now posting regularly

Well, apparently when there's snow taller than my children piled up outside, I tend to stay inside more, and when I'm inside, the radio is usually on and tuned to NPR. Thus, for this last week, I've got stories bookmarked and saved galore! I'll cut the chit-chat and get down to business:

• "Carl Sagan And Ann Druyan's Ultimate Mix Tape"- This story from Radiolab, as described on Morning Edition, astounded me, truly. You've just got to listen to it, because I can't explain it concisely at all. If you're like me, you'll instantly tear up when you hear what sounds are described as the most important to represent the human experience.

• "Willie Mays Reflects On Legendary Baseball Career"- This week's story that made me think of hubby comes from All Things Considered in this interview with Willie Mays. Now, even though he's not a Yankee, I still thought hubby, and other baseball fans, would be interested in hearing the sports talk and the descriptions of his experiences in baseball.

• "#1 Party School" and "D-U-Why?!"- This past weekend, This American Life aired repeated segments, two of which I had heard before and remembered wanting to tell people about. So people? Consider yourself told. The first story is for any of my buddies who spent some time at Penn State and the second one is so unbelievable even though it's true, it's must-listen-to material.
  

• "Readers' Review of The Catcher in the Rye"- I haven't listened to this segment of The Diane Rehm Show yet, but with my online book club discussing good old buddyaroo Holden Caulfield this month, I bookmarked this so that I would remember to listen to it later. I'm reminding myself again here, and maybe someone else will be interested in listening to other people talk about one of the most famous (and controversial, woo-hoo!) books in American literature.

• "Fashion Week's Latest Trend? Plus-Size Models"- There's a lot going on in this Morning Edition piece, and it includes reporting by Robin Givhan, one of my favorite Washington Post writers. Oh, and being a size 12 and 5'10" sounds insanely desirable for me... plus-size??
  

• "Urban, Rural Areas Battle For Census Prison Populace"- A close friend works for the Census, and with it being a year-in-which-we'll-be-counted (I'm over here! Count me, count me!!), Census Bureau stories are increasing. This story from All Things Considered presents an interesting angle that I have honestly never given thought to. Tricky situation, and I can understand points on both sides of the argument. I'm hoping my friend will tell me where she as a statistician weighs in! (Get listening, B!)

• "The Latest on Aspergers and Autism"- Another Diane Rehm Show story, in the second hour of the program, that caught my ear, but of course when it aired I couldn't drop everything and listen. She seriously has such a wide array of topics discussed on her show, and it's always in-depth and intriguing.

• "For Some Jobs, Asperger's Syndrome Can Be An Asset"- Can you tell that I'm fascinated by this topic? This short Morning Edition piece interested me when I saw it flash by on the NPR Facebook feed. It seems like a win-win situation if both employer and employee are happy.

• "Get This: Warming Planet Can Mean More Snow"- This Morning Edition piece came just in time to help me calm down from the slew of ridiculous Facebook statuses that mocked Al Gore and the idea of global warming after the gigantic snowstorms along the east coast this month, as if the issue is so simplistic as to mean global warming translates into no more snow ever. This story gives a little understanding about how rising temperatures in the oceans, especially combined with an El Nino pattern like this year's, can actually mean an increase in snowfall... AND still show a trend of overall rising temps. It's a complex issue that cannot be summed up in some smartass FB comment!
  

• "The New 'We Are The World' For Haiti: Okay, Who Invited Vince Vaughn?"- This is perhaps the funniest title for an NPR story that I've ever seen. I haven't seen the video yet as I'm typing these words, but I'm embedding it in here at the end, and I'll watch it right after this post goes up. But, apparently, Vince Vaughn is the current WATW Dan Aykroyd, huh?
  

Whew! That's a whole lot of giving it up for NPR this week, huh? Gotta love it.


Off to watch Vince Vaughn lip-synch,