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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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Look On Our Wonders of America
Sena and I have been talking lately about how we would reimagine the Mt. Rushmore monument in South Dakota. We’ve never gone to South Dakota to see it. We discussed supplanting the current former U.S. Presidents with various other leaders like Helen Keller, Dr. Jonas Salk, Mahatma Ghandi. We had trouble coming up with a…
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Svengoolie Show Movie: “Invisible Agent”
Svengoolie Intro: “Calling all stations! Clear the air lanes! Clear all air lanes for the big broadcast!” The Svengoolie show movie last night was “Invisible Agent” and this was released in 1942, directed by Edwin L. Marin and starred Ilona Massey (as Maria Sorenson); Jon Hall (as Frank Raymond); Peter Lorre (as Baron Ikito); J.…
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Happy 4th of July 250th Anniversary
Have a safe and happy 4th of July! Here’s a list of what Iowans are doing to celebrate!
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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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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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