There’s a new installment of public art coming soon and the Iowa City Public Art Advisory Committee announcement is just in.
What’s really cool is the new Google map showing where all the public art is located.
The new art showcase is seeking applications from artists for works that will be displayed at 8 community parks for two years now instead of just one (2024-2026). What’s also great is that the artists will get a higher honorarium as well as an opportunity to sell their art.
Reminder: NAMIWalk Johnson County today at Terry Trublood Recreation Area. Registration starts at 8:30 AM.
There is yet another study showing that climbing stairs is great exercise and could help you live longer. It’s not yet published in a peer-reviewed journal, but it was presented at the recent scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Preventive Cardiology.
Conclusions were that, compared with not climbing stairs, doing so was associated with a 24% reduced risk of dying from any cause. There was a 39% reduced risk from dying of a cardiovascular disease.
One news story about this finding linked to an American Council of Exercise (ACE) article on an international sport called tower running. I’ve never heard of it before.
This could help get you ready for chasing extraterrestrials as shown in the famous fitness documentary Men in Black. Officer Edwards may have had “a real problem with authority” (ironic since he was a New York City cop). But as Agent K pointed out, “So do I. But this kid ran down a cephalopoid on foot, boss. That’s got to be tough enough.”
The point being: if you really know what’s good for you—you’ll take the stairs.
Don’t forget to register for the Johnson and Linn County NAMIWalks on May 4, 2024. See registration and location info below:
Heads up! The Carver College of Medicine Health Sciences Research Day is on April 26, 2024. The event is open to the public. Find your way to the Medical Research Facility (MERF) by google map.
On April 9, 2024, the University of Iowa educational podcast, Rounding@Iowa presented a discussion about the study of the use of psilocybin in the treatment of psychiatric and addiction disorders. You can access the podcast below. The title is “Psilocybin Benefits and Risks.” The format involves an interview by Dr. Gerard Clancy, MD, Senior Associate Dean for External Affairs, Professor of Psychiatry and Emergency Medicine with distinguished University of Iowa faculty and clinician researchers.
In this presentation, the guest interviewees are Dr. Michael Flaum, MD, Professor Emeritus in Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, and Dr. Peggy Nopoulos, MD, Chair and Department Executive Officer for the University of Iowa Department of Psychiatry, Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine.
All three of these highly respected and accomplished faculty taught me when I was a trainee in the psychiatry department and afterward were esteemed colleagues.
The link icon adjacent to the title of the podcast takes you to the podcast website. The link to the article in Iowa Magazine about the psilocybin research at University of Iowa Health Care tells you more about Dr. Peggy Nopoulos and her role as principal investigator in the study.
There is also a link to the National Library of Medicine Clinical Trials web site where you can find out more details about the study design. You’ll notice a banner message which says: “The U.S. government does not review or approve the safety and science of all studies listed on the website” along with another link to a disclaimer with more details.
Just a reminder, Monday April 22, 2024 is Earth Day. The theme is get rid of plastic waste.
Well, ever since last fall, the Iowa jazz and blues radio station KCCK has been available only on channel 88.3 FM on our radio dial. Channel 106.9 has been out for months. We just found out that 106.9 is now working again and has been for over 3 weeks. It has been a translator channel that broadcasts in addition to 88.3 FM out of Cedar Rapids so that people in Iowa City can have better reception.
The story about why KCCK 106.9 has been out is complicated and traces back to when the Daily Iowan reported in early October of 2023 that because the Iowa City campus of Kirkwood Community College closed, the antenna for KCCK in the area was shut down and other arrangements had to be made for KCCK radio reception in Iowa City.
We never really lost KCCK reception, except on 106.9. It always came through just fine on 88.3. But just a couple nights ago, I heard John Heim aka Big Mo who broadcasts the Big Mo Blues Show on Friday nights starting at 6:00 PM say, as usual, that KCCK is on 88.3 in Cedar Rapids and in Iowa City by translator channel 106.9. He has been saying that for months but nothing came through but static mostly.
And now KCCK 106.9 is back, just like that.
The other news from KCCK is that Big Mo has a Pod cast show now. It just started in recent weeks also. One of them reminds me of what turns out to be a comedy bit he does about May Ree’s hand-battered catfish. He always says she is one of the sponsors for his show. I’ve had my doubts about it but enjoy it anyway. I was evidently one of the many who contacted him asking whether or not the hand-battered catfish story is real. He just advised me to “keep listening.”
It’s not real, but it’s funny. It’s one of a few “Sponsors de faux” comedy bits he has done for a long time. I remember wondering about May Ree and her hand-battered catfish at least a couple of years ago. He has a couple of others which I’ve never heard about: Shorty’s Adult Diapers and Big Furry Shaving Products. I’ve blogged about May Ree a few times. Just search “hand battered catfish.”
Anyway, I thought I’d just pass this along. You can have a lot of fun listening to KCCK radio out of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, Iowa. I guess now only newcomers will ask whether the May Ree’s Hand-Battered Catfish story is real or not. KCCK of Iowa welcomes new listeners, so…keep listening.
I almost forgot that April 13 is National Scrabble Day. I don’t think I’ve ever blogged about it before, so I’ll inflict some thoughts on you now about it and add some others about International Cribbage Day, which is on February 10 annually—and which I evidently tend to forget every year.
The big news about Scrabble is that it’s changing in a major way, at least in Europe. I guess some people think the game is too difficult and they want to make it less “intimidating.” That’s what Mattel in Europe says, anyway. Others accuse the company of “dumbing it down.” I guess a certain generation of players want the game to be less competitive and more cooperative.
The thing about Scrabble Together is that it’s available only in Europe—for now. I just found out that Mattel is based in California and owns the rights to the game around most of the world. However, Hasbro licenses the game in the U.S. and has no plan to offer Scrabble Together in America.
We play Scrabble rarely—I’m not a very good player so I tend to avoid it. Sena has a couple of computer versions on CD, The Hasbro version of which is getting to be about eBay age. I think I bought it in 1999 (or was it 1998?) at Best Buy, back in the day when you could buy stuff in the actual stores. Even though the shelves looked pretty bare the last time I was there, web articles indicate it’s not going out of business, just evolving into online retailing.
Sena plays Maven (an interactive character that morphs, makes noises, and makes fun of or cheers your plays) on the Hasbro CD Scrabble version. She plays the Advanced Level and says she loses most of the time. Maven is very competitive. Funny thing, this doesn’t discourage Sena from playing. I tried to play Maven yesterday and got slaughtered. Maven thought it was pretty funny.
This change to Scrabble Together reminds me of a big story about a guy named Nigel Richards who won the French World Scrabble Championship Tournament in 2015—and he doesn’t speak a word of French. He memorized the French Dictionary. He concentrates on maximizing his scores without focusing on the actual words. It’s really more about the numbers than the vocabulary. Nigel Richards is definitely competitive and probably would not be interested in Scrabble Together.
Scrabble Together could attract more young people to an old game, which is more than you might say about cribbage. Just to be clear, cribbage is a competitive game and always has been. Every once in a while, you’ll see interesting descriptions about this two-hander card game which uses a board and can teach you a thing or two about math, strategy, logic, and building friendships.
People often observe that typical cribbage players tend to be older. It’s common to see there are fewer players under the age of 50. Many fans of cribbage try to attract younger players to the game by extolling its virtues and assuring younger novices they’ll be treated kindly. You can see that on the American Cribbage Congress (ACC) website page entitled “Cribbage Club Code of Congeniality.” Cribbage, while a competitive game, can be supportive as well. It’s not impossible.
Try not to let an experienced cribbage enthusiast persuade you to play for money.
Well, we stopped by the Wendy’s drive up a couple of days ago and tried to order that new Orange Dreamsicle (sometimes called the Creamsicle) Frosty. But they were out of it, mainly because they didn’t order enough of it. I guess it’s a hot-cold item (Har!). They encouraged us to return the next day, which we did.
They had plenty of Orange Frosty. They said it was just like those orange Push-Up Pops you got when you were a kid (what gives? I never got one). Sena said the Push-Ups tasted like orange sherbet, so she was looking forward to it.
OK, if we’d been blindfolded and didn’t know about it in the first place—we wouldn’t have been able to tell there was anything orange about it but the color.
It was a nice enough color, but it tasted so much like vanilla we wondered why they were calling it orange. We thought the same thing about the strawberry and peppermint Frosty’s. The only one that was a hit for us was the Pumpkin Spice flavor—even though some foodies said the main ingredients were milk and soy. Some said it reminded them of eggnog. I got nothing against eggnog.
So, what was in the Orange Push-Ups? I looked this up on line and they were made of cream and orange juice concentrate.
What exactly is in the Orange Dreamsicle Frosty? The dessert is aptly named, because you’re dreaming if you think you’re getting any orange in it.
It’s got milk, sugar, corn syrup, cream, and non-fat milk, plus thickeners and additives for color. There is no orange or even tangerine in it.
What do you want to bet that’s what’s in all the other flavors? When the new flavors come out, Wendy’s says they can’t give you vanilla. Funny, because that’s what most of them taste like. I’m pretty sure it’s because they use the vanilla as a base to make the new flavors.
That’s OK with me because vanilla is my favorite anyway. And chocolate is a close second. Anytime Wendy’s has a new Frosty, we’re up for it!
Go Retire Psychiatrist 