September 21st, 2017

“早晨 (jóusàhn)” That is a “good morning” that you might hear in the Canton Province in China.

Happy National NATIONAL PECAN COOKIE Day!!! You can try out my Oatmeal Crasin and Pecan Cookie recipe if you like.

143 Million of us lost some of our most important personal identity data elements around July 7th or so. Of course, no one told us intil the past week. You don’t want to panic the victims theft of the data that you collected on them without their consent by notifying them early enough from when you discovered the breach for them to protect themselves. No that might be bad for “bidness”!!! But I digress.. We have all lost something precious and important. I chose to become more aggressive in my defense of my information and upgraded my Life Lock services account. I found out a about how much of my identity and information is available “out there” and I learned how to control it, sort of.. Anyway you can check out the sites that had me anyway.

My insurance company sent me this Seniors Sneaker thing. Its really cool in that it is provided for “free” under your Medicare Supplemental policy. I got me free membership into my friendly neighborhood 24 hour Fitness as well other classes. But there is a catch. You have to use he gym and/or attend the classes or they won’t pay for them. So you kind of have to go if you want to remain a cheap but upright old goat.

Mother Nature is still pissed. This week we got to fearfully watch Jose make his way north. Maria kick Puerto Rico’s butt and the people of Mexico City’s valiant efforts to dig out survivors from the rubble from their 7.1 earthquake. According to the theory of the “Six Degrees of Separation” every one of us has people who are challenged in one way or another in Caribbean, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and Mexico. Oh yeah, and don’t forget the forrest fires burning out west. Keep a good thought for all those in need and give what aid you can.

This week I learned some stuff:
• I watched Episodes 1-3 of Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s, “Viet Nam” on PBS. This episode talks about the path to American engagement in Viet Nam. In this first episode they introduce the history of colonial Viet Nam, Ho Chi Minh’s rise to prominence and some dumbass stuff we did that created so many enemies for America. Although the narrative jumps around a bit is well done and informative. I am reminded of Philosopher George Santayana’s quote, “Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” We keep repeating history even though we teach something like it almost every school so I am not so sure this is true but it is still worth a shot. Another wise man by the name of Mark Twain said, “ History does not repeat itself but it does rhyme.” In any case, I recommend watching this PBS Special Series.
• I may be getting morbid in my old age but it seems to me that every awards ceremony has an ever growing list of “In Memoriam” people who I grew up with in music, movies or TV. Another disturbing facet of this function is that while the head shots or famous scenes of the departed are flashing on the screen, I know the words to the background music that I cannot quite sing because of my sadness. This time Christopher Jackson did a wonderful job singing Stevie Wonder’s “As” as we said good bye to the TV stars we grew up with.

Website Update:
• I added a new Quote from our old friend and general wise man, Mark Twain.
• New Vocabulary Quiz – Woohoo!!!
• This week I also added the lyrics for “As” from Stevie Wonder for your sing-a-long pleasure. Enjoy!

Writing and Painting Update:
• I started classes again this week. I will be working Pastels on Monday, Writers Workshop on Wednesday, Watercolors and Ceramics on Friday. Whoohoo!
• I wrote another chapter in Artifacts this week.

Weird-Stuff-O-Meter:
• Every morning since I can remember, after I have been awake at least 20 minutes. I have a sneezing fit (from 2-10 hard sneezes). This has happened to me all over the world for years so its probably not some sort of hay fever thing. However, I may be allergic to my wife and kids, as they are the only common denominator. Hmmmm.

Music Update:
Click here for week’s UJT Radio program:
• Stevie Wonder — As — Just one of the beautiful songs from Stevie’s, “Songs in the Key of Life”.
• Tom Waits — The Heart of Saturday Night — This is a great cut from Tom. His rich lyrics and gravelly voice fill me with a textured sensation.
• Peter Frampton — Do You Feel Like I Do — This is an acoustic rendition of his most famous song from his album, “Acoustic Classics” released last year.
• Barcelona — Colors — Another one from their “Absolutes” album.
• Venice — One Quiet Day — This is a deep cut from their album, “Home Grown” from 2008. These guys’ harmonies are just soooooo tight and sweet.
• Dire Straits – Romeo and Juliet — I have always loved these boys. This one is from their compilation album, “Private Investigations”.
• Jude Cole — Baby, It’s Tonight — This guy is just so good!!! This one is from his, “View from 3rd Street” album. Check it out.
• Emerson, Lake and Palmer — Lucky Man — We lost Keith and Greg in 2016, Carl Palmer is still drumming. This was always my favorite EL&P song.

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