Book Review: What Happened - by Hillary Clinton

One of the books I really wanted to read was Hillary Clinton's "What Happened," about her thoughts on the election of 2016, and current state of politics. I've read several of her other books, and she's brilliant. Despite what some have said (dumb people who watch Fox News), she does have a warm side (she has been fighting for children using the law since she graduated from law school- over 30 years ago) and is a grandmother and a dog mom.
  INTERESTING ANALYSIS OF THE EVENTS BEFORE ELECTION -  This book provided several things including a look at the set up of things before the election, including Russian hacking into some states databases, Russian false news spread over social media like Facebook and Twitter (and mostly about Mrs. Clinton, because Putin is afraid of her, unlike his puppet).  The book shows how the poor timing of James Comey's announcement about re-opening the "email investigation" turned the 80,000 people in the swing states to  vote for Trump instead. (BTW- The EMAILS WERE NOTHING. All of that Republican bullshit, yes, bullshit, to scare the public, worked.) But, I digress.
    GOOD INSIGHT OF WHAT HAPPENED AFTER- The book is really insightful into the state of countries and relationships around the world.  When it was written, Mrs.Clinton had a good idea of what bad things would happen, and they did. We're not alienated from all of our long-time allies. We've seen the rise of hate groups who are now empowered by their "leader." We've seen assaults on anyone who isn't white, straight and protestant.  We've seen tariffs imposed on other countries that have devastated farmers (who incidentally voted for him in great numbers), and closing of a higher number coal plants (that someone promised to keep open).
   A GOOD LESSON TO HELP YOU COPE WITH THINGS -   There's also an emotionally devastating side to losing to someone who reflects the darkest side of being a human being. She talks about doing yoga, walks, spending time with family, her dogs, friends, and finally getting active again to help others. There's a good lesson here on how to pick yourself up after a devastating event.
    READ THE BOOK -      Even if you didn't vote for Mrs. Clinton, she's highly educated and aware of world affairs (quite a contrast to what we now have).  At least by reading it, you'll have a good understanding of what's happening in the world, and why we need to be "Stronger Together" than elect people who choose instead to divide us.

HISTORY: St Valentine's Connection to Whitefriar shrine, Ireland and Roman Origins

 In today's blog, thanks to BBC News, in today's blog you'll learn about who Saint Valentine was, and Valentine's day's Roman origins.  You'll also learn why people flock to a certain church in Ireland, and get a look at a computer reconstruction of St. Valentine's face! 

WHY VALENTINES FLOCK TO WHITEFRIAR CHURCH, IRELAND: By Tori Watson BBC News NI

Lovebirds in Dublin, Ireland are flocking to Whitefriar Shrine church in Ireland to see the remains of history's most romantic man. The patron saint of people in love was a Roman priest who lived during the third Century AD. He was jailed and sentenced to death for arranging secret marriages for soldiers, in defiance of a marital ban imposed by Emperor Claudius II.

Legend has it that while in prison he fell in love with the jailer's daughter and sent her a letter on 14 February - the day he was taken to be killed - signed: "From your Valentine."

WHAT DID ST. VALENTINE LOOK LIKE?  - To see a computer reconstruction of St. Valentine: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-43056345/st-valentine-does-this-3d-reconstruction-show-his-face  

WHY GO TO THIS CHURCH? - The Whitefriar Shrine dates back to the 1950s. The Vatican states that the reliquary contains the remains of St Valentine, martyr, together with a small vessel tinged with his blood.

ORIGINS OF VALENTINE'S DAY:  The day is thought to have originated from a Roman festival.

The Romans had a festival called Lupercalia in the middle of February - officially the start of their springtime. It's thought that as part of the celebrations, boys drew names of girls from a box. They'd be boyfriend and girlfriend during the festival and sometimes they'd get married.  Later on, the church wanted to turn this festival into a Christian celebration and decided to use it to remember St Valentine too.  Gradually, St Valentine's name started to be used by people to express their feelings to those they loved.

Part 1: National Portrait Gallery: 4 Justices and Christopher Reeve

Recently we visited the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery to see some amazing paintings on display there. Two of them that really caught our attention were "The Four Justices" and "Christopher Reeve" (Superman in the 1970s and 80s films). This is part one of the blog about portraits we saw, and you'll not only see our pictures of them but learn about them. 

WHERE IS THE GALLERY? National Portrait Gallery is located on 8th and F Streets NW, in Washington, DC 20001
 WEBSITE: https://npg.si.edu/home/national-portrait-gallery

We loved this painting of the four female Supreme Court justices! 
THE FOUR JUSTICES - The Four Justices by Nelson Shanks, oil on canvas, 2012. / Lent by Ian and Annette Cumming Collection © Nelson Shanks / Clockwise from bottom right: Ruth Bader Ginsburg,/ Sandra Day O’Connor, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan

As a Superman fan, and someone who admired the courage Chris Reeve showed after  his accident, I was thrilled to find this portrait: 
CHRISTOPHER REEVE -Exhibition Label  (1952-2004)

Perhaps best known for his role as Superman, actor Christopher Reeve went on to become a powerful voice for people living with disabilities after a 1995 equestrian accident left him paralyzed from the neck down. Reeve lived his life according to his own definition of a hero—“an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” His advocacy efforts led to the passage of the 1999 Work Incentives Improvement Act, allowing people with disabilities to return to work and still receive disability benefits. He also served as chairman of the board of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, which supports research to develop effective treatments and cures for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders. 

Artist:  Sacha Newley, born 1965

 

Christopher Reeve as Superman in 1970s & 80s

 

Visited the National Cathedral: Matthew Shepard Internment and Earthquake Repairs

Tom and Jeff at the National Cathedral

One chilly weekend we were joined by our friend Jeff and we checked out the National Cathedral in
Washington, D.C. - It has recently been in the news for 2 reasons. The first reason is the final internment of Matthew Shepard for a very good reason. The second is the ongoing repair of earthquake damage the cathedral experienced in 2011.

WHO WAS MATTHEW SHEPARD? - Matthew Shepherd is a young, gay man from Wyoming (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) who was a student at the University of Wyoming. He was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie on the night of October 6, 1998. He died 6 days later. His death prompted awareness of hate crimes. His murders picked him out simply because he was gay. Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson were arrested shortly after the attack and charged with first-degree murder following Shepard's death.

LAWS PUT INTO EFFECT AS A RESULT - In October 2009, the United States Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (commonly the "Matthew Shepard Act" or "Shepard/Byrd Act" for short), and on October 28, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law.

Matt Shepard

WHY WAS MATTHEW FINALLY INTERRED IN THE CATHEDRAL 21 YEARS LATER? - The simple answer is hateful, bigoted, people in Wyoming. His family was afraid to bury his ashes for fear that homophobic (nutcases) would desecrate his grave. So they held onto them. It wasn't until the Cathedral reached out to his family and offered a safe place for Matthew's remains, that he was finally put to rest.

INTERNMENT IN THE WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL - On October 26, 2018, Shepard‘s ashes were interred at the crypt of Washington National Cathedral nearly 20 years after his death. shop of Washington Reverend Marianne Edgar Budde, with music from the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington DC, GenOUT, and Conspirare. His was the first interment of the ashes of a national figure at the cathedral since Helen Keller's fifty years earlier. Information: https://cathedral.org/matthewshepard/ **To watch the 2 hour and 42 minute ceremony: https://youtu.be/FSXtHMXuaPI

QUAKE DAMAGE - In August 2011, an earthquake of 5.2 magnitude affected the Washington, D.C. area and caused a lot of damage in the cathedral. Seven years after the 2011 earthquake that rocked the Cathedral, repairs continue as funding becomes available. As we walked around the outside of the Cathedral we saw ornamental concrete pieces on the ground that were being repaired to be restored to their original position. The Cathedral is also being reinforced against future earthquakes. To learn more about the Earthquake repairs, visit their website: https://cathedral.org/earthquake/eq3/


VIDEO OF PART OF THE REPAIRS: https://youtu.be/YGEQ5PRqqNM

An Amazing Book: Walking Papers by Francesco Clark

A couple of weeks ago I posted a blog about an amazing man named Francesco Clark who founded Clark's Botanicals. Although he is now successful, he came a long way in his recovery from a diving accident that paralyzed him, and he has fully credited his amazing family with helping him recover. He wrote an amazing book about his journey to recovery called "Walking Papers" that I just finished reading. You NEED to read it. It will give you inspiration and motivation to do anything. 

    I've never read a book like this, and it provided a lot of insight into what he and many others have to cope with and work with- and how they need OUR encouragement and hope. 
    For anyone who has had a spinal injury or is going through physical therapy READ THIS. Francesco never lost hope. After the accident, he couldn't breathe on his own or move anything other than his head after his spinal injury. His hope, perseverance, determination, drive to ask about new research trials, motivation to try anything from different physical rehabilitation programs, stem cells and during all of this his family was always there to help.   All of those things helped him achieve incredible progress in recovery.
   He also came up with ideas to develop  skin formulas to help his own skin (that suffered as a result of his condition).  He worked with his dad to create them- and tried them all on himself. Try them out. - I am also honored to say that I've connected with Francesco through social media. I look at him as a true-life hero.
   Get the book! 5 of 5 stars!
 **************************************************************

Francesco Clark

Some Background from the book:
THE ACCIDENT - In 2002, Francesco Clark was a twenty-four-year-old with a bright future who worked at Harper's Bazaar. A nocturnal dive into a swimming pool's shallow end changed everything, forever. Paralyzed from the neck down, Francesco was told by his doctors that he would never move from his bed or even breathe without assistance. But Francesco fought back. Within days, he was breathing on his own. His father, a doctor himself, investigated every opportunity for experimental treatment, and Francesco used every resource available to speed his recovery. 

To avoid having his lungs painfully suctioned, he sang, loudly, for hours--and that was just the beginning. With his central nervous system impaired, Francesco lost the ability not only to walk, but even to sweat. As he continued strengthening his body he began exercising. That amazed doctors who said that he would be unable to move from the neck down. He began rebuilding his body and continues to do so. But in the meantime,  his mind was working to create something.-

Because he lost the ability to sweat, it led to clogged pores and chronic breakouts. When neither over-the-counter nor prescriptive remedies worked, he turned to his father, Dr. Harold Clark, a physician trained in both traditional Western medicine and homeopathy.

Francesco as Clark Kent

DEVELOPING SKIN CARE -Together they developed botanically-based formulas that effectively rebalanced Francesco's skin, clearing it up entirely. Through word-of-mouth, other people discovered and fell in love with these products, and in 2005, Francesco began selling Clark's Botanicals on his website: www.clarksbotanicals.com

Lazy Homeowners: We Found a Winner!

A neighborhood driveway littered with 5 weeks of newspapers

Because we walk around the neighborhood every day with the dogs, we notice a lot of things.
Especially how people take care or don't take care of their property. I understand that some people are elderly, others are infirm, but they can ask neighbors or relatives to do simple things, or pay someone to clean their yard. Others, who are fully functional, show laziness every week. Here's why:
THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER ISSUE -    Every Thursday, our free local newspaper is tossed on driveways in a plastic bag. The local paper has news that people should read, if they want to know what's happening in this city. Even if they don't want to read it, they should at least pick it up and put it in the recyclable bin (without the plastic bag, which should go in the trash). But they don't.
SOAKED, SMASHED -  There are quite a few driveways where we see newspapers from weeks past that have been run over, soaked by rain and snow, and ground into people's driveways. Sometimes, if newspapers are tossed on someone's lawn, they sit there for months (Usually until a trash day when I walk by and pick them up and put them in someone's trash container. 
LAZY HOUSE OF THE MONTH - During a dog walk last week, I walked by a house and counted 5 weeks of local newspapers on their front lawn. Here's the kicker- They wheeled out their trash can right past the 5 week's of old newspapers, and didn't pick them up and put them in the trash container!! (See picture). 
   I can't even come up with an excuse for that. 
  

VIdeo Documentary Part 1: Batman TV Behind the Scenes

As mentioned in yesterday's video blog, I am a huge fan of the 1966-1968 Batman Television show. This is a behind the scenes documentary covers the  movie Serial episodes from 1943, and the TV show from 1966. This is part 1 of 2

  Producer:JonnyBaak - Published on Jul 6, 2017

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/baak Here is my next exciting behind the scenes video of the 1966-67 hit show starring the late great Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as the Boy Wonder Robin.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/OxTTvL09VjE

 

Idiots of the Week on Video! Triumph the Insult Comic Dog Interviews Idiots!

This video contains more Idiots of the Week than you can count -and it's FUNNY! It's full of  funny video of interviews conducted by Triumph the Insult Comic Dog back in 2016 at a political rally. Triumph interviewed Trump supporters and provided some insight into their minds... and had a funny display of fake products that they all seemed to embrace.. It's good for a laugh!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFYdWXZLpT4

In Case You Missed it: 'Missing link' in human history confirmed after long debate

Evolution and Anthropology are two things we find fascinating, and if you missed the news on
January 19th, 2019, it involved both of those topics and it was HUGE. Here's the story about the missing evolutionary link, finally found! Here's the amazing story:


'Missing link' in human history confirmed after long debate
By Rob Picheta, CNN
Updated 8:02 PM ET, Sat January 19, 2019


(CNN) Early humans were still swinging from trees two million years ago, scientists have said, after confirming a set of contentious fossils represents a "missing link" in humanity's family tree.
The fossils of Australopithecus sediba have fueled scientific debate since they were found at the Malapa Fossil Site in South Africa 10 years ago.

And now researchers have established that they are closely linked to the Homo genus, representing a bridging species between early humans and their predecessors, proving that early humans were still swinging from trees 2 million years ago.


The Malapa site, South Africa's "Cradle of Humankind," was famously discovered by accident by nine-year-old Matthew Berger as he chased after his dog.

That stroke of luck eventually led to this week's finding, detailed in the journal "Paleoanthropology."
The findings help fill a gap in humankind's history, sliding in between the famous 3-million-year-old skeleton of "Lucy" and the "handy man" Homo habilis, which was found to be using tools between 1.5 and 2.1 million years ago.

The remains of an hominid, may be one of the most significant palaeoanthropological discoveries in recent times, are unveiled on April 8, 2010 during a press conference in Maropeng. Two skeletons of a new hominid species dating back two million years and found in South Africa have shed light on a previously unknown stage in human evolution, scientists said today. Baptized Australopithecus sediba, the partially fossilized specimens -- an adult female and a juvenile male -- were found in 2008 in a cavern 40 kilometers (24 miles) from Johannesburg. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER JOE (Photo credit should read ALEXANDER JOE/AFP/Getty Images)

They show that early humans of the period "spent significant time climbing in trees, perhaps for foraging and protection from predators," according to the study in the journal "Paleoanthropology."

"This larger picture sheds light on the lifeways of A. sediba and also on a major transition in hominin evolution," said lead researcher Scott Williams of New York University.


'Still so much to discover'
Two partial australopith skeletons -- a male and a female - were found in 2008 at a collapsed cave in Malapa, in South Africa's "Cradle of Humankind."

"Australopithecus" means "southern ape," a genus of hominins which lived some 2 million years ago.
Their discovery set off years of debate in the scientific community, with some rejecting the idea that they were from a previously undiscovered species with close links to the homo genus and others floating the idea that they were from two different species altogether.

But the new research has laid those suggestions to rest, and outlined "numerous features" the skeletons share with fossils from the homo genus.


Australopithecus sediba's hands and feet, for instance, show it was spending a good amount of time climbing in trees. The hands have grasping capabilities, which are more advanced than those of Homo habilis, suggesting it, too, was an early tool-user.

The researchers of the paper to highlight the remarkable story of how the fossils were found, pointing out that other dramatic clues to humanity's history are still waiting to see the light of day.

"The first fossil of Au. Sediba was discovered by Matthew Berger, then a nine-year-old, who happened to stop and examine the rock he tripped over while following his dog Tau away from the Malapa pit," they wrote.

"Imagine for a moment that Matthew stumbled over the rock and continued following his dog without noticing the fossil," they added.

"If those events had occurred instead, our science would not know about Au. sediba, but those fossils would still be there, still encased in calcified clastic sediments, still waiting to be discovered."
"The fortuitous discovery of the Malapa fossils and other similarly fortuitous recent finds should be reminders to us all that there is still so much to discover about our evolutionary past," the authors concluded.

January was hottest month in Australia on Record

A warmer world (global warming) causes weather extremes (weather is short term events, climate is
long term). The U.S. suffered through 2 outbreaks of Arctic Air (while Russia and Siberia experienced warming as the cold air from the Arctic slid over the U.S.), while Australia broke records of deadly heat. Here's the story:

Australia weather: January was hottest month on record

BBC News Feb 1, 2019:
Australia recorded its hottest month ever in January, with average temperatures exceeding 30C (86F) for the first time.   According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the extreme heat was "unprecedented" during the country's summer period.

• At least five January days were among the 10 warmest on record, with daily national temperature highs of 40C.
• The heat has caused wildfire deaths, bushfires and a rise in hospital admissions.
• Several wildlife species have also suffered, with reports of mass deaths of wild horses, native bats and fish in drought-affected areas.
• The new record surpasses conditions recorded in 2013, previously considered the nation's worst heatwave.

  

  Australia heatwave: Twenty wild horses were found dead in a gully near Alice Springs (Image: FB/ Alice Springs Community Forum)

Just how bad did it get?

• A large swathe of the state of New South Wales bore the brunt of the fortnight of extreme heat, with temperatures also soaring in parts of Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and the Northern Territory.
• In Tasmania, fire crews battled more than 50 bushfires fuelled by dry conditions and strong winds
• Health authorities said 44 people had come in for treatment in the space of 24 hours in South Australia
• Several tennis matches at the Australian Open in Melbourne were suspended
• The city of Adelaide broke its own records twice in the month, first reaching 47.7C and then 49.5C
• More than 90 wild horses were found dead or dying in Northern Territory
• Snakes have sought shelter and water in people's bathrooms, with one python climbing up a shower, according to a snake catcher in Queensland

• Deadly heat kills   horses and 1/3rd of 'fox' bats in 2 days- STORY: https://www.express.co.uk/news/weather/1076673/Australia-heatwave-weather-hottest-january-australia-day-dead-horses

   

How were records broken?

"We saw heatwave conditions affect large parts of the country through most of the month," climatologist Dr Andrew Watkins said. Records were broken for both duration and also individual daily extremes, he said. Rainfall was also below average for most areas.

'One-third' of a bat population died in two days

Australia has increasingly endured hotter summer temperatures. Last year Sydney experienced its hottest day since 1939, with a maximum temperature of 47.3C.

"The warming trend which has seen Australian temperatures increase by more than one degree in the last 100 years also contributed to the unusually warm conditions," Dr Watkins said.

How is climate change affecting Australia?

Officials have confirmed that 2018 and 2017 were Australia's third and fourth-hottest years on record respectively. The Bureau's State of the Climate 2018 report said climate change had led to an increase in extreme heat events.

Australia's deadly relationship with heat

Even if global temperatures are contained to the Paris accord limit of a 2C rise above pre-industrial levels, scientists believe the country is facing a dangerous new normal. Parts of eastern Australia suffered their worst drought in recent history last year, while thousands of Australians fled their homes when bushfires swept through Queensland in November.

Looking Back: A Musical Slide Show Tribute to Rob's Mom

When my (Rob) mom passed away in Dec. 2013, I put together a bunch of older and newer photos of her using one of her favorite songs (Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac) as a background piece. Mom is always around  and has sent me signs all of the time. On Jan. 9th, our friend Jeff shared a picture he took with mom years ago, where she was making a goofy face - so I thought I would share this video - since many have not seen it.
    My mom visited Tom and I a couple of times in Maryland. During her 2 visits we took her to NASA, she posed in front of the White House, met our dogs, even our foster dog Cooper in 2009 (who was adopted by friends Bob and Arlene and has since passed), meet Tom's folks, and mdid other fun things. This video has those moments and many others from my family. Even if you don't know anyone in it, you get to see my mom and dad (he's in there, too- and he passed in 2008) were and will always be, very special. Enjoy the song, too!


VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/robsmom

Our Remedy Worked to Remove Ear Growth on our Dog

As dogs age, they develop lumps, skin tags, little growths, bumps, and fatty deposits. Our Weimaraner developed one on her ear, so we took her to the vet for an assessment. She pawed at it, and it bled, so we knew it had to be removed. The vet recommended cryotherapy - or freezing the small growth off. It was the size of nickel. The cryotheraphy didn't work, but we came up with something that did (after spending a lot of money) that was a lot cheaper, and our way cost about $40.

TRIED CRYOTHERAPY -   Our vet didn't do cryotherapy, so we went to another vet hospital that did do it. In fact, we went back and forth 3 times to get it done over and over again, to no avail.  In total, it cost us about $600 over 3 visits.  When I called them after the third failure, they said to come in and try it again. We didn't. Instead, we tried a home remedy that worked over the course of several months. Here's what we did.

 2 Things we used. The Freeze was the last step after 4 months

TOM'S IDEA - Tom said that since the growth was a candidate for freezing off, we should consider trying wart remover. That was BRILLIANT!  - I applied wart removal liquid to the growth every day for about 4 months. Each day, a small piece of the growth would turn black and peel or flake off. If it bled, I would clean it with alcohol and wait until it dried. Then I reapplied the wart remover. I also bandaged the growth so she wouldn't scratch it with her nail (she did originally and it bled all over, which is why we needed to remove it).

THE FINAL TOUCH - Once we got the growth down to the size of a small pimple, we applied an over the counter wart freeze (Dr. Scholl's Freezeaway Wart Remover) that finalized it.  Yes, it was a long process, but it worked. 

Today, 4 months later, Dolly has a very tiny scab where the nickel-sized growth was located.