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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Saga of Florent Takes an Unexpected Turn

Filed under: City Living, Luncheonette

Click to view.

Zena Barakat/NPR

 

A month ago, we profiled the closing of the famous New York restaurant Florent. Owner Florent Morellet was forced to close his namesake diner due to a skyrocketing rent price. Last week, there was a new plot twist in the Florent soap opera. The landlord, Joanne Lucas, will re-open the restaurant tomorrow under the name of the diner that existed before Florent opened his place in 1985: R & L Restaurant.

The original R & L was opened by Lucas' father in 1955. She told The New York Times she didn't have the heart to close the restaurant that had been in her family for years. The restaurant's look and food will remain basically the same, as Florent's chef is staying on board.

Last night, longtime friends of the restaurant convened for the final hours for what they know as Florent. Neighborhood regulars and former and current staff reunited for champagne and cake. Letters from the prophetic menu boards were packaged in tiny gift boxes as party favors.

Continue reading "The Saga of Florent Takes an Unexpected Turn" »

Zena Barakat

12:01 PM ET | 06-30-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Rachel Martin Exits, Adds Pictures

Filed under: Luncheonette

I remember watching this video for the first time, back in December. Rachel Martin and Win Rosenfeld went to Washington, D.C., to make a video report about Goodwill reinventing itself as hip place to buy clothes.

I thought, hey, Rachel Martin looks just like a TV news reporter. And now she's going to be one. Today was her last day as a show host. Rachel's moving on to ABC News. We'll miss her a ton, but it's only natural. Watch the clip and you'll see what I mean.

Laura Conaway

1:15 PM ET | 06-27-2008 | permalink | comments (27) | e-mail post

Open Thread: On the 'Juno' Effect

Filed under: Luncheonette, Sound Off

On our show today, journalism professor Jane Brown took on the "Juno Effect" -- the idea that movies about unexpected pregnancy may encourage very young women to become mothers.

Brown says the research she has done indicates that the Juno effect is quite real. "In the context of parents still not comfortable talking with their children about sex, with schools talking only about abstinence until marriage and with religion saying it's still a sin, the media have become very powerful sex educators," she argues.

Me, I learned everything I wanted to know from The Breakfast Club. Or maybe Hotel New Hampshire. The question is whether I learned everything I needed.

Laura Conaway

12:16 PM ET | 06-26-2008 | permalink | comments (20) | e-mail post

I Just 'Can't Get You Outta My Head'

Filed under: Luncheonette

Yesterday I was singing this song all day -- thanks to Ian (it's his ringtone.) Today I thought I had finally escaped it, but in a moment of weakness, I started singing it again. So instead of ignoring it, I've decided to relish it and fully rock out at my desk with this live performance from the Swedish rock band Europe.

Enjoy!

Caitlin Kenney

12:48 PM ET | 06-25-2008 | permalink | comments (9) | e-mail post

Mermaids on Parade

Filed under: Luncheonette

Mermaids and a merman at Coney Island.

Josh Rogosin

 

NPR New York audio engineer Josh Rogosin shares some photographs...

This past Saturday I spent the day in the sun at one of my favorite places on earth -- Coney Island, Brooklyn. I usually don't need any excuse to ride the infamous Cyclone Roller Coaster but this time I happened to have one -- the 25th annual Mermaid Parade.

Continue reading "Mermaids on Parade" »

Caitlin Kenney

11:38 AM ET | 06-24-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Listener Challenge: Name the sample

Filed under: Luncheonette, Music

Artist Gregg Gillis (aka Girl Talk)

Andrew Strasser

 

Today on the show, we did an assisted listen to Girl Talk aka Gregg Gillis's latest album, Feed the Animals. Gillis is a mashup artist who samples just about everything you could imagine.

So here's our challenge to you BPP listeners: name as many samples as you can in this song, "Like This."

Cheaters as always can go to Wikipedia.

Caitlin Kenney

2:07 PM ET | 06-23-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

More Than Little Dogs: The Amazing World of Balloon Twisting

Filed under: Luncheonette, Stuff We Love

Click to play.

Caitlin Kenney, NPR

 

Today on the show, we talked to Naomi Greenfield and Sara Taksler, about their film "Twisted: A Balloonamentary." While they were here, they were kind enough to twist some dogs and an NPR logo for us -- simple stuff for them, compared to their other work. The sculptures they feature in the movie are mind-blowing so I put together a gallery to give you a little taste.

Caitlin Kenney

1:33 PM ET | 06-20-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Drawing Pictures

Filed under: City Living, Luncheonette

A photograph by NPR New York audio engineer Josh Rogosin published in Time Out.

Josh Rogosin

 

An illustration of Josh's photo by Sam Ferri.

Time Out

When I read that Time Out was soliciting readers to send in photos, from around town, to illustrate -- I couldn't resist submitting this picture. It was taken across the street from the MOMA in Midtown. The subject had no idea I was taking his picture, but I knew it'd be worth a thousand words. I love it when a still image can tell a story.

--Josh Rogosin

Caitlin Kenney

12:24 PM ET | 06-19-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Do You Have A Secret?

Filed under: Luncheonette, Stuff We Love

An anoynmous postcard sent to PostSecret.

A Lifetime of Secrets/William Morrow

 

Today on the show, we talked to Frank Warren, the founder of PostSecret. Warren's been collecting anonymous secrets on homemade postcards since 2004. Since then, he has turned these confessions into a traveling exhibition, a website, and several books.

If you want to send Frank your secret, mail a 4-by-6-inch postcard to:

PostSecret
13345 Cooper Ridge Rd
Germantown, MD 20874-3454

Caitlin Kenney

11:52 AM ET | 06-18-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Open Thread: Associated Press v. Bloggers

Filed under: Luncheonette

The blogosphere is abuzz today with news that the Associated Press wants to define how much of its content bloggers and Web sites can use.

The New York Times is reporting that it all started last week when the A.P. sent a letter to the Drudge Retort asking it remove items that contained A.P. quotes. Word got out and a backlash ensued on the web. On Saturday, the company's vice president and strategy director, Jim Kennedy, told the Times the letter was "heavy-handed" and that the A.P. would rethink its policies toward bloggers.

Kennedy says the company plans to meet with representatives of the Media Bloggers Association in hopes of creating some new guidelines, but for now they have not withdrawn their request for the Drudge Retort remove the items.

"Cutting and pasting a lot of content into a blog is not what we want to see," Kennedy said. "It is more consistent with the spirit of the Internet to link to content so people can read the whole thing in context."

Caitlin Kenney

2:04 PM ET | 06-17-2008 | permalink | comments (7) | e-mail post

Tiger Woods, Lunch Date

Filed under: Luncheonette

Don't know what you're doing this lunchtime, but we're watching Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate in the U.S. Open playoff.

Bonus: @jongordonlive Tweets play.

Laura Conaway

1:35 PM ET | 06-16-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

It's Friday. It's the Thirteenth. Is that Good or Bad?

Filed under: Luncheonette

Be very afraid. Or not.

On the show today, behavioral scientist and phobia expert Donald Dossey talked about the history and origins of Friday the 13th. He coined the word for the fear of the day, paraskevidekatriaphobia (say that 13 times fast) not to be confused with triskaidekaphobia, plain old fear of the number 13. The Triskaidekaphobia Illuminatus Society, founded in 1984, disbanded before its thirteenth anniversary.

But not everyone sees 13 as unlucky. When NPR's Margot Adler heard the interview with Dossey at the New York Bureau she begged to differ. "Doesn't he know 13 is the luckiest number?" she said, citing thirteen lunar months as a symbol of good fortune. She's not alone.

The New York Post reports that figure skater Dorothy Hamill has a special connection to the day. And yours truly, who once sported a haircut named for the ice skating champ, played as number 13 on the high school varsity soccer field. Our team was called the Red Devils (really). I still have the white satin jacket with red trim, but it's too warm to wear it today.

Laura Silver

7:39 AM ET | 06-13-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Kevin Robinson, BMX God

Filed under: Luncheonette

Later today in Central Park, Kevin Robinson will attempt a BMX record by jumping 50 feet at 50 miles an hour or something. I seriously do not fully understand it yet, despite his answering all questions

In the video above, Robinson pulls off a trick he invented, the double flair. As you can see from the poster's note, it's not clear whether actually did the trick he meant to do. My question, though, has to do with Robinson's reaction. Check out the hullaboo when he lands it. If you're about to risk life, limb and cervical column, shouldn't you have a fairly good idea you can do the stunt? Just asking.

Bonus: Live coverage of Robinson's jump tonight.

Laura Conaway

1:04 PM ET | 06-12-2008 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

On Thursday's BPP: Alanis Morissette

Filed under: Luncheonette

Ms. Morissette and friends are hanging in the studio now, talking about a new record and maybe fixing to play some songs. Gods willing, we'll have it all for you on the show tomorrow.

Laura Conaway

2:01 PM ET | 06-11-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Wacky Packs Are Back

Filed under: Links From the Show, Luncheonette, Stuff We Love

Click to play.

Tricia McKinney, NPR

 

When I was a kid I used to spend my allowance money on Wacky Packages. I forget how much they cost, but for the money you got a piece of cardboardy gum plus a few stickers with parodies of common grocery store products. Like "Jail-O" instead of Jell-O and "Minute Lice" instead of...do I really need to spell it out? I thought they were hilarious.

Now, there's a book celebrating the 35th anniversary of Wacky Packages. I saw the book on a colleague's desk and immediately scooped it up and called the publicist. Today we talked to Jay Lynch, an artist from the underground comix scene of the 1960s, about a job he did strictly for the money--writing gags and mockups for Wacky Packages.

I interviewed Lynch, and found him slightly bemused by the interest in Wacky Packs (that's what we called them in upstate New York). He told me about how he and Art Spiegelman tried to make the stickers as subversive as possible. I honestly am not sure if that is the secret to their appeal. I think we might be more shallow than that--or maybe it's just me. I think we just really, really like package design, especially in a shiny sticker form. The ultimate expression of a Wacky Pack sticker was putting it in just the right spot on a lunch box.

Here are a few examples. Enjoy!

Tricia McKinney

12:06 PM ET | 06-10-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Open Thread: $4 Gas = No Haagen-Dazs

Filed under: Luncheonette

Guy From 1981 Wonders What's Going On With Gas Prices

Yes, that's former Monkee Michael Nesmith, and he thinks there is something funny going on with gas prices...in 1981. (But it still kind of applies to today.)

Regardless of the ebb and flow of gas prices, the plain fact is that gas prices are high and they look like they're here to stay for a while. We're doing a segment tomorrow on gas hitting a national average of $4 a gallon and we're wondering: are you starting to make sacrifices to fill up the tank? If so, what's getting the ax? Let us know below.

Matt Martinez

2:00 PM ET | 06- 9-2008 | permalink | comments (25) | e-mail post

Big Ideas (Don't Get Any)

Filed under: Luncheonette

Big Ideas (Don't get any) from 1030 on Vimeo.

Radiohead's "Nude" on old computer parts. The head-exploding wonderfulness starts around 1:09.

Ian Chillag

11:51 AM ET | 06- 6-2008 | permalink | comments (5) | e-mail post

Woman Wins Horse Race

Filed under: Luncheonette

On our show yesterday, Liz Phair celebrated the 15th anniversary of her gender-kazam record Exile in Guyville. Today, Julie Krone marked the 15th anniversary of her win in the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair. Krone came from so far back, the announcer didn't even mention her until nearly 1:30 has gone by.

Laura Conaway

1:40 PM ET | 06- 5-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

A Guy in 'Guyville'

Filed under: Luncheonette, Music

Our treat for you today: a little more Liz Phair. She was on the show today to talk about her 1993 album Exile in Guyville and since the songs on that classic album have been stuck in our heads all day, we though we'd share.

Exile introduced me to two new worlds: indie rock and the Internet. Growing up, I listened mostly to whatever I could pick up on the radio, so when a friend (an older, cooler friend) handed me a tape of Exile (120-minute cassette, the full album dubbed onto each side), it was literally like nothing I'd ever heard.

The idea that there was music out there that the radio didn't play blew my mind a little.

And because there was no way to find out more about who she was (or what my friend meant when she called the album a song-by-song response to Exile on Main Street by the Rolling Stones) in Bellingham, Wash., I turned to the Internet. I learned how to search, chat, subscribe to mailing lists, all to find out more about Liz Phair.

Yeah, OK. I was obsessed. But you only get one first favorite record. Exile is mine, by a long shot.

After the jump, Liz Phair finally explains the whole "song by song response to Exile on Main Street" thing. If only I had heard this interview when I was sixteen.

Continue reading "A Guy in 'Guyville'" »

Jacob Ganz

2:08 PM ET | 06- 4-2008 | permalink | comments (5) | e-mail post

Farewell, Bo Diddley

Filed under: Luncheonette, News

The news: JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Spokeswoman: Rock and Roll hall of famer Bo Diddley has died at 79 in Florida.

What it's so much more than: "I'm a Man." Bo Diddley had his own beat, for pete's sake, sort of "clave goes to Mississippi and eats a ton of catfish."

Makes me homesick just thinking about it. Sing it, McComb.

Bonus: 13 songs that use the Bo Diddley beat

Laura Conaway

12:19 PM ET | 06- 2-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

All About Anansi, the Trickster Spider

Filed under: Book Club, Luncheonette

So, if you're liking Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, our current BPP Book Club pick, you've probably been wondering about this Anansi character. And you've probably discovered that he is a figure originating in West African folklore about whom many stories are told throughout the African diaspora. He's a trickster, always scheming. Sometimes things turn out well for him, sometimes not--especially when he's greedy.

After reading a book called Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott, my six-year-old wanted more Anansi tales, and I went looking on YouTube. This one, Anansi and the Tug o' War, by Story Cove, was his favorite. Enjoy.

Bonus:
Crazy Polish TV commercial for Anansi Boys
Sign up for BPP Book Club alerts

Sarah Goodyear

12:55 PM ET | 05-30-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Clarence Carter's "Patches"

Filed under: Luncheonette, Stuff We Love

Courtesy of Nathan Deuel, a song that'll keep on breaking your heart.

Bonus: Wikipedia on Clarence Carter

Laura Conaway

1:15 PM ET | 05-29-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Gamillions of Bikes in Copenhagen

Filed under: City Living, Luncheonette

Several times in New York this spring, I've pulled up to intersections on my bike and realized I'm looking at more bikes than cars. It mostly happens in neighborhoods instead of Midtown Manhattan, but sometimes it happens even on high-traffic streets.

City transportation planners report that the number of cyclists is way up. But we're nowhere near the velo crowd in Copenhagen, Denmark. The person who took the video above admits it's a bit of a cheat -- the footage was taken just after a drawbridge had been lowered. Even so, it's an amazing stream of bikes.

Bonus: L.A. Times covers riding in New York.

Laura Conaway

2:11 PM ET | 05-28-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Sydney Pollack, Smart Like That

Filed under: Luncheonette, News

The news:
Film director Sydney Pollack died Monday of cancer at his home in Los Angeles. He was 73.

The clip: Pollack gives a lesson in making movies.

Bonus: The agent scene in Tootsie.

Laura Conaway

12:55 PM ET | 05-27-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Lunchtime Laugh-In in Memory of Dick Martin

Filed under: Luncheonette, Stuff We Love, TV

Dick Martin of "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" passed away over the weekend at age 86.

Martin was the comic half of the title comedy duo--the other being straight man Dan Rowan. (Want to know the difference between comic and straight man? Look it up in your Funk and Wagnalls.)

Although I am not of the generation for whom "Laugh-In" was made, as a lover of comedy, especially anything that has ties (however tenuous) to vaudeville, I have been a fan of the show forever. As a kid I was more interested in the zany characters like Ruth Buzzi's little old lady with the hairnet or any of Lily Tomlin's creations from Edith Ann to the telephone operator, than of Rowan and Martin themselves. But of course now I get the two mcs nattily dressed in tuxedos, carrying drinks and cigarettes as they kept the weirdness moving along. Or did I imagine the drinks and cigarettes? They made it seem like that kind of a party.

Coincidentally, yesterday I was surfing through youtube looking for Danny Kaye routines (see? the comedy thing again!), when I stumbled upon his brief appearance on "Laugh-In." And that started me down an hour or so journey laughing at "Laugh-In" clips. All before I heard about Dick Martin's death. Here, then, for your luncheonette pleasure today, is one of my favorites of yesterday's discoveries, in memory of Dick Martin.

Tricia McKinney

12:21 PM ET | 05-26-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Son House Makes an Afternoon Shine

Filed under: Luncheonette

Son House isn't living anymore, but his music is. The blues giant re-emerged from his Delta obscurity to play around the city where I grew up, in Mississippi, not long before his death in 1988.

For the warm spring afternoons listening to him on patios and lawns, I thank my ancestors who couldn't get out of the mud, and the ones who moved into the mud so they could preach revivals, and especially the ones who tried to move to Texas but came back on the same trail their bulldog had followed home weeks before. Son House, you made the whole thing worth it.

Laura Conaway

2:09 PM ET | 05-23-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Lenny Henry, Narrator, Friend of Neil Gaiman

Filed under: Book Club, Luncheonette

Meet Lenny Henry, big in Britain..

Listener Gavin Bruce took the BPP to task today for not knowing who Lenny Henry was when we played a clip of Henry's audiobook recording of Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys (this month's BPP Book Club selection). Bruce wrote:

You didn't seem to recognize Lenny Henry's name or voice on the show today (he's the narrator of your talking book version). I wanted to mention that he is actually a very very very famous person, one of the most well-known and talented people in the UK for at least 20 years. You might want to learn more about him.

Right you are, Gavin! You can find out everything you might want to know about Henry on his website. He's not only a very accomplished comedian, he's also a friend of Neil Gaiman's, and, according to Gaiman, was at least in part the inspiration for Anansi Boys:

There's definitely a part of me that feels that Lenny Henry's reading of ANANSI BOYS will be in some odd way the definitive text, but that's because Lenny was there when I came up with the idea, and much of the time while I was writing it, I was hearing Len's voice in the back of my head.

Gaiman also said this about Henry in an extensive interview about Anansi Boys for About.com:

On the one hand he's a very private, quiet, scholarly, reserved person, and on the other hand is an absolutely wild, outgoing, over-the-top, huge, funny dude. And both of these things are true. And I love the fact that both of these things are true.

After the jump, links to ever-so-slightly blue, absolutely hilarious Henry clips.

Bonus: Sign up for BPP Book Club alerts

Continue reading "Lenny Henry, Narrator, Friend of Neil Gaiman" »

Sarah Goodyear

12:23 PM ET | 05-22-2008 | permalink | comments (5) | e-mail post

Students Video the China Quake

Filed under: Luncheonette, News

The YouTube summary for this video clip says it was filmed by a student at Sichuan University, in Chengdu, during China's May 12 earthquake.

The 3,500 comments are peppered with arguments about the Chinese government and the question of outsider aid. One person writes: "why do you blame the innocent victims for wat the government does?i know other countries out there arent getting ALL the help they need but right now people are being buried and need to be found in less than a week."

More:
Surveillance camera footage in Chengdu
China needs a million tents

Laura Conaway

12:42 PM ET | 05-21-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

On Today's Snack Menu: That Animated Graffiti Thing

Filed under: Luncheonette

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

I keep bumping into this clip on some of my favorites sites.

Thankfully, the artist (at least somewhat) explains the otherwise unexplainable.

Laura Conaway

12:22 PM ET | 05-20-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

'Minimalist' Mark Bittman Says Change or Die

Filed under: Luncheonette

This Luncheonette is for all the East Coasters and Midwesterners coming back to their desks, and for the West Coasters still considering what to eat.

One of my favorite cooking gurus, New York Times "Minimalist" Mark Bittman, would like a word with all of us about food. Bittman gave a TED Talk, basically saying that we can have our fast-food beef and corn-based everything, or we can have our planet.

You decide, Bittman says. You're deciding every day.

Laura Conaway

2:13 PM ET | 05-19-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

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 (1) | 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 (11) | 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 (19) | 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 (21) | 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

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