Today's Feature

Rep. Tom Flanigan Named Vice Chair of House Committee.

Jefferson City— House Speaker Ron Richard, R-Joplin, has appointed first-term legislator, Representative Tom Flanigan, R-Carthage, to serve as vice chair of the newly-created House Committee on Real ID and Personal Privacy for the 95th General Assembly.

"Representative Flanigan is a natural leader," said Speaker Richard. "He will provide valuable input to the committee as it explores ways to safeguard the personal privacy of Missouri citizens."

The House Committee on Real ID and Personal Privacy considers and reports upon bills and matters referred to it relating to the protection of personal privacy and security concerns.

As vice chair of the committee, Rep. Flanigan will play a significant role in dealing with all legislation referred to the committee.

In addition to his duties as vice chair Rep. Flanigan will serve as a member of the following committees: Budget; Infrastructure and Transportation Funding; and Public Safety.

ART CENTRAL

Art Notes From Hyde House

A relative new member of artCentral, Jim Bilgere leads off as our first exhibiting artist in this new year of 2009. This opening will be Friday, February 13th at 6:00pm here at Hyde House Gallery, 1110 E. 13th Street in Carthage. He has chosen for his show title, "THE MAGIC OF SERENDIPITY", and as he and I discussed his work and the style of his paintings, he defined for me what he believed the word serendipity means--- "a seeming gift for finding good things accidentally." And so this group of paintings will be. I do know that Jim has a strong sense of color, and that his paintings display various elements of whimsy and fantasy in both realistic ad abstract ways. The paintings that we will show will be mostly done in oil, although Jim uses several media. The artist’s love of painting and his "artist’s way of life" began in his early teen years living in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisana, where he watched professional street artists and met foreign people on a daily basis. His early work was concerned with combining surrealism and cubism in a post modern way, and he later had a chance to study European art in its true element while living in Vienna, Austria in 1995. In Vienna he studied current trends of the time as well, and somehow infused these styles to create his own style that has influence in Monet, Picasso, Dufy, Klee, Kandinsky, Matisse, Stuart Davis, and Basquiat, as well as the New York art of the 1980s. Jim currently resides in Carthage, and is involved this month with leading some instructional workshops in painting at SPIVA for the Arts in Joplin. In next week’s article I will give information on Bilgere’s formal education as well as a listing of various exhibitions he has presented, including a special mural project he was involved with while in New York City in the late 80s.

Mornin'

It’s an old game that kids learn early and play with ruthless cunning at the slightest indication they can win. It’s the old trick of playin’ one parent against the other.

What most kids don’t understand is most of us that are parents know most of the tricks of the trade. Been there, done it.

It’s only natural. Ya take the path of least resistance. Once a kid realizes dad doesn’t mind ‘em climbin’ trees, but it scares mom to death, they get dad involved in the tree climbin’ and make a big deal ‘bout how much fun it is to be sharin’ real "quality time" with their buddy, dad. Once you are successful at gettin’ somethin’ done, try it again the same way.

Grown-ups don’t loose the knack they learned so well as kids. There’s the birth of shortcuts to solvin’ problems.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’

There seems to be a lot of confusion about the amount and types of fats we should consume in our diets. Let’s go back to the basics and take a simple look at our inner make up. The right types of fat from animal and plant sources provide a very vital source of energy and provide the very materials required to build cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormone-like substances. As part of a meal, good fats help our nutrients absorb at a proper rate allowing us to feel a sense of satisfaction and remain less hungry. Good fats act as carriers for fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E. and K. and are needed to convert carotene to Vitamin A. Fats are essential in our daily eating regimen.

So as we evaluate the job of good fats in our body it is reasonable to see that a diet deficient in good fats won’t go without consequences.

A favorite oil among many avid health experts is coconut oil. Clinical observations and research have shown that the fatty acids found in coconut oil may provide a wide range of health benefits. Bruce Fife, N.D. has written an informative book called "The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil" and is a good read for the health enthusiast.

Consider combining coconut milk with frozen fruit to make a delicious and nutritious fruit smoothie at the same time providing your body with essential fats to help cellular rebuilding in a healthy manner.