One Boy, One Girl: Happy Dorm Room?

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RACHEL MARTIN, host:

Welcome back to the Bryant Park Project from NPR News. We are everywhere in your universe, digital, FM, Sirius Satellite. We're online, of course, at npr.org/bryantpark. Hey, I'm Rachel Martin.

MIKE PESCA, host:

Hey, Rachel.

MARTIN: Who are you?

PESCA: Good to see you. My name is Mike Pesca

MARTIN: You are Mike Pesca. We're going to talk about politics. We're going to talk about your email address. What does it say about you? Probably more than you think. We're going o do all of that and more, but first, let's get the latest news headlines from the BPP's Mark Garrison.

PESCA: Well, let's Ramble it first, what do you say?

MARTIN: Let's do that.

PESCA: All right.

MARTIN: Let's Ramble.

(Soundbite of music)

PESCA: That's pretty Rambly.

MARTIN: Wow. That was the most Ramble Rambly interview of all time. You go first.

PESCA: I'm not going to give you real news headlines!

MARTIN: You go first.

PESCA: I mean, these things actually happen, but they're not Mark-Garrison importance.

MARTIN: He just gave you more time to write your newscast, Mark.

PESCA: From Stanford to Penn at about two dozen campuses around the country, students are being given the choice to room with whomever they want, including someone of the opposite sex. So, if you're playing along at home, for a boy, that would be a girl, and for a girl, that would be a boy.

MARTIN: Got it.

PESCA: This innovation on the dorm scene has been around for years, but so far, not many are taking advantage of the new choice. For example, at the University of Pennsylvania, about 120 out of more than 10,000 students are living in a co-ed room. Some colleges make a point of discouraging couples to room together, known as "roomcest" on some campuses. But that's a ridiculous phrase.

MARTIN: Roomcest?

PESCA: But that's cold comfort for some parents. One Oberlin parent quoted in the story, Debbie Feldman, says I think it's somewhat delusional to think there won't be sexual tension. Maybe this generation feels more comfortable walking in their underwear. I'm not sure that's a good thing. But Feldman says she won't stop her daughter from sharing a room with a boy. Her daughter says he's like a brother to her.

MARTIN: Yeah, sure. So, you think your GPS is cool because it talks to you? They have one in Britain that makes with the funny-ha-ha. A new program just launched, called "230 Miles of Love," is being touted as the world's first, quote, unquote, "satcom," apparently providing site-specific comedy skits along the 230 miles of a British highway called the M6.

It's a free program, and it allows users to plot a route along this stretch of highway, and then pre-produced comedy riffs come on in response to the location of the driver. Here's an example. A reporter for the Guardian says "230 Miles of Love" made her laugh after she picked a slow-going, cheaper road, apparently because of the tolls, I guess, and found herself bogged down in traffic. The satcom responded by ribbing her about her poor choice.

PESCA: I'm sure that made her feel a lot better.

MARTIN: I know, why would you intentionally want to download a program that made fun of you? The comedy program is not the first to use satellite navigation for more than just directions. The Guardian reports that history guides are available for information on castles, parklands, battlefields and more of the like. Also, the Good Pub Guide has a program that helps drivers find a good place for a drink, a pint of Guinness.

PESCA: I thought the left-door-is-ajar lady was getting a little too personal. Faithful visitors to the Indian shrine of Solapur have been observing an ancient tradition. Hindus and Muslims visiting a shrine in western India have been gathering for the last 500 years to drop their infants from a 15-meter tower at the shrine, according to a story reported in Reuters.

A video of the ritual shows parents dropping their babies one at a time. A crowd below holds a sheet to catch the babies. Reuters reports that participants believe the ritual contributes to the good health of their children, despite critics who want the government to put a stop to the practice. Also, the people who do the practice say no child has ever been harmed.

MARTIN: OK. So, Boris Yeltsin, remembered by some as the father of the modern Russian state that we know and love today, Yeltsin has been honored at this dedication ceremony at a prestigious cemetery late last month. According to a story in the New York Times...

PESCA: It's a prestigious ceremony?

MARTIN: Prestigious...

PESCA: People are dying to get in? Yes.

MARTIN: An unusual memorial - unusual was unveiled, a red, white and blue sculpture, likened to a wobbly birthday cake. Yeltsin died last year and remains a controversial figure. While some call him a visionary, others have a much different opinion of him. They remember him as quite erratic, and blame him for the chaotic years that followed the end of the communist era after the Soviet Union collapsed.

The New York Times reports that the Yeltsin memorial brought out both views of the man. One teacher told the Times, we all know what the 1990s were like, and actually things are better now. Was it Yeltsin's fault? You can never say it was only Yeltsin, Yeltsin alone. He began everything, and beginnings are tough.

PESCA: Reasonable.

MARTIN: I mean, this thing, it's not pretty. I'm just going to come out and say it. It looks a little weird. Someone was quoted in the article saying it look a little crazy, kind of like Yeltsin himself. Hey, folks, that's your Ramble. These stories and more on our website npr.org/bryantpark.

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