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Remarks about “James Alan McPherson:On Becoming An American Writer: Essays & Nonfiction”
I couldn’t think of a less complicated title for this post about the book “James Alan McPherson: On Becoming An American Writer: Essays & Nonfiction.” It’s a collection of James Alan McPherson’s essays, but this humble blog post is not intended to be a review, nothing as grandiose as that. Nobody should think I have…
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New Book on James Alan McPherson
We just got the new book about James Alan McPherson, “On Becoming An American Writer: Essays & Nonfiction.” Well, new to us anyway. It was published in 2023. I started reading the book yesterday. Sena and I talked about it and she’ll read it herself. I started in the middle, by reading “Crabcakes.” I usually…
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James Alan McPherson Park Update
This being National Park and Recreation Month, I was looking for whether or not a memorial plaque has been dedicated and placed yet at James Alan McPherson Park in Iowa City. The issue of the plaque has been up in the air for years. I remember it being discussed at the dedication of the park…
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KCCK Friday Blues Edition with Bobby D Which Inspired My Song Bowel Prep Blues
Well, last night was Bob DeForest’s last Friday night bridging the path for the new Friday Blues guy, Uncle Ed English. He’ll be starting to spin the records on July 10, 2026. I really appreciate Bobby D’s great work and dedication for filling the time gap between Big Mo’s retirement and Uncle Ed’s arrival. Last…
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Thoughts on Dave Barry’s New Book “Class Clown”
This is not going to be a review of Dave Barry’s 2025 book “Class Clown: The Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass,” which I finished a couple days ago. I’m basically saying it’s funny as hell and you should run out and buy it right now. I do have some remarks, none of which will be…
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You Have to Read the Reblogs About Florida Man!
This is a twofer reblog because you get two blogs for the price of one! No, you don’t have to buy anything. The main event is a song entitled “Florida Man” by Selwyn Birchwood, mainly because I first heard it a few years ago on what is now, sadly, the retired Big Mo Blues Show,…
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Correctly Pronounce the Name Odysseus or Just Call Him Bud
I read an interesting essay yesterday in an issue of Iowa Now about a great story in Greek mythology. It’s the story of The Odyssey, which I have difficulty remembering how to spell. And that reminds me of a couple of anecdotes. They both involve my learning about Greek mythology from two great teachers at…
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Hey, It’s a Throwback Post to 2022!
This is one worth reblogging, mainly because I fracture some of the content of Edith Hamilton’s Mythology book. It’s one that hits my sentimentality bone because it’s the book my favorite English Lit teacher, Dr. Jenny Lind Porter, used to teach mythology when I was a freshman at Huston-Tillotson College (now Huston-Tillotson University) in Austin,…
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I Have Dave Barry’s New Book, “Class Clown”
Yesterday I was hiking hither and yon and ended up at Barnes and Noble. You’ll never guess what I bought there! Oh, you read the title of this post, OK. I always stop at the humor section and I never see anything by Dave Barry. When I saw his new book (well, newer; Class Clown,…
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Baptism for a Lightweight
This post is a blast from the past. Before I published the handbook for consultation-liaison psychiatry over 15 years ago, I suggested a blog post for the Cambridge University Press author web site. I can’t remember if they bought the idea-probably not. But I was pretty proud of our little book, since it weighed zero…
Go Retire Psychiatrist 