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!