Sunday Shards (Dec. 11, 2005):
In the Cocoalicious queue this week, to be read at the gym or in the bathtub since I’m on vacation.
*Richard Pryor has died at 65. So has Eugene McCarthy. He was 89. My mom worked on his ’68 campaign. McCarthy’s not Pryor’s.
*The Diane Rehm Show (which I listened to when I lived in Baltimore) has a podcast of its Friday news roundup which I’ve been using to make sure I’m up to date on current events. Very effective.
*The California Supreme Court has denied Stanley “Tookie” Williams’s appeal. It’s up to the Governor now.
*Transom.org has a neat feature called The Transom Review where well known radio and media personalities talk nuts and bolts about gathering audio and reporting. Guesta have included Ira Glass, Errol Morris and Brooke Gladstone.
*Slashdot essay on the future of newspapers. Editor & Publisher weighed in with a case for a non-profit newspaper (via Arts Journal).
*The publishing business is in a slump (and Wilt Chamberlain was very tall). Are MFA programs to blame (via Arts Journal).
*Pandora now lets you keep a running tally of your favorite songs for future downloading (here’s mine). Great feature.
*The Free Sound Project is a directory of Creative Commons-licensed sounds. Might be useful for my podcast (working on episode #3 right now. Promise!) (via Julie Shapiro).
*The other members of U2 are just fine with African children starving. Hilarious! (via Dave Thomas).