CURRENT EVENTS
Election Coverage
Folks, without taking sides; here is my attempt to bring you the latest in election coverage.
Cher Turned 70 Last Friday
One has to ask themselves, what will you look like when you turn 70 or 90? And have you adopted the lifestyle that will get you to where you want to be?
70 Year-Old Cher & 90 Year-Old Mom
PHYSICAL TRAITS
Honor Thy Temple
Know what you are eating by reading labels and asking questions.
CHARACTER TRAITS
The Foundation for Being Extraordinary
You need to figure out who you are and be that person, not who everyone wants you to be.
SOCIAL TRAITS
Getting Along with Others
LEARNING TRAITS
Growth Keeps You Extraordinary
Chapter 42 of my book discusses goals, but this will save you the trouble of obtaining the book.
MISCELLANEOUS
The Odds & Ends of Being Extraordinary
Here is something every mother should teach her daughter. As for the guys, don’t be this dude.
SELF-HELP BOOKS
Rome: An Empire’s Story
by Greg Woolf
Normally, I recommend very easy to read books, but every so often if you wish to be extraordinary, you need to read a book on something that interests you, that may not happen to be an “easy read”. For me, my interest is in Rome.
The very idea of empire was created in ancient Rome and even today traces of its monuments, literature, and institutions can be found across Europe, the Near East, and North Africa–and sometimes even further afield.
In Rome, historian Greg Woolf expertly recounts how this mammoth empire was created, how it was sustained in crisis, and how it shaped the world of its rulers and subjects–a story spanning a millennium and a half of history.
The personalities and events of Roman history have become part of the West’s cultural lexicon, and Woolf provides brilliant retellings of each of these, from the war with Carthage to Octavian’s victory over Cleopatra, from the height of territorial expansion under the emperors Trajan and Hadrian to the founding of Constantinople and the barbarian invasions which resulted in Rome’s ultimate collapse.
Throughout, Woolf carefully considers the conditions that made Rome’s success possible and so durable, covering topics as diverse as ecology, slavery, and religion. Woolf also compares Rome to other ancient empires and to its many later imitators, bringing into vivid relief the Empire’s most distinctive and enduring features.
As Woolf demonstrates, nobody ever planned to create a state that would last more than a millennium and a half, yet Rome was able, in the end, to survive barbarian migrations, economic collapse and even the conflicts between a series of world religions that had grown up within its borders, in the process generating an image and a myth of empire that is apparently indestructible.
Based on new research and compellingly told, this sweeping account promises to eclipse all previously published histories of the empire. (Source: Oxford University Press)
MOVIE OF THE WEEK
Alligator Arms: It’s what You Do
(GEICO Commercial)
LAST WEEK’S POLL – Clutter
When it comes to clutter
27% have clothing in our closet that we will probably never wear
23% store things in our attic or basement that we will likely never use
21% of us are going to start getting rid of clutter
17% of us have VHS or eight-track tapes stored
4% of us can’t park our car in the garage
4% of us know we are a packrat, but don’t care
4% of us are essentially clutter free
Last year I conducted this same poll and here were the results
31% have clothing in our closet that we will probably never wear
20% store things in our attic or basement that we will likely never use
20% of us are going to start getting rid of clutter
17% of us have VHS or eight-track tapes stored
5% of us know we are a packrat, but don’t care
5% of us are essentially clutter free
2% of us can’t park our car in the garage
THIS WEEK POLL – Voting
MUSIC OF THE WEEK
Walk Like an Egyptian
by The Bangles
Why can’t flying be like what it looks like in this music video
Now that you have seen the video, time to take a poll:
ART OF THE WEEK
American Gothic
American Gothic is a painting by Grant Wood in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Wood’s inspiration came from what is now known as the American Gothic House, and his decision to paint the house along with “the kind of people I fancied should live in that house.”
The painting shows a farmer standing beside a woman. The figures were modeled by Wood’s sister, Nan Wood Graham and Graham’s dentist. The woman is dressed in a colonial print apron evoking 19th-century Americana, and the man is holding a pitchfork. [ ]
It is one of the most familiar images in 20th-century American art, and has been widely parodied in American popular culture. (Source: Wikipedia)
Did someone say, “Widely Parodied”?
EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE
Imhotep
My guess is that you have not heard of this ancient Egyptian. Why would you, Cleopatra was closer to our time today, than she was to Imhotep, pyramid builder.
Imhotep was an Egyptian polymath who excelled in various fields of human activity, particularly architecture and engineering. He was the designer and architect of the astonishing Pyramid of Djoser, which was built in the 27th century BCE for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser.
During his lifetime, Imhotep earned many honors and titles of a social and religious character which no other commoner had attained before including Chancellor of the King of Egypt, First in Line after the King of Upper Egypt, High Priest of Heliopolis, and Administrator of the Great Palace. He was one of very few people in Egyptian history who achieved a divine status after his death though he was born a commoner. (Source: Wikipedia)
THIS WEEK’S JOKE
BLOG
Thanks to Tania, Sue & Samantha, for commenting on last week’s post. Comments are so encouraging, I urge you to let me know what you are thinking via a blog comment.
Thank you Amy, for bringing my total number of blog followers to 67.
My Harmony Books & Films Facebook page likes remains at 66.
If you think this blog has any merit, please pass it on to your friends. Hopefully, more of you will continue to share this blog with others. My thanks to Keeta, Susan, Scot, Carol & Joanne, for sharing 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.booksamillion.com/p/Im-Tired-Being-Ordinary/Wm-Allen/9780990388692?id=6429711012885
Harmony Books & Films, LLC 
SNL is doing a great job with this election season but they have been handled a whole lot of material. Funny and, somehow, frightening, at the same time. As usual, you’ve provided some educational content about something I know very little about. Thanks for striving to make us extraordinary. I know you seldom recommend fiction, but if you read this and see some ideas for self improvement, you may want to consider it. The “It” is the Turner House by Angela Flournoy.
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Carolyn, thank you so much for commenting and being a role model to everyone who knows you.
Yes, SNL has been handed some entertaining material and they have made the most of it.
I’ll have to look into the “Turner House”, thank you for the suggestion.
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