Category: Popular Culture

Who Knew?! Surprising Spin Offs from the Pandemic

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We Learn a Lot About Each Other in Such Times, Sometimes with a Laugh.

 

New Environments, Same Old DNA

Well, nothing like a few weeks of pandemic driven self-isolation to see what makes us all tick, eh? People change in new environments, as we see all around. But sometimes, we are predictable as can be.

Much of what has developed in society in recent weeks was foreseeable. Ah, but some were not so predictable. I have noted quite a few (changes? quirks? proclivities?) that I not have seen coming.

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And Now, a Musical Interlude

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Listen Up. I Have Good Sounds to Share

 

Magic in the Music

I consider the guitar about the most flexible and wide-ranging instrument in modern music. Now, take anything I say about music with a grain of salt. I play no instrument, save for a brief time with the Kazoo (funny story, there. Later.) I cannot read music. This is an inexcusable personal failure owing to lack of initiative. Who knows, if we are all quarantined for another month, I may solve that. I don’t even have very good hearing. But music moves me.

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Covid-19: Three Non-medical Problems to Solve

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We Have The Tools. Two Problems Could Be Solved Easily. The Last One – Not So Much

The  COVID-19 national crisis is one bad news story after another, as we all recognize. But the situation contains two problems that could be easily solved. We need only the will to do so.

Corruption Writ Large

The first of these is illustrated by the financial scandal around Senator Richard Burr and others. They apparently used insider information from official briefings for personal gain. They sold massive amounts of stock.

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In Praise of the Johnny Appleseeds of Science

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A Handful of People Have Made Science Understandable, Yet Wonderous, to Us All

Spreading the Good News

Everyone reading this is likely familiar with the legend of Johnny Appleseed. Johnny was a real person, John Chapman, who lived in America’s early days. Chapman was an American pioneer nurseryman. He introduced apples into Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and present-day West Virginia.

He became famous due to his generous ways and his leadership in conservation. He planted apple seeds everywhere, making the trees and their valued fruit ubiquitous. You can actually still see one of his trees.

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Have You Ever Noticed…?

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A Short List of Life’s Small Irritants

Let’s take a break from politics this week (Control yourselves. Stop all that cheering out loud!) This week, we are looking elsewhere for musings, reflections, and surprises.

BUT FIRST – ONE BIT of ELECTIONS RELATED NEWS

In most of the country, people are swamped with ads and news about elections. Court rulings or legislative changes make even the familiar unfamiliar in some places.

This week, a friend (Thanks, Jerry) put me onto something good. It comes from an organization we both know and trust (Hello there,

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What’s the Difference Between a Zombie and the Republican Party?

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Not much, as a Matter of Fact

Consider the Zombie

The zombie. Certainly a popular fellow in mass entertainment these days. We seem to see them everywhere. Consider what makes them different from human beings.

A zombie, at first glance, looks like a human being. But, of course, it is not. It was a human being, but now it is the undead – not really dead or alive, but somewhere in-between. There is no heart. No soul is evident. It has no purpose other than sustaining itself by eating the occasional brain. This, of course,

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Think You Know the Difference Between Art and Science?

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Not So Fast, There. Allow Me to Blur the Lines for You.

Drawing Boxes and Coloring Inside the Lines. Maybe Not.

Human beings have a tendency to divide things up into black and white. Real life often does not operate in that manner. Making hard divisions where they do not really exist deprives us of one of the joys of having a brain. To see how ideas and capacities cross over is one of life’s great joys. Let’s look at a few examples and celebrate the mélange.

Science, Anyone?

For much of my life,

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Something Old, Something New

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 Tis the Season to Acknowledge What Works

 This is the time of year when many of us are known to eat or drink a bit injudiciously. Not that has happened to me, of course, but I too may find myself, by coincidence, in need of a little relief from time to time. My search for relief reminds me that even in this age of new inventions and bold technology, some old standbys still show the way.

That is true in many areas, but for the moment, let’s take a look at over the counter medications.

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What Connects Thanksgiving, Christmas, Solstice, and New Year’s Day?

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A Time for Reflection, Recalibration, and Assessment

 

Happy Whatever

To say that we are in the holiday season would be an understatement. I read that from 1 November – 15 January 7 major religions celebrate 25 holidays. Tis the season. This is, of course, part of the continuing dialogue over the made-up war on Christmas. Acknowledging that this season has meaning to beliefs other than yours hardly seems to be naked aggression. But I digress.

Not One Special Day, but a Season of Thoughtfulness

I would like to suggest that we think about this season not as a string of holidays and events.

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It’s a Free-Range Friday!

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An Assortment of Odds and Ends for Your Weekend Reflections

Let’s Rummage Around a Bit

I am calling this post a Free-Range exercise, in part because that sounds better than the Messy Drawer Day. I have several short items for your review today.

Pretty well all of us have “that drawer.” You know, the one that seems to collect everything. For some reason, it seems to be a kitchen drawer most often. It has odds and ends from all over the house. You can never seem to find what you are looking for in that drawer.

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