Help Line
Disc dos
Question for Anne Williams, host of WNRN’s Acoustic Sunrise: How should I store my CDs to keep them organized and damage free?
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Answer: First of all, says Williams, if you can avoid big temperature swings in the spot where you keep your collection, that’s a good thing. “Most radio stations try to keep a constant temperature,” she says. “We also have a dehumidifier that runs a lot during the summer.”
Locate your CD shelves someplace where sunlight through windows won’t land right on them, and don’t keep them in a rarely used room that might get hotter and colder than other parts of your house. And while CDs, unlike cassettes, can’t be damaged by the magnets inside computers and TVs, if they’re warped by high temperatures or sunlight, they won’t want to play.
Of course, CDs are—as you surely know—prone to being scratched. “We’ve all lost the ability to play them and gotten sad about that,” says Williams. Once it’s done, it’s done—but sometimes a stubborn CD isn’t scratched, it’s just dirty. For these occasions, WNRN personnel keep CD cleaner on hand.
As for organizing a CD library, we’re guessing you have a smaller collection than your average radio station. WNRN divides CDs by show category—rock over here, acoustic over there—and then alphabetizes by artist. But, says Williams, “You should figure out how you want to use your collection and what alphabetical system is best for you. Some people like to browse: ‘I’m in the mood for some classical…’ But if you’d much rather have Bach next to the B-52’s then that’s the way you should do it.”
One final tip? “Some of our specialty shows keep their inventory locked up,” says Williams. If your collection deserves its own late-night time slot, consider investing in a key.
Coffee Table Library
Making rooms bloom
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We’re usually word people around here, but we liked Paula Pryke’s Table Flowers just for the big, shiny pictures. This is a book so color saturated, you almost have to shield your eyes from the blinding pinks and purples of hydrangeas and tulips. Each chapter offers, mostly through visual instruction, tips for your next event, be it holiday dinner, kid’s party, or wedding reception. Browse suggested tabletop color schemes from monotone and regal (lilac upon lilac upon lilac) to dizzy displays of tie-dyed roses (really!) and striped circus-like napkins. Learn how florists make their arrangements so darn flawless: Yes, there’s a secret to making long-stemmed flowers stand up straight in tall glass vases. We’re not sure we’ve ever hosted a dinner party worthy of such dazzling floral displays, but now we’re inspired to throw one.—Lee Vanderwerff
Hot Pick
Letter perfect
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Talk about a conversation starter! No, we don’t mean the comments this alphabet coffee table will inevitably draw from your guests. We mean the conversation you’ll have with your spouse about whether it should go in the bedroom of your sophisticated second grader, or in the living room of your sophisticated selves. Spotted at The Artful Lodger, 970-1900.