Heidi Harley's note ("Do you recognize this rat... ", 2/7/2007) could not be more timely. She's spreading the news about the "language anger management" curriculum that Roger Shuy has been developing, and there's someone in the bay area who's clearly been in critical need of an intervention for some time:
The original podcast is here, and now there's a dance remix version:
[Update -- Stephen Dubner quotes a reader's argument that the call is a hoax -- perpetrated, according to the hypothesis, by none other than Matt Groening.
Dubner's contribution to the argument seems unconvincing:
In retrospect, it also struck me as odd the podcast was introduced by Phil Bronstein, executive vice president and editor of the Chronicle (it’s a bit like George Bush recording the White House voicemail greeting).
But Bronstein also introduces other items in the same series, for example this one.]
Posted by Mark Liberman at February 7, 2007 04:04 PM