This Very Edited American Life
For several years I've been a fan of the syndicated radio show "This American Life". They do long narrative stories around a single theme each week. Several months ago I picked up a tiny little cartoon-type book called "Radio," that explains how they do the show.

I've worked in the news business for more than a decade, but never in radio. Yet I was still surprised to learn exactly how much editing goes into that show. In one example in the book, they note that 12 hours of interviews were cut down to 15 minutes. But it's not just the amount of cutting - but the type of edits, such as removing phrases from sentences or replacing an "ahm" for an "ah" because it sounds better. (As in "Um, ah, I'm thinking. ...") From the book:

If you remove a phrase or sentence, you have to keep the rhythm natural. Usually that means keeping a breath after each sentence, at the edit points. Sometimes you have to try different breaths, to see which one sounds more natural."

- posted by Amy @ 11/14/2003 01:26:00 PM

 

For My Santa Barbara Friends
I may have stumbled on the real reason the Ben & J. Lo nuptials were called off in September. Bacara Resort, the rumored location of the reception, gets somewhat trashed by guests on Tripadvisor.com. (It ranks No. 21 on their best SB hotels list.) Guests complain about terrible service, long waits, leaky showers, too many kids in the pool, a whiff from the oil refinery and eh, tar on the beach. My favorite whine: "And Bacara could at least rake up the kelp every morning."
- posted by Amy @ 11/14/2003 12:51:00 PM

 

Curse Removal
Maybe you Red Sox fans should take a look at this.

Cannibals killed Baker in 1867 and ate him after a perceived slight against the then village chief, even boiling his leather boots with the local vegetable, bele, in an act which villagers say resulted in the curse.

- posted by Amy @ 11/14/2003 12:42:00 PM

 

Breaking Wind News
"DANGEROUS WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH WILL CONTINUE THROUGH AT LEAST MIDNIGHT."

An informed source tells me he was on the 30th floor of a Times Square building today and there was a significant amount of swaying and creaking. The glass on the building across the street looked like it was actually rippling in the wind.

Out in Brooklyn just now, there are huge traffic jams emanating from Grand Army Plaza, where a big chunk of building came loose and crashed to the sidewalk. The cop I talked to said it just fell out on its own. No one was hurt. But there are loads of firemen there and part of the traffic circle is closed. You know I took pictures.
- posted by Amy @ 11/13/2003 04:15:00 PM

 

The Cat Meows
My favorite bar in the whole world has a new website. (Thanks for the tip, Chris.)
- posted by Amy @ 11/12/2003 11:22:00 AM

 

Mama, Don't Let Yer Babies Grow Up to be Corvids
New music available from the multi-talented Ken Layne and his murderous friends. I've ordered mine.
- posted by Amy @ 11/10/2003 05:49:00 PM

 

Death Takes the Bus
"If you get off at this stop, I'll kill you." -- Great line for a murder mystery. Not such a great line if it's delivered by a crazy person stalking you. (Make sure you read the links as the drama unfolds at That Happy Feeling.)
- posted by Amy @ 11/10/2003 04:29:00 PM

 

Any Connection Here, Henry?
On Friday, John Kerry's presidential campaign buys ads on a whole bunch of blogs. On Monday, his campaign manger is sacked.
- posted by Amy @ 11/10/2003 04:22:00 PM

 

Amy on the Q - Now with Pictures
Last night my husband were at the Atlantic Avenue subway station waiting for the Q when I realized that was my Blackout station. We walked to the end of the platform so I could show him where the train stopped and which part of the tunnel I walked through for the evacuation and where the cop helped me up to the platform. And this time I had a camera with me. So folks, here are eight subway pictures. A Q pulled in the station and my husband and I sat down in the only two empty seats together. Took me a couple seconds to realize I was sitting in the same seat I occupied during the blackout.
- posted by Amy @ 11/09/2003 11:26:00 AM

 

Village Drinking History
From the New-York Historical Society's "Today in New York History:"

9 November 1953 After a drinking binge at Greenwich Village’s White Horse Tavern, poet Dylan Thomas dies at St. Vincent’s Hospital.

- posted by Amy @ 11/09/2003 10:49:00 AM