CURRENT EVENTS (RECIENTES ACONTECIMIENTOS)

Based upon last week’s poll,

me and a lot of other people are in this same situation.

Below is a part of something that has been showing up on the internet, and it seems like a good way to start 2018.

I declare to walk into 2018 with a clear heart and mind…

If you owe me, don’t worry about it …

If you wronged me – lesson learned…

If you’re angry with me, let it go, you won…

If we aren’t speaking, I ask your forgiveness …

If you feel I wronged you, I truly apologize..

PHYSICAL TRAITS (RASGOS FÍSICOS)

Honor Thy Temple

CHARACTER TRAITS (RASGOS DE CARÁCTER)

The Foundation for Being Extraordinary

SOCIAL TRAITS (RASGOS SOCIALES)

Don’t be one of those people who are impossible to satisfy.

LEARNING TRAITS

(CARACTERÍSTICAS DE APRENDIZAJE)

Growth Keeps You Extraordinary

When you are searching for that perfect word, it is often a good idea to consult a “Thesaurus”

MISCELLANEOUS (VARIADO)

The Odds & Ends of Being Extraordinary

Of course you want to use your heart when finding a someone,

but don’t forget to consult your head also.

BOOK OF THE WEEK (LIBRO DE LA SEMANA)

This is an absolutely fantastic book just for the photographs and drawing alone. Used copies can still easily be acquired for a few dollars.

The Great Chiefs (1975)

by Time Life Books with text by Benjamin Capps

Not uncommon with enemies in war to respect one another afterwards, such as Chief Joseph and General Gibbons.

MOVIES OF THE WEEK (PELÍCULAS DE LA SEMANA)

I just watched this film again and I remain convinced it is the best classical version of this marvelous story.  

A Christmas Carol (1984)

A Christmas Carol is a 1984 British-American made-for-television film adaptation of Charles Dickens’ famous 1843 novella. The film  stars George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge. It was filmed in the historic medieval county town of Shrewsbury. (Source: Wikipedia)

MUSIC OF THE WEEK (MÚSICA DE LA SEMANA)

Back in the 50s, recording stars travelled around the country playing in high school gyms, recreation buildings and roller skating rinks.  I was a teenage or had just become one, when I saw Brenda Lee perform at the Motor City Skating Rink in Warren, Michigan.

Rockin Around The Christmas Tree

By Brenda Lee

LAST WEEK’S POLL – How have you done?

  

THIS WEEK’S POLL – Star Wars or Star Trek?

  

ART OF THE WEEK (ARTE DE LA SEMANA)

Ginevra de’ Benci

By Leonardo da Vinci

Ginevra de’ Benci is a portrait painting by Leonardo da Vinci of the 15th-century Florentine aristocrat Ginevra de’ Benci (born c. 1458). 

The oil-on-wood portrait was acquired by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in 1967 for $5 million —a record price at the time—came from the Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund and was paid to the Princely House of Liechtenstein. It is the only painting by Leonardo on public view in the Americas.

The portrait is one of the highlights of the National Gallery of Art, and is admired by many for its portrayal of Ginevra’s temperament. Ginevra is beautiful, but austere; she has no hint of a smile and her gaze, although forward, seems indifferent to the viewer. (Source: Wikipedia)

EXTRAORDINARY PERSON OF THE WEEK

(PERSONA EXTRAORDINARIA DE LA SEMANA)

I select Mona Lisa this week because no matter how successful you have been, if you slack off you could be replaced, perhaps by Ginevra de’ Benci

Mona Lisa

By Leonardo da Vinci

The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci that has been described as “the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world”. 

The painting is thought to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, and is in oil on a white Lombardy poplar panel.

The title of the painting, comes from a description by Renaissance art historian Giorgio Vasari, who wrote “Leonardo undertook to paint, for Francesco del Giocondo, the portrait of Mona Lisa, his wife.” Mona in Italian is a polite form of address originating as “ma donna” – similar to “Ma’am” in English. 

Vasari’s account of the Mona Lisa comes from his biography of Leonardo published in 1550, 31 years after the artist’s death. It has long been the best-known source of information on the work and identity of the sitter. Leonardo’s assistant Salaì, at his death in 1524, owned a portrait which in his personal papers was named la Gioconda, a painting bequeathed to him by Leonardo.

That Leonardo painted such a work, and its date, were confirmed in 2005 when a scholar at Heidelberg University discovered a marginal note in a book, the note dated October 1503, was written by Leonardo’s contemporary Agostino Vespucci. This note states that Leonardo was at that time working on a painting of Lisa del Giocondo.

In response to the discovery of this document, Vincent Delieuvin, the Louvre representative, stated “Leonardo da Vinci was painting, in 1503, the portrait of a Florentine lady by the name of Lisa del Giocondo. About this we are now certain. Unfortunately, we cannot be absolutely certain that this portrait of Lisa del Giocondo is the painting of the Louvre.

The consensus of art historians in the 21st century maintains the long-held traditional opinion, that the painting depicts Lisa del Giocondo.

THIS WEEK’S JOKE (BROMA DE LA SEMANA)

TALK TO ME (HÁBLAME)

Thank you Darlene, Dave, Nanette & Roijoyeux, for commenting on last week’s post. 

BLOG & FACEBOOK

Thank you Brenda, Carol, Cindi, Cynthia, Darlene,  Minnie, Nandini & Shirley, for sharing my post last week on Facebook.

And my thanks to Shilpi and Abhinandan, started following my blog and to Jessica & Valda, for liking  my Harmony Books & Films Facebook page.

BOOK (LIBRO)

Warning:  This book will not change your life, only you can do that.