Tippy and Dad
Stories by Tippy and Dad
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IAN 7/1/26 – How about some Bone-Sigh?
That’s how you pronounce Bonsai correctly, more or less. Anyway, for today just total relaxation looking at pics of these wonderful, centuries-old creations. Heck, some of them are millennial! 🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳 As you can see by Itzl’s concerned look, this group (Itzl Alert Network, or IAN) is for us to check in at to let people…
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IAN 6/24 – Beautiful A Cappella Choral Music of Today
For music therapy today, how about some really lovely harmonies and voice-leading, and beautiful poetry, by the new generation of composers? And some inspired prayers for peace. ☮️ 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 As you can see by Itzl’s concerned look, this group (Itzl Alert Network, or IAN) is for us to check in at to let people know…
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IAN 6/17/26 – Jethro Tull, Heavy Horses; The Poet and The Painter – Masterpieces of Progressive Folk Rock
Just beautiful poetry and music therapy today. Out with the new, in with the old! It’s time to build castles by the sea… 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 As you can see by Itzl’s concerned look, this group (Itzl Alert Network, or IAN) is for us to check in at to let people know we are alive, doing OK,…
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IAN 6/10 – Some light humor: Panda-Z, The Robonimation
Today some totally absurd Anime humor. But good Classic Rock. Sit back and relax! 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 As you can see by Itzl’s concerned look, this group (Itzl Alert Network, or IAN) is for us to check in at to let people know we are alive, doing OK, and not affected by heat, blizzards, floods, wildfires, hurricanes,…
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IAN 6/3/26 – Gabriela Lena Frank, Contemporary Composition Star from Berkeley, California
Today we’re going to feature a great Contemporary Classical and Latina-American composer, who just won the Pulitzer Prize for Composition for a major Orchestral Suite. Quite deservedly so; it hasn’t been commercially published or recorded yet, but here is an ISSUU copy for those who read music: https://issuu.com/scoresondemand/docs/00_frank_picaflor_fs_1_ Breathtakingly beautiful! Non-musicians, please believe the Pulitzer…
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IAN 5/27 – Bill Kurtis: Legendary Broadcaster, News Anchor/Producer, and Investigative Journalist from Independence, KS, retires at age 86
Today for your comic therapy, a classic voice of Broadcast Journalism, Bill Kurtis, goes out on a very funny note: Announcer on NPR’s News Quiz and Comedy Hour “Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me.” With many tributes from fellow journalists, writers, anchor-hosts and friends. 😘😘😘😘😘 As you can see by Itzl’s concerned look, this group (Itzl…
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IAN 5/20/26 – Small Tropical Cats, Cont’d: The Caracal Lineage of Africa
Today’s wildlife therapy is the Caracal Lineage, consisting of the very handsome Servals, Caracals and Golden Cats of the African Savanna. 🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛ As you can see by Itzl’s concerned look, this group (Itzl Alert Network, or IAN) is for us to check in at to let people know we are alive, doing OK, and not…
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IAN 5/13/26 – Michael Tilson Thomas, 12/21/1944 – 4/22/2026, Part II
Last week we outlined MTT’s early years as a musical prodigy, education with famous mentors including Copland and Bernstein, and ascendancy as a world-class conductor, pianist and composer. This week we’ll delve further into his friendship with Bernstein and others, and more wonderful compositions in many genres. 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 As you can see by Itzl’s concerned…
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IAN 5/6 – Michael Tilson Thomas, 12/21/1944 – 4/22/2026, Part I
Today we celebrate one of the great musicians of our time, MTT, a composer, conductor and concert pianist of global renown who recently left us 4/22/26, but also left a legacy of wonderful compositions, and also a fine conducting and teaching legacy for young musicians. In this he was carrying on the work of his…
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IAN 4/29/26 – Frederic Rzewski, Polish-American Composer and Pianist
Today we’ll review a renowned Polish-American Composer/Pianist. He isn’t widely known outside Classical circles, but his music deserves a listen. A great pianist and teacher in his day, he went to Princeton and Harvard and learned with Randall Thompson and Roger Sessions; later taught at Yale and Academie Royale in Belgium. As you can see…
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IAN 4/22 – Migration, a Two-Way Process
Well, here we are and it’s like Day and Night (above) – it’s Way different, but at least all of the buttons work. BetaKos worked somewhat, but it had its own issues. This is our New-DK prototype diary, hope it flies! Manfred Von Richtofen vs Snoopy Von Braun – he’s outnumbered, Snoopy has a wingman…
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IAN 4/8/26 – S’more Small Exotic Cats, 🐾 Part 4
More fascinating facts about small wild cats! Sit back and enjoy because, it turns out there are at least 40 species well-known to science and probably dozens…
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IAN 4/1/26 – More Small Exotic Cats, 🐾 Part 3
Today, some more weird and wonderful small tropical cats! 🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛ As you can see by Itzl’s concerned look, this group (Itzl Alert Network, or IAN)…
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IAN 3/25/26 – Renaissance Madrigals, Part II
More beautiful High Renaissance Madrigals, with the Italian words so you can see the poetry and musical word-painting (with translations).
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IAN 3/18/26 – Renaissance Madrigals for Spring
Some beautiful a cappella counterpoint for the season, songs of rebirth and love. It was normal for the lyrics to be lovesick. 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 As you can see…
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IAN 3/11 – Funny Filk Cover of Gilbert+Sullivan’s “Modern Major General” – Singalong for our times!
Ok, Goils and Ghouls, it’s time to sing with total withering mockery of He Who Shall Not Be Named (no, we don’t mean Hastur the Unspeakable…
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IAN 3/3/26 – Small Tropical Cats, 🐾 Part Two
Another relaxing round of tropical forest felines, and some grassland and desert cousins — enjoy! 🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛ As you can see by Itzl’s concerned look…
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IAN 2/24/26 – George Gershwin, the early years, up to Rhapsody In Blue
We published Gershwin Part I last year, but never in IAN (you guys saw Part II). So for music fans here it is with early favorites, some modern Jazz covers of…
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IAN 2/18/26 – Take a Break With Small Jungle Cats 🐾 Part I
Today a relaxing natural history stroll through the charming Genera of Neofelis, Pardofelis, and Leopardus, some of the prettiest of the small Jungle Cats.
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IAN 2/11/26, Healing Songs and Poetry Inspired by Nature – Choral and Instrumental Music
More sheer beauty inspired by our friends the birds; they were singing long before we got here, at the dawn of this aeon. 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 Art is an act of resistance…
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IAN 2/4/26 – Songs of Hope in Winter, Inspired by Nature – Beautiful Poetry and Choral Music
Today, songs of hope in the midst of cold; through her noble creatures, old Mother Nature inspires and uplifts us. 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 As you can see by Itzl’s concerned…
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IAN 1/28/26 – Southernmost Point in ALL US Territories: Rose Atoll Marine National Monument
We can’t stop the Polar Vortex but we can share footage of another lovely island well south of the Equator that happens to be an unincorporated US territory…
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IAN 1/20/26 – Palmyra Atoll, Southernmost Incorporated Territory in the US and Ecological Refuge
What’s the southernmost point of the US? In the Continental States it’s Key West, FL. Counting all 50 States, it would of course be the Big Island of Hawaii’s…
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IAN 1/13/26 – Music For Meditation With Nature and Stars (Part 2)
Today a few thoughtful pieces for communing with nature and the universe. Some are very lovely and some are abstract, but they all express our connection with…
