The Gods of Flight Must Be Crazy

What's your pre-flight ritual?

Source: beenit

Without naming any names, we have some nervous fliers here on the TOTN staff. A certain host makes sure he goes through the same ritual every time he boards, just to keep the aviation gods happy. And it seems that he's in good company. Here's part of what Sarah Haskins wrote in the Chicago Tribune over the weekend:

Perhaps you don't know how planes work. Let me inform you. Many years ago, humans made a mystical pact with the lofty God FAA. In this pact we agreed that no matter what FAA asked of us, we would do it, if FAA and his co-deity, the trickster DEREGULATED AIRLINE GOD, would keep us safe.

She was set off by the passenger next to her using his Blackberry in mid-flight, a big no-no according to the FAA gods.

Well, A, who am I to argue with those who would guard our fate in the sky? I am a weak human. And I am not totally sure how planes work. Seems nuts, right?

Just among the small group of us here in the office, we have all kinds of rituals that go on before take off... And so far we've all managed to land safely (fingers crossed, knock on wood, etc, etc). Any other pre-flight rituals out there? Liquid courage? Herbal remedies? Prayer? Do you think it really works?

Scott Cameron

10:10 AM ET | 04-30-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

My Way or the Highway

I have a zillion cousins, each more interesting than the last. It's a family tree too complicated to elaborate on, but suffice it to say I got to spend a lovely morning with about a dozen cousins from three generations on Saturday, and we had a great conversation about motherhood and careers. Sure, it's well-trod territory, but it's particularly interesting right now. Not to me personally -- don't worry, there are no buns in this oven --, but my best friend has a new son, and I know she and her husband have had to work out a solution for their family, and that what felt like a good strategy yesterday may not today. My cousins have all seemed to reach various happy mediums, and what's so interesting to me is that there is so much gray now. When I was growing up, either your mom stayed home or she worked. Dad worked. Period. My mom stayed home, and then volunteered in our schools as we aged. So that's the model I grew up with, but I'm not sure it'll be right for me. Nowadays women can work nontraditional schedules if they need or want to stick with their careers, and since women make up so much more of the workforce these days, some workplaces are actually changing to accommodate "off-ramping" moms. Whatever I decide when my day comes, you can bet my decision will be met with strong opinions. Think we've evolved past the "staying home is anti-feminist"/"working is child abandonment" debate? Think again... and if you're unconvinced, take a look at the message boards for TLC's new reality program, The Secret Life of a Soccer Mom. Chilling. Clearly, how you choose to raise your children is one of the most personal and important decisions a person ever makes, and that decision is bound to be wrapped up in passionate opinions. But why do others feel so free to critique that decision? And why can't we talk about it nicely? So, in an effort to be constructive instead of de-, what's the best advice you received when you were making this decision?

Sarah Handel

11:16 AM ET | 03-31-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Growing Georgia

Georgia's Lake Lanier, a year ago versus now.

Source: Brian Hursey

For some reason, I'm pretty into the Southeast drought story. Briefly, if you're unaware, the Southeast is in its worst drought in more than a century. It's especially bad in Georgia, and the state legislature's got an idea to ease the pain... move the border. Apparently, Georgia and Tennessee have long agreed that the border they've shared for 200 years isn't quite in the right place, that Georgia should extend a bit more than a mile into what's now Tennessee. But no one has ever really cared, until now. Turns out, if Georgia moved the border to reclaim that land, they'd get to tap into an incredibly precious resource: the Tennessee River. It's a huge, important river that could alleviate some of the drought in Georgia... but what of all the Tennesseeans who'd suddenly have new addresses... legislators... schools... identities? Now, I'm biased -- I love Georgia, and hate to see her suffer. Plus, Tennessee's flip response was to challege the Dawgs to a football game for the border, and that raises my hackles (though I'm completely confident in a Dawg victory, should the Vols really take the field). And, of course I think Tennesseeans would be lucky to be insta-Georgians. But seriously... what if you woke up one morning, suddenly in a different state, having never left your bed?

Sarah Handel

10:43 AM ET | 02-21-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Weighing Sex in the Workplace

A relatively tame ad on the American Apparel factory.

Source: David McNew/Getty Images

I don't generally drive to work, but when I do, Marketplace makes my commute home much more tolerable, and not a drive goes by without some story sticking in my brain's gears. Yesterday was no exception -- they did a piece on the store so many love-to-hate, American Apparel. CEO Dov Charney's back in the news for sexual harassment. He's been accused four times, but this is the first time the charge has made it to court. A little background: the company has created repeated stirs with its provocative ad campaigns. And in the Marketplace story, reporter Ashley Milne-Tyte talked to retail consultant Patti Pao about the harassment lawsuit... and it's her comment that I've been mulling ever since. She said:

When you go work at a company you have to fit with their culture. The culture doesn't fit with you. I'm not excusing it by any stretch of the imagination, because I think it's actually kind of hideous, but that is part of the culture of the company.

I go back and forth on this, and it created quite a stir in our morning meeting. On the one hand, she's absolutely right -- as Neal so eloquently framed it, you ought not go work at the dirty joke factory if you're easily offended, and American Apparel's porny ads are no secret. On the other hand, there's a tinge of blaming-the-victim there, too, that doesn't quite sit with me. And then again, personal responsibility... and around and around I go. Of course, there's a question of degree here -- what form did the harassment take, and under what conditions. But there's a bigger question that's worth considering, thanks to Ms. Pao -- to what extent are you responsible for choosing a workplace with whose culture you mesh, and, once chosen, where's the line between taking responsibility for the choice you made and unacceptable trespass? Or do you see it in black and white? What do you think?

Sarah Handel

10:11 AM ET | 01-22-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Geeks in the Desert (Wish I could be there)

I haven't been able to convince the rest of the crew here to do a show on the Consumer Electronics Show this week (so far, anyway). It's the annual orgy of gadgets and electronica that brings more than a hundred thousand people to Las Vegas for a little "gee whiz" time. It's a tough show to talk about without actually being there (hint to my own bosses for 2009), but talk of incredibly thin TVs, cars that drive themselves, dancing speakers, wireless everywhere, and of course HD everything is worth the price of admission. The consensus again this year is that we're seeing more evolution that revolution, with gadgets getting more powerful, more refined, and smaller, but not necessarily doing novel new things. If you're a gadget-head, here's some of the better coverage of this year's show:

So, what is CES?
Flat-screens are bigger and better
And TVs get bigger and bigger
Gadgets go green
Blow-by-blow product releases
And, my personal favorite news source.

Scott Cameron

12:06 PM ET | 01- 8-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Words That Are So Last Year

The list of overused words and phrases for 2007 is out... "Surge," ""perfect storm," "webinar," even "post-9/11" all made the list. And it's not just words; phrases like "give back" and "______ is the new _____" (as in green is the new black) are so last year, too. The public relations department at Lake Superior State University in Michigan come up with the lists every year, rummaging through a couple thousand submissions of cliches and well-worn phrases. And they give special attention to us media types... Reporters use terms like "emotional", or "decimate" too often, and often incorrectly. The list also throws sports writers who use the phrase "thrown under the bus" under the bus. My favorite, though, may be one that I use myself a bit too often: "it is what it is." The list-makers point out (correctly) that it's completely pointless. All you wordsmiths (another term on the list) out there, what words or phrases are you tired of hearing?

Scott Cameron

11:41 AM ET | 01- 2-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

OK, Funny Man!

Maybe it's the testosterone?

Source: nicasaurusrex

Guys are more funny than girls? Not in this office (and no it doesn't have anything to do with what was a roughly 5-to-1 ratio of women to men at one point). BBC News has this article on a psychologist in the UK who argues that men make more jokes than women (on second look, I realize it doesn't say more FUNNY, just more jokes... which may explain the gap, in spite of fart jokes). So, how did he do his research? He rode around on his unicycle and kept track of how men and women reacted to his "amusing" hobby. The jokes, he figures, can be chalked up to testosterone. The Beeb had some fun reporting this one (must have been a male reporter?), but in all seriousness: Who do you find is funnier? Women or men?

Scott Cameron

11:00 AM ET | 12-26-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Meanies Take Over

Today, the buzziest item at the morning meeting here at Talk was the death of Kanye West's mom, Donda. Now, it's well known around these parts that Kanye and I are secretly married, so my interest in the story is a natural, but quite a few staffers find the uproar following her passing... shocking. I know that my first thoughts after I heard she died shortly after plastic surgery were less than charitable, but bloggers, and even New York magazine, were outright mean. According to Washington Post staff writer Teresa Wiltz,

blog dwellers stepped over an imaginary line of restraint. And stomped on it, again and again, monsters from the id coming out to play: "hahahah too bad," one taunted. "VANITY KILLS!!!" One "fan" posting on Bossip.com took the time to compose a poem in her honor: Supersized menu at Mickey Dee's/No wonder I cant see my knees . . ."

I suppose we shouldn't be shocked that people can be so rotten. Wiltz goes on to muse that thanks to TMZ and their celebrity-stalking ilk, the predicted utopian world of the Internet has turned into something much more sinister, where every mis-step is broadcast for all to ridicule. Honestly, it's not surprising. Trolls are old news, and the celebrity sites have been well entrenched for years. But what I still don't understand is why people feel so free to say ugly things when their identities are hidden. I admit, I'm not always nice, but I feel guilty for those bad thoughts that I don't voice or type... is that unusual? Do you feel ok about stepping over that "imaginary line of restraint," so long as no one knows it's you?

Sarah Handel

10:27 AM ET | 11-14-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Striking on Halloween

The old way of doing things in DC.

Source: Daquella manera

Tomorrow's Halloween, but it sort of feels like an afterthought to me. For the past two weekends I've attended spooky bashes, and I have to say, the costumes have been great (I was a pretty standard cowgirl, so present company excluded). One friend came as the Washington Monument (Winston thought it was a perfect kitty house), and another was the ubiquitous gyro girl whose vacant smile and '80s style greet you from the window of every Greek restaurant I've ever been to. That said, tomorrow's the proper big day, and in DC the holiday takes on two forms... there's the traditional trick-or-treating and jack-o-lanterns from about 6pm till 9pm, and after that, things get decidedly more adult as college kids and young professionals pack the bars in costume and carry on till the wee hours (I mean, I think that's what they do). In years past, DC cabbies have offered free rides on Halloween and similarly saucy holidays in an effort to keep drunks out of the drivers' seat. This year? Nope, not only no free rides, but they may even strike. There's a pretty contentious taxi system in DC known as the zone system, whereby your fare is calculated based on how many zones you pass through, not how long you're in the car. If you've been here, you know, it's incomprehensible to even the most veteran Washingtonians. New Mayor Adrian Fenty has decided it's time to switch to meters, and cabbies are not happy. That's fine -- while I'll be happy to have a fare I can watch climb, as opposed to one that's a complete mystery -- strikes are a time-honored way to express displeasure, and the drivers have a right to demonstrate. But on Halloween? Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Sarah Handel

10:18 AM ET | 10-30-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Adult Theaters (get your mind out of the gutter)

I hate to play the grouchy old man here (again), but I was thrilled to see this story in USA Today today (maybe we won't need those theater snitching devices after all). It's no secret that adults aren't going to the movies as much as theaters and movie makers would like. And you don't need a PhD in film studies to realize that a big part of the reason is the obnoxious audiences you tend to find on weekends (and no I'm not forgetting the complete lack of any decent movies most weeks). So theaters are fighting back... with adult-only showings (adult as in grown-up, not XXX), and nice perks like seat-served food and full bars (some even have babysitting services). My favorite attempt to brainwash improve the behavior of teens might be this one:

Two theaters in suburban Chicago require patrons 17 and younger to attend a short "code of conduct" class on decorum before they can see movies at 8:30 p.m. or later without parents.

A veteran of traffic school myself, I don't have high hopes for any "code of conduct" courses. But, short of arming theater staff with cattle prods or duct tape, this may be the best we'll get for now.

Won't it be a bummer, though, when we realize it wasn't just the teens and tweens doing all the yapping and tapping during the show.

Scott Cameron

10:35 AM ET | 10-25-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

It's Taser Time!

Tasers have been on my mind lately; on the train the other day a woman was shrieking into her cell phone while the guy across the aisle blasted his iPod so loud I was subconsciously humming along to Journey. Oh, if only I had a Taser! And before you accuse me of being some sort of sadist or lacking humanity, let me pass the buck on to Rex Huppke. I blame his op-ed in the Chicago Tribune over the weekend for putting me in the mood to Tase (is that a word?).

I have a confession to make: When I saw a group of campus cops in Florida take a Taser to a vociferous 21-year-old student who was spouting off at a John Kerry Forum, I smiled.
I smiled a broad, uninhibited smile, one free from the constraints of political correctness and common human decency. And then I thought, "Hah! That mouthy, self-righteous twit had it comin'."
It was then I realized that, when it comes to certain people, I'm unabashedly pro-Tasering. And before you judge me, look inward. There's bound to be one person in your life, or at least someone in the news, who you'd love to see Tasered.
Maybe it's that relentless suck-up co-worker everyone gripes about. ZAP!
Or, perhaps, Kevin Federline. ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!

Rex indulges his "inner mean streak" and comes up with some other good ideas on who'd he Taser at the Trib's site. And come on now, if we put aside all our righteous indignation for a few minutes, and realize that we're not talking about really hurting anyone, this could be a therapeutic (read: fun) exercise... There must be SOMEONE you think deserves a 50,000-volt wake up call?

Scott Cameron

10:30 AM ET | 09-25-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

RBs Rule, DBs Drool

The other day Scott passed me a fantastic column by Dave Zirin, who's always a favorite of ToTN. We had him on recently, so it wasn't a good fit for the air, but Scott knew I, in particular, would be interested in Zirin's latest piece on fantasy football. I'm a reasonably dedicated fantasy fan, and a huge Washington Redskins fan, so I latched onto Zirin's article immediately... and despaired to read that he thinks fantasy football is more disease than diversion. Zirin opines,

Those who puff the hookah of fantasy football believe that the leagues are just a harmless diversion that puts the average fan in a position to be "more involved" in the game. But behind the veneer of crunching numbers and poring over player statistics that goes into creating a fantasy team is more disengagement than involvement. Indeed, the numbers act as a moat between fantasy owner and the actuality of the game.

Basically, Zirin argues that fantasy football emphasizes the performances of individual players, forcing fans to pay more attention to the athlete than the team. I think he's right, but it's only a problem for some fantasy coaches. I used to be in a pretty intense fantasy league (so intense that I had to resign this year due to ugly politics... I get enough of politics at work, I don't need it in my recreational time!), and there were guys in the league who spent hours poring over stats, reading analysis, and checking the automatically-updating progress of their players every couple of minutes. While I wouldn't accuse any of them of abandoning their favorite teams (marquee Falcons were hot commodities, as the league was Georgia-based), their focus was definitely split, to say the least. For me, however, it made me much more aware of the league as a whole. As a long-time Redskins fan, I could speak fairly intelligently about that team, and probably about division rivals, but that was about it, till fantasy. Now I have a better understanding about the league as a whole. While it may not be terrifically deep, it's definitely more broad, and it makes Sundays even more fun, since I have six or seven years of fantasy teams behind me and can follow the players. One year, for instance, I had tons of Giants on my team, so I still follow Ike Hilliard (now in Tampa Bay), and another year it was Colts Colts Colts, so Brandon Stokely's still a random favorite of mine, even though he's since moved on to Denver. I think Zirin's point is a good one, and he's right -- outside of my Redskins, it's still all about individual players for me -- but ultimately, the camaraderie of fantasy has only enhanced my enjoyment of the NFL season. And, lucky me, I drafted Clinton Portis this year, so no conflict of interest there!

Sarah Handel

10:57 AM ET | 09-19-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

ACRONYM(M) (A Cheery Retelling Of News You Might have Missed)

There's nothing we like more here at NPR (or ToTN for that matter) then an acronym. We are an acronym for goodness' sake. Sometimes, in a meeting, you have to duck so as not to be hit by a stray letter. "Isn't he at CSIS.?" "I thought it was CFR." "Can someone call SAIS and find out? I mean, WT*." You'd think, by the way, that chat/text-speak would have somehow missed such an august institution as NPR, even though it's seriously prevalent on The Hills. Unfortunately, no. It's a darn FAA around here (Flying Acronym Attack). That's why it made me giggle this morning, when, halfway through my MRI (Morning Read-In), consisting of the WP, NYT, and Fark, I found this story on the last's rather thorough round-up of "news." Apparently, a streetcar is going into the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle. It's affectionately being labeled the South Lake Union Trolley. You can see, of course, that the trolley is acronymically challenged (SLUT). And even though the SLUS (South Lake Union Streetcar) is its real, grown-up, name, that hasn't stopped all the clever youngsters from making witty t-shirts with the SLUS's first acronym. Bless Fark for finding just the thing to make a Tuesday a little more... human. And now, it's your turn to ride the acronym train. Give it to us! (And please, we've heard National Propaganda Radio before, from both the right and the left.) Nail Polish Remover! Nepalese Rupee! No Prior Record! No Purchase Required! (Except, public radio sure does take pledges. Now Pledge yer Riches.)

Barrie Hardymon

9:47 AM ET | 09-18-2007 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Laundry, Not So Much

We're chasing an ender today about when "green"... gets gross. Sometimes saving the environment can be sort of a pain in the butt (literally), or, in the case of overgrown lawns and clotheslines, downright eyesores. (More on that later, hopefully on the show.) Which brings me to the clotheslines. When I moved into my first house, my sister was nice enough to give me this book on housekeeping. It's no secret that I'm not much for the domestic sciences; it's hard to walk out of my house without cat hair and a string cheese wrapper clinging to you. But I felt inspired by this encyclopedia of domesticity. Finally! A method to fold fitted sheets! A complete explanation of what dust mites eat (you)! The enzymatic makeup of stains! I spent weeks in my dusty and dirty house, eating string cheese and reading the book. I was much enthused. I was going to become one of those people whose homes you can walk in barefoot! I took my good intentions to the bedroom first - "The Cave of Nakedness." (How can you possibly not love a book that quotes Auden for housekeeping inspiration?) The list was endless: air the bed out, windows open, while you're in the shower. Iron the sheets, and if you can't manage that, at least the pillowcases. (Seriously, my clothes are wrinkled. %^#%$ the pillowcases.) And while laundering one of your three sets of high quality sheets, remember, don't put them in the dryer. Put them on a clothesline, in the sun (I felt like "in Tuscany," might be coming next). And that's where I got strung out -- the clothesline. Imagine stumbling out to your balcony with soaking sheets, waiting for the sunny day, stringing up a line that's long enough for a queen set! I gave up. I want to be environmentally and domestically healthy, really I do, but it's simply too much. I am unashamed to say I've let go -- every night I crawl into my wrinkled bed with a good book, and eat a cracker and some string cheese.*

*This is not to say, however, that the book is not fascinating, and those who are morally superior to me will probably benefit greatly from it. Happy ironing.

Barrie Hardymon

10:29 AM ET | 09-13-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Is There a "Gap Year" Gap?

Almost halfway through September, most people who are heading off to college have done it by now. Then, there are those who choose to push college off for a year or two. When I graduated from high school, I had the big idea to run off and travel for a year. The usual cliche: an American student backpacking through Europe. Logic won out in the end, and somehow turning down the admissions and scholarship offers just didn't seem worth it. So, when I read this Washington Post Magazine last month, I was hit with a little bit of nostalgia. Apparently, taking a year off isn't for us slackers anymore... it's turned into a whole industry:

the irony is that the gap year risks becoming like just another award studding the resumes of students on the elite academic track. Some colleges and universities are even starting to promote the gap year as a way to gain admission. Georgetown University occasionally asks a few students to take a gap year and defer enrollment so that the school can hang on to more of the best high school students after the incoming freshman class has reached its capacity. And on its admissions Web site, Harvard University acknowledges the usefulness of a gap year while sympathizing with the academic straitjackets of today's uber high-schooler. In an essay titled "Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation," the dean and director of admissions offer this tantalizing line: "Occasionally students are admitted to Harvard or other colleges in part because they accomplished something unusual during a year off."

Schools now ask students to take a year off?!?! I may head back to college. I skipped out on the gap year, but it seems like most people who took that gap year spent it traveling. Now, it may be more about finding something impressive to say on that college essay than finding yourself. Anyone take a gap year? What did you do, and did it affect your college plans... in a good way, or bad?

Scott Cameron

11:02 AM ET | 09-12-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

The N-Word: Not Funny

While perusing the papers this morning I came across a short AP article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It was about a performance by stand-up comic Eddie Griffin, who was pulled from the stage mid-act at a Black Enterprise magazine event outside Miami due to his repeated use of the N-word. It immediately reminded me of our interview with comedian Paul Mooney, in which he formally renounced the word (with which his routines were once heavily peppered). He said, "I had an affair with the word. I was romancing it. I was married to the word. And that was then and now it's time to divorce the word." At first, I wasn't even sure I was going to write about this -- on the one hand, it's another incremental development in the Michael Richards story, and on the other hand, it's an incredibly thorny issue, particularly for a white woman to write about. But then I realized, thanks to this latest iteration I just have a lot of questions, and maybe you BotNers have some input. My first question is about comedians choosing not to use the N-word: Is it different when someone -- or a group -- makes that decision for you, as in Griffin's case? And secondly, as was raised by a commenter at Defamer: Is this going to end up putting black comics out of business? (I think Mr. Mooney would say no, after all, "funny is funny," even without that word.)

Sarah Handel

10:55 AM ET | 09- 6-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Found: Your Lists

It's not my list, but it's a good one!

Source:astrangegirl

I am an obsessive list-maker. My roommate, who is well-aware of my compulsion to write lists for everything, often finds my notes scrawled on the backs of receipts and envelopes. She's much classier than me, so she brings me back post-its and notepads from wherever she travels to indulge my obsession... so now, all over the house you can find a to-do list here on paper that looks like the Alamo, a shopping list on paper from a French museum, or library books tallied on Westin stationery. There's just something so satisfying about crossing each grocery item off as I drop it in my cart, or X-ing out "clean litter box" after completing that odorous task. Once, when browsing through my favorite bookstore six years ago, I happened upon a total oddity -- the first issue of Found magazine, a periodical dedicated to my detritus and that of people like me. Found doesn't only compile lists -- they'll take anything from photos to lists to love letters to homework, so long as the submission was found by someone other than the creator (my eyes were glued to the sidewalk for weeks after I read the magazine -- my best find was a photo of a toddler at a drum set). Found has yielded at least five books, and if the latest round of books from other folks is any indication, the transient jottings of a population are only becoming more popular -- see our show last week on life lists, and add to it the Illegal Art Post-It note project and this book of grocery lists. What makes these little missives we pen to ourselves so appealing to outsiders? What kinds of lists do you make, and do you have little rules for them*?

*Cross-out color should be different than item color, handwriting should be neat, pencils should rarely if ever be used, items need not be completed in order...

Sarah Handel

10:08 AM ET | 09- 4-2007 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Are You There, Judy?

Before "The Higher Power of Lucky" ever did battle with censors, and way before Harry Potter was accused of Satanism, there was Judy Blume. If you're my age, she, along with the inimitable Beverly Cleary, was the voice for adolescents. (And later, her racier adult books were something stolen from your parents.) Freckle Juice, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, SuperFudge, and the heartbreaking Blubber (best book about peer pressure), were the ultimate guides to being a kid, while the seminal (yes! I used that word!) Are You There God, It's Me Margaret?, was the ultimate coming of age book. Well, Judy is still writing -- her new book, Soupy Saturdays, comes out today, but even more importantly, I've just noticed that Judy has a blog. (I'm calling her Judy, because honestly, I really feel like I know her. No disrespect meant.) In any case, I'm so glad that Judy's on the web -- and I'm dying to book her on the show. Any reaction, YA lovers? What's your favorite Blume book? Don't be shy.

Barrie Hardymon

10:01 AM ET | 08-28-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Better Check Those Chopsticks

So far I've been pretty immune to all the product recalls from China. The pet food scare passed, I don't buy any toys (unless you count Best Buy as a toy store), my fish isn't Chinese, and my blankets are old. To be fair, I don't can't use chopsticks, either. But for some reason this story triggered my gag reflex. I have no idea if these things were even made for export (probably not), but the thought of using somebody else's old, dirty chopsticks is enough to make me spit-up my Shaobing. This is all very fitting since we had originally planned to do a show on OCD today (and will probably revisit that subject next week). Sure, I use the paper towel to open the bathroom door, and wash my hands after riding the subway. That's not all that uncommon. Though, now I'll probably sniff my plastic silverware, too! I'll open the floor to other quirks out there...

Scott Cameron

10:44 AM ET | 08-23-2007 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

On Airwaves and Organic Apples

Do you own a satellite radio? I was lucky enough to receive one for my last birthday, and so the past few weeks have passed in a happy blur of all the music I can't find on terrestrial radio, from the National to Buck Owens, Martha Reeves to Social Distortion. And, since long before I got hooked up, rumors have been flying that XM and Sirius soon will become one. It's more than just rumors -- Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin has been trying to convince FCC Chairman Kevin Martin that the merger wouldn't create a monopoly on satellite radio, that in fact consumers would end up with more choices, and that satellite has other natural competitors like the iPod and traditional radio. It just might be working... and this week's interesting and seemingly unrelated approval of Whole Foods' takeover of the Wild Oats chain is an encouraging development to those vying for an XM/Sirius combo. The natural grocers' buyout isn't a done deal -- the FTC is appealing -- but what do you think? Is the conditional approval of this deal in the organic groceries market a signal that antitrust concerns are on the wane? Or are these deals just apples and oranges?

Sarah Handel

10:24 AM ET | 08-21-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Opera! Porn! Other Stuff!

Imagine the looks on my colleague's faces when I pitched an idea about opera. Now imagine the looks on their faces when I pitched a show about filthy opera. (Basically, if you add porn to opera, even a non-opera lover perks up a bit.) I was shouted down, of course -- but not until after I had shouted a few totally non opera/NPR terms. (I win!) So to call this a "cutting room floor" post isn't totally accurate. It's more like the foyer to the cutting room. Here's the story: a style of of opera direction is starting to flourish in Europe (mostly Germany) -- it's called Regietheatre, or "director's theater." It's been around for a while, really, but the gist of it is rather extreme interpretations of operas that not only completely disregard the composer's specific directions, but will also veer stunningly -- and occasionally disgustingly -- away from major elements of location, chronology, and plot. And this, my friends, is not like watching Carmen set in Fascist Italy. It's more like watching Carmen set in the middle of a particularly nasty Quentin Tarantino film. I feel like I can't really put digital pen to paper to describe what actually goes on in some of these productions -- not because I'm a prude, but because I'm not totally sure NPR wants a detailed description of the kinds of things that go on in many of these productions. (If you do, read this. And this.) Suffice it to say, intravenous drug use and gang rape are de rigueur. Now, I love theatre. I love opera. I love modern interpretations of both. But particularly in the case of opera, I find myself sort of old-fashioned on this front. At Juilliard, we were lucky to get free tickets to the Metropolitan Opera on occasion, and one of the things that made standing room (in heels!) bearable was the beauty of not just the music, but the productions themselves. Opera is a glittering world of detailed loveliness; even though they feature suicides, war, murder, and all kinds of brutality. For me, it's sort of the point; it's imperative that Madame Butterfly's suicide be as beautiful as her arias. And that's not to say that I don't love grittiness. I just don't love it in my opera. I can't tell if this makes me shallow or not... or anti-intellectual. (It might make me anti-Marxist?) It does, however, make me anti-regietheatre. And, I'm hoping to never see Carmen shoot up at the Met. That, I would not stand for.

Barrie Hardymon

9:30 AM ET | 08- 9-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

YouTube CrimeWatch

Just when you think you've seen it all on YouTube, another story pops up with a twist. This time it's from our fair city, Washington, DC. The owner of a neighborhood corner store, LeDroit Park Market, is sick and tired of being robbed at gunpoint... so he's posting surveillance videos of the stick-ups on YouTube (with help from an outraged resident), and in the prologue to the video he specifically calls out the Mayor, the councilmember, and the police chief, imploring them to fight crime in LeDroit Park. According to the Washington Post story, he's got their attention, and an arrest has been made. What's more, the community is rallying around the store, raising money to purchase an additional camera for the exterior. Has anything like this happened where you live? Is there a downside to this kind of community policing?

Sarah Handel

10:21 AM ET | 08- 1-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

A Time to Play

This morning I was a little later than usual coming in to work (if the bosses are reading this: not late to work, just later than usual). On any other day, that would mean I don't get a seat on the train and have to ride in someone's armpit for 40 minutes. But, this is one of those weird weeks where a big old holiday falls right in the middle of the work week. And, since traffic seemed non-existent today, too, I'm guessing we're seeing the start of a six day weekend here (again bosses: I don't mean HERE here, just here in general). Sadly, I won't be "working" from home this week, or calling in "sick." But, what about the rest of you... Any plans to play hooky for the remainder of the week (or suggestions of good excuses to tell the bosses? Bosses: just kidding)?

Scott Cameron

10:10 AM ET | 07- 3-2007 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

"It's over." That'll be 50 bucks.

Inventors always seem to give the same advice: come up with a good idea, and a way to sell it, and you'll be filthy rich. I'm not sure this guy actually invented anything, but it's sure an interesting way to make money. About $70 will get you one breakup message, delivered, so you don't have to. And, if you're classy enough to do the dumping in person, Bernd Dressler will coach you on how to do it. He averages about three minutes per break-up, so he must be a pro at the drive-by dumping. (His services also include advice on how to save your relationship, though if that doesn't work he can handle the breakup, too.) Anyway, it seems to me that if Bernd can make money by delivering breakups, you can make money handling all kinds of desperate news for people... from "you're fired!" to "get out of my house!" to "Sorry, I ran over your dog." (Or, more personally, "Neal, I lost the scripts for today's show!") What other bad news would you pay to have delivered?

Scott Cameron

11:14 AM ET | 06- 5-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

SHHHHHH!

I think it was Braveheart playing... I'm sitting in the theater, packed house, with a big screen full of all that angst and anger and heroic violence (testosterone pumping stuff). And the guy in front of me gets on his cell phone. And talks. And talks. Loudly. It was my first... and so far only... experience with theater rage. Nobody got hurt (except poor, kilted Mel), but I wish we had access to one of these. Nobody likes a tattletale, but you get special dispensation for shutting someone up in a movie theater. And if Regal theaters let you do it anonymously, I'll be a whistle blower any day (though I'm not a member of their points program, so I'm not technically eligible). It's a small gadget, about the size of a cell phone, with four buttons. One for picture problems, one for audio, another if you spot digital piracy in the theater, and that final, wonderful button that says, "other disturbance." It might as well say "*#&$& person talking." Either way, once you push it a manager is summoned wirelessly (and maybe comes running with a long cane that pulls the yapper out of their seat, stage right?). Regal's senior V.P. was quoted in USA Today, "We have noticed over the years that customer etiquette has become more and more of a problem." Understatement? Sure, but at least they're doing something about it. Any movie going horror stories, or other novel ideas to stomp it out? Comment away...

Scott Cameron

10:33 AM ET | 05-31-2007 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Rankled by the Rankings

This is the like incredible repeating story, but it seems to have reached a critical mass this year... U.S. News and World Report comes out with its 2007 issue, America's Best Colleges, and some of America's best colleges cry foul. That doesn't stop students from lining up to buy the issue. It's even been called U.S. News' "swimsuit issue." Now, schools know they can't stop the rankings, but they are hoping to convince other colleges to boycott them... not turn over data, no filling out review forms of other schools, no more marketing schools as number XX on the U.S. News rankings, etc, etc, etc. And administrators are making their case in letters to other campuses, on their blogs, and in the media. Their argument is that the rankings are misleading, and that it's not their job to help promote a magazine. But people love their lists, especially top "whatever" lists, and frankly, when I considered grad school, you bet I looked up all sorts of rankings. So, do you use rankings even if they're not necessarily scientific (for anything... schools, cars, radio shows, blogs), or are the numbers just another case of information overload?

Scott Cameron

9:14 AM ET | 05-22-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

Another daquiri, please.

Source: Oxygen Destroyer

I can't help it, I'm a little distracted at work this week... next week I'm flying and ferrying to sunny Tortola in the British Virgin Islands for a relaxing, beach-lounging, cocktail-sipping vacation. It's hard to think about the important news of the day when pressing issues like how many pairs of flip-flops I'll need and "what's the lowest level of sunblock I can get away with?" crowd my head. One story that did manage to break through to me is this one, an AP story about vacationing in Second Life.

I have to admit, I'm personally skeptical of all-to-most things Second Life. Professionally, I think it's pretty interesting that folks are trading Linden bucks for real currency, making a living in this alternate reality, and learning things there too. But for me, the idea that a vacation in Second Life could ever approximate a real vacation is dubious at best. Sure, it sounds amazing -- jet from a disco in Brazil to a pub in Dublin to a beach in Hawaii, all in the space of two hours! But can this sort of travel really ever amount to more than eye strain and carpal tunnel?

So here's your chance to convince me: Do you spend a lot of time in Second Life? Are you thinking of buying the Second Life tourists' guide? Does the virtual measure up to the actual? And if you have any advice on Tortola... post that too!

Sarah Handel

10:33 AM ET | 05-15-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

This Is Not a Drill

I've had my share of bad ideas over the years... the funny sympathy card, white-out as wall paint, that show on piano playing cats. But I think all is forgiven (at least in my mind) after this story: teachers reportedly faked a gun attack on their sixth-grade students. The lights went out, students were told to lay under tables and stay quiet... that this was not a drill. Many of them started to cry, and a disguised teacher pretended to pry at the door, according to some of the students and their parents. One 11-year-old was quoted as saying, "I thought I was going to die. We flipped out." Apparently it was all meant as a prank, and the assistant principal says it was supposed to be a "learning experience." The school admits this was a case of "poor judgment," but hasn't commented on disciplinary action.

Scott Cameron

11:02 AM ET | 05-14-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Guilty of "Password"

You read all the time that passwords need to be "secure," and by that I assumed the experts meant don't use "password" as your password. Though it turns out "password" is the most commonly used online password, followed by "123456," and "qwerty" (if that means nothing to you, just look at the top row of letters on your keyboard). PC Magazine has the list in their May 8th issue. I've never used any of those, but I thought I was some sort of creative genius for years because I used the easy-to-remember "letmein" to login to some of my less than urgent accounts (read: not banks, etc). "letmein" is the #5 most used password... I am humbled, and am probably not the only one, "monkey" is #6, "blink182" is #9, your own first name is #10). You can find the rest of the list here. While I go change my passwords, are there any passwords you've used over the years that, looking back, seem a little dumb?

Scott Cameron

10:00 AM ET | 05- 7-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Players Behaving Badly

I've been to exactly one NFL football game in the last 10 years... a Washington Redskins game that didn't have a happy ending. Still, even I can rattle off names like Pacman Jones, Chris Henry, Tank Johnson... and not because of anything they did on the field. Some fifty NFL players got themselves arrested in the last 15 months or so... on charges related to guns, drugs, assault, vandalism, drunk driving, etc, etc, etc (there's a whole website dedicated to players' bad behavior). To crack down, the league came up with tougher rules... including lifetime bans on repeat offenders and even penalties against teams for the off-field mayhem of their players. And this weekend it's game time... the NFL draft will put the new rules to the test, in theory. Will teams change the way they pick players? Most say they will. But, if the scoreboard is in your teams favor at the end of the fourth quarter, do you care that the all-star defensive back shoots up a nightclub in his off-time?

Scott Cameron

8:27 AM ET | 04-25-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Crackberry Outage Horror Stories

Yesterday's Blackberry outage helps explains why my Wednesday morning commute was a little crazier than usual. The blank stares of crackberry withdrawal is unmistakable (it sure seemed to me like there were more traffic accidents, and I'm sure more than one person walked into an inanimate object while installing new batteries on the go). The best (worst?) story of the great Blackberry outage of 2007, though, was from this guy. Losing your primary connection to the outside world is tough enough, but losing your girlfriend because of lousy tech support seems just plain wrong. Any other horror stories from yesterday morning... meetings missed, deals blown, dates lost?

Scott Cameron

9:58 AM ET | 04-19-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Hey, You Didn't Read My Email

Regular listeners know that Tuesday is the day we read from your emails and blog posts on the show. Needless to say, this week the news out of Virginia Tech took priority. Rather than filing away some perfectly good emails, though, I thought I'd post them here at the blog instead...

Our conversation last week about Don Imus's crude remarks directed at the Rutgers women's basketball team elicited hundreds of emails. Penny in Phoenix took issue with the argument, and the defense, that Imus just repeated words used everyday in hip hop music:

Continue reading "Hey, You Didn't Read My Email" »

Scott Cameron

11:03 AM ET | 04-18-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

On Bristol and Basketball

Kyle Busch and his Car of Tomorrow

Source: Wade Payne/AP

Just before I left work on Friday, Barrie and I had a conversation about the blogging week-to-come, and I volunteered to do a post on NASCAR after the debut of the Car of Tomorrow. I've just recently taken an interest in the sport, and feel it's incredibly undercovered on our air, particularly given its popularity (second only to the NFL in terms of TV audience). I thought about my post on and off all weekend, but as soon as I stepped back into HQ this morning I found it difficult to talk about anything other than Georgetown's Elite Eight win yesterday in the NCAA tournament. I love the tournament and I love the Hoyas, so that contributes to my lack of focus, but that's not all ... there's something taboo about NASCAR. I don't know if it's that urban professionals don't watch it, or just don't talk about it, but it seems incredible that a sport that packs the stands at Bristol -- all 160,000 seats -- gets little or no mention on our air or in our hallways.

NPR's tradition of sports coverage is somewhat less than comprehensive -- we're not a sports network, so it's not a critique, and we can't be all things to all people -- and I truly love the contributions of folks like Alan Schwarz, Frank Deford, and Stefan Fastis. Today, Morning Edition's got two sports stories on the air -- a Final Four preview, and a commentary on cricket. I wouldn't argue that either doesn't belong there -- obviously, the Final Four is news, and there's heightened interest in cricket right now due to the gruesome murder of the Pakistani team's coach. Additionally, stories on lesser-known sports are great, and one of the reasons folks listen to us. My problem isn't with what we do cover, it's with what we don't (and it's not just us -- a perfunctory Google News search brings up a bunch of wire stories and not a whole lot of outside reporting) ... and, perhaps more meatily, why? What is it about NASCAR that relegates it to the back pages of the paper and occasional mention on our air?

Sarah Handel

8:57 AM ET | 03-26-2007 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

The World's Best Burgers

Dig into a tray of In-N-Out burgers

Source:handels

Here's something we've been sitting on for a few days, trying to work it into the show. We haven't found a spot for it yet, so I thought I'd get to it here ... The Wall Street Journal's Raymond Sokolov has done what many aspire to but few have managed -- while holding down a job, anyway. From coast to coast he ate cheeseburgers in search of the very best. His winner can be found just outside Atlanta -- what's yours? I too have some pretty definite criteria for the ideal burger, and I'd like to hear where you tuck into yours, and what makes it so good.

Continue reading "The World's Best Burgers" »

Sarah Handel

10:55 AM ET | 03-14-2007 | permalink |