A Southern California resort for nudists—or naturists, as some prefer to be called—had a recent change of management, and residents received a notice that the place will now become a textile park. The word textile is often used in that community as...
Why do southern Californians refer to interstate thoroughfares with the definite article, as in the 405 or the 8? This usage is a result of the history of freeways in Southern California, and is heard in a few other places, including Phoenix...
After Martha gave a presentation to the Special Libraries Association’s Southern California chapter, she was left wondering whether there’s a good collective noun for a group of librarians. A dewey? This is part of a complete episode...
Los Angeles, though founded by Spanish speakers, was very, very Anglo by the early 20th century. The “original” pronunciation of Los Angeles has been muddied for a long time. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Martha reads a poem by former U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan called “The Long Up.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “The Long Up, A Poem” One of my favorite hikes here in beautiful Southern California is to a...
In honor of the 2011 Academy Awards, Quiz Guy Greg Pliska offers his own puzzle version, The Oxcars. The trick is that the nominees for Best Picture at the Oxcars have the same titles as this year’s real nominees for the Oscar, but with one...
