John-Paul Rantac

The meltdown over Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey casting is just a side show. For this movie to stay true to the narrative and transport the audience to Homer's Greece, Nolan must master a more important, foundational principle: the ancient law of Xenia.

@naval I discovered this lesson as a teenager watching Gladiator and Troy. Maximus' duty to his wife and child. Prince Hector's duty to his country.

A man expresses love through duty.

Vita Nuova by Dante Alighieri Love and the gentle heart are one, As wrote the great poetic sage, Such that dividing them would be Like having sense devoid of soul. Loving nature creates the two, With Love as Lord, the heart his home, Inside of which he sleeps in peace, Sometimes a bit, sometimes for long. A lady's beauty then appears, To please the eyes and fire the heart. To long for such a lovely thing - At times it lasts there for so long That it awakes the soul of love, As ladies are by valiant men.

@stats_feed Wild Tales by Pedro Almodovar.

What’s a 10/10 movie but hardly anyones heard of it?

@ramit My secret travel tip is to visit Europe's prestigious art museums 90 mins - 2 hours before closing. I've seen Da Vinci at the @MuseeLouvre and the Pre-Raphelites at @Tate with a fraction of the crowd.

HOW WE MAKE OUR TRIPS MAGICAL - Cooking classes. In Mexico City, our guide took us to the market, then we all made extra-spicy salsa together. This is a beautiful way to visit places you wouldn't know about and get involved in a tactile activity. Perfect for families and older parents and very inexpensive. - The $325 underwear. We'd been traveling for weeks and needed to do our laundry. Our hotel, Aman Kyoto, would have charged $325 for a small bag of laundry (standard price for all ultra-luxury hotels). I said "NO WAY!!!" and we decided to go into town and find a laundromat. It turned into an adventure (as we stumbled into place after place that wasn't quite right -- one lady translated for us and said, "Are you trying to wash your clothes? This isn't the right place. This place restores kimonos"). We finally found a local laundromat, took our best guess if it would work, and went to lunch. Now this is a fun ritual for us every time we travel. Sometimes cheaper is way more fun - We hire a local photographer. We love our memories of our trips and local photographers know the best spots/time to take photos. Find the best ones on Instagram. In Tokyo, we use the same photographer every year - On complex trips, I work with a travel advisor. I used a larger firm for a 6-week trip across multiple continents, which was invaluable: They helped us navigate different transportation, recommended which safari lodges to visit (and in what order), and even suggested where to economize & where to splurge. Sometimes I know exactly where I want to go so I call a more surgical travel advisor. In the video, he got our NYC hotel triple-upgraded. Or sometimes I just do it myself. TAs are especially helpful for Disney trips, honeymoons, and multi-generational trips. (They also cost you nothing, but you should look into how they work. I find them very valuable) - 1 major activity every two days. The ultimate luxury is time, so we have a rule: 4+ days in any location. We also book 1 major thing (food tour, museum, etc). The rest of the time, we've pinned a bunch of stuff and we wander where we feel like that day - We know exactly what we DON'T want to see. When I'm attending a private tour, I tell them what I want to experience and what I'm not interested in. Most tour guides will take you to the usual hotspots because it's safe and people can say they saw X or ate Y. I know exactly what I want to see. For example, on a coffee tour, I told them the exact kind of beans I wanted to try and what I was not into. People in hospitality love someone who knows what they want!! This level of intentionality means you get to experience magic (it's not rude) I travel several months per year and I want my travel to be incredibly meaningful for my loved ones and me. These are some of the ways I do it If you want to know more, let me know in the comments More details on the next post

If Nolan misses Xenia, he just has an expensive action movie. If he hits it, he has a masterclass on systemic survival. How this exact Homeric framework applies to navigating chaos, building skin in the game, and enterprise leadership today: @john-paulrantac/the-marketer-as-mentor-navigating-the-customers-odyssey-through-xenia-6bf283f93ae3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">medium.com/@john-paulrant…

The ultimate strategist, Athena, uses Xenia as her primary weapon. In Book 1, she disguises herself as a stranger at the gates, forcing a young Telemachus to show hospitality under immense pressure. She teaches him that true power isn't muscle—it's providing shelter in a storm.

The meltdown over Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey casting is just a side show. For this movie to stay true to the narrative and transport the audience to Homer's Greece, Nolan must master a more important, foundational principle: the ancient law of Xenia.

@megha_lilly Evelyn De Morgan's 'The Daughter's of The Mist' painted in 1908 was inspired by The Little Mermaid. The painting depicts the original version your article alludes to with the 'daughters' rescued from death by flying spirits.

The original Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid teaches girls: - growing up is a rite of passage that comes with responsibilities and real consequences - witchcraft won't solve your problems - the importance of marriage vs general affection - the consequences of changing your body for a one-sided love - the most valuable thing in the world is your immortal soul and the possibility of going to heaven The 1989 Little Mermaid teaches girls: - You have to disobey your parents to grow up - even if you make mistakes eg engaging in witchcraft your daddy will come fix your mistakes - a kiss is the ultimate proof of love, not marriage

@trad_west_ I disagree—this film will be monumental as Christopher Nolan is presently the greatest film director. Apart from two dubious casting calls (probably forced on him by Hollywood execs), the rest of the acting cast is excellent.

"it may be the summer blockbuster" No one is going to be watching this terrible adaption of the Odyssey. It's going to flop.

@elonmusk @TWarPhilosopher In The Odyssey, Helen of Troy regrets fleeing with Paris to Troy; the spark that ignited the Greek invasion across the Aegean.

@TWarPhilosopher Sparta launched a war against Troy over a woman and Achilles refused to continue fighting because the Spartan king took his woman. These are the two biggest plot points in the Iliad.

These two books were disastrous for humanity and study of the Ancients. Miller convinced leftists Achilles and Patroclus were gay lovers and Wilson translated the Iliad to implicitly hint at this. Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey is the final straw to ruin Homer.

@KimButl76596357 @athenaeumbc It's a must read, so much life philosophy in one book!

@jprantac @athenaeumbc Hmmmm ? I’m a non fiction addict

What's a 10/10 book you always recommend?

According to legend, Veronica wiped the face of Christ on his way to Calvary, leaving his image imprinted on the cloth. But Zurbarán does something haunting. He paints the linen with hyper-realistic precision—every knot and fold is sharp—while the face remains a ghostly, fading memory. He makes the absence more powerful than the presence.

Zurbarán doesn't just paint a saint; he paints the physicality of the end. Saint Francis clutches a skull—not as a prop, but as a mirror. He turns a silent meditation into a cold, hard confrontation with the floor of the grave. In this void, the rough wool of the habit and the bone of the skull are the only realities left.

I’ve always found the 'Greats' of Spanish art to be polarised. The Over-Analysed (Picasso), the Untouchable (Velázquez), and the Sublime but Sidelined (Sorolla). But the @NationalGallery Zurbarán exhibition creates a new category for me: The Austere Absolute. Starting with his masterpiece, Agnus Dei. No background. No distractions. Just the sacrifice.