Elton, Cats and Dinosaurs

It was the fall of 1971.  I was 18 years old and in my first semester of community college.  A friend whom I met in one of my art classes invited me over to her house to listen to some records.

She asked me if I’d ever heard of a singer named Elton John.  I said no. 

She took out a black album with a half-lite photo of Elton face on its cover, placed it on her record player and we listened.

The first song was ‘Your Song’ and I was immediately hooked.  Later that week I went out and bought the album and every Elton John album after that point until ’Yellow Brick Road.”

Once he started his glitz and glamour phase I bowed out.  There were a few songs after Yellow Brick Road I enjoyed but my preference was his work from the early to mid-1970s.

Elton is still around and plans on retiring soon.  It’s amazing that he is still rocking this many years later.

Author David Buckley and Carlton/Andredeutsch Books presents Elton John The Biography.

The book goes into great detail about Elton’s career and his life on and off the stage.  Personal accounts by friends and associates chronicle Elton’s rise to superstardom and his often-turbulent life.

A remarkable story follows Elton from his early roots, his discovery, collaborative work, outrageous costume obsession and his ‘coming out of the closet.’

Creative, temperamental, outspoken and brilliant are just a few of the words that describe the genius of Elton John.

Poignantly intimate and reveling the book is as straightforward and candid as Elton is.

 Archival photos add to the intriguing story of one of the world’s most influence singers and musicians.

No one ever owns a cat.  Unlike dogs, cats do not pander, anxiously await for their ‘owners’ to appear or bend over backwards to please them.

One does to own a cat.  One is only allowed to pamper them, if the cat sees fit.

In Paperscapes: The Cat, by Jennifer Pulling, household felines are transformed into works of art via cutouts accompanied by detailed text about each breed.

Full-color photos of cats are die-cut on each page and with a quick pop and push you can make a gallery of feline silhouettes displayed once the excess paper is removed.

The small hardbound book instantly transforms into a feline art gallery with two-side cat bookmarks designating each breed.

My grandson is absolutely bonkers about dinosaurs (and trains).  Dr. Mark A. Norell and the American Museum & Natural History join forces to present a huge hardbound book about prehistoric dinosaurs: The World Of Dinosaurs.

More than a simple book of dinosaur dioramas, the book is packed with full-color photos and art of the thunder lizards as imagined by artists, museum displays, dig sites and much more.

Combine the art and photos with the information packed text and you have a dinosaur book as big and colorful as the legendary lizards themselves.