Fellow NPR fans, HOW SICK ARE YOU of hearing phrases like that? Honestly.

i love NPR. I listen to it all day on days when my work doesn’t involve writing grants or reading contracts. But i could give them a little one-two lecture about egregious overuse of phrases like “the changing face of Africa” and “the falling value of the dollar”. I was listening to some program the other night and I heard the guest use “burgeoning” five times in as many minutes. “Burgeoning” is a great word, right up there with “lacivious” and “masticate”, but such repetition robs it entirely of its panache.

And, hey, NPR, could you maybe come up with some new material? I feel like I sort of know all I need to know about the “quarter-life crisis” and the “changing face of Israel”… maybe you could cover this new bout of Avian Flu I’ve heard very little about? or maybe a few more episodes of “science friday”! there’s an idea!!!

I also loved the “citizens of the world tour” ads – especially the ones with Michael Goldfarb inviting me to spend New year’s eve on the rock of Gibraltar. (New Year’s Eve. On a rock. no, thank you, mr. goldfarb, I think I’d rather swill several bottles of champagne and wake up with whory mascara-eyes and someone else’s pants.)

So, as you can see, I have a clear position on the changing face on NPR, as well as the burgenoning advent of private investment accounts and my opportunity to shorten the upcoming fundraiser (scheduled to start on March 15th). Global pandemic, anyone?