The latest issue of American Bystander, number 10, contains a murderer’s row of heavy-hitting cartoonist and writers, including Drew Friedman, M.K. Brown, Ed Subitzky, Charles Barsotti, Rick Geary, et al, and I especially recommend the reminiscence by Jennifer Finney Boylan, who was Managing Editor of the American Bystander’s original prototype issue in 1982, but for me the most significant name is this month’s cover artist, veteran illustrator James McMullan.

David Chelsea is reading: Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America
by Jared Cohen

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To be a freelance commercial artist can be an isolating experience, and one way I pass the lonely hours is by listening to lots and lots of audio books and podcasts. I listen to a number of podcasts under the SLATE umbrella, and one my favorites is Lexicon Valley, the language podcast hosted by linguist John McWhorter. In one of his programs a few weeks back, John made passing mention of a new word, “ish”, which he defined as a truncated sort-of-adjective, used thus: “Is your car green?” “..ish.” This piqued my interest, and I wrote in to point out that “ish” has a history predating that use.

David Chelsea is reading: Dreyer’s English
by Benjamin Dreyer

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This week the Modern Love Podcast revives one of my favorite illustrations from my run on the column, which originally ran in 2006. From the website:

“Kim McLarin writes about race and dating in her piece, ‘Race Wasn’t an Issue To Him, Which Was an Issue To Me.’ It’s read by Lorraine Toussaint. She’s starring now in the shows ‘The Village’ and ‘Into the Badlands,’ and you can also see her in the upcoming films ‘Fast Color’ and ‘Sprinter,’ out later this month.”

David Chelsea is reading: Dreyer’s English
by Benjamin Dreyer

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