Yes, lacrosse season is over in Montreal (HUGE SHOUT-OUT TO THE MCGILL REDBIRDS MEN'S LACROSSE TEAM!), but don't you worry, we can still helicopter parent with the best of them. This empty-nester team is heading to NOLA to see our daughter! 

Get ready for us, Kaylie!!

On a serious note, we do talk FAA delays that affected our Canada trip last weekend. AND THEY RAN OUT OF ALCOHOL ON THE FLIGHT! Hopefully we get the skies back to normal soon! 

DC, are you listening??? We know Amsterdam is!

But how about the importance of travel?... An industry vital to keeping the magic of humanity together thru people-to-people engagement! Chris heads to a conference this week to speak about just that! The MAGIC OF CULTURAL & COMMERCIAL CONNECTION! A glue that bonds countries and keeps the world in harmony... or at least keeps us all from war............  

Enjoy...

Follow, Review, and SPREAD THE WORD!

We're handing over the keys to friends to watch our dog and home for the weekend, but before we go:

1 - Can we pay the people in the control tower? Please! If anyone deserves their regular paycheck, it's the people who keep us safe in the skies!

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2 - What is the meaning of life? What makes someone truly happy? 

We know a few answers to those questions for us - a) watching our daughter play violin in her orchestra or leading her cheer team on the sidelines of a BIG game, and b) rooting on our son in lacrosse games... Which we are going to do this weekend... In Toronto... In the snow... But it is for the National Championship of Canada. GO REDBIRDS!

It's a solo performance, so we'll call this one "Episode 7.5"...

Chris does an early morning tv appearance on Yahoo Finance to discuss:
1) The Industry's anxiety around the expected Warner Brothers Discovery sale.
2) Solutions for the terrible trend of off-shoring tv & film production.
3) The importance of engaging consumers worldwide now that Hollywood lost the China market.

Enjoy... and don't you worry! A fully populated, brand new PLATE & PONDER episode is coming soon!!

Just when we thought it was other people who had the problem, Jen & I realized we have the same manic issue. We may actually take the outcomes of games our children play way too seriously...

Hmmm... No way... That couldn't be true... Or is it? 

We discuss the adrenaline rush.  Cortisol Release.  And the physiological response of watching sports.  Go Dodgers.  Go Redbirds.  And go any team our kids are playing on!!!

Boy are we are spent after this weekend. But boy was it fun too!

Anyone else upset that no one opens the window shades on planes anymore? 

And how about the EPIC southern hospitality in Nashville!!!

And, oh yeah, the Village People were caught, but they didn't have France's crown jewels on them... That story will just continue to occupy our consciousness... 

HOT IMPORTANT TOPICS:

Macro themes learned from research group sessions with under-30's re: Social Media addictions.

&

Xi Jinping's Trump card on America.

And so much more....... Let's get going. It's empty nesting time w/ Plate & Ponder!

Drinking an ambrosial glass of wine, enjoying a beautiful Sunday afternoon, staring at my gorgeous wife, and trading some jovial, yet highly engaging, banter...

Our topics of the day include:

MOVIE REVIEW:  "HOUSE OF DYNAMITE"

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THE POWER OF NARRATIVE:  INSIDE A DEMOCRACY & A COMMUNIST COUNTRY

And smartly, just before the eyes of our listeners glaze over, we wrap it up, promising to return with more fresh & civil discourse later this week...

We truly love EMPTY NESTING! Please join us on our EPIC journey!!

A cold beer, a Mandarin song, and a groovy new beat... then the banter hits airport & sleep divorces... and more fun....

The two choice topics tonight are:

THE GREAT LOUVRE & SHANGHAI DIAMOND HEISTS

& 

AMERICA'S DEBT SPIRAL

And then when... the coast is clear... we go back to some personal questions re: "who's most likely too?"... Fade to Black (with a new groovy soundtrack)...

Yeah, we have our usual, epic, empty-nesting banter... and yes, it's over some wine... but we do get serious........  The two choice topics tonight are:

TIPPING

& 

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

And then when... the coast is clear... we go back to the fun banter to close...

We hit it all in this epic episode:

We glaze:  Apple Fritters, REO Speedwagon, Roller Skating Parties, Kings & No-Kings, Old Fashioned Glazed Donuts, Protests, Coldplay, Cole Crotty, Phil Brodkin, USC, Dr. Lawrence Flechner, Dirk Diggler, 70's vibes, Surf Sessions, No-Pants, Dogs, College Football, Cote Du Rhone, Ritalin, Burnt Orange Teams, Vandy, Rebuilding Inner City Programs, Dolphins, Ohtani, Samarium-Colbalt Magnets, Soy Beans, Dangerous Minds, Coolio, Morgan Freeman, The Boss, Paul Thomas Anderson, Israel, Peace in the Middle East, Mancrushes on Tom Cruise, Iron Claw, and more!

We didn't glaze:  Too-many-protests, Government shutdowns, Miami Hurricanes, Notre Dame, 405 Freeway, Pants, LSU, Coach Firings, China, Xi, Beijing, Trade Wars, Rare Earth Supply Chain Choke Points, Bad Dads, Humble Brags, A.D.D., Focus, and more!

GAME ON!!!!!!!!!!

Dinner, Dialogue & Debate
Welcome to the VERY FIRST EPISODE of "Plate & Ponder" — where a longtime married couple, now proud empty nesters, pour a glass of wine, share a meal, and tackle the biggest stories shaping our world. She's (Jen Fenton) an inner-city charter school director, elected official, and former school board president. He’s (Chris Fenton) a media executive, professor, and author. Together, they bring decades of parenting, public service, politics, and purpose to the table.
From the joys and growing pains of an empty house to the cultural and geopolitical headlines you can’t ignore, this is a candid kitchen-table conversation that’s equal parts heart, humor, and hard truths.

Unscripted. Unfiltered. Unapologetically curious. Pull up a chair — dinner is served.