Baby, If You Ever Wonder

Filed under: Too Beautiful to Live

Produced by Win Rosenfeld and Zena Barakat

Thanks, everyone, for being part of the Bryant Park Project. Look for us here.

Laura Conaway

3:58 PM ET | 07-25-2008 | permalink | comments (15) | e-mail post

The Rundown For...Ever

Filed under: Tomorrow's BPP, Too Beautiful to Live

Win Rosenfeld

3:57 PM ET | 07-25-2008 | permalink | comments (32) | e-mail post

Let Me Tell You About My Good Friends

Filed under: Too Beautiful to Live

The cast of the BPP.

Zena Barakat

 

These are just a few of the people who made the Bryant Park Project such an amazing place to work. Last night I left our office knowing that I had just one day left with everyone here, one more day to make the show that we all love so dearly. I was depressed, and I knew there was only one thing I could do -- bake.

There is something about measuring, mixing, and frosting that I find incredibly soothing. My mom always baked for me when I was young, and I remember watching her take the time to paint the food coloring on the apple cut-outs on top of her pie. It was like edible proof of how much she loved us. Last night when I was carefully mixing and coloring my third batch of homemade butter cream frosting, I was just overwhelmed with feelings for this group. I leave the BPP with a final batch of baked goods, 24 ice cream cone cupcakes filled with all my love.

Caitlin Kenney

12:00 PM ET | 07-25-2008 | permalink | comments (27) | e-mail post

Thanks For The Memories

Filed under: Too Beautiful to Live

Just a short post to thank everyone here for making me a part of the BPP family. Having started working for the show in June, I think I was perhaps the most recent addition to the staff, but I'm grateful that I had the time here that I did, however brief. It was much more than just a job.

I read somewhere recently that the average person laughs 17 times a day (all right, a depressingly paltry amount of laughter to begin with) but I know that I met my daily quota at our morning meetings alone, and exceeded it many, many times over throughout the rest of each day here. Being at the Bryant Park Project was like being part of one big continuous postmodern vaudeville show, with routines both comic and serious, whose stage extended virtually everywhere and could include anything.

Thanks for letting me in on the act.

Paul Hechinger

11:48 AM ET | 07-25-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Run!

Filed under: Stuff We Love

This post has nothing to do with the fact that we're being run out of the building.

Anthony Famiglietti.

Photo Credit: New York Road Runners

 

One thing we didn't get the chance to air is Mike Pesca's interview with U.S. Olympic Steeplechaser Anthony Famiglietti. Fam, as he's known, is a real running hero of mine. He always seems to run with real guts; he goes as fast as he can regardless of what everybody else on the track is doing. That's what he did at the Olympic Trials in Oregon a few weeks back, and he won the race by a ridiculous margin. Here's Mike's interview:

Ian Chillag

11:30 AM ET | 07-25-2008 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

E-mail This Story!

Filed under: Tomorrow's BPP

A long time ago I attempted to create a story that would make it to #1 on the NPR.org Most E-mailed List. To accomplish my goal I studied the list, and created a story that included elements commonly found on the list. Back then I peaked at #2. The #1 story got linked on Yahoo.com, and that was that. So I'm making one more attempt. Go to the story and e-mail it to everyone you know. (Keep in mind that when you enter a list of e-mail addresses separated by commas, the site only counts it as one e-mail. You have to enter one address, hit send, then go back and do the process again.)

Now get e-mailing. Use this version of the story from today's show. This is our lasting legacy on NPR!

Dan Pashman

10:41 AM ET | 07-25-2008 | permalink | comments (9) | e-mail post

Fruit From Our Friends

Filed under: Too Beautiful to Live

Our table is now piled with sweets -- three different kinds of cupcakes, plus donuts and a pair of cheesecakes. Now, thanks to our friends at WNYC's Takeaway, we've got healthy food, too. They sent us fruit, lovely fruit. Thanks, guys. Keep the faith.

Laura Conaway

9:48 AM ET | 07-25-2008 | permalink | comments (5) | e-mail post

The Final Stage Of Grief: Acceptance

Filed under: The Best Song In The World Today, Too Beautiful to Live

When Web editor Laura Conaway proposed doing a mashup of the five stages of grief with the "Best Song in the World Today," I immediately called dibs on stage five: acceptance. It probably wasn't my smartest move, as it turns out. I thought I was well into acceptance, and then found that in the middle of doing the segment I couldn't even talk. Apparently that's the big misconception about Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's groundbreaking research. You don't just move through the stages in order. You go back through them again and again, and you never really finish.

I want to reiterate that I do have a sense of perspective and that although this is a profound loss for me -- personally and financially -- it's not all that bad in the grand scheme of things. We are all healthy people, we have the ability to work elsewhere, we will all be just fine.

But to help us accept the loss of the show and the Web experience we all loved (I mean ACTUALLY LOVED -- how rare is that?) I picked the song "Smile Smile Smile" by Dan Zanes. It's about loving simple things about other people, and about how that love ripples and expands and eventually circles the world. Enjoy.

Tricia McKinney

9:03 AM ET | 07-25-2008 | permalink | comments (23) | e-mail post

A Toast to the Bryant Park Project

Filed under: Too Beautiful to Live

As the BPP posse wraps up its final show, I just wanted to hijack their blog for a moment and ask all of you to raise a glass and join me in a toast.

From start to finish, through thick and thin, the Bryant Park Project team has been innovative, entertaining, informative and a class act. You've created more than a show, more than a community - you've created a family, and for that I thank each and every one of you.

Cheers, BPP, and thank you again - it won't be the same here without you.

Andy Carvin

8:42 AM ET | 07-25-2008 | permalink | comments (52) | e-mail post

Before The Atom Split

Filed under: Too Beautiful to Live

The wonderful Revolution 21 fired over this clip from our earliest, earliest days.

Laura Conaway

6:07 AM ET | 07-25-2008 | permalink | comments (8) | e-mail post

LInkfest: New Zealand Judge Changes Girl's Name

Filed under: Links From the Show

A family court judge in Wellington, New Zealand, made Talula Does the Hula a ward of the court so that her name could be changed. "Violence" is still permissible as a first name.

It's the BPP's Most.

Why McCain and Obama are causing marital tension / An epic Bill Gates e-mail rant / Northern lights mystery exposed / A germ-zapper's guide to clean / Fan injured, 17 ejected in Ohio baseball brawl

Laura Silver

6:04 AM ET | 07-25-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Linkfest: Vultures Perch on Hospital Windowsills

Filed under: Links From the Show

Vultures at a Milwaukee hospital are peering into patients' rooms -- and preying on their peace of mind.

It's the BPP's Ramble.

The Top Ten Myths in FBI History / Scrabulous isn't playing fair, says Scrabble maker / Don't ask tourists age or wage, China warns

Laura Silver

6:04 AM ET | 07-25-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

The Rundown for Friday

Filed under: Tomorrow's BPP

Meena Ramamurthy

3:49 PM ET | 07-24-2008 | permalink | comments (21) | e-mail post

Beyond Protest: George Horner's Poster Campaign

Filed under: Slideshow

Click to view

Photos courtesy of George Horner

 

After walking by these pithy posters for seven years, I finally slipped a note under the door asking the poster maker to get in touch. George Horner e-mailed me and invited me to see his collection, from the inside.

Laura Silver

1:58 PM ET | 07-24-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Where To Find Us Now

Filed under: Too Beautiful to Live

Over the next few days, we'll be packing up the Bryant Park Project. The last broadcast is Friday morning. As for the other parts of the show:

The last blog post happens on Friday. BPP friend and NPR guy Andy Carvin has agreed to handle comments through the end of Monday, wherever you are.

The Facebook page will remain live. The main Twitter stream will freeze at some point on Friday. Twitter.com/bppdiner will stay live, collecting updates that mention "BPP." We'll also watch for replies through Summize.

And now, thanks to Rob Paterson, we're building a whole new town. It's on Ning, it's free, and all the cool BPP kids are doing it.

Blink three times and we'll have a staff blog. We'll post it on Ning and Facebook and the Twitter Diner account, so you'll know where we are.

But remember, you were always a part of the show. And you still are. Keep the lights on, will ya?

After the jump, a list of places to find BPP staff and friends.

Continue reading "Where To Find Us Now" »

Laura Conaway

12:38 PM ET | 07-24-2008 | permalink | comments (28) | e-mail post

The Writing On The Walls

Filed under: Video

Those scrawls on the wall and glimpses of art on the street corner are looking for a new home, and New York's Alphabeta is giving it to them. Awhile ago, I went out with reporter Margot Adler to this graffiti shop that's going beyond selling spraypaint and into creating a community space. The result is a place where graffiti and live art collide. Curious? Check out Margot's story, and this video:

Meena Ramamurthy

12:22 PM ET | 07-24-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Help The 'BPP': Come Party With Us

Filed under: Too Beautiful to Live

The cure: friends, plus finely crafted anaesthetics

iStockPhoto.com

 

We're holding a Tweet-up, which is the 2.0 way of saying we're gathering in a bar with anyone willing to be seen with us.

It's happening Friday, July 25, the last day of our show. We're meeting at 6 p.m. (sharpish) at D.B.A. in the East Village. We'll probably be there until 9, maybe 9:30.

The bar's at 41 First Avenue in Manhattan, between 2nd and 3rd streets. Subway directions here. We'll be the unemployed ones. You'll know us when you see us.

Laura Conaway

11:09 AM ET | 07-24-2008 | permalink | comments (40) | e-mail post

I Made You A Tape

Filed under: Too Beautiful to Live

You know when you're miserable or happy, every song sounds like it was written about you? I've spent a lot of time in my record collection since NPR told me it wanted to just be friends last week, and I'm finding every song has a little something to say about it.

This made doing my Best Song in the World Today pretty hard. There were a lot of contenders that didn't make the cut. I pulled a few aside, and here you go: a tiny breakup mixtape.

1)As Long as You Tell Him -- Faces
2)I'd Rather Go Blind -- Etta James
3)It's Raining -- Irma Thomas
4)Only Love Can Break Your Heart -- Neal Young

What's your sad song?

Ian Chillag

9:13 AM ET | 07-24-2008 | permalink | comments (11) | e-mail post

Listener Checks In: Cerealize the BPP

Filed under: Too Beautiful to Live

Wait a minute, Mr. Postman.

From DMOtech

 

You want to know why we love you so much? Check out this post from listener Daniel O'Toole.

Laura Conaway

6:53 AM ET | 07-24-2008 | permalink | comments (28) | e-mail post

Linkfest: Your Memory May Be Too Good

Filed under: Links From the Show

Not being able to find your stuff may be a sign of having a extra-large memory, according to doctors Mike Roizen and Mehmet Oz.

It's the BPP's Most.

Police: Man stole Miami-Dade buses, drove them on routes / Army orders Lions draft pick Campbell to return to service / Dump your lover directly on voice mail / Who made the potato salad? on Google Trends

Laura Silver

5:40 AM ET | 07-24-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Linkfest: Pet Rabbit Saves Couple From Fire

Filed under: Links From the Show

In Melbourne, Australia, a pet rabbit named Rabbit saved his owners from a house fire that leveled their home.

It's the BPP's Ramble.

50 Cent sues Taco Bell over ad campaign / Slow food savors its big moment / 'Pantyhose Bandit' causes sheer annoyance in Mass. /

Laura Silver

5:39 AM ET | 07-24-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

"I got one LAST thing to say!"

Filed under: Too Beautiful to Live

That's how Bruce Springsteen introduces "Raise Your Hand" on the greatest box set ever released, Live 1975-1985. He then goes on to sing:

If there's something you need
That you just don't have
Well just don't sit there
Feeling bad
Come on now get up
Try and understand
Just raise your hand

Well BPP fans new and old, and young and old, you've certainly done that.

I want to first apologize for being largely M.I.A. online since this maelstrom hit. The truth is, the outpouring of affection for our show has been surprising to the whole BPP crew, and while some understandably take comfort in knowing this thing was really reaching people, I've found it more maddening than anything. It's even harder to handle being cancelled when you're faced with so many reminders that you were succeeding.

Working on a radio show is strange in a way, because you never see your audience. Sometimes friends ask me, "Don't you get nervous when you go on the air?" And I always respond, "No. Because I convince myself nobody's listening." (Why would going into a room and talking to your friends make you nervous?) But thanks to the wonders of the interwebs, the studio wall, like so many others, is coming down. And I just want to say thanks to everyone who's written so many nice things about the show, especially Shelley Bishop, who named a baby chick after me. (It's not her firstborn son, but she did promise not to eat it, so I can't complain.)

Although the weight of the BPP's cancellation is heavy, I'm cheering myself up by looking forward to this Sunday, when I'm going to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in Giants Stadium, in New Jersey. All music fans remember their first concert, and mine was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in Giants Stadium, in New Jersey...in 1985. I was eight.

For those of you who aren't lucky enough to be going to the show, I promise to post a full recap and review on the new site Monday morning. (You didn't think a little cancellation would stop us, did you?) For now, enjoy Bruce and the boys back in the day performing "Raise Your Hand." They have other songs I love more, but this one sure seems applicable right now, especially about 2:30 into the video. And it got my booty shaking...

Dan Pashman

7:03 PM ET | 07-23-2008 | permalink | comments (7) | e-mail post

Dr. Dog Joins the BPP

Filed under: Music

Philly indie rock band Dr. Dog stopped by last week to chat and play songs from their new album, "Fate." We played a portion of the interview on the show today, but since the BPP's time is short, we didn't have space for the whole thing. Here's the full Dr. Dog interview, with an additional song performance that didn't air today:

Stream the entire new album on the band's MySpace page.

Dan Pashman

11:02 AM ET | 07-23-2008 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

I Guess We Can't Work It Out

Filed under: The Best Song In The World Today, Too Beautiful to Live

Let's make a deal.

iStock

 

We're in the middle of our last week here at the BPP and at stage three in the Kubler-Ross model of grieving -- bargaining. Today on the show, I talked about hoping that we could find a way to keep this show alive. So many of you have shared your suggestions and strategies for saving the BPP this week , and it's nice to know you are feeling the same sort of desperation I'm dealing with. Unfortunately for all us, yesterday we did get an official answer from NPR's interim CEO Dennis Haarsager, and it wasn't what we were hoping for. He is the official and final word from NPR, but still you never know. I mean it could happen, they could change their minds....right?

Caitlin Kenney

9:33 AM ET | 07-23-2008 | permalink | comments (37) | e-mail post

Linkfest: Glue Used to Protest Climate Change

Filed under: Links From the Show

A man tries to attach himself to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, using glue during a handshake. It didn't stick.

It's the BPP's Most.

Break-in suspects found asleep on stolen goods / South County men who lit friend's crotch on fire are sentenced / Exiling the Happy Meal / 'Allah meat' astounds Nigerians / WNBA fight leads to four ejections

Laura Silver

6:07 AM ET | 07-23-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Linkfest: Top Flatulist Rises to New Heights

Filed under: Links From the Show

Mr. Methane is the top performer in a highly specialized arena. Our editor Tricia McKinney has a soft spot for his rare art.

It's the BPP's Ramble.

Hip-hop star Nas protests FOX News 'Obama smears' / Last-Ditch Resort: Move Polar Bears to Antarctica?

Laura Silver

6:05 AM ET | 07-23-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

NPR CEO Responds To The 'BPP' Crowd

Filed under: Too Beautiful to Live

NPR's interim CEO, Dennis Haarsager, sent this post for our blog. He writes:

Thanks to everyone who has voiced support for the Bryant Park Project on this blog and elsewhere. We have read almost all of these letters and postings (I've personally read about a third of the blog comments). I have asked the BPP staff to permit me to use this space to respond to many of your questions and concerns, and offer more insight into our decision and where we are headed.

First, let me wholeheartedly agree with your high praise for the BPP staff. They are a team of smart, creative journalists who have delivered compelling programming every day. I want to specifically mention Alison Stewart, one of the finest hosts in broadcasting today; executive producer Sharon Hoffman; and senior supervising producer Matt Martinez. They are some of the most talented people I have ever encountered in broadcasting and they have done a great job of presenting news in a different way and in building loyalty among all of you in a short period of time. They have my gratitude and the respect of this entire organization.

Continue reading "NPR CEO Responds To The 'BPP' Crowd" »

Laura Conaway

3:20 PM ET | 07-22-2008 | permalink | comments (117) | e-mail post

NPR CEO Has Something to Say

Filed under: Too Beautiful to Live

According to the blog of NPR's interim CEO, someone on our staff asked whether we could continue the Bryant Park Project as a website. CEO Dennis Haarsager responds:

"In this case, radio carriage was inadequate and web/podcasting usage was hampered -- here's the relearning part -- by having an appointment program in a medium that doesn't excel in that kind of usage. . . .

"I'd like to see good minds like those of the BPP staff think about how we can do good journalism delivered via the web using techniques beyond just throwing up another portal-type web site and expecting people to come to it. Our new open API release is a great tool for that. The realities of how people use the web, how web audiences grow through search, and technologies for tracking attention and tailoring content delivery to match how people spend their attention all need to be considered. Portals still have a place, just as their close cousins radio transmitters do, but we can no longer put all our eggs in that basket.

"NPR will, I hope, be a leader in a new generation of news delivery over multiple platforms, including ones we've never conceived. But we can't make those 2nd generation investments if we continue 1st generation efforts that aren't consistent with what we know about how media usage is maturing."

Laura Conaway

2:06 PM ET | 07-22-2008 | permalink | comments (37) | e-mail post

Wednesday's Rundown

Filed under: Tomorrow's BPP

Meena Ramamurthy

12:52 PM ET | 07-22-2008 | permalink | comments (7) | e-mail post

Art: Out Of -- And Inspired By -- Africa

Filed under: Slideshow

Click to watch

Images courtesy of the Studio Museum in Harlem

 

Naomi Beckwith, assistant curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem, came to our studio to talk about Flow, an exhibition that showcases the work and world views of 20 Africa-affiliated artists on five continents.

Laura Silver

12:13 PM ET | 07-22-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Philadelphia BYOB: Now That's Brotherly Love

Filed under: City Living

The joy of 'bringing your own.'

 

If you're like me, you might think that having a cocktail with dinner is a nice way to complement a meal, and set a relaxing tone at the table. Can you imagine, then, how relaxing things could get if the dinner table held a full honkin' bottle of tequila? Now try to picture a city full of restaurants that encourage just such a scene.

That's the situation I found myself in during a recent visit to Philadelphia, where BYOB is a common motto at many of the city's small, and reliably good, restaurants. There's even a map of them. When I asked what's up with the BYOB style, many people said liquor licenses were too hard to get/too expensive for many new restaurants. But city laws let people bring their own booze.

So, they do. And, at a cozy yet stylish spot called Lolita, we did, too. Here was the drill: we got on the 30-minute wait list for a table. We walked around some -- and visited the liquor store around the corner, where a bottle of tequila was procured.
At Lolita, the waiter ran through their different fresh margarita mixes for the night. We picked blood orange-mint-lime, at $13. Our server brought the pitcher and two salted glasses of ice to the table, where our bottle awaited. He poured about a quarter of the booze into the pitcher and withdrew.

We tried it -- and it was great. But, we agreed, it needed just a bit more of the good stuff. Which, conveniently, was right at hand.

Bill Chappell

11:29 AM ET | 07-22-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Pitchfork Explains The 'Black Kids' Backtrack

Filed under: Music

These dogs have bad news for Black Kids.

Image: Pitchfork Media

 

Very early this morning, before we did the show, the music website Pitchforkmedia.com posted today's reviews, leading with the debut album, Partie Traumatic, from the Florida band Black Kids.

When I logged on at 6:30 a.m., the site's front page showed a link to the review with the curious tease "Everybody makes mistakes." The review itself was sharper. The site gave the album a lowest-possible 0.0 (Pitchfork scores records up to 10.0) along with a photo of two small dogs and the caption "Sorry :-/" as the only written commentary.

Slightly funny, slightly mean. Then things got interesting. Some time between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m., the review, which is credited to Pitchfork editor-in-chief Scott Plagenhoef, got a facelift. The front page tease now reads as follows:

"After a well-received EP, Jacksonville's Black Kids release a Bernard Butler-produced debut that surprisingly hit the top 5 in the UK."

The score was changed from 0.0 to 3.3.

Continue reading "Pitchfork Explains The 'Black Kids' Backtrack" »

Jacob Ganz

10:09 AM ET | 07-22-2008 | permalink | comments (13) | e-mail post

Of Magic Markers And Glass Ceilings

Filed under: City Living, Stuff We Love

Seen in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn

 

Found this sign after the event and had trouble envisioning what a "gender equality festival" might entail. Tests of strength? Karate training? Automatic salary increases?

Looks like it had a more positive spin. Plus, it's part of year-round programming by a local nonprofit.

Laura Silver

9:30 AM ET | 07-22-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Anger, Thy Name Is Me

Filed under: The Best Song In The World Today, Too Beautiful to Live

We're winding down the final days of the BPP, and we're marking the time by taking you through each of the five stages of grief, in the form of our regular feature, The Best Song in the World Today. Yesterday we did denial. Today it's Anger. That was a tough straw for me to draw, since I'm hoping to get a good reference from NPR. But here's what I came up with:

Dan Pashman

8:13 AM ET | 07-22-2008 | permalink | comments (8) | e-mail post

Fourteen People Set Loose To Find Stories

Filed under: Stuff We Love, Too Beautiful to Live

Louisiana's capital city

From AbandonedBatonRouge

 

One of the crazy things about working at the Bryant Park Project is that we get (got?) to dream. Maybe you were tied to your desk more than you wanted, but you could see the day coming when you'd be able to go out with a camera and a recorder and bring back the amazing story that had been keeping you up at night.

The crazy thing about leaving the Bryant Park Project is that we still have those dreams, the exact same ones.

Today, thanks to Twitter pal @revolution_21, I give you Abandoned Baton Rouge, a loving photo chronicle of what's happening in Louisiana's capital city. It's not pretty. But it is worth losing sleep over.

Check it out:
Abandoned Baton Rouge
Revolution 21

Plus:
The Motorless City

Laura Conaway

7:13 AM ET | 07-22-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Linkfest: When Your Pedicurist Is A Fish

Filed under: Links From the Show

Customers at a Washington D.C.-area salon can have their feet pampered by tiny carp called doctor fish.

It's the BPP's Most.

Feds: Philly ex-anchor hacked colleague's e-mail / Hybrid cars pose risk to blind, visually impaired / Inside Track: A Monster dispute is licked / Google trends: 4chan

Laura Silver

5:32 AM ET | 07-22-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Linkfest: Woman Saves Thousands Of Nepalese Girls

Filed under: Links From the Show

Olga Murray of Sausalito, Calif., used her knowledge of Nepalese culture to help girls there avoid a life of indentured servitude. She convinced their families to earn money by raising piglets.

It's the BPP's Ramble.

Man has been paying rent to false landlord / Swimming pools at foreclosed houses become mosquitoes' home / A product's place is on the set / Woman's idea saves thousands of Nepalese girls

Laura Silver

5:31 AM ET | 07-22-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Tuesday's Rundown

Filed under: Tomorrow's BPP

Win Rosenfeld

2:36 PM ET | 07-21-2008 | permalink | comments (15) | e-mail post

Stages of Grief For The 'BPP': Denial

Filed under: The Best Song In The World Today, Too Beautiful to Live

A denial, a denial, a denial

Getty Images

 

In our last week at the Byrant Park Project, we're using music to move through the stages of grief as defined by Dr. Elizabeth Kubler Ross.

Today, I took the first one, denial, for which I played Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." It's a song that seems to be maybe just a mess of feelings until the very end, when Kurt Cobain sings, "a denial, a denial, a denial."

Now, as I'm listening to people around me prepping for their segments, I'm struck by how many songs could fit the bill. I think someone suggested "Walking on Sunshine" as an alternate for denial. Let's make a playlist. The stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Hit the comments, please.

Laura Conaway

8:27 AM ET | 07-21-2008 | permalink | comments (46) | e-mail post

Clearly Closed

Filed under: Stuff We Love

From Clearly Closed

 

I heart this: a blog of closed shops displaying open signs. Reminds me of Not Fooling Anybody, a beloved-by-me website of repurposed fast food joints.

Props Neatorama.

Ian Chillag

6:50 AM ET | 07-21-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Linkfest: Beijing Cuts Back on Car Traffic

Filed under: Links From the Show

Beijing has instituted alternate driving days based on even and odd license plate numbers. It's part of an effort to crack down on the city's oppressive pollution in advance of the Olympic Games.

It's the BPP's Ramble.

Fallon Will Start 'Late Night' on the Web / Treasure in the trash: $20K earrings found in NYC / World Series? Buy now, pray later

Laura Silver

5:21 AM ET | 07-21-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Linkfest: Jobs That Rake In The Big Bucks

Filed under: Links From the Show

Surgeons, CEOs and air-traffic controllers top the income charts.

It's the BPP's Most.

More seniors finding love online, but skipping remarriage / Brenda back on 90210 / Dying art form is alive and well

Laura Silver

5:21 AM ET | 07-21-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

The Rundown For Monday

Filed under: Tomorrow's BPP

Meena Ramamurthy

1:36 PM ET | 07-18-2008 | permalink | comments (15) | e-mail post

The Weirdest End To Maternity Leave

Filed under: Maternity Leave, Too Beautiful to Live

Back in the chair, briefly.

Zena Barakat/NPR

 

The last time I was this surprised, Journey was cut off mid-lyric.

If you asked me a few weeks ago what my final maternity leave blog post would cover, I might have said the anxiety of leaving the cub, excitement about getting back to a job I love and/or lessons I learned in the past 12 weeks.

So it is odd to write about returning to the workforce for only one week. That's it.

So much of my energy has been spent preparing for my new life -- from finding baby sitters to buying breast pumps. I never thought I would have to be prepared to face the big question of "What should I do next?" I'm still working on that one.

I will confess that a few weeks ago I though, "Wow, I wish I had a little more time at home with Isaac." Ah, the cliche is true -- be careful what you wish for.

Have you ever gotten what you wanted, in an unexpected and maybe even unwanted way?

See you Monday.

Alison Stewart

12:33 PM ET | 07-18-2008 | permalink | comments (21) | e-mail post

Pesca Makes The 'BPP' A Valentine

Filed under: Too Beautiful to Live

As was always the plan, I'm going back to reporting for NPR -- all sports all the time, which I'm very excited about.

For the past couple of days, we've all been remembering the BPP as a great media experiment. Let's not forget that it was, at times, a great radio show to listen to, and at all times, a truly fun radio show to work on. The writer Chris Hedges, who covered many wars for the New York Times, pointed out that combatants don't fight for the policymakers, or the generals, or God, or country or the flag. For the most part, they fight for the guy to the left of them and the guy to the right of them.

In some businesses, like Wall Street trading, "going to war" metaphors abound, but you don't hear them so much at NPR. Still, Hedges' point holds here. What drives you to wake up at 3:30 a.m., and be a somewhat absentee dad, and put in 12-hour days, and really, really care that the people of Vincennes aren't bored in the morning -- you can chalk that up to professionalism and commitment, sure, but it's mostly due to the people you work with.

With the BPP folks in mind, I put together an audio valentine of some of my favorite moments on and off the air. It does go on a little too long, and at times the references and connections are obscure, which makes it a good reflection of me. Also, if you get really bored in the middle, you can start listening for the brief Terry Gross cameo. Thanks, BPP. There was so much joy in what we did.

Mike Pesca

10:25 AM ET | 07-18-2008 | permalink | comments (39) | e-mail post

Give Me Liberty ... Or Merchandising

Filed under: City Living, Stuff We Don't Love

No offense to the home team.

 

The red carpet for the All-Star Game parade on Sixth Avenue is long gone, but 42 commemorative eight-and-a-half foot statues of liberty are still hanging around Manhattan.

I mistook the first one I saw for one of those street performers who paint themselves pale green and strike the pose for hours. Only this one was red. I thought it might be a political commentary -- Liberty on fire, Liberty gone awry -- but when I got closer, I noticed that this crowned lady really didn't budge at all. Plus, she was slightly larger than human scale. And made in China.That's one detail that Major League Baseball's site neglected to mention in its open letter to the people of France.

People of New York -- or anywhere else -- who like the statues can take home a nine-inch replica for $24.99.

Don't get me wrong. I like the idea of multicolored statuettes, a la Ivan Chermayeff's 1974 poster for the Museum of Immigration at the Statue of Liberty. The larger-than-life Statues of Liberty on Parade smack more of commercialism than freedom of expression. I can't help equating them with the "Cows on Parade" that grazed New York streets in 2000.

But maybe I'm just carrying a torch for the Lady of the Harbor.

Laura Silver

9:42 AM ET | 07-18-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Your Big Suburban House Is Making You Miserable

Filed under: City Living

Humans think they'd prefer a bigger house in the suburbs over a smaller place in the city, and never mind the commute. The latest science says they're wrong.

Laura Conaway

8:53 AM ET | 07-18-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Woman Finds Python In Washing Machine

Filed under: News

From the Portland, Maine, Press Herald:

A Gorham woman got the shock of her life when she found an 8-foot snake mixed in with clothes in her washing machine. The snake, identified as a reticulated python, somehow got into the water pipes of Mara Ranger's 1800s-era farmhouse and slithered into the machine.

After Ranger took her blue jeans out of the machine Wednesday, she reached back into the load and felt something move. "I jumped back and all of sudden its head starts coming out of the washing machine and it looked huge," Ranger told WMTW-TV.

Laura Conaway

7:27 AM ET | 07-18-2008 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

Linkfest: Terrorism Funds May Let Brass Fly In Style

Filed under: Links From the Show

For three years, the Air Force's top leadership sought to spend counterterrorism funds on "comfort capsules" that are installed on military planes that ferry senior officers and civilian leaders around the world.

It's the BPP's Most.

San Francisco most walkable U.S. city, website says / W.Va. warns against 'clean hands' poster scam / North Korea's "Hotel of Doom" wakes from its coma / Starbucks names all 600 stores to be closed

Laura Silver

7:16 AM ET | 07-18-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Reverse Graffiti: Making Pictures By Cleaning

Filed under: City Living

File this artist under people we'd try to meet if we weren't down to our last few grains of sand. His name's Moose, and he makes graffiti by stripping the grime away from city walls. You'll have to meet him for yourself, here and at the Reverse Graffiti Project.

Laura Conaway

6:32 AM ET | 07-18-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

The Rundown for Friday

Filed under: Tomorrow's BPP

Meena Ramamurthy

12:13 PM ET | 07-17-2008 | permalink | comments (12) | e-mail post

Out Of The Frying Pan, Onto The Blog

Filed under: City Living, What I Made for Dinner

Lettuce okra-tain you.

 

Sad times here at the BPP.

There's still a good serving of fun stuff in the works, but it's tough to face the fact that a lot of those back burner ideas just won't come to fruition this time around.

Here's one thing (in fact the only thing) that was cooking on my stove last night -- that famed piece of Brooklyn-grown okra, pictured here with other spoils from my window box.

Continue reading "Out Of The Frying Pan, Onto The Blog" »

Laura Silver

10:15 AM ET | 07-17-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Alison Checks In: The Diaper Dilemma

Filed under: Maternity Leave

Ch-ch-ch-changes.

 

In an effort not to add more plastic to landfills -- to shrink our "carbon buttprint," if you will -- I have tried many different eco-diapers in the past 10 weeks. I have also experienced wet onesies, biblical blowouts and one incident so bad that a T-shirt of mine will never be worn again.

I tried the award-winning Swedish nappies that claimed to be "100% natural-based back sheet, 100% natural distribution layer, 100% compostable consumer packaging." I found them about 100% likely to lead to an unfortunate surprise. I tried the "no gel" that I had to change about every 45 minutes -- and frankly, they were enormous. I mean, Isaac looked like something was wrong with him when he wore them.

Of the five eco-friendly brands I've tried, Ike has managed to lay waste to them all. Pardon the pun.

As with many things in life, I arrived at a compromise. During the week, I opted for an environmentally friendly diaper that doesn't promise to create clean fuel or patch the ozone. The company doesn't use chlorine -- unlike mainstream brands and cloth services. These diapers aren't pretty, but they use a minimal amount of plastic. On the weekends, I have started to incorporate the hybrid diaper we discussed on the show -- it means more work and more changes, so it's better for less hectic days.

Did you ever have great plans to be a crusader for a cause, only to have reality overwhelm your good intentions?

Alison Stewart

9:55 AM ET | 07-17-2008 | permalink | comments (22) | e-mail post

I Wanna Be a Superhero

Filed under: Stuff We Love

When I grow up I want to be...

iStock

 

The new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, comes out on Friday and ever since Christian Bale walked by my desk on his way into the studio the other day -- I've got Batman on the brain.

Today on the show we talked to E. Paul Zehr, associate professor of kinesiology and neuroscience at the University of Victoria, about whether or not a mere mortal could actually become Batman. Zehr has a book coming out in the fall on exactly that topic: Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Superhero.

Bob Kane, who drew the character in 1939, said he purposefully designed Batman without superpowers. "Every person that doesn't have superpowers could relate to Batman a lot easier than they could to Superman -- in other words you didn't have to come from another planet to be a superhero, " Kane told Fresh Air in 1990. "All you had to do was be born rich and build your body to perfection and have the urge to go out and fight crime."

Right, just that, easy enough ... or not. Zehr says becoming Batman would mean a ton of workouts, until your body resembled a decathlete's. "You could think of examples -- Navy Seals where you have these guys with this extreme sort of deadly intent and training," Zehr says.

Becoming Batman certainly wouldn't be easy or cheap, but I'd like to think his abilities are realistic enough to give every little kid something to dream about.

Caitlin Kenney

9:49 AM ET | 07-17-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Linkfest: Balloons Part of Suicide Evidence

Filed under: Links From the Show

Balloons carried a gun away at the scene where a Red Lobster executive killed himself.

It's the BPP's Most.

Submarine, homemade and cocaine-laden, is seized off Mexico / Oscar Diaz hospitalized after losing consciousness during Wednesday Night Fight on ESPN / Espresso, extra bitter: Man's tiff with barista spills onto internet / Real estate agents use food treats to lure home buyers

Laura Silver

5:32 AM ET | 07-17-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Linkfest: NASA Asks Workers to Donate Urine

Filed under: Links From the Show

Preparations for the new Orion space capsule include figuring out how to get rid of stored urine.
NASA is asking its workers to contribute a total of 8 gallons a day.

It's the BPP's Ramble.

Vikings deny tampering with Favre / ABBA star's devastating memory loss: Remembers little of his fame

Laura Silver

5:31 AM ET | 07-17-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

The Rundown for Thursday

Filed under: Tomorrow's BPP

Meena Ramamurthy

3:54 PM ET | 07-16-2008 | permalink | comments (9) | e-mail post

The Ramble! The Second Hour!

Filed under: Too Beautiful to Live

On this morning's show, Matt Martinez revealed what happened to the Ramble and the show's second hour. One of them is coming back; the other he explains -- just press play.

Meanwhile, for those of you determined to consider resurrecting the Bryant Park Project, I give you new media guru/BPP friend Rob Paterson. He's at least having fun with the exercise.

Laura Conaway

2:07 PM ET | 07-16-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

The "Dr. Horrible" Love Train

Filed under: Stuff We Love

Mutant Enemy Productions

I've been meaning to get to the latest, possibly over-hyped, big thing on the Web since it went live yesterday -- Joss Whedon's "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," the Web-exclusive three-part musical. I just took 13 minutes to watch the first episode, and I have to say I'm on the love train.

If you want to learn about the musical, check out the coverage on the L.A. Times webscout blog. I can't tell you any better.

But what I CAN tell you is that once upon a time, when I was in a completely different line of work, I was the assistant dramaturg on a play starring one Neil Patrick Harris. This was back in 1993, right after Doogie Howser and before he appeared in one of my favorite flicks. It was also well before he revealed his comic genius with his cameo in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.

I didn't get to contribute very much to the play, but I did get to watch Harris work, and I have been singing his praises ever since. He revealed a sure, instinctive talent for comedy, especially the type that I consider the highest form--physical comedy. Neil Patrick Harris is a wonderful pratfaller. He and I didn't get to talk all that much, but when we did, we talked about comedy.

I couldn't be happier that his career is going well. Watch Dr. Horrible, (the next episode goes live tomorrow) and maybe he'll make more musicals!

Tricia McKinney

1:51 PM ET | 07-16-2008 | permalink | comments (15) | e-mail post

Hey! Anya Ulinich Has Something To Say

Filed under: Book Club

Anya Ulinich

OK, so our talk with Anya Ulinich, author of Petropolis, aired on Monday -- and as you may remember, that was the day we learned some pretty grim news on the BPP. So we're a little late in getting up a blog post about the latest, and last, selection of the BPP Book Club.

But it would be a pity to let this marvelous interview with this remarkable writer go unblogged.

Ulinich discusses the American love of self and defends her characters in the face of questioning from Rebecca from Berlin. She also talks about writing in a language not her own -- English feels like "Lego bricks," as opposed to the "undifferentiated goo" of her native Russian.

The author proves to be as smart and funny and perceptive as her book. Listen to the interview. And if you haven't already, read the book. It's never too late to join this club.

Sarah Goodyear

12:10 PM ET | 07-16-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

For The Love Of A Ghost Bike

Filed under: City Living

Larry Boes, right, hugs the late David Smith's partner, John Moody, after decorating Smith's Ghost bike.

Courtesy of John Moody

 

Larry Boes rides a bike in New York City. He's gay. And he lost a partner to AIDS. When he read that a gay bike rider had been killed a few blocks from his house, Boes volunteered to look after his memorial Ghost Bike.

"As an out gay man, it wasn't just someone taking care of the bike," Boes says. "It was somebody who wanted to. I think that's what we should do. If two communities cross, the bike community and any other community, it says, 'Get involved.' "

For Boes, that has meant decorating the bike on holidays. It has also meant digging through the trash for the name plate that identifies it as a commemoration of David Smith, age 65. For whatever reason, people have taken to pulling the plaque off and kicking in the tires.

Laura Conaway

8:42 AM ET | 07-16-2008 | permalink | comments (19) | e-mail post

Soundcheck Never Sounded So Good

Filed under: Music, Video

The band Headlights hails from Champaign, Illinois, but we met them at Brooklyn's Union Hall. We were first attracted to their boy-girl harmonies and full sound. The press notes namecheck Phil Spector and his 60s doo-wop groups, and we hear some classic mid-90s indie rock bands in their sound as well - but were happy to discover that they're five of the nicest people we could have hoped to meet. The music's pretty great, too. Check out their performance of "School Boys" from their album Some Racing, Some Stopping.

Zena Barakat

8:10 AM ET | 07-16-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Linkfest: Mister Softee Files Trademark Infringement Suit

Filed under: Links From the Show

The soft-serve ice cream operation is getting hard on competitors who use its jingle. The company that spawned the Conehead mascot is filing a federal suit against three ice-cream vendors.

It's the BPP's Most.

Bad dancing draws suspicion, pot charges / Denton pizza employee: Surprised to see dad when wig falls off robber / More farmers switching to sewage

Laura Silver

6:55 AM ET | 07-16-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

The Rundown for Wednesday

Filed under: Tomorrow's BPP

Meena Ramamurthy

3:36 PM ET | 07-15-2008 | permalink | comments (13) | e-mail post

Just 'Stache It.

Filed under: Luncheonette, Stuff We Love, Too Beautiful to Live

I am procrastinating. I should be finding a job right now, but I'm looking at my friend's brilliant blog about edible moustaches. Who is my friend? She goes by the pseudonym Prudence Smithfield, and her blog co-conspirators are Cornelius Honeycutt and Dorcas Porkbutt.

Asked why they created this blog, Prudence says:

"We, at porkmoustache, felt that the history of edible moustaches had been left out of the history books for far too long and it was high time that the world's comestible lip hair found its way to fame."

I agree.

Zena Barakat

11:46 AM ET | 07-15-2008 | permalink | comments (5) | e-mail post

Dawn Of A New Day

Filed under: City Living, Personal/Private, Too Beautiful to Live

Looks even better from a bike.

 

There's a certain Zen to the pre-dawn commute. Empty streets, birds chirping, a sense of victory at having beat the masses.

I'm a lifelong New Yorker (translation: jaded curmudgeon) but in these early-morning moments, the city often wins me back.

A shorter BPP means a later start time. I got to leave my house when it was light out and rode my bike up the spine of Sixth Avenue, past the sites of chance encounters and old jobs.

Continue reading "Dawn Of A New Day" »

Laura Silver

7:47 AM ET | 07-15-2008 | permalink | comments (18) | e-mail post

Linkfest: Olive Garden Gals Grace Playboy.com

Filed under: Links From the Show

An Olive Garden hostess and five servers are featured in an online pictorial from Playboy.com. "The Girls of Olive Garden" is the brainchild of Hugh Hefner's girlfriend.

It's the BPP's Most.

Hamilton: Addict to cleanup man / Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman end 5-year romance / No trace of cougar, no evidence of attack / Dog or lion? Beast loose in El Paso County

Laura Silver

7:04 AM ET | 07-15-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

The Rundown for Tuesday

Filed under: Tomorrow's BPP

Meena Ramamurthy

2:44 PM ET | 07-14-2008 | permalink | comments (25) | e-mail post

Customer Service

Filed under: Too Beautiful to Live

Thank you, all of you, for the blog comments you've posted in support of the show. We've been reading all of them... and I can't overstate what it's meant to us on a profoundly sad day. As fans of this show know, we are passionate believers in what we've been doing here, and it's heartening to see that you all got it.

A lot of you have asked where you can write to register your unhappiness with NPR's decision. Here's the answer: Go to npr.org/contact/. Click on the "I want to contact a program" option and pick Bryant Park in the drop-down menu. I've been assured that NPR has set up a special folder for these so they'll be separated quickly from the rest of the audience e-mail and directed to the right person. Don't send it to "contact an NPR office/management," since it will go into the general pool of incoming mail and will take longer to be forwarded.

You can also write to our Ombudsman, Alicia Shepard. She can be reached here.

Sharon Hoffman

1:49 PM ET | 07-14-2008 | permalink | comments (68) | e-mail post

What's Next For The 'BPP'

Filed under: Too Beautiful to Live

Write your own caption.

iStockPhoto.com

 

We are still absorbing the news of our untimely demise. We will still produce new shows for the next two weeks, and we'll keep on blogging and twittering. We may also dip into the Best of the BPP, stuff we're really proud of.

If there's anything you want to hear, let us know in the comments, will you?

Tricia McKinney

11:14 AM ET | 07-14-2008 | permalink | comments (128) | e-mail post

NYT: NPR Is Canceling The 'BPP'

Filed under: Too Beautiful to Live

UPDATE: How to write to NPR.

-----------------------

This just in, from the New York Times:

National Public Radio officials are expected on Monday to tell the staff members of "Bryant Park Project" that their experimental weekday morning program, designed to draw a younger audience to public radio and capture listeners who had moved online, is being canceled.

The last broadcast of this New York-based program, which many listeners tuned into at npr.org rather than over the air, is expected to be on July 25. It's an expensive failure -- the first-year budget was more than $2 million -- and comes at a time when NPR is facing the same financial constraints as other news media thanks to higher costs and a downturn in underwriting.

Laura Conaway

9:18 PM ET | 07-13-2008 | permalink | comments (733) | e-mail post

The Rundown for Monday

Filed under: Tomorrow's BPP

Meena Ramamurthy

3:06 PM ET | 07-11-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Look, Ma! I'm In The Paper!

Filed under: Personal/Private

That's me, right behind the taxi.

From the New York Times

 

On Thursday, I tried to pedal home by heading toward the West Side bike path. Traffic was so lousy that I ended up turning south down Broadway, taking the direct route.

This was not the easiest choice. I'd just been interviewing a guy who takes care of a memorial Ghost Bike around the corner. It was full rush hour, and Broadway's rarely a pleasant go. But the city has been up to something major there, reworking the road surface in a project that has seemed endless, mysterious and promising.

So there I was, pedaling along behind a taxi, when I heard the distinct click of a shutter. It turns out I wasn't the only one curious about what the city's up to. A New York Times photographer was taking pictures for a story about the rehab of Broadway -- a whole lane for cyclists! another for people to hang out on! -- and now I was part of it. That smudge up there, behind the yellow cab, is me.

Laura Conaway

2:41 PM ET | 07-11-2008 | permalink | comments (9) | e-mail post

Should This Dog Be Medicated?

Filed under: Luncheonette, Sound Off

If you felt lonely or blue, they used to tell you to get a dog. Now, if your pet's acting out of sorts, they might tell you to put it on a behavior-modifying drug.

That's the story James Vlahos reports in Sunday's New York Times Magazine. Vlahos told us all about it on the show today, including some amazing case studies.

For now, we bring you a case study from YouTube.

Laura Conaway

11:53 AM ET | 07-11-2008 | permalink | comments (16) | e-mail post

Animals WERE Harmed In The Making Of This Film

Filed under: Stuff We Love

With all the talk about octopuses this week around BPP HQ, I thought back to a striking scene from one of my favorite films, Oldboy, part of Park Chan-wook's revenge trilogy. I recommended Oldboy to my parents, and after watching it they no longer watch anything I tell them to, maybe because of the violence, probably because of the octopus scene. If you are at all squeamish, be done with this post and head elsewhere. Otherwise, proceed.

Continue reading "Animals WERE Harmed In The Making Of This Film" »

Ian Chillag

11:31 AM ET | 07-11-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

BPP Funny Pharm

Filed under: Video

As you know, the BPP is no stranger to fun and games. Today, we take on the wide world of pharmaceutical companies. Prilosec, Celebrex, Lipitor, Cialis, Yaz, where do they come up with this stuff? It probably has some complex scientific background, but no matter! After watching this video, you will have the tools to succeed at any pharmaceutical conference, cocktail party, or BPP gathering.

Meena Ramamurthy

9:26 AM ET | 07-11-2008 | permalink | comments (8) | e-mail post

Oh, Right. The New iPhone's On Sale

Filed under: News

The line for an iPhone in Midtown Manhattan.

Ian Chillag, from our Flickr page.

 

Because it's the most important thing you could possibly do today, folks are lining up all over America to get the new iPhone. It goes on sale today. Producer Ian Chillag sends this picture, and this report. He'll be sending more pics through our Flickr page. (Bonus: @acarvin has pics from Chinatown in D.C.)

Ian and Win Rosenfeld went up to the Apple Store yesterday, when the scene was very different.

Meanwhile, Liz Burr of KCET in Los Angeles improbably sends this picture from the Apple Store in at the Tysons Corner Center in McClean, Virg. After the jump. . .

Continue reading "Oh, Right. The New iPhone's On Sale" »

Laura Conaway

8:21 AM ET | 07-11-2008 | permalink | comments (9) | e-mail post

Aerial Hijnks Help Phobic Flyers

Filed under: Slideshow

The trapeze may seem an unlikely place to find people with acrophobia. Yet many embrace this playful circus spectacle as a way to solve a real problem -- the fear of heights.

Elsa Butler

7:38 AM ET | 07-11-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Listener Checks In, Sends Pics From So. California

Filed under: Slideshow

Click to view

Photo by Liz Pedersen

 

Listener Liz Pedersen sends these pictures from her daily drive to work in Santa Barbara, where smoke and ash from the wildfires have lately been a fact of life.

Bonus: Local coverage in the Daily Sound.

Laura Conaway

7:13 AM ET | 07-11-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm

Filed under: ROFL

What's more humiliating: riding a Segway scooter or being hit by one?

Props Gizmodo.

Ian Chillag

7:02 AM ET | 07-11-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Linkfest: Fleas Attack Philadelphia Police Officers

Filed under: Links From the Show

Two Philadelphia officers served a warrant in a flea-filled house and ended up in the hospital.

It's the BPP's Ramble.

Lyle Lovett sells millions, earns nothing / The best toilet in America / Congress increasingly going through the motions / Congress Struggles To Come Up With Cool Name For Anti-Drug Initiative /

Laura Silver

6:15 AM ET | 07-11-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Linkfest: Two Found Feet Belong to Same Man

Filed under: Links From the Show

DNA shows that two of the five feet found on Vancouver Island belong to the same man. A spokesperson for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police says it looks like the feet became disconnected as a result of decomposition.

It's the BPP's Most.

'Moose whisperer' earns biologist's scorn / An American life worth less today / Chile pole dancer arrested / The real names of the rich and famous

Laura Silver

6:15 AM ET | 07-11-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

iPhone 3G, So Close!

Filed under: Video

Win Rosenfeld

3:26 PM ET | 07-10-2008 | permalink | comments (5) | e-mail post

Alison Checks In: 'I Now Officially Stink'

Filed under: Maternity Leave

"I'm trying to sleep!"

 

In the past nine weeks, parenthood has led me to do things I never, ever thought I would do involving diapers, lack of sleep -- you get the idea. Yet on Tuesday, I crossed a line, and I can never go back. I called the cops on a party of underage kids drinking beer and making a ruckus.

It was 12:30 a.m. and I was trying to get Isaac to go back to sleep as the drunken mating whoops of boys in big shorts and girls in miniskirts wafted through the air. The kids were stumbling down our dirt road with flashlights and gathering alongside the split-rail fence on the dirt road in front of my parents' house.

In a flash I picked up the phone. The cops showed up and the kids began to run through the woods with their cases of beer. And in a moment of sheer devilishness, I flicked on our flood lights as they raced down our driveway into the woods. I watched them scatter like roaches and it was fun. At that moment, it hit me -- I was now the crabby "get off my lawn" lady. I was also the lady worried about drunk driving and my own crying child.

What is something you never thought you'd do, but wham -- there you were doing it?

Alison Stewart

3:12 PM ET | 07-10-2008 | permalink | comments (24) | e-mail post

The Rundown for Friday

Filed under: Tomorrow's BPP

Meena Ramamurthy

3:06 PM ET | 07-10-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Congress Would Like To Use The Web Now

Filed under: News

UPDATE: Rep. Culberson breaks rule, tweets from the House floor.

---------

If you're like Aaron Brazell, you think members of Congress should darned well be able to talk to their constituents on sites like Twitter. After all, their constituents are talking to each other that way, and plenty of candidates make Twitter feeds a regular part of their campaigns.

But right now, Congress' rules governing outside communication make sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube all but off-limits to representatives.

Continue reading "Congress Would Like To Use The Web Now" »

Laura Conaway

2:23 PM ET | 07-10-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Today, We're All About Bikes

Filed under: City Living, Luncheonette

If you love public radio, you'll know that Science Friday is one of the best shows going. MA Shumin just finished this video for them.

It's especially on my mind today, since I'm going over to interview the person who takes care of a ghost bike I see every day.

Laura Conaway

2:07 PM ET | 07-10-2008 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

Theme Parks: 'Log Flume' Strategy and Much More

Filed under: Links From the Show

We talked theme parks with Theme Park Insider editor Robert Niles. Highlights include praise for Dollywood and a serious examination of "log flume" ride tactics.

My gf has never been to Disney World, so a trip there is in my future. Setting aside my mixed feelings about theme parks, I asked Robert for his top three tips. . .

Continue reading "Theme Parks: 'Log Flume' Strategy and Much More" »

Mark Garrison

11:12 AM ET | 07-10-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Bike City, USA: Madison, Wisconsin

Filed under: City Living, Stuff We Love

Merrily rolling along on one of Madison's dedicated bike trails.

Photo by Luton

 

This Midwestern town is known for its capitol building, its farmer's market and the sprawling state university campus that blankets the isthmus between Lakes Mendota and Monona.

I just spent a few days there, rented a bike from the venerable Yellow Jersey and learned that this is also a great place to be on two wheels. The city's bike map lists bike lanes, bike paths and bike routes.

In short, it's a cyclist's paradise. I set off in search of a replica of the Statue of Liberty in Warner Park, five miles out of town. I couldn't find the lady with the torch, but wasn't disappointed. The bike lanes were well marked and drivers treated me with respect, not the incessant honking that's the norm in New York City.

That was just the beginning in a series of pleasant surprises:

Continue reading "Bike City, USA: Madison, Wisconsin" »

Laura Silver

8:46 AM ET | 07-10-2008 | permalink | comments (7) | e-mail post

Octopus = Awesome

Filed under: News

Today on the show we learned a lot about octopuses (or octopi -- either is acceptable). Some researchers in England are giving octopuses Rubik's Cubes to see if they favor some arms over others. Other research has revealed just how smart these creatures are. A 2003 experiment showed that octopuses could learn to open jars by watching humans do it. Check out this one at work:

For more interesting octopus info, including footage of an octopus taking out a shark, watch the National Geographic video after the jump...

Continue reading "Octopus = Awesome" »

Dan Pashman

8:45 AM ET | 07-10-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Urinventive

Filed under: News

What could possibly go wrong?

 

Doing some research for our segment about drugs in sport this morning, I stumbled upon a message board of people sharing different ways to beat urine tests. From the effectiveness of swallowing cotton balls to the pitfalls of OPP (other people's pee), I am amazed. Never underestimate the ingenuity of the American Pot Smoker.

Ian Chillag

8:15 AM ET | 07-10-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Okra Grows In Brooklyn

Filed under: City Living

My pod: green and growing strong.

 

Naysayers, take note: Okra can grow in a window box.

I went away for a few days and when I came home, the okra plant in the kitchen of my fifth-floor walk-up was sporting a fuzzy, four-inch pod. The farmer who sold me the starter plant -- or rather, gave it to me after my first round of okra withered --- told me to make haste in harvesting the pods.

But, proud okra mama that I am, I had to admire it on the vine for just one more day. The underside of the leaves and the stem have beads of sticky sap, which, I hope, bodes well for future offspring.

Laura Silver

8:09 AM ET | 07-10-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Linkfest: Fish Fossils Fill Evolutionary Link

Filed under: Links From the Show

Fish fossils tucked away in European museums could solve a lingering question about evolutionary theory. Many of the 50-million-year-old fish fossils have only one fish eye.

It's the BPP's Most.

Great Scott! The 2015 McFly sneakers are now (somewhat) real / Has Vallejo gone to pot? / Bronx Zoo visitors safe after cable car breakdown / Perfection? Hint: It's warm and has a secret

Laura Silver

5:19 AM ET | 07-10-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Linkfest: Scientists Find Signs of Water on Moon

Filed under: Links From the Show

Researchers say pebbles retrieved by NASA's Apollo missions contain evidence of water molecules. The discovery could be a boon to future lunar colonies.

It's the BPP's Ramble.

Elvis was the gipsy King, says traveller magazine / NC employee refuses to lower flags for late Helms / Eight new natural wonders named

Laura Silver

5:18 AM ET | 07-10-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

The Rundown for Thursday

Filed under: Tomorrow's BPP

Win Rosenfeld

3:59 PM ET | 07- 9-2008 | permalink | comments (8) | e-mail post

Patti Smith, Live From Lebanon

Filed under: Music

Patti Smith plays the Byblos festival, July 8.

Joseph Barrak/AFP/Getty Images

 

Last night I saw a Patti Smith concert. Remember punk rock legend Patti Smith?

She's most known for her 1978 hit "Because the Night."

I saw her in the most unlikely of venues: the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos, Lebanon. She kicked off this year's Byblos International Festival. The concert was attended by Lebanon's new president, Michel Suleiman. I wish I'd had a portal into his brain during the show. Is he a fan?

As it turned out, Patti Smith was more powerful in what she said than in her music. When she conveyed a message of unity and peace, the crowd went wild. But when her songs began, they were largely lost on the audience. When she let her voice wail, the audience went nuts. But a lot of her songs were led by heavy keyboard riffs that were too pillowy for the famous rocker, and the audience felt it.

That is, until she sang "Because the Night." That's when the crowd rose to its feet, and teenagers ran to the base of the stage. Smith paused and let the audience take over the chorus:

"Because the night belongs to lovers. Because the night belongs to us."

That song hit the charts a couple years before I was born, and that's probably why I never really paid attention to it.

Until last night. That song rocks. When the crowd rose, I did, too. I belted whatever lyrics I knew, and the ones I didn't know, I made up.

Now when I hear that song, I'll picture Patti Smith on stage in Byblos, with a cedar of Lebanon pendant around her neck, a Lebanese flag on her right. Behind the stage, a 12th century castle built by the Crusaders. Behind the crowd, the Mediterranean.

Zena Barakat

3:15 PM ET | 07- 9-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

What's For Lunch? It Smells Like Teen Spirit

Filed under: Luncheonette

I've been thinking about this song lately.

Laura Conaway

2:00 PM ET | 07- 9-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Complaining 101

Filed under: Personal/Private

Today on the show I talked about how I learned to write an effective letter of complaint. And I got the tips from my Aunt Mo. Aunt Mo is not a professional writer of complaint letters, but she has been known to lend her pen to friends who need help. I once appealed to her for advice and here's what she told me:

1. Go straight to the top. My Aunt Mo believes in writing to the CEO of a company with her complaint. She doesn't really believe that the CEO him or herself actually reads the letter, but she is pretty sure someone at the management level will be designated to handle it. Aunt Mo wants her complaints to reach the eyes of someone with the power to help her.

2. Send the letter return-receipt. This costs more, but Aunt Mo thinks that if someone has to sign for your letter, it increases the chances that someone will read it.

3. Write a catchy opening line. Aunt Mo's firm rule of thumb is that the first paragraph should consist of one sentence only. Make it an attention-grabber. A couple of her examples are: "I just had the trip from hell on your airline," "Until today I've been very interested in purchasing your product," and the more general, "I'm a very dissatisfied customer."

4. Keep it short. Don't write a novel. Aunt Mo tries to keep her letters to one page.

5. Make reference to company policy. Aunt Mo knows that customer service is a big deal to most companies, so she believes in reminding the CEO (and his/her underlings) that customer service is one of their core values.

I actually used Aunt Mo's tips once when I just couldn't get a company's customer service department to listen to me. Within a week of sending the letter, I got an apologetic phone call and the DVD player I was complaining about. My letter is after the jump. How many of Aunt Mo's tips can YOU spot?

Continue reading "Complaining 101" »

Tricia McKinney

1:43 PM ET | 07- 9-2008 | permalink | comments (8) | e-mail post

Book Club In Session: Let's Talk 'Petropolis'

Filed under: Book Club

From Anya Ulinich's painting Optimist.

 

UPDATED: Our interview with Anya Ulinich.

---------

It's that time again, time to share your thoughts and questions about our BPP Book Club selection. This month, it was Petropolis, by Anya Ulinich, a dark and funny first novel from a young writer born in the former Soviet Union and now living in the United States. (She's also a painter; that's one of her works above.)

What did you think of her protagonist, Sasha Goldberg? Any other immigrants out there relate to her experience? Want to ask Ulinich a question?

We'll be interviewing the author later this week. Lay it out there for us, and her, in the comments.

Bonus: BPP Book Club alerts

Sarah Goodyear

7:43 AM ET | 07- 9-2008 | permalink | comments (24) | e-mail post

Rocco: A Pictorial Roster of Guys

Filed under: Slideshow

"A Rocco Roster": Click to view.

 

On today's show, A. Kenneth Ciongoli teed up sports announcer Johnny Miller.

Ciongoli, of the National Italian-American Foundation, took exceptions to remarks the NBC sports announcer made about golfer Rocco Mediate -- in essence, Mediate said that guys who look like Mediate usually clean Tiger Woods' swimming pool and that guys named Rocco don't get the Open trophy.

Which got us thinking about the all the guys in the world named Rocco. In the slideshow above, we present a roster. (Rocco, FYI, is the patron saint of pestilence.)

Of course, Ciongoli's point was that the media feels free to make fun of Italian-Americans in ways it can't about members of other ethnic groups, like African-Americans or Jews. So, while our photo gallery grew out of a conversation we had around the office about guys named Rocco, some people might think that the photo gallery itself is an example of exactly what Ciongoli is criticizing. How would you feel about a photo gallery of guys named Shlomo?

Paul Hechinger

7:04 AM ET | 07- 9-2008 | permalink | comments (12) | e-mail post

Linkfest: Flint Cracks Down On Saggy Pants

Filed under: Links From the Show

My goodness, we've had a lot of fun talking about saggy pants. Now police in Flint, Mich., are cracking down on the low-riding style. We're talking a maximum of a year in jail and $500.

It's the BPP's Ramble.

Flint cops crack down on sagging pants/ Pizza place hit by acid bomb/ Most sunscreens fail to protect/ Why "Google Lively" is big on Google Trends/ Cubs trade four players to A's for pitchers Harden, Gaudin

Laura Conaway

6:32 AM ET | 07- 9-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Linkfest: Man Accused Of Giving Cops LSD

Filed under: Links From the Show

An 18-year-old man in Texas has been arrested for allegedly delivering cookies spiked with LSD to the Lake Worth Police Department. Christian Phillips claimed the basket of sweets came from Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

It's the BPP's Most.

Officers may have eaten LSD-laced goodies/ To drop pounds, write down everything you eat/ Builder discovers "priceless" Tolkien postcard/ Why "Google Lively" is big on Google Trends/ Being too fat can "damage sperm"

Laura Conaway

6:32 AM ET | 07- 9-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

The Rundown for Wednesday

Filed under: Tomorrow's BPP

Meena Ramamurthy

3:14 PM ET | 07- 8-2008 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

The Extinction Of Elements

Filed under: News

Doctors use gallium to detect inflammation in the lungs.

National Institutes of Health

 

This one's for BPP editor Tricia McKinney, who right now is editing an interview she did with her aunt for tomorrow's show, and who thus may not know that the world is dangerously close to running out of the element gallium.

Planet Earth is also short on indium. And hafnium. And zinc. And, as Tricia has told us so many times, copper. Here's Robert Silverberg, writing in Asimov's Science Fiction about a looming reality:

I was taught long ago that the ninety-two elements found in nature are the essential building blocks of the universe. Take one away -- or three, or six -- and won't the essential structure of things suffer a potent blow? Somehow I feel that there's a powerful difference between running out of oil, or killing off all the dodos, and having elements go extinct.

We can blame the loss of gallium on our hunger for flat-screen TVs and computer monitors -- the element goes into liquid-crystal displays.

(With thanks to Andrew Sullivan.)

Laura Conaway

2:15 PM ET | 07- 8-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

But Are You Here To Make Friends?

Filed under: Luncheonette

I am here to make friends with this.

Ian Chillag

8:50 AM ET | 07- 8-2008 | permalink | comments (7) | e-mail post

Is This 'Dancing' Video Real?

Filed under: Sound Off

The New York Times today has a piece about this YouTube "Dancing" video that's been burning up the interwebs the last few months. I think some of these shots, especially the ones in the less accessible locations, look like they're faked in front of a green screen. What do you think?

Dan Pashman

8:36 AM ET | 07- 8-2008 | permalink | comments (12) | e-mail post

A Soft Spot for Robots

Filed under: Stuff We Love

Awwww.

 

It takes soldering chops to make a bunch of machines sing. There's no arguing James Houston's video "Big Ideas (Don't Get Any)" is technically impressive. But Houston didn't expect a bunch of machines singing a Radiohead song to have an emotional impact, and he's trying to wrap his head around the fact that people keep telling him it made them cry.

I didn't cry, but I was pretty moved. It got to me in much the way WALL-E did. I guess the difference is Houston's machines are trying to do something that humans do and they fall short. WALL-E lacks some skills that humans have, but ultimately he's the one that shows humans the way back to the humanity they've lost.

Video: James Houston's video sensation, recut.

Ian Chillag

7:50 AM ET | 07- 8-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Linkfest: Forest Service Over The Rainbow Family

Filed under: Links From the Show

Repost: Click to watch.

For years, the U.S. Forest Service has documented problems with the Rainbow Family.

 

From the Casper, Wyo., Star Tribune: "U.S. Forest Service officers pointed weapons at children and fired rubber bullets and pepper spray balls at Rainbow Family members while making arrests Thursday evening, according to witnesses.

" 'They were so violent, like dogs,' Robert Parker told reporter Deborah Stevens of the libertarian-oriented, Round Rock, Texas-based We the People Radio Network after the incident."

The story got me thinking about our talk last week with a Forest Service person who wasn't exactly looking forward to another Rainbow Family confab.

It's the BPP's Ramble.

Arrest leads to Rainbow riot/ It pays to go in a public toilet/ FBI files on sports stars/ Calif. group proposes George W. Bush Sewage Plant

Laura Conaway

7:08 AM ET | 07- 8-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Linkfest: The 'Zero' Chance Lottery Ticket

Filed under: Links From the Show

A business professor had his world view upended after he bought a scratch-off lottery ticket last summer. Scott Hoover went on to learn that the prize had been awarded before he ever plunked down his $5 -- moving his chances of winning from the "slim" column to the one labeled "none."

It's the BPP's Most.

City lake "like a commode"/ Why "Heimlich" is big on Google Trends/ King of gold keeps special loo/ Study: Military gays don't undermine unit cohesion/ "Zero" chance lottery tickets stun some players/ Loan pains turned site into a hit

Laura Conaway

7:04 AM ET | 07- 8-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

The Rundown for Tuesday

Filed under: Tomorrow's BPP

Meena Ramamurthy

3:56 PM ET | 07- 7-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Open Thread: Does Parenting Equal Depression?

Filed under: Sound Off

Bundle of joy. Or not

iStockPhoto.com

On the show today, we heard from a researcher who told us most parents report being happier when they go grocery shopping than when they spend time with their kids.

"We don't have family-friendly policies," says Robin Simon, a sociologist at Florida State University. "We don't allow people, I believe, as a society to reap the full joys of parenthood."

Amen to that. When you live in a nation of hour-long commutes, heavy workweeks and paid maternity leaves of a few weeks (if you're lucky), who could be surprised that parents are desperate for the freedom of a simple trip to the store?

Laura Conaway

1:50 PM ET | 07- 7-2008 | permalink | comments (42) | e-mail post

Feeling Warm And Fuzzy For 'Hot Fuzz'

Filed under: Luncheonette, Stuff We Love

It's a rare day that I get to watch a movie, but yesterday's events, including my daughter taking a surprise nap, conspired to allow me to. My husband TiVoed Hot Fuzz, a fish-out-of-water comedy about a London police officer who gets hired to police an idyllic British village, and yesterday afternoon he fired it up.

I had never heard of this movie, and had only a vague idea of Shaun of the Dead, which was made by the same guys. While I know I'm behind the curve in seeing this film, I'm ahead of at least one other BPP staffer, so I figure there may be more of you out there who would appreciate hearing about it. Here's a taste of Hot Fuzz:

Of course, it turns out the village isn't so idyllic, blah, blah, blah, its spotless murder record isn't quite accurate, blah, blah, blah. The plot doesn't sound so hot, but really, this one is all in the writing and (forgive the pun) execution.

I didn't get to finish it, because my daughter woke up as the final act was beginning. I am planning to squeeze in some "mommy time" this afternoon to finish what I'm hoping is a spectacularly hilarious bloodbath before picking her up from school.

Tricia McKinney

12:58 PM ET | 07- 7-2008 | permalink | comments (9) | e-mail post

A Mountain Bike Race Down America's Spine

Filed under: Sports

Photo by Geoff Roes

 

Geoff Roes, a friend of ours and Jill Homer's boyfriend, just recently bailed out of the Great Divide Race. The idea was to ride from the Canadian border to the Mexican one, on a mountain bike, passing through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico . You're not allowed to have anyone help you along the 2,490-mile route.

It's just you and the bears and the bugs and the brain God gave you. Geoff used his to leave the course about 1,400 miles and 10 days in. For a stretch of several days, he had trailed the leader by only three hours. "I would always have people at stores and cafes telling me that he was in and out in a couple minutes and I should really get going if I was going to catch him," Geoff writes. "30 minutes later I would finally stumble out the door and get back on the road." By the end, Roes says he was too sleep-deprived to continue.

The winner, John Nobile, finished in 15 days, one hour and 26 minutes.

Laura Conaway

11:35 AM ET | 07- 7-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Slideshow: When Pepsi Broke the Color Barrier

Filed under: Slideshow

Click to watch

Images courtesy of the Queens Museum of Art

 

On the show today, Allen McKellar told us about his adventures as an African-American salesman of Pepsi in the Jim Crow South.

Images from that era on display now at the Queens Museum of Art and in Stephanie Capparell's book The Real Pepsi Challenge.

It's sobering to think that showing black families in advertising could have been quite so pioneering. (Listener challenge: Spot the future U.S. Secretary of Commerce.)

Thanks to Laura Silver for putting this slideshow together.

Laura Conaway

8:24 AM ET | 07- 7-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Linkfest: Woman Has Twins At 70

Filed under: Links From the Show

And you thought you had a lot to do: Word has is it that a woman in India just gave birth to twins -- at the age of 70.

It's the BPP's Ramble.

Florida Gov. Crist says he's getting married/ Toyota to add solar panels to Prius hybrid: Nikkei/ Woman in India "has twins at 70"/ "Star Trek: The Experience" to end

Laura Conaway

7:20 AM ET | 07- 7-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Linkfest: The Flying Lawn Chair

Filed under: Links From the Show

You can file this under Dangerous, Expensive, Crazy and Ridiculous, but I'm going to log it as Another Thing I'm Itching to Do.

Kent Couch got up off his in Bend, Ore., flying more than 200 miles to Idaho in a lawn chair lofted by giant balloons. The technology for lawn chair flying has evolved since Larry Walters took to the skies in 1982, in a Sears patio chair towed by weather balloons. It's probably safe enough now that I could convince my family to let me go.

I'll tell them it's for the BPP's Most.

Report: Hockey on Jan. 1 at Wrigley Field/ Oregon man completes lawn-chair flight/ A vast left-handed conspiracy/ Winner declared in International Cherry Pit Spitting Championship

Laura Conaway

7:02 AM ET | 07- 7-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Top 5: Like Eagles Above a Forest of Freedom

Filed under: Luncheonette

Hey, it's the Fourth of July. I should do a bunch of patriotic songs, huh?

Instead of that, how about I go see the Feelies and Sonic Youth play a show in Battery Park and leave you with five more songs that have been stuck in my head since last Friday?

After the jump, Ladyhawk, Young Jeezy, and more.

Continue reading "Top 5: Like Eagles Above a Forest of Freedom" »

Jacob Ganz

11:25 AM ET | 07- 4-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

The Rundown for Monday

Filed under: Tomorrow's BPP

Happy Fourth of July! See you cats Monday.

 

Ian Chillag

11:10 AM ET | 07- 4-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Langhorne Slim Plays the Real Bryant Park

Filed under: Video

In recent years, Langhorne Slim's combination of thoughtful lyrics and energetic live performances has earned him a reputation as an up-and-coming folk rocker with a punk sensibility. A while back, he came by the BPP for an interview and in-studio performance.

Afterward, he and his band wandered out into Bryant Park, one of Midtown Manhattan's most beloved green spaces, in the middle of the lunch rush. With little fanfare, they set up in the park and started playing. Some people slowly turned their chairs in the direction of the music, while others barely glanced up from their salads. In the end, most of the unsuspecting crowd applauded. Some grabbed pens and paper to write down his name, so they could ask their kids about him.

Win Rosenfeld

10:56 AM ET | 07- 4-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Statue of Liberty Moves to Kearney, Nebraska

Filed under: Stuff We Love

Volunteers help the statue lift her soon-to-be-golden lamp.

Brad Norton, courtesy of Kearney (Neb.) Hub

I'm a sucker for the Statue of Liberty.

Something about tired, poor, wretched masses yearning to breathe free really touches me. All four of my grandparents were immigrants from Poland and Latvia. I like the idea of the green lady watching over them -- and steerage passengers from all over -- as they pulled into New York Harbor nearly 100 years ago.

I climbed up to her torch when I was a kid. And, a few years ago, I got to prowl around her island after hours with a friend who was working for the National Park Service.

But, there's more than one Statue of Liberty. Plastic versions welcome tourists to Manhattan souvenir shops. There used to be a metallic blue, duct-taped version in front a Brooklyn hardware store near my house. I'm still mourning a crown that graced the top of a funky, now defunct, downtown restaurant.

Still, there's hope. Turns out I'm not the only extreme fan of the Statue of Liberty.

This week, thanks to a man named Ward Schrack, an eight-foot-tall statue was erected as part of a Veterans Memorial in Kearney, Nebraska.

Schrack is a longtime member of the Boy Scouts, but 57 years ago, when the organization celebrated its 40th anniversary by putting up aluminum lady liberties around the country, he missed out. A few years ago, Schrack found a liberty statue in Missouri and enlisted local scouts to raise funds to transport the statue, which had a dedication ceremony last night.

And, yes, the torch will light up.

Laura Silver

8:31 AM ET | 07- 4-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Linkfest: Patriotic Song Manuscript Found at Flea Market

Filed under: Links From the Show

A rare manuscript of the song "America" (My Country 'Tis of Thee) was sold at a New York flea market for $10.

It's the BPP's Most.

Youngest "Brady" interview unflattering / Cardiac arrest: Man faked heart attack when dinner bill arrived / Dona Ana County kidnapping a hoax / Transgender "man" gives birth /

Laura Silver

6:03 AM ET | 07- 4-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

The Rundown for Friday

Filed under: Tomorrow's BPP

Win Rosenfeld

2:58 PM ET | 07- 3-2008 | permalink | comments (5) | e-mail post

Proving That Adolescents Really Do Know Best

Filed under: Luncheonette

Nothing breeds confidence like never having failed.

Laura Conaway

1:52 PM ET | 07- 3-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Yes, They Do!

Filed under: Personal/Private

Courtesy of the Oregonian

 

I'm basically terrified of flying. A couple of summers ago I was in Portland, Ore., freaking out about getting on a red-eye back to D.C. So I called my Mom. One of the rational, reassuring things she said was: "Lauren, planes don't just fall out of the sky."

So I was feeling pretty good about that until I opened my hotel room door and found the Oregonian on the floor with this headline: "It just fell out of the sky."

The Oregonian was nice enough to send us the image of that front page. If you care about airline safety obsessively like I do, check out this morning's interview with Wall Street Journal reporter Andy Pasztor.

Lauren Spohrer

11:48 AM ET | 07- 3-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

With Headlines Like These, Who Needs Frenemies?

Filed under: Election 2008

This little headline may have gotten lost among all the other John McCain headlines yesterday:

McCain denies roughing up Sandinista

Is it just me, or is that the headline equivalent of "When did you stop beating your wife?"

The story, first reported in the Sun Herald, a coastal Mississippi newspaper, goes like this: Senator Thad Cochran, a Mississippi Republican, claims that he witnessed a confrontation between McCain and a Sandinista while on a diplomatic mission to Nicaragua back in 1987.

Here's what Senator Cochran told the Sun-Herald:

McCain was down at the end of the table and we were talking to the head of the guerrilla group here at this end of the table and I don't know what attracted my attention. But I saw some kind of quick movement at the bottom of the table and I looked down there and John had reached over and grabbed this guy by the shirt collar and had snatched him up like he was throwing him up out of the chair to tell him what he thought about him or whatever. I don't know what he was telling him but I thought, good grief, everybody around here has got guns and we were there on a diplomatic mission. I don't know what had happened to provoke John but he obviously got mad at the guy and he just reached over there and snatched him.

Senator McCain responded to the story at a news conference yesterday by saying, "I had many, many meetings with the Sandinistas. I must say, I did not admire the Sandinistas much. But there was never anything of that nature. It just didn't happen."

Senator Cochran, who once famously expressed his worry about a McCain presidency by calling him "erratic" and "hotheaded," has apparently changed his mind about McCain, though it's hard to tell from this latest anecdote. A spokesperson for the senator says "he wanted to make the point that over the years he has seen Sen. McCain mature into an individual who is not only spirited and tenacious but also thoughtful and levelheaded."

Which, if you read the headlines, maybe didn't work. Here is a smattering of how some news outlets headed the story: McCain's meltdown, McCain's Temper Tantrum Tawdriness (okay, that one is by a blogger), and my personal favorite, "Did McCain really perform the Sandinista snatch?"

Tricia McKinney

11:15 AM ET | 07- 3-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Do Rainbow Folks Actually Hurt National Forests?

Filed under: Sound Off

Click to watch.

Photos courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service

 

This morning on the BPP, we spoke to a U.S. Forest Service official who's in charge of monitoring the yearly festival of the Rainbow Family, an anti-establishment, pro-environmental group.

"I don't think we question their love of the land, which is very similar to ours," said John Twiss, our guest from the Forest Service. "I think what we question the most is the way they gather."

Twiss says the group leaves large amounts of trash and bring other problems you'd expect from gatherings of thousands and thousands of people on remote federal lands.

The Rainbow Family's own website puts it this way: "Some say we're the largest non-organization of non-members in the world. We have no leaders, and no organization."

Paul Hechinger

9:54 AM ET | 07- 3-2008 | permalink | comments (5) | e-mail post

Listener Challenge: The $10 Burger-and-Beer

Filed under: City Living

A guy we know on Twitter, @mjb, wrote the other day: "Found $10 on the sidewalk, free lunch, and free beer after work."

And we're thinking, in what city, guy? It turns out MJB lives in Washington, D.C., where his job was springing for lunch that day. But @faerirose says you could pull it off in Omaha, if you stick to basics like Budweiser.

Help us with this one, people. Where you live, can you buy a burger and a beer for $10?

Laura Conaway

9:43 AM ET | 07- 3-2008 | permalink | comments (19) | e-mail post

Video: The Most

Filed under:

Scientists say watermelon yields Viagra-like effects. The yellow variety is the most potent.

It's the BPP's Most.

Crocs cited in lawsuit over girl's injuries at airport / Three Cheers for July Second / Storms wash salad dressing into basements / Google Trends: esoteric / 'Kite Runner' star's family feels exploited by studio

Meena Ramamurthy

9:00 AM ET | 07- 3-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Alison Checks In: On Being Biracial

Filed under: Maternity Leave

Shalom, my brutha

I once overheard a woman ask her friend, "Why does Obama identify himself as black when he is half white?" Their discussion ranged from how Barack Obama's appearance led to assumptions about him, to how choices were made for him based on his looking like a tall skinny black guy, to the way race has historically been determined this country.

My husband and I discussed all of these above as we awaited the birth of our son, Isaac. How will we make sure he feels secure about who he is? Will he be clearly identifiable as either white or black? Will I have to wear one of those "I'm not the nanny" t-shirts? Will he have a bar mitzvah?

As he gets older, Ike is looking truly bi-racial. After seeing a recent photo, a 50-something friend of mine who is Japanese and Black said he was hopeful Isaac won't have to endure the difficulties he faced as a child. My friend wrote, "This is our time. Barack. Tiger. Halle."

Considering it was only eight years ago that the U.S. Census allowed you to check more than one box for racial identity, I can't help wondering what challenges lie ahead.

Alison Stewart

6:42 AM ET | 07- 3-2008 | permalink | comments (12) | e-mail post

Linkfest: George Washington's Boyhood Home Found

Filed under: Links From the Show

Archaeologists find George Washington's boyhood home, but no sign of a cherry tree or a hatchet.

It's the BPP's Ramble.

Courthouse with dead opossum almost free of fleas / Olympic nightmare: A red tide in the Yellow Sea / Sound of jelly wobbling recorded for architects' competition

Laura Silver

5:46 AM ET | 07- 3-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Linkfest: Scientists: Watermelon Has Viagra Powers

Filed under: Links From the Show

Scientists say watermelon yields Viagra-like effects. The yellow variety is the most potent.

It's the BPP's Most.

Crocs cited in lawsuit over girl's injuries at airport / Three Cheers for July Second / Storms wash salad dressing into basements / Google Trends: esoteric / 'Kite Runner' star's family feels exploited by studio

Laura Silver

5:46 AM ET | 07- 3-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

The Rundown for Thursday

Filed under: Tomorrow's BPP

Camera by Meena Ramamurthy

Zena Barakat

4:50 PM ET | 07- 2-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Getting Guns Out Of The Closet

Filed under: Sound Off

Americans have carried guns in open holsters since frontier days. This revolver dates back to the 1870s.

Orlando /Three Lions/Getty Images

Today, the BPP spoke to a leader of the "open carry" gun movement. Followers say it's all about openly displaying guns, where people can see them. John Pierce, founder of OpenCarry.org likens it to the gay rights movement.

"One of the reasons we make that comparison," he says, "is that open carry is really gun ownership coming out of the closet."

Pierce argues that a stigma has attached to gun ownership, which he says is really "a wholesome and responsible activity." If more people understood that, he says, the stigma would go away.

Paul Hechinger

1:42 PM ET | 07- 2-2008 | permalink | comments (29) | e-mail post

Blogger Finds Flaw in SCOTUS Facts

Filed under: News

A major Supreme Court ruling last week on the death penalty was based, in part, on a factual error.

The New York Times reports this morning that the decision, barring execution for people who rape children, drew on a belief that the convicted would now face capital punishment in only six states and not under the federal government. The Times writes:

This inventory of jurisdictions was a central part of the court's analysis, the foundation for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy's conclusion in his majority opinion that capital punishment for child rape was contrary to the "evolving standards of decency" by which the court judges how the death penalty is applied.

But as the folks over at CAAFLOG soon pointed out, Congress added child rape to the list of capital offenses in the Uniform Code of Military Justice back in 2006. So now what? The losing side has 25 days to ask the court to look again at the June 25 ruling.

Laura Conaway

1:00 PM ET | 07- 2-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Those Happy, Happy Danes

Filed under: City Living, Luncheonette

Denmark tops the latest list of the planet's happiest nations.

I'm not saying the livable streets of Denmark's biggest city, Copenhagen, are by any means the sole factor in Danish well-being. I'm just saying I'd be a happier American if our cities looked like the one in the trailer above.

Bonus:
The documentary Contested Streets
Streetsblog, a livable streets resource

Laura Conaway

12:06 PM ET | 07- 2-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Video: The Most

Filed under: Links From the Show

Nelson Mandela has finally been taken off the United States' terror watch list. Until now, the anti-apartheid leader and members of the African National Congress party needed special permission to visit American soil.

It's the BPP's Most.

Local and national outbreak of grave robbing / US contradicts itself over its own ID theft advice / Denmark 'happiest' country in the world / Could you pass the latest citizenship test?

Meena Ramamurthy

10:21 AM ET | 07- 2-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Listener Checks In: What It Means To Be Russian

Filed under: Book Club

Muscovites wait for bread, December 1993.

Michael Evstafiev/AFP/Getty Images

 

BPP listener Nina Charnotskaia came to the United States from the collapsing Soviet Union when she was 11 years old. So our latest BPP Book Club selection, Anya Ulinich's Petropolis -- which tells the story of Russian immigrant Sasha Goldberg -- really resonated with her. Charnotskaia, who lives in San Diego, told us that because she started speaking with an American accent soon after she moved here, people have often challenged her "Russianness." But she's never lost her sense that being Russian is an important part of her identity. She talked with us about what that means to her.

We'll be discussing the book here on the blog on July 9, a week from today. So get reading, if you haven't already!

Bonus: Sign up for BPP Book Club alerts.

Sarah Goodyear

9:44 AM ET | 07- 2-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Help, Please: Find the Double Entendres

Filed under: Sound Off

People, I need your help. Today on our show, author Tony Perrottet talked about his new book, Napoleon's Privates.

Yes, Perrottet has seen the member in question, and yes, he told us exactly what it looked like. But that was only three-quarters of the segment. The rest was a stunning parade of double entendres.

And that's what I need you for. Listen to the interview above, find a double entendre and drop it into the comments. There's a limit of one per person. First come, first served. Keep it clean. I'm trusting you.

Laura Conaway

9:11 AM ET | 07- 2-2008 | permalink | comments (14) | e-mail post

Targeting Women: Sarah Haskins Joins The BPP

Filed under: Links From the Show

Current TV's Sarah Haskins joined the BPP today to talk about some of the ham-fisted ways that candidates and corporations market themselves to women. She's a writer and commentator on Current's show "Infomania," and contributes a regular segment called "Target: Women." Here's some of her best work...

Check out "Target: Women" gems on yogurt and the election.

Dan Pashman

8:26 AM ET | 07- 2-2008 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

Linkfest: Actor Says His Role May Have Helped Obama

Filed under: Links From the Show

Actor Dennis Haysbert says his role as an African-American president on the television drama 24 may have helped Barack Obama's campaign. Plus, people keep asking Haysbert if he's running for office.

It's the BPP's Ramble.

IRS wants you to chat about stimulus checks this July 4 / Nowthen, Minn., I think our city has a name / Why Stradivarius violins sound so good

Laura Silver

7:07 AM ET | 07- 2-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Linkfest: Mandela Dropped From US Terror Watch List

Filed under: Links From the Show

Nelson Mandela has finally been taken off the United States' terror watch list. Up until now, the anti-apartheid leader and members of the African National Congress party needed special permission to visit American soil.

It's the BPP's Most.

Local and national outbreak of grave robbing / US contradicts itself over its own ID theft advice / Denmark 'happiest' country in the world / Could you pass the latest citizenship test?

Laura Silver

7:06 AM ET | 07- 2-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

The Rundown for Wednesday

Filed under: Tomorrow's BPP

Meena Ramamurthy

3:08 PM ET | 07- 1-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Got A Question About Twitter For Biz Stone?

Filed under: Inside The BPP

UPDATE: The interview's live. Thanks, everyone, for helping to shape it.

We're getting ready to interview one of Twitter's three co-founders, Biz Stone. If you've got a question about our favorite new (and occasionally creaky) Website, drop it in the comments.

Thanks a ton.

Laura Conaway

1:42 PM ET | 07- 1-2008 | permalink | comments (13) | e-mail post

Video: The Most

Filed under: Links From the Show

Roberto Velazquez, an archaeologist in Mexico, has spent a lifetime recreating the pre-Columbian sounds of so-called "Whistles of Death." The instruments have often been found in the hands of the dead, leading some to think they were played before human sacrifices. But healers may have used them to put people into trances in an effort to treat illness. Either way, the whistles make an amazing racket.

It's the Most.

Truck hauling 12 million bees overturns/ Recreating the sound of Aztec "Whistles of Death"/ Spectators see lion kill eagle at Greater Vancouver Zoo/ Hands-free cell phones no safer

Meena Ramamurthy

12:03 PM ET | 07- 1-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Centel It Like It Is.

Filed under: Luncheonette

I was hanging out in 1989 earlier, and it was awesome. I couple-skated to Richard Marx. Then I watched the original American Gladiators (they just call it American Gladiators). In the commercial break, I saw this ad for a really cool portable phone. The weird thing is, even though the product they were selling was designed for talking, there was no dialogue. So I sent it to the future, and my friends at the BPP helped it along. Results above.

Ian Chillag

12:00 PM ET | 07- 1-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Open Thread: A Case of School Phobia

Filed under: Sound Off

iStockPhoto.com

At some point, most of us have hidden behind our parents at the classroom door. Rebecca Maykish, now 17, remembers her mother prying her off a banister at the age of five.

But for Maykish, of Palmerton, Pa., the terror never stopped. She was eventually diagnosed with school phobia, a condition that renders time in a classroom so miserable that she says she feels like she's having a heart attack.

Her family won a settlement from the district to pay for her public education. The Maykishes spent $45,000 special fund on what they call a variety of instructional and therapeutic expenses. Some of those expenses included summer camp and a modeling class, but mother Barbara Maykish says the idea was always to build stepping stones back to regular class. The saga gets complicated from there, but today the district is fining the family for Rebecca's truancy, and the family is seeking a civil rights lawyer.

And we're seeking your reaction. Ever heard of school phobia? Ever had it? Got an answer for this situation?

Laura Conaway

10:08 AM ET | 07- 1-2008 | permalink | comments (30) | e-mail post

Linkfest: A Rare Recording of Gandhi in English

Filed under: Links From the Show

The Washington Post has released a recording of Mahatma Gandhi giving a speech in English. It was made a few months before the Indian activist was assassinated, in April 1947, and kept safe in the home of a Washington journalist for 60 years.

It's the Ramble.

Rare recording of Gandhi speaking English/ Celebrity chimp missing in San Bernardino Mountains/ Drunken Swede tries to row home from Denmark/ Holland bans tobacco smoking in coffee shops, but allows pure cannabis spliffs

Laura Conaway

7:30 AM ET | 07- 1-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Linkfest: The Aztec 'Whistles Of Death'

Filed under: Links From the Show

Roberto Velazquez, an archaeologist in Mexico, has spent a lifetime recreating the pre-Columbian sounds of so-called "Whistles of Death." The instruments have often been found in the hands of the dead, leading some to think they were played before human sacrifices. But healers may have used them to put people into trances in an effort to treat illness. Either way, the whistles make an amazing racket.

It's the Most.

Truck hauling 12 million bees overturns/ Recreating the sound of Aztec "Whistles of Death"/ Spectators see lion kill eagle at Greater Vancouver Zoo/ Hands-free cell phones no safer

Laura Conaway

7:21 AM ET | 07- 1-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post