Author Archive for DavePage 3 of 9

Religious Words (95)

Published
by
Dave
on November 16, 2007
in barbara, dave and podcast
. 5 Comments

Religious Words: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd look deep within their souls–without proselytizing–as they talk about the connection between religious language and everyday language.

Religious words as they are re-appropriated into everyday life. Thanks to EJ for suggesting this topic, and letting us know about the technology evangelists. (1:58)

Howard Shepherd tells us about an interesting blog at No Thirst Software. (9:16)

Music bumper from “Faith” by Greg Federico. (14:32)

Secular shifts in meaning of some religious words (15:20)

Song: “Bad Religion” by Jimmie Bratcher (19:20)

Rude words of the week: “holy cow,” “holy Moses,” “holy smoke,” and “holy crap” (22:46)

Music bumper from “God Frequency Live” by Without Malice. (27:16)

Phrases from religion that are re-purposed in common speech (28:00)

Music courtesy of The Podsafe Music Network

Theme music by Kick the Cat

Closing music from “Grapes” by Evan Stone

time: 35:17

size: 32.3 Mb

rating: PG (Not very rude, really–although one of our Rude Words suggests another ruder word.)

 
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Nicknames (94)

Published
by
Dave
on October 27, 2007
in dave, howard s. and podcast
. 11 Comments

Nicknames: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd call each other by names other than their given names as they discuss nicknames.

Listener feedback (2:22)

Eke-names, mascots, and a shout-out to a former student (5:18)

Music bumper from “Grapes” by Evan Stone. (17:34)

Monikers–deliberately chosen or applied names (18:23)

Song: “Familar Names, Familiar Games” by Doug McLeod (22:50)

Rude word of the week: your worst nickname (27:05)

Music bumper from “Melancolica” by Mauricio Cuburu. (30:12)

Nicknames–conferred on us often without our consent, and frequently expressive of relationships (30:59)

Music courtesy of The Podsafe Music Network

Theme music by Kick the Cat

time: 40:10

size: 36.8 Mb

rating: PG (The president of the United States called his former chief of staff a rude nickname–and we cite it!)

 
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Public Speaking (93)

Published
by
Dave
on October 6, 2007
in dave, howard c. and podcast
. 7 Comments

Public speaking: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd sit very isolated in the Word Nerds studio, and yet speak to thousands of listeners about public speaking.

Oratory, rhetoric, and forensics (2:02)

Music bumper from “Forensic” by Nick Murray (14:29)

“Everyday” public speakers: teachers, podcasters, managers, and toasters (15:10)

Song: “Beer Toast” by Bobby Chitwood (25:43)

Rude word of the week: “rabble-rouser” (29:18)

Music bumper from “Rendered Speechless” by Briareus (34:02)

How to improve your public speaking: our humble advice (34:41)

Music courtesy of The Podsafe Music Network

Theme music by Kick the Cat

Closing music from “Grapes” by Evan Stone

time: 43:16

size: Mb 39.6

rating: PG-13 (Our featured song is an unabashed celebration of alcohol consumption.)

 
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Transitions (92)

Published
by
Dave
on September 15, 2007
in barbara, dave and podcast
. 5 Comments

Transitions: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd try to move smoothly from one sub-topic to another as they talk about transitions, both in language and in life.

Emails and voice messages from Angy, Joel, MrGraphxFargo, Ken, and Ric (2:33)

Change in our lives, and the continuum of change and transition (5:51)

Music bumper from “Ockham’s Shaving Kit” by George Hrab. (14:24)

Ways of signaling change in language (15:12)

Song: “Lake Luck” by Wetbrain, featuring Ben Shepherd (23:20)

Rude word of the week: “waffle” (27:35)

Music bumper from “Baja Taxi” by Brain Buckit. (31:34)

Phrases and sayings about change (32:18)

Bumper and closing music courtesy of The Podsafe Music Network

Theme music by Kick the Cat

time: 40:03

size: 36.7 Mb

rating: G (Our Rude Word comes directly from the daily comic strips. Moreover, we’re trying to set a good example for our adult children.)

 
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“Inside” Language (91)

Published
by
Dave
on August 25, 2007
in dave, howard s. and podcast
. 5 Comments

“Inside” Language: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd speak as clearly and openly as they can about “insider” language–normal words that outsiders cannot understand.

Our show is introduced this week by the man called Anne from Israel, known to Word Nerds Forum members as RabiAkiva. (0:01)

We encourage you once again to check out Charles Hodgson’s book Carnal Knowledge, a wonderful dictionary containing words and expressions for parts of the human body. (2:46)

A MyChingo message from Jason in West Australia (4:51)

Howard and Dave use their interest in road cycling to talk about jargon, lingo, and other forms of insider language. (6:35)

A greeting from the Reduced Shakespeare Company podcast (18:37)

Acronyms, abbreviations, and other forms of “inside-the-beltway” jargon (19:15)

Song: “Inside Joke” by Little Thom (25:41)

Rude word of the week: “wheelsucker” (30:13)

Music bumper from “The Corner of Sacco and Vanzetti” by Shibboleth. (33:33)

The inside jargon of the world of con-men, circus workers, and magicians: ballyhoo, patter, and cant (34:30)

Music courtesy of The Podsafe Music Network

Theme music by Kick the Cat

time: 40:38

size: 37.3 Mb

rating: PG-13 (Our song has some hilarious references to procreation and uses a couple of naughty words.)

 
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Small Talk (90)

Published
by
Dave
on August 4, 2007
in dave, howard c. and podcast
. 8 Comments

Small talk: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd, who haven’t seen each other for several months, make and discuss small talk.

We encourage you to check our our friend Charles Hodgson’s book Carnal Knowledge. (2:22)

The inspiration for this show was the book How to Talk to Anybody About Anything by Leil Lowndes. (3:21)

In response to a voice message, we explain our system of rating our shows. (7:41)

Small talk: what is it, who uses it, and when is it used? (12:18)

Music bumper from “Talks in Circles” by Threeleggeddog (21:50)

Forms of small talk, and small-talk danger zones (23:04)

Song: “We Talk About Cars” by Ric Seaberg (29:09)

Rude word of the week: “gossip” (33:48)

Music bumper from “Essence” by Evan Stone (36:33)

When speakers move beyond small talk (36:56)

Music courtesy of The Podsafe Music Network

Theme music by Kick the Cat

Closing music from “Grapes” by Evan Stone

time: 43:09

size: 39.5 Mb

rating: PG (Just a tiny hint of rudeness in our discussion.)

 
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Synonyms (89)

Published
by
Dave
on July 16, 2007
in dave, howard s. and podcast
. 15 Comments

Synonyms: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd discuss, chat, and talk about a plethora, a bundle, a whole bunch of ideas about synonyms.

Austin Tichenor of the Reduced Shakespeare Company left us an audio comment via our MyChingo button. (1:55)

It was Dave’s turn to travel to German-speaking Europe this past month. (3:04)

The inspiration for this show was our recent experience trying to express fine differences in meaning in a second language. Synonyms yield these subtle distinctions. (4:42)

Music bumper from “Just Looking” by The Jerrys (13:29)

Regional variations in sets of synonyms, and their applications (14:14)

Song: “The Same One” by Little Mack Simmons (19:18)

Rude word of the week: “dullard” (23:54)

Music bumper from “Necessary Rain” by Emile Westergaard. (26:58)

Age and experience and the ability to make subtler distinctions (27:30)

Music courtesy of The Podsafe Music Network and IODA Promonet

Theme music by Kick the Cat

time: 34:02

size: 31.2 Mb

rating: PG (Only a tiny, mild bit of borderline rudeness in our audio feedback.)

The PM+Simmons Collection 1971-1982
Download “The Same One” (mp3)
from “The PM+Simmons Collection 1971-1982″
by Little Mack Simmons
Electro-Fi Records

 
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Abridgment (88)

Published
by
Dave
on June 24, 2007
in dave, howard s. and podcast
. 11 Comments

Abridgment: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd leave out all the unimportant parts as they talk about abridgment. We feature the masters of abridgment, the Reduced Shakespeare Company.

We’ve been away. While we were gone, the Nerd Number died. But now you can leave an audio message with our MyChingo button. (1:52)

Definitions of “abridge,” plus some related words (4:16)

Music bumper from “Trifle 3″ by Fuzzy Logic (10:16)

In April, Dave interviewed the RSC (that’s the Reduced Shakespeare Company, not that “Royal” bunch). (10:58)

Song: “Left Out” by A Void (19:28)

Rude word of the week: “half-assed” (22:53)

Music bumper from “Make Me Understand” by Matt Thorpe. (25:21)

Intentions and functions of abridgment (26:13)

Music courtesy of The Podsafe Music Network

Theme music by Kick the Cat

time: 32:54

size: 30.2 Mb

rating: PG (Our Rude Word is about as rude as we get this week.)

 
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