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Greetings 405 listener!
The 405 airs over KMMR Radio Station. At 5 Minutes past 4 PM each M-F week day of the year. Here on the website we strive to have it posted within a few hours afterwards.
Your neighbor and website maintainer,
D.J. Rasmussen
Thanks for stopping by and listening to the shows.
I want to again welcome you to The 405 Coffee Break. Guys, Friday, get you a cup of coffee, glass iced tea, bottle of water, get some skates on, it's icy out there, and let's see what's happening.
OK Solberg:Spring Wheat $5.41 a bushel. 550lb steer calf $4.12 a pound, and a butcher hog in Iowa 63ยข a pound, and a 100lb lamb that's fat in Billings weighing a 100lb will bring you $2.21 to $2.25 a pound. But, guys, there's more, much more.
OK Solberg:Okay. Okay. Today, words. More precisely words describing a group of birds or animals. Or as your English teacher might well have said, today we'll be studying collective nouns.
OK Solberg:Guys, did you realize how unusual animal group names can be? Check them out. A murder of crows, parliament of owls, crash of rhinos. Oh, the list goes on and on. Come to find out, they trace back to late Middle English hunting vocabulary, particularly from the 15th century. No kidding. And I might add, the idea for this little study comes from a lady we well know that goes by the name Doc. Doc told me all about them, and I too love these descriptive words, and I did me a little research.
OK Solberg:So we're gonna hear a bible verse relevant to our theme and then dive right in. Listen. And you might well think I'm making this up, but you look it up yourself. It is in the Bible from Job chapter 35 and verse 11. Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens? Yes, sir. Job 35:11
OK Solberg:So let's get wiser by looking to the birds and the beasts. Did you realize it's an army of frogs? Oh, yes, it is. As the dust settled, an army of frogs emerged from the reeds. They're chirping, rising, like tiny persistent drumlines.
OK Solberg:Or what about this then? A journey of giraffes. You gotta be kidding. Nope. It's true.
OK Solberg:Across the Golden Plain, a journey of giraffes move slowly, their long shadows sliding over the scrub like tall drifting banners. Did you know it's a murder of crows? Tell the world, A murder of crows gathered on the fence line, their glossy wings catching what little afternoon light remained. Here's one you may not have known. A shrewdness of apes.
OK Solberg:Are you kidding me? Nope. A shrewdness of apes. I watched the shrewdness of apes huddle beneath the figs' trees, quietly trading glances that looked too knowledgeable for comfort. Hold on now.
OK Solberg:You better sit down. Maybe buckle up. You ready? A prickle of porcupine. What? Yes. A prickle of porcupines. On the far ridge, a prickle of porcupines lumbered along, each quill a tiny spark in the sun's rise. Did you know a flamboyance of flamingos? I would not lead you astray.
OK Solberg:The light glowed pink where a flamboyance of flamingos stood, the reflections wavering like delicate brushstrokes. If you didn't know why I fell in love with a spoken word, now maybe you have an idea. A gaggle of geese, a clutter of cats, a bale of turtles. It's true. A bale of turtles sun themselves on a half sunk log, unmoving except for the occasional slow blink.
OK Solberg:A coal coalition of cheetahs, a leaf of leopards, a pride of lions, a pod of dolphins, a colony of penguins, a tiding of magpies, and last but not least, my favorite, I saved it for the last, a smack of jellyfish. What? A smack of jellyfish.
OK Solberg:I like it. What about that then? Thanks, doc, for the idea. It's fun to have fun, and having fun is funner than not having fun.
OK Solberg:So until next time, as you go out there, remember now, have a good weekend. Don't be bitter.