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

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

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.

CURRENT EVENTS

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

Keep Your Thanksgiving Happy By Avoiding This Receipt for Disaster

LAST WEEK’S POLLS

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.

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

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.

CURRENT EVENTS

Daylight Savings Time

  

LAST WEEK’S POLLS

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.

CURRENT EVENTS

Happy Halloween

Halloween is a particularly dangerous times for black cats.

  

Please be a responsible cat owner and keep your cat indoors around Halloween.

Well, I guess it is ok for my cat to be outside during Halloween

He is a rather large cat.

And I keep my cat “Bear” in for the protections of others

LAST WEEK’S POLLS

BOOKS OF THE WEEK

Given that it is Halloween, I thought I would once again mention some graphic novels that are fun to read and tells the stories through pictures such as the one below:

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

 

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Robert Louis Steven’s 

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

& The Body Snatcher

Edgar Allan Poe’s

The Raven & Other Tails

I happen to buy theses four books at Barnes & Nobles, but I suspect they are available elsewhere. 

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

This is one of the scariest movies that I have ever seen.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Below is my favorite Halloween film because a friend of mine made it and a number of my friends appeared in it.

The Dead Walk The Earth

Yet They Live

And They Kill

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

There are a lot of Halloween music available and no doubt you have heard them, so I thought I would try to find something that most of you haven’t heard before.  

Mad Daddy

The Cramps

ART OF THE WEEK

Halloween Costumes

This is definitely an art form.

Check out Darth Vader below

This Priest is one of my favorites

  EXTRAORDINARY PERSON OF THE WEEK

Cassandra Peterson

Cassandra Peterson, May 2011

Cassandra Peterson (born September 17, 1951) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of the horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. She gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ-TV wearing a revealing, black, gothic, cleavage-enhancing gown as host of Elvira’s Movie Macabre, a weekly horror movie presentation. Her wickedly vampish appearance is offset by her comical character, quirky and quick-witted personality, and Valley girl-type speech.

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark

Elvira is an “other worldly” entity who goes about our world by portraying American actress Cassandra Peterson, who of all things, portrays a make-believe  character, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.

THIS WEEK’S JOKE

PHYSICAL TRAITS

In 2016 I bought 150 bags of potato chips to give out and ended up eating a lot of those bags myself.

In 2017, I bought 100 bags of potato chips and ended up eating many of those bags myself.

This year, I bought 70 bags to chips to give out, let’s see what happens.

CHARACTER TRAITS 

SOCIAL TRAITS 

LEARNING TRAITS

MISCELLANEOUS 

BOOK 

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

CURRENT EVENTS

One of the best parts of traveling is meeting people from the countries you are visiting.  Here are a few Greeks, that I met on my travels.

LAST WEEK’S POLLS

BOOK OF THE WEEK

How to Think Like a Cat

By Stéphane Garnier

I found this to be a very insightful book.  Plus, after reading you will want to answer the forty questions, each on a 1 to 5 scale, to assess your cat quotient and learn what areas you need to work on.

 

Do cats worry about retirement? Nope. Do cats do things they don’t want to do? Definitely not. Do cats rush around at all hours of the day when they’d rather be licking their paws and looking out a window?  Calm, free, charismatic, wise, elegant, self-assured–our beloved feline pets strut those traits that we humans spend a lifetime aspiring to. No wonder everybody wants to be more like a cat.

Whether at work, at home, or in your social life, your cat can teach you how to manage stress, cultivate independence, and live life on your terms.  How to Think Like a Cat is an inspiring, humorous, and remarkably insightful guide to the subtle art of living like a feline. (Source: Book’s Overview)

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

I really liked the demeanor of both of the kidnappers and Jennifer Aniston always turns in a fine performance. 

This is an Elmore Leonard story and I recall once seeing him at the Borders Book store in Birmingham, MI a few years ago.

Life of Crime (2014)

Critics Consensus: It may not stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best Elmore Leonard adaptations, but Life of Crime has enough ambling charm — and a sharp enough cast — to get by. (Source: Rotten Tomatoes)

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

It starts a bit slow, but stay with it and you may get a kick out of it.  

Greek Dancing Performed by 

Stavros Flatly

ART OF THE WEEK

Chocolates

While on the way to Greece, I saw these chocolates in the Amsterdam Airport, wrapped in what looked like Euros. I just had to buy a them to bring home to share with my friends.  Packaging is an art.

  EXTRAORDINARY PERSON OF THE WEEK

Pericles (495 to 429 BC)

Bust of Pericles bearing the inscription “Pericles, son of Xanthippus, Athenian”. Marble, Roman copy after a Greek original from c. 430 BC, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican Museums

Pericles (495 – 429 BC) was a prominent and influential Greek statesman, orator and general of Athens during the Golden Age. 

Pericles had such a profound influence on Athenian society that Thucydides, a contemporary historian, acclaimed him as “the first citizen of Athens”. Pericles  led his countrymen during the first two years of the Peloponnesian War. The period during which he led Athens, roughly from 461 to 429 BC, is sometimes known as the “Age of Pericles”.

Pericles promoted the arts and literature; it is principally through his efforts that Athens holds the reputation of being the educational and cultural center of the ancient Greek world. He started an ambitious project that generated most of the surviving structures on the Acropolis (including the Parthenon). This project beautified and protected the city, exhibited its glory, and gave work to the people. Pericles also fostered Athenian democracy to such an extent that critics call him a populist. (Source: Wikipedia)

THIS WEEK’S JOKE

PHYSICAL TRAITS

I was recently in Olympia, which was the site of the original olympic games.  Hera’s Altar (picture below) is the site where every four years, even now, the Olympic Flame is lit.

The Olympic fire is ignited several months before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games at the site of the ancient Olympics in Olympia, Greece.

Eleven women, representing the Vestal Virgins, perform a celebration at the Temple of Hera in which the first torch of the Olympic Torch Relay is kindled by the light of the Sun, its rays concentrated by a parabolic mirror. (Source: Wikipedia)

CHARACTER TRAITS 

SOCIAL TRAITS 

LEARNING TRAITS

Day Cruise to the Greek Islands of Hydra, Poros & Aegina

It is alway good to go to some place you have never been to before.  Everything in Greece was new to us, but I am glad I added this day trip to these Greek Islands.  The picture below is of the ship we traveled in to the islands.

MISCELLANEOUS 

Delphi

Perhaps you have heard of the Delphi Oracle, for me it was a thrill to be at this ancient site, that had been visited by ancient kings to seek guidance.  

And the pathway used by these ancient kings is still being used this very day by tourists.

And the things on display at the Delphi Museum were just amazing.

BOOK 

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

CURRENT EVENTS

Acropolis of Athens

The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historic significance, the most famous being the Parthenon.

Although the term acropolis is generic and there are many other Acropolis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is commonly known as “The Acropolis” without qualification.

While there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as far back as the fourth millennium BC, it was Pericles (c. 495 – 429 BC) in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the site’s most important present remains including the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike.

The Parthenon and the other buildings were damaged seriously during the 1687 siege by the Venetians during the Morean War when gunpowder being stored in the Parthenon was hit by a cannonball and exploded. (Source: Wikipedia)

LAST WEEK’S POLLS

BOOK OF THE WEEK

I mentioned this book around the middle of 2016, but as I was reviewing the notes I made in this book; I thought it was worth mentioning again.  And as with most of the books I recommend, it is an easy read.

 

More and more in the news today, we are hearing about phenomenal advances in the “fight against aging.” But what Rosenblatt suggests to combat age is far more valuable than any scientific breakthrough-he breaks down the hardest part of aging, the mental anguish of growing older with fifty-four gems of funny, brilliant, wise, indispensable advice. (Source: Amazon)

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

I’ve seen this movie in the past, but decided to watch it again on the plane to Greece and I found it so funny that I just had to make it the Movie of the Week.

Central Intelligence

Central Intelligence is a 2016 American action comedy film. The film stars Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson as two old high school friends who go on the run after one of them joins the CIA in order to save the world from a terrorist who has an intention to sell satellite codes. (Source: Wikipedia)

MUSIC OF THE WEEK

Although the Acropolis was built in ancient times, the theater there is still being used by performers today.

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

By Sting at the Acropolis

ART OF THE WEEK

Lego Representation of the Acropolis

  EXTRAORDINARY PERSON OF THE WEEK

Aristotle (384 to 322 BC)

Aristotle (384–322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist born in Classical Greece. Along with Plato, Aristotle is considered the “Father of Western Philosophy”.

At seventeen or eighteen years of age, he joined Plato’s Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of thirty-seven. His writings cover many subjects – including physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theatre, music, rhetoric, psychology, linguistics, economics, politics and government – and constitute the first comprehensive system of Western philosophy.

Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip II of Macedon, tutored Alexander the Great. Teaching Alexander gave Aristotle many opportunities. He established a library in the Lyceum which helped him to produce many of his hundreds of books, which were papyrus scrolls.

Aristotle’s views on physical science profoundly shaped medieval scholarship. Their influence extended from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages into the Renaissance. His works contain the earliest known formal study of logic, studied by medieval scholars.

Aristotelianism profoundly influenced Islamic thought during the Middle Ages, as well as Christian theology, especially the Neoplatonism of the Early Church and the scholastic tradition of the Catholic Church. Aristotle was revered among medieval Muslim scholars as “The First Teacher”. (Source: Wikipedia)

THIS WEEK’S JOKE

This joke is dedicated to all the students out there.

PHYSICAL TRAITS

CHARACTER TRAITS 

SOCIAL TRAITS 

Here are some signs of a bad conversationalist.

1. Have respect for the other speaker and don’t cut them off with words like, “yes I know it already”. 

2. Speak a lot (or only) about yourself. 

3. Interrupt without listening to the end. T

4. Arrogance, in that you feel you are above the other person in position or experience. 

5. Superficial communication by inserting something your own, often not even on the subject, but just  a “thought jumped out”. 

6. Pretend to be listening, but really thinking of what you are going to say in return. 

7. Too short answers in response to questions like,  “What’s new with you?”  The other party may think you just aren’t interesting in having a conversation.

(Source: Julia, paraphrased by me)

LEARNING TRAITS

Do You Remember Those Story Problems!

MISCELLANEOUS 

BOOK 

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