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Reblog of “New Namesake for Johnson County”
My blog post entitled “New Namesake for Johnson County” on this date in 2021 is reblogged below. The name of Johnson County had originally been named for a slaveholder. That was changed on June 24, 2021 when it was renamed in honor of Dr. Lulu Merle Johnson, a distinguished African American scholar.
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Svengoolie Show Movie: “The Time of Their Lives”
Svengoolie Intro: “Calling all stations! Clear the air lanes! Clear all air lanes for the big broadcast!” Just in time for the July 4th celebration of the 250th birthday of the founding of America, Svengoolie showed the 1946 film, “The Time of Their Lives.” I had to work hard to keep up with the rather…
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Optimistic Blues Music: “All Around the World” by TajMo on KCCK with Bobby D
It’s been a week since I heard the song “All Around the World” by Taj Mahal and ‘Keb ‘Mo on the Iowa KCCK radio show ‘da Blues on Friday night hosted by Bobby Deforest (Bobby D). Compared to all the other blues tunes, that one sounded almost too optimistic for a blues song. A couple…
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New Talking Statue of Iowa City Historian Irving Weber!
Here’s a short news item about Iowa City historian Irving Weber, whose statue is on Iowa Avenue in downtown Iowa City. You can also find the notice about the talking Irving Weber statue at this link. This has a couple of connections to point out. Irving Weber worked in the dairy industry for man years…
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Dental High Jinks!
I’m having a dental breakdown. Over the weekend, one of my crowns popped out while I was flossing. What do you think about that? Trying to do something healthy for my teeth and I had to see a dentist about the hazards of flossing. Flossing doesn’t usually hurt your teeth, but this reminds me of…
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My Two Cents
I saw the recent news story about the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision to block the University of Iowa from redirecting a private scholarship fund to first-generation college students despite the donor’s intention by that it go to black students. I believe the donor, Ezra Totton, intended that the scholarship go to black students and because…
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Taking My Scoff Syrup
By now everybody’s seen the recently released declassified UFO files and gone back to watching the old movies like Steven Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” which I watched night before last on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Of course, Spielberg’s new movie, “Disclosure Day” is coming out this month coincided perfectly with release of…
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I Look Back Once in a While
Every once in a while, I look back in my past. It’s not always the greatest thing to do, but when most of the memories are good, then it’s OK, I guess. I saw something that made me do this about a week ago while I was taking a walk around the block. It’s a…
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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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Last Day of Cow Week and Today is National Donut Day!
It’s the last day of Cow Week and Mike Waters is doing his wake-up call this morning. And he announced that today is National Donut Day! I had no idea. He’s wondering whether there are any bakeries in Eastern Iowa that could get a shout-out for it. I had to look this up on the…
Go Retire Psychiatrist 