Saturday, September 29, 2018

Book Review: Shut Up and Sing

Shut Up and Sing: How Elites from Hollywood, Politics, and the UN are Subverting America by Laura Ingraham, Regnery Publishing, Washington D.C., 2003.
I read this originally in 2004.  At that time I said "Very good exploration of how the elite are  not necessarily in touch with people.  They are not any better than others outside their own particular fields--although they often think they are."  I think Ingraham's message is perhaps more important today when those who support our current president, or support that America is great, or any other ideas considered naive or ignorant or misguided.  It is enough to make you sick.
Of course Laura Ingraham is now on Fox News.  She was a radio host when she wrote this book. 

Weight Wars

I came across something really scary: a record of my weight from 2001 through 2003.  I started at 292 in December of 2001.  However I was down to 285 by mid January; only to blossom back up by the end of the year.  My last recorded weight in 2002, early December, was 292.  Then I became my heaviest.  I started 2003 at 298.  That is just gross.  That is the most I have weighed my entire life.  That is 100 pounds above the obese line.  I recorded that by the end of 2003 I was back to 285.  I have continued a mostly downward spiral, with significance periods of getting stuck.  I am half of the way to the obese line--in other words I am 50 pounds lighter than my heaviest with another 50 to go.
What have been the consequences.  I have diabetes and tinnitus, and sleep apnea and high blood pressure.  Weight is a contributing factor in all these areas.  I hope when I am no longer obese--some of these health issues will be resolved.  I would be grateful if just one or two  would improve and I not have to take so many medications.

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Federick Remington: Art for Children by Ernest Raboff, J.B. Lippincott, New York, 1973.

This book gives a brief history of Frederick Remington, who was born in Canton, New York in 1861 and died and died in 1909.  He is credited with almost 3000 drawing and paintings.  He also created bronze sculptures and wrote eight books.  He was famous because of his art by the time he thirty.  His most common theme was the West, mountain men, cowboys and Native Americans.  In his drawings he documented the changes which took place in the West and the changing native American economy.  The book mentions the material is copyrighted so I have borrowed a couple pictures from the internet which are representative of the illustrations in the book.