OK Go helps NPR Move

What do you do to have a big send-off from one HQ to another? Why not get OK Go to take you out in style with a special music video?

Bob Boilen writes:

Earlier this year, we needed to figure out the best possible way to move my Tiny Desk from NPR’s old headquarters to our new facility just north of the U.S. Capitol. We wanted to go out with a bang and arrive at our new space in style, so our thoughts naturally turned to a catchy pop band we love: OK Go, whose unforgettable videos have been viewed tens of millions of times on YouTube.

Bandleader Damian Kulash used to be an engineer at an NPR member station in Chicago, so we figured he’d be up for helping us execute a simple idea: Have OK Go start performing a Tiny Desk Concert at our old location, continue playing the same song while the furniture and shelving is loaded onto a truck, and finish the performance at our new home.

The video includes cameos by Ari Shapiro, Audie Cornish, David Greene, Guy Raz, Scott Simon, Alix Spiegel, Susan Stamberg and more.

As a really amazing bit of trivia the entire NPR move took roughly a week, starting with NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday as the first to move and be broadcast from the new studios.

On Friday, April 19, while covering the manhunt for Boston bombing suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Morning Edition hosts Steve Inskeep and David Greene finalized the network’s move — while they were on the air. The show started broadcasting that morning in the old studios and continued broadcasting an extended edition surrounding the manhunt. The pair wrapped up the broadcast that day at the new studios.

Tuesday Briefs

It’s been a busy few months around Casa de Blundell!

We’re both heading back to work after an extended weekend (3 days for Jonathan – 5 days for Laurie!) so I thought it might be time for another brief.
Continue reading Tuesday Briefs

What to do with old business cards?

Old business cards

Back when I started my new job (December 2007) I was given a brand new box of business cards.

In my previous jobs in the newspaper business, business cards came in handy. But in my current job, where I primarily sit behind a computer all day, I rarely have any need (or request) to hand out a business card, they seem rather pointless.

Fast forward to January 2009, and our office moved. We packed up and the whole operation moved a mile or so away.

Of course that means a whole new box of business cards, with a new phone number, new address and the like.

But I still have 95% or more remaining in that first box.

So here’s the question:

What can I do with these old cards (other than simply tossing and recycling them)?

I’m open to any and all suggestions. Lemme hear your thoughts in the comments.

UPDATE: My friend Sara found the ultimate use for business cards: Business Card Origami