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After around 20 episodes, season 2 of the Vocabbett podcast is coming to a close!
Iâd gladly continue it forever, but I was recently accepted to UCSDâs college counseling program. Since they operate on a quarterly system, Iâm able to start my first class in March!
I honestly donât know exactly how the college counseling certificate will play into the future of Vocabbett, but as I discuss in the podcast, I do want to turn Vocabbett into a profitable, sustainable business, and while Iâm having a blast with what Iâm currently doing, itâs not exactly self-sustaining.
In episode 76, I dive into various ways I could grow Vocabbett moving forward. You can listen below or on your favorite podcast player.
And if you have any ideas or thoughts about all this, please, let me know! Seriously, just shoot me an email at [email protected].
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If youâve seen The Durrells in Corfu, youâll undoubtedly remember the slightly dotty daughter in the series, Margo.
When I finished the show (a slightly heartbreaking moment â I hope they release a new season in the future!), I was exceptionally curious about what happened next for the family. Though the show offers a fictionalized account of the Durrellsâ lives, the characters were based on real people. To think of them in the clutches of World War IIâŠ
For episode 75 of the Vocabbett podcast, I share more about the remarkable life of Margo Durrell.
You can listen below or on your favorite podcast player!
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Episode Correction: Thanks to a listener for pointing out that I was in error on the publication date of "Whatever Happened to Margo." It was originally published in 1995, and she didn't pass away until 2007 -- therefore, it was very much NOT a posthumous publication!
Referenced In This Episode:
https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/933123/The-Durrells-ITV-Margo-Durrell-Gerald-Durrell-Daisy-Waterstone-Keeley-Hawes
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Fehlende Folgen?
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We've all heard of Cleopatra, but how many people know she had a little sister -- and a pretty remarkable one at that?
Arsinoe IV was about ten years younger than Cleopatra, but my guess is that, had their ages been reversed, we'd all know Arsinoe and it would be, "Cleopatra who?"
At around 12 years old, she was commanding an army and outwitting Julius Caesar!
Listen to episode 74 of the Vocabbett podcast to learn all about her. And as promised, here is the link to the episode of "Drunk History" about her for those who want to watch!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ab4rYDR0yY&t
I said it in the podcast, but I'll say it again here: there is a lot of profanity in this video!
It's hilarious if you don't mind that sort of thing, but there are about 1,000 swear words in 10 minutes and some PG-13-level vulgarity. Consider yourself warned!
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When most of us think of suffragettes (a.k.a. women who fought for the right to vote), we think of Susan B. Anthony or Emmeline Pankhurst.
We should, however, also be thinking about the extraordinary Nazek al-Abid!
In the latest installment in our âforgotten womenâ mini-series, we explore the story of this remarkable woman. Exiled countless times for voicing (and acting upon) her beliefs, she never stopped fighting.
Get the whole story in episode 72 of the Vocabbett podcast!
(By the way, because her name is transliterated from Arabic, itâs sometimes spelled âNaziqâ or âNazik.â None are incorrect; I just went with what was on the Syrian stamp!)
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Read More:
âForgotten Princessesâ article I reference throughout the episode: https://www.rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/naziq-al-abid
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â18th century heiress turned pirateâ may sound like the tagline of a cheesy romance novel, but remarkably, itâs a fairly accurate description of the indomitable Anne Bonny.
A few episodes into our âForgotten Womenâ mini-series -- where I sneakily boost your vocabulary by telling you about some people you probably didnât learn about in school -- weâre shedding light on one of the most famous female pirates from the so-called âGolden Ageâ of piracy.
Itâs a story you wonât want to miss! You can listen for free on your favorite podcast player, or tune in over at Vocabbett.
Referenced in this episode:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/if-theres-a-man-among-ye-the-tale-of-pirate-queens-anne-bonny-and-mary-read-45576461/
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/40580/40580-h/40580-h.htm#page-171
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If youâre an Anglophile (lover of the English) like me, youâve probably heard of Boudica, the warrior queen who took on the Romans.
But did you know that thereâs *another* British warrior queen with an equally fascinating tale?
Around the 8th century, Viking raiders were taking over regions of England left and right. Alfred the Great dreamed of not only fighting them off, but uniting England under one king. Sadly, he died before seeing his dream come true.
Alfredâs daughter, Aethelflaed, leaped onto my radar in The Last Kingdom (available on Netflix, though very violent, so donât watch unless you have a parentâs permission).
I loved her storyline (from season 2) so much, I couldnât help but Google what happened to her later! Obviously not everything from the show is true, but later in life, she went on to do extraordinary things.
Aethelflaed took on the Vikings, negotiating with them when possible and fighting them when it wasnât. She was a shrewd tactician, and knew exactly which roads and river passages to attack to make the battle as swift as possible. It got to the point where her enemies (the freaking Vikings) would surrender without a fight!
Learn more about this amazing woman in episode 71 of the Vocabbett podcast!
Quoted & Referenced in This Episode:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-44069889
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-44429911
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âMary had a little lambâŠâ
Be honest. Did you go, âlittle lambâ again after you read that?
Those five words are so catchy, they were the first words Thomas Edison ever recorded in the phonograph (making them the first words ever recorded on a machine). Not only that, but they were also some of the first words Alexander Graham Bell spoke into the telephone!
Itâs astonishing to me that a mere century (or so) after her death, Sarah Josepha Hale â the creator of this nursery rhyme â has faded into obscurity. It would be one thing if her accomplishments had also faded, but weâre still hugely impacted by her legacy.
And Iâm not just talking about âMary Had a Little Lamb.â In fact, if youâd asked Sarah to list what she was most proud of, âMary had a little lambâ probably wouldnât even make the first page!
The only reason I know about this woman is that Iâm lucky to be (very) loosely related to her. But it got me thinking, how many other stories of remarkable women have been forgotten?
In episode 70 of the Vocabbett podcast, I share the (very abbreviated) story of Sarah Josepha Hale in a new âForgotten Womenâ mini-series. Iâm still boosting your vocabulary throughout; Iâm just finding new, fun stories to incorporate while doing it! : )
You can listen to the podcast for free on your favorite player, and Iâve included a sneak peek of the membersâ-only podcast accompaniment below. Become a Vocabbett member to watch the whole video if you havenât already!
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I donât remember the first time I heard the word âkudos,â but I distinctly remember thinking that it was 1970âs slang.
How wrong I was! I only found out last week, though, that âkudosâ goes all the way back to the days of Homer, meaning âmagical gloryâ in ancient Greek.
This means, if someone says, âkudos, you did a great job at the game,â the original meaning was more like, âMagical glory! Man, youâve been blessed by the gods. Great job.â
How cool is that?
Thereâs a fierce battle raging among linguists about this word (something Iâd love to see in person). I go into details in episode 69 of the Vocabbett podcast!
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Amid the recent inauguration news, I kept hearing the word ârostrum.â
âAs he approaches the rostrum tomorrowâŠâ
âDonald Trump began his term from the same rostrumâŠâ
âIn his inaugural address Wednesday, delivered from a rostrumâŠâ
Obviously this word wasnât crucial to my understanding of what was happening, but being the inquisitive sort, I needed to know all about it.
A rostrum is basically a podium. There are subtle differences, but for all intents and purposes, itâs a podium.
Thatâs not the good bit, though. The good bit is what comes before the definition, the story of how we got the definition.
Like so many others, this story goes back to ancient Rome (and their fighting preferences).
Learn all about it on episode 68 of the Vocabbett podcast!
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With colleges dropping the SAT left and right â and the recent announcement that theyâre dropping the essay and subject tests â itâs normal to feel a reluctant pang of sympathy for a dying rite of passage.
Hereâs the thing, though: The College Board (the organization that runs the SAT) is stronger than ever.
Most people donât know that the AP program is also managed by The College Board, so while people celebrate the end of a standardized testâŠweâre unwittingly letting them standardize the entire high school curriculum.
Iâm not against APâs. There are some great AP courses! But when one organization has so much power, there are bound to be issues because we donât all want the same thing.
I dive into this issue in greater detail in episode 67 of the Vocabbett podcast. Iâd consider it a must-listen for students, parents, and educators!
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Imagine not knowing how to say that you're tired. It wouldn't make sense, right?
And yet there's an emotion that most of us experience all the time, whether we want to or not...but we awkwardly don't name it.
If you don't know the word "schadenfreude," you're not alone. In fact, the very history of this emotion is full of people who didn't want to bring it into the English language!
Schadenfreude is when you're happy about, or interested in, the misfortunes of others.
In more practical terms, it's when you laugh at a video of someone falling, read all the details of some scandal, watch reality TV, or (let's be honest) read the news. How often do they report "man gets his mail" without some catastrophe attached to it?
It's been said that we're currently living in an era of schadenfreude because, when you think about it, many of our forms of entertainment focus on reveling in someone else's misfortunes. It's created some new moral conundrums that I find fascinating!
Get all the information in episode 66 of the Vocabbett podcast.
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You may already know that what we in the U.S. call âsoccer,â most of the rest of the world refers to as âfootball.â
But do you know why we call it soccer when almost no one else does? Is it just some cowboy American thing? A refusal to go with the flow?
The story behind the soccer vs. football debate is fascinating, and I share it in episode 65 of the Vocabbett podcast! Take a listen below or on your favorite podcast player.
Until next time!
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Referenced in this episode:
'The English Game' on Netflix
https://www.dictionary.com/e/soccer-or-football/
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Blatherskite - âA person who talks at great length without saying much of sense.â Basically, a blatherer.
What a great word. Definitely my favorite word du jour.
Do you know what makes this word even better? The amazing route it took to reach our fair shores.
Originally a pseudo-Scottish insult, the word became popular through a song, Maggie Lauder, that was popular with American troops during the Revolutionary War!
Youâve GOT to listen to episode 64 of the Vocabbett podcast, which features a popular modern rendition of the song. And if youâre not yet a Vocabbett member, sign up to get access to the accompanying video!
https://vocabbett.com/signup!
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*Listen to the whole 'Maggie Lauder' song!* https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Yiq... (It's live, and starts around 30 seconds in)
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Referenced in This Episode:
The Dictionary of Difficult Words by Jane Solomon and Louise Lockhart (https://amzn.to/3q8TcR7 - Amazon Associate link, which means I may earn a small commission at no added cost to you)
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If you're a fan of Greek history, you're probably familiar with the story of Theseus and the minotaur.
But did you know that the word "academy" traces its roots all the way back to that story?
To be more specific, "academies" are etymologically named in honor of the man who saved Helen of Troy from having to become Theseus' wife!
We think of Theseus as this great Greek hero, but if you've ever been in any of my history classes, you know he's a total pig. From abandoning Ariadne on an island to kidnapping Helen of Troy (from the temple where she was praying, no less)...he's no good, folks.
Tune into episode 63 of the Vocabbett podcast for the ins and outs of this fascinating story!
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The WORD, get it? Haha, wordplay.
You tend to hear the word "anecdote" in two contexts these days. Either it's a fancy stand-in for "story," or it's a disparaging adjective, as in, "you only have anecdotal evidence."
But did you know the root of the word anecdote is far more salacious? It goes back to the juiciest tell-all novel of the Byzantine empire, when a respected historian basically published the "Gossip Girl" of Justinian's court after his death.
While he was alive, he secretly documented all the scandals: whom the generals' wives were secretly seeing, the pious empress's threats to have people executed, the emperor's fondness for lying and wasting money, that sort of thing.
After his death, he released the story under the title "Anekdota," which roughly translates as "not to publish."
It's sort of the equivalent of "Confidential" or "Top Secret," a title sure to pique a person's interest!
Over time, the word "Anekdota," and later "anecdote," came to be more associated with these personal stories of Justinian's court than the original meaning ("not to publish").
For more details on this story, be sure to tune into episode 62 of the Vocabbett podcast!
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We're all probably familiar with the legends of werewolves and madmen emerging from the dark on a full moon...but did you know that this legend is so pervasive, it actually made an impact on the English language?
Yes, my friends. The word "lunatic," among others, is directly pulled by the Latin root luna, for moon!
In episode 63 of the Vocabbett podcast, I dive into some of the theories as to why this occurred, and I also share a brilliant writing tip from Neil Gaiman's Masterclass.
Referenced in this episode:
https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/why-do-we-still-believe-in-lunacy-during-a-full-moon
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Have you ever looked at the calendar and thought, âWell, that makes no senseâ? October starts with âoct,â but itâs not the 8th month. November starts with ânov,â but itâs not the 9th month. December starts with âdec,â but itâs not the 10th month.
I always encourage people to pay attention to the Greek and Latin roots, but sometimes, they can mislead you! Thatâs why stories are such a great (and important) part of improving your vocabulary â they explain the inconsistencies.
And this story, as with so many others, begins in ancient Rome.
You see, when the ancient Romans first implemented a calendar, it had only ten months, plus a bunch of âoffâ days before the calendar started back up. It makes perfect sense when you think about why they created the calendar in the first place.
The calendar was primarily used to plan farming and agricultural activities, and there were two months a year where you couldnât do much to the soil.The calendar began in March (in honor of Mars, the god of war). So to the ancient Romans, the numbers matched up perfectly!
The biggest change wasnât adding January and February, though. I explain it all in episode 60 of the Vocabbett podcast!
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After a hot 59 episodes, itâs time to put the Vocabbett podcast on hiatus to write book 2!
The podcast WILL be back. I LOVE doing it; I just need all the creative energy focused on one goal at the moment.
Thanks for tuning in! You can listen to the entire backlist at vocabbett.com/season-1.
See you in a bit!
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Weâve talked ideas, outlines, writing tips, and more in this writing series. But amid the technical tips, one very important component of writing can get overlooked: love of the craft.
If you want to be a writer, you must enjoy writing!
Iâve mentioned before that this series is modeled after the writing process of Barbara Mertz a.k.a. Elizabeth Peters. I was able to research her creative process for my Masterâs, and do you know what stuck with me more than anything else?
How much fun she was having!
Of course there were difficult days, but this is a woman who clearly loved her work.
Her joy is evident at every stage of the process. In her stream-of -consciousness notes for The Seventh Sinner for instance, she wrote:
âThe crux of the plotâhaâis the numeral VII, which must come to haunt all the characters, including the heroine, so that when she sees the scrawl in the victimâs blood, it never occurs to her that it could be anything but a numberâŠâ
I love that little âhaâ at the beginning! Itâs just so telling.
Amelia Peabody, Elizabeth Petersâ primary protagonist, goes so far as to say that paradise would be a continuation of the life she loves with those she loves beside her. A source tells me Mertz felt the same way toward the end of her life.
Think about that for a second: that heaven would be a continuation of this life.
How many of us can say that? I think itâd be pretty hard to do if you don't love your work!
Whether you want to be a writer or something else, that sense of fun and enjoyment is an incredible goal. The ultimate goal? Making your life so amazing that heaven could be a continuation of the life youâre already living.
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The resounding writing advice today tends to be, âJust get the words on paper. You can edit it later. You canât edit a blank page. All first drafts are garbage anywayâŠJust get your word count and keep going!â
I can virtually guarantee that if you take this approach with essays, youâll end up with a garbage product or youâll have to re-do it.
For books? Well, my experience is largely the same. The editing process is BRUTAL when you play fast and loose with the first draft.
So, contrary to popular opinion today, I would argue that itâs OK to write a more measured first draft and save yourself a headache in edits!
This doesnât mean every word needs to be perfect before you write it down. The big difference is that you work with the sentence/scene a bit longer, moving on when you feel satisfied (for now), rather than just writing the first thing that pops into your head.
It definitely makes editing easier, but I think it might make your overall process faster, too!
In episode 57 of the Vocabbett podcast, I dive into the drawbacks of this process. Listen below or on your favorite podcast player!
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