How to beat the “I don’t wanna” beast into submission more

Good news, armchair critics: Young people can still write compelling and coherent prose and poetry with exceptional candor and grammatical skill. more

No matter how much is written about how beneficial black snakes are to humans, these rodent-eating reptiles will always be at the top of many people’s fear lists. more

Spring fever more

Writer witnesses bird-on-bird violence more

I can’t predict as I write this what the weather will be like when you read it, but one thing I’m fairly sure of: We are into the gardeners’ cover/uncover season. more

April already! With the recent literally freezing temperatures, I’ve done fairly well at keeping my spring fever at bay. Yes, I have planted a few seeds just for the pure joy of watching them sprout, but I haven’t gone crazy. Yet. The temptation is always there, though. Intellectual, I understand that it is still too early for most things, but I am ready to get this gardening party started. more

If we were bison, we’d probably have a much higher opinion of brown-headed cowbirds. You’d be hard-pressed to find a birding enthusiast – or anyone else, for that matter – that holds much love for the brown-headed cowbird. This bird, which is common throughout Missouri and many other parts of the U.S., has earned the ire of many people because it parasitizes nests of other birds. Mid-April is usually when female cowbirds begin plopping their eggs into nests of various species. Although there’s little appreciation for these nest-infiltration tactics, even the most ardent cowbird-hater would have to admit it’s a rather remarkable method of producing the next generation. more

As you may know, the Bolivar R-1 school board recently took action against one of its own. The board, at the urging of the board president, voted to censure a fellow member. The reason listed is the violation of board policy BBF. more

Writer gets loose with a goose more

What has happened to the “Ghostbusters” movie franchise? For over a quarter century Hollywood resisted the temptation to spoil the one-two punch of the 1984 comedy classic and its decent-enough 1989 sequel. Then there came the 2016 reboot, which was controversial for its female cast, and the controversy is all anyone remembers. The 2021 legacy sequel didn’t always nail its humor, but there were some charming new characters and a nice kick of nostalgia at the end. But now with “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” this once-mighty property has officially become, well, a ghost of its former self. more

The Historical Society of Polk County will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 28. The meeting will take place at the Polk County Museum, 201 W. Locust, Bolivar. Jerald Andrews will be speaking about his involvement with the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. more

Now and then I am reminded that we born after World War II were witnesses to some of the most momentous events of the 20th century. Following are selected events from the Time-Life series, “Our American Century.” more

As recent as 20 years ago, any bear sighting in Missouri made state-wide headlines. more

I’m not going to sugarcoat it: this was not a good week for new releases. The battle for the top spot at the domestic box office was a fierce one, with “Kung Fu Panda 4” in its second weekend narrowly edging out “Dune: Part Two” in its third. But after those two holdovers, the box office fell off a cliff, with newcomer “Arthur the King” taking a weak third place with barely a quarter of either’s take. Granted, the relatively small-scale production is not one that has ambitions of conquering the box office. It’s okay with being a nice little crowd-pleaser, which would be fine if it were actually more pleasing. more

What I learned while upside down more

Just a few days ago I poured myself a glass of orange juice, something I seldom do because we seldom have any in the refrigerator unless grandkids are coming to visit. more

If you think you see a lot of red-winged blackbirds in the spring and summer, national bird surveys indicate you’re right. more

She has a special set of skills more

Since Po (Jack Black), the main character of the “Kung Fu Panda” movies, is known for his more

Sunday morning awhile back — February 18, to be exact — our whole clan was on hand for a Hallelujah moment. more

Berean Baptist Church in Bolivar will soon be hosting Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. This financial organization and management program has been tried and proven literally millions of times over, and it can help you as well. If you struggle to make ends meet, if you have debt problems, if you don’t have an “every transaction” system of tracking expenses and budgeting, if you want to learn how to better save for retirement or children’s schooling, or if you just need to learn how to better manage finances, then this course is for you. more

Now that spring-like weather seems to have arrived (or at least it’s here for this week), it’s time to get out and hunt for mushrooms. more

I got my pineapple conure Lola about four years ago. She is tiny, small for a conure, but is bursting with character. Her name comes from the Barry Manilow song “Copacabana,” where he sings, “Lola, she was a showgirl.” It is fitting. When I first saw her, she was rolling around, begging for attention and showing off. I fell in love and I had to have her. She’s funny and smart and since bringing her home, has learned a few phrases. “Pretty girl,” and “I love you” are her favorites - we tell each other the latter probably 50 times a day. I also get bombarded with “Hey Baby” when it’s time to take her out in the morning. She also picked up another word that I cannot write in the paper (where she learned it, I cannot say, but thankfully she uses it very seldomly). more

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first installment of director Denis Villeneuve’s take on the Frank Herbert sci-fi classic “Dune” back in 2021. The sounds and visuals were great, and I understood why it won so many technical Oscars that year, but I couldn’t get invested in the characters or story, so I didn’t recommend the film. I feel the same way about “Dune: Part Two,” but somehow the dynamic has shifted without anything really changing. The characters and story arcs are still baffling to keep straight (and as with the “Demon Slayer” movie last week, this doesn’t make for a great entry point into the series), but the sounds and visuals are so awesome that I give it a recommendation. I guess I could chalk it up to going into the film with a little more familiarity with the property, having seen the first movie, but I’d like to think that Villeneuve has just upped his game in some subtle fashion. more