Free Viagra for Men in a Chilean Town

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MIKE PESCA, host:

Welcome back to the Bryant Park Project from NPR News, online all the time at npr.org/bryantpark. Voltaire once said if God did not exist, we would find the need to invent him. And we at the Bryant Park Project feel the same way about this next segment. So we did and we named it The Ramble.

RACHEL MARTIN, host:

Let's start with Amy Winehouse, shall we? Amy Winehouse, her record label is apparently downplaying these reports, but they are out there. There are reports saying that the singer's working on a theme song for the newest 007 film.

The BBC reported that, according to producer Mark Ronson, Winehouse has been in the studio recording a song for the film, but he said they don't have a firm deal yet with the producers of the new Bond movie, which is called - going to be called "Quantum of Solace." The theme for the previous...

PESCA: That's a weird name for a Bond movie.

MARTIN: Is it weird?

PESCA: Don't they all make sense except for that one?

MARTIN: Don't - no!

PESCA: Like "For Your Eyes Only"?

MARTIN: "Octopussy," how does that make sense?

PESCA: "Moonraker"? I don't know. Yeah, you got me on that one.

MARTIN: The theme for the previous Bond movie, 2006's "Casino Royale," was sung by former Soundgarden front man, Chris Cornell, as we all remember. And just to catch you up on Amy Winehouse news, ever-growing rap sheet.

A few days ago she spent a night in police custody for questioning after she slapped a man with her open hand. Maybe he deserved it. Who are we to say? Winehouse admitted guilt, and she apologized. She was issued a formal warning, and released without charge.

PESCA: That'll learn her. The BBC is also reporting that the mayor of a town near Santiago, Chile, is planning to hand out free Viagra. Mayor Gonzalo Navarrete Munoz says he wants to improve the quality of life for older people in his community of Lo Prado. Men over 60 will be eligible for the potency pills four times a month, so long as they pass a physical.

City hall will pay for it with taxpayer dollars. The program is expected to cost about 20,000 dollars in the first year. Munoz says 15,000 men have already expressed interest, and he dismisses critics. The mayor says it's not a "reelection" ploy. Sorry, the mayor says it's not a reelection ploy, it's a - all right, I'll stop there. Did you see where I was going with that?

MARTIN: No.

PESCA: That Viagra's not used - he screwed up - the language barrier. He thought Viagra was used to achieve "elections."

MARTIN: Oh.

PESCA: All right, now here, I'm going there. He says Viagra is a social service, and it could be "expanded" across the country. They'll see a "rise" in the polls.

MARTIN: Stop, stop.

PESCA: If his popularity lasts more than four to six hours, call a doctor. Go ahead, Rachel.

MARTIN: Hurry, play the pig tape.

(Soundbite of song "Pigs")

Mr. ROGER WATERS: (Singing) Pigman, pigman. She'll ride...

MARTIN: A little good news to update you on. Remember that giant inflatable pig we told you about yesterday? The one that drifted off into the skies at the Coachella Music Festival last weekend? Well, Coachella organizers, they wanted it back, and they were willing to pay for it. They offered a 10,000-dollar reward and tickets for life to the festival to anyone who could return it.

Looks like there are some winners. Two couples each discovered half of the pig. Local stories reported yesterday that the organizers confirmed the remains of the pig balloon at La Quinta's upscale, hideaway golf club, private golf club. The two couples will split the cash, and each get tickets for life to the Indio city festival.

The helium-filled pig has been a featured prop for Roger Waters' performances for years. It floated over the crowd during a set that included the song, "Pigs," from the album "Animals." But the balloon broke free in the middle of the performance.

PESCA: Maybe he was sick of Pink Floyd after all those years. Who knew? The Swiss chemist who first discovered LSD, Albert Hofmann, has died at the age of 102. Albert was studying the medicinal uses of fungus on grains when he found, oh, Lord, lysergic acid...

MARTIN: Lysergic acid diethyla...

PESCA: Diethylamide, I think. Yeah, lysergic acid diethylamide-25, in 1938. About five years later, he is arguably the first to have experienced the psychedelic effects that later fascinated a generation of hippies starting in the 1950s. A tiny amount of LCD seeped into Albert's finger during an experiment. An Associated Press story quotes Albert describing the experience. "Everything I saw was distorted as in a warped mirror."

And then he said, dude, for the first time ever. According to the story, Hofmann and fellow scientists hoped LSD would contribute to psychiatric research. But recreational use of the drug became a scandal. Albert said, I produced the substance as a medicine. It's not my fault if people abused it. Which is exactly what they guy who used to sell water pipes in my neighborhood said. Albert died on Tuesday of a heart attack in Basel, Switzerland, according to the...

MARTIN: Basel.

PESCA: Basel, "Sweitzerland," according to the president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. That is your Ramble, shambly, shambolic, rambolic Ramble.

MARTIN: Ramblicious.

PESCA: These stories and more on our website, npr.org/bryantpark.

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