Strange

Hello

If this is your first visit, welcome to Musings. Today I am musing about a strange conversation If you have been here before, welcome back. Over time we are going to talk about many things: the past, the present, perhaps the future, travel,

A Conversation

Let me share a conversation with you. It took place over several days.

This was a message that came to me out of the blue on WhatsApp. I decided to run with it and see where it went.

Day One

DF: Hello, Thomas. My assistant, Sonia, recommended you to me. This is D F, and I’m happy to connect with you here. 2:52 p.m.

later

ME: I’m not certain what your business is, but I’m willing to listen, D. 8:15 P.m.

Next Day

DF: I thought I’d tell you about my new project, the Privé Paradis smart hotel designed by the Ritz-Carlton and operated by Marriott. We will integrate various hotel facilities, including executive restaurants, private galleries, and retail malls.

In addition, we will collaborate with Abbott Laboratories to develop the Astrotech Pharm Medical Center, which combines health technology with an AI-driven drug development platform. 11:59 AM.

Next Day

ME: “How can I, an artist, be of interest to you?” 11:08 a.m.

Next Day

DF: I hope you can participate in my new project as chief artist in residence and art director.11:24 A.M.

Two days later

ME: Tell me what your expectations are. 11:49 AM.

Eleven days later

DF: Have you been doing any options trading lately? 10:14 A.M.

Next Day

ME: No. 5:38 p.m.

DF: ? 7:49 P.m.

Why? 7:49 p.m.

ME: Because . 7:51 p.m.

DF: Why? 8:28 p.m.

ME: Because. 8:29 p.m.

DF: Because you’re too old to understand? Right? 8:40 p.m.

L OL, 8:40 p.m.

Because you’re stupid and only know how to play with useless works of art and worthless works of art? Is that right? 8:41 p.m.

Is it right? 8:42 p.m.

ME: I think you summed it up pretty well. 8:43 p.m.

DF: Thank you. 8:44 I love you. 8:45 p.m.

ME: Welcome. 8:46 P.M.

DF: Where do you live now? 8:47 p.m.

ME: Florida 8:47 P.M.

DF: Have you retired? 8:47 p.m.

I live in LA. 8:47 p.m.

ME: I was born in LA. 8:48 p.m.

DF: Real? 8:48 P.M.

Is your family still in LA? 8:48 p.m.

ME: No, they left in 1944. 8:49 p.m.

DF: Oh, do you come back to LA often? 8:49 P.M.

I came to the US in 2022, 8:50 PM. I am Parisian, French, and grew up in the 17th Arrondissement. 8:50 PM.

ME: Paris has changed in the last 10 years. 8:51 PM.

DF: Yes. The immigration problem is serious. 8:51 p.m.

ME: So, we get back to my question: what are your expectations? 8:54 p.m.

DF: No more expectations. 9:09 p.m.

So what do you think? Lonely? Mental? Scam? I don’t know.

MORE TO COMEI

I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest

Today I promote my work through Art Store Fronts (www.ttribby.com) and Fine Art America and I show work locally at Jennifer Garrigues and Palm Beach FrameMakers in Palm Beach.

PRIME DAY SALE

I am having a PRIME DAY SALE June 24-26.

Use code PRIMEART26 for 25% off artwork throughout my gallery.

www.ttribby.com

If you like Musings, sign up in comments at the end, and I will put you on the distribution list. You will be notified

RECENT WORK

Nocturnal Butterfly

North County Road

Colony Hotel

Take a look at my website:

www.ttribby.com

On The Waterfront

Works on Paper

Impressions of Florida

🏆I am deeply honored and grateful to be selected as a winner of the 2026 Foods Best PhD Thesis Award, a prestigious recognition presented by @Foods_MDPI

https://mdpi.com/journal/foods/awards/3556

#mdpifoods #FoodScience #PhD #Research #AcademicExcellence #Foods #oliveoil
@unirioja

@MDPIOpenAccess

Warmer weather means it's time for one of my favourite "Oh shit, I need to prepare dinner" recipes: pasta with desalted capers, lemon zest and a good olive oil!

(While the pasta cooks, you chop the capers and lemon zest, then you mix everything together and serve. Really simple and delicious 🙃 Might be the fastest home cooked meal there is, any other suggestions?)

***

Fa caldo, quindi è ora per una delle mie ricette preferite della categoria "Gia', cazzo, devo pure cucinare": pasta con capperi dissalate, scorza di limone e olio di oliva!

(Mentre la pasta cuoce, triti i capperi e la scorza, poi mescoli tutto insieme ed e' pronta! È estremamente semplice e buonissimo 🙃 Potrebbe essere il pasto più rapido da preparare da zero a casa, avete altri suggerimenti?)

#cooking #pasta #recipe #quickRecipes #capers #lemons #oliveOil #cucina #ricetta #ricetterapidi #capperi #pantelleria #limone #olioDiOliva

From Staple to Luxury: Olive Oil Prices Become Symbol of Inflation-Hit Turkey

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://balkaninsight.com/2026/06/15/from-staple-to-luxury-olive-oil-prices-become-symbol-of-inflation-hit-turkey/bi/

A WORLD OF CHANGE

Hello

If this is your first visit, welcome to Musings. Today I am musing about change. If you have been here before, welcome back. Over time we are going to talk about many things: the past, the present, perhaps the future, travel,

Looking to the Future. Comparing with the Past

This week we replaced our hot water heater. The one we replaced had been in service about 16 years, so we’d done well with it. But, it no longer was doing it’s job.

The cost of the new one made me hold my breath. It was more than twice as much as I spent on the first new car I bought. A WATER HEATER!

A couple of months ago, I bought a new car. The old one I’d had for 16 years. It was getting tired. The new car cost more than twice as much as I spent on the first house I built. A CAR!

You see where this is going!

I’m old enough to remember when a cup of coffee was 5¢ … with unlimited refills. The word “geezer” comes to mind.

We are living in a world of change and it is happening at an accelerating pace. The news reported this week that Elon Musk has become the first trillionaire $100,000,000,000,0 (or a thousand billions). I think that is correct. Just blows my mind!

Hang on!

Men and Women

Yesterday we met some friends for dinner at a neighborhood place. It was an upscale Italian restaurant.

As I observed the room I began to focus on the women. All of them wore dresses, their legs from their knee down bare. some higher than the knee. Almost every woman had bare arms. One had a dress which came to point, an inverted V, at the base of her neck leaving her arms and shoulders bare.

The men in the room all wore slacks and long sleeve shirts. Some wore jackets. They were pretty covered up. I wore a jacket because the restaurant air conditioning can be pretty cold. That and because I am a little formal.

That got me thinking. Why is that, the different dress code for men and women?

When I drive around town I see young women with bare arms, a halter top and short shorts, women with bare arms and a short dress, always a lot of skin in the game. If they are with a guy he will almost always have on long pants and a short sleeve shirt. Rarely do I see the guy in shorts and an armless tee shirt

I’m not complaining. I like to see the women as they are. I just wonder why it is the norm. It has not always been so.

And in many parts of the world is not today.

MORE TO COMEI

I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest

Today I promote my work through Art Store Fronts (www.ttribby.com) and Fine Art America and I show work locally at Jennifer Garrigues and Palm Beach FrameMakers in Palm Beach.

PRIME DAY SALE

I am having a PRIME DAY SALE June 24-26.

Use code PRIMEART26 for 25% off artwork throughout my gallery.

www.ttribby.com

If you like Musings, sign up in comments at the end, and I will put you on the distribution list. You will be notified

RECENT WORK

Polignano A Mare

Matera Afternoon

ARCHWAY

Take a look at my website:

www.ttribby.com

Works on Paper

On The Waterfront

Impressions of Florida

Are Olive Oil Supplements as Good as Liquid Extra Virgin Olive Oil? What Science Says

https://www.dietofcommonsense.com/olive-oil-supplements-vs-olive-oil/

#oliveoil #EVOO #mediterraneandiet #diet #lifestyle

Finding Home: Reflections on Place and Inspiration

Hello

If this is your first visit, welcome to Musings. Today I am musing about “home”. If you have been here before, welcome back. Over time we are going to talk about many things: the past, the present, perhaps the future, travel,

Where is home?

As I write this, I am at my desk looking at my neighbors’ property across the street. The day is sunny and warm . . . in the 80°s, a typical Florida morning.

I’ve lived here 36 years, longer than any other place.

The area is beautiful, beaches, palm trees, balmy and clean.

It has been a source of inspiration for me.

Paintings of Florida

Waterway

North Bridge

Squall

Middle Bridge

Trinity Church

Summer Storm

Paintings of the Southwest

The following work is based on the southwest, where I spent much of my childhood and early adult years.

Canyon of Cliffs

Dry Wash

Roadside

Setting Sun

The Difference

Do you see the basic difference?

Distance and Height The southwest work has a sense of vast space and distance and of height. The Florida inspired work doesn’t have that. Florida is flat.

My childhood years were spent where the distance was vast. I could see a long way. Every time I get back to an area like that, I feel a thrill. I am a visual person.

Here in Florida, for the most part, you can see across the street . . .unless you are looking out over the ocean . . . where there is not much to see.

On A Different Note

MORE TO COMEI

I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest

Today I promote my work through Art Store Fronts (www.ttribby.com) and Fine Art America and I show work locally at Jennifer Garrigues and Palm Beach FrameMakers in Palm Beach

If you like Musings, sign up in comments at the end, and I will put you on the distribution list

RECENT WORK

Polignano A Mare

Matera Afternoon

ARCHWAY

Take a look at my website:

www.ttribby.com

Works on Paper

On The Waterfront

Impressions of Florida

"Truth, like oil, always rises to the surface."

For thousands of years, olive oil has been one of the Mediterranean's most prized foods. Its value inspired not only recipes, but also proverbs and wisdom.

Discover the stories behind traditional foods.

👉 https://www.worldfoodwine.com/condiments/olives

#OliveOil #FoodWisdom #Mediterranean #FoodHistory