Final Episodes

--Jason DeRose

Today, our TV critic Andrew Wallenstein talked about his favorite and not so favorite TV series' final episodes. Since Day to Day goes off the air on Friday, it's something I've been thinking about a lot as well. My list is kind of quirky. My top five:

1. Six Feet Under -- I completely agree with Andrew on this one. I cannot hear Sia's "Breath Me" without crying. I cared deeply about these characters. I identified with many of them. And knowing how they spent their dying days brings a lot of comfort to someone like me who's an empathy junkie. The day we were told Day to Day was canceled, I played "Breath Me" over and over on my drive home. I plan to do that this Friday as well.

Continue reading "Final Episodes" »

Tags: final episode | goodbye | tv

9:38 AM ET | 03-18-2009 | permalink

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Posting Secrets

 

--Martina Castro

Five years ago, Frank Warren started a little art project called PostSecret. He handed out 3,000 postcards to strangers and asked them to anonymously write down their secrets and mail the cards back to him.

Frank Warren

 

Frank Warren

It was an overwhelming success and he created a popular website to show off the cards. Warren still gets about 200 postcards a day. Now -- he's taking the secrets on tour. Postcards are currently on display at the Bedford Gallery near San Francisco.

Martina Castro is a producer and reporter with KALW in San Francisco. She decided to conduct her own social experiment. She went to the PostSecret exhibit and asked other visitors to share their secrets with Day to Day. One by one, they took her microphone off into a corner and whispered their private thoughts into Martina's recorder. She's woven the secrets together into a radio story for today's show.

Tags: art | secrets

11:40 AM ET | 03-17-2009 | permalink

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Reconstructing Fashion

 

--Alex Cohen

Raquel Allegra has been making new outfits out of old clothes, ever since she was a little girl in Berkeley, California.

"I didn't get to go clothes shopping very often," she told me, "So I started just taking my clothes apart and putting them back together again in ways that I preferred... If I couldn't afford to get something new, I could make something new."

That talent has served her well. Over the years, she kept making her own clothes and wearing them. She eventually moved to Los Angeles to pursue a singing career. Allegra took a job at Barney's New York, the luxury department store, to pay the rent.

Alex Cohen, NPR

 

Jamie Luca

"People would stop me," she explained, "and say 'I want THAT, I want what you're wearing!'" So, she decided to have a trunk show at her house. Allegra soon developed a loyal fan base, including celebrities Mary Kate Olson and Kate Moss.

Her most popular items are tops and dresses made out of old t-shirts that were once worn by inmates at southern California's jails. She hand dyes them and puts them through a brutal process she calls deconstruction. The result are beautiful pieces with sections that are finely webbed like a delicate gauze.

Raquel Allegra's designs are incredibly fragile - they can get caught on things, the holes can grow bigger. "but I appreciate that about the pieces," she says "it's life's texture in a way, coming in to shift the piece and make it your own."

Allegra will be showing off her new fall line at the L.A. Fashion Week.

Tags: clothes | fashion | innovation

1:35 PM ET | 03-12-2009 | permalink

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The Expendables

--Steve Proffitt

The Expendables: It's not the way NPR thinks of the staff of Day to Day.

Wait, maybe it is!

Whatever. It's also the name of a movie that begins filming in March, directed and starring Sylvester Stallone, and featuring our California governor playing our California governor.

I couldn't resist making this fake trailer:

The Expendables from steve proffitt on Vimeo.

Tags: Arnold | Stallone | The Expendables | movie trailer

8:36 PM ET | 02-26-2009 | permalink

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Grand Theft Oscar?

Steve Proffitt surveys a mass of unattended car keys at the Oscars

Brian Unger, for NPR

 

--Steve Proffitt

Last night, Brian Unger and I got to go to the Oscars. Instead of press passes, we had actual tickets, which allowed us to stroll down the red carpet, hobnob with the stars, and eat really tasty hors d'oeuvres.

But watching what is essentially at TV show from the 4th balcony (you didn't think they would give us good seats, did you?) was less than satisfying. Plus, we knew there would be a great crush after the show, when people wait for hours while valets try to find their cars, and then wait more hours trying to navigate through the traffic.

So we busted out early.

We made our way down to the fifth level of the underground parking lot at the Kodak Theater. When we arrived, there was a huge valet station, with hundreds and hundreds of keys, each marked with a letter and number indicating which space the car was parked in. But there was no one around. No one!

A quick glance showed a nice new Corvette parked in C26, and a Mercedes S600 in C29. Really, had we been larcenous, it would have been too easy to upgrade from Brian's Prius.

But, even though the reality of unemployment and poverty hangs over us, we maintain a thread of morality. Finally after a bit of shouting, an attendant appeared, and in a flash, we were in the Toyota, out of the garage, and into the cool of the Oscar evening.

And not in jail.

Tags: Academy Awards | Oscar | felony avoided | temptation

10:39 AM ET | 02-23-2009 | permalink

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Here's the story of a lovely listener...

 

--Steve Proffitt

Sometimes listeners send us commentaries. Often they are far too long, too obscure, inappropriate or just not very interesting.

So it was with surprise and delight that I read a little something that came in from a Kansas City listener named Jim Cosgrove.

He sent in a personal essay about Florence Henderson, AKA Carol Brady. Henderson turns 75 on Valentine's Day.

Jim is the father of two young children, and he wrote about his amazement watching his kids take to the Brady Bunch. We're airing his commentary today.

But it turns out Jim Cosgrove also has an AKA. He's a children's entertainer known as Mr. Stinky Feet.

Jim has released several albums, he tours, and he's even played The White House.

Here's a bit of Mr. Stinky Feet, in performance:

Tags: Jim Cosgrove | Mr. Stinky Feet | TV | The Brady Bunch

9:14 AM ET | 02-13-2009 | permalink

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Shades of D.B. Cooper?

Today on the program, a little discussion of one of the most curious stories in the news this week - the tale of an investment advisor/stunt pilot who apparently tried to fake his own death.

Federal marshals are searching for Marcus Schrenker, a 38 year-old Indiana businessman.

Sunday night, Schrenker reported that the windshield on his single-engine Piper Malibu had imploded and that he was bleeding. Authorities believe he jumped from the plane somewhere over Alabama. The Piper continued flying on auto-pilot and crashed in a Florida panhandle swamp not far from a residential area.

Then, Monday morning, police in Childersburg, Alabama say a man with Schrenker's driver's license told them he'd been involved in a canoeing accident. They took him to a local hotel. When they learned of the crash, they returned to the hotel, but Schrenker had disappeared.

Last week Schrenker, whose wife recently filed for divorce, was on the losing end of a more than half million dollar judgment brought by an insurance company who claimed Schrenker bilked them on commissions for annuity or insurance plans.

But here's what you really want to see. The investment advisor/pilot flying under a pair of bridges in the Bahamas. The video, via Youtube, features some cheesy music, and the camera remains focused on Schrenker. But the money shot is about 2:30 in, when you see the two bridges pass by behind him.

Tags: crazy stunts | missing pilot

10:23 AM ET | 01-13-2009 | permalink

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The Curious Music of Benjamin Button

--Nihar Patel

Day to Day host Alex Cohen and I had the same sensation while driving out to interview film composer Alexandre Desplat.

Nihar Patel

We were listening to his score for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and the spare, melacholy music was soothing our traffic-addled brains.

I love driving to movie music; you get to pretend that your own life is somehow worthy of cinematic grandeur. Maybe you're driving to meet a lost love who you met a decade ago on a platform at the Gare d'Nord in Paris (instead of picking up dry-cleaning). It's the little ways we daydream to deal with the insanity. Woah, watch out for that jogger!

12:39 PM ET | 01- 9-2009 | permalink

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What To Wear At -78 Degrees

Courtesy Aliza Sherman Risdahl via Bunny Boots

 

--Heather Murphy

On the show this morning, we interview a woman who lives in Tok, Alaska where the thermometer recently dropped to -78 degrees. Because here in southern California, we snuggle up next to heat lamps at 50 degrees, we are quite fascinated by this woman and how she gets by in such extreme cold. One characteristic Aliza Sherman Risdahl shares with many Los Angelenos, however, is that she has a Chihuahua. He can't go out in air that resembles dry ice, but his brother the Lab can. After a certain point outside, he just stops moving and lays down, she says. Apparently they don't sell bunny boots -- the human shoe wear of choice in Tok (above ) -- for dogs. She blogs about her experiences here.

12:29 PM ET | 01- 9-2009 | permalink

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Recipes, From A 5 Year-old Chef

 

--Steve Proffitt

On the show today we talked to Chef Julian, who is, we have to figure, the world's youngest celebrity chef.

As promised, a couple of Julian's recipes. Enjoy!

Chef Julian's Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup molasses
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
2 cups grated zucchini
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately, then mix the two together. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until done.

Chef Julian's "Persinnamon" Smoothie

Ice
3 ripe persimmons
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Blend all ingredients in a blender.

And here's a little of the junior chef in action:

Tags: celebrity | food | recipe

12:31 PM ET | 01- 5-2009 | permalink

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Nostalgia for 1988???

 

--Alex Cohen

1968 was quite a year -- Martin Luther king and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated, Apollo 8 orbited the moon and the Beatles released "Hey, Jude." All year long NPR has been looking back forty years in a series called Echoes of 68.

But for those of us who weren't around or barely remember it... it's been hard not to feel a little left out this year during all these 40th anniversary celebrations.

So today, we've decided to look back 20 years to 1988. I talked to Russell Scott and Patrick Young, creators of the website Retroland. We traveled down memory lane, remembering hits from 1988 like the uber-saccharine song "Don't Worry, be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin and TV shows like "The Wonder Years" and "A Pup Named Scooby Doo."

In 1988, I was 16 years old and just learning how to drive in Los Angeles. As Patrick noted, you spend so much time in the car when you first get behind the wheel, that the songs on the radio from that era often become permanently imprinted on your brain.

I have very distinct memories of driving from my house in the San Fernando Valley to UCLA where I had a summer job. As I drove over the hills in my Nissan Sentra, I would blast songs like "Every Rose has its Thorn" by Poison and "Red Red Wine" by UB40.

What's funny to me is that some songs that I absolutely detested back then, like the Escape Club's "Wild Wild West" and Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give you Up" bring a smile to my face whenever I happen to hear them now... I guess 20 years can make some things sound a lot better.

What are your favorite things from 1988?

Tags: 1988 | nostalgia | retro

12:27 PM ET | 12-31-2008 | permalink

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Supertasters

Getty Images

 

--Jolie Myers

I've always hated cilantro. Let's just get that out of the way.

But I take great pride in being an evolved diner -- I open mindedly toss back haggis (sheep guts) and will happily munch on raw octopus tentacles.

So there is shame in despising cilantro, a foundation food of Latin American and Southeast Asian cuisine.

This is why I listened with great enthusiasm to producer Josh Kurz' piece today on "supertasters" -- people whose heightened sense of taste ruins certain foods for them, namely cilantro.

Could my secret loathing of cilantro be a good thing, a sign of my superior taste buds?

The test for supertasters involves chewing on a chemical soaked piece of paper. If it tastes like paper, you're of plebian palate. If it tastes like skunk spray marinated in vomit, you're a supertaster.

One chewed up piece of paper and the lingering taste of road kill confirm that I, Jolie Myers, am a supertaster.

Sweet victory in the war on cilantro? I'm not so sure. I can't help but feel, despite the advanced state of my tongue's relationship with food, that I'm actually missing out on one of the finer things. That cilantro lovers are the ones who win.

Now about my hatred of raw tomatoes...

Tags: cilantro | food | personal discovery | supertaster

4:01 PM ET | 12-26-2008 | permalink

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Madonna (Inn) At Fifty

Illustration courtesy Madonna Inn

 

--Steve Proffitt

Charles Phoenix

 

Steve Proffitt, NPR

On Christmas Eve, 1958, Alex and Phyllis Madonna opened a little motel in San Luis Obispo, California with 12 rooms. Rather than giving the rooms numbers, they gave them names, and decorated them all differently, each one representing a theme. They wanted to create something different. Boy, did they succeed!

In a style that could be described as Swiss Chalet meets Disneyland, the Madonna Inn was an almost instant hit with tourists, who might stop in San Luis Obispo as they traveled down Highway 101 on their way to Los Angeles or San Francisco. Over the years, Alex and Phyllis added to their labor of love. They hired craftsmen from Europe, local stoneworkers, and a staff that was, according to Phyllis Madonna, "our extended family." By the 1960's the Madonna Inn had over 100 rooms, a coffee shop with a copper-covered bar and and an ornate lobby filled with hand-carved wood and statues.

Courtesy Madonna Inn

The Inn attracted celebrities along with regular folk, and the dining room is lined with pictures of the famous and powerful - actors, singers and politicians who visited. Back in the day, Phyllis Madonna would entertain guests by playing the accordion and singing. Now eighty, she says the big instrument is a little too unwieldy and heavy for her to play.

Steve Proffitt, NPR

But she still sings, as she did for us when I visited the Inn with Americana expert Charles Phoenix. Her husband Alex died four years ago. Now, Phyllis has turned over the day to day operations to her children. But you can still find her most days in her booth in the Copper Cafe, chatting with old friends and visitors.

Charles says the handbuilt quality of the Madonna Inn makes it a unique complex that could never be duplicated today. "No one could afford to pay for all this detail today," he says.

Steve Proffitt, NPR

The Inn is known for it's signature hot pink. The dining room is done up in pink. The big sign out by the highway is pink. And the favorite dessert at the Madonna Inn is the pink champagne cake.

But it's really the theme rooms that make the place special. Take a look here to see a full list of the rooms, and pictures of most of them.

Alex Madonna owned a heavy construction company, and because he loved rocks, many of the rooms feature huge boulders. Some are made entirely out of rock. Every room is different. Every one is a flight of fancy and an expression of the love, care and devotion the Madonna's had for their enterprise.

As it turns 50, the Inn is still going strong, with occupancy rates holding steady, even in the face of a recession. There's a new pool and spa up on the hill, but otherwise, the place remains a slice of mid-century America. And it remains a perfect place to get away from it all for a little while, and just enjoy the outrageous magic and imagination of Alex and Phyllis Madonna.

Tags: americana | mid-century | travel

3:46 PM ET | 12-23-2008 | permalink

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Sleeveface Update

 

-- Alex Cohen

Last week, we introduced you to Carl Morris, a DJ living in Cardiff Wales, who likes to spend his time Sleevefacing. For those of you who missed the interview, the sleeve in sleevefacing refers to an album sleeve or cover. Years ago, Morris held a Paul McCartney album up to his face and a friend took a picture. They found the picture funny - and thus a trend was born.

Carl and his buddy John Rostron have taken countless Sleeveface pictures - they've even put out a book featuring some of their favorite shots.

We here at NPR West were so inspired, we took some of our own Sleeveface pics and we asked our listeners to give it a try.

Check out what John Tynan sent us! I especially like the one with the accordion!

And listener Cristen Carey sent us her sleeveface efforts.

Cristen Carey

 

Cristen Carey

 

We hope this inspires you to get creative with your album collection. So get out your old LP covers, and your new-fangled digital camera, and email us a few shots.

2:21 PM ET | 12- 3-2008 | permalink

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Playing With Sleeveface

Sam Proud

 

British DJ Carl Morris has taken the face of hundreds of legendary singers and musicians. It's part of his latest obsession, sleevefacing. On his blog Sleeveface, he defines the new trend as "one or more persons obscuring or augmenting any part of their body or bodies with record sleeve(s) causing an illusion." On the show this morning, Alex Cohen talks to him about the phenomenon and his book, Sleeveface: Be The Vinyl.

Here at NPR-West, some of us decided to get into the sleeveface spirit. We asked employees to bring in their old album covers and try "being the vinyl." You can see the results in the gallery below. Think you can do better? Send us your sleeveface creations at what@npr.org and we'll include the best ones in our gallery.

12:02 PM ET | 12- 1-2008 | permalink

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Madonna, Rock Solid At Fifty

Steve Proffitt For NPR

--Steve Proffitt

No. Not her. It.

I've traveled up the coast from Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo with my friend, 50s fanatic Charles Phoenix. We're spending a night at the Madonna Inn, which turns 50 next month.

It's a famous place, but in case you aren't clued-in, every room has a theme. Mine is called Cabin Still. It has an all-rock shower, and above the sink, a crazy coil of copper pipe. Charles is staying in a room that is ALL rock. He's feeling like a real cave man.

The entire inn is an ode to the hard work and vision of Alex and Phyliss Madonna. They opened the inn on Christmas Eve in 1958. Mr. Madonna passed away about four years ago, but his wife still holds court in a booth at the coffee shop. Next month, for the anniversary, we'll have a story about the inn. Mrs. Madonna will explain how such a crazy place came to be, and then thrived for fifty years.

But for now, we're just enjoying the odd details, the shocking pink dining room and my truly kooky bathroom.

Tags: 1950's | Americana | Hotels | Madonna Inn

10:02 PM ET | 11-11-2008 | permalink

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Political Halloween

We asked, you answered. Here's a few of our listeners, exercising their right to be any one they want to be on Halloween. Thanks to everyone who sent in pics.

Tags: halloween | politics

5:12 PM ET | 10-30-2008 | permalink

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Send Your Housing Horror Stories

The Lincoln Heights Home

Courtesy Walker-Rosato Family

--Heather Murphy

Back in 2003, this 3-bedroom, hundred-year-old Victorian was listed on the market for $240,000. In the Midwest this might seem like a lot, but in most parts of Los Angeles, this was the price of a chicken coop.

There were some spooky signs that something was amiss -- like a black widow spider and a toilet located in the middle of the sunroom, but actress Mary Lou Rosato her artist husband Gregory Walker were in love. They pounced quickly, narrowing defeating another bidder.

And that is where things began to go very wrong, as the couple tells us in the radio show today. Just as they are about to close the deal, a neighbor informs them that there home was actually the scene of a gruesome crime. The strange toilet? For flushing crack rocks if the police showed up. It gets worse from there. You can read and hear the full story here.

Why hadn't anyone told them about the violent ghosts that haunted their home? Because when one buys a property from the bank, there is no such thing as a disclosure form. Drive-bys, exploding meth labs, a rapid bat colony -- an individual seller would have to fess up about such problems. But representatives from the bank aren't legally expected to know or tell.

Who ended up buying the house? Did they survive? You'll have to listen to the story to find out. In the meanwhile, we want your housing horror stories. Have you been through something similar? Post your tale below.

Tags: halloween | housing | urban living

12:50 PM ET | 10-30-2008 | permalink

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Fox and the Civilizing Effect

AP Images

 

--Steve Proffitt

Say what you want about Fox, they are doing an great job televising the World Series. And certainly one of the most interesting features are the live microphones they've placed on umpires.

So far, at least, no dirt-kicking, side-spitting, in-your-face encounters. In fact, an interaction between The Ray's manager Joe Maddon and home-plate umpire Tim Welke in Game 1 was gentlemanly, if a little inscrutable.

Watch this excerpt (thank you MBL.com). You'll see Maddon, being quite UN-gentlemanly, when he thought Ray's pitcher Cole Hamel's had committed a balk while picking off Carlos Pena.

But about 40 seconds in, Maddon and Umpire Welke have this polite, but baffling exchange:

Maddon: My concern is this. He doesn't read. He doesn't read. So he's going home all the way right there, and then he decided to throw to first base. That's why I've got it as a balk. If he was a reader, I have no dispute whatsoever."

Welke: I understand what you're saying. The only thing I look for is if I see a step. His feet start this way, together, and he ended up stepping that much closer to first base.

Obviously Welke is talking about the alleged balk. But Maddon? What is this, "He doesn't read?"

If you, gentle reader can translate, please do so.

Tags: arcania | balk | baseball

3:58 PM ET | 10-23-2008 | permalink

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The Corner of Dissonance: Green and on the Wing

--Steve Proffitt

The lastest gong sounding from TCOD:

Researchers at Britain's Exeter University studied 200 individuals and report that people in their sample who are the most avid recyclers and energy savers at home are also the most likely to take long airline trips abroad.

As The Guardian reports, "the carbon emissions from such flights can swamp the green savings made at home, the researchers claim."

We're looking for your examples of dissonance. Leave them in the comments, or comment in this one, please.

Tags: environment | global warming | irony

12:38 PM ET | 09-24-2008 | permalink

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I Will Miss David Foster Wallace

Courtesy of Davidfosterwallace.com

--Madeleine Brand

David Foster Wallace got it.

He got our culture. He laughed at it, sure, but not without a sense of outrage and a sense of sadness that made him stand apart from the knowing, ironic detachment that seems be the hallmark of our Gen X generation.

In the 1990s, my husband and I would read aloud passages of his articles to each other. And, as soon as we finished laughing, we'd be struck by his trenchant observations of the effects of our banal mass culture on us--effects we hadn't realized until he pointed them out.

Here he is, in his famous essay on cruise ships, "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again," on the Professional Smile, which he calls "a national pandemic in the service industry:"

"This is dishonest, but what's sinister is the cumulative effect that such dishonesty has on us: since it offers a perfect facsimile or simulacrum of goodwill without goodwill's real spirit, it messes with our heads and eventually starts upping our defenses even in cases of genuine smiles and real art and true goodwill. It makes us feel confused and lonely and impotent and angry and scared. It causes despair."

And yet...

"And yet the Professional Smile's absence now also causes despair. Anybody who has ever bought a pack of gum at a Manhattan cigar store or asked for something to be stamped FRAGILE at a Chicago post office or tried to obtain a glass of water from a South Boston waitress knows well the soul-crushing effect of a service workers scowl, ie. the humiliation and resentment of being denied the Professional Smile. And the Professional Smile has by now skewed even my resentment at the dreaded Professional Scowl: I walk away from the Manhattan tobacconist resenting not the counterman's character or absence of good will but his lack of professionalism in denying me the Smile. What a f**king mess."

I wanted to interview David Foster Wallace about John McCain. He had written about McCain in the 2000 campaign. His essay was recently re-published in book form. It's called McCain's Promise. He writes about the dual nature of McCain's, well, McCain-ness. On the one hand, he's a man who, when tested, did something few of us will ever have to do or even contemplate: he chose to spend 5 years in a box, being tortured in Vietnam instead of taking up his captors' offer of early release. And yet, he can behave as ruthlessly as any other politician, perhaps hoping his history of being an honorable man will give him a pass.

David Foster Wallace captured that, and so much more in passages like this one:

"There are many elements of the MCain2000 campaign -- naming the bus "Straight Talk," the timely publication of Faith of My Fathers, the much-hyped "openness" and "spontaneity" of the Express's media salon, the message-disciplined way McCain thumps "Always. Tell you. The truth"--that indicate that some very shrewd, clever marketers are trying to market this candidate's rejection of shrewd, clever marketing. Is this bad? Or just confusing? ...the only thing you're certain to feel about John McCain's campaign is a very modern and American type of ambivalence, a sort of interior war between your deep need to believe and your deep belief that the need to believe is bull****, that there's nothing left anywhere but sales and salesmen."

That is essential David Foster Wallace: aware of the manipulation yet yearning for a deeper meaning (any meaning, really.) Essential post-modernism, but with soul.

I wondered what David Foster Wallace would make of McCain now, eight years later. He declined our request for an interview. That was a couple of months ago. I found out today that he had had a particularly rough summer. His father, James Wallace, told the New York Times that his son couldn't find a treatment for his chronic depression that worked. "He had been in the hospital a couple of times over the summer and had undergone electro-convulsive therapy. Everything had been tried, and he just couldn't stand it anymore."

Tags: Madeleine Brand | McCain | books | culture | obituaries

2:22 PM ET | 09-15-2008 | permalink

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The Grocery List Psychic-Detective

--Heather Murphy

You can glean a lot about a person from their grocery list. Artist Hillary Carlip constructed the character above at right, in the blue shirt, based on a grocery list created by the man on the left, in the green jacket. While interpreting the list, she did not know whether the author was a man or a woman, old or young, white or Chinese-American -- only that he was shopping for a better 35mm camera bag, the movie The Jerk and a portable urinal.

And yet, she managed to deduce from the clues in his ultra-organized, typed list that he was in his 40s, with gray hair and a beard. Not too shabby, eh?

Continue reading "The Grocery List Psychic-Detective" »

Tags: call outs | contests | galleries

2:18 PM ET | 09-11-2008 | permalink

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A Sunday Shave at the RNC

-- Steve Proffitt

Here's a little something that didn't make it on the air. That's the nice thing about having this blog.

Back a week ago or so, just before the Republican National Convention began, things were unsettled. Gustav was about to blow into the Gulf, and the convention was suddenly scaled back.

So on that Sunday, I got a shave. I visited an old-line men's emporium called Heimie's Haberdashery. Along with shoes and shirts and hats they have a traditional barber shop. One of their barbers, Tina Kawlinski, convinced me to have my head shaved.

I don't have much hair to start with, and I keep it buzzed short. But this was a first for me. She rubbed oil on it, swathed it in hot towels, lathered it up and went after it with a straight razor. It was sinfully enjoyable.

Afterwards I went for a walk with my friend, All Things Considered producer Art Silverman. We wandered around the Xcel Center and over to the river's edge. On a little bluff overlooking the Mississippi we noticed a lone man reading a paper.

It was Jon Stewart, the host of The Daily Show.

I said, "It would be rude for me to ambush interview you, wouldn't it?"

He said, "Yes, and I'd rather you didn't."

We exchanged a little small talk and said goodbye.

Madeleine is going to hate me for this. But sometimes you just have to be human. And let a guy who is just trying to find a few moment peace have a few moments peace.

Tags: Jon Stewart | RNC | Shaving

3:58 PM ET | 09- 8-2008 | permalink

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Virgule???

-- Steve Proffitt

The other day, on our listener letters segment, I noted that NPR management doesn't like us directing users to specific URL's at NPR.org. There is a feeling, which I share, that it's not pleasant to hear something on the radio like this:

"Just go to NPR dot org SLASH blogs SLASH daydreaming."

An alternative is saying something like this:

"Just go to NPR dot org. Click on the blogs link -- it's in the left-hand column. Then click Daydreaming."

That's slightly more conversational, but not so great. The fact is, the radio is not a very good medium for delivering complex Web addresses. Plus, we have the sense that after a while, hearing all these dots and orgs and SLASHES just becomes wallpaper that listeners no longer even hear.

What do you think? Does it grate on your ears to hear these Web addresses? Got any ideas for other ways we can direct you to specific areas of NPR.org?

One listener had an interesting suggestion. Thomas Murray wrote us from Louisville. He thinks, "too many slashes sounds like the one-sheet for a slasher movie." His suggestion: use another more elegant word for a forward-slanting typographical slash: virgule.

It does sound nice. VUR-gyool. It's from the latin, virgula, meaning "little rod", or referring to a part of the male anatomy that is particularly diminutive.

The later meaning is probably one good reason to thank Mr. Murray but seek an alternate solution. That and the fact that almost no one knows what a virgule is.

But we could try it.

"Just go to NPR dot org VIRGULE blogs VIRGULE daydreaming."

3:53 PM ET | 08-24-2008 | permalink

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D2D HEARTS CARRIE B

Musician Carrie Brownstein did a little piece for us today about the various musical acts booked at the Republican and Democratic conventions. Which one would you guess is featuring The Charlie Daniels band?

Anyway, Carrie has her own NPR blog, Monitor Mix. Not only is she a great writer with a unique perspective, her readers - or at least the people who leave comments on her blog - are funny and literate and really interesting. So, read her blog, and don't skip the comments.

4:58 PM ET | 08-22-2008 | permalink

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Delicious Connectivity

My new friend Gary sent me a link to a jam-making event being planned by urban art and community collective Fallen Fruit. It just so happened I had a tree full of Persian mulberries and another full of white kadota figs. It was meant to be. I decided to pick most of the fruit on Saturday, so that I could just ease on in to Sunday and enjoy the unknown afternoon.

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6:18 PM ET | 08-15-2008 | permalink

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More Reading the California Dream

You can't see them in this picture of Jason, but there's a pool and a book outside the frame.

Jason DeRose, NPR

--Jason DeRose: Why does someone like myself--with an abiding love for the Midwest--like to read about the Golden State? I avoided California for the first 25 years of my life. But a much-needed post-grad school vacation here in Los Angeles made me fall in love with the place. Drinking margaritas on the patio. Lolling by the pool. And, of course, reading. I read books about or set in the places I vacation. So, over the last decade, I've been reading about Southern California. Then, earlier this year, I moved here from Chicago to work on Day to Day. I think the reading had something to do with the move. Oddly, not all of these books are flattering. California is a place of contradictions. But they're all true--even the fictions.

Here's my list:

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1:09 PM ET | 08- 8-2008 | permalink

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Reading the California Dream

Image by Flickr.com user striatic

--Skye Rohde

As luck would have it, I designed my college major to focus on what the academic in me likes to call "the intersection between person and place." That led me to a whole lot of history, geology and literature about the American West, and California plays a central role in all those stories.

I make no claims about being an expert on "California Lit;" this is just a sampling of what's out there about California. In fact, it's technically just what's on my bookshelf at home. But I'd be curious to know what folks think of these books - and to hear what people would include on their own lists about life in California.

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12:52 PM ET | 08- 5-2008 | permalink

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Auto Erotic

--Gary Dauphin

Newton's Third Law of Motion states that "For every action, there is an equal and opposite re-action," so one way to understand the emerging phenomena of "car shame" that Madeleine Brand details in today's California Dreamin' segment is as an equal and opposite reaction to America's "car love."

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12:14 PM ET | 08- 4-2008 | permalink

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See the Music

We're still looking for additions to our list of the most iconic songs about California. In the meantime, we sent NPR intern Sarah Whites-Koditschek to the intern's natural habitat (Youtube) in order to find us videos for some of your suggestions. Here is what she brought back.

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1:40 PM ET | 07-31-2008 | permalink

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'Sex Without Condoms' Prompts Heated Debate

Note: Comments for this post are now closed.

For decades, Hollywood has been helping create fantasies about love, relationships and sex. Ironically, as a young woman notes in this L.A. Weekly article, Los Angeles can be one of the hardest places in the world to find any of these. Following a failed relationship and herbal abortion gone awry, Dani Katz writes that her quest for connection proves confusing. The dream of truly casual sex is a myth, she concludes.

Thursday, as part of Day to Day's series "What's the New What," Pendarvis Harshaw, a teen who grew up in Oakland offers his own provocative take on the California relationship dream. "Sex without condoms is the new engagement ring," he suggested in an on-air essay. Among his friends and acquaintances, ditching the condoms for other forms of birth control like the pill, signifies taking monogamy to a new level; partners are required to trust each other completely at the risk of getting an STD. Given that few of his friends in their late teens are thinking much about marriage, this transforms a prophylactic into a relationship sign-post along the lines of an engagement ring.

The piece provoked quite a bit of response.

Some of the comments:

"Jesus, what a pile of useless crap your "what" report is. I listen to NPR for intelligent information not mindless hip-hop MTV sound bites, all puked out with an uneducated speech impediment. The notion that some kid humping without a condom is a grand sign of commitment, love, and responsibility, is laughable. But I'm actually encouraged by the ignorance of the youth described in the "story." It means a bright future for my kids, nephews, and nieces who will have no problem dominating such half-witted masses."

--Kristopher H

"I am absolutely disgusted by your program. As a 23-year-old, recently married college graduate and current master's student I was excited when I heard about a program that was going to talk about some of the trends in my generation .... How sick that your producers would highlight topics such as sex without a condom as being equated to engagement. Not only is that the most ridiculous claim I've ever heard, it's also a complete overgeneralization of the fact ... I will not be donating to NPR at any time in the future and you have lost my listenership and respect for your programming."

--Anne Tatlock

"Pendarvis Harshaw's essay should be on the WTF program."

--Barbara Plichta

Just one listener in Virginia wrote in to tell us he liked the essay:

Thank you for your comments today. It was rich, cool, funky and hip! Keep reporting the WHAT!

--Paul Economy

In defense of the piece, 'Youth Radio' clarified that Harshaw's point was not that couples solidify their bond by ditching all forms of birth control -- just condoms.

Is it possible that people beyond Harshaw's circle look at condoms as an indicator of intimacy? Is it possible that if Harshaw had a different accent, people would have reacted differently to his observations?

Or are you also infuriated by this essay? Is Harshaw simply glorifying a dangerous lifestyle? Tell us below.

COMMENTING ON THIS STORY IS NOW CLOSED

--Heather Murphy

9:45 AM ET | 07-25-2008 | permalink

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Shereen Needs Music

Hey, beloved Day to Day listener/Daydreaming reader,

Last week, we put a call out for songs to include in our comprehensive list of the best songs ever recorded about California. We've gotten some responses, but need more. It can be anything, from the obvious to the obscure, so please post your suggestion in the comment section below.

Also, we'd also like to hear from musicians out there working hard to make your California Dreams come true. If you have an original song you've written about California, you can either post a link to the song below or us an email here and we'll respond by telling you where to drop the mp3. If it's awesome, we'll air it.

--Shereen Meraji

5:29 PM ET | 07-23-2008 | permalink

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Is California Getting Gay Marriage Competition?

Adrian Genesi and James Davis traveled from Arizona to marry in California last month. Adaptations to the marriage laws in Mass., may soon cause a marketing war to gain the business of couples from the middle states. Photo by Jeremy and Claire Weiss for NPR. CLICK ON PHOTO TO SEE MORE.

California's economy benefited from the wave in gay marriages last month, due in part to out-of-state couples who flew in to tie the knot. Massachusetts was the first state to legalize same-sex marriage, but those marriages don't count unless you're a resident. That means if you're gay and from New York, don't elope in Massachusetts! Wait...hold on, that law might change sooner than you think, according to today's NY Times, Massachusetts' state officials want some of that wedding cha-ching.

--Shereen Meraji

2:15 PM ET | 07-16-2008 | permalink

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Where the Blankers Are

Let me share a secret with you about social networks: They're all about dating.

Or more accurately, they're all about meeting people... that you might consider dating under the right circumstances. Don't get me wrong, that spouse/significant other/LTR of yours did not join the local astronomy meetup because they're planning to stray with a comely stargazer. But the communities of affinity people seek out and join often provide that exact mix of commonality, newness and distraction that makes for a good first date. I used to manage a website with a heavy dating component, so I know of what I speak. (Want a piece of free dating advice culled from my years of electronic match-making? Don't ever go on a first date with anyone that involves being stuck across a table with them for two hours. It's a date, not a Cold War-era summit meeting with Communist Russia. Go to a gallery or take a walk or something, already.)

But the ease with which connections of affinity become the levers of love is why online communities and soft-focus adult education programs often refer to their subscribers and students as "stealth daters." It's why Whole Foods is a pickup joint. After all, what's the first thing you suggest to a friend having a hard time on the dating scene? "Why don't you go to the Learning Annex and take a class in blank? You love blank! And there will be lots of other blankers there!"

Morning Edition's Ben Bergman just found a highly Californian example of this phenomenon: Green speed dating.

For people who are extremely passionate about the environment, finding low-impact love can be tough.

A Los Angeles Web site recently tried to help find a solution, organizing what it billed as the first "green" speed-dating event.

Sixteen or so singles from across Los Angeles descended on a bar near the beach last month in search of a carbon-neutral connection.

Green might not be your style, what about a wine tasting? Do the people in Ben's segment remind you of friends and relatives who are always on the hunt for new ways to cull the herd of potential mates? (Or drum more mates up, as the case may be.) Have you ever re-purposed a social network into a dating tool? Let us know!

--Gary Dauphin

4:53 PM ET | 07-15-2008 | permalink

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Singing the California Dream

In Los Angeles, it's not enough to make it as an actor; "I'm working on my album," is the requisite LA hobby. Filtered through starlets' medically plumped lips it sounds more like, "um workin' on my ahbum." (It's hard to enunciate after excessive collagen injections -- you know, scar tissue buildup.)

"Making it" as a musician is undeniably one of the most cliche of the California Dreams. But that's not to say we haven't gotten a lot of great songs about the Golden State out of it. We've used Rufus Wainwright's California quite a bit to promote our series. But we need help compiling a comprehensive list of the best songs ever recorded about California, from the obvious to the obscure. Please post your ideas in the comment section below.

And to those musicians out there working hard to make your California Dreams come true, sans lip plumping, send us your musical version of the California Dream. You can either post a link to the song below or send us an email here and we'll respond by telling you where to drop the mp3. If it's awesome, we'll air it.

--Shereen Meraji

2:36 PM ET | 07-15-2008 | permalink

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Tales of the Nerd, Stink-Bug, Ho and Other Vehicles

Last week, we asked listeners to tell us what their cars meant to them. Whether it's the ride Mr. Jalopy calls "Sister Golden Hair Surprise," or what one listener has dubbed "Leopard Bernstein," Americans don't just love their cars, they love personalizing them. Take a look:

Judging from the admittedly unscientific survey above, the right to customize is one of the privileges of ownership. As Celeste Headlee's segment about "makers" points out, though, Americans are increasingly "buying" products that they can't customize or modify. What if Detroit sold cars that came with fine print saying the owner (so-called) couldn't change the color, or build a giant, terrifying waterfall on the trunk the way Extermo the Clown did? A basic piece of Americana would disappear.

Fortunately, that's not the case -- yet -- so enjoy the gallery. Many thanks to everyone who sent us photos and stories! We got quite a few submissions, more than we could feature today, and we'll be sharing additional images and stories on the blog in upcoming weeks. In the meantime, tell us what you think about this first batch.

--Gary Dauphin

10:32 AM ET | 07-14-2008 | permalink

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Old is the New Young

The California dream of show business stardom is built around this idea of perpetual youth. Cosmetically, this means plastic surgery, personal trainers, etc. When Evelyn Waugh came out to Los Angeles and wrote the novel The Loved One, he took this idea to its absurd end. Even funerals were an opportunity to prolong one's youth. (Not to mention an opportunity for Hollywood to adapt a LaLaLand-satirizing novel.)

Youth is also a state of mind. A friend of my recently interviewed for a job with a famous Hollywood producer. The position was officially titled "cultural attaché." The producer needed someone young to keep him on top of the next new thing. Youth as a commodity, a skill-set.

In real life, though, away from the dream factory, people still get older every year. According to a recent survey, the average age of the nation's television audience just passed 50. That will mean a lot of things for the TV business. One of them, I imagine, is that somewhere, some 27-year old executive is trying to keep up with the latest trend - being old. I wonder what that Blackberry message looks like?

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11:59 AM ET | 07- 2-2008 | permalink

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