Podcast plugs

Just wanted to recommend Hanif Kureishi being interviewed for ABC Radio National's The Book Show. Aside from Kureishi's very funny comments on being made a Commander of the British Empire, my favorite bit is when the interviewer asks him, "What would you do if you couldn't write?" I just love the note of near total incomprehension in his response of, "What do you mean, couldn't write?" as if the interviewer had asked, "What would you do if you couldn't breathe?"

While I'm plugging podcasts: I'm probably the last person in the universe not to have heard Stephen Fry's Podgrams. People kept recommending it to me, but I couldn't quite understand the point of some guy blathering into a microphone about whatever is on his mind at irregular intervals.

Well, I finally broke down and subscribed, and having listened to all five extant podgrams in the past week, I'll tell you what the point is. This is not "some guy". This is Stephen Fry. He has elevated blather to an art form. He could do a daily podcast on what he had for breakfast, and I'd be downloading. And laughing. Check it out.

Possibly the first time I've ever been on the cutting edge of fashion...

I just got an email from Victoria's Secret with the subject line, "Fall Trend Alert: Pants."

I'm cutting edge, me. I've been wearing pants for years. (Not the same ones, of course.)

As a bonus, the subject line gets even funnier if I read it with my British linguistic filter on.