CURRENT EVENTS

Happy Fourth of July

BOOK OF THE WEEK

Folks, this little book makes statistics so easy to understand and is written in simple everyday language.

If you want to stop being fooled, at least by statistics. you owe it to yourself and society to wise up a bit about what you are so often being told with statistics, graphs, etc.

If ever there was a time for the average person to apply some critical thinking to what they are being told, it is now.

How To Lie With Statistics (1993)

By Darrell Huff

Illustrated by Irving Geis

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

The Morning Show

I’ve watch both seasons of this two season show (A third season has  been approved) and liked some episodes. The acting is very good. However, this show is definitely not a comedy.

The Morning Show is an American drama television series starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell, that premiered on Apple TV+ on November 1, 2019.

The series is inspired by Brian Stelter’s book Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV.

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

If You Have Ever Wondered.

ART OF THE WEEK

Vexillography

Vexillography is the art and practice of designing flags.

A person who designs flags is a vexillographer.

  EXTRAORDINARY PERSON  OF THE WEEK

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809.

He was previously the second vice president of the United States under John Adams and the first United States secretary of state under George Washington.

The principal author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was a proponent of democracy, republicanism, and individual rights, motivating American colonists to break from the Kingdom of Great Britain and form a new nation. He produced formative documents and decisions at state, national, and international levels.

  JOKE OF THE WEEK

PHYSICAL TRAITS

CHARACTER TRAITS

Which are you?

SOCIAL TRAITS

I’ve heard it said that where you stand on an issue depends upon where you happen to be sitting at the moment.

People who think differently than you, have their reasons. It is not because they are evil or stupid.

If you must say something controversial, please do it respectfully.

LEARNING TRAITS

More tips from World Famous Chef Ronaldo on keeping a clean kitchen. 

If dirty wine glasses are your problem, this will help.

MISCELLANEOUS

 

CURRENT EVENTS

First Day of Summer

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

BOOK OF THE WEEK

So many of us are always in a rush to do this or that or get here or there.

Perhaps, we should all consider slowing down a bit and maybe we will find that we start enjoying life more.

ThIs is a very short book with a lot of intriguing photos.

If nothing else, there is a page with some excellent tips on wine drinking. 

The Art of Doing Nothing (1998)

By Véronique  Vienne

with photographs by Erica Lennard

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

Elvis (2022)

I saw this film last Friday and although I am an Elvis fan, I found the film’s portrayal of Elvis disappointing. The acting was very good, and not just the main characters. The Vernon and Priscilla Presley acting was spot on. The Little Richard in the movie was fantastic. But again, the story line was disappointing.

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

Since I start this week’s post with an Eddie Cochran Summer Time Blues (1958) song, I thought I would include something short and entertaining here.

Beethoven

By John Bulushi

ART OF THE WEEK

Rhymes

A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds [ ] in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic effect in the final position of lines within poems or songs.

More broadly, a rhyme may also variously refer to other types of similar sounds near the ends of two or more words. [ ] (Source: Wikipedia)

  EXTRAORDINARY PERSON  OF THE WEEK

Eddie Cochran

Ray Edward Cochran (October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. Cochran’s songs, such as “Twenty Flight Rock”, “Summertime Blues”, “C’mon Everybody” and “Somethin’ Else”, captured teenage frustration and desire in the mid-1950s and early 1960s.

He played the guitar, piano, bass, and drums. His image as a sharply dressed and attractive young man with a rebellious attitude epitomized the stance of the 1950s rocker, and in death he achieved iconic status.

Cochran died at age 21 in St Martin’s Hospital, Bath, Somerset, after a road accident in Chippenham, Wiltshire, at the end of his British tour in April 1960.

In 1987, Cochran was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His songs have been recorded by a wide variety of recording artists. (Source: Wikipedia)

  JOKE OF THE WEEK

PHYSICAL TRAITS

Hippocrates said, “Let food be thy medicine

and medicine be they food.”

CHARACTER TRAITS

Here is something worth reflecting on:

“Master, how will I know if I’m making any progress?”

“You know it when: what once made you mad,

now makes you laugh.“

Source Unknown, I found it on “MisaeMich” blog post

of  June 22, 2022

SOCIAL TRAITS

Cutting Down Too Many Trees Has Consequences

LEARNING TRAITS

It has been a while since world famous Chef Ronaldo has shared a tip with us. 

This week he is back to tell you how to keep a clean kitchen.

MISCELLANEOUS

Let’s just say usually.

 

CURRENT EVENTS

Results of APF/AAPF Push/Pull Meet

in Kalamazoo, Michigan

Let’s just say I had a good day.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

After reading about Lafayette and the role he played in the French Revolution, I wanted to know more about Talleyrand who played such an influential role during this era.

This book is 375 pages long without the bibliography. I am currently on page 306.

Talleyrand: A Biography (1932)

By Duff Cooper

Unique in his own age and a phenomenon in any, Charles-Maurice, Prince de Talleyrand, was a statesman of outstanding ability and extraordinary contradictions.

He was a world-class rogue who held high office in five successive regimes. A well-known opportunist and a notorious bribe taker, Talleyrand’s gifts to France arguably outvalued the vast personal fortune he amassed in her service.

Once a supporter of the Revolution, after the fall of the monarchy, he fled to England and then to the United States. Talleyrand returned to France two years later and served under Napoleon, and represented France at the Congress of Vienna. Duff Cooper’s classic biography contains all the vigor, elegance, and intellect of its remarkable subject.

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

I didn’t watch anything this week that I thought was worth mentioning, so instead here is some movie trivia.

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

I like this video because it promotes a healthy lifestyle 

and

Encourages people to make something of themselves.

Light Switch (January 20, 2022)

By Charlie Puth

Background

“I created the concept for this music video based on an idea I had and shared with the incredible director, Christian Breslauer. I wanted to humorously portray all the things we sometimes try to change about ourselves in order to capture that unrequited love, when deep down we should be changing our lives only to benefit ourselves and no one else.” (Source: Charlie Puth)

ART OF THE WEEK

People Haven’t Changed That Much

As this ancient (1895 BC to 539 BC) Babylonian statute shows, people back then were dealing with the same everyday problems that many of us face today.

  EXTRAORDINARY PERSON  OF THE WEEK

Talleyrand

Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (2 February 1754 – 17 May 1838), 1st Prince of Benevento, then Prince of Talleyrand, was a French clergyman and leading diplomat.

He worked at the highest levels of successive French governments, most commonly as foreign minister or in some other diplomatic capacity. His career spanned the regimes of Louis XVI, the years of the French Revolution, Napoleon, Louis XVIII, and Louis-Philippe. Those Talleyrand served often distrusted him but, like Napoleon, found him extremely useful. The name “Talleyrand” has become a byword for crafty, cynical diplomacy.

Talleyrand polarizes scholarly opinion. Some regard him as one of the most versatile, skilled and influential diplomats in European history, and some believe that he was a traitor, betraying in turn the Ancien Régime, the French Revolution, Napoleon, and the Restoration.

  JOKE OF THE WEEK

I thought this was funny, but perhaps many will not get it right away.

PHYSICAL TRAITS

Vegetables are so important for good health.

I often have a serving or two of vegetables

CHARACTER TRAITS

SOCIAL TRAITS

Toxic Relationships

I’m not a fan of poetry, but here is something I found on the June 16, 2022 Philosophy Through Photography blog.

I thought it was rather thought provoking and perhaps it may give some of you something to reflect on.

MOTH: I GAVE YOU MY LIFE.

FLAME: I ALLOWED YOU TO KISS ME

By HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN

LEARNING TRAITS

Some of you may not have known this.

MISCELLANEOUS

 

CURRENT EVENTS

Helping Others

I’m afraid it also works that way with people.

Give people a hand, not a handout.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

This 400 page book certainly isn’t for most people, but if you enjoy reading about the lives of those involved in the American Revolution or the French Revolution, as I do, you will learn so much about this person.

The story and writing is fantastic.

Lafayette: A Life (Jan. 1, 1936)

By Andreas Latzko

Thank you very much Helen Lawlor (where ever you may be) and I can only hope that one day I can pass this book on to someone who appreciates the book as much as I do.

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

I really did not care that much for the first few episodes of Season 2 of Picard. However, I stayed with is out of the desire to see some old friends and I am glad I did. the Season got better and better.

In early 2023 there will be a Season 3 of Picard. I understand that this will be the final season.

Picard: Season 2

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

Twist and Shout (March 2, 1964 USA Release)

By The Beatles

ART OF THE WEEK

Here is a film that some friends and I made back in 2010. 

Perceptions

  EXTRAORDINARY PERSON  OF THE WEEK

I find it hard not to like this guy. I was rather disappointed that he didn’t appear in the Picard series.

Worf

Worf, son of Mogh [ ] appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and seasons four through seven of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine(DS9) as well as the feature films Star Trek Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).

Worf is the first Klingon main character to appear in Star Trek, and in 11 seasons as a regular character on TNG and then DS9, has appeared in more Star Trek franchise episodes than any other character.

  JOKE OF THE WEEK

PHYSICAL TRAITS

This coming Saturday I will be in Kalamazoo, MI participating in the Michigan APF/AAPF Plate Up Push/Pull meet.

For those who don’t know, a Push/Pull meeting is both a bench press and a deadlift competition. Each lifter gets three attempts at bench pressing and three attempts at deadlifting. A lifter’s best bench and best deadlift are added together to determine who has won.

CHARACTER TRAITS

SOCIAL TRAITS

It is important to always say “Thank You”.

However, the above may be a bit extreme.

LEARNING TRAITS

Entertainment is vastly overrated!

You may have a better time at home and you can also always invite some friends over. If nothing else, it will be easier and less expensive.

MISCELLANEOUS

 

CURRENT EVENTS

Two Schools of Thought

Or

“Keep the dream alive: Hit the snooze button”

Punit Ghadge from the “Philosophy Through Photography” blog

BOOK OF THE WEEK

There is a lot of everyday wisdom in this little and easy to read book.

Dojo Wisdom

By Jennifer Later

A martial arts expert draws on the principles and practices of her training to present a series of one hundred life lessons to help readers [ ] apply the teachings to everyday life. (Source: Amazon)

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

I really enjoyed watching this film.

Top Gun: Maverick

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

Dancing With Myself (March 1981)

By Billy Idol

Song’s Background

The inspiration for the song occurred during a tour of Japan by the English post-punk band Generation X in mid-1979, when its vocalist/frontman Billy Idol and its bassist Tony James were struck by the sight of the young crowd in a Tokyo discotheque dancing with their own reflections in walled mirrors rather than with one another.

ART OF THE WEEK

Here is a film that some friends and I made back in 2007. Oh my gosh, those 15 years have gone by so fast.

Inside World

  EXTRAORDINARY PERSON  OF THE WEEK

Queen Elizabeth II

Significant events have included Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 and the celebrations of her Silver, Golden, Diamond and Platinum jubilees in 1977, 2002, 2012, and 2022 respectively.

Elizabeth is the longest-lived and longest-reigning British monarch, the longest-serving female head of state, the oldest living and longest-reigning current monarch, and the oldest and longest-serving incumbent head of state.

Support for the monarchy in the United Kingdom has been and remains consistently high, as does her personal popularity. (Source: Wikipedia)

  JOKE OF THE WEEK

PHYSICAL TRAITS

CHARACTER TRAITS

I know a lot of kind and well-meaning folks would add some things to the above list, but the reality is that that someone had to work hard to provide those benefits you are adding to this list.

However, I would add the Preamble to the Decoration of Independence, which boldly states the “self-evident” rights of every individual as “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” 

SOCIAL TRAITS

Make Someone Happy

LEARNING TRAITS

Is what you believe true?

MISCELLANEOUS

 

CURRENT EVENTS

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country’s armed forces.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

I found this book to be as valuable for every day life as for any of the combative arts.

Living The Martial Way

By Forrest E. Morgan

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

Downton Abby: A New Era

If you watched the TV series and saw the first movie, you will definitely want to see this film.

If you haven’t been watching Downton Abby, why start now?

Downton Abbey: A New Era is a 2022 historical drama film and the sequel to the 2019 film Downton Abbey [… and], the television series of the same name.

[ ] Downton Abbey: A New Era [ ] was released in the United States on May 20, 2022 by Focus Features. (Source: Wikipedia)

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

This is a classic.

Love Shack (1989)

By The B-52s

ART OF THE WEEK

Kit-Cat Klock

The Kit-Cat Klock is an art deco novelty wall clock shaped like a grinning cat with cartoon eyes that swivel in time with its pendulum tail. It is traditionally black, but models in other colors and styles are available. 

The first clock was designed by Earl Arnault (1904-1971) in 1932 and made by the Allied Manufacturing Company in Portland, Oregon. Allied subsequently moved to Seattle, Washington, in the early 1940s and then to southern California in 1962, whereupon it was renamed California Clock Company.

The clock’s design has changed little in the intervening years, with the first generation, manufactured from the 1930s–early 1950s having two paws and no bow tie, and newer models having four paws and a bow tie.

 In the 1960s genuine crystals were added as accents to some clocks.  The words “Kit-Cat” were added to the clock’s face in 1982. The original clocks were AC-powered, but due to scarcity of American-made AC motors, the clock was redesigned for battery power in the late 1980s.

The manufacturer estimates that an average of one clock has been sold every three minutes for the last 50 years.

  EXTRAORDINARY PERSON  OF THE WEEK

I have been friends with Americans and Germans, who served in WWII, I served in Vietnam with a sailor who was on the battleship and saw Japan sign their surrender papers. And I actually got to see President Eisenhower once in person.

General Dwight Eisenhower

Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969), was an American army general and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961.

During World War II, he became a five-star general in the Army and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe. He was responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43 and the successful invasion of Normandy in 1944–45 from the Western Front.

  JOKE OF THE WEEK

I don’t blame you for taking a minute to get this joke.

PHYSICAL TRAITS

Be Your Own Sculptor

CHARACTER TRAITS

Some Things You Should Just Let Go

SOCIAL TRAITS

Some People Paid A High Price For Your Freedom

Don’t Give Your Freedom Up Too Easily

The gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery 

LEARNING TRAITS

Do Your Own Thinking

MISCELLANEOUS

Mackinac Bridge

The Mackinac Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac, connecting the Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan.

Opened in 1957, the bridge is just about 5 miles long (4.995 mi; 8.038 km).

Would you like to experience driving on this bridge?

 

CURRENT EVENTS

BOOK OF THE WEEK

I think it is important to learn about other cultures and the virtues they value, you many even find some practices you would consider adopting.

The Klingon Way: A Warrior’s Guide

By Marc Okrand

A compendium of the infinite wisdom of the Klingons, a fierce warrior race, presents information on the Klingon language, lore, and a collection of adages in Klingon and English (Source: Amazon)

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

Sanditon Season 2 (March 20,, 2022)

If you saw Season 1 of this series, no doubt you will want to check out Season 2. I understand that there will be a Season 3, probably in 2023.

Sanditon is a British historical drama television series adapted by Andrew Davies from an unfinished manuscript by Jane Austen and [..] set during the Regency era, the plot follows young and naive heroines as [they] navigate the new seaside resort of Sanditon.

Due to the unfinished nature of the novel (Austen completed only eleven chapters), the original work was used for the majority of the first episode, and then Davies used the developed characters to complete the story. At the time of her death in 1817, Austen had completed 24,000 words of the novel.

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

Long Tall Sally (1955)

By Little Richard

“Tutti Frutti” was a big hit for Little Richard and Specialty in early 1956, reaching number two in the R&B charts. Pat Boone’s cover version of the song reached number 12 in the pop charts.

Specialty publishing firm, producer “Bumps” Blackwell and Richard decided to write a song that was so up-tempo and the lyrics so fast that Boone would not be able to handle it. (Boone eventually did record his own version, however, which reached number 18.)

According to Blackwell, he was introduced to a little girl by Honey Chile, a popular disc-jockey. The girl had written a song for Little Richard to record so she could pay the treatment for her ailing aunt Mary. The song, actually a few lines on a piece of paper, went like this:

Saw Uncle John with Long Tall Sally
They saw Aunt Mary comin’
So they ducked back in the alley

Not wishing to upset an influential disc-jockey, Blackwell accepted the offer and took the idea to Richard, who was reluctant at first. Nevertheless, the line “ducked back in the alley” was exactly what they were looking for, and Richard kept practicing until he could sing it as fast as possible. They worked on the song, adding verses and a chorus, until they got the hit they wanted.

 Featuring a tenor saxophone solo by Lee Allen (as did “Tutti Frutti”), “Long Tall Sally” was the best-selling 45 of the history of Specialty Records. (Source: Wikipedia)

ART OF THE WEEK

I thought this was rather clever.

Tree of Lost Soles

  EXTRAORDINARY PERSON  OF THE WEEK

Johannes Gutenberg

Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (1400 – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor, printer, publisher, and goldsmith who introduced printing to Europe with his mechanical movable-type printing press.

His work started the Printing Revolution in Europe and is regarded as a milestone of the second millennium, ushering in the modern period of human history.

It played a key role in the development of the Renaissance, Reformation, Age of Enlightenment, and Scientific Revolution, as well as laying the material basis for the modern knowledge-based economy and the spread of learning to the masses.

  JOKE OF THE WEEK

PHYSICAL TRAITS

Michelangelo, perhaps history’s greatest sculptor, said I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.

Set the angel inside of you free.

CHARACTER TRAITS

SOCIAL TRAITS

LEARNING TRAITS

Reading

People who don’t read have no idea how obvious it is to those who do.

MISCELLANEOUS

 

CURRENT EVENTS

Desiderata

By Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding, as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.  Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

If you wish to be reasonably financially comfortable and have not already made too many bad decisions or been “extremely unlucky”, this book will definitely help you. 

The Richest Man in Babylon

By George S. Clason

The Richest Man in Babylon is a book by George Samuel Clason, which dispenses financial advice through a collection of parables set in ancient Babylon. Through their experiences in business and managing household finance, the characters in the parables learn simple lessons in financial wisdom. Originally, a series of separate informational pamphlets distributed by banks and insurance companies, the pamphlets were bound together and published in book form in 1926. (Source: Wikipedia)

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

Anatomy of a Scandal (2022)

Privilege is about to be put on trial… Based on the bestselling novel by Sarah Vaughan, “Anatomy of a Scandal” is an insightful and suspenseful series about privilege and sexual consent. [ ] This six-part series stars Sienna Miller, Michelle Dockery, Rupert Friend, Naomi Scott and Josette Simon. Coming to Netflix on 15th April. (Source: Netflix)

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

What a great time to be young and alive.

Steppin’ Stone (November 1966)

By The Monkees

[This song] was first recorded by Paul Revere & the Raiders and appeared on their album Midnight Ride, released in May 1966.

The Monkees’ version is featured in the “romp” segments of several episodes of the group’s television series. It has also been heard in episodes of [various] shows [ ].

ART OF THE WEEK

Wall Paintings

  EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE  OF THE WEEK

Helen Keller

(June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968)

“I long to accomplish a great and noble task,

but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks

 as if they were great and noble.

 

The world is moved along

not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes,

but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes

 of each honest worker.”

 

Source: Helen Keller

  JOKE OF THE WEEK

PHYSICAL TRAITS

One has to start someplace, so this is as good as any place.

CHARACTER TRAITS

I think many of us should do this.

SOCIAL TRAITS

LEARNING TRAITS

Memories

MISCELLANEOUS