14th October 2017 brought the privilege of seeing a boyhood hero in person. I jumped on the 22 bus and headed down to San Francisco’s Castro Theater, to see Sir Richard Branson in conversation with Stacy Brown-Philpot, CEO of Task Rabbit. I’ve heard Branson’s critics over the years. But not for a while now. The attitude and character of CEOs and tycoons seems ever more polarized, and Branson
A friend of the past reappeared last week, flying into San Francisco to see the city and our zany zeitgeist of 2017. And, to limber up the liver — and his “Burn” wardrobe, before heading out into the Black Rock desert for the 2017 Burning Man. Swimming in a busy patch, I felt awful not having given best effort to a reservation to showcase this finest city for eclectic eating and drinking. Rich — I’m sorry mate, next time…! From the quirky cults that spring up around the latest favorites, to perennial old haunts that give a sense for how San Francisco always was before it boomed into the tensions and paradoxes that it is today. It’s always hard to try to explain the…
I stood in the doorway of a sepia-tinted kitchen, dwarfed in the door frame’s height and leaning against its right hand side. I picture sunlight, but not clearly; it was just that it was a naturally well-lit room. I picture a vinyl floor covering. I see a toaster. And, I felt small. And I looked into the kitchen with the room opening to my left hand side. I think Mum was standing there. And in a classically round goldfish bowl on a table in the center of the room was my goldfish. But dead. Floating-dead dead. An orange dead goldfish is my earliest memory, framed in our kitchen in a house in Ottawa. The second Ottawa home that I lived…
First posted on Facebook. Had to tap this out, to explain Pete’s share…such a great moment!! I landed in Vancouver early March 2010 to ski with Pete Brennan and Keara Brennan and enjoy being at the 2010 Vancouver winter games. We drove up to Whistler the next day, saw some cross-country skiing, and
The deep brassed and earthen tones of the tenor saxophone have reverberated in me since teenage years. Jazz music streams out of my speakers routinely, and especially in fall and winter. And I will defend passionately that this most spirited genre – ‘background’ music to so many – is anything but that.
This article was my “Thank You” write-up from the 2016 TeamCindy fundraisAlcatraz following that year's Brain Aneurysm Foundation Research Symposium We are targeting a $50,000 fundraise for the Brain Aneurysm Foundation and its critical, under-funded work dedicated to providing critical awareness, education, support, and research funding to reduce the incidence of brain aneurysms. It’s personally important for me to share how my friends and family contributing supporting know where their money goes, and so I hope you enjoy this write-up of our 2016 grant. And you can learn a little more about this issue along the way... Brain Aneurysm Basics That Can Save Your Life Brain Aneurysm Statistics and Facts The 2016 Brain Aneurysm Foundation Annual Research Symposium included my presentation of the Team…
5 August 2016 It was not an easy week, early August 2016, for tight-knit famille Brennan. I say tight-knit, though it might not so seem. Us being of four countries and three continents. We were gathered this time for the wedding of my sister Keara to a fine Englishman, Tom. And that meant a fine one hell of a
The 2016 campaign lit a new fire of new momentum for Team Cindy Alcatraz. 7 athletes, $27,000, and a very proud day for us all. A heartfelt THANK YOU to you all that supported in one way or another, donations, and the many now-repeated-gifts, the words, deeds and spirit! I had to capture it all for you, and
June 17 2016 · San Francisco, CA · First posted on Facebook. Friday thoughts. On the news of the death of a friend of old. Saturday 6 April 2002 was my last full game of rugby, and proved to be the start of two days riddled with bitter-sweet snapshot memories. It was a stunning day, as we arrived into
First posted on Facebook, March 11 2015, this piece of writing was the first time I pulled out a computer and just wrote in an impulsive flow, and posted it. There are a few things in life that absolutely make my spirit soar, and one of them is jazz music. I bought a saxophone when I was 14 or 15, and still remember the day I got on a train and headed up to London with a bag that included an envelope of cash, about fifteen hundred pounds to be precise (Dad had told me I might be able to haggle for a cheaper price that way). And that hunk of metal is still something I adore...