Put cat in the snow

I took the brown cat outside to play in the snow, it had never been in snow before.

Muzak is for real

In class with the young people today, I mentioned Muzak as an example of something you would hear in a lobby.  My classmates gave me quizzical looks, didn't recognize the word "Muzak", thought I was just saying “music” in a stylized manner.  I said, “No, not music. Muzak.” and I spelled it for them.  The young people chuckled, thought I was cutting up.  I asked the instructor if he could confirm that Muzak is a real thing and Dr. Kuester said yes Muzak is real.  One of the boys, almost agitated, said, “It’s just a kind of an MP3 player, right?”  Dr. Kuester said no, it’s not a kind of MP3 player.  Dr. Kuester used the idea of “elevator music” to describe what Muzak is.  There were a few hesitant nods, they were trying to understand, but there was still general disbelief that Muzak really exists, that it is a real thing.  What would the purpose be?  Dr. Kuester spent the rest of the class period telling us what ASCAP is, describing music licensing and the penalties for playing unauthorized copyrighted music in public places.  "You can't just play the radio over the speakers in a restaurant," says Dr. Kuester, "It's illegal.  You have to pay a licensing fee.  Otherwise there's a five thousand dollar fine."  One fellow said that in that case he would have to tell his boss not to do it anymore.  There was clear understanding in class about what the radio is.  Yet, about this "Muzak", the young people were still dubious, wouldn’t accept the idea that anyone would purchase or want to listen to this “Muzak”.