Before Tony Horton, Richard Simmons and Jane Fonda, there was Jack LaLanne. Known as the “Godfather of Fitness,” he started a revolution that has grown into a $22.4 billion a year industry. LaLanne’s accomplishments could fill volumes, but he is best known for his television fitness program—the longest running program of its kind (1953–1985).
Those familiar with the name Robert Fulton probably best know him as the man who created the first commercially viable steamboat to navigate America’s vast river system. Although this was arguably his crowning achievement, it represents only a fraction of the inventor who accomplished this and so much more.
You’re out for a drive and the car in front of you slows down. It swerves, moving erratically from one side of the lane to the other. It could be a drunk driver. It could also be a distracted driver—someone who’s texting or searching a playlist or looking for an address stored on a mobile device.
A quick Google search of the name “Jessie Willcox Smith” turns up loads of images: Mother’s Day cards, birthday cards, and thank-you cards, all bearing reprints of her original paintings. Most of them involve women and children playing, reading books, enjoying a loving embrace.
When we hear about the National Park Service (NPS), a number of sites usually come to mind: Yellowstone National Park, Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, Valley Forge, and Gettysburg. They are all places that you can visit on good old terra firma.
Each year, monarch butterflies travel nearly 2,500 miles, flying en mass from the colder climate of Canada and the northern states to the warmth of Mexico and Southern California. It is a phenomenon that is both fascinating and perplexing, as scientists don’t know exactly how or why the colorful insects make their annual migration.
There is a long list of important issues shaping the discourse of the 2016 campaign. Terrorism, the economy, immigration, unemployment, and health care are the big topics being debated. There’s one issue of critical importance that is being overlooked.
The next time you have a ghost problem, don’t call the Ghostbusters, call Debi Chestnut. A paranormal investigator with over 30 years' experience, she is the author of numerous books including her most recent, Something Wicked: A Ghost Hunter Explores Negative Spirits (Llewellyn Publications).
The last painting composer Modest Mussorgsky posed for shows a tired, bloated man, his nose red from drink, his hair disheveled and unwashed, his eyes mournful.
Within a few weeks, he would be dead.