MY FRIEND LOST HIS PHONE
And it was out of juice, so he couldn’t just call it. There are all sorts of high-tech “find my phone” options — we love them. (Android, too.) But have you thought of sticking a little piece of adhesive to the back of your phone with your email address? Or with your partner’s cell phone number? That way, the party host or cab driver will instantly know whose phone was left behind and have a way to arrange its return. It could help to include the word “REWARD!”
MY OTHER FRIEND SAVED THE AMAZON
Well, not all of it; and certainly not alone. But more of it, and more effectively, than anyone else I can think of. Most recently, these 44,000 or so additional strategic acres* in Putumayo, Columbia. I’ve written about him many times — Mark Plotkin and his Amazon Conservation Team. Some of you have even chipped in support (so this latest victory is part yours). From a safe, comfortable distance in the American Museum of Natural History theater I watched him paddle from Amazon’s snowy mountain headwaters thousands of miles down to the ocean, and you can, too. (The trailer is free; the full 38-mnute documentary, instantly available for $2.99.) And in June I took two minutes of your time with the “cute frog, important message” clip. If you have 12 minutes more, listen to this recent NPR interview that begins with his vomiting purple phosphorescent scorpions.
*Equivalent to about three Manhattan Islands.
