Neil Gaiman, Defender of Free Speech

Filed under: Book Club, Luncheonette

One of the things I've discovered about Neil Gaiman since we picked his novel Anansi Boys for the BPP Book Club is that he has a really nice blog. Nice sounds like a mushy word, but I mean it in the best possible way.

Gaiman's posts are warm and spontaneous, filled with details of his travels and what he eats and the shenanigans of the bees he keeps. The blog also includes many letters from his fans -- many of them aspiring writers -- and his detailed personal responses to their questions. Overall, it gives the impression of a guy who is insatiably interested in the world around him and who is dedicated to supporting other creative people.

Check out this video clip he posted recently, of a spot he taped in support of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

He even blogged about us on May 10, the day after we announced our pick of Anansi Boys:

The biggest news that doesn't involve walking along a fallen tree over a river with a dog following behind me is that NPR has picked Anansi Boys for the Bryant Park Project book club.

See what I mean? The man has things in perspective.

Bonus: Want a taste of Anansi Boys before committing to reading it? There's an excerpt here. // Sign up for BPP Book Club alerts or just drop us a line here.

Sarah Goodyear

12:21 PM ET | 05-16-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

LOL, Cats

Filed under: Luncheonette

Oh, treadmill cat, why are you so sublime?

Ian Chillag

12:49 PM ET | 05-14-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Cleveland Indians Notch Unassisted Triple Play

Filed under: Luncheonette, Sports

Editor's note to the editor's note: Someone helpfully pointed out the replacement video showed an assisted triple play, not an unassisted one. The clip above purports to be an unassisted triple play, and I defy anyone to sort it out well enough to argue otherwise. The original replacement is now after the jump.

Editor's note: YouTube pulled the video of the Indians' unassisted triple play, citing a copyright claim from Major League Baseball. Since you couldn't see it all that well anyway, I'm posting video of this (somewhat similar) amateur triple play. At least in this one you can see the lead runner.

For your lunchtime viewing pleasure, a moving meditation on right time/right place:

Baseball's unassisted triple play -- when a lone fielder is responsible for three outs on a single pitch -- is a rare and freakish feat.

Last night, Cleveland Indians second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera turned the 14th unassisted triple play in the history of the major leagues. Facing the Toronto Blue Jays, Cabrera dove for a liner by Lyle Overbay for out number one. Toronto had runners on first second and secondthird, and both had taken off with the pitch. Cabrera stepped on second base to get the lead runner, Kevin Mench, who'd already reached third. He then tagged the following guy, Marco Scuataro, who'd just crossed second.

Check the video -- it's three outs in a blink.

Bonus: ESPN breaks it down.

Continue reading "Cleveland Indians Notch Unassisted Triple Play" »

Laura Conaway

12:10 PM ET | 05-13-2008 | permalink | comments (10) | e-mail post

Had It with Long Lines for the Women's Room?

Filed under: Luncheonette, Sound Off

For lunch today, an open thread. I'll start:

Some guys just do not understand certain things about life as a girl/woman.

Take the guy who shot this video over the summer in Prince Edward Island. The line for the women's restroom is out the door and into the parking lot. The line for the men's room is not. Having had maybe enough of that age-old scenario, the girlwomenpeople start queuing up for the opposite sex's loo.

Our camerman: "A new low! A new low!"

Dude, wait on lines like I've waited on lines and then editorialize. Or talk to Kathryn Anthony, an architecture professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who told us today about so-called potty parity laws.

Bonus: Potty parity haunts St. Louis arena

Laura Conaway

12:37 PM ET | 05-12-2008 | permalink | comments (17) | e-mail post

Woody Allen + Ringtone + Baby Duck = Cuteness Overload?

Filed under: Luncheonette

My colleague Zena and I have been talking about maybe doing some kind of a story on Woody Allen's jazz band. In case you didn't know he has been playing clarinet in a New Orleans-style jazz band for decades. They play pretty much every Monday night at the Cafe Carlyle in New York City.

So while we were noodling around for an angle, we checked out the website of one of the band's members. And there we found a blog entry about a new ringtone he created -- the theme from the "Wonder Pets."

If you are not a small child or the parent of one, you have probably never heard of the Wonder Pets and you have no idea why they would make an awesome ringtone. Let me set it up for you. Every day after the little kids leave the preschool where they live, Linny the Guinea Pig, Tuck the Turtle and Ming Ming the Duckling get a phone call from an animal in trouble and they spring into action. Here's a clip for your lunchtime viewing:

Tricia McKinney

12:00 PM ET | 05- 8-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Turn a Subway Busker into a BPP Star

Filed under: City Living, Luncheonette, Video

Update: Voting closed Monday at 6 a.m. See full results.

It's our version of American Idol, folks. Turn to your inner Paula, Simon and Randy and watch these clips of New York subway musicians, then vote for your favorite!

We chose these four musicians of the 50 who participated in the Music Under New York competition.

The winner of your votes will be invited to the BPP studios to perform. Voting ends at 6:00 a.m. on Monday, May 12. We'll announce the winner on our broadcast that morning.

Zena Barakat

11:52 AM ET | 05- 5-2008 | permalink | comments (19) | e-mail post

Happy Birthday, James Brown

Filed under: Luncheonette

Today's breaktime special comes courtesy of my kid brother (he of the freight trains and salamanders) and @kristasphere, who notes that James Brown would have turned 75 tomorrow. Get up, get down, Godfather of Soul.

Laura Conaway

12:06 PM ET | 05- 2-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Rock, Paper...Waaah?

Filed under: City Living, Luncheonette, Video

People gotta know: there's a new rock, paper, scissors on the scene. Jacob is currently office champion.

Zena Barakat

10:16 AM ET | 04-30-2008 | permalink | comments (16) | e-mail post

Very Overdue Post on World's Cutest Panda Video

Filed under: Luncheonette, Video

From NPR, for your breaktime pleasure, a trip to China's Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, courtesy of videographer David Gilkey.

Gilkey's been blogging it up along with the rest of the NPR team in China.

Laura Conaway

12:35 PM ET | 04-29-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Prince Covers Radiohead at Coachella

Filed under: Luncheonette, Music

Prince headlined Coachella over the weekend, and played a cover of Radiohead's "Creep" that was by all accounts legendary. It didn't take long for the performance to make it to YouTube:

Dan Pashman

11:52 AM ET | 04-28-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Biking on the 405: Um, Yes.

Filed under: City Living, Luncheonette

Sorry, Mama, but I maybe gotta do this one.

A few fed-up, fearless and probably foolhardy bike riders in Los Angeles decided to take the easy way home: the interstate.

(Their site's here. Thanks to Streetsblog for blogging this first.)

Laura Conaway

11:55 AM ET | 04-25-2008 | permalink | comments (5) | e-mail post

BPP Book Club: Jaw-Dropping Horse Video

Filed under: Book Club, Luncheonette

One of the famously great things about reading is that it opens up worlds you might never otherwise see. In the case of this month's BPP Book Club selection, Aryn Kyle's The God of Animals, it's the world of horse shows. Western horse shows, to be specific.

In one crucial scene, the main character participates in a reining competition -- in which a rider puts a horse through a series of maneuvers including a sliding stop. The key is to be in total communication with the horse.

The scene was so gripping that I wanted to see what reining looks like in real life. Almost immediately I found this remarkable example of a rider named Stacy Westfall, who does something called freestyle reining -- no saddle, no bridle, no reins. The video went viral on YouTube a couple of months ago, earning Westfall an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show. It takes a minute or so to really get going, but if you've ever been on the back of a horse -- and maybe if you haven't -- you'll be amazed that what she does is even possible.

Bonus: Sign up for BPP Book Club alerts.

Sarah Goodyear

11:55 AM ET | 04-24-2008 | permalink | comments (7) | e-mail post

Bad Break: Trapped in an Elevator for 41 Hours

Filed under: Luncheonette

For your lunchtime browsing pleasure:

Nick Paumgarten writes this week in the New Yorker about elevators, leading with a guy who was stuck in one for 41 hours. Nicholas White's misadventure dates back to October 1999, but it's one for the ages.

Laura Conaway

12:13 PM ET | 04-23-2008 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post