On Demand
The Next Big Thing
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For and Against (Noise, Snow, and Other Things)
We pay attention to all that noise – from iPods, cellphones, televisions, walkmen and all the rest. And then there are words – your made-up words for dictionary maven Erin McKean, words in verse from poet Steve Almond, and a veritable torrent of words both comic and passionate from performer Julia Sweeney.
Listening to Nothing
Like any good radio producer, The Next Big Thing’s Curtis Fox lives in fear of “dead air,” those moments when, because of some technical glitch, programming stops. But what he’s still trying to figure out is why so many people outside the radio world also go to great efforts to avoid “dead air.” Here, he puts forth some theories.
My Noise
Dean used to be in Curtis’ camp – opposed to all the cultural noise that accompanies our daily lives. But now he finds himself developing a new addiction to a certain technological gadget, and it’s changed his thinking … in all kinds of unexpected ways.
Walkman Busting
So a guy walks up to you on the street, and asks you what’s playing on your Walkman. You tell him. But he’s not through with you. Now he says he wants to listen too and before you know it, he’s plugged in a mini-disc recorder and started taping your music. That’s right, Gideon D’Archangelo is back at it again with his “Walkman Busting,” and today we plug into HIS player, to find out what he’s been hearing on the street.
In the Family Way
Julia Sweeney’s in the house. She’s best known for her role as the androgynous “Pat” on Saturday Night Live, but that was a long time ago. These days, she’s performing a one-woman show about her travails as a woman pushing past 40 and finding her way into motherhood. There are plenty of stops along the way - in the Galapagos Islands, on the Food Channel, at the INS and in an orphanage in China.
What’s Your Word?
Erin McKean, editor of the New Oxford American Dictionary, fields calls from ambitious listeners who want to get a new word into circulation. Under consideration today: upspeak, rememble and pregret.
Why I Hate Snow
A poem by Steve Almond, who, no doubt, was less than pleased when last week’s blizzard dumped more than 27 inches of snow in Boston, where he lives and writes. In addition to his poetry, Almond is the author of a collection of short stories, My Life in Heavy Metal.