60th Anniversary of The Rolling Stones

The year is 2012 and it’s the 60th anniversary of a long lived rock group called The Rolling Stones.  They played in Hamburg, Germany back in the 1960s, as did The Beatles and dozens of other musicians and wannabes.

Review: “Ticket to Ride” by Graham Sclater; Hamburg Beat Central In the 1960s Reeperbahn District.

Did you know that the music business was dangerous in Hamburg and its Beat Central? Music producer Graham Sclater was one of the young British musicians there in the sixties after the Beatles toured. He has given us a story of a young band like his and others who lived through the Reeperbahn experience of the St. Pauli District. Some did not make it, but their stories are riveting.

Beyond St. Patrick’s Day – How the Irish Saved Civilization

How the Irish Saved Civilization:

The Untold Story of Ireland’s Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europ e- By Thomas Cahill, 1995

.

Researcher Thomas Cahill uses his education and experiences in the Church and the Classics as he shows that the Irish were critical in preserving Western Civilization in the Classics at a time in which the Huns and Germanics – Visigoths, Franks, Angles, Saxons, Ostrogothsm, and others – wanted to destroy it.

Irish monks preserved of Roman and Greek texts during the fall of the Roman Empire. it was the Irish that carefully copied the texts by hand in illuminated manuscript, a lengthy and worthy process, and added annotations in the margins. Each monk added what he knew from his own education, whether it referenced languages, history, customs, traditions, or whatever else he could add for the edification of new readers. Read more about this and see some illustrations at the link above.

Moon Ceremonies for December and January

A Cold Moon Christmas and Midwinter Celebration: Iroquois and Kwakiutl

We often wonder how migration of human groups could occur across the world and across North America. Then we find some of the same traditions both in the Pacific Northwest and in the Northeastern United States. While the Iroquois of the United States and Canada have shared large portions of their culture and histories with us, those of the Pacific Northwest are still rather mysterious and very interesting.

Out of the Silence – A Journey Through Pacific Northwest Villages

Just after World War II, an artist traveled through the Pacific Northwest and Southern Alaska, painting pictures of villagers and village life among the Indigenous Peoples. During the turbulent 1960s, a team returned to these sites for a camera tour. Both journeys are fortunately maintained as among the fine arts in Canadian museums, waiting for visitors.

The Iroquoian In the Diaspora – Oldest Representative Democracy In the World

Did you know that the Cherokee are related to the Iroquois? Read all about this native Confederacy and where they are now.

New Detectives in 221B Baker Street

The real Baker Street in London UK is not like that of the Arthur Conan Doyle novels, but it is fully decorated with memorabilia concerning Holmes, Watson, and Moriarty. Even the tube terminal and tunnels in Baker Street are fully decorated as if Sherlock Holmes and company were the most important business and cultural incomes in London. People believe that he lived or is still living today – and that is the premise of a new mystery series that is sure to attract new fans.

Business owners in Baker Street run two(2) museums, several pubs, hotels, restaurants, and a transportation terminal (the tube) all decked out like the 19th Century and covered with Holmes and Watson materials. You can make a full vacation tour just visiting these sights, seeing the pictures, quotations, artifacts and other items. This is glorious for Sherlockians, especially since the new season of BBC’s SHERLOCK comes around again in autumn 2011 on PBS in America.

Watson and Holmes seem very like two very real gentlemen, as does James Moriarty, Inspector Lestrade and many others. Some like them better than their real friends.

Read on about the new mystery novel series:

The Brothers of Baker Street, 221B

New Film: There Be Dragons

There Be Dragons – The Epic History of Opus Dei

For film lovers put off by the albino seeming to be ripping himself to shreds in The DaVinci Code, a more recent and well done There Be Dragons provides a more life-like background of Opus Dei.

As celebrity  Tom Hanks said of  his turn in The DaVinci Code, “It’s just a movie.”

Be that as may be, that film added to the rumors that Opus Dei is an evil secret society of magicians and devil worshippers.

Members of the US branch of Opus Dei have said that when they saw the albino in the Hanks film that they laughed, because it was inaccurate and absurd.  The truth is somewhere between the Code and laughing Opus Dei members, but There Be Dragons is believable. It is a historic film called an epic by many of the media.

Recommendations: See this movie if you are interested in the politics, European history, Catholicism, origins of Opus Dei, action and romance, as well as questioning one’s beliefs and coming to a livable conclusion.

Science Fiction and Coming Of Age

Journal of a UFO Investigator by David Halperin

Journal of a UFO Investigator is the best coming-of-age book, using the Cold War UFO Phenomenon to look at the lives of Baby Boomers and to tell the story of one teen that studied UFO sightings from 1963 – 1967. while figuring out his life.  The author did this himself as well, going on to become a professor of Jewish history, Heavenly Ascent and Biblical languages.

Extraterrestrials and Men In Black keep teen Danny Shapiro busy, while he processes his community’s prejudices and survives the bullies at school. This story could help many of our youth to treasure their differences, stand up to bullying, and release their thoughts of suicide.    

This is one of the most innovative sci-fi book of the year. For a full review, see:

Journal of a UFO Investigator

Moby Dick, the Great White Whale and Captain Ahab’s obsession with his obliteration is complex, heavy with symbolism nd l-o-n-g.  Themes include politics, racism, and religion as well as class disparity. The remake with Patrick Stewart as Ahab is excellent and reminds me of Ahab’s last words spit from the mouth of Kahn Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban) in Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn. This led to The Voyage Home and a pair of endangered whales that saved the world in 1986 and the 23rd Century.   For videos of the great comedy moments of the film, back story, and bloopers, see:

Classics – Whales in Science Fiction and Literature

>>Today, Star Trek’s William Shatner helps new actors, writers, artists, singers, musicians, directors and others to achieve their dreams at http://www.myouterspace.com/.

Freelance Writing, Authors, and Science in Life

First Person Experiences with Learning Disorders in the ADHD Spectrum: Part-Time Genius, Full-Time Job - This is a book detailing the daily lives of a boy and his mother, through family, divorce, a string of schools, dozens of therapists, and some techniques that actually worked. With an uplifting ending that shows progress is possible, this first-person account can help any parent that has just learned of an ADD or ADHD diagnosis in his or her child.   

Top 10 Jobs for Roslyn Estates, NY - Dedicated to Education and Sustainability. This community may hold pricey homes, but it’s wealth points to the 200,000+ jobs only half an hour away.  The highest demand jobs in the locale begin at $40,000 annually.

Make Money on HubPages via Affiliate Marketing and Other Income Streams  - Many of us make a living writing for HubPages. There’s no magic – just consistent input of well written content, participation in community projects, and some ongoing promotion. People are making a good income after only 1 year on the site. Why not try it while you look for work? 

TALK TO THE ANIMALS: African Grey Parrots – English Language and Interspecies Communications. Your bird pet may or may not be able to hold a conversation with you as do the birds in this long-term study; however, the material shows that being alone in a cage all day is not healthy.  There are things you can do – like have a small “entertainment center” for your parrot friend.

The Chicken Whisperer

Mr. Schneider is known as The Chicken Whisperer™ and produces a radio show, a blog, and an ongoing tour of the country in promotion of back yard chickens. I don’t have chickens, but I follow The Chicken Whisperer™ on Facebook. Interestingly, livestock scientist Dr. Temple Grandin feels that the domesticated chicken is the next animal the nation should highlight as one needing better and more human living conditions. Andy Schneider is the man to see about that. He is the spokesman for USDA – APHIS Bio-Security for Birds

The Chicken Whisperer Recommends Backyard Chicken Keeping.

Cutting Costs for Senior Citizens

Author Lilian Jackson Braun worked from the ages of 17 to 97 – 80 years.  She wrote novels in the late 1960s and from the mid-1980s to just recently with a thick pencil on legal pads, shunning electronic technology.

Producing one or two Cat Who mysteries per year from about 1896 – 2006, the author did not likely worry about a monthly Social Security check, but most of America does or will. Even with changes in Social Security regulations for 2011, most of us will not need to work to age 97 to collect full benefits; but some of us already must work to age 70.

The goal of our nation is to retire Americans at age 75 and ages are increasing with every new generation after the Baby Boomers.  Lilian Jackson Braun  made all that a moot point by writingt to age 97, but some other changes likely make her shake her head today.

Read the following piece for half a dozen excellent resources for saving money for and during retirement. You may even find a writing opportunity that will help.

via Cutting Costs for Senior Citizens.

If you’re a Blogger or a member of any writing community, try this -

Backlink for Blogger and WordPress:
Bloggers Community