CURRENT EVENTS

Viva la France!

World Powerlifting Congress

I took second place at the World Powerlifting contest in Maia, Portugal; coming in second to the extraordinary Evageny Khudolleev of Russia.

I found the Russians very friendly and extremely supportive of me.  Below is a couple new Russian friends that I made at the contest.

As I have mentioned in the past; one never accomplishes anything without some help along the way.  You may recall me mentioning Tony, Walter and Art’s contributions to my being at the contest in Portugal.  

Well I owe a big thank you to John Harp, who I met at the weigh-in the day before the contest.  He was kind enough to coach me through the lifting process, which was somewhat different than how I had done it in the USA.  Plus, John was encouraging me for each of my lifts.  I believe without his help, the results would not have been as favorable for me.

A Christmas Carol

I saw this play yesterday with some of my best friends and I think seeing a live performance of A Christmas Carol is a great way to kick off the Christmas Holidays.  Usually, you can find a performance somewhere near you.  I happened to see this one at Meadow Brook Theater in Rochester, Michigan.

THIS WEEK’S JOKE

SELF-HELP BOOKS

I first read “The Art of War” back in 1988 and have reviewed it every so often.

The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise attributed to Sun Tzu, a high-ranking military general, strategist and tactician [ ].  It has had an influence on Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, legal strategy and beyond.

The book was first translated into the French language in 1772 by French Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot and a partial translation into English was attempted by British officer Everard Ferguson Calthrop in 1905. The first annotated English language translation was completed and published by Lionel Giles in 1910.  Leaders as diverse as Mao Zedong, General Vo Nguyen Giap, General Douglas MacArthur and leaders of Imperial Japan have drawn inspiration from the work. (Source: Wikipedia)

LAST WEEK’S QUOTE FOR THE WEEK 

Last week’s poll involved five frogs on a long.  Four decide to jump off the log, how many are left?

Congratulations to the over 80% of you who answered that five frogs were left.  Why, because deciding isn’t doing.

QUOTE FOR THE WEEK

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

French Kiss

To demonstrate my support for the people of France, I thought I would choose a movie with a French theme.  This is a very nice movie and hopefully will take your mind off the troubles of our world, at least for a little while.

 

The film is about a woman who flies to France to confront her straying fiancé and gets into trouble when the charming crook seated next to her uses her to smuggle a stolen diamond necklace. French Kiss was filmed on location in Paris, the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur région of southeastern France, and Cannes. (Source:  Wikipedia)

LAST WEEK POLL – Health

Regarding the first poll on health, 57% of us believed the people of the USA are less healthier than other people in the world.

However, 41% of us believe we are as healthy as other people in the world and another 41% of us believe we are healthier than other people in the world.

THIS WEEK’S POLL – A Christmas Carol 

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is a holiday classic.  It is not just a book, but a number of movies have been using the story as its basis and many plays are being performed at this time of the year.

SONG OF THE WEEK

Given what happened in Paris and the threats against the USA; it just had to be Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. this song this week.Here is a song about taking care of business, plus I am dedicating this song to  all the business women out there.

Born in the U.S.A.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPhWR4d3FJQ

EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE

Davy Crockett

Davy Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is commonly referred to in popular culture by the epithet “King of the Wild Frontier”. He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives, served in the Texas Revolution, and died at the Battle of the Alamo.

Crockett grew up in East Tennessee, where he gained a reputation for hunting and storytelling. After being made a colonel in the militia of Lawrence County, Tennessee, he was elected to the Tennessee state legislature in 1821. In 1825, Crockett was elected to the U.S. Congress, where he vehemently opposed many of the policies of President Andrew Jackson, most notably the Indian Removal Act. Crockett’s opposition to Jackson’s policies led to his defeat in the 1831 elections. He won again in 1833, then narrowly lost in 1835, prompting his angry departure to Texas (then the Mexican state of Tejas) shortly thereafter. In early 1836, Crockett took part in the Texas Revolution and was killed at the Battle of the Alamo in March. (Source:  Wikipedia)

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MY BOOK

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http://www.amazon.com/Tired-Being-Ordinary-Are-You/dp/0990388697

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