and re-programming one’s reactions to stimuli to promote positivity rather than negativity in one’s life. Soon after meeting LL shortly after moving to London, I told him “every time I see you, you’re surrounded by people”.  I’ve had the benefit of speaking with LL about his work for years now. His work promotes honesty, inquiry and authenticity while demanding the best from us which explains  why he’s he attracts people like bees to honey.
http://www.futureminded.co.uk/

Snow Day in London

Just last Saturday, over afternoon tea at Le Meridien  Piccadilly, six expatriates accused locals of ignorance about what cold weather really feels like in bplaces like Canada, Boston and New York. Lo and behold, it snowed last night and all day today, a “once-in-a-lifetime” weather event. It is the first time I’ve seen snow here in my four winters living in London.