Digital music from the Sun

Roberts has just introduced the world’s first solar-powered digital audio broadcasting (DAB) radio. It’s called the solarDAB and it retails for a mere £79.99. With its integrated top-mounted solar panel, the solarDAB’s battery pack is charged whenever exposed to the sun’s powerful rays. (You can also charge by hardwire if it’s dark out.) Once fully charged, it can play for 27 hours.

Available in white, black, pink, red or green.

Cheers...

Cleaning up in Beijing

The quality of the air in Beijing isn’t the only thing that the image-conscious government of China is improving. More appealing English translations of traditional dishes have been provided to restaurants in preparation for the upcoming Olympic visitors. “Husband and wife’s lung slice” will now be rendered as “beef and ox tripe in chili sauce,” while “bean curd made by pockmarked woman” becomes “mapo tofu”.

(No, I’m not making this up.)

Cheers…

10 Questions for...

Time magazine has a cool feature where they choose 10 questions from ordinary people to ask extraordinary people. In addition, they have podcast versions and visual retrospectives of the people being highlighted.

Here's one from January and Woody Allen.

Cheers...

Treasures from the Past

I've only found a few things in the used books that I collect for my library of classic fiction. So far, only 3 that I can think of.

1) Five $20 bills tucked into my $40 copy of Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment"

2) A New Rochelle to New York train schedule from 1974 used as a bookmark in a copy of Philip Roth's "Portnoy's Complaint". On the back is an ad for a realtor in Pelham, New York. (Which for synchronicity points made me think of a great Matthau movie, "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" which was also from 1974.)

3) Last weekend, I was in a small town bookstore and picked up a 1954 copy of "The Scotswoman" by Inglis Fletcher. Tucked away in the middle of the book for hiding (like the money) rather than marking one's place was a letter. It had been mailed a long time ago because it was stamped in red, "Postage & Fees paid U.S. Department of Justice". The return address was a PO Box in Leavenworth, Kansas. It was in fact a letter from prison from an uncle to his niece.

Sun March 31st

Hi Kate -

Just a few lines to let you know I've arrived at my final destination. What a drag. Thank God I have only a short time to be here - am scheduled for the camp program - after spending 15 - 30 days inside these walls for orientation. Have already started to exercise and can feel the weight leaving me - Thank God - had to remove my beard which distressed me to no end - but it'll grow again. By the way, no matter what happens to Bill (if anything) while I'm away just tell Lucille you have no idea where I am - that you think I'm living in Calgary, Canada - that's way up in the wilds and I'd rather Blondie didn't know where I am. If anything should happen to Bill my presence certainly wouldn't bring him back to earth. Besides, he's pretty tough and I think he'll be here for a few more years yet. Hope you got all my things put away OK - try to keep my records (my classics) in their covers and ask the children to help. I'm sure they'll be glad to - Ha Ha! All of my addresses were sent home by mistake so I had to guess at your address - Hope George is able to do something with that Tobacco Road trailer. Have several more letters to write so will cut this short. Will write again after I'm out at camp. Say hello to all your family. Hope you got that silver shaker back from John got by mistake. Write if & when you get time - my address for the duration is on the envelope.

Love always from Uncle Bob

Goodnight Bob, Goodnight Kate, Goodnight Mrs. Fletcher and Goodnight Walter.

Cheers...

Komatsu...where are you?

I dusted off another childhood memory this week by attempting to track down a Japanese short film from when I was very young. I remembered it from the CBS Children's Film Festival back in the 60's. We watched the show hosted by Kukla, Fran & Ollie every Sunday afternoon and this particular film, "Skinny and Fatty" conveyed a strong message about how to treat others. There are comments left at various sites by people like me who have a vivid recollection of this film. At the end, the chubby boy is trying to find his friend and keeps calling out, "Komatsu...where are you?" I am always reminded of it whenever we drive to Chicago - we pass a heavy equipment dealer that has several Komatsu backhoes on display.

Read more about the film from others and even where you can buy a copy of it on VHS.

Cheers...

UPDATE: Found a short clip on YouTube...

Frampton Comes Alive!

Tonight I've decided, after listening to it for the 3rd time this week, that Peter Frampton's all-time best-selling live album is on my top 10 list of albums or at least 1 of my desert island discs.

(It also gains minor synchronicity points for being released on my birthday...)

I just wanted to let you know.

Cheers...

Isolated tribe spotted in Brazil

Over half of the world's 100 uncontacted tribes live in either Brazil or Peru. These pictures were taken to help prove that these tribes do in fact exist and to help efforts to protect their land.

BBC NEWS Americas Isolated tribe spotted in Brazil

Cheers...