The Newseum

555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20001

teejayhanton

 

On Tuesday, April 8, we're going to present a special broadcast from the [new] Newseum, in Washington, D.C., and we'd love to have you there, in the audience.

If you'll be in town, drop us a line. We need your name, email address, how many people are in your party, and which hour, or hours, you'd like to attend (2:00 to 3:00 p.m., 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., or 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.).

There are two ways to RSVP: Send an email to talk at npr.org; or, visit the "Contact NPR" page at npr.org. (If you do the latter, make sure that you select "Talk of the Nation" from the pull-down menu.)

We hope to see you there!

David Gura

12:35 PM ET | 04- 3-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Thoughts On Coasts, etc.

Fro-yo, yoga, and sun. Ad nauseum, really.

Source: BarrieJH

I have a couple of thoughts this morning. No matter how much I loved my week and a half on the West Coast, I am essentially a person that really loves this side of the country. It is brisk and chilly and slightly faster paced and a place where the Red Sox swept the World Series. I am content.

This morning I overheard someone talking about "the minority leader" on my way to work. Under normal circumstances, that would irritate me, but it felt comfortable this morning. The last exchange I overheard in L.A. was a woman at a sushi bar talking to another about yoga instruction. The exchange went something like this.
"Go ahead."
"Okay, so I'd say, 'reach your arms, up over your head..."
"No, no... just 'reach your arms'. Let people find their OWN depth."
This went on longer then I would have thought possible. Like valet parking in a mini-mall, it seemed to be uniquely West Coast in style and substance.

My significant other -- Kansan, as he is -- would complain there is something between the East and West Coast, and of course, there is (corn, for example). But the differences seem so dramatic between New York and LA, San Francisco and DC, etc. It's the climate, it's the manner of the Starbucks' baristas, it's the sheer amount of frozen yogurt places in California, it's the conversation at sushi bars. I like both, but I belong here. Though, I'll be honest, I'll miss the sun and fro-yo.

Barrie Hardymon

10:27 AM ET | 10-29-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Love From (and To!) L.A.

Watching the fire from the Getty Museum.

Source: BarrieJH

Picture this (or... er... just look at the photo). It's Sunday afternoon, and I've just gone up to the Getty Museum in that darling little tram. The view, as anyone who's been to the Getty knows, is just spectacular. I am a dedicated East Coaster (Red Sox -- not just post-curse, shellfish, Norman Rockwell, etc.), but I'm learning -- I've been tossing off terms like "freeway," "namaste," and "Santa Anas," like I hope a native would. (It's possible that my legs, which are indistinguishable from a really gleaming piece of sushi-style red snapper -- i.e., seriously white -- might give me away.) I've already heard that the Santa Ana winds are coming in, hence the slightly warmer then average temperatures (that's still only slightly warmer then paradise). Here's where I give myself away. Upon looking out over the Getty's pristine whiteness, I point to a cloud of smoke, and ask a nice man standing next to me whether it's sand from the Santa Anas. He smiles sadly at me and says, "Malibu's on fire."

That was Sunday. Now it's Wednesday, and the fires have forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. I'm out here working on another great NPR show for a week (though my heart belongs to TOTN), and it's been sad, but fascinating to watch the fires burn from a sort of eye in the hurricane -- between Malibu and San Diego. I had expected a week in which the toughest thing would be getting stuck in line behind Britney at a Taco Bell. Not so. It's overwhelming to see the disaster on television, and then again from the Santa Monica marina. As we wend our way into day four of the raging fires, it's clear that the price that people on the West Coast pay for the gaspingly beautiful scenery -- from beaches to canyons to mountains -- is high. But even the smoky skies can't obliterate the sunsets from the PCH on my way home from work. Here's hoping everybody gets home safely.

Barrie Hardymon

7:50 AM ET | 10-24-2007 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post