I Listen to Podcasts. Wanna Know 6 of ’Em?

We’re all friends here, so you can admit it:

You’ve always wondered what I’m listening to while I’m folding laundry.

“The Slut Buck” is in Apiary Magazine

What’s the slut buck, you ask?

I know, I know! You’ve been asking this question for YEARS with no good answer. Well, today, dear readers, if you go download the 2011 online issue of Apiary Magazine (which, of course, you should), your curiosity will be slaked with my short story of the same name.

Plus, I hope you’ll check out one of my favorite stories in this issue: “Only Leaves” by Leyla Eraslan—it’s a beautifully told tale of a girl and her tree that doesn’t know it’s a tree. I hope you like it as much as I do.

The Alot and the Close-Talker Solution

According to Allie Brosh at Hyperbole and a Half, the appropriate action to take when confronted with a close talker is:

This image alone made me laugh so hard I thought I’d ruptured a lung. Wheezing and hacking. Tears. Literally.

What’s this have to do with the usual word-nerdery on this blog? Well, this is from a post entitled “The Awkward Situation Survival Guide.” And one of those situations is encounters with close talkers. And talking (close or otherwise) is linguistic. Or something.

Whatever. It’s funny and I couldn’t keep it to myself. But even better news is that I browsed through more posts and found one that actually (no really, I mean it) has to do with grammar and apostrophobes!

Here it is: The Alot is Better Than You at Everything.

Thank you, Stacey, for alerting me to this blog, and thank you, Ms. Brosh for teaching me how to act in public.

Image: Allie Brosh

Words and Pictures Not to Miss

Congratulations to two of my friends appearing in the most recent issue of Bartleby Snopes literary magazine!

Sarah Rose Etter and Katie Reing are featured in Issue 1 Volume 2 – Sarah for her creepily awesome story “Koala Tide” and Katie for some superb photography.

Seriously, folks … this magazine is free and has some great stuff in it, so you don’t have an excuse for not downloading it right now.

Also, this photo is just one of Katie’s many that jumped out at me, and I’d recommend checking out some more of her work at her flickr account.

Linguistics and Political Phrases

Just a quick note to recommend some language-related listening.

In a recent episode of Fresh Air, Terry Gross talked with linguist Geoff Nunberg about political language, how English is changing, and his sarcastic English teacher.

Click here to go to the page, and click on the “Listen Now” link.