Not one, but two supermoons in one month? That's right, we began and will end the month of August this year with some amazing celestrial spectacles in the night sky! This time around, it is considered a blue moon, and unfortunately, it is not actually blue... disappointing, I know. It is still pretty sweet though, as this full moon will be as close to the earth as they get. This means the moon will appear slightly larger and brighter than usual, acting as a big nightlight up there, illuminating the ground in its eerie hue. It's the closest full moon we'll see this year, and it is very special for a few other reasons too. 

So, keep your eyes on the skies Wednesday night into Thursday, as this blue supermoon should (hopefully) be visible starting around 9:30pm on the 30th.  Looking at the weather, the NOAA is predicting partly cloudy skies in our area for the overnight, so it's 50/50 odds at the time of writing this. I'm optimistic, and worst case scenario I'll check it out on Thursday with the clear sky forecasted, as the casual stargazer like me apparently cannot tell the difference anyways. 

This full moon is also known as the Sturgeon moon, since fishing is traditionally considered bountiful at this point in the year. Some nighttime catfishing sure sounds like a lot of fun in the glow of a supermoon. For this one in particular, the moon will make a close approach to the planet Saturn, also. If you've got a telescope gathering dust in the corner, this is the time to set it up, if ever. It has been over two years since the last one, and our next isn't until May of 2026. Further, the next blue supermoon is not expected until 2037! So yeah, this is pretty significant. I mean... it's once in a blue moon, right? 

Special shoutout goes to blue moon ice cream, one of my all-time favorite flavors. Maybe I'll get one later on today to celebrate the occasion! 

It's been a wild ride this summer... wet, rainy, hot, cool.  I have heard it is sweltering in Arizona, Texas and the South.  Parker McCollum made light of that the other day.

My wife (who’s from Oklahoma)

- hey when does fall start in Texas?

Me- about the 3rd week of January and it lasts about 45 minutes

— Parker McCollum (@ParkerMcCollum) August 29, 2023

 This is the truth.  Here in Ohio there hasn't been much of a summer.  I was expecting since school was back in session the scorching days would settle in.  Wednesday is supposed to be a high, A HIGH of 61...  Last week, most of the area was slammed with heavy winds, tons of rain, 3 earthquakes and 13 Tornados that touched down.  Some folks are still without power.  

The Floridians and those that are near The Gulf of Mexico are preparing to get hit by Idalia. 

I was in Corpus Christi, Texas for Katrina, Rita and Ike among others.  Luckily never a direct hit or even more than a low level CAT 3 Hurricane.  Thank goodness!!!  Preparing is not fun, boarding up your home, sandbags and just hope that it misses.

One year, as we prepared for Hurricane Ike our friends called and said come to the bar.  We walked in and the coverage was on every TV in the joint.  And then "this idiot" popped onto the screen...  I am so glad I got to see it live.  

 ***bear suit is not recommended attire for hurricanes***

I feel for those that are readying for Idalia.  Hope everyone is safe. If people are told to leave, the best thing to do is to leave, IF you have a place to go.  Remember after a certain point the rescue workers can not make it out safely.  Thoughts and prayers for those in the prediction cone and areas of landfall and storm surge.  At this point Florida prepare for the worst and hope for the best.   Hurricane Season lasts thru November 30th.  

I watch a lot of reality TV, specifically competition shows. There's my go-to's: Big Brother, The Amazing Race, The Challenge USA, but sometimes it is nice to find a new show to get invested in. I wrote a blog about this a while back: Claim to Fame. I had never heard of this show, but I was hooked from the first episode this season (and yes, I am going to watch season 1 soon!). I haven't watched the season finale that was on yesterday... yet. Doing that today. But I thought about it, I have not spoiled this one for myself at all. The entire season or the finale. I'm pretty impressed with myself!

My other go-to shows, I am in groups on Facebook, or follow hashtags, or watch the live feeds. So I always feel like I have the inside scoop and I know what is going to happen before it happens on TV. But, not this time. I am going to be genuinely surprised, and I like it!

A while ago I wrote a 2 part series here called The Influencers, and it went over well.  From time to time I am asked where that can be found. Well, here is a revisit of both parts.

I really enjoyed writing this piece, so enjoy!

The Influencers (Revisited) Part 1

The Influencers (Revisited) Part 2

When You Walk In The Room - Pam Tillis - 1994  (Album - Sweethearts Dance)

Pam Tillis was a real favorite of mine and many fans during her great run through the 1990's.  She always seemed to find very relatable songs that resonated with her fans.  Her incredibly passionate voice was her calling card, and her vulnerability was palpable.  Truth is, with her emotion, power and range, she could sing many others under the table.   Plus she just had that "cool" factor that's hard to describe.  Pam was able to sing songs on both ends of the spectrum very effectively.  Fun songs and very sad and deep songs too.  This was one that fell smack dab in the middle of those two.  This song has been recorded a ton of times since the incredible Jackie DeShannon wrote and recorded it in the mid 60's.  It was recorded in country the first in 1981 from an artist named Stephanie Winslow but did not get any traction.  Pam Tillis' version is the highest charting version of this song ever -  by one slot.  It went to #2 on the charts in 1994.  Great song, perfect artist and a great addition to the Forgotten Jukebox.

My Full Profile On Pam Tillis

I recently encountered some news online that I am excited to share with you. Hefty, the trash bag company, has officially relaunched the iconic Zoo Pals paper plate product. I'm personally stoked, and if I could, I would eat every meal off of these. 

Sadly, the hype around the return of such an iconic and culturally defining product has caused Zoo Pals to become out of stock and currently unavailable. It is unclear if or when they will be back in stock, but you know I will be checking in periodically to find out and order some for myself. 

My first (and potentially the only) meal I would eat from these plates would be the one I had countless times in my past: mac n' cheese, baked beans, and cut-up hotdogs with a slice of American cheese melted on top. No bun. Top it all off with some ketchup and lots of salt and pepper, and that's some good eats right there. 

Looking at the pictures of them, there are a few styles of Zoo Pals I do not distinctly remember, like the lady bug nor the bear. I assume they are still the same designs as were sold when I was a youngster, but maybe they changed a few. I wouldn't know the difference; they are the B-tier options anyways. I can say there are a few I used to fight over eating off of, and although there are some great options like the duck or the frog, my all-time favorite has to be the whale! 

The return of the Zoo Pals has been long awaited, and the memes about it keep cracking me up. Maybe it is just the golden hue of revisting artifacts from when I was a little kid, but I feel like I need some Zoo Pals in my life just about now. I've been tossing around ideas for other blogs about products that are no longer available or that were brought back after a long hiatus (only to be different and inferior to how they were). 

With that I have to ask, what's something that used to be around that you wish would come back? Or would you rather leave it in the past for fear it would be different than how you remember it? For me, no contest, it is the Mad Dog Dub Edition Monster Energy drink from like 2010 era. It came in a purple can and tasted like heaven, and I would pay an astronomical amount to have one again. 

Here's a link to the Hefty webpage: https://www.hefty.com/products/tableware/zoo-pals-plates 

Saturday was National Dog Day, but lets face it, that is every day for us dog owners! Our dog, Ellie, was pampered as usual. A walk, belly rubs, fetch with her tennis ball... but, we did get her some doggy ice cream. An extra treat for being the goodest girl!

 

 

 

 

 

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Vince Gill - I Still Believe In You - 1992

How good is this song?  Vince Gill is one of the most talented, respected and sought after singers and musicians on earth. He's a gifted vocalist, fantastic songwriter, entertainer, and terrific guitar player.  This was in the middle of his amazing 90's run when he could do no wrong and this song is simply perfect.  Well written, beautifully sung and wonderfully produced.  I loved many of Gill's songs, but this is the one that cut through the most.  Gill was a very interesting artist in 90's country.  During a time when traditional was in, his music was traditional, although it had a very contemporary sound as well.  His image was slick, no hat, and no tight jeans or loud boots, but his dedication to the format and its traditions were front and center.  He dominated and hosted award shows and was the front man for country for many years.  This was one of his many #1 songs as he sold about 30 million albums in his career.  In a decade where we had Garth, Clint, George, Alan, Travis, Alabama, Reba, Shania, Brooks And Dunn and others there was this whole other side where Vince Gill stood alone as a very different, but much loved and totally accepted by all.  You can catch Vince Gill now still touring with the Eagles. - (They know too).  His exceptional vocal performance on this song is one of the best of any hit song country has ever had. 

Last Week #17

My Full Profile On Vince Gill

This past weekend was a lot of fun for me. I rode my quad every day, met up with Cherise at the Valley Motor City cars and coffee event, ate some pizza, and made it over to a friend's place for a llittle get-together with a fire Saturday night. I also did some work around the house cleaning my room, dealing with laundry, doing an oil change on our lawnmower (a total mess), and chainsawing part of a massive tree which fell on our path through the woods during the crazy storms last week. I really wanted to take my boat out to fish, but our Silverado that pulls it is down with a busted transmission line, so I'll return to that idea once it is fixed later this week. No biggie. 

All of this is pretty standard stuff for me to partake in on my days off, but there was something else rather unusual I was invited to do that I am glad to have done. My brother asked me if I wanted to go mushroom foraging, and I wasn't completely sold at first, but decided to entertain the idea anyways. We hopped on my old four-wheeler and hit the woods, and it only took about two minutes for us to discover the motherload. There was a full hillside of this edible mushroom that looks like cheese, so we noted the location to come back to for harvesting and continued looking. 

It quickly became apparent that there are so many different types of fugus native to this area, and I did my best to document every species we encountered via photographs. There were tiny mushrooms the size of my pinky all the way up to some absolute burgers the size of my head or bigger. There were all different shapes, growth stages, colors, and patterns on these mushrooms too, making it difficult to know for certain which were or were not of the same species. My favorite ones that we encountered looked just like the mushrooms from Mario, with the red tops spotted in white dots. 

I really enjoyed being outside in the woods walking around looking for stuff. It almost felt like a side-quest in an RPG video game! Had it not been for the ravenous mosquitos, I could have done it all day. At this point, I don't think there's more than 10 square inches anywhere on my body without a bug bite on it, but I still can't complain; I'm just thankful I haven't had any bad run-ins with poison ivy. 

After harvesting the edible fungus we found, we ended up with a couple pounds. My mother took on the task of washing them up and preparing them for freezing, as there were way too many to try to keep fresh otherwise. Personally, I enjoy eating mushrooms, but they must be on something like a steak or pizza. I have not worked up the courage to try these ones we found yet, but I will.  It was ultimately just fun for me to hang out with my brother, learn a little bit about nature, and explore the woods looking for mushrooms; I would certainly do it again! 

It's the HARDY Send Me Backstage T-shirt and Ticket Stop...  

at Zombie Powersports and Countryside Campgrounds End Of Summer Bash at 2687 St. Route 43 in Mogadore...

Come scope out your campsite and all the amenities at Countryside Campgrounds...

Check out Zombie Motorsports ATV's, UTV's, Golf Carts, Go-Karts, Motorcycles and more... 

Zombie Motorsports is Akron's Local Massimo Dealer.

WQMX will be onsite from 1-2:30pm and draw the winner of the HARDY Tickets at 2:30 Sharp. 

Must Be Present to Win.  Show me your country concert tickets and get Send Me Backstage T-shirts, while they last...