I stumbled across today’s word in Wikipedia. It is used in the entry for Madame Bovary, a scandalous 19th century novel by Gustave Flaubert. ( I was looking up Madame Bovary because the book was featured prominently in last night’s Desperate House Wives).

The word is exegesis. It is a noun that means an “extensive and critical interpretation of any text, or especially of a holy scripture. An exegete is a person skilled in the science of interpretation.”

In Wikipedia’s Madame Bovary entry exegesis is the title of section that examines the scandal the novel caused and and some of the techniques Flaubert employed. In my opinion the 171 word section isn’t extensive enough to be an exegesis. But that is the nice thing about Wikipedia this entry can grow and be improved.

Actually I first learned this word from Stephen Jay Gould- one of my favorite writers. I am sorry I can’t recall which book or article it was in. But if you read his work, you will come across exegesis frequently. And he most certainly uses it correctly.

I got a few questions about a word I used in yesterday’s Today’s Podcast. Maybe I should refer to Today’s Podcast as just TP or maybe something else?

Anyway I used a word yesterday that raised a few questions. The word was provenance. It is a noun meaning place of origin or where something came from. It can also have the connotation of authenticity such as the quote I used yesterday. Where did that quote really come from?

If you were listening to today’s podcast hoping to learn the provenance of podcasting. Long story short, Adam and Dave did it.

If you want a little more detail you can visit Wikipedia’s entry on podcasting and learn all about the beginning of podcasting.

Today’s quote might be a chinese proverb. I spent a few minutes looking for its provenance and found conflicting reports. Maybe its chinese, maybe its native american. Who knows? I bet most cultures have some proverb like this one.

Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.

I have tried to explain podcasts to many people but only a few have understood. Sometimes when I show them ipodderx and itunes they start to get it. But I think until a person subscribes to a podcast and then listens to it away from their computer I don’t think they understand it.

So get a friend to download an ipodder and subscribe today so they can get it.

Or better yet get them to start their own podcast. Chris Brown are you listening? How about doing a weekly show together? 30 minute show tops.

Now into my 3rd week of podcasting I decided to listen to some of my past podcasts and see what I thought.

And what I think is I need some work on my delivery. I am too stiff. I talk to fast, pardon me I read too fast. That’s right I have been writing then reading my podcasts. Not a good idea if you want a conversational casual podcast feel.

Hopefully todays podcast will be a step in the right direction

To help me along I have chosen mellifluous as today’s word.

Mellifluous is an adjective that means flowing with sweetness or honey.

I would like my podcasts to flow with sweetness and honey.

I will keep repeating this word, mellifluous, over and over again and then I will become it. That reminds me of a good quote for tomorrow’s podcast.

Not reading my podcasts word for word should help to.

First off I would like to welcome any new listeners to TodaysPodcast.com and thank Adam for the plug on the Daily Source Code.

I hope I don’t disappoint.

Today’s wise words come from Colin Powell the, unfortunately former, Secretary of State.

This quote needs a little setup- On the eve of the war in Iraq President Bush declared he was sleeping like a baby. Powell, a little wiser than the president, having served the US as soldier for 35 years, being awarded the purple heart and founding America’s Promise, a charity that helps children and youth from all socioeconomic sectors in the United States remarked “I’m sleeping like a baby, too. Every two hours, I wake up, screaming.”

I wish the administration had payed more attention to Powell’s nightmares instead of Bush’s consultations with a higher father.