TFATD 30: Ice, Windmills, and Summer Reading

Episode 30 of The Falcon and the Dove: Ice, Windmills, and Summer Reading! This week, arctic sea ice melting reaches a record low, controversy surrounds a windfarm due to 'environmental concerns', a teen hacks into the new iPhone, summer books, and much more! Enjoy!

- Overview
- Special thanks to Harry and the Potters and Draco and the Malfoys - wizard rock bands who just finished a 70 city U.S. Tour, with their final show in Pittsburgh. Great music about literacy, unconditional love, and standing up for what you believe. You guys really rock!
- Artic Sea ice has reached a recond melt in July and will pass the hottest year on record with the greatest melt in 2005. At this rate, by September (the time considered to be the greatest time for melting), there may be as much as 800,000 square miles of additional melt since 2005.
- IJGT Junior Golf Organization. International Junior Golf Tour: Mike Trino is the membership contact. www.ijgt.com
- Shaffer Mountain windmill hearing set for Aug. 28 - A windfarm with 30 windmills is being constructed on Shaffer Mountain in Somerset County, PA, but not everyone agrees with the project, stating possible environmental and hunting problems. There will be a public hearing on the initiative on Sept. 28 at 6pm at Shade High School, McGregor Ave. Cairnbrook, PA.
- Two takes on some good summer reading: Tony Norman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette lists some of his favorites in non-fiction, and J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, is interviewed by "O" (Oprah) Magazine and mentions some of her inspirations. Read the J.K. Rowling interview!
- Teen hacks iPhone before college
- Ebert tells ABC/Disney to not use the 'Thumbs Up' or 'Thumbs Down' until a new contract is in place with his movie review show. Although he has been in poor health, the show has had guest reviewers. The two new shows recently recorded will not be allowed to use the "Thumbs" until a new contract is signed.
- The Quote of the Week. Good books.
- And more!

Download Episode 30 Here! (Length: 1 hour, 15 minutes; Size: 68.6 MB)

TFATD 29: Hurricanes, Preschools, and Lemonade

Episode 29 of The Falcon and the Dove: Hurricanes, Preschools, and Lemonade! It's finally here! This week, we explain the delays and promptly catch up on the many stories of the past few weeks! We discuss, Hurricane Dean, Michael Vick's plea, miracle and inspirational stories, keeping your pets cool during travel, bad drivers and much more! Enjoy!

- Overview
- The federal government cut the prime rate last Friday...just what Jim Cramer asked Ben Bernanke to do!
- Hurricane Dean hits the southern islands, killing at least 9. What to do if you're in the path of a hurricane.
- Rumor: J.K. Rowling may be writing a Scottish crime novel. UPDATE: This ended up being a joke made by the author's neighbor that got out of hand. The rumor appears to be false, although Rowling has stated that she intends to continue writing novels.
- Football player Michael Vick pleads guilty to dog-fighting. A dog chew toy has been made in his...uh, honor.
- The Nine Traffic Circles of Hell. One reporter's take on bad drivers.
- Teen survives a 6-story fall with only scrapes. We discuss window saftely measures.
- How to travel the RIGHT way with your pet!
- Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, an organization established by a young girl with rare children's cancer, has raised over $12 million for cancer research! You too can hold your own lemonade stand to raise money for this charity! (Note: the web address we give in the show is incorrect. This is the correct URL: www.alexslemonade.org)
- Preschool has become very expensive, to over $10,000 a year! We discuss alternatives like free Parent Co-ops, nannies, homeschooling, and more, including reading aloud to your child. The best preschool is great parenting.
- The Quote of the Week. From Jim Cramer's Rant.
- And more!

*We also attended a special concert this past weekend featuring Harry Potter 'Wizard Rock' bands, Harry and the Potters, and Draco and the Malfoys. These two groups are probably the most popular of over 100 Wizard Rock bands out there, spanning genres and stories other than Harry Potter as well.

This concert was held at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in Oakland, and was attended by over 400 people. What is so awesome about Wizard Rock is not just vast and diverse community it attracts and the books that it's based on, but the fact that it gets so many people, including kids and teens, into reading. Carnegie Library's summer reading program attracted hundreds, and over 6,000 books were checked out by them!!! Great job everyone! Prizes were also given out at this special event. The Falcon and the Dove was there, and we recorded most of the concert. We'll post some sound clips from that concert soon! Congrats to Harry and the Potters, Draco and the Malfoys, and the hundreds of people who read this summer and made this event so special. It is people like you who make the world rock!!!*

Download Episode 29 Here! (Length: 1 hour; Size: 55.6 MB)

Sorry, more delays...

Hi guys! I apologize for the lack of news this week. Unfortunately, we're afraid Episode 29 of The Falcon and the Dove will be delayed until at least Monday. We're just as disappointed as you all probably are. With the big storms last week coupled with our already saturated schedule, we just have not been able to find, nor make the time.

I'm also heading to college in two weeks, which has added tremendously to our to-do list. We highly respect all of our listeners, and are dedicated to bringing you valuable information and as well as entertainment. Hopefully, once things settle down with all of the college plans, there will not be so many delays, which annoy us to no end. We hope that you will bear with us. Once again, our sincerest apologies, and we invite you to please listen to and enjoy the previous episodes of our podcast in the meantime.

We hope you all enjoy the rest of your summer!

Episode 29 will be released next week

Hello folks! Due to ridiculously intense storms that crossed our area this week, Episode 29 of The Falcon and the Dove will not be released this week. Don't worry, it's nothing serious! Tune in next Sunday for Episode 29!

If you are new to The Falcon and the Dove podcast, check out our previous episodes in the meantime! We appreciate all of your patience, and we apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you!!!

TFATD 28: Bridges, Cramer, and Climate Changing Destinations

Episode 28 of The Falcon and the Dove: Bridges, Cramer, and Climate Changing Destinations! This week, we focus on destinations around the globe to be possibly permanently changed by global warming, we discuss the bridge tragedy in Minnesota, and more! Enjoy!

- Overview
- The West 35 bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota collapsed on August 1st, killing at least 5 people, and injuring over 100 others. The search is now on for more people trapped in the rubble and fallen cars.
- We discuss how the bridge may have collapsed, and how safe our own bridges may or may not be.
- We provide a list of 16 travel destinations around the world that are now in danger due to climate change, global warming, and El Niño. Some destinations may surprise you. Favorites like the Everglades in Florida, Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Venice, Italy, Tokyo, Japan, Manhattan, New York, and London, England may all be changed forever, and sooner than we think.
- CNBC's colorful money analyst, Jim Cramer just about loses his mind about the federal government's inaction to bank mortgage failure. We absolutely love the people who are loud-mouths AND RIGHT!!
- We hope you all enjoyed this past July as much as we did! We give a brief preview of what's next in the coming weeks.
- The Quote of the Week. Fighting to save the environment.

Download Episode 28 Here! (Length: 1 hour, 22 minutes; Size: 75.5 MB)