now posting regularly

Sometimes I sit down to tackle my weekly NPR post and realize that I either didn't have the radio much on in recent days, or I didn't pay enough attention to the stories to bookmark ones that called out to me, or some other combination of factors has lead to the result of very few pieces to which I can give bloggy shout out.

And then there are weeks like this.

It was apparently a very, very good time to listen to NPR this week and be a Facebook fan.  As I'm writing this, I have separate tabs up for each story and I have to scroll over a couple clicks to get to them all on my netbook screen!  Here's hoping something in here will be of interest to you all, too!

• "Cilantro: The Controversial Herb"-- I gotta give props to whoever is writing the online story headlines, because this one caught my eye right away.  Really?  A controversial herb?  (That's not marijuana?)  It's an interesting story overall, even if you're as far from being a "foodie" as possible, like me.  (I'm not even sure I used that term correctly, but there it is.)  And, it answered the question that has plagued me since we got our first spice rack kit years and years ago- what the hell is coriander?

• "Intertwined Love Story: Twins Who Married Twins"-- A StoryCorps/Morning Edition piece that at first intrigued me on the "that's too weird" front and then elicited more of an "awww, too sweet!" reaction.

• "GPS data may pay off for city bus riders"-- As the occasional public transportation rider, my ears perked up as soon as this Marketplace story began.  Obviously, anything that's going to help more people know when their bus will arrive and lessen the amount of time spent standing on the curb waiting and waiting is a good thing!  It was interesting to me that they didn't mention WMATA's Next Bus service-- which I do use and have found it isn't always perfect, but appreciate the option, nonetheless.  Even the University of Maryland has been using GPS to keep passengers updated about arrival times of their buses with ShuttleTrac.  (No link because the system is not being used during the summer semesters.)

• "Billie Joe Armstrong, From Green Day To Broadway"-- I can't claim to be more than a passing Green Day fan- I always liked the songs that were released and played on the radio, but I never bought any CDs or went to concerts, but I still found this Fresh Air interview with Billie Joe to be fun and enjoyable.  The whole Broadway thing is just awesome to me-- making these links between popular music and theater, good times.

• "For The Perfect Hot Dog, Keep It Simple"-- Don't even bother trying to tell me what's in a hot dog.  I know.  Yup.  And I still eat them.  And LOVE them.  Especially my favorite Deutchmaker hot dogs in the "natural casings" that I have given up trying to find here in Maryland but devour like crazy during our annual summer trips to see family in Connecticut.  So, this story caught my eye online, but I have a serious problem with the assertion that ketchup doesn't belong on a hot dog.  Keep your nasty mustard and gross relish far, far away from my dog, but bring on the Heinz ketchup, baby!  (Happy summer!!)

• "Snails On Meth Have Better Memories"-- Yes, you read that headline correctly.  I dare you not to click over to the Shots: NPR's Health Blog story.  You know you want to.  It definitely wins the Oddball Story of the Week ribbon.

• "Red Ink May Lead To Lower Grades"-- I personally am not a fan of red pens at all, and I have vivid memories of fearing the red ink all over my returned schoolwork.  (I can still close my eyes today, almost 20 years later, and picture the one and only F I ever received in high school-- the giganto red F in the middle part of the top margin of my essay on existentialism and Tom Stoppard's "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern."  Nope, I still don't exactly get it, but that's not the point-- that RED F is seared into my brain and I still avoid red ink.  Hmmm...)

• "'Mein Girl': Motown's Hits, Found In Translation"-- Okay, if you ignore my suggestions to read any of these other kajillion stories, please just click over on this one alone, for the sound bytes if nothing else.  So much fun to hear the Temptations and the Supremes singing their classic hits in German and Italian!

• "Approval Ratings Down, Reid In Re-Election Fight"-- I have tried to avoid politics on here for a while, partly because I'm going through one of my cycles of being so damn fed up with everything that I can't articulate my thoughts very well, but I simply cannot avoid bringing attention to a part of this story that had me literally talking back to my radio.  (I know they can't hear me.  Whatever.)  The ideas held and statements made by these potential opponents of Harry Reid in Nevada's senatorial race astounded me.  Are these folks for real?

• "Controversy Surrounding Maryland's Wiretap Law"-- I was disappointed that this was only a half hour segment of today's Kojo Nnamdi Show, because there's much to still be discussed on this topic.  Police officers feeling the need to protect themselves from recordings of them while working in the official capacities of their jobs smacks of shadiness to me-- if you're doing your job correctly, then what is the problem?  To me, cases exactly like the recent unprovoked police beating of a UMD student in downtown College Park are the very reason that recordings should be allowed.

• "The Not-So-Secret Life Of Samantha Bee"-- And finally, on a MUCH lighter note, this Fresh Air story about my favorite female "Most Senior Correspondent" on The Daily Show is just delightful.  I need to read this book, and I know a certain someone (L!!) who will be borrowing it after me.  

Clearly addicted to NPR,