Morgans Hotels' Minibar For The Mind
While minibars are often used to numb/relax the mind ~ and some have stimulating energy boosters and/or “toys” for your pleasure now ~ i love the idea of adding some intellectual stimulation as well. In addition the The School of Life Daily Aphorism cards that Morgans Hotels leave on your pillow each night, they have also come up with the Minibar for the Mind, and what better place to test this than at the gorgeous Redwood Room at The Clift in San Francisco? Inviting a few friends to truly explore the “Conversation Starters” over martinis… before they even sat down, the Daily Aphorism cards got us talking ~ “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” - Douglas Adams & my personal favorite “Between two evils, I always pick the one I haven’t tried before.” - Mae West. Words to live by, no? Inside each set, you’ll find: CONVERSATION STARTERS: A box set of 250 cards featuring questions, quotations and provocations to start tongues wagging. COLLECTED THOUGHTS: A volume of the best columns written by The School of Life’s faculty and friends. READING PRESCRIPTIONS: Two tailor-made reading prescriptions housed in corked test tubes, designed to evoke moods of relaxation or seduction. DREAMS & FEARS NOTEBOOK with WRITER’S BLOCK PENCIL SET: A notebook to write down your dreams and fears, and inspirational pencils to get you going. I think The School of Life and Morgans are on to something here… the universal nature of forcing us to think differently, reassess our surroundings, push boundaries… while not always easy, are fun and freeing and make for passionate discussions, be it with friends or strangers!
So, while i have gone through all 250 cards, and the STACK of daily aphorisms, i tried to pick out my favorite thought provokers to get you going, and even then, i ended up with FAR too many to share in one post. So, on the next page… see pics of some of my favorites, as shot in the candle lit inspiration of the Redwood Room, while sipping a Mandarin Lemongrass Martini (deliciousness!)…
"cool it, cool it, man, you're being too literal. What you need is a lesson in abstract thinking... [wow. you are weird]... the funny thing about abstract thinking is you can't get away from it... to get rid of an abstract thought you have to erase it by thinking backwards." I don't know about you, but that makes perfect sense to me. And remind me again, why don't we have more television like old school Sesame Street anymore? If we make a NOTCOT show, i think we really need to head back in this direction. 
