“america is a tune. it must be sung together.”
-gerald stanley lee

Always wanted to be a host on public radio but don’t have a name with the international punch of Doualy Xaykaothao, an Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, or even a Daniel Zwerdling? Not to Worry! Enter your name below, and we will suggest a new public radio-friendly version. The rest is up to you..
when i entered my name, here is what was created for me:
it has a nice ring to it, and i’m kind of liking it.
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“i only got interested in radio once,
i talked my way into an internship at npr’s headquarters in washington, d.c. in 1978,
having never heard the network on the air.”
*ira glass
*American public radio personality. He is the host and producer of the radio and television series This American Life and has participated in other NPR programs, including: Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Talk of the Nation. His work in radio and television has won him awards, such as the Edward R. Murrow Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Radio and the George Polk Award in Radio Reporting.
when the problem is that
you have to drive and carry all of your equipment
it calls for an unconventional solution.
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“the intellect has little to do on the road to discovery.
there comes a leap in consciousness,
call it intuition or what you will,
the solution comes to you and you don’t know how or why.”
-albert einstein
What does a year-old, salted maple leaf taste like? Nothing much, apparently. Instead, merchants use the leaf as an attractive frame for the sweet coating, which is drier and crispier than the tempura surrounding, say, a shrimp. Some cooks also add sesame seeds for an extra pop of flavor.
Vendors first commercialized tempura-fried leaves after a train station opened near Minoh’s most notable waterfall in 1910. Outdoorsy tourists visiting the Osaka prefecture flocked to the site, taking the tasty, iconically-shaped souvenir with them when they left. (The salt preserves the young maple leaves, making them a year-round snack.) The novel delicacy became a symbol of the region, and it remains difficult to find in other parts of the country.
You’ll hear locals refer to maples as momiji, which means “becomes crimson-leaved.” The word also translates literally to “baby’s hands,” but don’t be alarmed: No human babies were harmed in the making of this unusual snack. Baby maple leaves, on the other hand, were not so lucky.
“my first semester i had only nine students.
hoping they might view me as professional and well prepared,
i arrived bearing name tags fashioned in the shape of maple leaves.”
-david sedaris
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credits: bert kimura, gastro obscura
trying to piece the world back together
Warehouse giant Costco likes to do everything big, from super-sized bottles of ketchup to barrels full of Jack Daniel’s whiskey. Their latest exclusive offering: A jigsaw puzzle with 60,000 pieces that may take up an entire room when it’s finished.
The sprawling What a Wonderful World puzzle is actually 60 interconnected 1000-piece puzzles to make assembly (somewhat) feasible. Each features a painting from the Dowdle Art Studio of a fascinating landmark from different parts of the world, including The Great Wall of China and The Eiffel Tower.
Once each section is completed, it can be connected to the larger canvas. When finished, the puzzle measures 8 feet tall and 29 feet wide. An included legend helps you keep track of which puzzle goes where in the literal bigger picture of things. Costco has declared it the world’s largest jigsaw puzzle, and that’s likely to be true. The What a Wonderful World puzzle retails for $599.
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“the world is like a dropped pie most of the time.
don’t kill yourself trying to put it back together.
just grab a fork and eat some of it off the floor. then carry on.”
-elizabeth gilbert
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credits: penn news, chris hopkins, jake rosin, mental floss,
“Tonight! A big forest concert under the direction of Musical Director Woodpecker!”
*(just because we all need a fluffy forest concert break about now)
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“i’m afraid concerts spoil people for everyday life.”
-l.m. montgomery, anne of green gables
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image credit: Peter Gray’s Delightful vintage art, from an old German children’s book