Beekeeping Becomes Legal in NYC

By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, March 18, 2010.

And now a follow-up on a story we did last summer about urban beekeeping. Hundreds of do-it-yourself beekeepers have defied the law in New York City in order to grow local honey. On Tuesday, the city’s board of health unanimously lifted a ban on urban beehives, sparking joy and relief from urban beekeepers, who can now focus on their bugs and not on city politics.

The New York Times: Bring On The Bees

(Photo by reway2007 via Flickr/CreativeCommons)

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Delhi's Massive Air Freshener

By Robin Respaut on Thursday, March 18, 2010.

Pine fresh. That could be the scent of the streets of central Delhi soon, as the giant metropolis turns on a seven-ton air-freshener. The pilot project is India’s newest attempt to clean-up the fourth most polluted city in the world.

It works by sucking in smog-tainted air and filtering our noxious carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide. The massive vacuum cleaner costs over half a million dollars and purifies 10,000-cubic-meters of air per hour. So, to the people of Delhi, take a deep breath of fresh air.

The Telegraph: Delhi Turns on Giant Air-Freshener

(Photo by wili_hybrid via Flickr/CreativeCommons)

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How to Survive the Strange

By Avishay Artsy on Thursday, March 18, 2010.

Network television shows boast star actors, large budgets, and lots of special effects. Internet television, on the other hand, tends toward the amateurish. But it can be produced far from Hollywood sound stages, even in New Hampshire.

In recent years filmmakers on the Seacoast have been flexing their creative muscles making shows for the web, and building devoted audiences for their content. Now this loose-knit collective of producers is starting another series.

Our producer and director Avishay Artsy checked in on the auditions.



Social Networking and The Coffee Party

By Katrina Ingraham on Thursday, March 18, 2010.

Last week we spoke to professor Jody Baumgartner about the effects of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter on political behavior. Well, there is a new grassroots movement that may be one of the best examples of how these sites stimulate civic engagement. The Coffee Party began as a Facebook group in late January and has since garnered more than one 170,000 fans.

As the name impies, the movement is in response to the anti-tax Tea Party. Coffee Party co-founder Annabel Park says she was frustrated with how “news coverage made it seem like the Tea Party was representative of America.” Instead of downsizing its role, the Coffee Party wants to see more cooperation within government and among Americans. The response has been overwhelming. Last Saturday, more than 350 gatherings were held in 44 states.

And their not done yet. The Coffee Party has organized a summit for later this month.

You can visit the Coffee Party website, Facebook Fan page, or YouTube channel.

(Photo by pinkiesblues via Flickr/CreativeCommons)

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A Filmmaking Course For The iPhone

By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, March 18, 2010.

For generations, people have flocked to movie theaters for a larger-than-life version of reality. That experience has changed with mobile phones, and a younger demographic now accustomed to watching YouTube videos, TV shows and watching movies on teeny screens.

Today’s smartphones can also make videos. iPhone users can shoot and edit a video, add music, and upload it to the internet with no other devices required. Amazing. But a cinematic experience?

Bart Weiss is an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington who teaches film and video in the art department. Weiss has been teaching video for small-format screens like the web, i-Pod and other mobile devices. Now, Weiss is teaching a class on mobile movie-making, helping the next generation of filmmakers make movies you can hold in your hand.

Mobilized TV: Video For The iPhone 101: Studying Mobile Filmmaking

(Photo by nobihaya via Flickr/CreativeCommons)



You Tell Us: Listeners' Feedback

By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, March 18, 2010.

Listener Dana was intrigued by our story this week about libraries as social spaces. Writing,

“I’d love to see the café, the museum, the bus stop and more at my local library. Last week while we voters were cutting absolutely everything from the Henniker budget...we actually added seven percent to the proposed library budget. Go libraries!”

Yesterday, we spoke to a border reporter at member station KPBS in San Diego about what it’s like to report on drug-related violence and killings in Mexico. Listen Malcolm wrote to say,

“No amount of money, police powers, weaponry, wishful thinking or pseudo-science will make our streets safer; only an end to prohibition can do that.”

Listener jway agreed.

“Seven thousand people were murdered by the Mexican drug cartels last year, because we in the us kept marijuana illegal. Many of the victims were children, police officers and politicians. This year the cartels are on track to kill at least 9,000 more. Sixty percent of cartel money comes from selling marijuana in the U.S. Since the prohibition can't stop people smoking we must end it and allow reputable U.S. businesses to undercut the cartels and end their financial ability and incentive to commit these murders.”

If you have something to say something you heard on Word of Mouth, leave a comment. You can also leave us a message at 603-223-2448.

(Photo by gyst via Flickr/CreativeCommons)

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The Future History of the Arctic

By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, March 18, 2010.

We begin today much further north on the Arctic coast. A place that has long existed in the human imagination as vast, uninhabitable… A frozen wasteland very far away.

The Arctic was largely unxplored until the mid 19th century and uncharted until the early 20th. Today, rising global temperatures have glaciers retreating and ice packs melting. While some say this bodes global disaster, others see access to vast ocean resources and shipping routes opening up like cracks in the Arctic ice.

As analysts predict how many billion barrels of oil could be hidden under the ice, a handful of countries are positioning themselves for a land grab. That scramble and other consequences of an accessible North Pole could determine The Future History of the Arctic. That’s the title of a new book by Charles Emmerson, he’s a geopolitics expert who uses his fascination, reporting and reflection to put the current Arctic challenge into historical context.

Financial Times: The Future History of the Arctic

Winnipeg Free Press: Warming opens Arctic to political tension

The Independent: Love in a cold climate: A life-long obsession with the Arctic

(Photo by orvaratli via Flickr/CreativeCommons)



Marketing the Irish Brand

By Stephanie Hughes on Wednesday, March 17, 2010.

Most Americans have an idea of what it means to be Irish. That may be partially due to the fact that the Irish Government and Tourist Board have done such a fine job of branding the country overseas.

Reporter Stephanie Hughes tries to summon the wind at her back and the sun upon her face for a look at how the Irish brand scores on St. Patrick's Day, a holiday famous for its pub crawls, sentimental songs and green beer.

(Photo by pawelbak via Flickr/CreativeCommons)



Atlas Obscura

By Virginia Prescott on Wednesday, March 17, 2010.

Forget the Empire State Building or the St. Louis Gateway Arch. Atlas Obscura is a website that collects strange, out-of-the-way oddities you rarely see in guidebooks. The weird and wonderful spots that only locals and insiders know about. Like the stone ruins of Gungywamp Hill in Groton, Conn. The National Museum of Dentistry in Baltimore, Md. Or the world’s largest treehouse, in Crossville, Tenn.

This Saturday the folks behind Atlas Obscura have organized Obscura Day. More than fifty events are on offer around the world, including private tours of sites normally closed to visitors. Dylan Thuras and Joshua Foer created Atlas Obscura eight months ago, and they joined us with a preview of what’s to come.

BLDGBLOG Expedition to the Geoglyphs of Nowhere, California City, CA
Coral Castle, Miami
Synchronized Ringing Rocks Concerts in Butte, MT and Bucks County, PA
Arborsmith Studios, Williams, OR
Forest Hills Cemetery, Jamaica Plain, MA
Newnes Glow Worm Tunnel Expedition, New South Wales
New Hampshire's Atlas Obscura sites

New York Times blog: A Day Dedicated to the Weird and Wondrous

BoingBoing: Obscura Day, March 20: Visits to Wondrous, Curious, and Esoteric Places

(Photo by maisonbisson via Flickr/CreativeCommons)



Remembering Irish Song-Singing

By Song and Memory on Wednesday, March 17, 2010.

For Brooklyn native Kathy Napoli, St. Patrick's Day is a time to remember her father and her irish heritage. Napoli hears “Harrigan,” from the Broadway musical Yankee Doodle Dandy and is transported back to the railroad apartment where her father invited the neighbors in for a drink and a song.

Listen to this piece at Public Radio Exchange.

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Word of Mouth is all about what's new. Online and on-air, the show looks at our fascinating and ever-changing world, and puts the latest ideas under a microscope. Word of Mouth investigates everything from science and technology, to health and the environment, to new trends in popular culture. The show airs Monday through Thursday at noon and is hosted by Virginia Prescott.

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