CURRENT EVENTS

Where am I?

Lost Civilizations takes us on a journey through time from the oldest civilization, the little-known Natufian culture of 12,500 years ago, to the mysterious disappearance of the colonists on Roanoke Island, in the United States, in the 16th century. (Source: Barnes & Nobles)

The Book of Leadership & Strategy

Translated by Thomas Cleary

This little book is packed with a lot of good advice like, “Asking for fire is not as good as getting the means to make fire.”

Another piece of advice I liked was, “No one stumbles over a mountain, but people do trip over ant hills.”  In other words, over looking small problems is often the reason for many regrets.

MOVIE, PLAY OR TV SHOW OF THE WEEK

If you enjoyed the series that was on PBS, I’m sure you will want to see the movie.  

Downton Abbey

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

Conga

By Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine

ART OF THE WEEK

I don’t smoke cigars, but the process of hand rolling cigars is considered an art form. I found the process interesting and perhaps you will also find it interesting.

  EXTRAORDINARY PERSON OF THE WEEK

Barbara Baer Capitman

Barbara Baer Capitman (April 29, 1920 – March 29, 1990) was a community activist and author who led the effort to preserve Miami Beach’s historic art deco district and helped create the Miami Design Preservation League.

In 1976, Capitman and a group of historic preservationists formed the Miami Design Preservation League. They began a fight to save the long-neglected art deco buildings in Miami Beach. She lobbied politicians and developers with her forceful personality.

She and her supporters held candlelight vigils, protest marches and stood in front of bulldozers that were about to demolish buildings. Several of the buildings the group sought to preserve were torn down including the Senator and New Yorker Hotels. However, many more were saved.

The group’s efforts were rewarded when Miami Beach’s Art Deco District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

The renewed interest in the area led to an economic and cultural rebirth in the city with new investments in hotels, apartments and restaurants. It became a favorite destination of tourists, artists and moviemakers.

THIS WEEK’S JOKE

PHYSICAL TRAITS

Those who quit eating two or three hours before bedtime are more successful losing weight and keeping it off than late night eaters.

CHARACTER TRAITS

Taking Ownership of Your Situation?

SOCIAL TRAITS 

LEARNING TRAITS

Art Deco

Art Deco is a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before World War I. Art Deco influenced the design of buildings, furniture, jewelry, fashion, cars, movie theaters, trains, ocean liners, and everyday objects such as radios and vacuum cleaners. It took its name, short for Arts Décoratifs, from the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts held in Paris in 1925. It combined modern styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials. During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress.

Art Deco was a pastiche of many different styles, sometimes contradictory, united by a desire to be modern. From its outset, Art Deco was influenced by the bold geometric forms of Cubism and the Vienna Secession; the bright colors of Fauvism and of the Ballets Russes; the updated craftsmanship of the furniture of the eras of Louis Philippe I and Louis XVI; and the exotic styles of China and Japan, India, Persia, ancient Egypt and Maya art. It featured rare and expensive materials, such as ebony and ivory, and exquisite craftsmanship. The Chrysler Building and other skyscrapers of New York built during the 1920s and 1930s are monuments of the Art Deco style. (Source: Wikipedia)

 

MISCELLANEOUS

LAST WEEK’S POLLS