11/26/18 – Its a Wonderful Life

CURRENT EVENTS

As we wrap up Thanksgiving and begin the Christmas and New Years celebrations, it is a good time to reflect on the good things in our lives, rather than our problems.

Here is my favorite movie

I just love that film.

LAST WEEK’S POLLS

This Thanksgiving, are you absolutely going to avoid discussing politics or religion?

Yes  80.95%  (17 votes) 

No  19.05%  (4 votes) 

Total Votes: 21

Regarding the movie, “Alice Through the Looking Glass”

I haven’t seen it and I am not interested in seeing it  42.86%  (6 votes) 

I’ve seen it and thought it was good  28.57%  (4 votes) 

I haven’t seen it, but I want to see it  21.43%  (3 votes) 

I’ve seen it and didn’t like it  7.14%  (1 votes) 

Total Votes: 14
Do you believe Lady Gaga is Captain Kirk’s daughter?

No  66.67%  (10 votes) 

Maybe  26.67%  (4 votes) 

Yes  6.66%  (1 votes) 

Total Votes: 15

No you believe everyone has something to be thankful for, regardless of their circumstances?

Yes  100%  (17 votes) 

No  0%  (0 votes) 

Total Votes: 17
How well do you let people who are important to you know that they are important to you?

About average  64.71%  (11 votes) 

Better than most  29.41%  (5 votes) 

I’m in my own little world  5.88%  (1 votes) 

Probably less than average  0%  (0 votes) 

Total Votes: 17

How well do people who are important to me, think I do about letting them know I think they are important to me?

Average  53.85%  (7 votes) 

Better than average  46.15%  (6 votes) 

Less than average  0%  (0 votes) 

They know I am often in my own little world  0%  (0 votes) 

Total Votes: 13
Do you know what animal Egyptians worshipped?

Yes, even before I saw the cartoon  75%  (12 votes) 

Yes, after seeing the cartoon  12.5%  (2 votes) 

No  12.5%  (2 votes) 

Total Votes: 16

Do you think “The Love of Your Life” is a positive message or a negative message?

Positive  75%  (9 votes) 

Negative  25%  (3 votes) 

Total Votes: 12

BOOK OF THE WEEK

I’ve listened to these old radio shows so many times that I know these stories so well, but I still found this book very entertaining and readable.  If you like to read mysteries, I think you will like this book.

MOVIE OR PLAY OF THE WEEK

A nice way to start the Christmas Season is my seeing the play, “A Christmas Carol“.  But if for one reason or another you can’t, then perhaps you will want to watch one of the various “A Christmas Carol” films.  My favorite is the one starring George C. Scott. Or perhaps, you might like a more current version, such as Bill Murray’s “Scrooged”.

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

Sexual Healing

By Marvin Gaye

ART OF THE WEEK

Stonehenge

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England, 2 miles (3 km) west of Amesbury. It consists of a ring of standing stones, with each standing stone around 13 feet (4.0 m) high, 7 feet (2.1 m) wide and weighing around 25 tons. The stones are set within earthworks in the middle of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds.

Archaeologists believe it was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. Radiocarbon dating suggests that the first bluestones were raised between 2400 and 2200 BC, although they may have been at the site as early as 3000 BC.

Stonehenge could have been a burial ground from its earliest beginnings. Deposits containing human bone date from as early as 3000 BC, when the ditch and bank were first dug, and continued for at least another five hundred years.

(Source: Wikipedia)

  EXTRAORDINARY PERSON OF THE WEEK

Worf

I know, I made Worf my Extraordinary Person of the Week in the past, but perhaps the following video will demonstrate why I think Worf is so extraordinary.

THIS WEEK’S JOKE

PHYSICAL TRAITS

Why Strength Training?

It’s not just to get big muscles and look buff. Your bones will get stronger, too. And it can help your balance and coordination, which means you’re less likely to fall and hurt yourself. More muscle also means you burn more calories when you’re doing nothing at all, which can help keep off extra pounds. You’ll appreciate these benefits as you get older and start to lose muscle mass. (Source: WebMD)

CHARACTER TRAITS

Now that Christmas will soon be upon us, it is probably a good idea to establish a few rules.

SOCIAL TRAITS 

Looking for a gift for someone who has everything, perhaps this will help.

LEARNING TRAITS

MISCELLANEOUS 

BOOK 

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

My Final Cover

11/19/18 – Happy Thanksgiving

CURRENT EVENTS

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

Keep Your Thanksgiving Happy By Avoiding This Receipt for Disaster

LAST WEEK’S POLLS

Do you believe the Bladensburg Veterans Memorial is inappropriate and should be removed?

No and I never severed in the military  72.22%  (13 votes)

Yes and I never severed in the military  16.67%  (3 votes)

No and I am a veteran  11.11%  (2 votes)

Yes and I am a veteran  0%  (0 votes)

Total Votes: 18

Regarding the movie, Apocalypse Now”

I’ve seen it and thought it was good  61.54%  (8 votes)

I’ve seen it and didn’t like the movie  15.38%  (2 votes)

I haven’t seen the movie, but would like to  15.38%  (2 votes)

I’m not interested in seeing this movie  7.69%  (1 votes)

Total Votes: 13
Do you believe abolishing the draft in the USA was just a way for the better off part of society to protect their children?

No  40%  (6 votes) 

Yes  33.33%  (5 votes) 

Maybe  26.67%  (4 votes) 

Total Votes: 15

Do you think the smell my finger joke was funny?

Yes  50%  (7 votes) 

No  50%  (7 votes) 

Total Votes: 14
Any chance the results of the WPC World Competition has inspired you to work on your level of fitness?

Yes  60%  (6 votes) 

No  40%  (4 votes) 

Total Votes: 10

Do you recognize any of the people in the “Homeland Security” photo?

No  57.14%  (8 votes) 

Yes  42.86%  (6 votes) 

Total Votes: 14

BOOK OF THE WEEK

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

Sacha Baron Cohen as the character “Time”, didn’t get much of a billing in this movie; but in my opinion, he made the movie.  And Mia Wasikowska turned in a fine performance as Alice.

Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

Bad Romance

By Lady Gaga

ART OF THE WEEK

What an experience to see these fantastic Art Deco Hotels 

along Ocean Drive, in South Beach, FL

Art Deco Hotels in South Beach, FL.

And staying at my favorite hotel there

The Beacon

I’ve probably stayed in more hotels than most people, other than those who travel for a living (which I also once did for a while) and I can honestly say I have never experienced a more caring staff than at the Beacon.  They probably didn’t miss me the following week after I was gone, but they made me feel as if they would miss me.

  EXTRAORDINARY PERSON OF THE WEEK

Geronimo

From right to left, Apache leader Geronimo, Yanozha (Geronimo’s’ brother-in-law), Chappo (Geronimo’s son by his second wife), and Fun (Yanozha’s half-brother) in 1886. Taken by C. S. Fly.

Geronimo (June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Apache tribe. From 1850 to 1886 Geronimo carried out numerous raids as well as resistance to US and Mexican military campaigns in northern Mexico and in the southwestern American territories of New Mexico and Arizona. Geronimo’s raids and related combat actions were a part of the prolonged period of the Apache–United States conflict, which started with American settlement in Apache lands following the end of the war with Mexico in 1848.

At any one time, about 30 to 50 Apaches would be following him. However, since he was a superb leader in raiding and warfare he frequently led large numbers of men and women beyond his own following.

During Geronimo’s final period of conflict from 1876 to 1886 he “surrendered” three times and accepted life on the Apache reservations in Arizona. Reservation life was confining to the free-moving Apache people, and they resented restrictions on their customary way of life.

In 1886, after an intense pursuit in Northern Mexico by U.S. forces that followed Geronimo’s third 1885 reservation “breakout”, Geronimo surrendered for the last time to Lt. Charles Bare Gatewood, an Apache-speaking West Point graduate who had earned Geronimo’s respect a few years before.

Geronimo was later transferred to General Nelson Miles at Skeleton Canyon, just north of the Mexican/American boundary. Miles treated Geronimo as a prisoner of war and acted promptly to remove Geronimo first to Fort Bowie, then to the railroad at Bowie Station, Arizona where he and 27 other Apaches were sent off to join the rest of the Chiricahua tribe which had been previously exiled to Florida.

In his old age, Geronimo became a celebrity. He appeared at fairs, including the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, where he reportedly rode a ferris wheel and sold souvenirs and photographs of himself. However, he was not allowed to return to the land of his birth. He died at the Fort Sill hospital in 1909. He was still a prisoner of war. He is buried at the Fort Sill Indian Agency Cemetery surrounded by the graves of relatives and other Apache prisoners of war.

THIS WEEK’S JOKE

PHYSICAL TRAITS

CHARACTER TRAITS

SOCIAL TRAITS 

I’m familiar with the philosophy, “To each according to their needs, from each according to their abilities”, and there is much to be said for that.

LEARNING TRAITS

MISCELLANEOUS 

BOOK 

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

My Final Cover

11/12/18 – Sunday Nov. 11 was USA Veterans Day

CURRENT EVENTS

The U.S. Supreme Court announced Friday that it will hear The American Legion’s case regarding the Bladensburg Veterans Memorial in Prince George’s County, Md.

The Bladensburg World War I Veterans Memorial was erected in 1925 by Gold Star mothers and an American Legion post to honor 49 Prince George’s County men who gave their lives during World War I.

The Gold Star mothers who designed the memorial in 1919 chose a cross shape to recall the cross-shaped grave markers standing over American graves in Europe. The memorial stood peacefully for almost 90 years until the American Humanist Association filed a lawsuit in February 2014.

In 2015, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ruled the memorial was constitutional, citing the use of crosses to mark the graves of fallen American servicemen overseas. Later, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed the District Court’s decision, declaring the cross shape of the memorial violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The American Legion, represented by First Liberty Institute and the international law firm Jones Day, is asking the Supreme Court to reverse the Court of Appeals ruling that could lead to the bulldozing of the Bladensburg Veterans Memorial. (Source: American Legion)

LAST WEEK’S POLLS

Are you for or against Day Light Savings Time (adjusting the clocks)?

In favor of Day Light Savings Time  53.33%  (8 votes) 

Against Day Light Savings Time  46.67%  (7 votes) 

Total Votes: 15

Regarding the book, “What Not to Say”?

I’m not interested in reading this book.  60%  (9 votes) 

I plan to read this book.  33.33%  (5 votes) 

I’ve read it and thought it was very funny.  6.67%  (1 votes) 

I’ve read it and didn’t think it was funny.  0%  (0 votes) 

Total Votes: 15
Regarding “Daylight Savings – Movie Trailer”?

This should be made into a movie  100%  (6 votes) 

This is a real movie and I have seen it  0%  (0 votes) 

Total Votes: 6

When you retire, do you believe your health and fitness are you highest priority?

Yes, if I don’t take care of myself; I can’t take care of anyone else.  80%  (12 votes) 

No, a number of other things are a higher priority  20%  (3 votes) 

Total Votes: 15
How much does your thoughts dwell on the negative

Less than 10% of the things I recall are negative  52.94%  (9 votes) 

10% to 25% of the things I recall are negative  23.53%  (4 votes) 

25% to 50% of things I recall are negative  17.65%  (3 votes) 

More than half what I recall is negative  5.88%  (1 votes) 

Total Votes: 17

Do you feel the majority of people around you are on the same mission as you are?

Yes  52.94%  (9 votes) 

No  29.41%  (5 votes) 

About fifty-fifty  17.65%  (3 votes) 

Total Votes: 17
Do you believe we don’t see things as they are, but see them as we are?

Yes  77.78%  (14 votes) 

No  22.22%  (4 votes) 

Total Votes: 18

BOOKS OF THE WEEK

I can’t say I agree with everything in this book, nor do I want to be this intense; but, I still found the book useful.  

Men’s Health Maximus Body

By Bobby Maximus & Michael Easter

Men’s Health magazine’s #1 personal trainer delivers cutting-edge, high-intensity workouts to help you pack serious muscle and become unstoppably fit. (Source: Amazon)

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

I’ll let this movie speak for itself.

Apocalypse Now (1979)

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

Eve of Destruction

By Barry McGuire

ART OF THE WEEK

NORMANDY AMERICAN CEMETERY AND MEMORIAL

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, FRANCE

Some impressive monuments to the service of America’s soldiers can also be found in other countries. France has a total of 11 cemeteries and monuments dedicated to the service of U.S. soldiers, and the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer is on a bluff overlooking one of the Normandy beaches that U.S. troops landed on during the Normandy invasion.

The 172.5-acre cemetery contains the graves of 9387 soldiers, many of whom lost their lives in the D-Day invasion. The memorial has a semicircular colonnade with a bronze statue in the center called the “Spirit of American Youth Rising From the Waves.” A garden to the east features inscriptions of the names of 1557 soldiers who lost their lives during the Normandy campaign but could not be found or identified.

  EXTRAORDINARY PERSON OF THE WEEK

George Washington

General of Armies of the United States

The military career of George Washington spanned over forty years of service. Washington’s service can be broken into three periods (French and Indian War, American Revolutionary War, and the Quasi-War with France) with service in three different armed forces (British provincial militia, the Continental Army, and the United States Army).

Because of Washington’s importance in the early history of the United States of America, he was granted a posthumous promotion to General of the Armies of the United States, legislatively defined to be the highest possible rank in the US Army, more than 175 years after his death.

THIS WEEK’S JOKE

Hey, it isn’t easy to find jokes that relate to Veterans Day, so please forgive me.  This was the best I could do.

PHYSICAL TRAITS

SOME RESULTS OF WPC 2018 World Powerlifting Championships

FIRST PLACE RAW BENCH PRESS & RAW DEADLIFT

70 TO 74 YEARS OLD

80 TO 84 YEARS OLD

TOM & BILL

RAW DEADLIFT WORLD’S RECORD

FEMALE 75 TO 79

LINDA

CHARACTER TRAITS

I have always thought Martina Navratilova was correct with her statement, “Whoever said, It’s not whether you win or lose that counts, probably lost”.

However, I have always believed that you don’t have to win, you just have to fight.

SOCIAL TRAITS 

LEARNING TRAITS

MISCELLANEOUS 

BOOK 

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

My Final Cover

11/05/18 – Daylight Savings Time

CURRENT EVENTS

Daylight Savings Time

  

LAST WEEK’S POLLS

Regarding the film “Night of the Living Dead”

I’ve seen it and thought it was very scary.  47.37%  (9 votes) 

I haven’t seen the film and I am not interested in seeing it.  47.37%  (9 votes) 

I haven’t seen the film, but I would like to see it.  5.26%  (1 votes) 

I’ve seen it. but didn’t think it was that scary.  0%  (0 votes) 

Total Votes: 19

Regarding The Cramps’ “Mad Daddy”?

This is the first time I seen or heard of this song.  94.44%  (17 votes) 

I’ve seen this before  5.56%  (1 votes) 

Total Votes: 18
Between “Cassandra Peterson” and “Elvira, Mistress of the Dark”, who is more real to you?

Elvira  57.14%  (8 votes)

Cassandra  42.86%  (6 votes)

Total Votes: 14

How may bags of chips will Bill eat this Halloween?

Between 10 and 19 bags  33.33%  (6 votes)

All 70 and he will not turn on his porch light or answer the door on Halloween  27.78%  (5 votes)

At least 20 bags  16.67%  (3 votes)

Less than 3 bags  11.11%  (2 votes)

He will not eat any bags of chips  11.11%  (2 votes)

Total Votes: 18
For those of you interested, I only had four extra bags of chips that I did not give out and next year I am definitely buying more bags of chips.
Are you able to leave the past behind?

Yes  52.63%  (10 votes) 

No  47.37%  (9 votes) 

Total Votes: 19

When it comes to “Tricks” or “Treats”, which do you give out more?

I give out more treats  100%  (16 votes) 

I give out more tricks  0%  (0 votes) 

Total Votes: 16
Have you ever asked yourself, “Why are you here”?

Yes  93.75%  (15 votes) 

No  6.25%  (1 votes) 

Total Votes: 16

BOOKS OF THE WEEK

This book contains some humor and some good advice about what not to say in various.  

What Not To Say

By Knock Knock

Stay away from awkward exchanges and consult this clever compendium for things you should never, ever say. Learn what not to say at a job interview (“How strict is your sexual-harassment policy?”), what not to say to a cat lady (“Dogs are so much friendlier!”), and what not to say to anyone else you don’t want to offend (“Don’t take this personally, but . . .”).   Source: Knock Knock

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

I don’t believe this is an actual movie, but I enjoyed the trailer so much I thought I would share it with all of you.

Daylight Saving – Movie Trailer (2014)

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

I just had to make this the music video of the week.  

If I Could Turn Back Time

By Cher

ART OF THE WEEK

Wooden Bicycle

Although these bicycles are made almost entirely of wood, they can be ridden.

  EXTRAORDINARY PERSON/BAND OF THE WEEK

Given the “Time” theme of this week’s post, I decided to use

Morris Day and The Time

The Time, also known as Morris Day and the Time, is an American musical group that was formed in Minneapolis in 1981. Their work has been a part of the formation of the Minneapolis sound, featuring a mix of soul music and dance music with funk, rock n roll, and more. Led by singer-songwriter Morris Day, the band members are known for having been close Prince associates, and are arguably the most successful artists who have worked with him, achieving particular popularity with R&B fans with tracks such as “Jerk Out” and “Jungle Love”. (Source: Wikipedia)

I’ve seen them perform a couple of times now and it is always an experience.  Perhaps, the video below will give you an idea of what they are like.

Jerk Out

By The Time

THIS WEEK’S JOKE

PHYSICAL TRAITS

WPC 2018 World Powerlifting Championships

The contest will be going on all this week and powerlifters from over 23 countries will be participating.  I will be raw bench pressing and deadlifting Monday, Nov. 5.

On Nov. 5, there will be one female lifter in her 70s and nine male lifters in their 70s, one of which is 80 years old.

CHARACTER TRAITS

“You know that all you give attention to will grow.”

Thus, you pay little attention to the negative moments in your life

and put your energy in the positive things instead”

 Source: Random Paper Wisdom 

SOCIAL TRAITS 

LEARNING TRAITS

MISCELLANEOUS 

BOOK 

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

My Final Cover