Five at 8 - 4/17/09

This being a Public Radio blog and all, we need to talk about this.

So, stumbling across this post was fascinating to me today. Just How Long Ago Was the Civil War was based on an NPR story about a long-overdue book being returned. The writer considers these things and points out that we are -- all -- younger and more connected to history than we think.

Bonus: How great would it be to have the best of winter and the best of spring combined? Real great.

WHAT WE'RE DOING

Midmorning (9-11) - Kerri Miller considers President Obama's cautious optimism on the economy in the first hour, then lets her inner science nerd out -- again -- in the second hour with a segment on how our memories are made, and destroyed. My submitted question: Why can't I find my car keys this morning, but I can remember that Donnie Caravella sat next to me in the third grade?

Midday (11-1) - Mike Edgerly is hosting today and he'll have a debate in the first hour on the future of nuclear power. By the way, a Times Online story says it's too late for nuclear to "plug the power gap."

In the second hour, the head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, speaking to the National Press Club.

Talk of the Nation (1-3) -- It's Science Friday! Could algae be a source of energy and, if so, would it cost us an arm and a leg to buy it? Also, why do some animals have better night vision than others?

All Things Considered (3-6:30) -- Speaking of alternative forms of energy, are biofuels valuable to the Minnesota economy. Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles is out with a report and MPR's Mark Steil will have it.

What is it with cheating? Two stories on ATC tonight focus on it. In one, a winning lamb in a Colorado 4-H competition has been disqualified because of doping. Apparently, cheating in livestock competition is a problem. Another story features Robert Siegel's interview with Pepper Trail of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who testified in the trial of a man accused of smuggling in an illegal songbird.

And finally, the Friday bookend. We started the week with Bo Diddley. We end it with the YouTube Symphony Orchestra performance this week at Carnegie Hall. Because we're classy that way, and we have a soft spot for undiscovered talent.

Comments (5)

Re: understanding time - The Cosmic Calendar. On the Cosmic Calendar scale, the civil war was about a third of a second before midnight on Dec. 31, our ancestors having first walked upright just about the time of the evening news.

For an awesome sense of our (small) place in the scheme of things, watch Cosmos on Hulu.

Posted by Jim!!! | April 17, 2009 9:30 AM

Pullum may have a point or two to make about Strunk and White. However, I question the grammatical reliability of anyone who says "all intensive purposes." (It's "all intents and purposes." See, that way it makes SENSE.) And how do spiders enter into it? (Arachnophobic?)

Posted by christie | April 17, 2009 10:47 AM

Oh, shoot, you got me. :) (I read Pullum's piece before Acito's commentary.)

(and yes, I do get that worked up about sloppy writing)

Posted by christie | April 17, 2009 10:54 AM

"But some of their advice is old-fashioned and, frankly, downright arachnophobic."

Their advice is scared of spiders?

Perhaps the author meant "anachronistic". Though one can't help but wonder whether someone who makes such a mistake is an appropriate critic of a style manual.

Posted by bsimon | April 17, 2009 12:56 PM

I'm in the midst of (trying to) finish (um, make that to do) a project for grad school. The law review videos made me laugh and laugh and laugh. I would have laughed harder if I wasn't sitting in a library.

Thank you for this temporary break from (my) reality.

Posted by Elizabeth T | April 18, 2009 2:37 PM