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We Heard a Barred Owl Last Night
We both heard a barred owl last night. This was a line of thunderstorms rolled through the area. Sena thought it was in the front yard, but there are no trees out there and it’s more likely it was in the back yard. I searched my photo files and couldn’t find one of a barred…
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Thoughts on House Finches
This morning, I got a snapshot of a male house finch sitting on the back porch fence post. He’s a proud looking fellow. I saw the female a minute earlier but could not catch a picture of her. It’s spring; they’re probably a mating pair and we saw them last year. So, there will soon…
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Do We Really Need Artificial Intelligence to Help People Who Are Demoralized?
I was just going through the many files on one of my old thumb drives that I still keep after I retired from consultation-liaison psychiatry over 5 years ago. I found a file that I must have typed from a source on how to help medically ill persons who are demoralized. Demoralization is not the…
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Svengoolie Sven Squad Movie: “The Mist”
Last night the Sven Squad presented the movie, “The Mist” on the Svengoolie show. This one is hard to simply poke fun at. It’s also hard to compare to Stephen King’s novella of the same name published in 1980 because I’ve never read it. The graphic violence throughout the film and the ending left me…
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Iowa Legislature Bills I Could Live Without
I should stop reading the news. I’ve just found a couple of other Iowa Legislature bills that are anti-vaccine. One of them is the HF 2287 I mentioned yesterday that would make vaccine manufacturers steer clear of Iowa altogether. Another two I just discovered today: HF 2171: This one which seeks to make vaccines for…
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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Pentagon
So, just for laughs I sometimes watch Ancient Aliens (you know, the UFO show with the hair dude). Last night, they were talking about some guy named Valiant Thor as if he were a real person. Maybe some of you know about the book, “Stranger at the Pentagon,” which you can read for free on…
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One Anecdote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr is Nothing to Sneeze At
I’ve finished reading both biographies of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (the one by Jonathan Eig and the autobiography edited by Clayborne Carson). Both books were fascinating. Many of the accounts of King’s life were familiar to me mainly because I had seen them written about in other books and articles. Some of them are…
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Thoughts on the Book: “King: A Life” by Jonathan Eig
I just finished Jonathan Eig’s biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and I have just a few thoughts to share on my immediate impression of the book. Before I read the book, I got the impression that there might be a detailed description of Dr. King’s mental health. Although I didn’t see any specific…
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Still Reading Dr. MLK Jr Biographies
I’m just checking in to let you know I’m still reading Jonathan Eig’s biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I’m in the last section. I plan to read The Autobiography of MLK Jr., edited by Clayborne Carson next. I’m not ready to share much right now in the way of my impressions other than…
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Observations on Jonathan Eig’s Martin Luther King Distinguished Lecture
I discovered that the University of Iowa made a video presentation of Jonathan Eig’s speech for the Martin Luther King Distinguished Lecture on January 21, 2026. Mr. Eig wrote the MLK biography, “King: A Life” which was published in 2023. We just got a copy of it along with “The Autobiography Of MLK. We’re reading…
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