1 Mar 2006
Today, March 1st, 2006, the one millionth English article was published at Wikipedia by Ewan Macdonald. From the Jordanhill Railway Station article: The Jordanhill Railway Station is a suburban railway station in the Jordanhill area on the west side of Glasgow, Scotland. The station (code “JOR”), which is governed by Transport Scotland and managed by [...]
28 Feb 2006
Happy Mardi Gras! Today I would take a little time to discuss Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, Carnival and Lent. Lent is the forty day Christian fasting season leading up to Easter. Christians, particularly Catholics, mark the period by giving up meat or some pleasure or comfort. Carnival is the two week celebration leading up to [...]
15 Feb 2006
I heard Felicity Huffman use the word equanimity on NPR’s All Things Considered. Felicity Huffman plays Lynette on Desperate Housewives and recently received an Oscar nomination for her staring role in Transamerica- the story of a man who becomes a woman then discovers she has a teenage son. The interview focuses on motherhood as it [...]
4 Nov 2005
Welcome to the 131st Today’s Podcast. November 1st marked the one year anniversary of Today’s Podcast. This year my goal is to produce over 200 shows. Much closer to my promise of a daily show. Today’s word is serendipity. I was reminded of this word by a recent interview with Yvon Chouinard on NPR’s Day [...]
25 Oct 2005
Today’s word, copacetic, is a favorite of mine. Although I too often forget to use it. Copacetic is an adjective meaning completely or entirely satisfactory. I think its connotation is much more positive then satisfactory. For example if a boss told me my work was satisfactory I would be concerned it wasn’t very good, that [...]
20 Oct 2005
Welcome back. Today we have a celebrity inspired term, Mea Culpa. Recently Bill Gates used it when describing MS’s failure to dominate the online music industry. “Mea culpa” is a latin phrase uttered to accept guilt. It translates to “my fault.” I think people like using the phrase because it is psychologically easier to say [...]