NPR's hater brigade and ours March 2, 2011 8:25 PM Subscribe
This article about NPR fans' insufferable carping about NPR reminded me of a website I know.
From the article:
From the article:
Among the many, many topics that listeners have deemed off-limits for NPR, you'll find blogging ("another example of the slow decline of our once-educated society"); Tiger Woods ("what a waste of my time"); the National Enquirer (NPR's citing it as a source "shook me to the core"); adulterous Gov. Mark Sanford ("Can't NPR reporters find more important events going on in the world?"); comedians Adam Carolla and Mo Rocca; the rapper Waka Flocka Flame ("For this, I donate part of my precious pension?"); Twitter ("the CB radio of our era—just as much hype, just as much lasting impact"); Bristol Palin ("The only thing this story provoked me to do was change the station"); Levi Johnston ("We do not care about this subject"); Mel Gibson ("Shame on the producers of ATC for allowing such a scrape at the very bottom of the barrel"); heavy metal legend Dio ("You didn't have to do it just because he died recently"); e-books (they can't compare to "the smell of new paper"); the iPad ("a foolish waste of time"); the thought of children using the iPad ("Hopefully, this will be followed up by an uplifting story about the great things that are happening to children in the realm of outdoor play and unhooking from screen time"); and, perennially, sports. "You can't mention sports without someone saying, 'Why are you covering sports—it's just a bunch of Neanderthals, it's just a bunch of fascists!' " says NPR sports correspondent (and Slate sports podcast "Hang Up and Listen" panelist) Mike Pesca.
You are right, and I think the cure is more posts about hockey.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 8:33 PM on March 2, 2011 [8 favorites]
posted by kuujjuarapik at 8:33 PM on March 2, 2011 [8 favorites]
Well what is the website that it reminds you of? The suspense is killing me and I need to get back to writing an angry email to Matt demanding that he final finish of Travelfilter.
posted by Razzle Bathbone at 8:38 PM on March 2, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by Razzle Bathbone at 8:38 PM on March 2, 2011 [5 favorites]
"Et tu, NPR? I thought you would offer a safe refuge from the barrage of Michael Jackson coverage on every other media outlet, but alas, no," ... "If Jackson had lived in ancient Rome, would Nero have moonwalked while his city burned?"
They could just as easily be talking about our Lady Gaga problem.
posted by pwally at 8:42 PM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
They could just as easily be talking about our Lady Gaga problem.
posted by pwally at 8:42 PM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
I used to like Justin Bieber before he sold out.
posted by cjorgensen at 8:45 PM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by cjorgensen at 8:45 PM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
This was back before you'd ever heard of him.
posted by cjorgensen at 8:45 PM on March 2, 2011
posted by cjorgensen at 8:45 PM on March 2, 2011
When he was still edgy.
posted by cjorgensen at 8:45 PM on March 2, 2011 [14 favorites]
posted by cjorgensen at 8:45 PM on March 2, 2011 [14 favorites]
Metatalk: The same old stupid jokes endlessly repeated.
posted by mlis at 8:47 PM on March 2, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by mlis at 8:47 PM on March 2, 2011 [3 favorites]
You know, those tagline jokes are funnier if you're repeating something someone has already said. Or maybe you're doing it differently to make a point about repetitiveness?
posted by cjorgensen at 8:58 PM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by cjorgensen at 8:58 PM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
Next on NPR; Declawing obese cyclists: threat or menace?
posted by pompomtom at 9:01 PM on March 2, 2011 [6 favorites]
posted by pompomtom at 9:01 PM on March 2, 2011 [6 favorites]
Metatalk: You know, those tagline jokes are funnier if you're repeating something someone has already said. Or maybe you're doing it differently to make a point about repetitiveness?
posted by Chrysostom at 9:04 PM on March 2, 2011 [11 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:04 PM on March 2, 2011 [11 favorites]
Metatalk: One person always with the comments in every single thread who does not even know what passive aggressive means.
posted by mlis at 9:07 PM on March 2, 2011
posted by mlis at 9:07 PM on March 2, 2011
MetaTalk: doing it differently to make a point about repetitiveness
posted by grouse at 9:07 PM on March 2, 2011
posted by grouse at 9:07 PM on March 2, 2011
Oh hey is this the thread where we're talking about Waka Flocka Flame
Is that the best name ever or what
I'll just hang up and listen
posted by penduluum at 9:14 PM on March 2, 2011 [5 favorites]
Is that the best name ever or what
I'll just hang up and listen
posted by penduluum at 9:14 PM on March 2, 2011 [5 favorites]
MetaFilter: The.
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:17 PM on March 2, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:17 PM on March 2, 2011 [4 favorites]
Metatalk: Aggressive aggressive aggressive digs at others
posted by koeselitz at 9:18 PM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by koeselitz at 9:18 PM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
This article about NPR fans' insufferable carping about NPR reminded me of a website I know.
Does that make us MetaCarpers?
Something there doesn't sound right, but I can't quite put my finger on it.
posted by pineapple at 9:25 PM on March 2, 2011 [10 favorites]
Does that make us MetaCarpers?
Something there doesn't sound right, but I can't quite put my finger on it.
posted by pineapple at 9:25 PM on March 2, 2011 [10 favorites]
I, for one, take exception to this unfair castigating of Neanderthals by callous NPR listeners. Shanidar Cave clearly illustrates that Neanderthals cared for their injured and weak, and revered their elders. This brutalizing characterization of our noble cave-bear-fighting antecedents needs to be roundly condemned by all moral Homo Sapiens sapiens.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 9:29 PM on March 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 9:29 PM on March 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
I'd listen to NPR if they did a lot of stuff about Hockey.
posted by Navelgazer at 9:32 PM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Navelgazer at 9:32 PM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
I wanna bite the hand that feed me... I wanna bite that hand so badly.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:37 PM on March 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:37 PM on March 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
Metatalk: Passive aggressive recursive digs at Metatalk: Passive aggressive recursive digs at Metatalk: Passive aggressive recursive digs at Metatalk: Passive aggressive recursive digs at Metatalk: Passive aggressive recursive digs at Metatalk: Passive aggressive recursive digs at Metatalk: Passive aggressive recursive digs at Metatalk: Passive aggressive recursive digs at Metatalk: Passive aggressive recursive digs at Metatalk: Passive aggressive recursive digs at Metatalk: Passive aggressive recursive digs at Metatalk: Passive aggressive recursive digs at Metatalk: Passive aggressive recursive digs at others
posted by maryr at 9:39 PM on March 2, 2011 [7 favorites]
posted by maryr at 9:39 PM on March 2, 2011 [7 favorites]
Meh, ATC is just a dumbed-down version of As It Happens. Why are you wasting my time posting about this?
posted by KokuRyu at 9:41 PM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by KokuRyu at 9:41 PM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
Diane Rehm must be spinning in her grave about all of this.
posted by Ufez Jones at 9:54 PM on March 2, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Ufez Jones at 9:54 PM on March 2, 2011 [3 favorites]
NPR puts me to sleep. I listen to it in the car.
posted by not_on_display at 10:02 PM on March 2, 2011 [16 favorites]
posted by not_on_display at 10:02 PM on March 2, 2011 [16 favorites]
MetaTalk: doing it differently to make a point about repetitiveness
posted by deborah at 10:09 PM on March 2, 2011
posted by deborah at 10:09 PM on March 2, 2011
I have worked at a local TV station where I monitored the inbox for general incoming mail from viewers and trust me on this:
You put something on TV or the radio (or the internet if it's a major site I guess), someone is going to complain about it. The NPR fans just seem to be a lot more coherent and less spittle-flecked then what I had to read.
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:14 PM on March 2, 2011 [8 favorites]
You put something on TV or the radio (or the internet if it's a major site I guess), someone is going to complain about it. The NPR fans just seem to be a lot more coherent and less spittle-flecked then what I had to read.
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:14 PM on March 2, 2011 [8 favorites]
Metatalk: doing it repetitively to make a point about difference.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 10:16 PM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Mister Fabulous at 10:16 PM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
MetaTalk: repeating it different to make a point about posts about Apple.
posted by Sparx at 10:16 PM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Sparx at 10:16 PM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
Metafilter: wait, what?
posted by kmz at 10:22 PM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by kmz at 10:22 PM on March 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
So. Tuesday evening. Alec Baldwin is out and I'm sitting in the indoor hammock, listening to NPR. The soothing cadence of their voices calm me, like a therapist or a healer. I sometimes imagine Kai Ryssdal giving me a hot-stone massage and telling me about bombings and global warming and financial collapse. I feel soothed, and relaxed, calmly aware and not alarmed about the events of the world. Lake Titicaca? President Obama? Coelacanths? A mudslide? Bear Stearns? The new iPad? They all exist somewhere in our world, and Kai is describing them to me. And then I doze, and our time is up.
The guest room is a mess. I need to have a talk with Alec about that, and the strawberries he bought at a freeway offramp, and the TiVo. He just green-thumb-buttons everything he sees, from Glee to Deep Space Nine to Antiques Roadshow. "You have to draw the line somewhere, Alec," I'll say. "The green thumb button has become a critic of our own cold and skeptical world." I'll say it with a calm and soothing delivery, just like Kai Rysdall. I hope Alec can handle it. He's a madman, that one.
posted by George Clooney at 10:23 PM on March 2, 2011 [65 favorites]
The guest room is a mess. I need to have a talk with Alec about that, and the strawberries he bought at a freeway offramp, and the TiVo. He just green-thumb-buttons everything he sees, from Glee to Deep Space Nine to Antiques Roadshow. "You have to draw the line somewhere, Alec," I'll say. "The green thumb button has become a critic of our own cold and skeptical world." I'll say it with a calm and soothing delivery, just like Kai Rysdall. I hope Alec can handle it. He's a madman, that one.
posted by George Clooney at 10:23 PM on March 2, 2011 [65 favorites]
Metatalk: abouting a different make post it repetitives.
posted by empath at 10:25 PM on March 2, 2011
posted by empath at 10:25 PM on March 2, 2011
What is NPR? (or is this something one would need a television to know the answer?)
posted by Ardiril at 10:33 PM on March 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Ardiril at 10:33 PM on March 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
My insufferable posts at NPR just get deleted, which I find weird? I'm always polite? Is it mean to ask NPR to retrain their Egypt correspondent? She has a tendency to end declarative sentences as though they were questions? I can't stand that shit?
posted by Brocktoon at 10:38 PM on March 2, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Brocktoon at 10:38 PM on March 2, 2011 [3 favorites]
NPR would have been more awesome if Dio was a DJ there.
posted by spinifex23 at 11:20 PM on March 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by spinifex23 at 11:20 PM on March 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
Metafilter: more coherent and less spittle-flecked than what I had to read.
posted by Rangeboy at 11:26 PM on March 2, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by Rangeboy at 11:26 PM on March 2, 2011 [4 favorites]
When he was still edgy.
Now I know you're joking. No one from the Canadian entertainment industry is edgy.
Except maybe Rick Mercer.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:01 AM on March 3, 2011
Now I know you're joking. No one from the Canadian entertainment industry is edgy.
Except maybe Rick Mercer.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:01 AM on March 3, 2011
MeTa: talk.
posted by flabdablet at 1:07 AM on March 3, 2011
posted by flabdablet at 1:07 AM on March 3, 2011
Is NPR something I'd need a radio to know about?
posted by fixedgear at 1:17 AM on March 3, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by fixedgear at 1:17 AM on March 3, 2011 [3 favorites]
And even though it makes Cortex want to shove donuts in his ears whenever he hears me say it, this is MetaFilter: Community Weblog.
posted by Rock Steady at 1:21 AM on March 3, 2011 [42 favorites]
posted by Rock Steady at 1:21 AM on March 3, 2011 [42 favorites]
I for one welcome our repetitive passive aggressive recursive overlords.
posted by sgt.serenity at 2:47 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by sgt.serenity at 2:47 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Now all I can think about is George Clooney and Alec Baldwin living together. This day is right-off.
posted by londonmark at 3:38 AM on March 3, 2011
posted by londonmark at 3:38 AM on March 3, 2011
When I saw that article yesterday, I skimmed it really quickly, and I initially thought the paragraph quoted above was a list of the people writing to NPR instead of the people NPR listeners were writing about. I was astonished that Waka Flocka Flame, Mel Gibson, Levi Johnston, et al not only listened to NPR, but had such high standards for it and hated Justin Bieber that much.
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:24 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:24 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
I have no idea how these people got our repetitive passive aggressive recursive overlords wedged into their scanners, or why.
posted by NoMich at 4:39 AM on March 3, 2011
posted by NoMich at 4:39 AM on March 3, 2011
Now I feel like a bad person and also realize that I'm not the special snowflake I thought I was because I keep wanting to tell NPR that we can get sports talk on every other media so why does NPR have to carry it? Just another whiner.
posted by Hobgoblin at 5:02 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Hobgoblin at 5:02 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Brocktoon: "My insufferable posts at NPR just get deleted, which I find weird? I'm always polite? Is it mean to ask NPR to retrain their Egypt correspondent? She has a tendency to end declarative sentences as though they were questions? I can't stand that shit"
Are you Canadian? You sound Canadian.
posted by Grither at 5:06 AM on March 3, 2011
Are you Canadian? You sound Canadian.
posted by Grither at 5:06 AM on March 3, 2011
I've just settled for 1) not listening to NPR, 2) telling people about NPR's continuing opposition to Low-Power FM broadcast (underdog, ha!), 3) the occasional uncharitable impression of Garrison Keillor.
posted by adipocere at 5:21 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by adipocere at 5:21 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
I wonder what those letter writers will think of this morning's piece on the Anna Nicole Smith opera.
posted by TedW at 5:29 AM on March 3, 2011
posted by TedW at 5:29 AM on March 3, 2011
I've just settled for 1) not listening to NPR
This is me too. Thought I did listen to VPR's reporting from town meeting on Tuesday. They were reading people's tweets on the air and I heard one from terrapin.
My friend who works for NPR says that basically any time they say something even vaguely ungrammatical on the radio (much less unpopular) the phone lines are flooded with call-in complaints. That said, NPRs focus has definitely shifted over time and I sort of get how long-time listeners can see sports reporting as something they never would have heard on the NPR of 20 years ago.
There is a particular brand of intelligent person who is also what I would call irritable. NPR seems to have even more of those people than we do.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:34 AM on March 3, 2011 [9 favorites]
This is me too. Thought I did listen to VPR's reporting from town meeting on Tuesday. They were reading people's tweets on the air and I heard one from terrapin.
My friend who works for NPR says that basically any time they say something even vaguely ungrammatical on the radio (much less unpopular) the phone lines are flooded with call-in complaints. That said, NPRs focus has definitely shifted over time and I sort of get how long-time listeners can see sports reporting as something they never would have heard on the NPR of 20 years ago.
There is a particular brand of intelligent person who is also what I would call irritable. NPR seems to have even more of those people than we do.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:34 AM on March 3, 2011 [9 favorites]
is this the thread where we're talking about Waka Flocka Flame ... Is that the best name ever or what
Maybe. But Nipsey Hussle is coming on strong.
Once I heard a Weekend Edition story about a CIA employee's ironic tie collection. Any story is a step up from that turd in the bowl.
posted by octobersurprise at 5:55 AM on March 3, 2011
Maybe. But Nipsey Hussle is coming on strong.
Once I heard a Weekend Edition story about a CIA employee's ironic tie collection. Any story is a step up from that turd in the bowl.
posted by octobersurprise at 5:55 AM on March 3, 2011
the occasional uncharitable impression of Garrison Keillor.
My Corey Flintoff impression kills.
posted by octobersurprise at 6:00 AM on March 3, 2011 [3 favorites]
My Corey Flintoff impression kills.
posted by octobersurprise at 6:00 AM on March 3, 2011 [3 favorites]
Sure, fine, NPR can be annoying, sometimes (often?) useless, a source of things to complain about, etc. But they have Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, who does some pretty fantastic reporting from places in Africa that no one else ever seems to report on, and Sylvia Poggioli, who should be a national treasure just for her voice, let alone her chops as a reporter.
posted by rtha at 6:01 AM on March 3, 2011 [11 favorites]
posted by rtha at 6:01 AM on March 3, 2011 [11 favorites]
If only I had NPR tivo so that I could just FIAMO.
The frustration of their fluff pieces is intensified by how long they are. I like how NPR will give a story 5 minutes to get just a tad deeper than the 30 second version you get most places, but there isn't more than 30 seconds to say about many pop culture stories. Imagine you're stuck in traffic when ATC decides to do a 4 minute piece on how Bristol Palin is not a very good dancer. You could reach for a CD, but they're all disorganized and you want to keep your eyes on the road. Other radio stations are a frightening possibility. You could turn the radio off, but right after they get done discussing how that girl was not born to rumba there's something interesting on education reform. As you mull these options, you keep hoping that the damn thing must be nearly over but it just keeps going. They cut away from the expert and hope flashes in your eyes, but they go to teenager-on-the-street analysis of Bristol's costume.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 6:09 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
The frustration of their fluff pieces is intensified by how long they are. I like how NPR will give a story 5 minutes to get just a tad deeper than the 30 second version you get most places, but there isn't more than 30 seconds to say about many pop culture stories. Imagine you're stuck in traffic when ATC decides to do a 4 minute piece on how Bristol Palin is not a very good dancer. You could reach for a CD, but they're all disorganized and you want to keep your eyes on the road. Other radio stations are a frightening possibility. You could turn the radio off, but right after they get done discussing how that girl was not born to rumba there's something interesting on education reform. As you mull these options, you keep hoping that the damn thing must be nearly over but it just keeps going. They cut away from the expert and hope flashes in your eyes, but they go to teenager-on-the-street analysis of Bristol's costume.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 6:09 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
Is NPR something I'd need a radio to know about?
Not in these days of streaming audio, no.
posted by JanetLand at 6:39 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
Not in these days of streaming audio, no.
posted by JanetLand at 6:39 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
I love NPR's sports coverage because it always explains everything to you as if you were an alien visitor and had never watched a live sports event before.
posted by empath at 6:46 AM on March 3, 2011 [6 favorites]
posted by empath at 6:46 AM on March 3, 2011 [6 favorites]
There is no media outlet in this world that doesn't get letters from sensitive cranks. When I worked in newspapers, we got them too. Magazines get them. Websites get them. Television gets them, and radio gets them. The more letters you get, the more people actually like most of your content and care enough to speak up. It's a good thing.
posted by Miko at 6:47 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Miko at 6:47 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
There is a particular brand of intelligent person who is also what I would call irritable.
Not "irritable"...
"Passionate".
posted by Joe Beese at 6:48 AM on March 3, 2011
Not "irritable"...
"Passionate".
posted by Joe Beese at 6:48 AM on March 3, 2011
Joe Beese: "Not "irritable"...
"Passionate"."
I... uh.... um.... I think this broke my brain.
posted by zarq at 6:59 AM on March 3, 2011
"Passionate"."
I... uh.... um.... I think this broke my brain.
posted by zarq at 6:59 AM on March 3, 2011
Farhad Manjoo complaining about people being tedious and annoying; when I saw that article, I was surprised that the pot-kettle-black recursion didn't start some violent feedback loop and tear a hole in the fabric of the universe.
posted by COBRA! at 7:05 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by COBRA! at 7:05 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm with jessamyn on the idea of highly selective listening and am toying with the idea of just listening to Science Fridays in some time-shifted manners, but even that is sketchy.
The sports thing is oddly reminiscent of wrestling landing on theSci-Fi SyFy channel, but I did not make it that far. Some kind of time-lapse word sampling from NPR as an incoming alien probe might race towards Earth, hurtling through layers of old broadcasts until it entered the solar system might sound like: Iraq Iraq Afghanistan Iraq Bush Iraq Iraq Iraq Cheney Iraq Iraq Iraq Saginaw Bush Iraq Iraq RadioLab-sproi-oi-ng!! McCain Iraq Clinton Iraq Romney Iraq Obama Iraq Clinton Iraq Obama PowderMilkBiscuits Iraq Afghanistan Clinton Obama McCain Iran Iraq Obama Iraq Palin Iraq McCain Iraq TARP Obama Electoral McCain Afghanistan Obama Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Obama Afghanistan Afghanistan Iraq Afghanistan Obama HealthCare Afghanistan Obama ...
and I simply could not deal any longer. Blessed be HD2 and HD3 on other stations.
They've lost their core focus and are floundering for a sense of self. They don't want to be perceived as parochial, so instead I hear more about what is going on in Yemen than in the United States, unless you count the Washington, D.C.; New York, New York; the entire state of California; and the occasional bit about a sleepy burb in a flyover state with a tone somewhere between patronizing and nostalgic.
Various American media groups are going through this thing where they've all turned thirty and their last relationship didn't work out. Suddenly the dating pool is smaller than they had anticipated and they're going through an identity crisis while searching for a possible mate to attract. Who am I and who do I want to be to find someone who likes me? NPR isn't alone in this but their particular take on this struggle has the added feeling of watching your slightly stodgy friend decide that this year is the year to get engaged and it is time to be hip and maybe take up this hip-hop dancing thing about which he's heard so much.
posted by adipocere at 7:20 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
The sports thing is oddly reminiscent of wrestling landing on the
and I simply could not deal any longer. Blessed be HD2 and HD3 on other stations.
They've lost their core focus and are floundering for a sense of self. They don't want to be perceived as parochial, so instead I hear more about what is going on in Yemen than in the United States, unless you count the Washington, D.C.; New York, New York; the entire state of California; and the occasional bit about a sleepy burb in a flyover state with a tone somewhere between patronizing and nostalgic.
Various American media groups are going through this thing where they've all turned thirty and their last relationship didn't work out. Suddenly the dating pool is smaller than they had anticipated and they're going through an identity crisis while searching for a possible mate to attract. Who am I and who do I want to be to find someone who likes me? NPR isn't alone in this but their particular take on this struggle has the added feeling of watching your slightly stodgy friend decide that this year is the year to get engaged and it is time to be hip and maybe take up this hip-hop dancing thing about which he's heard so much.
posted by adipocere at 7:20 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
When I worked in newspapers, we got them too.
Which is why Mary Worth is still on the comics page.
posted by TedW at 7:37 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
Which is why Mary Worth is still on the comics page.
posted by TedW at 7:37 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
I'm sorry, maybe I'm missing something here, but how exactly is this Slate article, and this entire thread, "MetaFilter-related?"
posted by slogger at 7:47 AM on March 3, 2011
posted by slogger at 7:47 AM on March 3, 2011
And why does the spell-checker at MetaFilter always flag the word MetaFilter? Guh. Drives me nuts.
posted by slogger at 7:48 AM on March 3, 2011
posted by slogger at 7:48 AM on March 3, 2011
but their particular take on this struggle has the added feeling of watching your slightly stodgy friend decide that this year is the year to get engaged and it is time to be hip
"Well, first I would have to disabuse you of the notion that you were ever cool before."
Oh, God ... I'm referencing a 13 year old TV show ...
posted by octobersurprise at 7:52 AM on March 3, 2011
"Well, first I would have to disabuse you of the notion that you were ever cool before."
Oh, God ... I'm referencing a 13 year old TV show ...
posted by octobersurprise at 7:52 AM on March 3, 2011
What is going on here.
posted by reductiondesign at 7:55 AM on March 3, 2011
posted by reductiondesign at 7:55 AM on March 3, 2011
And why does the spell-checker at MetaFilter always flag the word MetaFilter? Guh. Drives me nuts.
It's not a MetaFilter-specific spellchecker. It's your browser. You can almost certainly add MetaFilter to your dictionary; right-click on the word and a dialogue box should pop up. In Firefox, anyway.
posted by rtha at 7:59 AM on March 3, 2011
It's not a MetaFilter-specific spellchecker. It's your browser. You can almost certainly add MetaFilter to your dictionary; right-click on the word and a dialogue box should pop up. In Firefox, anyway.
posted by rtha at 7:59 AM on March 3, 2011
Metafilter: Metafilter.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:16 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by shakespeherian at 8:16 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
2) telling people about NPR's continuing opposition to Low-Power FM broadcast (underdog, ha!),
Yes, this! Our college radio station (10 watts, people) was locked in a power struggle over increased wattage because NPR wouldn't allow us to test out of fear we'd interfere with their signal over a barely populated area of SE Illinois. Or something, it was a while ago, and still: GRAR.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 8:16 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
Yes, this! Our college radio station (10 watts, people) was locked in a power struggle over increased wattage because NPR wouldn't allow us to test out of fear we'd interfere with their signal over a barely populated area of SE Illinois. Or something, it was a while ago, and still: GRAR.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 8:16 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
Ofeibea Quist-Arcton
That's how you spell her name? My mind is blown.
posted by purpleclover at 8:19 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
That's how you spell her name? My mind is blown.
posted by purpleclover at 8:19 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Can't y'all just turn to another NPR station?
posted by klangklangston at 8:20 AM on March 3, 2011
posted by klangklangston at 8:20 AM on March 3, 2011
londonmark: "Now all I can think about is George Clooney and Alec Baldwin living together. This day is right-off."
I know I'm getting old -- because when this fantasy is suggested, I just immediately imagine the two of them sitting around voting for the same people I am.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:20 AM on March 3, 2011 [6 favorites]
I know I'm getting old -- because when this fantasy is suggested, I just immediately imagine the two of them sitting around voting for the same people I am.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:20 AM on March 3, 2011 [6 favorites]
Sure, fine, NPR can be annoying, sometimes (often?) useless, a source of things to complain about, etc. But they have Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, who does some pretty fantastic reporting from places in Africa that no one else ever seems to report on, and Sylvia Poggioli, who should be a national treasure just for her voice, let alone her chops as a reporter.
Haha, I sometimes wake up to NPR just when Ofeibea Quist-Arcton is signing off from Accraaaaaaaa
posted by special-k at 8:40 AM on March 3, 2011 [3 favorites]
Haha, I sometimes wake up to NPR just when Ofeibea Quist-Arcton is signing off from Accraaaaaaaa
posted by special-k at 8:40 AM on March 3, 2011 [3 favorites]
The soothing cadence of their voices calm me, like a therapist or a healer. I sometimes imagine Kai Ryssdal giving me a hot-stone massage...
OK, George. I know you are an expert on everything and you're on the President's speed dial* and possibly not mortal. But as big a public-radio apologist as I am, I can't imagine the outré smarm of Marketplace (MARKETPLACE!) being the best example of pleasant, drift-away radiojournalism you can summon. In a world absent Car Talk and those endless Animal House ads, it is possibly the most annoying thing one hears on NPR.
*Oh, Tina.
posted by kittyprecious at 8:40 AM on March 3, 2011
OK, George. I know you are an expert on everything and you're on the President's speed dial* and possibly not mortal. But as big a public-radio apologist as I am, I can't imagine the outré smarm of Marketplace (MARKETPLACE!) being the best example of pleasant, drift-away radiojournalism you can summon. In a world absent Car Talk and those endless Animal House ads, it is possibly the most annoying thing one hears on NPR.
*Oh, Tina.
posted by kittyprecious at 8:40 AM on March 3, 2011
As I type this, I hear the first Charlie Sheenathon coverage on NPR I know of. All across this country, people are flying to keyboards to complain.
posted by mwhybark at 8:41 AM on March 3, 2011
posted by mwhybark at 8:41 AM on March 3, 2011
That's how you spell her name? My mind is blown.
I think Doualy Xaykaothao was the winner for me.
posted by kittyprecious at 8:43 AM on March 3, 2011 [5 favorites]
I think Doualy Xaykaothao was the winner for me.
posted by kittyprecious at 8:43 AM on March 3, 2011 [5 favorites]
Is this because their listeners are not completely homogenous, and they're literate and entitled enough to complain about things? OK cool thought so
I don't listen to NPR because they talk so goddamn slow. Can't stand it. If they were physically present I'd probably be embarrassing myself with my own rudeness in making the 'GET ON WITH IT ALREADY' gesture with both arms*.
Various American media groups are going through this thing where they've all turned thirty and their last relationship didn't work out. Suddenly the dating pool is smaller than they had anticipated and they're going through an identity crisis while searching for a possible mate to attract. Who am I and who do I want to be to find someone who likes me?
Well, if NPR is anything like me**, within a couple months they'll start dating the person who they will eventually marry, beginning a several year span in which they will have to pinch themselves almost daily to remind themselves it's not a dream.
In conclusion, the WFMU Android app is the best thing to happen to my in-car listening since ever.
* also tiring myself
** I don't think it is as it is a radio network and I am a regular dude
posted by jtron at 8:44 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't listen to NPR because they talk so goddamn slow. Can't stand it. If they were physically present I'd probably be embarrassing myself with my own rudeness in making the 'GET ON WITH IT ALREADY' gesture with both arms*.
Various American media groups are going through this thing where they've all turned thirty and their last relationship didn't work out. Suddenly the dating pool is smaller than they had anticipated and they're going through an identity crisis while searching for a possible mate to attract. Who am I and who do I want to be to find someone who likes me?
Well, if NPR is anything like me**, within a couple months they'll start dating the person who they will eventually marry, beginning a several year span in which they will have to pinch themselves almost daily to remind themselves it's not a dream.
In conclusion, the WFMU Android app is the best thing to happen to my in-car listening since ever.
* also tiring myself
** I don't think it is as it is a radio network and I am a regular dude
posted by jtron at 8:44 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Oh hey is this the thread where we're talking about Waka Flocka Flame
Seriously dude, you want me to believe you're hardcore when you're named after Fozzie Bear? Although I guess he got it from MC Ice Cream Cone Face, so anything is possible.
posted by electroboy at 8:48 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Seriously dude, you want me to believe you're hardcore when you're named after Fozzie Bear? Although I guess he got it from MC Ice Cream Cone Face, so anything is possible.
posted by electroboy at 8:48 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Trivia: The icky part of the orange, between the skin and the fruit? It's called the mesocarp.
posted by Eideteker at 8:49 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Eideteker at 8:49 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
I have to confess when Steve Inskeep cheekily started the intro to a discussion of Charlie Sheen's antics this morning, my knee-jerk reaction was "Why the fuck are they talking about this crap on NPR? Stop pandering to the idiots, NPR!"
Even though I know it's already too late and NPR's news programs have been sprinting down the pandering trail for some time now.
posted by aught at 8:54 AM on March 3, 2011
Even though I know it's already too late and NPR's news programs have been sprinting down the pandering trail for some time now.
posted by aught at 8:54 AM on March 3, 2011
3) the occasional uncharitable impression of Garrison Keillor.
My mom and Garrison Keillor grew up in the same town - my grandmother will have you know that he's just putting on airs and his name is Gary.
(Just imagine it in a thick Fargo-esque Minnesotan accent: "Oh! That Gary Keillor! He's just putting on airs!")
posted by sonika at 9:00 AM on March 3, 2011 [6 favorites]
My mom and Garrison Keillor grew up in the same town - my grandmother will have you know that he's just putting on airs and his name is Gary.
(Just imagine it in a thick Fargo-esque Minnesotan accent: "Oh! That Gary Keillor! He's just putting on airs!")
posted by sonika at 9:00 AM on March 3, 2011 [6 favorites]
and am toying with the idea of just listening to Science Fridays in some time-shifted manners
Almost everything NPR airs is available as a podcast of some sort, so this is pretty easy to do, if you have an iPod or other MP3 player.
posted by aught at 9:04 AM on March 3, 2011
Almost everything NPR airs is available as a podcast of some sort, so this is pretty easy to do, if you have an iPod or other MP3 player.
posted by aught at 9:04 AM on March 3, 2011
I don't understand what any of this has to do with Wikileaks.
posted by steambadger at 9:05 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by steambadger at 9:05 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
because NPR wouldn't allow us to test out of fear we'd interfere with their signal over a barely populated area of SE Illinois
On the other hand, they have a lot of problems with low-power fundamentalist Christian stations squashing their coverage in some rural areas, so I can see why they would be anxious about this. Driving around upstate NY I occasionally have some weird white-bread voice-over about the Bible or family values slide suddenly over the public radio program I have been listening to as I crest a hill or something. Very frustrating.
posted by aught at 9:08 AM on March 3, 2011
On the other hand, they have a lot of problems with low-power fundamentalist Christian stations squashing their coverage in some rural areas, so I can see why they would be anxious about this. Driving around upstate NY I occasionally have some weird white-bread voice-over about the Bible or family values slide suddenly over the public radio program I have been listening to as I crest a hill or something. Very frustrating.
posted by aught at 9:08 AM on March 3, 2011
This is really not actually related to Metafilter. Other than having a chat about it (and there's metachat for that), I don't see the point of this metatalk thread.
This NPR blog post, linked in the article, was written by Linda Holmes. She was also who Michelle Noris interviewed in the story about crazy Justin Beiber fans on All Things Considered.
Linda Holmes is Metafilter user 102327. I'm surprised she hasn't been here to comment.
posted by nooneyouknow at 9:33 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
This NPR blog post, linked in the article, was written by Linda Holmes. She was also who Michelle Noris interviewed in the story about crazy Justin Beiber fans on All Things Considered.
Linda Holmes is Metafilter user 102327. I'm surprised she hasn't been here to comment.
posted by nooneyouknow at 9:33 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
The best take on the foibles of public radio is IPR - Irrational Public Radio. For someone who has listened to public radio for many years, their podcast is hilarious.
posted by Sculthorpe at 9:35 AM on March 3, 2011
posted by Sculthorpe at 9:35 AM on March 3, 2011
because NPR wouldn't allow us to test out of fear we'd interfere with their signal over a barely populated area of SE Illinois
NPR had nothing to do with this. NPR doesn't own any radio stations. Your college station was in conflict with a particular station which was an NPR affiliate. Also, I find it extremely unlikely that they could successfully prevent you from undergoing engineering tests. It would, however, be pretty easy for them to prevent you from actually getting your license change - class D licenses are the red-headed stepchildren of broadcasting, and it's nearly impossible to move from class D to anything else, especially in areas of the country where people actually live. My college station had a significant broadcast area stomped on by a 15KW NPR station 40 miles away, and couldn't do crap about it.
posted by god hates math at 9:35 AM on March 3, 2011
NPR had nothing to do with this. NPR doesn't own any radio stations. Your college station was in conflict with a particular station which was an NPR affiliate. Also, I find it extremely unlikely that they could successfully prevent you from undergoing engineering tests. It would, however, be pretty easy for them to prevent you from actually getting your license change - class D licenses are the red-headed stepchildren of broadcasting, and it's nearly impossible to move from class D to anything else, especially in areas of the country where people actually live. My college station had a significant broadcast area stomped on by a 15KW NPR station 40 miles away, and couldn't do crap about it.
posted by god hates math at 9:35 AM on March 3, 2011
I often talk back to the radio when in the car, but I didn't realize how much my 4 year old noticed that until one morning after the news started I heard from the backseat a cheerful "Hi, Jean Cochran!"
posted by norm at 9:36 AM on March 3, 2011 [9 favorites]
posted by norm at 9:36 AM on March 3, 2011 [9 favorites]
odinsdream: "This is really not actually related to Metafilter. Other than having a chat about it (and there's metachat for that), I don't see the point of this metatalk thread."
I see what you did there.
posted by zarq at 9:44 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
I see what you did there.
posted by zarq at 9:44 AM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
HEY -- LEAVE DIO ALONE!!!!
posted by jpdoane at 9:53 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by jpdoane at 9:53 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Kind of surprised to see all of the NPR hate here. I really identified with Manjoo's post.
posted by proj at 10:00 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by proj at 10:00 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
What you're saying is that MetaFilter needs more tote bags, right?
posted by Lutoslawski at 10:23 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Lutoslawski at 10:23 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Maybe I'm just confused here, but aren't NPR and Slate very close organizationally? Don't they make Day To Day together? Isn't Slate basically NPR's youth outreach arm (and by youth I mean under 40)? Isn't it thus somewhat unseemly for Slate to run a big piece mocking NPR listeners?
It's tough for me to take anything Slate does seriously, it all feels like a half-step up from Gawker, what with its constant refashioning of whatever pop-psych dreck comes down the pipe into the latest sexy sexy clickbait article about how sexy young people are so wrong and misguided and sexy! This one kind of reads like "boy those older NPR listeners sure are stuffy and wrong! Good thing you and me and all these other sexy young people are here to pick up the torch for the next generation!" It's just all sort of embarrassing.
posted by chaff at 10:32 AM on March 3, 2011
It's tough for me to take anything Slate does seriously, it all feels like a half-step up from Gawker, what with its constant refashioning of whatever pop-psych dreck comes down the pipe into the latest sexy sexy clickbait article about how sexy young people are so wrong and misguided and sexy! This one kind of reads like "boy those older NPR listeners sure are stuffy and wrong! Good thing you and me and all these other sexy young people are here to pick up the torch for the next generation!" It's just all sort of embarrassing.
posted by chaff at 10:32 AM on March 3, 2011
Well, sure...carping is always insufferable when it's someone else's.
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:35 AM on March 3, 2011
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:35 AM on March 3, 2011
Oh Slate is terrible, I feel bad about myself every time I compulsively surf to it. I used to have it blocked in the hosts file of my home PC.
You're welcome.
posted by grobstein at 10:35 AM on March 3, 2011
You're welcome.
posted by grobstein at 10:35 AM on March 3, 2011
Can we have MetaFilter tote bags, in all six colors? (Blue, Grey, Green, White, Dark Grey... hey, White gets repeated, no fair, can we pretend Jobs or IRL is silver or something?)
posted by jtron at 10:44 AM on March 3, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by jtron at 10:44 AM on March 3, 2011 [4 favorites]
What you're saying is that MetaFilter needs more tote bags, right?
Tote bags are so 2003! We need messenger bags. (I would totally carry a mefi messenger bag, yes I would.)
posted by rtha at 11:10 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Tote bags are so 2003! We need messenger bags. (I would totally carry a mefi messenger bag, yes I would.)
posted by rtha at 11:10 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Messenger bags are so 2006. We need bags made out of hollowed out tauntauns!
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:11 AM on March 3, 2011
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:11 AM on March 3, 2011
MeFi bags of ice, I say.
posted by defenestration at 11:13 AM on March 3, 2011
posted by defenestration at 11:13 AM on March 3, 2011
Ahem. Bean bags.
posted by zamboni at 11:23 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by zamboni at 11:23 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
WHO ELSE IS HERE TO TALK ABOUT MAGIKARP?
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 11:52 AM on March 3, 2011
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 11:52 AM on March 3, 2011
Tote bags are so 2003! We need messenger bags. (I would totally carry a mefi messenger bag, yes I would.)
Totes.
posted by eyeballkid at 11:53 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Totes.
posted by eyeballkid at 11:53 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
That's how you spell her name? My mind is blown.
Looks like it's spelled pretty much how it's prounounced. I think any other spelling would be more surprising ("Yes, it's spelled Raymond Luxury-Yacht, but it's pronounced Ofeibea Quist-Arcton").
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 11:57 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Looks like it's spelled pretty much how it's prounounced. I think any other spelling would be more surprising ("Yes, it's spelled Raymond Luxury-Yacht, but it's pronounced Ofeibea Quist-Arcton").
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 11:57 AM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Maybe I'm just confused here, but aren't NPR and Slate very close organizationally? Don't they make Day To Day together?
I don't recall this. I thought Slate was the joint venture of the Washington Post and Microssoft.
I was unaware that NPR had a youth outreach efoort beyond programs directed at younger audiences, its social media and weblog endeavors, and (and this is just a hunch) the fact that most the news of the weird type items on Wait Wait Don't tell Me seem to have been pulled from the blue.
posted by Verdant at 11:58 AM on March 3, 2011
I don't recall this. I thought Slate was the joint venture of the Washington Post and Microssoft.
I was unaware that NPR had a youth outreach efoort beyond programs directed at younger audiences, its social media and weblog endeavors, and (and this is just a hunch) the fact that most the news of the weird type items on Wait Wait Don't tell Me seem to have been pulled from the blue.
posted by Verdant at 11:58 AM on March 3, 2011
Maybe I'm just confused here, but aren't NPR and Slate very close organizationally? Don't they make Day To Day together?
It looks like it was a collaboration between the two, but Day to Day hasn't been a show for almost two years, since NPR cut west coast operations to almost nothing.
posted by god hates math at 12:06 PM on March 3, 2011
It looks like it was a collaboration between the two, but Day to Day hasn't been a show for almost two years, since NPR cut west coast operations to almost nothing.
posted by god hates math at 12:06 PM on March 3, 2011
That's how you spell her name? My mind is blown.
Ofeibea is a Ghanaian name. It means child of Ofei.
(Ghana representing!!!)
posted by ramix at 12:13 PM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
Ofeibea is a Ghanaian name. It means child of Ofei.
(Ghana representing!!!)
posted by ramix at 12:13 PM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
If the NPR listeners are complaining about the Too Much Personal Information imparted by the insufferably narcissistic Scott Simon, they are doing no wrong.
posted by y2karl at 12:46 PM on March 3, 2011
posted by y2karl at 12:46 PM on March 3, 2011
NPR hate, I have a hard time getting behind. Scott Simon hate? There's a cause I can believe in.
posted by proj at 12:50 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by proj at 12:50 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Its strange that people would get upset about those little error. They should think differently.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:01 PM on March 3, 2011
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:01 PM on March 3, 2011
What do I need to do to get cortex's voice on my home answering maching?
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 1:03 PM on March 3, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 1:03 PM on March 3, 2011 [5 favorites]
No hate for the smugness of Liane Hansen? Some Sunday mornings I forget how irritating I find her and she's on in the background and I get more and more irritated until I realize I NEED TO TURN OFF LIANE AAARRRGGHH.
posted by readery at 1:13 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by readery at 1:13 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
You are in luck. She is leaving in May.
posted by found missing at 1:27 PM on March 3, 2011
posted by found missing at 1:27 PM on March 3, 2011
This is really not actually related to Metafilter.
This NPR blog post, linked in the article, was written by Linda Holmes. She was also who Michelle Noris interviewed in the story about crazy Justin Beiber fans on All Things Considered.
Also, I have had brunch with Linda Holmes and I listen to NPR. Metafilter relationship confirmed.
posted by kittyprecious at 1:36 PM on March 3, 2011
This NPR blog post, linked in the article, was written by Linda Holmes. She was also who Michelle Noris interviewed in the story about crazy Justin Beiber fans on All Things Considered.
Also, I have had brunch with Linda Holmes and I listen to NPR. Metafilter relationship confirmed.
posted by kittyprecious at 1:36 PM on March 3, 2011
Can we have MetaFilter tote bags, in all six colors?
Did someone say... sixcolors?
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 1:39 PM on March 3, 2011
Did someone say... sixcolors?
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 1:39 PM on March 3, 2011
Trivia: The icky part of the orange, between the skin and the fruit? It's called the mesocarp.
What? I've never heard that before. Are you taking the pith?
posted by maryr at 1:59 PM on March 3, 2011 [4 favorites]
What? I've never heard that before. Are you taking the pith?
posted by maryr at 1:59 PM on March 3, 2011 [4 favorites]
the iPad ("a foolish waste of time")
This week on This American Life, Lawns: Act One: Mowing, Act Two: Kids on Lawns, Act Three: Getting you Kids off my Lawn.
posted by BrotherCaine at 2:17 PM on March 3, 2011 [3 favorites]
This week on This American Life, Lawns: Act One: Mowing, Act Two: Kids on Lawns, Act Three: Getting you Kids off my Lawn.
posted by BrotherCaine at 2:17 PM on March 3, 2011 [3 favorites]
What? I've never heard that before. Are you taking the pith?
I thee what you did there.
posted by norm at 2:35 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
I thee what you did there.
posted by norm at 2:35 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
On the other hand, they have a lot of problems with low-power fundamentalist Christian stations squashing their coverage in some rural areas, so I can see why they would be anxious about this.
NPR wasn't just "anxious" about low-watt stations; it colluded with the National Association of Broadcasters lobby while it was busy passing around faked cds of what the interference would sound like to ignorant congresscritters. Seriously, it was one of those blatant lobbying moves that aren't supposed to see the light of day: playing utterly fraudulent collages of radio interference for non-technically-aware politicians. NPR was right there in the middle of it. I haven't donated since and never will again.
posted by mediareport at 4:45 PM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
NPR wasn't just "anxious" about low-watt stations; it colluded with the National Association of Broadcasters lobby while it was busy passing around faked cds of what the interference would sound like to ignorant congresscritters. Seriously, it was one of those blatant lobbying moves that aren't supposed to see the light of day: playing utterly fraudulent collages of radio interference for non-technically-aware politicians. NPR was right there in the middle of it. I haven't donated since and never will again.
posted by mediareport at 4:45 PM on March 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
Haters gonna kai rysdal or something.
I'm very sorry, drunk on gin martinis. If it helps my case, the gin was Hendricks
posted by special-k at 5:52 PM on March 3, 2011
I'm very sorry, drunk on gin martinis. If it helps my case, the gin was Hendricks
posted by special-k at 5:52 PM on March 3, 2011
I'm Almlen Falmer
posted by leotrotsky at 6:06 PM on March 3, 2011
posted by leotrotsky at 6:06 PM on March 3, 2011
My name is already a pretty good NPR name.
posted by rtha at 6:13 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by rtha at 6:13 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
So is mine!
posted by special-k at 6:43 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by special-k at 6:43 PM on March 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
By the way, Ira Glass, if you're reading this thread, memail me! I'd love to work for/with you. Especially if you can introduce me to Jane Feltes.
/Huge radio crush.
posted by special-k at 6:45 PM on March 3, 2011
/Huge radio crush.
posted by special-k at 6:45 PM on March 3, 2011
No hate for the smugness of Liane Hansen? Some Sunday mornings I forget how irritating I find her and she's on in the background and I get more and more irritated until I realize I NEED TO TURN OFF LIANE AAARRRGGHH
Sorry, but Liane Hansen is nothing compared to the sing-songy, 3-count rhythm, you're-back-in-kindergarten, patronizing edge of Neda Ulaby. Every time she does some celeb's obituary, I just want to scream.
posted by webhund at 7:08 PM on March 3, 2011
Sorry, but Liane Hansen is nothing compared to the sing-songy, 3-count rhythm, you're-back-in-kindergarten, patronizing edge of Neda Ulaby. Every time she does some celeb's obituary, I just want to scream.
posted by webhund at 7:08 PM on March 3, 2011
Matt, could you, Jessamyn and Cortex do a membership drive in the podcast? Ideally, you start an interesting story about something on the Blue, and then halfway through say you won't start again until 200 new members have joined.
posted by mccarty.tim at 8:14 PM on March 3, 2011
posted by mccarty.tim at 8:14 PM on March 3, 2011
Tote bags are so 2003! We need messenger bags. (I would totally carry a mefi messenger bag, yes I would.)I think the Current Big Thing is the kind of reusable shopping bags that can be folded up tiny and put in your pocket or on your keychain or something.
Not that I wouldn't totally carry a MeFi messenger bag.
posted by Karmakaze at 6:13 AM on March 4, 2011
I hate those things. I hate them because every time I go to the grocery store, I get the hairy eyeball from some self-righteous twerp in line who sees me putting my stuff into one of the precious brown paper bags provided by the store. Every single one of those brown paper bags gets reused - they get filled up with compostables, or are used to carry newspapers and other recyclables down to the cans every week, etc.
posted by rtha at 8:53 AM on March 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by rtha at 8:53 AM on March 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
Karmakaze: " I think the Current Big Thing is the kind of reusable shopping bags that can be folded up tiny and put in your pocket or on your keychain or something."
We keep a few of them in our car for when we shop at the Big Box stores that don't supply bags. Makes bringing in 4 gallons of milk a bit easier. :)
posted by zarq at 8:56 AM on March 4, 2011
We keep a few of them in our car for when we shop at the Big Box stores that don't supply bags. Makes bringing in 4 gallons of milk a bit easier. :)
posted by zarq at 8:56 AM on March 4, 2011
Yeah, I love those bags, and even though I started doing it for the reusability, the reason I'm passionate about them is that they are way better than disposable bags at the functions one desires from a container. They can take a beating. You can put easily 15, 20 pounds of groceries in them, they're a lot easier to carry, the seams don't split and the handles don't break. Their boxy shape mimics the organizational approach you'd use with a paper bag, but they can hold a lot more because there's no danger of tearing.
posted by Miko at 9:04 AM on March 4, 2011
posted by Miko at 9:04 AM on March 4, 2011
Burhanistan: " I think you should just put a milk cow in your kitchen and eliminate the back and forth."
I totally would if I could train one to use a freakin' litter box. Or train the house elves to clean up after it.... Hrm....
4 gallons of milk last us less than a week. Since we usually pick them up on the weekend and fill in from the supermarket when necessary, we often have 5 bottles of milk in the fridge when we're fully stocked.
posted by zarq at 9:13 AM on March 4, 2011
I totally would if I could train one to use a freakin' litter box. Or train the house elves to clean up after it.... Hrm....
4 gallons of milk last us less than a week. Since we usually pick them up on the weekend and fill in from the supermarket when necessary, we often have 5 bottles of milk in the fridge when we're fully stocked.
posted by zarq at 9:13 AM on March 4, 2011
empath: I love NPR's sports coverage because it always explains everything to you as if you were an alien visitor and had never watched a live sports event before.
Which is nice, because that pretty much describes me. In any case, there is some point in the life of any dweeb where they are in a social situation which forces them to talk to someone who isn't interested in anime or collecting rare butterflies. In those cases, that alien sports reporting can be pretty helpful.
posted by Barry B. Palindromer at 1:01 PM on March 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
Which is nice, because that pretty much describes me. In any case, there is some point in the life of any dweeb where they are in a social situation which forces them to talk to someone who isn't interested in anime or collecting rare butterflies. In those cases, that alien sports reporting can be pretty helpful.
posted by Barry B. Palindromer at 1:01 PM on March 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
NPR Name: Amlan Baggrow
I wish I'd known this before picking a Mefi handle.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 3:49 PM on March 4, 2011
I wish I'd known this before picking a Mefi handle.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 3:49 PM on March 4, 2011
I totally would if I could train one to use a freakin' litter box.
You talkin' about cow pies ? Just scrape them up and put them somewhere to dry. You can use 'em for briquettes in the barbecue.
But do not grill any calves over their mother's cowpies. That wouldn't exactly be kosher.
posted by y2karl at 4:42 PM on March 4, 2011 [2 favorites]
You talkin' about cow pies ? Just scrape them up and put them somewhere to dry. You can use 'em for briquettes in the barbecue.
But do not grill any calves over their mother's cowpies. That wouldn't exactly be kosher.
posted by y2karl at 4:42 PM on March 4, 2011 [2 favorites]
This is not the best of the web people.
(When are you going to read this on air?)
posted by Barry B. Palindromer at 7:22 PM on March 4, 2011
(When are you going to read this on air?)
posted by Barry B. Palindromer at 7:22 PM on March 4, 2011
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by zarq at 8:28 PM on March 2, 2011 [5 favorites]