The Old Scout

I've written about Garrison Keillor in earlier entries here. Last evening I was reading his blog called the Old Scout and found a number of intriguing posts.

A strong sense of independence tempers Keillor's political liberalism. This is notable when he writes about education. But what I especially relate to are his posts about religion. One of these about his feelings while going to church at Easter time, I thought he wrote for me.

Take a look at the Old Scout and as Keillor always says on the Writer's Almanac, "Do good work and keep in touch."

Pretty Good Jokes

How many doctoral students does it take to change a lightbulb?

One, but it takes ten years.

Ok, that may be a bit too academic, but if you need a joke to brighten your day, try Pretty Good Jokes, part of the Prairie Home Companion radio program's website.

You can select the type of joke you are looking for, including bawdy, blonde, religious, lightbulb, knock knock, and admittedly bad jokes. This site also contains links to PHC's past joke shows, during which host Garrison Keillor and his crew spend most of their two hour program telling one joke after another.

The Writer's Almanac

Garrison Keillor hosts The Writer’s Almanac -- a 5 minute program broadcast daily on more than 300 radio stations. It can also be heard on XM Satellite radio. Each day Keillor talks about literary and historical events and birth days of writers. On today’s program, for instance, he tells about the marriage of John Rolfe and Pocahontas on April 5, 1614 and notes the birthdays of philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1558) and the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837).

The program always ends with the host reading a poem by a noted writer. The Writer's Almanac's website contains an archive of the broadcasts going back to February 2001, so listeners can re-hear favorite poems such as R. S. Gwynn's “My Agent Says”, broadcast December 30, 2002. Internet users can also sign up to have a link to the program sent daily via e-mail.