Philip Posner

I met a Rabbi on a beach in Santa Cruz, who was going from one group of sunbathers to another, selling his book: a fascinating discourse on ethics described through a series of imagined dinner conversations between famous ethical role models such as Mother Teresa, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jimmy Carter, the prophet Amos, together with - wait for it.... their favourite recipes! Rabbi Philip M. Posner's "The Rabbi and his Famous Friends - Food for Thought, Character & Soul" is part cookbook, part ethical dissertation. Wonderful stuff! In conversation he tells me "I believe physical nourishment is inextricably wrapped up with our character".

As a communications consultant I will always say that a face-to-face meeting over a meal ranks right at the very top of the hierarchy of communication, in terms of giving the best opportunity for a quality conversation, for establishing rapport, and for developing understanding and common wavelength. So I just loved the Rabbi's thoughts on conversations over meals: "Sharing bread in the course of ceremonies or simply at ordinary meals forges bonds which, in principle, will never be lost or forgotten". And he tells me that the word companion in fact means 'those with whom you have shared bread', the word derived from the Latin com, meaning 'together,' and panis, which means 'bread.'  Well, that I didn't know. But I do now, and to me it makes total sense.

***

The Lawyer unveiled its list of Star Bloggers this week, who will be providing "commentary analysis and opinion on the profession's good, bad and ugly",  in a new blogging section online.  At Kysen we were all delighted to see one of our favourite legal bloggers (and a client - I must declare my interest): Nicky Richmond, managing partner of Brecher, aka @saysitstraight on Twitter. It's official Nicky: according to The Lawyer, you're a 'luminary'. (But we always knew that...)

Read Nicky's hilarious first blog: The Unspoken Tyranny at Law Firms. We did warn you she says it straight!


***

This week's Blackberry Out(r)age put us all in bad humour. How dare they? Don't they realise this is like switching off our oxygen? Some of the jokes circulating on Twitter put smiles back on our faces though. Here's a selection, my favourite being:

Q. What did one Blackberry user say to the other Blackberry user?
A. Nothing.

Liz Booth at Insurance Day provided another whilst we shared our frustration over the phone yesterday:

Q. What do you get if your iPhone breaks down this week?
A. Blackberry and Apple crumble.

Thanks Liz.  Great idea for soul food this weekend in fact.