News Cut Category Archive: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
Lucia, Collins, and chihuahua paws
Posted at 5:07 PM on August 4, 2011
by Bob Collins
(10 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
I don't bother encoding and posting the daily news conversations I have with The Current's Mary Lucia anymore. They didn't seem to generate much interest and prevented me from Oh, and Sara Bible has a depiction of what one of us would look like with chihuahua paws for hands. I guess you'll have to listen to figure out why that's important.
It's either this or another post about the economy, folks.
When the sky is/isn't falling
Posted at 5:23 PM on November 3, 2010
by Bob Collins
(4 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
Hard as it is to believe, the polarization of America, which is in evidence today with various reactions to Tuesday's election, isn't that new. Back in the mid-'60s, the government raised the postage from 5 to 6 cents, meaning we replaced George Washington with Franklin Roosevelt. Though I was but a wee 10-year-old, I remember tales of the insistent swearing of a relative who refused to have his tongue touch Franklin Roosevelt. And so he stopped sending mail.
"What am I supposed to think? " my youngest (adult) son said to me in an e-mail today, after watching and listening to all the post-election rantings.
"It means that somewhere between everything you hear, is real life," I responded. "No matter what people tell you to think, keep working hard, do the best you can, do what you think is right, and everything else will take care of itself. If this country can survive new Coke, it can survive whatever good or bad anyone can throw at it."
It's a big world...
And that's today's conversation on The Current with Mary Lucia.
A military for gays
Posted at 4:44 PM on October 19, 2010
by Bob Collins
(2 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
That's one of the stories on today's news conversation with The Current's Mary Lucia.
You are: The trapped miners
Posted at 4:34 PM on October 12, 2010
by Bob Collins
(14 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
Chilean miners, an end to "don't ask-don't tell", France makes a big stink about raising the 60-year-old retirement age, and is your dog depressed? Those are the items in today's conversation with The Current's Mary Lucia.
Lucia and Collins - 10/11/10
Posted at 4:34 PM on October 11, 2010
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
Collins and Lucia - 10/8/10
Posted at 4:33 PM on October 8, 2010
by Bob Collins
(3 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
These are the weighty issues on today's news conversation with Mary Lucia of The Current. Many issues considered. None solved.
Early asteroid warning
Posted at 4:37 PM on September 27, 2010
by Bob Collins
(7 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
If there were an asteroid heading this way, how much notice would you want? The Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System reports that an "object" about 150 feet apart across is going to come within 4 million miles of earth next month. That's a big miss, right? So how come it's classified as a "potentially hazardous object?" Could forecasts be off by 4 million miles?
The object was discovered on September 16th. We're hearing about it now.
Ruminations on this and other news of the day in today's chat with Mary Lucia of the Current.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: Steinbrenner
Posted at 5:17 PM on July 13, 2010
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
"Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser," Steinbrenner once told 60 Minutes. He was -- as they say in obituaries -- "a character."
That's the topic of today's discussion about the news with The Current's Mary Lucia:
In today's discussion, I mentioned a New York Times article about how Steinbrenner treated his employees. Here's the link.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: Rolling Stone's relevance
Posted at 4:55 PM on June 23, 2010
by Bob Collins
(4 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
Continue reading "Fresh Eye on the Radio: Rolling Stone's relevance"
Fresh Eye on the Radio: We love our bears
Posted at 4:42 PM on May 27, 2010
by Bob Collins
(6 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
On a make-it-or-break-it day for the future of the earth's environment, it was a bear in Ely that got our attention this week. The reunification of the cub with its mother, no doubt, prompted hundreds of phone calls to mom today. So do we love our bears more than we love our oceans? That imponderable and more on today's Fresh Eye on the Radio with The Current's Mary Lucia.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: Oil in our pores
Posted at 4:35 PM on May 26, 2010
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Disasters, Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
Here's the rest of today's news:
Fresh Eye on the Radio - 5/7/10
Posted at 4:47 PM on May 7, 2010
by Bob Collins
(1 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
The amazing diversity of news on a given day, eh? State shutdown threats, water coolers that make a city stop, teachers who steal lunch money from autistic students, and the people for whom we'd drink poison. It's on today's news conversation with The Current's Mary Lucia.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: 5/3/10
Posted at 4:39 PM on May 3, 2010
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
That and other items worth noticing are on today's news conversation with Mary Lucia of the Current.
Fresh Eye on the Radio - 4/26/10
Posted at 4:37 PM on April 26, 2010
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio - 4/8/10
Posted at 4:26 PM on April 8, 2010
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
Today in the news, as heard on the daily news discussion with The Current's Mary Lucia: Petters sentenced, smoking on subs, and smoking on airplanes.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: 3/30/10
Posted at 4:22 PM on March 30, 2010
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Father of dead soldier fights battle alone
Posted at 4:00 PM on March 29, 2010
by Bob Collins
(6 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
The father of a dead Marine has been ordered to pay the legal costs of a preacher who picketed his son's funeral.
Albert Snyder of Pennsylvania sued Fred Phelps, who taunts grieving mourners at soldier funerals, saying their deaths are God's retribution for America's support of gay rights. Phelps won the case on appeal and asked the court to force Snyder to pay the legal costs of defending himself. The court agreed.
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case, defining to what extent Phelps' protests are protected by the First Amendment. But Snyder says he's having trouble coming up with the money to file briefs in that case.
Phelps' supporters also picketed the funeral of Andrew Kemple in Anoka in 2006. That led Minnesota lawmakers to pass a law making it a crime to disrupt funerals.
A federal court has blocked a similar law from being enforced in Missouri, and the Supreme Court last year refused to consider that case.
It's one of the subjects we covered today on Fresh Eye on the Radio with Mary Lucia of The Current.
(Photo: Johnathan Phelps holds signs during a protest by followers of the Rev. Fred Phelps, who claims soldiers have died because they fought for a country that condones homosexuality, in Shumway, Ill., Friday, May 19, 2006. AP Photo/James A. Finley)
Fresh Eye on the Radio: After 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
Posted at 4:43 PM on March 26, 2010
by Bob Collins
(1 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
If Congress repeals the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" rule that prevents openly gay people from serving in the military, where will they bunk? The commander of the Marines says they'll get their own room.
"In this case, I would want to reserve the right of a Marine that thinks he or she wouldn't want to [share a room with a homosexual]. And again that's the overwhelming ... number of people that say that they wouldn't like to do so." Gen. James Conway told Military.com.
It was one of the day's stories on today's Fresh Eye on the Radio with The Current's Mary Lucia:
Meanwhile, a poll on the military.com Web site shows 73% of those responding agree with Conway. You can listen to the interview with Conway here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio - 3/25/10
Posted at 5:06 PM on March 25, 2010
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: Forget what you know about medicine
Posted at 4:44 PM on March 10, 2010
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
Earlier this week, the man responsible for the P.S. A. test -- used to determine if a man has prostate cancer -- wrote in the New York Times that the test isn't any more effective than flipping a coin.
Prostate cancer may get a lot of press, but consider the numbers: American men have a 16 percent lifetime chance of receiving a diagnosis of prostate cancer, but only a 3 percent chance of dying from it. That's because the majority of prostate cancers grow slowly. In other words, men lucky enough to reach old age are much more likely to die with prostate cancer than to die of it.And within the last few weeks, medical researchers have said that the one-aspirin-a-day therapy might not be all it's cracked up to be.
A Newsweek article this week said "an estimated one fifth to one third of U.S. health-care costs, at least $500 billion a year, goes toward tests and treatments that do not benefit patients--routine CT scans in the ER, antibiotics for colds, and Pap tests for women who do not have a cervix.
And that "do no harm" thing? Here's Stephen Smith of Brown University Medical School. "I hate to say it, but it's true: doctors sometimes do things that do not benefit patients and can even be harmful," he says.
It's one of today's items in the daily news conversation with The Current's Mary Lucia.
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Who owns your name?
Posted at 5:11 PM on March 9, 2010
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
The ad doesn't make any reference to Lindsay Lohan other than it named one of the kids Lindsay and referred to her as a milkaholic.
The Hollywood starlet says using those two references should net her $100 million.
Then there's this ad from E*Trade:
"Shankapotomous?" Who gets the big money for that one? I'll tell you who...
That's one of the "stories" on today's news discussion with The Current's Mary Lucia.
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio - 3/8/10
Posted at 4:51 PM on March 8, 2010
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: Exit the bully
Posted at 4:38 PM on March 3, 2010
by Bob Collins
(1 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia), Schools
The report's authors say anti-bullying programs are working. But how do they know for sure? Even in some of the nation's worst bullying incidents, like this one in Massachusetts, kids tend to keep their mouths shut on the subject.
But based on your high school experiences, do the percentages above seem low? That's the discussion that leads today's conversation with The Current's Mary Lucia, who also asks, "why don't you hear much about bullying in college?"
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: How earthquakes affect the day
Posted at 5:07 PM on March 2, 2010
by Bob Collins
(3 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia), Science
Earthquakes alter planetary speed in two ways. Shifting plates rearrange the distribution of the Earth's mass, causing it to bulge imperceptibly in spots it didn't bulge before and contract in others. That rearrangement should further shift the Earth's inclination, or figure axis (the axis around which the Earth's mass is balanced, which is slightly different from the north-south axis around which the Earth rotates) -- in the case of the Chile earthquake, by about 3 inches. The law of conservation of angular momentum, however, requires that even under these exigent circumstances, the Earth's angular momentum stays constant, which means the planet must step on the gas (or the brake) to accommodate shifting mass. The same thing happened in 2004 with the 9.1 Sumatran earthquake that triggered the tsunami. That earthquake should have shifted the Earth's figure axis by 2.76 inches and shortened its day by 6.8 millionths of a second, according to computer models.Somewhere in that gibberish is a big story, right? No. Even driving your car home from work today has an effect on the earth's rotation, according to NASA. Anything that shifts mass will. Scientists calculated the effect after a 2005 earthquake:
They also found the earthquake decreased the length of day by 2.68 microseconds. Physically this is like a spinning skater drawing arms closer to the body resulting in a faster spin. The quake also affected the Earth's shape. They found Earth's oblateness (flattening on the top and bulging at the equator) decreased by a small amount. It decreased about one part in 10 billion, continuing the trend of earthquakes making Earth less oblate.Or, as The Current's Mary Lucia said in our conversation today, "Duh!"
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: Calculating the appliance rebate benefit
Posted at 5:32 PM on March 1, 2010
by Bob Collins
(5 Comments)
Filed under: Energy, Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
A person who seemed perturbed that I made fun (on The Current) of Minnesota's computer servers (some of which crashed under the weight of the Cash for Appliances program) nonetheless gave me some valuable information this afternoon which might help analyze whether this program makes any sense for anyone other than those who are getting money to buy appliances.
Just a note to let you know that I got on the state's crashing website (www.mnappliancerebate.org) this afternoon about 3:30 p.m. (after being unsuccessful earlier in the day, through either the website or the phone number) and I was successful in reserving my $150 dishwasher rebate. About 43% of the rebate money had been committed at that time, so they must have been somewhat successful in processing requests for the rebates.
Hand me a pen and that napkin!
Forty-three percent of the money committed would be $2.15 million handed out today. Let's -- somewhat generously -- assume that most of the appliances being purchased are dishwashers or washers... things that use a fair amount of electricity.
Let's also assume that the average rebate is between $50 and $200 -- $125. That means that our friend is one of 17,200 people who got rebates today.
How much electricity does a new appliance save over an old appliance? According to the federal government:
Energy savings will depend on the specific appliance and model being replaced, but new ENERGY STAR appliances save significantly more energy than those manufactured years ago. For example, replacing a clothes washer made before 2000 with a new ENERGY STAR model can save up to $135 per year. Replacing a refrigerator made before 1993 with a new ENERGY STAR model can save up to $65 per year.
These numbers are somewhat different than what's provided by the National Resources Defense Council, which says $100 savings for refrigerators, $110 for clothes washers, and $25 for dishwashers. The average works out to about $78 there. $70 with the fed's numbers. Fine, let's go with $75 annual savings.
So 17,200 people in Minnesota will save $1.29 million. The energy savings costs will offset the taxpayer contribution effort in a little under two years. The offset to the customer's cost would be at least twice that.
The energy-efficient appliances use about 25 percent less electricity and the utility companies say saving energy keeps them from having to build power plants.
A dishwasher (I've chosen the appliance between the energy-hogging water heater and the pretty-efficient refrigerator) uses 112 kilowatt hours per month if it's used every day and if you choose to heat the water (a third of that if you don't).
17,200 people, then would use 481,600 fewer kilowatt hours per month than they are without the new appliances..
A typical 500 megawatt coal plant produces 3.5 billion kilowatt-hours per year, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. That's 399,543 per hour. So the new appliances purchased with today's rebates will save about about an hour and 12 minutes of generating time a year at the local power plant.
Your mileage may vary.
Here's today's news conversation with The Current's Mary Lucia that got us onto the topic.
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: A doctor's lot
Posted at 5:07 PM on February 23, 2010
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
It's among the topics on today's Fresh Eye on the Radio conversation with The Current's Mary Lucia.
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Lindsey Vonn (redacted)
Posted at 3:29 PM on February 17, 2010
by Bob Collins
(8 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia), Sports
Following up a post from yesterday.
Lindsey Vonn may have won a medal today... or she may have skied off the course. MPR announced the story on its news station and, we're told, there were immediately four complaints.
And now the news.
Lindsey Vonn is "Vail's Lindsey Vonn," according to the newspaper there.
Meanwhile, Vonn must be a superstar. She's getting "the treatment" from no less than The Onion.
Childhood: Grew up in Minnesota, so there is a good chance she is a joyless judgmental jerk behind her smiling facade
Preferred Hill Direction: Down
Ideal Knee Position: Slightly Bent
Worst Knee Position: Frayed tendons hanging from nearby sapling
Marital Status: Wed fellow skier Thomas Vonn in an outdoor ceremony presided over by a snowman dressed as Parson Brown
Here's today's Fresh Eye on the Radio with The Current's Mary Lucia, and a sample of what a story sounds like when we don't want to spoil anything by telling you the news.
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: Spoiling the Olympics
Posted at 4:38 PM on February 16, 2010
by Bob Collins
(5 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia), Sports
"We do news...and wins and losses are news."
That's the kind of declaration I've come to know -- and love -- from MPR news director Mike Edgerly. Subject? Giving Olympic results before you have a chance to watch them on TV.
Usually, the Olympics are accompanied each year by a slew of complaints that giving the results of Olympic competition ruins it for people who want to watch tape-delayed broadcasts on network TV.
Not this year. "I haven't had one," said Mark Jungmann, MPR's member listener services associate, who's the voice at the other end of the phone.
Perhaps it's the changing nature of information. What with Twitter and Web sites, we've become accustomed to getting information immediately. Or perhaps it's an indication that Twitter and the Web have usurped radio's traditional role of giving away the ending.
Molly Wood at CNET News says the Twitter problem isn't limited to the Olympics. She notes that West Coast TV viewers are constantly having their programs spoiled by East Coast tweets:
Networks aren't likely to rearrange their entire prime-time schedules to accommodate coastal differences--especially since only about 30 percent of U.S. households have DVRs. Putting "Lost" on at dinnertime on the West Coast will happen right around the time Jack stops being a self-righteously unbearable prig. (Spoiler alert.)
So, what are we to do? Sure, we can try to hide from Twitter when good shows are on, but no one's perfect--especially not hard-core Internet addicts like, um, some of my friends. And even if I can avoid Twitter when "Glee" is on, what about movies, which are regularly spoiled by Internet discussion? What about the feeling that if you don't see "Avatar" on opening weekend, you'll be so sick of hearing about it on Twitter that you'll gradually lose any desire to see it at all? Once you've spent a week or two embroiled in endless 140-character dissections of its "Dances with Wolves" plot, "amazing" graphics, and @arguments about whether that Na'Vi chick is hot or not, "It's Complicated" starts to feel deliciously underhyped. (Shudder.)
Some media get around this problem by issuing "spoiler alerts" on their tweets. Like this one:
What's your pleasure on the subject?
It's discussed on today's Fresh Eye on the Radio with The Current's Mary Lucia, shortly before she convinced me not to give today's results.
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: No fun at the Olympics
Posted at 4:36 PM on February 12, 2010
by Bob Collins
(2 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia), Sports
Watch CBS News Videos Online
More than a dozen athletes have crashed during Olympic training for luge, and some questioned whether athletes from smaller nations had enough time to prepare for what is apparently a dangerous track in a dangerous sport.
In late 2009, there were complaints that Canadian authorities were limiting training access at some of the Olympic venues, although at the time the seriousness of the allegations gave way to a comedy bit by Stephen Colbert that mushroomed after Colbert criticized Canadians and American speedskater.
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Skate Expectations - Speedskating Race - Shani Davis | ||||
| ||||
Funny at the time, obviously, but it might well be that the need for more access to Olympic facilities -- especially for the most dangerous sports -- will be reassessed by authorities for the future if the athletes are endangered.
I raised the "training access" issue during the daily chat with The Current's Mary Lucia, knowing our friends at the Canadian consulate (big Current fans) would be listening. Amy McBeth at the Consulate, however, reaffirms Canada's love for Minnesotans, by reminding me of this press release I previously ignored:
Canada's top diplomat in the Upper Midwest says he wishes the best of luck to all Minnesota athletes competing at the Vancouver Winter Olympics beginning February 12.In any event, the death casts a show over the competition and festivities that start this evening.
"Minnesotans should be proud their state has produced more athletes on the US team than any other state. Canada looks forward to welcoming them to Vancouver," says Consul General Martin Loken. Loken is appointed by Canada's Prime Minister to represent the Government of Canada in the Upper Midwest region and to oversee Canada's Consulate General in downtown Minneapolis.
Minnesota's nearly two dozen confirmed 2010 Olympians will be among the 5,500 athletes and team officials from 80 countries competing at world-class venues in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, February 12 to 28, 2010.
"Minnesotans and Canadians share a passion for winter sports. It's one of the many bonds that draw Canada and the United States together as the closest of friends, allies and neighbors," adds Loken.
The Games will showcase Canadian business and innovation. For example, Canadian environmental technologies are playing an important role in making the 2010 Winter Games the most sustainable Games to date. The Government of Canada is a proud partner of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, investing more than $1.23 billion to ensure their success.
Canada's Consulate General in Minneapolis works to promote trade and investment links, to engage citizens and decision-makers on matters of shared interest, and to assist Canadians living and traveling in the US. This year the office is celebrating 40 years in the Twin Cities. Canada is the only country with a Consulate General in Minnesota. Throughout the year, the Consulate General will hold a number of events with partners marking the 40th anniversary and the special Canada-Minnesota relationship. More information is available at www.minneapolis.gc.ca.
Here's today's Fresh Eye on the Radio:
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio - 2/11/10
Posted at 4:46 PM on February 11, 2010
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
No waiting for President Clinton, rescuing the stranded motorists of Maryland, the State of the State, and the pressing question of the day: Is clear a color?
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio - 2/10/10
Posted at 4:20 PM on February 10, 2010
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
Lindsey Vonn. Lindsey Vonn. Lindsey Vonn. Lindsey Vonn. Lindsey Vonn. Lindsey Vonn. Lindsey Vonn. Lindsey Vonn. Lindsey Vonn. Lindsey Vonn. Lindsey Vonn. Lindsey Vonn.
We're just getting you ready for local Olympic coverage. Also in the news today: Charlie Wilson dies and Washington steals the snow capital crown off our collective Minnesota head.
Here's today's chat with Mary Lucia of The Current. Oh, by the way, don't get your hopes up: There's very little about Lindsey Vonn on it. But if there were, it would be this question: Can you be overexposed before you're exposed?
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio - 2/9/10
Posted at 4:36 PM on February 9, 2010
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
More faulty Toyotas, how to get an electronic monitoring bracelet off your ankle, and why are we still having the same, old political arguments? Those are the highlights from today's news discussion with The Current's Mary Lucia.
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: Communicating with the near-dead
Posted at 4:47 PM on February 3, 2010
by Bob Collins
(5 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia), Science
It tops today's discussion with The Current's Mary Lucia. But, of course, it never stops there.
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: What you know can kill you
Posted at 5:36 PM on February 2, 2010
by Bob Collins
(5 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia), Health
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
American politics UK style
Posted at 4:30 PM on January 29, 2010
by Bob Collins
(2 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia), Politics
Today we got a glimpse of what that might be like. It's a long way away from the UK style of conversation, but it's also a long way from what we're used to hearing.
Meanwhile, here's today's Fresh Eye on the Radio, more calmly delivered:
Fresh Eye on the Radio - 1/28/10
Posted at 4:59 PM on January 28, 2010
by Bob Collins
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
What do J.D. Salinger, the Who Dat Nation, and my mother have in common? They all came up in conversation during today's chat with the Current's Mary Lucia.
Here's your day in news...
Recommended reading:
Why did J.D. Salinger spend the last 60 years hiding in a shed writing love notes to teenage girls? (Daily Mail)
J.D. Salinger's stories in the New Yorker
Taking a Walk Through J.D. Salinger's New York (NY Times)
Fresh Eye on the Radio: Running with scissors
Posted at 5:33 PM on January 26, 2010
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
A University of Wisconsin Madison researcher analyzed hearing tests given to about 5,300 Beaver Dam, Wis. residents who were at least 45 years old and born between 1902 and 1962. The tests were done between 1993 and 2008, and many participants were tested at five-year intervals.
Men showed on average a 13 percent drop in the risk of impairment for every five-year increase in the date of their birth. For women, the decrease was about 6 percent. Far from the louder world destroying our hearing, our hearing is actually better than our parents.
The experts say they know want to find out if jamming music into your earbuds is ruining the hearing of younger people.
Here's today's Fresh Eye with Mary Lucia:
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: When the news isn't funny
Posted at 4:34 PM on January 15, 2010
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: Packing heat
Posted at 4:48 PM on January 14, 2010
by Bob Collins
(1 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
Screeners in Bozeman, Montana "inadvertently" allowed a passenger with a firearm in his carry-on luggage through security last month, it was revealed today.
"If those guys can't detect a handgun, which is pretty basic, not some exotic explosive sewn to your underpants, then we get upset," the head of the airport said, suggesting his airport might get rid of the TSA screeners and hire a private force.
That wouldn't help much, according to researchers. A study out today says people who search for weapons are more prone to letting them get through when there aren't many to be found. Their research shows that when guns in luggage are fairly common, screeners were more likely to find them.
Perhaps, then, the solution is to require everyone to pack a gun in their suitcases, so the screeners can find all of them.
Here's today's Fresh Eye...
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: Conan's letter
Posted at 5:16 PM on January 12, 2010
by Bob Collins
(3 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia), Media
It is either intensely comforting or profoundly disturbing the American workplaces are stopping today to debate whether Jay Leno or Conan O'Brien should be on television in the 10:35 time slot.
Today, O'Brien issued a public statement on the controversy, via the New York Times media blog:
People of Earth:Here's today's Fresh Eye with Mary Lucia:
In the last few days, I've been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I've been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I've been absurdly lucky. That said, I've been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.
Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.
But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.
Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn't the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.
So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn't matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.
There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.
Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it's always been that way.
Yours,
Conan
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: Seward memorial fund created
Posted at 4:57 PM on January 8, 2010
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
Seward RedesignYou can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
2619 E. Franklin Ave.
Minneapolis, MN. 55406
Checks should be made out to Seward Market Memorial Fund
Terror myths
Posted at 4:42 PM on January 6, 2010
by Bob Collins
(2 Comments)
Filed under: Crime and Justice, Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
Discover.com lists five reasons why body scanners may not be the solution to terrorists trying to sneak bombs and bomb-making material onto planes -- and "they won't catch most of the explosives terrorists use" only makes it to #2.
The bottom line? Playing catch-up with evildoers probably won't do much good, which is essentially what the TSA is doing with its embrace of full body scanning technology-along with its current rules about liquids and removing one's shoes, for that matter.Meanwhile, a study out today on homegrown terrorists finds that most of the ones who commit acts of violence -- or threatened to since 9/11 were U.S. citizens -- 63 of the 139 were U.S.-born, 22 were naturalized citizens and 25 legal residents.
Thirty-two were Arabs, 24 African-Americans, 24 South Asians, 20 Somalis and 20 whites. The authors say there is no "single profile or a common warning sign that signifies a homegrown terrorist."
It also credited Muslim leaders in the United States with "vigorously monitoring" their communities for signs of threats.
Here's the full report.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: What can we learn from our potatoes?
Posted at 5:24 PM on January 5, 2010
by Bob Collins
(4 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
There are two separate stories today of sliced-open potatoes that appear to resemble a cross. If so, what is the message: "Sell me on E-Bay!"?
Trivial questions considered after serious news is uttered on today's edition of Fresh Eye on the Radio with Mary Lucia of The Current.
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: Snowblower alert
Posted at 4:33 PM on December 31, 2009
by Bob Collins
(1 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
Fresh Eye on the Radio: Obama's response time
Posted at 5:33 PM on December 28, 2009
by Bob Collins
(8 Comments)
Filed under: Crime and Justice, Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
Earlier in the day, the president spoke for the first time about an attempt to blow up an American Airliner. That took more than 48 hours.
That's tops on today's Fresh Eye on The Current.
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Common cause
Posted at 5:11 PM on December 18, 2009
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
That's at the top of today's Fresh Eye on the Radio.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: Why we're not happier
Posted at 5:01 PM on December 17, 2009
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
Apparently, Minnesota, you'd be happier in Florida, or Louisiana, or Hawaii. That's the conclusion of researchers who studied happiness, as reported in this week's issue of Science Magazine.
Minnesota comes in 26th in the survey, just behind North Dakota. Even Mississippi and Louisiana outscore us... by a lot. We are, however, happier than Wisconsin.
Says the AP:
The happiness ratings were based on a survey of 1.3 million people across the country by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It used data collected over four years that included a question asking people how satisfied they are with their lives.
Economists Andrew J. Oswald of the University of Warwick in England and Stephen Wu of Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., compared the happiness ranking with studies that rated states on a variety of criteria ranging from availability of public land to commuting time to local taxes.
But it's a 1997 paper of Oswald that may have more relevance, given the times we're in. In it, he concluded that journalists and politicians deliver a message that economic prosperity leads to an increase in happiness in its people. He says good times increase individual happiness, but only by a small amount:
How can it be, one might ask, that money buys little well-being and yet we see individuals around us constantly striving to make more of it? The answer may be that what matters to someone who lives in a rich country is his or her relative income. A spectator who leaps up at a football match gets at first a much better view of the game; by the time his neighbours are up it is no better than before. If there is something to this, it would explain why intuition is capable of misleading us about the national benefits of economic performance. Such intuition has been built up by observing how each of us feels as our income rises. Yet, implicitly, that holds others' incomes constant. Hence common-sense may not be a good guide to what happens when a whole society gets richer.
Florida? Louisiana? Hawaii? They don't have Mary Lucia.
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: Coat controversies
Posted at 4:38 PM on December 16, 2009
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
For normal people, the wearing of a coat is simple. It's cold, you put one on. It's warm, you take it off.
But politicians aren't necessarily normal. What coat they wear matters. Dick Cheney wore a parka once, and got grief because it wasn't formal enough. It was at a ceremony to honor the liberation of Auschwitz, and Cheney looked like he was making a beer run at deer camp.
Today, Gov. Tim Pawlenty didn't wear a coat in New Hampshire where it was 27 degrees -- cold enough for a coat, perhaps, unless you've been living in 2 degree weather for a week.
That discussion , cougars, H1N1 and more on today's Fresh Eye on the Radio.
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: A world of breakthroughs
Posted at 5:04 PM on December 15, 2009
by Bob Collins
(1 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
Which field of endeavor has advanced the most in the last 100 years? Medicine? Aviation? Communications? The new Boeing 787 flew for the first time today and got plenty of coverage. But advancements in medicine don't get people jazzed up much. A new cellphone with tons of gadgets, on the other hand, will cause people to sleep outside a store in freezing weather.
First flights, golfers and steroids and other news in today's Fresh Eye on the Radio conversation with Mary Lucia of The Current.
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: What were they thinking?
Posted at 5:38 PM on December 11, 2009
by Bob Collins
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
The scandal du jour is Sen. Max Baucus, who -- it was revealed by Politico on Friday -- gave a nearly $14,000 pay raise to a female staffer in 2008, at the time he was becoming romantically involved with her. His spokesman's defense was scandalous in its own way. He suggested the raise was about what others in the senator's office got. This was about the time the economy was collapsing and few people in the working world were getting big pay raises.
The subject topped Friday's "Fresh Eye."
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: Tattoos, peace prizes, and a skate in the park
Posted at 5:26 PM on December 10, 2009
by Bob Collins
(6 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
A judge in Florida is ordering the state to pay $150 for a cosmetologist to cover up the tattoos of a neo-Nazi during his trial. John Ditullio is charged with murder and attempted murder. His lawyer argued his tattoos would prevent him from receiving a fair trial.
That's just the kind of day it was in news, as reflected in today's Fresh Eye on the Radio.
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: Weather? What weather?
Posted at 5:36 PM on December 8, 2009
by Bob Collins
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia), Weather
Sure, it might look like a big St. Paul traffic jam at first glance. But notice the lack of gridlock, and the relatively small amount of traffic in the opposite direction? That's Twin Cities drivers handling the first slippery conditions of the year like the champs they are. That's our story on today's Fresh Eye on the Radio and we're sticking with it.
I'm off on Wednesday and presumably MPR is mobilizing the best and brightest for your News Cut enjoyment.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: 'Friending' the Secret Service
Posted at 5:17 PM on December 3, 2009
by Bob Collins
(3 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
The head of the Secret Service told a congressional hearing that a security breach that allowed an uninvited couple into last week's state dinner was a mistake and an aberration, and that three uniformed officers have been put on administrative leave.
But it was this exchange -- reported by the Washington Examiner -- between Mark Sullivan and DC congressional delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton that was the eye-opener.
Norton: "Did you discover it through their Facebook, or was it your own discovery that some interlopers had entered?"It's one of the stories in today's Fresh Eye
Sullivan: "We did not discover that on our own. We were advised of it the following day."
Norton: "Advised by who, sir?"
Sullivan: "Facebook."
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Fresh Eye on the Radio: 12/2/09
Posted at 5:04 PM on December 2, 2009
by Bob Collins
(3 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: Skin in the game
Posted at 5:26 PM on December 1, 2009
by Bob Collins
(2 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
Listen to News Cut's daily roundup of the news on The Current with Mary Lucia and provide your opinion below.
You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or by going here.
Fresh Eye on the Radio: On the Tiger beat
Posted at 5:01 PM on November 30, 2009
by Bob Collins
(1 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)
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