Épisodes

  • Question Intonation

    Question Intonation
    Mar 3 2022
    When someone habitually speaks and puts the English question intonation on every declarative sentence. It sounds like this (?). Every declaration becomes a question (?). You can't really tell what is a question and what is a declaration of fact (?).
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    1 min
  • Vocal Fry

    Vocal Fry
    Mar 1 2022
    Have you ever heard someone talk and it sounds like they've exhausted all of their breath, they're a lot deeper than they should be and their voice creaks and rattles along usually accompanied by elongating their words? It sounds like something this until you sound like you can't talk anymore, but you just keep going on and on (do vocal fry). This is called vocal fry.
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    1 min
  • Crêpes Suzette

    Crêpes Suzette
    Feb 24 2022
    The name in French could be rendered in English as Pancakes Suzy. Suzette is the diminutive of Suzanne in French. It is disputed exactly where this dish originated or who the Suzy really is. If you've never had Crêpes Suzette I do recommend trying it. It is relatively easy to make at home. A crepe is simply an unleavened rich pancake of sorts. You then carmelize sugar and butter with some orange juice and zest. You fill the crepes with this glaze, but you fold them in quarters not like a burrito. You then pour a little grand marnier over them or some other orange-based liquor and light them on fire carefully when serving for effect. The flames will die out when the alcohol burns out and you're left with this wonderful orange-flavored dessert.
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    1 min
  • Decent Behaviour

    Decent Behaviour
    Feb 22 2022
    George Washington wrote this tiny little book called Decent Behaviour. It lists 110 things to do and not to do in the company of others. You could read the book in less than 10 minutes. He says some interesting things for the time, some of it comes off these days more humorous than instructive.
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    2 min
  • Flights get canceled

    Flights get canceled
    Feb 17 2022
    As I stood there in line another passenger was ripping the face off of a Delta employee because of his flight being canceled. What could she do? She was calm and apologetic.
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    1 min
  • I'm literally* doing a podcast.

    I'm literally* doing a podcast.
    Feb 15 2022
    A pet peeve of mine is this ubiquitous use by the kids these days of the term, "literally." They use it when it seems they aren't making a distinction between something figurative and something literal.
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    1 min
  • Synecdoche and Metonymy

    Synecdoche and Metonymy
    Feb 10 2022
    Let's start with synecdoche because it's easier to understand. What if I said to you, I just bought a new set of wheels. This could mean that you bought a new set of tires, but very often what you mean is that you bought a new car. This is synecdoche. You are using one part of the object to describe the whole thing so synecdoche is a part for the whole.
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    2 min
  • Buckaroo Banzai

    Buckaroo Banzai
    Feb 8 2022
    Who wouldn't want a movie about a brain surgeon, rock star, martial arts gunslinging scientist, inventor. It's so absurd it instantly became a cult-classic.
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    1 min