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A Small Update to a Pseudo-Rap YouTube Video and a Big Tribute to Dr. Robert G. Robinson
I just noticed something about one of my YouTube videos that I made sort of as a combination gag and educational piece about pseudobulbar affect. It needed a couple of updates—one of which is minor and which I should have noticed 10 years ago when I made it. It’s a pseudo-rap performance (badly done, I…
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Don’t Sit for Too Long in the Catbird Seat!
I was just wondering where the saying “you’re sitting in the catbird seat” came from. Some say it’s from how a catbird looks for food sitting on a high or secluded perch. It’s hard to tell exactly where the saying originated but many point to James Thurber’s short story “The Catbird Seat,” first published in…
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Spotting Venus in the Eastern Sky
I was watching a television show last night about UFOs and had to chuckle about some of the segments in which there was a lot of speculation about underground and underwater bases where extraterrestrials typically are thought to hide from us while they work on whatever it is they work on. There was the usual…
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The Big Mo Pod Show: “In the Pocket”
Here’s something fun, try to explain what the phrase “in the pocket” means. The song selections in the pod show led up to a short discussion of what it means—which I didn’t get at all. I don’t think it matters for the ordinary listeners, although former music teachers like Big Mo obviously know what the…
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The Hummingbird is a Blur!
Yesterday I noticed a hummingbird hovering about the flower pots on our porch. I hurried to get my point and shoot camera and shot video, through a window as usual and it was getting a little late in the evening too, so light was low. Can I blame the bird for always looking like…
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Extreme Heat Watch This Week in Eastern Iowa!
There’s an extreme heat watch starting tomorrow through Thursday in eastern Iowa. Heat indices of 95 to 105+ are expected. There is a list available of cooling centers published by KCRG although that was published on June 20, 2025, so it is not current. Heat safety tips are at this link.
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After The Rain II
We were playing cribbage and Sena noticed a lot of birds out in the back yard—as well as the woodchuck again. We both grabbed the cameras and forgot about cribbage for a while. You have to gaze at the pictures long enough to see there’s more than one or two birds perching in various places.…
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Svengoolie Movie: “The Black Cat” vs The Weather Report
The atmosphere for the Svengoolie TV show airing of the 1934 movie “The Black Cat” was nothing short of electric—as in electrical storm. I thought the mood of ambivalence in the film was firmly set for about the first half hour of the movie. That was how long the TV station weather alert was on…
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The Garden After the Rain and Some Juggling
Sena got some video clips of the backyard garden. The woodchuck was out there but pretty much left her stuff alone. She caught a clip of what looks like a house finch as well. For some reason, possibly involving extraterrestrials, there was some guy juggling out there.
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Starting Without the Big Mo Blues Show Today!
Well, I’ve been waiting all morning for the Big Mo Pod Show and it usually shows up long before now on Saturday morning. In spite of this, Big Mo did say on the blues show last night that the first two songs on the show would be on the pod show and I know what…
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