Monthly Archives: February 2021

What’s A Podcast?

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Photo by Abhilash Sahoo on Pexels.com

A Favorite Thing

Podcasts are my new favorite thing, well not that new. I started listening to the Serial Podcast several years ago. Serial, hosted by Sarah Koenig, is nonfiction stories told in multiple episodes. Season one investigated the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee, an 18-year-old high school student in Baltimore.

Wikipedia defines a podcast “as an episodic series of spoken word digital audio files that a user can downloaded to a personal device for easy listening. Streaming applications and podcasting services provide a convenient and integrated way to manage a personal consumption queue across many podcast sources and playback devices.”

That is a mouth full.

A podcast, for me, is like turning on the radio and always getting good reception. I download podcasts to my cell phone and listen usually when walking. It makes the time fly bye and podcasts are free! I’ve never paid for a podcast, although when asked to subscribe question if it is really free?

Yes, so let’s clarify the free aspect. Spotify offers a free service but also a premium service that is promoted as free for a month. Read carefully, the basic service is free. If you have a iphone, the Apple podcast is free, however you can also download any podcast free to an iphone.

Speaking of free, CCleaner a service/download to clean trackers, cookies and the junk that slows your computer down, similarly is free but also offers a premium service free for a month. I have used the basic free service for years.

According to Podcast Insight “There are over 43 million podcasts as of January 2021.”

The industry is growing rapidly. I could have a podcast attached to my blog with WordPress, but don’t (not yet anyway).

Currently in my podcast library

  • Florida Writers Podcast hosted by Alison Nissin
  • CBS The Morning Show
  • Lori & Julia
  • Clear & Vivid with Alan Alda
  • My Brain is on Pause by Michael J. Fox

This morning I listened to Alan Alda interview with Goldie Hawn She’s Got Your Brain on Her Mind. “The celebrated and beloved actress on her successful mission to help schoolkids use their brains better.” It was extremely interesting and I’ll talk about it next time.

. . . just saying

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B is for Brain Power

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B is for Brain Power

My joints are stiff, my muscles suffer from atrophy and my brain is rusty. There is no doubt about it. It is called growing old, and the decline goes hand and hand with aging.

But is this true?

What if physical decline is not as heavily tied to aging as we think?

What if our brain is like a muscle that suffers when not used?

The expression grow old suggests a condition we developed. However, many ninety-year old’s have more energy and are less forgetful than peers in their seventies. Some of us become decrepit, some don’t and some maintain a quality of life well beyond their physical ailments. Why?

I thought of Christopher Columbus, not because he was old but because he disputed the belief that the world was flat and travelers would fall off. Yes! I know he didn’t set out to prove the world was round; the hope of profit from the spice trade made him set sail, but his frequent voyages proved the point. The world was round. People had been limiting their behavior based on a false belief.

Is aging a self-fulfilling prophecy? gb_magazine_fall20_cover-1161x1536-1-1

Growing Bolder, a movement to rebrand aging, thinks it doesn’t have to be so. There is a PBS television show, podcast and magazine and numerous resources to support the idea.

“To change the way we age, we have to change the narrative around aging. Growing Bolder is doing just that. Learn how to stop growing older and start Growing Bolder.”

. . . just saying

Check out their website https://www.growingbolder.com/stories/introducing-the-new-look-growing-bolder-magazine/

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What Are You Reading?

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Official Website for Margot Livesey

What Are You Reading?

There is nothing like a good book. One you look for every spare minute you have. Especially in the pandemic. I haven’t had a really good read in a long time and read The Flight of Gemma Hardy in three days, lying leisurely on a couch in the afternoon and staying up past my bedtime to finish a chapter. The author, Margot Livesey, was born in Scotland but now lives in Boston.

What I especially liked about the novel was it was set in the 1950’s and early 1960’s.

The accolades from several other well know authors are numerous and Livesey is the recipient of grants and winner of awards.

It was a great read and I’m currently reading her latest book, Boy In The Field.

What are you reading?

. . . just saying

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A is for Attitude

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A is for Attitude

Tony Bennett

A recent interview on CBS Morning News with Susan and Tony Bennett revealed his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and the challenges of aging. The discussion highlighted how helpful the disclosure was for the general public. His wife said, “Tony Bennett is battling Alzheimer’s disease, but singing is saving him.”

Well, singing is an option. Remember the songs Get Happy sung by Judy Garland or Happy; written, produced and performed by Pharrell Williams? Both are uplifting and yes after humming a few bars people feel happier. 

The correlation between attitude and quality of life has never been clearer. Books, lectures, magazine and newspaper articles go on and on describing the benefits. We frequently celebrate one- hundred-year-olds who may need help blowing out the candles but nevertheless are recognized for their positive attitude, activity and ability to socialize. Captain Tom Moore published his book, Tomorrow  Will Be A Good Day at age one hundred.   

Having the right attitude matters.

There are more indicators that quality of life can be maintained as we age and questions about the inevitability of dementia in seniors.

Dementia

Attitude can be a challenge and I used to coil at the phrase happiness is a choice.

But now think; happiness may be a choice. . . some days, although maybe not every day . . . even if the sun is shining.

Well, just hum a few bars of your favorite song.

. . . just saying

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The Silent Sound of Snow

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I really miss snow.

Family and friends remark, “Easy to say from Florida.”

They may be right; nevertheless, beautiful winter scenes created by the recent blizzard bring me happiness and serenity.

I found myself reciting Robert Frost’s poem, “Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening.”

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Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

Poem by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village, though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer to stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake the darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake to ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

Frost found words to express a feeling so special it has ownership. Not his, but one to be shared.

The line, the only other sound’s the sweep of easy wind and downy flake, sparked my poem.

Sounds of Snow

     by Claudia . . . just saying

The sound of snow after falling

A quiet stillness penetrating crisp air

Listen intensely for snare drums not there

The howl of the wind mimics French horns

Stop in soft snow tracks

An acoustical silence alone

An absence of flurry

Close your eyes

Hear the gentle whispers of nature singing

Remember the sound after snow falling  . . . never there

. . . . just saying