Objects in Mirror: November 14, 2007 Archive

Maybe the bird took a wrong turn at Albuquerque

Posted at 6:23 AM on November 14, 2007 by Julia Schrenkler

Possibly my favorite feature from the last couple of days:

The inca dove thrives in an area stretching from Central America to the American Southwest. So what's it doing in Two Harbors?

Birder Jim Lind explained the birds are prone to wander, perhaps even expanding their breeding range. Don't take my word for it, listen to his interview with Tom Crann about the first inca dove identified in Minnesota.

Any bad birdwatchers or ornithologists out there looking for it?

Save the date: Online chat with Amy Sedaris

Posted at 8:25 AM on November 14, 2007 by Julia Schrenkler

This just in... I received an e-mail confirmation that comedienne and author Amy Sedaris will join us for an online audience Q&A. She's scheduled for:

Monday November 26 @ 11 a.m. CT / 12 noon ET

Check back here for updates and the discussion link closer to the 26th.

Examples of previous chats:

*Transcript of MPR.org & Gather.com chat with Jim Lehrer (Anchor of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and author of EUREKA)
*Transcript of chat with Robert Goolrick, author of "The End of The World As We Know It: Scenes From A Life."

How should the state help the bridge disaster victims?

Posted at 9:55 AM on November 14, 2007 by Julia Schrenkler

From MPR's Midday 11/14/2007

How should the state help the bridge disaster victims?

It is estimated that some 180 people were on the 35W bridge when it collapsed. Thirteen of them were killed in the disaster and many were injured. What should the state do to compensate them and their families?

Join the online discussion.

The power of Internet rumors

Posted at 6:48 PM on November 14, 2007 by Julia Schrenkler

Not certain how these things start...

Today I received a strange series of emails about a bear biting into a power line. Apparently someone somewhere thought the power outage affected MPR in some way. Probably someone's best friend's cousin. You know how these things work.

It seems the rumor created such hubbub that our Radio Network Supervisor finally had to Make A Clarifying Statement. He emailed the News and Engineering departments just to assure all that MPR was not affected by a bear-created power outage.

So if your mother forwards you an email about power outages due to inquisitive bears, rest assured MPR service was not interrupted. I know. I know!

According to one of our editors, a reporter found out Snopes has the scoop. Note: The site has images of the dead bear.

MPR | APM blog comments are down due to technical difficulty

Posted at 7:21 PM on November 14, 2007 by Julia Schrenkler

Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media blogs are experiencing technical difficulty with commenting functions.

"Difficulty" here means that commenting on the blogs doesn't work, period. I know this is frustrating. Please know we want this to be a temporary issue and both New Media and IT are working on it. I will post updates.