A Pound of Bem

Author of "Wildly Strolling Along" and freelance writer.

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Is "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (1900) dark?

The Tin Man after having chopped off a cat’s head (not pictured). Tl;dr, It depends on how you define “dark” Like I said, I’m interested in analyzing “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” but I’m doing so by going through its introduction. After all it provides a good guide to what Baum at least claimed to be doing. And he includes this phrase: …in which the wonderment and joy are retained, and the…

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What happens in the "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" book (1900) (Wizard of Blog)

So meta tangent and summary of the book before I get to more interesting points in later posts. Photo from Project Gutenberg Meta tangent and apology Ok, so back when I started Wizard of Blog last year or was it a million years ago, I didn’t expect to take this long to actually follow up my first blog post and begin reviewing the book proper of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It wasn’t like I…

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Slaughterhouse Five

“And so it goes.” “Po-tee-weet” Recently finished Slaughterhouse Five. I’ve been trying to get around to famous works I’ve previously missed and get why this one is a classic. It strikes a balance between being able to portray war as horrific and non-heroic while going for a sense of the ridiculous rather than the over the top grotesque. Also a work in which the fantastical elements have equal…

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Introduction to "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (1900) Wizard of Blog Part 2

Previously on this mess of a blog concept/Unshaved Mouse knockoff: I started with my review of the 2024 film Wicked. I, your humble Wizard of Blog, tried to review that movie by itself but I got interrupted by a straw man who insisted that explain the earlier versions of this thing. I conceded he indeed had a brain, and a point. And so, I decided to look at earlier versions. So we must now back…

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Haw Ridge in spring

Haw Ridge is a park with trail system in my own Oak Ridge and a great place for spring wildflowers. The trails start along a paved path. But the majority of the park involves trails that tangle up through taller trees, cross meadows and bushy places along power lines, climb tall ridges and ease along Melton Hill Lake. These are open to both bikes and foot traffic. I used to write columns…

Haw Ridge in spring

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Wicked Recap/Review (inaugural post for Wizard of Blog)

So I enjoyed Wicked. Might as well talk about it since it’s now streaming. It’s weird to say I liked it, because my old 20-something self would have hated it. Showtunes that are unapologetically showtunes? Sincere emotions? A dark, sexual book by Gregory Maguire made unironically family friendly? And yet here I am enjoying it. “What book?” I’m going to shoot that down, straw man. You are a…

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Hellbender Press - Contractors finish scraping remnants of war industry at former K-25 site in Oak Ridge

Aerial view of the East Tennessee Technology Park in August 2024 following the completion of all demolition and soil remediation projects at the former uranium enrichment complex by DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and contractor UC… — Read on hellbenderpress.org/news/contractors-finish-scraping-remnants-of-war-industry-at-once-contaminated-oak-ridge-site

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The Courier News

Marking anniversary of Hiroshima The Courier News — Read on www.mycouriernews.com/articles/2024/08/8769/luminaria-mark-79th-anniversary-of-hiroshima

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The Courier News

New Claxton Park end of old on agenda. The Courier News — Read on www.mycouriernews.com/articles/2024/08/8751/new-claxton-park-on-agenda-next-meeting

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Ideas for Opioid Settlement

The Courier News — Read on www.mycouriernews.com/articles/2024/07/8644/ideas-for-use-of-opioid-settlements-discussed

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Hellbender Press - Nancy Manning is putting in the work for seven generations

Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning Executive Director Nancy Manning stands in a wetland in the Oak Ridge Cedar Barrens. She is cultivating a project that involves students from nearby Jefferson Middle School.  Ben Pounds/Hellbender Press… — Read on hellbenderpress.org/news/nancy-manning-is-putting-in-the-work-for-seven-generations

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Pollution concerns in Anderson County

Some pollution concerns near Blockhouse Valley Landfill The Courier News — Read on www.mycouriernews.com/articles/2024/06/8539/blockhouse-valley-landfill-pollution-raises-concern

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New weather station helps students

Oak Ridge High School students are getting a new weather station that collects climate data. — Read on www.mycouriernews.com/articles/2024/05/8510/orhs-students-get-new-weather-station

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Library trains public on handling Narcan and overdoses

The Courier News — Read on www.mycouriernews.com/articles/2024/05/8509/education-session-on-overdoses-narcan-held-at-clinton-library

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Hellbender Press - Momentum builds slowly for TVA’s post-coal plans

Supercomputer simulation of plasma turbulence in a spherical tokamak, which is an experimental machine designed to harness the energy of fusion.  Image courtesy of Walter Guttenfelder, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and Filippo Scotti, Lawr… — Read on hellbenderpress.org/news/momentum-builds-for-tva-s-post-coal-plans

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Hong’s Asian Bistro

Deshawn Richardson, general manager of Hong’s Asian Bistro, may live in downtown Knoxville, but he believes his drive to Oak Ridge each day is worth it. — Read on www.mycouriernews.com/articles/2024/04/8389/hongs-asian-bistro-owner-happy-in-or

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American Nuclear cleanup underway

Some radioactive material is finally leaving Anderson County after decades of sitting in the Claxton area. — Read on www.mycouriernews.com/articles/2024/04/8390/work-proceeds-at-american-nuclear-site

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