what a blockhead

i've had writer's block for the past week or so. this morning, as i was getting ready for work, an idea popped into my head, and i thought "yes, that's what i'll blog about today." only then i turned on the radio, and listed to npr. and that ruined it for me. now, i normally listen to npr's morning edition, but today it hit me harder than usual. i heard about today's death toll in iraq and how older people are being kidnapped left and right in Baghdad for ransom, only to never be returned to their families. i have an fm band on my mp3 player, so on my way to work, i continued to listed to the state of the world, and by the time i got to work, not only was i embarrassed to be an american, but my blog idea was long gone (which honestly is the least of our worries).

as i tried to explain the concept of pdf to a coworker, the idea of ipods and "checking out" versus npr continued to plague my mind, and i wondered that for those who listen to ipods full of music and self-selected content via the commute, do they get a more sanitized version of the world via headphones? true, you can download podcasts from npr/kqed and such, but is it the same thing as listening to the morning's news and opinions in a more free flowing manner? are there happy, nonchalant people who listen to public radio, or are we all moody, cynical people who cringe at any reference to bush: the bushman, hedge trimmers, and brazilians, for example? and would i be happier if i just listened to whatever made me happy (perhaps 99.7 "where the music makes you feel good" and not "where the music makes your brain spin uncontrollably in a zig zag pattern and create peanut butter-flavored mucus that clogs up your nasal pathways") and proud and unaffected by the world? as soon as i thought that, i figuratively slapped my wrists, as checking out isn't my style. although i don't have much style, anyway.

for those in the bay area, kqed will be beginning their pledge drive soon. to support kqed, you can pledge online.