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From CNN:

“Well, they don’t have a choice now, he’s our President,” McConaughey said. “It’s very dynamic and as divisive of an inauguration and time that we’ve ever had. At the same time, it’s time for us to embrace and shake hands with this fact and be constructive with him over the next four years.

I found this tweet amusing:

Apparently #MatthewMcConaughey has just announced his retirement. pic.twitter.com/426Him3N58

— Mr. Jameson Neat (@MrJamesonNeat) February 2, 2017

 

In honor of his retirement, here’s an “Alright, alright, alright” supercut:

Dr. Eileen deVilla — my sister, and Toronto’s new medical officer of health.
Photo released by the city of Toronto.

I’ll let Toronto news channel CP24 do the most of the talking, but I’ll say this myself: Congratulations, sis, and well done! I have every confidence that you’ll do a fantastic job.

Dr. Eileen de Villa appointed Toronto’s new medical officer of health

Dr. Eileen de Villa will take over as the city’s new medical officer of health in March after her appointment was approved by city councillors at Tuesday’s meeting.

In a news release issued by the city, Villa is described as a “distinguished scholar and physician” who studied medicine and public health at the University of Toronto.

She also holds a Master’s degree in Health Science, a Master’s in Business Administration and a certificate in health law from Osgoode Law School.

Dr. de Villa replaces Acting Medical Officer of Health David McKeown, who took over the position after Dr. Barbara Yaffe’s retirement.

Mayor John Tory and Coun. Joe Mihevc, chair of the Board of Health, both issued written statements on Tuesday afternoon expressing their confidence in the city’s new top doctor.

“Throughout the selection panel process, she demonstrated solid leadership and management skills, in-depth understanding of public health issues and a passion for public health promotion that will surely benefit the residents of Toronto,” Mihevc said.

Dr. de Villa will officially start her new position on March 27.

In case you were wondering, this post’s title is an Archer reference.

Fabio travelled a lot, and had a tradition of posting photos to Facebook from his airplane seat.

My high school classmate Fabio Sementilli left a year early to chase his dream of becoming a hairstylist under his older sister’s mentorship and opening his own salon.

He ended up doing much more than that — over the next 30 years, his skills, work ethic, and love for people who take him from Toronto to Los Angeles where he became the internationally-famous go-to guy for hair, trained thousands of stylists, and become the Vice President of Education for Wella, which was absorbed by Coty (in other words, a brand evangelist for the beauty giant). He was killed outside his home in Los Angeles’ Woodland Hills neighborhood on Monday evening.

Young Fabio. Hey, it was the ’80’s, we all had silly hair. But he had great silly hair.

Fabio and I both went to the same high school: De La Salle College “Oaklands”. Though we moved in different circles — me with the nerds, student council, and the theatre crowd, him with the “Gino Patrol” (“Gino” is the Toronto area equivalent of “Guido”) — we were friendly with each other. He “friended” me on Facebook about six years ago, and we’ve messaged each other back and forth ever since. We’d trade “I’m flying for bidniss” photos, but if it were a contest of how often, he’d win; where I was on a flight once a month, it seemed as if he was on a flight once every week. He sent me some nice congratulatory messages when I got engaged to Anitra, and again when I married her.

He was supposed to come to our 30th high school reunion in October but was unavailable. He sent us a video where he sent his greetings, wished us the best, and reminded us that the Gino Patrol was still alive and kicking.

Modern Salon wrote a lovely tribute, which included their favorite Fabio quotes:

• ON HAPPINESS: “To be truly happy, you must be ready to give 100% and expect nothing in return.”
• ON LEADERSHIP: “Leadership is not about a title. It’s about attitude…the right attitude.”
• ON ATTITUDE: “You must have a positive attitude. Surround yourself with people who add to your life who are positive and have a great attitude.”
• ON INTEGRITY: “You need to make sure you have integrity. Make sure it’s with your clients, friends and co-workers.”
• ON MENTORSHIP: “There are so many great hairdressers out there, and the best way to be successful is to give it away and pass on to the next generation.”
• ON VISION: “It’s more than just having an idea. It’s not enough. It’s taking that vision and making it come to life…following through.”
• PAYING IT FORWARD: “The next level of greatness is about being a human. We are all in the same business – we must pay it forward.”

Fabio had a wife and kids, and to them, I send my deepest condolences. Our high school class is already working out a way to send something nice to his family. Requiescat in pace, Fabio, and I hope that justice is served on your behalf.

I’ll close with this video by American Salon Stories, which should give you a sense of the kind of guy Fabio was:

“You can’t bring your accordion into the museum,” said the security guard at The Cloisters, the museum in way-Upper Manhattan that houses an impressive collection of medieval art.

“I’m not planning on playing it here,” I replied. “I’m catching up with friends later.”

“Well, you still can’t bring it in, and there’s no place to check it in, either.”

I decided to fall back on a line that every person in Florida has mastered, thanks to the number of retirees who live there and use it every day: “I’d like to speak to your manager.”

That failed. Somehow, sometime in the past, someone brought a musical instrument to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and wreaked so much havoc that it’s actually one of their written policies: no musical instruments.

Anitra was beginning to look concerned that my usually-beneficial affection of carrying the accordion around was going to upend our afternoon plans, and after we’d travelled a long way (in New York terms).

“I’ll take care of it,” I told her.

There’s a tiny alcove near the museum’s front door for group check-ins. It’s out of the line of sight of the main desk, and was unoccupied that afternoon. I could’ve easily slipped the accordion behind that desk and retrieved it later, but I had no idea whether someone would be at that desk later, or if there were any security cameras watching.

I decided to try the next-best option: outside.

There’s an accordion in this picture. See if you can spot it.

The Cloisters is north of 190th Street, and it’s easy to forget in you’re in New York City. It’s surrounded by a large park with many wooded areas. It hadn’t rained or snowed in a couple of days, and there was no rain forecast for that day. I found a spot not too far from the entrance, tucked my accordion behind a tree and buried it with dry leaves. The photo above shows the accordion in its hiding place.

I went back to the museum, did a little twist to assure the guard that I no longer had my musical instrument with me (he replied with a confused nod), and we went on the tour.

A couple of hours later, we went to the spot where I’d hidden the accordion.

“Where’d you put it?” Anitra asked, looking around.

“Over here,” I said, and after a quick search dug it out.

“It’s not the first time I’ve had to stash an accordion in the woods,” I said, and we headed to our next destination.