Rebirth: Year-end 2009 Same Song Titles

This article is a tweaked version "Year-end Fun-AT-tix and More Same Song Titles" that Blogger pulled in May because of some citation links that had been ok in late 2009. In reviewing my copy of my article, I could see Blogger's reasoning. I decided to improve the article by revising the citations, but also inserted YouTube hyperlinks to artists' videos.

Fun-AT-tix was my wordplay on phonetics, but I also used the base syllable "phon-" to talk about homophones. (I wrote about homophones in a previous article.). I wanted to use "fun@tix", but I have a feeling that Blogger/Blogspot might have an issue with the "@" sign in the article title.

Holiday Songs of Same Titles, Different Songs

The first part of this article is about homophones in year-end holiday songs and/or their lyrics. (Well, the words completely or closely approach homophones anyway.) I think a lot of songs are probably so popular and ingrained in many of us that we don't consider the possibilities of different spellings of words. I've listed some songs below for rumination.

Note: People who are poor spellers or ESLers might consider NOT looking to this article as a learning tool for correct spelling. :-)

• Santa Claws Is Cumin to Town (Sandy Claws has been done to death.)
• Gin Gull Bells
• Sy Lent Knight
• O Holey Knight (also spellable as O Wholly Knight)
• O Little Town of Beth La Hem
• A Way in a Manger
• Hark the Harold Angels Sing (The actual title makes me think of Shelly Fabares' Johnny Angel from 1962.)
• Rudolph the Red Knows Rain, Dear
• Angels We Have Herd on High
• Joy to the Whirled

One holiday song that has long mystified me for title strangeness has been Angels We Have Heard on High. The title appears ONCE in the entire song, yet "Gloria" is sung repeatedly, extendedly (glo, o-o-o-o-o, o-o-o-o-o, o-o-o-o-o, ree-yuh) and often. In talking about "Gloria", I'm now revisiting songs with same titles but are different songs--"Same Song Titles, Different Songs", an October 2009 article. In keeping with the holiday theme for now, the following songs fulfill both holiday and non-holiday categories:

Gloria

Gloria by Van Morrison/Them (1963) is actually titled rationally; there is no doubt who or what the main thought is—"Glo-ree-a. G-L-O-R-I-A, …" and on and on and on. Laura Brannigan's version (1982) has "Gloria" throughout the song, also leaving no doubt as to the topic name. As for Angels We Have Heard on High, "Gloria" gets a lot more air time than the actual song title's words. I say rename the song to Gloria and really confuse people!

Joy to the World

Joy to the World by Three Dog Night (1971) dominated the rock and roll airwaves and took over JTTW consciousness for awhile. In one Christmas special I saw many years ago, a group of elderly people were introduced to sing Joy to the World. Instead of the religious version, they launched into "JER-I-MY-AH WAS A BULL-FROG, WAS A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE, …", etc. Wish I could remember what the show was or could easily find it on YouTube. Hilarious and entertaining!

Auld Lang Syne/Same Old Lang Syne

Same Old Lang Syne by Dan Fogelberg (1980) is a bittersweet song that actually contains a pastiche of Auld Lang Syne as delivered by most bands on New Year's Day (popularized by Guy Lombardo).

Non-holiday Songs of Same Titles, Different Songs

Candy Man/Candyman

For people who hear the song and pay less attention to whether it is one word or two, aurally, it's three sound memes—can-dee-man. The notable versions are from Roy Orbison (1961), Sammy Davis, Jr. (1972, song used in original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory), Christina Aguilera (2007), and Aqua (1997, song AKA Lollipop, not to be confused with the Chordettes' Lollipop from 1958 or Millie Small's My Boy Lollipop from 1964).

Cherish

Both the Association's version (1966) and Kool and the Gang's version (1985) are slow, with love and devotion lyrics. The Association version indicates a silent sufferer, however, contrasted to KATG's version of public pronouncements.

Sunny

Neil Sedaka (1965) and Bobby Hebb (1966) both sing of rain and pain, then of love. Two very different styles for similar themes, Neil's is very melodic and Bobby's has jazzy arrangements.

Color My World

Two songs with the same song title could hardly be more different from each other. Petula Clark's peppy, horns-laden version from 1967 contrasts with Chicago's slow, flutey version from 1970.

Fever

Peggy Lee (1958) might have the best-known version, also popularized by the McCoys (1966) and Rita Coolidge (1973). More recently, Lady Gaga and Adam Lambert separately recorded and released Lady Gaga's version.

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"Rebirth: Year-end 2009 Same Song Titles"
"Same Song Titles, Different Songs"

Soda Pop Layer Cake Followup

In mid-May, I made my first-ever soda pop layer cake, which uses only cake mix and soda pop. Most recipes I'd spotted showed cupcakes or sheet cakes as end results. My layer cake came out rich and tasty, but low height. It tended to be more crumbly than cakes that call for cakes. Nevertheless, it was yummy!

My followup soda pop layer cake is as low-height and delish as the previous one. BTW, a little goes a long way. Despite the low profile because of less cake volume, the flavor is more concentrated. A twelfth serving of the soda pop cake seems as satisfying as a tenth serving of a standard cake mix cake that calls for eggs, oil, and water.

This time around, to lessen time and effort for sifting the cake mix powder and stirring/dispensing the ingredients, I used more efficient implements.

Calories and Sodium

The ingredients are same as the previous cake. The soda pop, despite a different label, is the same.

Using soda pop (140 C) instead of box's ingredient adds of egg whites (51 C) and oil (400 C) saves loads of calories. Even more calorie savings if passing on standard recipe that calls for water, oil (533 C), and eggs (210 C). If using standard box cake recipes and frosting, the total calories bump up ~450 to 750 calories. Noteworthy: Using diet soda instead of sugar soda saves about 10 to 15 calories a slice. Rec: Indulge with the sugary stuff.

Future Followup Soda Pop Cakes?

I might pass on trying my Tupperware sifter for future cake, as the capacity is only one cup. I'd need to reload the gadget maybe up to four times. BTW, I became curious about the cake mix powder texture WRT sugar. Ingredients don't elaborate, but I suspect the sugar is a finer granularity than packaged granulated sugar.

My other consideration for followup soda pop layer cake might be trying the Betty Crocker mixer method of 30 seconds low followed by 2 minutes medium. Rather than doing a video/blog project, I'd add a dated section to this article comparing results for machine mixing vs. whisk stirring.

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Soda Pop Layer Cake--Low-height N Rich, Yum
Soda Pop Layer Cake--Low-height N Rich, Hmm
Video: Soda Pop Layer Cake--Low-height N Rich

Soda Pop Layer Cake Followup (article, video)

Soda Pop Layer Cake--Low-height N Rich, Hmm

This article emphasizes post-recipe thoughts and additional soda pop cake musings. Read "Soda Pop Layer Cake--Low-height N Rich, Yum" for resources and refs. View the video for step-by-step recipe.

Post-recipe Thoughts

I perused and collected some comments from two Betty Crocker sites after the cake bake.

"Cake Baking with Soda Pop" confirmed my guess about less cake result with soda pop cake recipe. Additional excerpted comments follow.

[Q] Why when we made this batter did we only get 1 cupcake tin? When we make the batter the normal way we get 2 cupcake tins of cupcakes.

[A]Because you have less batter. When you add eggs,oil, water etc you have a larger volume of batter. So more cupcakes.

[regular soda vs. diet comment] Regular soda did not make it too sweet. Diet soda is sweeter to me as far as taste."

[Q] Does the 1 [to] 2 minutes of beating not beat out the CO2? When making beer bread, it’s just stir gently until we’ll mixed.

[A] In this case, the batter will still hold enough gas to rise.

[Q] Can you make a sheet cake or layers with this method?

[A] we did not test this recipe with a pan or with a sheet cake method, therefore, we recommend using the [cupcake] cake tin.

From "Two-Ingredient Soda Pop Cupcakes"

[comment] We made the recipe exactly as it was written and made sure to use the electric mixer as directed.

[comment] The carbonation is required for this recipe and we do not recommend using flat soda."

Additional Soda Pop Cake Musings

The cartoon host advocated that both cake mix powder and soda pop be room-temperature. Over time, I've observed that warmer soda bubbles up more violently and longer than cold soda. As I keep cake mix in the pantry, powder temperature is no problem.

Numerous recipes I'd read or viewed show cake mix powder poured directly into a bowl, unsifted, before pouring the soda pop in. In one case, the baker might have improved her process by sifting first, as she bemoaned needing to squash powder lumps during the stirring.

I've occasionally run across recipes that call for sifting. I've sifted when I want to divide powder portions before weighing, such as for zebra or marble cakes. I've noticed bits of small particles trapped at the bottom of the strainer.

I've seen mixing processes range from gently stirring for 30 seconds or less to hand mixer for 1 minute low followed by 2 minutes medium to tilt-head KitchenAid mixing (speed and duration not easily determined). I intend to try electric mixing, but maybe after i try making a followup cake by shortening both the sifting and mixing process.

Musing Followup Cake

For a followup soda pop cake, I want to shorten the sifting and stirring processes.

Sifting took more time and effort than I expected. Planning to try a different strainer and larger spoon. Stirring was also more time-consuming. Planning to try a French/piano whisk instead of flat whisk. My Tupperware measuring pitcher (8 cups, 2 liters) would be helpful mostly for the pour/dispense stage, as I'd easily eyeball batter amount for each pan. Still likely to also use digital scale.

Alternative sifter (Tupperware tubular with crank handle), which I haven't used in many years. It's worth a shot for another soda pop cake iteration. I see online availability, several missing parts. An eye-catcher, for $24.99.

After making the followup cake, I might try using a mixer. Fingers crossed that I don't wind up with pancake-height layers!

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Soda Pop Layer Cake--Low-height N Rich, Yum
Soda Pop Layer Cake--Low-height N Rich, Hmm
Video: Soda Pop Layer Cake--Low-height N Rich

Soda Pop Layer Cake Followup (article, video)

Soda Pop Layer Cake--Low-height N Rich, Yum

A few months ago, cost of eggs had nearly doubled the cost of making cake mix cake, not counting cost of frosting. The egg costs have come down, but I haven't quite recovered from the sticker shock. Recently, I made a soda pop layer cake (eggless!). Yum!

My video shows how to make the cake using a box of white cake mix and non-diet lemon lime soda (room temperature), with canned vanilla frosting. (Anything goes for flavors you want to use.) Although loads of such recipes are findable on the web, mine is for making a 9" diameter layer cake. (Just about all the other recipes aim for cupcakes or 9" x 13" sheet cakes.)

The cake turned out lower height than I expected. Noteworthy: The soda pop weighs less than usual-recipe eggs/egg whites, oil and water. Noteworthy: Batter amount is about 3/4 as much as for full-recipe cake.

I had originally run across soda pop cake when I encountered 2-ingredient recipes. At least one was pizza dough. A few were 2-ingredient cakes, several eggless. Some of the cakes called for flax seed, some for yogurt. The eggless, soda-pop cakes intrigued me the most.

Betty Crocker-centric

Betty Crocker's "Learn About Cake Baking with Soda Pop" explains carbonation WRT soda pop and leavenings in baked goods.

The carbon dioxide bubbles in soda pop act as a leavening agent — the element that makes baked goods rise and makes them light and fluffy. ...Kitchen staple leaveners — like baking soda and baking powder — use a chemical reaction to create carbon dioxide bubbles.

"Cake Baking with Soda Pop" is eye-opening for calling for 1) only one cupcake pan and for 2) the mixing time using an electric mixer. View the video there or on YouTube.

beat (1) dry cake mix and (1) soda pop with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Scrape the side of the bowl, then mix on a medium speed for 2 minutes.

Oddly, the Betty Crocker "Two-Ingredient Soda Pop Cupcakes" says "24 regular-size muffin cups". FWIW, this recipe specifies 16.25 oz for cake mix weight; the other recipe omits the weight.

Duncan Hines-centric

"Soda Pop cake" is succinct, indicating that the baker would also refer to the cake mix box instructions. I'm guessing a little bit of prior cake-making experience is helpful.

Duncan Hines has an association with Ready Set Eat, for which a recipe for soda pop cake finally shows up. And it calls for DH cake! "6 BOX CAKE MIX RECIPES AND HACKS", points to "2 Ingredient Strawberry Lemon-Lime Cake". Significant mixing instruction-""thoroughly combine cake mix and soda". The output is a 9 x 13 single layer, with suggestion of powdered sugar dusting.

Additional Recipes with Nod to Blending Ingredients and Yields

"2 Ingredient Soda Cake - Unreal!" shows the process from start to finish (using whisk), suitable for new bakers. It makes a 9 x 13 sheet cake, subdivided and minimally whip-creamed.

"2 Ingredient Chocolate Coke Cake" prefaces the recipe with some background. Might be useful when a baker is first exploring making such a cake. Scroll down to the details. She suggests using a mixer instead of a whisk. The output is a 9 x 13 sheet cake, undecorated.

"Bill shows us how to make 2 ingredient cupcakes!" demonstrates his recipe. Bill is the host for Toon In with Me cartoon show that airs weekdays. His sidekick is a talking tuna puppet. The demo was a bit amateurish and lacking in some details, but possibly endearing to audience who might think, "Hey, I could do that! He whisked diet orange soda and vanilla cake mix (both room temperature) in a bowl. Some of the batter went into lined cupcake cups. The use of an air fryer is different. Would-be bakers can refer to other soda pop recipes for filling in blanks.

"NO EGG BOX CAKE" is a nicely short video. She uses a spoon for her stirring. The process veers oddly with batter pour into a greased pan that transitions to a drizzled Bundt cake. She commented later "Same Cake, Different Pan."

"Soda Cake Recipe! 2 Ingredients" is over 10 minutes long, but contains caveats to squash cake mix lumps and to not overbeat. Interestingly, her instructions to stir about 30 seconds conflict with Betty Crocker box instructions for one-minute low speed, the 2 minutes on high. BTW, her yield is 12 cupcakes per recipe.

"3 INGREDIENT VEGAN CAKE HACKS | Can I Make A Vegan Cake Using Soda?!" finally shows the soda pop cake recipe starting about 5:12. She uses a tilt-head mixer (maybe KitchenAid). Interestingly, at the batter pour near 6:30, she prepares two 9-inch springform pans. starts out with two pans, At 7:00, she decides to use only one pan. After bake and cool, the frosting goes on only the one layer, even though she plan-b intended to slice the layer and put in a middle layer of frosting.

Calories and Sodium

I’m always curious about the calories and sodium in my cakes and cookies recipes. The soda pop cake stats can seem rather indulgent, but the calories compare favorably against standard box cake recipes that use eggs/egg whites and oil.Using soda pop (140 C) instead of box's ingredient adds of egg whites (51 C) and oil (400 C) saves loads of calories. Even more calorie savings if passing on standard recipe that calls for water, oil (533 C), and eggs (210 C). If using standard box cake recipes and frosting, the total calories bump up ~450 to 750 calories. Noteworthy: Using diet soda instead of sugar soda saves about 10 to 15 calories a slice. Rec: Indulge with the sugary stuff.

Read "Soda Pop Layer Cake--Low-height N Rich, Hmm" for post-recipe afterthoughts and additional soda pop cake musings.

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Soda Pop Layer Cake--Low-height N Rich, Yum
Soda Pop Layer Cake--Low-height N Rich, Hmm
Video: Soda Pop Layer Cake--Low-height N Rich

Nabisco's Voyage of the Mayflower Cooky Tin

I've had my red Nabisco Mayflower cooky tin for so long that I don't remember when I got it or if it had cookies in it to begin with. The box says the cooky weight is three pounds. It measures 9" x 8 1/2" x 4" high. I've used it for storing Ziploc'ed cookies, bagged breads, layered cupcakes, and layered cereal blocks. These boxes are really common--many sold on eBay and Etsy! However, history of the box and chronological ties to Nabisco were pretty well non-existent.

Recently, I took a closer look at the box, recorded and pic'ed it, noted images and text. The video shows the box designs--the lid and two vertical designs.

Pondering the Tin's Graphics

The images convey loads of visual information with very little text. The lid's title is "Voyage of the Mayflower". The front and back's title is "The Early Journeys" and includes a sister ship, the Speedwell. The sides' title is "The Journey", which more emphasizes the Mayflower.

Illustrations display routes of the two ships--Speedwell's shown as black dots and arrowheads, and Mayflower's shown as white lines and arrowheads. Additional images include symbols that might indicate perceived sailing conditions during the journeys. The orientation of the ships and sails convey direction.

The Mayflower's lid rendering is impressive for details of shaded sails and ship body. One of the masts has the City of London flag, the other having the Union Jack. "Flags of the Mayflower" provides good info about the flags and how the Union Jack design came about. The site also shows a replica of the Mayflower.

Closer Looks at the Symbols Near the Mayflower and Speedwell

Mysterious outlined symbols near the ships might convey overall sailing conditions of the journey. Look for cherubs blowing wind, a chimeric figure (bird-headed fish) with trident, and friendly looking fish. One cherub looked to be blowing gently, the other a little more gustily. Google image search for "cherubs blowing wind" yield a few images; Google results for "All" didn't shed light. As for the bird-headed fish, navigate to "What exactly is this? Odd fish with a BIRD-shaped head stuns the internet" for the fish from a few years ago. The box's hybrid animal and trident might symbolize Poseidon. Who knows?

Poking into Mayflower History

Poking into Mayflower history for the cooky tin's info conveyance was eye-opening. I never knew about the Speedwell and association with the Mayflower. I didn't know that the Pilgrims lived in Holland for 12 years before leaving for the New World from England to the New World. Some resources:

• "The Mayflower Story"
• "The Pilgrims’ Miserable Journey Aboard the Mayflower"
• "The Pilgrims Before Plymouth"
• "Take a Virtual Tour of the Mayflower"
  

Nabisco and Mayflower

The cooky tin was made by Nabisco in England for Nabisco in New York. Google search results yielded no information that I considered useful. About all I could infer is that the tin's zip code reference marked the year at no earlier than 1963. "ZIP Code Introduced" states "introduced July 1, 1963, as part of a larger Postal Service Nationwide Improved Mail Service (NIMS) plan to improve the speed of mail delivery."

Hmmm, where might that Nabisco site be? "The Factory That Oreos Built" and "National Biscuit Company/ Chelsea Market" provide history of the old NY Nabisco factory and transition to tourist destination.

Lightly Looking at Nabisco Then and Now

Nabisco has a history dating back to 1898. It has belonged to various companies, most recently, Mondelēz, which was formerly named Kraft. "Nabisco" provides a short history from establishment to association with Kraft foods. If you want to know more about Nabisco currently, Google results yield articles about Nabisco's outsourcing of various snacks to Mexico. One most current event is the planned (now-off) demolition of its Fair Lawn, NJ plant.

Mayflower-associated Hmmms

From "mayflower plant"—"Crataegus monogyna (family Rosaceae), a species of hawthorn, is commonly known as mayflower or May flower in England."

From "Mayflower Transit":

Mayflower was founded in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1927 by Conrad M. Gentry and Don F. Kenworthy. In March 1995, it was acquired by UniGroup, a transportation and relocation services company with headquarters in suburban St. Louis, Missouri.

From "What May flowers bring":

Jack: If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?
Harry: Tell me.
...

Glancing Back at 4/2023 Birds N Bees YT Clips

Last month, I compiled images of birds and bees for wordplay and theme. I thought about how short-lived these animals are compared to humans. We are fortunate to witness their livelihoods, yet so many people are wrapped up in their own concerns, taking surroundings for granted. In a meandering thought, humans are way insignificant in the context of earth age, even more fleeting compared to the universe age.

Birds-spied Views, Thoughts About Longevities

The birds I'd captured were hawks, mockingbirds, owls, cardinals, cedar waxwings, and turkey vultures. Thinking back on the captures, I sensed we humans live lots longer than these flyers. Life expectancies vary among bird types.

I did Google lookups for "how long do [bird types] live" for the types I'd imaged. In a hawk inquiry, one result provided info for several birds of prey.

In general, small falcons and Accipiter hawks live about 15 years. Medium-sized buzzards and kites live 20 to 40 years, and large vultures and eagles have occasionally lived 40 to 55 years (Newton, 1979).

All About Raptors - Longevity & Causes of Death - SeaWorld.org

In my mockingbird inquiry, the life cycle seems breathtakingly fast. No time to waste!

Females incubate the eggs for about two weeks before hatching; both parents take turns feeding the nestlings. Hatchlings can leave the nest after 12-13 days followed by another week's worth of care from their parents before striking out on their own. In the wild, mockingbirds live eight years on average.

Northern mockingbird | Smithsonian's National Zoo

For owls, I initially looked up owl longevity. I noticed numerous types of owls exist. Hmmm, maybe looking at several owl sites and videos might help ID some I'd shot. Thus, I concluded that the images more resembled Western screech owls than others listed in Central Texas. My screech owl inquiry yielded an eye-catching set of factoids from racinezoo.org.

Western Screech Owl Fact Sheet
Class: Aves
Species: kennicottii
Lifespan: About 13 years in the wild About 19 years under human care
Reproduction: Females lay 2 to 7 eggs per season in March or April. Hatching occurs within 26 to 34 days.
Size: 7.48 – 10 in. long Wingspan 6.63 – 6.87 in. wide

Western Screech Owl Fact Sheet | racinezoo.org

In my cardinals inquiry, a result mentions 3 to 5 years with explanation of short life for many.

one of the most recognized birds due to their brilliant red color. The average life span of a northern cardinal is approximately 3 to 5 years due to the hazards they face, which are predators, disease, accidents, and starvation. Several northern cardinals have been reported to live up to 15 years.

Cardinal Facts - CARING CARDINALS

In my cedar waxwings inquiry, one result, besides providing life expectancy, also mentions flock socializing.

Cedar waxwings are highly social and communicate with other members of the flock using noises and physical displays. Both males and females reach reproductive maturity at one year and live up to eight years in the wild.

Cedar Waxwing | National Wildlife Federation
National Wildlife Federation
https://www.nwf.org › Wildlife-Guide › Birds › Cedar-...

A result for turkey vulture longevity surprised me!

The average life expectancy is 16 years in the wild, and up to 30 years in captivity.

Turkey Vulture - Elmwood Park Zoo

Birds Captured in Images, Dead or Alive These Days?

Looking over date stamps of images, which ranged from June 2019 to April 2023, I infer the birds have not reached end of life. It's somewhat comforting that the images are recent enough that the birds are still around--flying, roosting, perching, ....

Blooms N Bees, Thoughts About Longevities

Bees have really short lives, with three possible roles and fates--queen, female worker, and male drone. A queen can live up to a few years. The female worker can live up to a few weeks if spring and summer and a few months if winter. Drones mate and die in less than two months. "Honey Bee Lifespan: How Long Do Honey Bees Live?" and "Bee Lifespan: How Long Do Bees Live?" provide good info and good closeup images.

The short lives of bees is sobering. In my image capturing, they seem to be ecstatically bathing in pollen or buzzing the sources. Alas, they're working to primarily collect pollen to take to the hives for feeding larvae. No rest for the wicked!

The plants that provided blooms that the bees buzzed had varying life cycles. Some blooms, as in the case of stalky plants, not only lasted short-term, those plants also became part of the past. Prickly pear plants that I shot were casualties of the February 2021 freeze. The thread leaf agave leaned over so far during its time on earth that the home owner apparently uprooted it and disposed of it.

Some stalky plants' blooms deteriorated within days, losing bee visitors. The plants themselves also became part of the past.

Century plants, which are agaves that enter their final stage that starts by growing a stalk and bloom clusters. Bees party for some time before the plant ages to threaten surroundings. In passing, I've witnessed several such plants entering the final stages, then noticed their absences.

Another set of plants that I recorded were sotols, which stalked and flowered gloriously. I did notice some were casualties of the February 2023 ice storm. Would survivors revive? According to Central Texas Gardener's Sotol webpage, "All produce towering flower stalks in mid to late summer, similar to their relatives in the Agave family, but unlike Agaves, Sotols do not die after flowering."

Looks like awhile before I should check for survivor sotols blooming. San Marcos Growers Dasylirion wheeleri webpage states "Flowering occurs only every few years."

Thinking Big and Small Nearby

My images were from nearby walks, camera handy. I've missed opportunities, but happily captured many items to remember. Lookups helped me better understand the birds, bees, and blooms a bit better. Also considered that we're wee and short-lived when thinking large scale, such as the planet, solar system, and beyond.

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Related:
"Birds-spied Views" article | video
"Bees N Blooms" article | video

Bees N Blooms

This month I scoured though my collection of images and videos about birds and bees. After awhile, I decided to split the topics to "Birds-spied Views" and "Bees N Blooms".

The video includes bees in or near a century plant (agave), thread-leaf agave, sotol plants, prickly pear cacti, long-stemmed blue flower clusters, and magnolia blooms. I shot the targets in 2020 and 2021, mostly in May and June. The oddity was the thread-leaf agave. Its stalk bloomed and attracted the bee hordes in November 2020.

Full-version Videos Available

Most of the clips in the video represent excerpts of full-version YouTube videos in my YouTube channel under the VIDEOS tab. Some clips are newly edited from initial recordings and part of the compilation. Refs:

"Eye-caught Snippet, Bees Buzzing in Century Plant Bloom, June 4, 2020"

"Eye-caught Snippet, Bees do it--buzz thread-leaf agave Nov 13, 2020"
"Thread-leaf Agave in Fall 2020--Blooms, Bees, and Beyond" (article)

"Pretty Tall Sotols" (article Part 1, article Part 2)

"Eye-caught Snippet, Prickly Pear Bank with Beez Buzzing Bloomz"

"Eye-caught Snippet, Prickly Pear Bank (Flower and Bee) June 3, 2020"

"Eye-caught Snippet, Bee Here, Bee Gone, May 15, 2021 ~7:30 AM"

"Eye-caught Snippet, Peekaboo Bees and Magnolia Blossom, June 26, 2020"

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Related:"Birds-spied Views" article | video, "Glancing Back at 4/2023 Birds N Bees YT Clips"

Birds-spied Views

This month I scoured though my collection of images and videos about birds and bees. After awhile, I decided to split the topics to "Birds-spied Views" and "Bees N Blooms".

The video includes hawks, mockingbirds, owls, cardinals, cedar waxwings, and turkey vultures. Some are perched, in flight, swooping. on foot, or combined spottings.  I shot the targets from 2019 through part of 2023.

Full-version Videos Available

Most of the clips in the video represent excerpts of full-version YouTube videos in my YouTube channel under the VIDEOS tab. Some clips are newly edited from initial recordings and part of the compilation. Refs:

• "Eye-caught Snippet, Preening Coopers Hawk"
• "Eye-caught Snippet, Coopers Hawk and Web Worm Nest"
• "Red-tailed Hawk Catches Mid-day Squirrel Meal" (article)
• "Eye-caught Snippet, Hawk Spotting"
  
• "Critter Shootin' Near Mid-June 2019" (article)
• "Eye-caught Snippet, Quick shot at cardinal, May 19, 2021"
• "Eye-caught Snippet, Cardinal, July 17, 2020"
• "Eye-caught Snippet, Tree-flocked birds and ambling deer, 1/8/2021"
• "Eye-caught Snippet, Cedar Waxwing Flock with Audio, Jan 8, 2021"
• "Eye-caught Snippet, Turkey Vulture, August 6, 2020"
• "2022 Halloween Nearby Tour" (article)

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Related:"Bees N Blooms" article | video, "Glancing Back at 4/2023 Birds N Bees YT Clips"

Sthinker

A blended word is one that combines two words. Google results show some examples, such as "brunch", combination of breakfast and lunch and "sitcom", combination of situation and comedy. My blended word for my image is "sthinker", combination of stinker and (Rodin's) Thinker. Obvious initial terms and blended word, I hope.

About the time I thought about Sthinker, a few TV airings came to mind about tail endings, so to speak. I'm not sure how my train of thought started and ended, but the following items inspired my article.

• Afterthoughts about Rodin's Thinker
• Michelangelo's David
• Tom and Jerry cartoons showing improbable ends or endings
• Tweety and Sylvester adventure at Children's Museum
• Smoking gum ad prank

Afterthoughts about Rodin's Thinker

Curiosities arose upon researching various tie-ins to my overall theme of entrances and exits, so to speak. As I collected info about Michelangelo's David, I also gave Rodin's Thinker a look-see. "12 Things You Didn't Know About 'The Thinker'" provides food for thought. Rodin's quote about his statue could apply to my whimsical Sthinker image, no disrespect intended.

What makes my Thinker think is that he thinks not only with his brain, with his knitted brow, his distended nostrils and compressed lips, but with every muscle of his arms, back, and legs, with his clenched fist and gripping toes.

The article mentions that the statue was originally intended to be part of larger piece of work. A tie-in to a different Michelangelo statue (not David) is at "Michelangelo’s Thinker". FWIW, "cuirass" showed up in several places, piquing me. The torso item has nothing to do with the anatomical part that the last syllable might imply. Hmmm, I suppose the whole word's pronunciation COULD sound racy.

Michelangelo's David

The similarity between David and the Thinker is that they're both well-known statues. And nekkid. However, David is standing, and Thinker is seated. David looks flexed, maybe to imply his readiness for his upcoming battle with Goliath. As for Thinker, my Rodin's Mental Floss blockquote from above might explain his anatomical flexedness.

Recently, I had watched Philomena Cunk's Cunk on Earth episode that included a narrow look at the David statue, front and back. "Philomena Cunk, the art critic" delivers an amusing rant. Cunk on Earth is a wacky retelling of the history of the world, not to be taken as the gospel truth.

The David statue has been in the news this month. Google news results for "Michelangelo's David controversy" show headlines about the Florida charter school principal forced to leave her job over a class lesson that featured the statue. Even SNL addressed the controversy with Michael Longfellow as chiseled David, aired April Fool's day. Amusingly, SNL had featured David in a skit reaching back to 2013.

Apparently, this is not the first controversy over nekkid David. "10 Facts About Michelangelo’s David" mentions the statue having been censored with a plastered fig leaf in the distant past. "10 Facts about Michelangelo’s Statue of David in Florence, Italy" provides some overlapping and additional info about David.

Tom and Jerry Cartoons Showing Improbable Ends or Endings

A few Tom and Jerry cartoons provide some warped ideas of end results that could be very misleading for children to understand. They are highly amusing for grownups, if you don't overthink loads of violence that the duo seem to constantly inflict on each other.

• "Tom and Jerry, 54 Episode - Cue Ball Cat (1950)" shows Tom swallowing Jerry's aimed bridge cue stick (~2-minute mark). The outline of the stick straightens his tail, and the bridge ends up at his mouth.
• "Key Retrieval - Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse" depicts a key shape at Tom's tail (~30-second mark). (Tom swallowed a key, which omitted any digestive tract route.) Watch Jerry enter Tom's mouth and beyond to retrieve the key.
• "Tom and jerry show, tom swallow jerry,hd" shows Tom starting out kicking a tennis ball a la hacky sack. About 20-seconds in, Jerry, ball, and other objects are inside Tom's stomach.

Tweety and Sylvester Bonus

"Looney Tunes Extras - Museum Scream" is an adventure at the Children's Museum. A snake catches and swallows Sylvester early in the cartoon, About 1:30 mark, Sylvester, still inside snake, stands up, then walks and emerges at its mouth. Sylvester, after cleaning himself as a fastidious cat would, pursues, catches, and loses Tweety. Eye-popping and somewhat accurate, Sylvester's digestion-system journey ends with Tweety's punchline. The chase resumes with more museum touring for us, the audience, with Sylvester becoming nine colorful lives.

"Unintentionally Sympathetic / Looney Tunes provides a sympathetic look at Sylvester's mishaps in Museum Scream cartoon, along with additional history about some of some other characters in various Looney Tunes cartoons.

Smoking Gum Ad Prank

"Aunt Chippy Cigarette Prank" is like an extended version of a Candid Camera segment. A former smoker (Jimmy Kimmel's Aunt Chippy) is hired to record an anti-cigarette commercial that features cigarette gum. The rest of the people are in on the prank. The punch line is precious!

Something that struck me was that the "director" was able to progressively cajole Aunt Chippy into doing things she would start out refusing to do. I think being talked into actions happens to lots of people (cough, cough) in lots of circumstances.

"Jimmy Kimmel's Real Relationship With His Aunt Chippy" provides info about the relationship between good-sport Aunt Chippy and nephew Jimmy Kimmel.

2023 Ice 'N' Arborgeddon

Arborgeddon—downed limbs small and large littering just about every residence. In a nutshell, ice accumulation from freezing/thawing precipitation gave us the perfect storm.

What an experience last month! Started off Feb 1 at 4:30 AM with power outage—67 straight hours. The temperature indoors dropped down to 48 degrees. We coped with loads of layered clothing and heavy bedding. It was unsettling to restrict activities to daylight hours. (Battery conservation was important while not knowing when power would return.)

For a couple of days, consumed some non-perishable stuff. Then got cabin fever. Fortunately, roads were drivable to get to a few eateries that did have power. Ahhh, hot food and warm ambiance!

After the power came back on, assessed the fridge and freezer contents. Needed to toss out about $45 of food, mostly refrigerator stuff. The freezer food thawed to about 40 degrees, comparable to refrigerator temperature.

Happy to have power on again. For the store trek, was gun shy about buying the usual bi-weekly vittles, so bought fewer items for fridge & freezer compartments, and more room-temperature vittles.

Paid a family friend of a neighbor to get rid of five damaged cedars and loads of other debris. He and numerous other storm-damage tree people knew there was money to be made from this calamity. (Lucky that the snap-crackle-pop branches missed damaging any part of the house.)

Used a bow rake to even out ruts the tree people made when they dragged tree limbs and trunks numerous times from back to front to a chipper.

The video has still pix integrated with clips for the following sections:

1. Damage to trees and other flora, accompanied by some solid ice and icicles. The outage occurred 2/1. By the next day, ice was starting to melt (captured on some clips).
2. Cleanup, which also includes a tree worker in action
3. Some side-by-side pix for damage and post-cleanup

Couple of meaty articles:

From "10.5 million Austin trees damaged in February ice storm, Texas experts report":

An estimated 10.5 million trees in Austin were damaged as a result of this month’s ice storm — impacting 30% of the city’s total tree canopy coverage, ... data compiled by seven Texas A&M Forest Service crews as well as the agency’s Urban Forest Inventory and Analysis program. Satellite images were also used to capture the estimated extent of the damages, officials added. ... tree species most commonly impacted include live oak, Ashe juniper, cedar elm and hackberry trees. About 25% of the city’s tree canopy had sustained light damage, while 5% had moderate-to-heavy damage and 1% undergoing extensive, heavy damage.

From "'Historic' winter storm Mara recovery drags on"

The ice coated power lines and trees, knocking out electricity to at least 170,000 Austin Energy customers and thousands of Pedernales Electric Cooperative [aka PEC] members. The icy conditions also led to hundreds of car crashes in Central Texas and a boil-water notice in western Travis County.

A PEC representative said the majority of the outages were caused by ice accumulation on lines and damages from falling sheets of ice. PEC officials said Winter Storm Mara caused damage similar to what is seen with a hurricane or tornado.

BTW, the article contains images that graphically convey much info about this storm, including a table that compares 2021 storm (Uri) with this year's (Mara).

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Related: "Feb 2021 Deep Freeze to Aftermath Images" article | video

2022 Deer Near Here And Dere

 

The deer slide show is a video of thumbnail images from the playlist video clips, recorded during walks in 2022. Twelve of the sessions were in October through December.

I spotted and recorded a few gangs of does, a few gangs of bucks, and some usual frequent subjects. Could be these gangs were the same bunch spread over a few shoots.

I used my Canon PowerShot ELPH 190 IS, no tripod for stability, often standing without support to lean on.

The following table includes clickable links to the YouTunr deer videos. (Playlist link)

The following table includes clickable links to the YouTunr deer videos. (Playlist link)

#	Date	Description	Additional info	Duration [m:ss]
1	Feb 22	Bucks		0:49
2	June 11	Bucks, does, fawns	short fuzzy antlers	3:43
3	July 30	Bucks	longer fuzzy antlers	3:22
4	Aug 1	Bucks		0:44
5	Aug 7	Bucks		2:02
6	Aug 13	Does, fawn, bucks		8:02
7	Oct 4	Does		0:55
8	Oct 8	Bucks, does	fuzzless antlers	3:08
9	Oct 29	Does		1:56
10	Oct 30	Buck	Most regal	2:41
11	Oct 31	Buck		1:06
12	Nov 10	Buck, mostly (also squirrel cameo)	Squirrel seen twice, doe in background near end	4:52
13	Nov 13	Does and bucls	Buck chases does	2:31
14	Nov 16	Does		1:16
15	Nov 23	Buck and doe	Mutual disinterest	2:30
16	Nov 27	Does		1:10
17	Dec 22	Buck		1:51
18	Dec 30	Does		0:28

Read more deer blog articles.

Cherry Almond Cake Mix Cooky 2, Improved Dough Dispensing

Ingredients, equipment, and mixing, dispensing, and baking info for this cheery cherry almond cooky are in the the video. This recipe go-around is my second attempt at making a version of HEB's Mon Cheri Cookie. The cookies I made in August came out pretty well, but dough dispensing had been challenging. August's Closer Looks video shows the dough stickiness hampering my dispensing.

This batch of dough was less-sticky and dispensed neater and faster. Two variables could have made the difference(s) in dolloping ease.

• Trying a cake mix brand/flavor other than Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ Delights Cherry Chip Cake Mix (15.25 oz). I used my supermarket-brand yellow cake mix (16 .5 oz).
• Using more effort in removing maraschino cherry fluid—yield of 4.59 ounces cherries then and 2.65 ounces this time.

To compensate for less cherry flavor, I added one envelope of Cherry Kool-Aid.

Dough Dispensing Emphasis

The four dough dispensing methods I used this time are as follows:

• Cooky press with DIY funnel (cut-off top of shampoo bottle) and spoon
• Cooky scoop (1 1/3 T)
• Spoon and rubber spatula
• Tablespoon measuring spoon and rubber spatula

The cooky press method saves on travel effort between bowl and pan. Downside is that the tube doesn't hold enough dough to dispense all in one session. The other three methods are one-dollop-at-a-time, rather tedious for the repetitive bowl/pan back and forth.

Calories and Sodium

The yield was 50 cookies, varying somewhat for size. I did have some awkwardness in using the four dispensing methods.

Post-recipe Thoughts

The cookies came out tasty with cherryish flavor. They were soft, almost cake-like.

 Softer vs. Crisper Cookies

For next time, I'll aim more for crunchier—baking at lower temperature (325) and longer, as recommended in "What Makes Cookies Chewy or Crispy? — from Cooking for Geeks" and "How to Harden Soft Cookies".

 Color

The Cherry Kool-Aid might have made the color a bit deeper than I'd intended. And I missed seeing cherry bits that were more evident in the August cookies. Possibly I overpulsed the cherries in the blender. Next time, I might try dehydrated ones and halve the amount of Kool-Aid.

 Cherryness

Maybe the main reason for improved dispensing could be less moisture—getting rid of more cherry fluid than August's batch. This time, after pulsing the cherries, I drained AND blotted the remains. The yield was 2.65 ounces instead of 4.59 ounces. Pretty expensive item, considering they were 10-ounce jars of cherries! Thinking of trying chopped dehydrated cherries, but chopping and adding only half the pack.

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Pt 1 Cherry Almond Cake Mix Cooky, Inspired by HEB's Mon Cheri Cookie

Pt 2 Cherry Almond Cake Mix Cooky, Closer Looks

Cherry Almond Cake Mix Cooky 2, Improved Dough Dispensing

View more cooky recipes.

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End of 2022 Re-viewing Bur Oak, Deer Bookends

 

Earlyish December, I returned to the scene of the bur oak tree that I visited the day before Halloween. I spotted an unusual-looking acorn, even weirder than typical walnut-sized with dreadlock-look cap. The shell was cracked open, but the unit still together.

I took it home and stored it, intending to open it up some time in the near future. Close to Christmas, I returned to the tree to take its pic and look for more acorn specimens.

On the day after I recorded indoor clips of me examining those acorns, I went out for a walk a few hours later. I spotted a buck and decided to record it leisurely chomping on acorns (too small to be bur oak acorns). Recalling that I had a deer clip from the same day as my late November bur oak tree recording, I dabbled with the thought of integrating bur oak and deer into a blog topic.

The late-November bur oak tree was actually an accidental encounter. I had initially spotted and recorded a group of does, at least half dozen. Upon tracking them from left to right, I spotted some bur oak acorns on the ground. (This tree and sample specimens are noticeable in "Bur Oak Trees Spotted and Acorns Piqued" (video, article).

My video contrasts a few of the specimens from the same tree. Does comprise the front bookend to the bur oak acorn re-viewing, and the buck serves as the back bookend. Ruminate over a few sleek ruminants that are rather common in my neck of the woods. As for the bur oak acorn samples, the latest one that I opened up broke up in three sections, but not cleanly. (One specimen that I collected resembles a Star Wars bb-8 astromech droid, Rosetta asteroid or bun do.

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"Bur Oak Acorn, Walnut-sized Nut" (primer bur oak acorn info)
"Bur Oak Trees Spotted and Acorns Piqued"
"End of 2022 Re-viewing Bur Oak, Deer Bookends"

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Little Use For Faulty 2023-2024 Calendar

Ever run across a faulty calendar? How about the following items, all in one unit, which my video shows?? Duplicated months, missing months, one duplicated month where the date starts on the wrong day of the week, another month where all the dates and Saturday/Sunday sequencing dates don't align.

How faulty was the calendar? How little use did I have with it? What did I do about the calendar after I scanned the parts and turned it into a blog topic?

How Faulty was the Calendar?

The calendar was so faulty ...

The second instance of Feb 2023 showed the first date off by a day.

What? A second instance of Feb 2023? Yes! Furthermore, three more months for 2023 had two instances each. On the good side, the days of the weeks were accurate. Low bar here.

Oct 2024 was a beaut—my poster month and video title page image. For starters, it didn't show the first date, the 1st. Every WEEK was inaccurate. None of the dates was accurate for actual October 2024 dates, and the poster month Sunday dates didn't follow their respective Saturday dates.

There's more! Another set of months, February through May 2024 were duplicated in the calendar. Months were missing. I wouldn't have cared too much about Oct through Dec 2022, but Jan 2023 omission was weird. The rest of the missing months were Jun through Sep 2024.

I gotta give props to the calendar implementer for having shown both instances of Feb 2024 having 29 days (Leap Year month).

How little use did I have with it?

For accuracy, almost no use. It was useful for creating my blog topic for video and article. The initial perusing nudged my inclination to fact-check. I have NEVER, EVER had a calendar that was inaccurate. And this one was inaccurate in SPADES!

What did I do about the calendar after I scanned the parts and turned it into a blog topic?

I returned to the shop and exchanged it for an accurate one. No problems with the exchange. I did give the newer one a quick visual scan to ensure no missing months, no duplicated months, and correct-order months.

Bur Oak Trees Spotted and Acorns Piqued

 

The first time I saw a bur oak acorn (late 2018), I wasn't sure what it was. I wrote "Bur Oak Acorn, Walnut-sized Nut", and included my nutshell description: "The acorn had a bushy cap, like a short-dreadlocks hairstyle. The acorn itself seemed about the size of a walnut."

At that time, I had only a lone acorn sample. This time around, I struck a bonanza of two trees and loads of leaves and acorns

Coincidentally, that acorn find was almost exactly four years ago, also around Halloween. Weirdly, it was the ONLY bur oak I'd ever seen, and didn't think to look for a nearby tree. This time, I spotted some bur oak acorns on the ground (bushy caps and all) during my hunt for Halloween decorations "2022 Halloween Nearby Tour". The acorns' tree was nearby, and laden with more acorns.

After taking some videos of the tree, I took some of the ground samples home. Another day, I returned, staged a few more samples, and took more pix. Ideas for my video and blog article percolated over time. Besides showing and describing the tree and acorns, I wanted to compare the new find with the 2018 acorn I had found and kept.

I discovered that the newer acorn's cap didn't easily detach; I needed to use a screwdriver to pry it off. Side by side, the older acorn was smaller than the bigger one. (I THINK the 2018 acorn hasn't changed much after four years.)

 

In any case, I became curious to look up more info WRT bur oak trees, acorns, and leaves. "Tree of the Week: Bur Oak" provided loads of info. One most interesting item was at 3:17 mark--"Produce good seed crop every 2 to 3 years". I'd passed by those houses numerous times over years and never spotted anything bur oak till late last month and early this month! Those acorns were a bonanza!

Shortly after running across the October 30 tree, I wanted to examine and record samples I brought home. Also, the acorns piqued me to examine them more closely than I did with the sole acorn from 2018. My video emphasizes one of the October 30 acorns and the one from 2018.

I became curious about the 2018 acorn's innards. I found a slit along its axis and carefully cracked it open with a metal nutcracker. Interesting! It was like shelling a peanut. I removed the whole kernel from one of the shell halves. The kernel had wrapping like peanuts do. The kernel was seamed. I used the nutcracker to gently split the kernel.

I wondered about the newer acorn's innards. That acorn was slightly larger than the older one. It also had a slit along its axis. The shell split open, but the kernel also split into two halves, initially clinging to their respective half shells. The kernel halves didn't look like neat half sections, but cramped multiple sections. Using the nutcracker was ineffective in further separating the sections. However, I didn't apply lots of muscle.

View the video for the following details:

October 30 tree, leaves, acorns
Views of samples handlings
Views of old (2018) and newer (2022) acorns for contrasts
Splitting and opening up of older and newer acorns
November 27 (Site B) tree, leaves, and acorns

More sources with loads of images and info. besides "Tree of the Week: Bur Oak" :

• "How to Identify Oak Trees By Acorns"
• "Bur Oak bark, acorns and foliage"
• "Oak Tree & Acorn Identification for Deer Hunters"
• Abbreviated version of above: "Common Southeastern U.S. Oak Species Identification - And When to Hunt Them!"

2022 Halloween Nearby Tour

Amazingly, I've recorded five years' worth of Halloween decorations nearby. Some sites are familiar, although these homeowners tend to vary their scenes with some prop change-outs or rearrangings. Decorations didn't pop up plentifully until about a week or so before Halloween; most of them gone only a few days afterward.

This Halloween felt like a return to pre-pandemic normalcy. In 2020, several decorated houses put up social-distancing tables for handing out their goodies to trick or treaters rather than wait for doorbell rings.

The video includes scenery from 25 houses, most taken on October 30 and 31. All pix and videos were during day time. (This year, I passed on night shots and recording.)

I noticed mostly balloons for props. Skeletons and disjointed skeleton bones were prominent. A few ambitious sites showed a ghoulish scene, a pirate ship theme, graveyards with tombstones, .... The video closes with a turkey emerging from a pumpkin to hail (?) the coming of Thanksgiving.

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2022 Halloween Nearby Tour
Roving Around Halloween 2021
2020 Halloween Meandering
2019 Halloween, Pre-pandemic Year
Halloween Scenes Around (2018)
Related: April Fooling Easter Halloween and More (from 2018)

Enjoy YouTube Halloween themes playlists: "Baker's Dozen Halloween YouTube Links", "Halloween Music Baker's Dozen Matter"