Marsh Family sings 'Scratches' about the Reflecting Pool plus 'Algae Foam' and 'Pool Change'

For today's post I can share in July, which begins tomorrow night at midnight GMT on the blog, I'm revisiting 'Green Water' and 'Algae,' two songs about the Reflecting Pool beginning with "Scratches" - Marsh Family parody of Clarence Carter's "Patches" (about Trump's Reflecting Pool).

"Patches" with its soaring vocals and soulful energy, and its sad and empathetic storyline about a farmboy from Alabama being given a mission by his dying father, has always been a favourite for us. Sung by the late Clarence Carter - who sadly died just last month, aged 90 - it was written by lead singer of "Chairmen of the Board" General Johnson along with Ron Dunbar in 1970, before Carter turned it in to a blues hit.

We are using it for a much more mundane topic than the affliction of southern rural poverty on a family, which is to reflect on Trump's disastrous ($14m and counting) renovation attempts of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington DC, which will now not be complete in time for the anniversary celebrations. The story has travelled around the world and prompted lots of hilarious online memes and commentaries, being such an accessible and colourful microcosm of his presidency and its impact.

Brilliant!

Next, Patrick Fitzgerald returns with Algae Foam ("Kodachrome / Maybellene" song parody).

One of my favorite versions of "Kodachrome" is from Simon and Garfunkle concert in Central Park, where they mashed it up with "Maybellene". This song parody turns it into "Algae Foam" to continue making fun of Donald Trump's Reflecting Pool debacle.

The Reflecting Pool hasn't made Patrick Fitzgerald forget about the Epstein Files.

Rocky Mountain Mike also returns with Pool Change (Parody of "Cool Change" by Little River Band).


That's a wrap for today's musical parody post. Stay tuned for International Asteroid Day, the younger but paradoxically more established version of Apophis Day, to close June, and Canada Day to begin July.

Paul Bunyan statues for Paul Bunyan Day

Happy Paul Bunyan Day! I'm returning to the holiday after skipping it in 2025 with three videos about Paul Bunyan statues. I begin with FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul reporting Bemidji's Paul Bunyan statue turns 90, legacy examined.

The legend of Paul Bunyan is ingrained in Minnesota history, and his statue is a symbol of local pride to Bemidji residents. FOX 9's Maury Glover takes a closer look at the legacy the statue represents as it nears its 90th birthday.

The first record of loggers telling Paul Bunyan stories may have been in Wisconsin, but the first Paul Bunyan story was published in Michigan in 1906. News Center Maine mentions the date, but not the location, in History and folklore of Bangor's Paul Bunyan statue now on display.

New signage aims to educate visitors about the folklore and history behind the iconic statue.

I learned something new about the importance of timber to Bangor from this video. Any day I learn something new is a good day.

I close with Insider explaining How A Deteriorating Paul Bunyan Giant Is Restored | Refurbished | Insider.

Joel Baker is the owner of American Giants, a company that restores muffler men. Muffler men are 18- to 25-foot advertising giants that were popular in the 1960s and are becoming popular again.

He shows us how his team restores a Paul Bunyan muffler man. This includes patching up cracks on the giant, adding a structure inside, repainting it, and placing it in its new location.

I could have used this information 25 years ago when I was a tour guide and consultant for Pre-Historic Forest in the Irish Hills, which had fiberglass dinosaurs and other extinct animals that needed repairs. It's still worth knowing now, even if I don't have an immediate use for it.

That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for another post I can share in July tomorrow followed by International Asteroid Day, the younger but paradoxically more established version of Apophis Day, to close June, and Canada Day to begin July.

Best box office since 2019 as Gen Z saves the cinema!

Out of the options I posted yesterday, I chose "the Sunday entertainment feature early" thanks to CNBC uploading How The U.S. Box Office Made Its Comeback this morning.

Americans are back at the movies. Summer blockbusters like Michael, The Devil Wears Prada 2, Obsession, and Backrooms have all contributed to the best first half of the year since 2019. CNBC’s Sarah Whitten breaks down the data.

Unlike drum corps, where returning to business as usual once the pandemic was almost over is the problem, Hollywood in general and movies in particular see it as the solution. Americans want their entertainment, and will do just about anything to keep it going. Hollywood is happy we are and is doing its part.

CNBC missed one element that contributed to the story, which CBS19 in Tyler, Texas featured in Movie theaters see major comeback as Gen Z audiences return to the box office.

Movie theaters are enjoying a post-pandemic resurgence, with Gen Z driving ticket sales and helping fuel one of Hollywood's strongest summer seasons in years.

This story looks familiar.

After all the "Millennials are killing" some institution, cultural activity, food or other product I've been reading since before the pandemic, I shouldn't be surprised that news media and popular culture would discover a contrasting feature about Gen Z to report. Gen Z reversing the trend by saving malls certainly fits.

So does Gen Z saving movie theaters. While I'm planning to retire this year, it's not because of my students. I like them and think they're good people (I'm tempted to write kids, but they're adults and deserve to be treated as such).

That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for Paul Bunyan Day.

Marching Arts Network asks 'The Perfect Storm: Can Drum Corps Survive?'

I told my readers twice to "Stay tuned for a particularly doomy preview of the drum corps season," which begins today. That's Marching Arts Network asking The Perfect Storm: Can Drum Corps Survive?

Food, fuel or inflation? What breaks first? This is possibly the most important podcast we have done to date. I know its a long one and a departure from our normal format, but this is definitely worth your time and we'd love to hear yourt thoughts and ideas...

I first predicted "I fully expect Peak Oil, economic decline, and social upheaval to end the national touring model, which has been around since 1971, by 2020" on this blog in 2012. I came to that conclusion four years earlier, as "I started mourning in 2008, when I quit writing for Drum Corps World and stopped going to shows." I even warned a corps director about it.

That prediction sort of came true in 2020.

Well, the 2020 drum corps season has been cancelled, so the national touring model is in a coma, not dead, but Peak Oil had nothing to do with it. Instead, it was the pandemic that drove what passes for economic decline and social upheaval and that caused there to be no competitive drum corps this year.

The national touring model was still unconscious in 2021, as there were no competitive shows and no national tour, just DCI Celebration, three nights of exhibitions in Indianapolis. The national touring model didn't get out of the hospital until 2022. I was right for the wrong reason, but I'll still claim a successful prediction.

That written, the current situation the panelists at Marching Arts Network are describing is more what I was envisioning beginning in 2008, an oil shortage, although because of war, not Peak Oil directly, and economic disruption and even people in the activity who are not doomers see the national touring model as the problem. I think its return in 2022 will turn out to be a temporary triumph of business as usual once the pandemic receded enough to reinstitute what the activity was doing in 2019 and is still doomed, although I'm not predicting the year of its demise today. I think what I wrote on Christmas 2012 will extend the existances of both drum corps and the national touring model for years after the latter should have ended: "As for drum corps' hopes, they rest on the one thing that makes Americans act, messing with their entertainment. Americans want their entertainment, and will do just about anything to keep it going." So far, that observation has remained true.

That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned to see if I celebrate Paul Bunyan Day or the Sunday entertainment feature early or if I post a compilation of last night's monologues to share next month, which begins Wednesday, Tuesday night according to Greenwich Mean Time.

'Green Water' and 'Algae,' two songs about the Reflecting Pool

I promised a musical post today, which I'm opening with Green Water (reflecting pool song parody, Doobie Brothers "Black Water") by Patrick Fitzgerald.



Song parody to the tune of the "Black Water" by the Doobie Brothers.

I'm adding Algae (parody of "Alfie" by Dionne Warwick, sung by Mary in Ann Arbor) by Rocky Mountain Mike as an encore.


HAHAHAHA!

I can't resist embedding Trump Tries to Catch Reflecting Pool “Vandals” & Miami Gets a Scottish Takeover | The Daily Show for a finale.

Josh Johnson dives into the Scottish takeover of Miami for the World Cup, the flock of tourists visiting D.C.'s bright green reflecting pool, Trump’s security escalation to catch possible pool “vandals,” and whether Trump's pool disaster is karma for trashing Biden and Obama’s previous reflecting pool projects. Plus, conservative media can’t stop talking about the pool, while Michael Kosta can’t stop dreaming about drinking it.

Everything Trump touches dies, including the Reflecting Pool. Then he blames someone else.

That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for a particularly doomy preview of the drum corps season, which begins tomorrow.

Storied recounts 'The Most Puzzling UFO Case of the 20th Century' for World UFO Day 1

Happy first of two World UFO Days! I'm observing today by sharing Dr. Emily Zarka of PBS Storied recounting The Most Puzzling UFO Case of the 20th Century.

In 1952, a terrifying creature was spotted in Flatwoods, West Virginia — a 10-foot-tall creature with glowing eyes, a spade-shaped head, and cloaked in a metal skirt. Was it an alien, a Cold War experiment, or mass hysteria?

Dr. Z doesn't make up her mind to resolve her question, although she certainly leans heavily on cultural context influencing how people interpret what they see.

Speaking of cultural context, there is a UFO movie out now. Watch Disclosure Day | Final Trailer.

Universal Pictures is proud to release a new original event film created and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars SAG winner and Oscar® nominee Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer, A Quiet Place), Emmy and Golden Globe winner Josh O’Connor (Challengers, The Crown), Oscar® winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, Kingsman franchise), Eve Hewson (Bad Sisters, The Perfect Couple) and two-time Oscar® nominee Colman Domingo (Sing Sing, Rustin).

Based on a story by Spielberg, the screenplay is by David Koepp, whose previous work with Spielberg includes the scripts for Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Combined, those films earned more than $3 billion worldwide. Koepp also wrote the script for this 2025’s Jurassic World Rebirth.

Disclosure Day is produced by five-time Academy Award® nominee Kristie Macosko Krieger (The Fabelmans, West Side Story) and by Spielberg for Amblin Entertainment. The executive producers are Adam Somner and Chris Brigham.

Steven Spielberg is one of the industry’s most successful and influential filmmakers. The top-grossing director of all time, Spielberg has helmed such blockbusters as Jaws, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, the Indiana Jones franchise and Jurassic Park.

Among his myriad honors, he is a three-time Academy Award® winner, including Oscars® for Best Director and Best Picture for Schindler’s List, which received a total of seven Oscars®, and for Best Director for Saving Private Ryan. His most recent film, The Fabelmans, was released by Universal in 2022 and received seven Academy Award® nominations, including for Directing, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Picture.

While I fully expect to see Disclosure Day earn nominations at the Critics Choice Super Awards next month and the Saturn Awards in January, if they stick to this year's schedule, I also expect it to lose to Project Hail Mary in most of its categories, especially Best Science Fiction Film or equivalent. Its best bets are best actress for Emily Blunt followed by supporting actor for Colman Domingo. That written, will it influence how people see UFOs/UAPs? Yes, but not as much as previous Spielberg movies on the subject.

I close with National Day Calendar's World UFO Day.

Is anyone out there? On this episode of the National Day Spotlight (https://nationaldaycalendar.com/), Marlo Anderson (https://marloanderson.com/) and co-host Alice Anderson are diving into the unexplained mysteries of the cosmos for World UFO Day (https://nationaldaycalendar.com/celeb...) . They’ll explore why humanity keeps looking to the skies for answers and celebrate the fun of cosmic curiosity. Tune in for an episode that is truly otherworldly!

That's a wrap for this week's series of holiday entries. I have a musical post planned for tomorrow followed by a particularly doomy preview of the drum corps season, which begins Friday. Stay tuned.

Lost in the Pond delivers 'British Verdict on the Detroit-Style Pizza' for Detroit-Style Pizza Day

Happy National Detroit-Style Pizza Day! I'm continuing last year's theme of Brits try Detroit Pizza for Detroit-style Pizza Day with Lost in the Pond delivering British Verdict on the Detroit-Style Pizza.

I gave you my verdict on the New York and Chicago style pizzas, now it's time for something in between. Here's my verdict on Michigan's own, Detroit-Style Pizza. But how many Lorenzos did I give it?

I'd give it more than four, but I live in metro Detroit.

Laurence recorded and posted the above video on National Pizza Day 2020, more than a year before the first National Detroit-Style Pizza Day, so can be forgiven for not recording on the right day. It didn't exist yet! As he and his wife Tarah mentioned, he also reviewed New York and Chicago pizza. Here's the first of the two, A Brit's Verdict on Chicago-style Pizza.

After the controversy surrounding Jelly-gate, I thought I'd try an American food item closer to home: a Chicago-style pizza.

Well, at least I know what Jelly-gate was about. Also, this video lacks something — two things, actually, Lawrence's sing-song, self-mocking delivery that is on display in his more recent videos, like 'Let's Talk About America's Iconic Bald Eagle' and Tarah. She's in the next video, British Verdict on America's New York-style Pizza, recorded during National Pizza Week 2020.

Since it's National Pizza Week, it only seems right that I present to the world–with the help of Old Fashioned Af–my verdict on America's New York-style Pizza.

I grew up on New York style pizza in Los Angeles, but people from the East Coast looked down on it. They said it was better cold. Now that I think about it, they were right.

That's a wrap for Lawrence's take on pizza. I have more videos of Brits eating Detroit-Style Pizza that I'm saving for next year. I'm an environmentalist; I conserve my resources. In the meantime, stay tuned for the first of two World UFO Days, the last of the current string of holidays.

'North America's LESSER KNOWN Inland Rainforest' for World Rainforest Day

Happy World Rainforest Day! After concentrating on one group of tropical rainforest animals last year, I'm returning to temperate rainforests with Urban Atlas exploring North America's LESSER KNOWN Inland Rainforest.

In this video, we will discuss what is perhaps one of the world's rarest ecosystem, the lesser-known North American Temperate Inland Rainforest.

The Weather Network, Canada's answer to The Weather Channel, uploaded their own video listing FIVE Facts About B.C.'s Rare Temperate Rainforest.

It's considered to be one of only two inland temperate rainforests in the world. This forest contains a diversity of rare species and ancient trees. The Weather Network's Mia Gordon shares five facts about this rare ecosystem.

Those are the facts, now how does this forest make us feel and what can we do about it? Valhalla Wilderness answers that question in Walking Among Giants: Saving BC's Inland Temperate Rainforest.

Take a walk through BC's ancient, globally unique Inland Temperate Rainforest with veteran conservationist Craig Pettitt of the Valhalla Wilderness Society. These forests and the mountain caribou they support are endangered by clearcut logging, which continues despite the urging of a recent provincial commission to protect what remains of our old growth. Pettitt describes Valhalla's thoughtful plan to do just that, through the formation of three new provincial parks which would link up with existing protected areas to create intact wildlife corridors and ecological connectivity. Learn how you can take action now to save the Inland Temperate Rainforest and mountain caribou at VWS.org

This video is about preserving the remnants of the ecosystem in British Columbia. I'm not a resident of that province or of Canada, but those of my readers who are can act as Craig Pettitt requests. Now I feel like I should see what, if anything, is being done to preserve the U.S. portion of the inland rainforest. Next year.

Stay tuned for a less serious post tomorrow on Detroit-style Pizza Day.

The science of 'dad brain' plus giraffe calf meets dad for Father's Day on World Giraffe Day

Happy National Seashell Day, the Summer Solstice, World Giraffe Day, and Father's Day! I'm working my way backwards through all four, beginning with The Surprising Science of How Fatherhood Changes a Man's Brain | Father's Day Special | WION Pulse.

Think dad jokes are just a phase? Well MRI scans show that becoming a father literally alters a man's neurological blueprint. On Father's Day, we explore the incredible biological upgrade that transforms men into caregivers.

I couldn't resist some Father's Day science!

I'm combining Father's Day with World Giraffe Day by sharing Inside Edition's April The Giraffe's Baby Reunites With His Father from 2017.

Internet sensation April the Giraffe gave birth to her son, Tajiri, live online in front of millions of people this April. The baby giraffe met his father, Oliver, shortly after, but the two have not seen each other since. This week, at the Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York, the three were reunited. It made for a wonderfully memorable moment and delighted fans all over the world.

Tajiri may be the star, but I'm going to wish Oliver a happy Father's Day and the entire family a happy World Giraffe Day!

Next, the reason both World Giraffe Day and National Seashell Day are today, the Summer Solstice. Watch WMAR-2 News' Science with Stevie: Summer Solstice.

The sun is ready for its big moment in the spotlight! Meteorologist Stevie Daniels talks about the summer solstice in this Science with Stevie segment!

Here's to Stevie becoming a mom next month so her viewers can wish her a happy Mother's Day next year!

I close with WSAZ NewsChannel 3's National Seashell Day.



June 20th is National Seashell Day.
It was last year and I normally celebrate it that day to avoid pile-ups like today's, but I wasn't feeling it. I'm also not feeling like turning today into the Sunday entertainment feature. I'll make up for it later in the week, when I plan on sharing a particularly doomy preview of the drum corps season, which begins Friday. In the meantime, stay tuned for World Rainforest Day, Detroit-style Pizza Day, and the first of two World UFO Days. I love holidays!

'Let's Talk About America's Iconic Bald Eagle' for American Eagle Day

Happy American Eagle Day! I'm celebrating by sharing Lawrence of Lost in the Pond's Let's Talk About America's Iconic Bald Eagle.

The time has finally come to break my silence on America's national bird, the bald eagle.

There is also an AI summary.

Lawrence explores the fascinating reality of North America's endemic Bald Eagles, examining their surprising habitats and unique behavioral traits. This look into the conservation success story uncovers the history behind their near-extinction and remarkable recovery.

This is only the second time I've embedded one of Lawrence's videos, the first being Lost in the Pond explains 'How US Thanksgiving Wasn't What I Expected', and I'm glad I did. It's also my favorite video about Bald Eagles since Animalogic's Bald Eagle: America’s Fursona, a title that I think is too cute by half, that I embedded in Celebrate American Eagle Day with an ice cream soda. Sharing both videos brought a smile to my face each time.

I've been slacking on one of my traditions, including a drink video for my holiday entries, so I'm making up for by including National Day Calendar's WORLD MARTINI DAY | JUNE 20.

Shaken, not stirred. Do you enjoy a good martini once in a while? Let us know in the comments.

Drink to the health of the bald eagle!

That's a wrap for today's short educational entry. I'll make up for it tomorrow when I celebrate four special days in one, National Seashell Day, the Summer Solstice, World Giraffe Day 2025, and Father's Day. Will I even find a way to make it the Sunday entertainment feature? Stay tuned!