Karen Bischer
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kbischer.bsky.social
Karen Bischer
@kbischer.bsky.social
340 followers 310 following 570 posts
YA and Children's author (THE SECRET RECIPE FOR MOVING ON, Macmillan; SPORTS ILLUSTRATED KIDS: LEGEND VS LEGEND and SEASONS OF THE YEAR, Capstone). Yankees fan. TV-watcher. Unapologetic 80s music enthusiast.

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250242303
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kbischer.bsky.social
"I know 'de do do do de da da da' is probably all you hear when I speak, but I'll keep wasting my breath anyway because I guess it's fun for me?"

- today in Explaining Old School American Top 40* to My Cat

*De Do Do Do De Da Da Da, The Police, #19 this week in 1980

#caturday
Clarence, an orange striped cat, stares into the camera in total agreement.
December 6, 2025 at 4:22 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
Not pictured: the shims under the tree stand to make up for the ridiculous slope of the living room floor
A decorated Christmas tree lit with white lights with a decorated fireplace visible in the next room
December 2, 2025 at 2:23 AM
kbischer.bsky.social
I just want it noted that long before this season of Stranger Things, I've lamented the loss of Boppers to my friend *at least* once a year, and I've had a recipe saved for a bit so I can try and re-create them. Maybe now is the time....
A text message to my friend saying "Watching ep 1. BOPPERS SIGHTING" and my friend replying "They were so good"
November 30, 2025 at 12:39 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
"This is how your namesake joined the E Street Band! An iconic moment in Jersey lore!"

-today in Explaining Old School American Top 40* to My Cat

*Casey tells us how Clarence Clemons met Bruce Springsteen before Clarence & Jackson Browne's You're a Friend of Mine, #37 this week in 1985

#caturday
Clarence, an orange striped cat who does not play saxophone like his namesake, sits upright while feigning interest because his dog sister is hovering too close to his taco catnip toy for his liking.
November 29, 2025 at 4:59 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
OK, so I've made a starting lineup of songs I'd want to inform this magic KB-centric station of 20th century tunes. These aren't all my faves but the gist would be gotten, i.e. "nothing after the 90s" and "no Christmas Shoes" and "no one pronouncing it 'a hahlay jahlay Christmas'".
1. Jingle Bells, Frank Sinatra 2B 2. Run, Rudolph, Run, Chuck Berry SS 3. Sleigh Ride, The Ronettes DH 4. The Christmas Song, Nat King Cole CF 5. Step Into Christmas, Elton John 3B 6. This Christmas, Donny Hathaway 1B 7. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band C 8. Christmas is the Time to Say I Love You, Billy Squier RF 9. Last Christmas, Wham! LF SP: All I Want for Christmas is You, Mariah Carey Closer: O Tannenbaum, Vince Guaraldi Trio Bench: Little Saint Nick, The Beach Boys; Christmas Wrapping, The Waitresses; 2000 Miles, Pretenders; I Believe in Father Christmas, Greg Lake
November 28, 2025 at 4:32 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
"Oh you, for sure, would be on the Group W bench, there is no question."

- today in Explaining Alice's Restaurant Massacree* to My Cat

*Happy Thanksgiving
Clarence, an orange striped cat, stares thoughtfully while digesting the lyrics of Alro Guthrie's classic. He hopes to digest some turkey later.
November 27, 2025 at 5:18 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
Gentle note to HR teams everywhere: Please do not start the second sentence of an application response with "We are thrilled" if it's not good news because for the slightest millisecond, an applicant might feel the stirrings of hope only to have them crushed a few words later 😩
An email that reads: Hi Karen, Thanks again for your interest in the Senior Copywriter [blanked-out further job description] position here at [blanked-out company]. We are thrilled that you chose to apply, however at this time we have decided to move forward with other candidates whose experience more closely aligns with our current needs.
November 25, 2025 at 9:38 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
"He needed to appreciate her better in the summer, then he wouldn't have to see if she's open to hanging out when he's lonely in sweater weather. I know this is a lot to ponder."

- today in Explaining Old School American Top 40* to My Cat

*Cool Night, Paul Davis, #34 this week in 1981

#caturday
Clarence, an orange striped cat, sits upright while staring out a window as he absorbs this useful information about hooman relationships.
November 22, 2025 at 4:09 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
Still going great, you guys! (Red line means I actually got a "we didn't pick you" email. And the judiciary clerk and title clerk jobs are longshots because I'm currently taking paralegal classes - who doesn't love starting a new career path in your 40s??? - and don't have in-office experience yet.)
A screenshot of the most recent (9) jobs I've applied to (company names blocked out). One, an associate editor job, has a red line through it.
November 19, 2025 at 3:10 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
"He caught his sweetheart cheating with a man he deems unworthy, aka an 'alley-cat-coat-wearing,
punch-bucket-shoe-wearing crumbcake.' That's poetry right there, Clarence."

- today in Explaining Old School American Top 40* to My Cat

*The Rain, Oran "Juice" Jones, #13 this week in 1986

#caturday
Clarence, an orange striped cat, stretches one paw toward the camera while lounging in a sunbeam on a table next to a ceramic pitcher with ivy painted on it.
November 15, 2025 at 5:31 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
Back porch cam: There's a person at the back door

The "person":
An extreme close-up of a squirrel sniffing the camera.
November 14, 2025 at 2:34 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
"So I knew this song my whole life and assumed it was about a ship that sank in the early 1900s...and then in my 30s I found out it sank in 1975 via Casey Kasem in a 1976 episode of AT40 on iHeart. No, really."

- today in Explaining The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot to My Cat
Clarence, an orange striped cat, is curled up while staring sleepily at the camera. He does not know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours, but he did ride the ferry once.
November 10, 2025 at 7:53 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
"You and the great Dionne Warwick are both from New Jersey and you have absolutely every right to look smug about that right now."

- today in Explaining Old School American Top 40* to My Cat

*Heartbreaker, Dionne Warwick, #38 this week in 1982

#caturday
Clarence, an orange striped cat, is curled up on the back of a couch in front of a window and looks very superior in the knowledge that both he and Dionne share roots in the Garden State while less fortunate people from other states do not.
November 8, 2025 at 3:47 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
Post you from a different era (aka the era when I was trying to convince my parents to get a dog. This was my cousins' sweet dog, Dusty.)
8-year-old me sitting on a top step with my arm around a beautiful reddish-brown dog with a white snout.
November 7, 2025 at 9:01 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
Not me liking every post I can about yesterday's best marathon signs. Truly one of my favorite race byproducts, along with all the other assorted good feelings that come with the day. (This was mine from 2017, some of my best creative work involving giant markers.)
A yellow sign with big black lettering that reads "Are you from New Jersey? Cuz baby, you were born to run" with a small drawing of the state of New Jersey and a cut out of Bruce Springsteen.
November 3, 2025 at 3:22 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
Let's see how that job hunt is going 🫤

(TBH, I'd actually been looking for about a year before I got laid off because I sensed cuts were coming. I applied to more than 20 jobs in that time and only heard back from one, but it didn't go beyond a recruiter call. So...not surprised by any of this.)
A list of 14 copy editor and copywriter jobs I've applied to (company names blacked out). Three are striked out in red indicating I got an actual "thanks for applying, we're not considering you" emails from them. One is highlighted in orange idicating a recruiter called (but haven't heard from since). The rest indicate no response.
November 3, 2025 at 1:28 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
"Well, war is never good and hoomans are STILL stupid, so not much has changed in the last four decades, I'm afraid."

- today in Explaining Old School American Top 40* to My Cat

*The War Song, Culture Club, #24 this week in 1984

#caturday
Clarence, an orange striped cat, stares smolderingly at the camera while contemplating the wisdom of Boy George.
November 1, 2025 at 2:14 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
And just in time for Halloween, this just came on MTV Classic. Gonna go be terrified for a bit.
A shot from the video for Laura Branigan's Self Control. A creepy masked man watches her from car. Unnerving for a 7-year-old in 1984, still the same in 2025.
October 31, 2025 at 9:34 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
Brandy, as ever, is extremely popular:

"I like your puppy!"

Brandy: Woooooo

"She likes you too!"
Brandy, a tan, floppy earred mutt with a black snout, sits at attention in the dining room, where trick-or-treaters can see her from the front door and extend their well-wishes. (She's kept in there in case there are kids who are afraid of dogs. We're mindful of such things!)
October 31, 2025 at 8:39 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
"It's about butts."

- today in Explaining Classic Rock* to My Pets

*Tush, ZZ Top, playing tonight while I made dinner. They are only interested in the bacon I was making, however.
Brandy, a tan floppy earred mutt with a black snout, and Clarence, an orange striped cat stare exasperatedly (Brandy) and accusatorily (Clarence) at the camera while standing on green-and-white checkered kitchen floor.
October 30, 2025 at 10:28 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
13 years ago tonight was a wild ride, aka Superstorm Sandy. My office building did indeed have 6 feet of water outside/3 feet inside...which destroyed the newly renovated basement cafeteria. We didn't get back in the bldg till March. The sign outside my local DTJC gym a few days later was top tier.
A Facebook status reading: Hey, work peeps, Channel 2 is reporting that our building has 3 feet of water inside, 6 feet outside. I hope the caf and the tooth are okay! A Facebook status reading: ) And in the poker game of Who Has Power, I fold. All dark in downtown JC. Saving phone battery so only call/text if it's an emergency. A Facebook status reading: Listening to Channel 7 on the radio. Who are these lucky bastards with power and/or cable? A chalkboard sign outside a local gym reading "We're all still here, bitch" and "charge your phone here"
October 29, 2025 at 10:17 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
"No, they're not referring to a kitty cat grooming himself and shaking the bed while his owner is trying to sleep. But I can see why your brain went there."

- today in Explaining Old School American Top 40* to My Cat

*You Shook Me All Night Long, AC/DC, #39 this week in 1980

#caturday
Clarence, an orange striped cat, shows no feelings of guilt after what has passive-aggressively been implied about his late-night grooming habits
October 25, 2025 at 2:12 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
Truly, being told "it's time to forgive and forget" 2017...lol no. That ALCS is literally in my top 5 of baseball-related angsts. It cut THAT deep. And yes, this made me make a list to figure out the actual ranking.
A screen shot of a note that reads: Top 10 things that have hurt/haunted me as a Yankees fan: 1 2001 World Series Game 7 2 1995 ALDS Game 5 3 1994 strike 4 2004 ALCS 5 2017 ALCS 6 2019 ALCS Game 6 7 Mussina's almost-perfect game 8 Mattingly never getting a ring 9 1997 ALDS Game 4 10 seeing how many players cheesed out in a photo with a certain president
October 21, 2025 at 6:58 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
"'Adultery, but it's an earworm' was alive and well in October 1985. We're only missing Secret Lovers for the cheating trifecta!"

- today in Explaining Old School American Top 40* to My Cat

*Part-Time Lover, Stevie Wonder, #5 and Saving All My Love, Whitney Houston, #4 this week in 1985

#caturday
Clarence, an orange striped cat, looks mildly perturbed because he's just trying to get some water from his special drinking glass.
October 18, 2025 at 3:49 PM
kbischer.bsky.social
Just got mine - I will get A LOT of mileage out of it on my laptop. Thanks for giving my feelings a visual, @dynamoe.bsky.social
A sticker that reads Stop Forcing A.I. Into Every Fucking Thing! (Nobody Asked for It, Everybody Hates It) on a laptop cover
October 16, 2025 at 11:45 PM