Word of the Day: de rigueur(duh\ri\GUR); strictly required as by etiquette, usage, or fashion
Weight: 206 pounds
Goal: lose 100 pounds in one year duration
Pounds to lose: 74 pounds
Waist Size: 44 inches
Rowing Duration: two hours, eighteen (18) minutes
How about my rowing session?, I was really into it this morning and gave myself the longest and hardest workout of my life, gosh, I'm something else!
Did I tell you that I am rereading Jonathan Franzen's book "Freedom," the first time I read it rather quickly, so now I am rereading it and savouring all of those parts that I especially enjoyed, I can't wait for it to come out on audio, wouldn't it be great if the audio was released before I leave to return to Canada, I could then listen to it whilst driving back home!
I heard a rumour that my family, friends, and neighbours may be experiencing snow soon, so perhaps you better dig out those boots from storage, naturally, I have no need.
Now, there are only 35 days left for Christmas and the shopping networks are eager for you to spend your hard-earned dollars on all the crap they're trying to unload, come on, get serious folks, most of that stuff is junk, the jewelry is crap, I don't care how nice Joan Rivers makes it look, and that Capadimonte stuff should be outlawed, I absolutely cringe whenever I see it in someone's home. I know I'm being awfully critical, but this is my blog.
Yes, Christmas is a coming. I love this holiday, I know it is a time that many people go into debt, but smart-shopping, creativity, and thoughtfullness can help make Christmas a holiday to enjoy and not be a time of misery. For me, Christmas always evokes a time of happiness, of family getting together, of children being especially good, of presents beautifully wrapped in all colours, red, gold, blue, green and white. I love looking at all of the presents underneath the Christmas Tree. I enjoy getting a real tree for Christmas, not that there is anything wrong with fake trees, as they have some pretty good looking artificial Christmas trees.
The weather has been perfect, each day has been in the eighties and is sunny, bright, and blue, just the way I like it. It must be the warm air, but of late, I am falling asleep early into the night. Around 7:30 at night, my eyes start to get heavy, and the next think I know, it is the wee hours of the morning, I wake up somewhere between two and three o'clock am. This morning I didn't feel like getting up to exercise right away, so I watched the "Joy Behar Show" wherein Larry King and Dick Cavett were guests. I really admire Dick Cavett and wish he were still on the air, regularly, and I'm very sorry to see Mr. Larry King retire, I'm even more sorrier that they got Piers Morgan to replace Mr.King, I bet the viewership drops drastically when Mr. Morgan takes over, as you can tell, I don't like him, I think he is a cheap ripoff of Simon Cowell.
Next week, Zac and I are going to start looking at houses to find that perfect one to be our permanent winter getaway. I really don't mind not owning right now, as renting a home doesn't lock you into that location, we don't have to go there simply because we own it, we have the freedom to experience other places that offer a variety of things that our current house doesn't have, then again, if we find the right house at the right price, well....
When I do look at houses, I prefer that the current owner of the house is not home, I know its silly but I feel a sense of guilt coming from the owner, (and you can't open up closets and cupboards with people staring at you,) especially if the house has been on the market for a long time and if the owners have drastically reduced their price. It is not my fault that the economy is in such rough shape but sometimes I feel that I'm taking advantage of somebody else's misfortune but then, other people have been lucky due to my own bad luck so I guess it all works out there in the cosmos!
I read something interesting yesterday, something I didn't know but I am now glad to know, I think its important and that is why I'm letting you in on the fact that in the months following the death of a close relative, the bereaved can be at increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. Researchers monitoring the hearts of bereaved spouses and parents found that the death of a spouse or child can trigger rapid increases in heart rate and changes in heart-rhythm regularity. While the changes observed would not cause serious heart problems on their own, and heart rates and rhythm returned to normal within six months, they could trigger a heart attack in someone with preexising heart disease. The findings stress the importance of monitoring the health and welfare of bereaved survivors, so make sure you go to your doctor regularly for checkups, I know I do, I actually think I've made Dr. Alladin a millionaire from my business alone! I really feel bad for people who have lost their spouse, I think it must be akin to losing a limb!
Did you know that in 1928 Walt Disney created cartoon icon Mickey Mouse, who made his debut in the silent film "Plane Crazy," a title that I just love. Anway, in 1928, Mickey also appeared in "Steamboat Willie," written and directed by Disney and animator Ub Iwerks (I'll never complain about my Christian name again.) An immediate hit, "Steamboat Willie" was Disney's first attempt to use sound and the first fully synchronized sound cartoon.
One of the striking things about "Steamboat Willie" is how violent and cruel to animals Mickey is originally, in contrast to his later benevolence, kindness, and family-friendly appeal. Mickey's character closely followed the violent and sneaky character traits of other contemporary cartoons (namely Oswald the Lucky Rabbit), and was only softened later when Disney moved towards a family-friendly animation empire. I must confess I do have a softness for all Disney movies, especially those that starred Hayley Mills. Anyway, back to "Steamboat Willie," because of the jarring contrast in characterization, the short is rarely shown in its entirety today when evoked by Disney for nostalgic or historical purposes. A full 30 seconds of scenes have been deleted from the original cartoon. A few of the cut scenes include Mickey pulling a cat's tail (how dare he???) and then swinging the cat by the tail above his head, picking up a nursing sow and "playing" its babies like an accordion keyboard, and using a goose as bagpipes. I always thought Mickey was just too-good to be true!
Well folks, it is time to get on with the weekend, today is going to be very special to me as an exceptionally close friend of mine is coming here for an overnight visit. I haven't seen this friend in about five years, so I am really looking forward to it, I bet the time flies by like a blink of the eye. I also have to start shopping around to find that perfect hat to wear to Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding, what?, you don't think I'll be invited, think again, I happen to know quite alot of queens!, hehe!
All the best and be safe while you're out there having a good time.
Topics coming soon:
Art
Politics
Technology
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