now posting regularly

Ooh, it's been a week of stories to fire me up, make me weep and bring some much needed entertainment.  I'm happy to note that the vast majority of the stories came from pieces I actually heard on the radio, with only a few from the NPR Facebook feed.  I do appreciate the online stuff, but I'm much more pleased when I first get to hear it on my beloved kitchen radio.

• "New York Governor's Race Grows Nastier"-- For the love of all that is holy, I just wish politicians would shut up.  Talk about the issues, and nothing more.  Enough being "angry as hell," and enough of the PO'd rhetoric that dangerously borders on threats and calls to take very negative action.  Enough.  Sure, this All Things Considered story is almost a week old, but it's still ticking me off.

• "Three Words For Gay Teens: It Gets Better"-- If you haven't seen the Facebook page for the It Gets Better Project or the videos, you're missing some truly inspirational stuff.  Aimed at GLBT youth, the project is collecting testimonies from folks who have been there and can reassure young people that life does indeed get better.  Being a teenager was hard enough for me, and all I had to deal with was teasing for being dorky, smart and wearing the largest and thickest glasses known to mankind, but I can't imagine adding to that the mocking and torturous cruelty that some people hurl at gay people, especially when they're young.  No more senseless suicides need to happen-- I hope this project is touching the lives of those who need it most.

• "Entrepreneur's Local Partnerships Help Kids Play"-- This NPR News story hits close to home, but in a very positive way.  Our community has built five brand-new playgrounds in the last few years, with the motivation that every block of housing has a playground that is accessible without having to cross major streets, and are along the inner walking paths of the neighborhood.  Part of the funding came from KaBoom! and I'm incredibly grateful, as we certainly get a lot of use out of the beautiful playgrounds!

• "Student's Suicide Makes Deadly Point About Intolerance"-- Scott Simon spoke with Judy Shepard on Weekend Edition Saturday this week, and although it's short, I think it's a worthwhile read and definitely a message that needs to be reinforced.  

• "Jon Stewart: The Most Trusted Name In Fake News"-- I love Jon Stewart.  I love his adorableness.  I love his humor.  I love his intelligence.  I love his ability to combine his adorableness and humor and intelligence to result in an amazingly keen assessment of the state of the world.  This interview for Fresh Air made me smile.  Where will you be on 10/30?  (We can meet you at the Metro station, if you want to join us!!)

• "'Disintegration' Of America's Black Neighborhoods"-- Eugene Robinson, my hands-down favorite Washington Post writer, was interviewed on Morning Edition this week to discuss his new book.  I found the discussion about racial segregation versus economic segregation interesting, and I wonder what kind of reactions will be had to his book.  

• "In The Search For 'Last Speakers,' A Great Discovery"-- This All Things Considered piece surprised me-- I couldn't believe the numbers of languages that currently have only a few living speakers remaining.  I found one part to be really true when the author says that some languages have a word for a concept that other languages need many words to attempt to define it, and this is definitely something that I've encountered.  A good friend of mine is a native Danish speaker, and in conversation, she's often said, "Well, in Danish there's the perfect word for this, but I'm just not sure how to explain it in English."  

• "Casting Call: When 'Glee' Goes Opera"-- I may not know opera, but I know Glee, and the ideas put forward by the deceptive cadence blog made me smile.  Finn singing opera?  That would be fun.

• "If Yankees Exit Playoffs Early, Blame A New Curse"-- This one's for you, babe.  How would you answer Frank Deford's assertions here in his Sweetness and Light column?

Feeling the love for NPR,