NPR's Car Talk Reaches End of the Road

NPR's Car Talk has finally reached the end of the its long and winding road.

At the end of September, Tom and Ray Magliozzi, aka Click and Clack - the Tappet Brothers, will record their final episode and head into retirement, ending the 25-year run of the popular weekly radio show from "Hah-vad Square."

Tom and Ray offer legit (and free) advice on car repairs, but the things that endear us most to the Car Talk brothers are their thick Boston accents, their quick wit, and most of all, their joyful and infectious laughter.

Here's a typical clip from the radio show (along with a You-Tubers added video mashup) where Click and Clack share their considerable auto knowledge, dispense ethical advice, and laugh like over-caffeinated hyenas.

Tom and Ray will be missed. Enjoy your retirement, fellas!

Turn Up the Sound - Ben Williams on Bass

Ben Williams, Jazz Bass Player

A few months ago I published a blog post entitled My Blog Kicks NPR's Wimpy Ass. While still ultimately true (I would sucker punch those little bitch radio stations), I have to admit that this wicked cool jazz clip from NPR Music's "Tiny Desk Concerts" blew me away.

Ben Williams first saw an upright bass in the office of Representative John Conyers (D - Michigan) when he was six years-old. The rest, as they say, is history.

Check out this impromptu performance by Ben Williams and his band.  Both songs they performed for NPR are deliciously smooth and oh-so-sweet. This kind of jazz makes me want to hang out in a dark corner of a smoky lounge, drinking straight bourbon from a dirty highball glass (although, sitting in a swivel office chair at my writing desk and listening through my headphones - drinking vodka and grapefruit from a milk glass - worked out just fine). Enjoy!

My Blog Kicks NPR's Wimpy Ass

If you’re reading this, you’ve discovered my new blog, The Way Things Turn. You might be a first time visitor, or maybe, you’re a savvy internet browser who keeps clicking through and coming back for more every day. Either way, you have no doubt already noticed the striking similarities between my blog and your local NPR radio station.

These two renowned sources of news and information are, in fact, so similar that you’re probably thinking…do I really need both of these thought-provoking media juggernauts in my daily life?

Honestly, no you don’t. As you’ll see from my penetrating and unprejudiced analysis, The Way Things Turn is exactly like NPR (only better). Here are just a few of the remarkable parallels and important distinctions between these two great resources (I didn’t include a comprehensive review of the advantages of the blog, as I am too kind to embarrass NPR with that kind of braggadocio).

• NPR makes your daily work commute more enjoyable with their unique brand of radio “journalism,” but The Way Things Turn is super fun to navigate on your smart phone while trying to keep your eyes on the road.
• NPR has original programming like “Talk of the Nation” and “Car Talk,” but The Way Things Turn has…other stuff…with photos sometimes. And hey, you can’t see pictures on the radio now can you?
• NPR features insightful interviews with fascinating people, but so does my blog. (Okay, that’s just a lie. But if my blog was broadcast on the radio, I would totally include “Fresh Air with Terry Gross” in my programming.)
• NPR news suffers from a perpetually left-leaning slant that my blog simply doesn't have. (True, I am a democrat, and I did vote for Obama and Gore and Clinton and other democrats before that. And no Republicans. Ever. At least if you’re a Republican blog reader though, you can quote The Way Things Turn without having your Republican friends look at you with scorn and disdain like they would if you mentioned NPR.)
• Unlike NPR, you can access The Way Things Turn anytime of day anywhere there is internet access. (Radio kind of works the same way, I guess, but NPR is not available online! By the way, there is no need to access NPR.org, as I am fairly certain that NPR in this instance simply means “not particularly relevant” and is not an actual website.)
• Journalistic integrity – need I say more.
• Finally, there is no annoying bi-annual pledge drive to raise money for programming on my blog. (No shameless pandering and no ridiculous self-promotion. None that I can find anyway.)

There you have it. The case has been clearly made, and it's obvious that my blog kicks NPR's wimpy ass! Now, what are you waiting for? Make The Way Things Turn a favorite in your browser, or sign up on the site to "follow via email," or subscribe through Google Reader, or just type the damn website address every day. C'mon, all the cool kids are doing it. Tell a friend, and oh yeah, thanks for reading!