One question opened my kitchen. Twenty years later, my wife’s sport opened a world I never expected to love. By Ralf The First Question The first important question was not very romantic. “Are you the former husband of S—the man who can cook so well?” That was what my wife asked me when we first…
At 65, I am not sure that I will become a good dancer. But after spending a great deal of time alone, ballroom dancing has brought new people, movement and fun into my life. By Ismar My sixty-fifth birthday contained two surprises. At lunchtime, I went to a restaurant with my mother, my aunt and…
After years of asking what Brida is, who it is for and whether anybody might eventually pay for it, the Mayor has finally received a definitive answer. An obituary for a man who asked one question too many. The Mayor died today after a long and largely unsuccessful struggle with curiosity. The immediate cause of…
A man walks onto the stage of America’s Got Talent. He does not dance, sing or explain himself. He simply stands there, completely expressionless, while Tequila begins to play. Then, at exactly the right moment, he says one word: “Tequila.” That is almost the entire performance, and yet the audience cannot look away. They are…
I opened a glowing portal behind the washing machine and took the Mayor into a world of revolutions, holy socks, suspicious ducks and laundry-basket racing. Somewhere along the way, I remembered how good it feels to simply have fun. “I thought about the theme of the month,” I announced. “Curiosity.” The Mayor immediately prepared himself…
Sometimes rest isn’t about doing nothing. Sometimes it’s baking bread before work, laughing at a child’s unexpected song, and looking forward to a camping weekend with a slightly questionable slushy in your hand. For a long time, I thought rest meant stopping. Lying on the sofa. Sleeping longer. Doing absolutely nothing. But if I’m honest,…
Sometimes rest isn’t a holiday, a spa day, or a weekend away. Sometimes it’s taking off your makeup, drinking coffee in silence, watching birds gather in a winter tree, or finally making time for the thing you’ve been meaning to do. There is something wonderfully revealing about asking a simple question: What is your rest…
Bruce began with a poem and several AI systems. I began with almost no knowledge of Philip Larkin. What followed was not a lesson delivered by a machine, but a journey into curiosity, memory and the things people still need from one another. Bruce triggered the whole thing. He had taken Philip Larkin’s poem This…
The new department heads have not yet arrived. Important decisions are waiting for them. The people needed for meetings are scattered, and the components needed for production have become scarce and extraordinarily expensive. Everybody is still working. Progress is another matter. I recently spoke with somebody working in the electronics industry. The office was unusually…
Curiosity Begins Here Curiosity rarely announces itself with a trumpet. More often, it begins with a small question that refuses to go away. This August, Curiosity becomes Brida’s new Theme of the Month, and next week’s tables open the door from several directions. Ralf begins with the questions that changed something. The Atlantic Corridor and…
