CURRENT EVENTS

Apple’s Position on Privacy

http://www.apple.com/customer-letter/

SELF-HELP BOOKS

1984

by George Orwell

I read George Orwell’s 1984 long before 1984 and I recall 1984 coming and passing without the dire prediction being fulfilled. Obviously, Orwell was mistaken. The only question is was the prediction wrong or the title?

PHYSICAL TRAITS 

Honor Thy Temple

Isn’t it true that there is always another diet coming out and I guess most of them work in the short-term, but I don’t think they work in the long run for most people because there is a constant stream of diet books coming out.

Well, here is a diet that I think will help you in both the short-run and the long-run.  Please give it a try.

SOCIAL TRAITS

Getting Along with Others

LEARNING TRAITS

Growth Keeps You Extraordinary

When I started my professional career,  I was advised to “Never let the lack of ability stand in my way.”  Initially, I sort of suspected that I was being tactfully insulted.  However, like many pearls of wisdom; it takes a while to really know and understand a piece of wisdom.  As time went on, I saw that many people kept letting self-doubt prevent them from reaching new heights, while someone less ready took advantage of the opportunity.

Miscellaneous 

The Odds & Ends of Being Extraordinary

Cats were once considered gods by some.  And I have heard that cats have never forgotten that.  So, perhaps it is worth considering advice from a cat.

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

Android Commercial

I come across commercials that have more message to them, than many feature-length films, so I just have to share them with you.

I have long been a believer in diversity for no other reason than if you give it a chance, you will see its benefits in your own life.  However, it is hard to articulate this truth so that it reaches the mind, heart and soul of others.

I thought this Android commercial took a novel approach to communicating the value of diversity.  Please give it a chance by clicking on the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLhJIFC8xkY

LAST WEEK’S POLL – Self Improvement

Last week’s poll asked you about your thoughts towards self-improvement.

An overwhelming 60% of you try to improve yourself, but a shocking 40% of you don’t try to improve yourself.  Perhaps, you are already perfect, so there is no need for improvement efforts.

And 23% of you try to help others, “who want to improve themselves.”  That last phrase, “who want to improve themselves” is key.  As they say, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.  They also say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.

There is a sizable minority, 14%,  among us that view self-improvement as a moral obligation.

And alas, there is a small minority of us, 3%, that are simply not interested in self-improvement.  Well, if nothing else, they are honest.

THIS WEEK POLL – Clutter

As the quote below illustrates, there are many different kinds of clutter.  So please keep this in mind when you respond to this week’s poll and again you  may check more than one answer.

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

Smokey Robinson turned 76 on February 19, so in appreciation for his providing a song track for our lives, this week if you want to hear something moving, just click on the link below Smokey’s photo.

Tracks of My Tears

by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCwkZrj2VT4

ART OF THE WEEK

Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2

by Marcel Duchamp

Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 (French) is a 1912 painting by Marcel Duchamp. The work is widely regarded as a Modernist classic and has become one of the most famous of its time.

Before its first presentation at the Parisian 1912 Salon des Indépendants, it was rejected by the Cubists as too Futurist. Yet the work was exhibited with the same group at Galeries J. Dalmau, Exposició d’Art Cubista, in Barcelona, 20 April–10 May 1912, and subsequently caused a huge stir during its exhibition at the 1913 Armory Show in New York.

Nude Descending a Staircase is in the Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. (Source: Wikipedia)

I understand that Teddy Roosevelt compared this painting to a Navaho rug.  Whereas, Julian Street called it, “an explosion in a shingle factory.”  But my all time favorite critical comment was by a critic who described it as “a staircase descending a nude.”

EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE

Colin Coleman

I’ve always like the saying, “If the job will not bring honor to me, I will bring honor to the job.”  Colin Coleman has proved the truth of this saying.

An Indianapolis supermarket employee is getting recognized for going above and beyond.

A shopper at the Kroger Supermarket at 65th Street and Keystone Avenue snapped a picture of an employee helping a blind man shop.

“Truly, I do anything to help people,” said Colin Coleman, the employee in the photo. “They (visually impaired people) usually don’t particularly want people helping them, but I wanted to help him anyway.”

The interaction happened during Sunday’s snow storm.

Coleman has worked at the Kroger for a year. His job is to bag groceries, clean, push carts and stock. But yesterday even his boss says he went above beyond.

“It’s something that he does all the time, not just yesterday. But he’s always taking care of the customer,” said Andrew Fair, the store’s general manager.

“[It’s] real customer service, I think,” said Ashlee Fujawa, who witnessed Coleman’s kind act and posted the picture to Facebook. “Beyond that, it’s just person-to-person connection. You see someone in need and you can fill that need. How wonderful [it would be] if we all started to do that.”

Colin’s even plowed the parking lot yesterday, when all he was asked to do was retrieve carts, his manager said.

“Basically anything that has to be done, I do it,” Coleman said.

To acknowledge what Coleman did for the blind customer, Fair presented him with a customer service award Monday. The award is usually reserved for entire department. Coleman is the first individual to be presented with it.

“I wish I had 125 Colins doing the exact same thing because that’s what it’s all about; it’s all about the customer. We wouldn’t be here if weren’t for them,” Fair said. (Source: INDIANAPOLIS (WISH TV Channel 8)

THIS WEEK’S JOKE

BLOG

I always appreciate those that leave comments on my weekly posts, since it encourages me to continue these posts.  Thank you Sue & Carol for commenting on last week’s post.

Leaving a comment is easy, just click on “Leave A Comment”, which is immediately below the title of this week’s post.  And if instead of seeing “Leave A Comment”, you see “# Comments”, just click on that and scroll down to leave your comment.  

Currently, I have 37 people who are following this blog.  It is easy to follow, just click in the side bar area where it says “Follow Harmony Books & Films, LLC”.

I also have 61 people who have liked my Harmony Books & Films Facebook page.  Again, it is easy enough to like my Facebook page, just click in the side bar area where there is a little photo of the cover of my book.

If you think this blog has any merit, please pass it on to your friends.  In January 2015, this blog was viewed 214 times and this January it was viewed 608 times, which was a very encouraging increase.  Hopefully, you folks will continue to share this blog with others.

I appreciate Rachel, Joanne, Lestra y Carol; who shared my post last week on Facebook.

MY BOOK

If you know someone who is trying to change their life or that needs to change their life, please consider my book.

For those of you into reading books on a Kindle, the Kindle version of my book is $4.95.

My book is available on-line from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million.  

And if you have read my book, please leave an evaluation of it on Amazon.  Thank you.

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

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/im-tired-of-being-ordinary-are-you-wm-allen/1120528064?ean=9780990388692

http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Im-Tired-Being-Ordinary/Wm-Allen/9780990388692?id=6429711012885