February 16th, 2017
Buiti binafi !! (“Good Morning to you all ” in Garifuna, which is an Arawakan language spoken mainly in Honduras, and also in Belize, Guatemala and Nicaragua!)
I hope everyone had a great Valentines day!
Happy Thursday!! I will be sending the UJT Updates out on Thursdays from now on. I figured out that trying to get the UJT out and get to my watercolor painting class on Friday mornings wasn’t working out for my Watercolors class. So your UJT updates will arrive on Thursdays from now on.
A month from now, “ The Ides of March” will upon us, which if you recall your accent history was pretty tough for a fella named, Caesar. No need to fret but one should prepare. Check your six! Anyone back there looking for a new deal ? 🙂 Oh Good.. then carry on having fun – making fun of our president, everyone else is.
For some reason, I chose the end of last week to quit mucking about. I have decided to loose weight. There are a lot of ways to do that and a whole lot of marketing going on around it. I have used some programs in the past. But I think I figured it out. I did a lot of reading, met with a very nice “Certified Health Coach” and even visited my local fitness center (just visited this time). The way I figure it to loose weight all I need to do is:
- Eat less food that I have been
- Exercise more than I have been
- Drink less that I have been
- I think I can do that and if I do, the pudgy little digits talking to you all about it now will be less pudgy over time. So loosing weight seems doable if I can manage my ABCs. The tough one will be my Cs – the boy do get his thirsty self sometimes. So after reviewing the best “programs” to loose weight I have decided to:
- Eat less food that I have been
- Exercise more than I have been
- Not Drink
But not on Weight Watchers, Medifast, or HMR but on the MOS (My Own Self) plan. I figured that I got me into this fat ass mess without spending a lot of money, I can just get myself back out of it the same way. I sent the MOS plan off to my doctor, to get his opinion. He said, “Sounds like a good plan! Good Luck!” Oh that guy!!! I just get all mushy when he gets all excited like that:) I learned a long time ago, “Things Measured Improve” so I am tracking weight, food, water, steps – everything using my new FitBit App! So stay tuned and I will try not to whine too much.
Last week we said goodbye to Hans Rosling. Did you check him out ?? I watched both his TED Talks again this week and if you didn’t, take the time to watch his TED talk from 2006 and 2009. If nothing else you will learn the facts about health and economy over time that will either confirm your beliefs or correct them. I wonder what else we could learn if we looked at important things globally instead of just “America First”??
This week I learned some stuff:
• Tires. I am still wading through the options and decided to wait for the great tire sales event known as, “THE GREAT PRESIDENTS DAY TIRE SALES EVENT” 😉
Website Update
• Last week for the new Vocabulary Quiz!!
• This week I also added the lyrics for David Bowie’s “Lazarus” for your sing-a-long this week.
Writing and Painting Update:
• I messed up and didn’t make my watercolor class, again.
Weird-Stuff-O-Meter:
• I learned about Loubie this week. She is a five year old Golden Retriever who likes hugging strangers. We need a lot more Loubies in to make up for all the haters in this world. Take a minute and celebrate that Loubie is waiting in on the streets in Chelsea NYC just to give you a hug!! See Loubie here.
• I watched the Grammys this year, sort of. I watched it until Adele won Best Song of the Year for “Hello”. During his acceptance speech, her co-songwriter, Greg Kurston was summarily cut off about 5 or 6 words into his acceptance. This is the guy’s biggest night and they cut him off as he thanks his wife and kids!!! I was pissed for him. He ended up getting 4 other Grammy’s so I guess he got to say his stuff anyway, but still.
Music Update:
UJT Radio selections for this week include:
• Adele – Hello – Well, this one took Grammys for Song of the Year, sung by the Best Pop Solo Performance winner, on the Record of the Year and produced by the Producer of the Year (Greg Kurston)
• David Bowie – Lazarus – David won all the Grammys he was nominated for. I frankly did not care for, “Black Star” which one for Best Rock Song. This is a deeper cut from the Black Star album which was released just days before David succumbed to cancer in 2016.
• Matchbox Twenty – If I Fall – I just like the brassy breathless sound that permeates this tune.
• Jude Cole – A Place In the Line (Album Version) — This one reminds me of an old Eagles sound. Great piano:)
• Tim Flannery – Arkansas Line – Not bad for a retired second baseman. This boy just makes me smile.
• Shane Smith & the Saints – All I See is You – From their, Geronimo album. I love this sound .. the way they weave the fiddle and make it all speed up and slow down.
• Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention — Zombie Woof – You either appreciate FZ’s amazing musical talent, perfectionism and humor or you don’t. I hope you do too:)
• Dave Mathews Band – You & Me – One of my favorite DMB songs… and my tribute to Valentines Day… I hope every one falls in love young enough and deeply enough to have an afternoon of dreaming of the possibilities…and if your very, very lucky maybe a life time to find them all together.
That’s it… Do the best you can; Laugh every chance you get; And always remember … The best is yet to come!
As always, thank you for being my friend!
James
Under the Jacaranda Tree URL: http://www.jfmccann.com