(no subject)

... and for those of us who are here, um, I'm listening to Paul Buchanan's recent appearance on KCRW's Sounds Eclectic. It's just him and an acoustic guitarist--weird, huh? But he's got such a gorgeous voice, it's nice to hear it in a sparser context. (His set starts around the half-hour mark.)

There's also video from Morning Becomes Eclectic, but on a cursory check it doesn't sound as good to me. But, video!

... can anyone recommend a Windows program to record audio that's playing on my sound card? Say, from RealPlayer?

(no subject)

The ongoing redesign at the New York Times seems to have come to the travel section, and although I can't put my finger on most of the changes, overall it seems better. However, the essay on the last page, which has often attracted my attention on weeks full of articles on places I don't want to go, is gone, replaced by a photograph.

Anyway, this week's top destination: Libya! This is a fascinating article on a place we haven't heard much about since the travel ban 23 years ago. Also, other forbidden places.

New York on the cheap, or not. Palm Springs. The Spice Shop in London. Shanghai. The "meet-the-Jetsons self-consciousness" of a new hotel in Hong Kong.

And from Friday's paper, 36 Hours in Monterey. They clued in on First Awakenings this time, although the one in Salinas is better. But I will have to investigate Katy's Place in Carmel.