A Favorite Podcast - Completely Arbortrary

I listen to a lot of podcasts. They are the background noise in my everyday life. I like to cover lots of topics, serious, funny, political, scientific, historical, or musical.

Today I am sharing here the podcast Completely Arbortrary. This podcast is scientific and funny. The hosts are friends and the conversations they share show that which makes the pod very enjoyable to listen to even about a different tree each week. 

On the website for this podcast, Completely Arbortrary, the following description is given.

This weekly podcast is a scientific look at trees and how they affect and are affected by everything, hosted by master arborist and environmental educator Casey Clapp and his tree-curious friend and musical artist Alex Crowson. Each episode features a tree from around the world and a discussion about its unique position in culture, ecology, and history. These discussions can range from urban forestry and evolutionary biology to folk mythology and popular culture. The hard science is framed in plenty of silliness, with a casual tone, games and parody songs, and the titular arbitrary numerical rating of the tree at the end of each episode.

I can't say I am any kind of tree scholar, but I find it so enjoyable each week to hear Casey and Alex tell me all about another tree. Take a look at these guys, Alex on the left and Casey on the right, you might find you enjoy learning all about trees from them too. If you ever listen to Completely Arbortrary leave a comment and let me know what you thought about it, okay?

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy!

For Curious Minds

If you have a curious mind like I do your life is a journey filled with attempts to know all the things. I have found a podcast that can help with that. Consider, like I do, listening to "Ologies" which is a podcast hosted by Alie Ward. Besides bringing experts with knowledge of  Medusology (jellyfish), Plumology (feathers) or Cryoseismology (ice quakes) Alie will tell you a secret about herself at the end of episodes. 

You can follow Alie here-

• on Instagram
• on Twitter
• on Facebook
• to support the pod check out the Patreon page

Be sure to check out the Ologies website for information about episodes and merch. Go on, you know you want to.

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Desert Diaries, A Podcast

I was searching for podcasts on Podcast Addict, the app I use on an Android phone, about Arizona and found Desert Diaries, listened to the first episode, was charmed and subscribed. I really enjoy seeing the state through Sam Walker's eyes. We plan on retiring to a home we own in the Phoenix area next year. Jim, I think, is finally realizing that a retirement life can be a good thing. He has been mulling this whole idea of being a retired person over for a few years and is finally able to see himself as a person without a job and still having a good life. 

For me the main reason I read and listen to podcasts is because I can hear of lives and experiences from other points of view. Sam Walker's podcast Desert Diaries is such a fun way to hear about life in Arizona. She seems to take on the most problematic times of life in a new country with humor and joy in her story telling. She and her family decided to move here from Manchester England. I admit the my American ears love listening to her accent and she learns about a new county and life in the desert with husband, kids and a dog. The episodes are about 10 minutes or less and always leave me with a smile. Just search your favorite podcast app to find something new and fun. Trust me on this one.

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Two New (to me) Podcasts

Podcasts are the background sounds and voices of my daily life. I go to sleep with a couple designed to help with that. I wake up with podcasts that give me currents news and fill my curiousity needs about other interests like sewing, knitting, philosophy, outer space (NASA has some great podcasts), technology, nature and so much more. Can you tell I suffer from severe FOMO (fear of missing out)? I added two new podcasts to my queue on my Podcast Addict app this week and am enjoying them both very much.

If you like history you want to add Jon Meacham's "Hope, Through History". I like his long view of our country over time. I found an introduction to this limited series on RADIO.COM.

Welcome to Hope, Through History, with Pulitzer Prize Winning and Best Selling Author and Historian, Jon Meacham and directed and produced by Cadence13. HTH explores some of the most historic and trying times in American History, and how this nation dealt with these moments, the impact of these moments and how we came through these moments a unified nation. Season One takes a look at critical moments around the 1918 Flu Pandemic, the Great Depression, World War II, the polio epidemic and the Cuban Missile Crisis. These stories of crisis—the term originates in the writings of Hippocrates, as a moment in the course of a disease where a patient either lives or dies—are rich, and in our own 2020 hour of pandemic and slow-motion but indisputably real panic, there’s utility in re-engaging with the stories of how leaders and citizens have reacted amid tension and tumult. The vicissitudes of history always challenge us in new and often-confounding ways; that’s in the nature of things. Still, as Winston Churchill once remarked, “The future is unknowable, but the past should give us hope”—the hope that human ingenuity, reason, and character can combine to save us from the abyss and keep us on a path, in another phrase of Churchill’s, to broad, sun-lit uplands.

 

My other new podcast is "Yang Speaks" by of course the smart but light hearted Andrew Yang. I would like to know a lot more about how he sees the future for America. This weekly podcast is introduced with these words......

What do you do after you go from anonymous man to serious presidential contender, and the election is over? Well if you're Andrew Yang and you've done the math, you start a podcast. Entrepreneur, best-selling author, nonprofit founder, philanthropist, and former Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang, finally gets his chance to speak in this weekly podcast, Yang Speaks. Andrew will bring in guests he’s met along the campaign trail, from world-renowned experts, to popular celebrities and artists, to random interesting Americans from all walks of life. On this weekly podcast, the man who willed a national movement and conversation into existence around Universal Basic Income, will discuss and explore today’s biggest challenges through a variety of topics - including technology, entertainment, policy, sports, pop-culture, snacks, and anything on his mind - with a general outlook towards the future of our lives and shared humanity.

If you end up listening or subscribing to these I would love to know about it in the comments. Also if you have a favorite podcast to recommend leave a comment about that too. I would love to hear from you!

 

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

Gimlet Media Podcasts

Like I said yesterday I am blogging once again during my water sipping cool down time. I did 20 sets of stairs and 15000 steps according to my FitBit. Go me!

So while walking I was as usual listening to podcasts, several actually. One of them was Science vs put out by Gimlet Media. BTW I also have enjoyed The Habitat and Reply All from the same company. I need a break from all the news and politics sometimes and Gimlet Media podcasts provide that.

Back to Science vs., today the show was a advertisement for another of their shows named Every Little Thing. After looking up Every Little Thing I decided to subscribe with Podcast Addict which is what I use on my phone to listen. This new to me show has 45 episodes so far with titles like Do Scarecrows Scare Crows? and Do Dogs Have Belly Buttons? Come on now, who could resist such fun and informative topics?

Just found out that son and daughter-in-law are coming for the weekend. So I don't know if I will get steps or blogging done with company to enjoy and care for.

If I don't get back here til next week I hope all of you have a safe and fun Labor Day Weekend.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

All of the Above With Norman Lear

In the last couple months I have pretty much given up watching televisions with two exceptions, the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics. I use podcasts as background noise to my days and to inform and entertain me. I have blogged before about a couple of my favorites, HumaNature and Telemetry.

Another favorite among so very many is Wait Wait Don't Tell Me from NPR. The only way I heard that show before was on road trips when the only station on the radio was Public Radio. At other times Jim likes music too much for me to have a chance to listen to talk shows. Now with my little Podcast Addict app I can listen whenever I want.

Earlier this week I heard an episode of Wait Wait from 2016 that had Norman Lear as a guest. He was so much fun to listen to that I stopped what I was doing and did just that. He was 93 when this particular show aired and he was asked about what got him so far and what could he say to others hoping to live so long. His words have been in my mind all week and I want to save them here.

I heard those words as instructions for living a life with a sense of accomplishment and the joy of being able to look forward to new things. Sounds good to me, in fact, it makes me smile just to think about using this phrase myself. 

As for Mr. Lear who is now 95, he has a podcast of his own. I have listened to several episodes and been delighted. The show is "All of the Above with Norman Lear" and as of this writing there are 38 episodes ready to listen to. So far I have listened to episodes with writers, actors, musicians and other performers from Michael Angelakos to Rita Moreno to RuPaul.

From Yellowstone to Hollywood, my curious mind wants to hear about it all.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

Yellowstone National Park Around the Web

I have been lucky to live close to Yellowstone National Park for the last few years. I have visited the park a few times and driven through it on the way to Ennis, Montana or Cody, Wyoming a few times too. 

Of course I have tagged along on trips with grandkids to Old Faithful. A few minutes of walking along the boardwalks in that area let you see pools like the one below. Please if you ever go do stay on the walkways. Stepping off in this area can be dangerous or even deadly. Plan on having some patience too since around Old Faithful and the boardwalks are some of the biggest crowds in the park.

Another amazing site and certainly worth exploring is the Old Faithful Inn. There is a gift shop inside the lodge. Other things you may see in the lobby including the stunning 3 story stone chimney, are an author signing books or an artist working on their latest painting. If you want to stay at the lodge plan well ahead and know that the rooms do not have televisions or radios. You wouldn't be coming to the park to have that kind of noise anyway, right?

I told in a previous post about my pleasure at finding great podcasts to fill up my days with pleasant background sounds that amuse, entertain and inform me. Yellowstone has its own podcast. The podcast is named Telemetry and the web site for it includes this introduction.

"Telemetry" refers to the wireless transmission of information, often via radio waves, from one location to another. Our public radio-style audio series helps transmit some of Yellowstone's scientific investigations to listeners, wherever they are. Go on a sound safari in the world's first national park for surprising stories and in-depth reporting that highlight science and issues in the region.

 There are six episodes so far and I have thoroughly enjoyed every one. The first podcast episode "To Catch a Loon" is probably one of my favorites. I used to daydream about being a biologist for the park service in my youth and although I like my life it is a regret that I didn't follow through and do that kind of work.

You can subscribe to Telemetry with your favorite podcast app. Other places to get Yellowstone information are at the park's web site or Instagram or Twitter or YouTube or even a Flickr account where one of the most impressive pictures in the stream right now is this one.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

HumaNature Podcast

Do you ever listen to podcasts? I discovered them about a year ago now and love them. Podcasts can bring the latest news to you or comedy or history or just some really great storytelling. I subscribe to many and use the Podcast Addict app to listen to them on an Android phone. The app lets me find new podcasts through recommendations, organize my podcast lists in several ways and provides a background to my days.

One of my favorite storytelling podcasts is HumaNature from Wyoming Public Media. It brings stories to you from the place where meetings between humans and nature happen. The stories expose how those meetings have changed lives and strengthened the spirit of those whose stories are being told. There are 35 episodes in the series so far and I always look forward to what the next podcast will be about. You can follow HumaNature on twitter or facebook or subscribe on you favorite podcast app. 

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

New Books on the Way

Knit Picks is one of my favorite online stores. I read the blog, listen to podcasts and get the emailed newsletter and snail mail catalog.

They are having a sale on books until tomorrow. All books are 40% off. I have had some stitch libraries on my wish list for some time now so I went ahead and ordered three of them. I am sure with my crafting ADD I will be driving myself crazy when they get here. I can see myself looking through and making up a million projects that I don't have enough lifetime left to do. Part of that is the point though, to have the pattern library as a reference to make my own designs and projects. I like making things that are useful but that doesn't mean they can't have style and beauty.

I am so looking forward to getting these books. There are 2 more that I really want that are not available until the 29th of August so even more dreaming and planning will be going an all fall.