Hey, it's Martha with a quick word for our listeners in Vermont.

I'll be speaking at the Brooks Memorial Library on Wednesday, October 4th at 7 p.m.

I hope you'll bring your questions about language and your recommendations for the best

maple creamies and the best cider donuts in town.

That's Wednesday, October 4th at 7 p.m. at the Brooks Memorial Library.

The event is free, but you must register to attend.

Go to BrooksLibraryvt.org for details.

Hope to see you there.

You're listening to a way with words this shell about language and how we use it.

I'm Grant Barrett.

And I'm Martha Barnett.

I had the great good fortune recently to join some friends for a concert by the San Diego Symphony.

And what made this evening really special is that the concert was outdoors at the new Rady Shell at Jacobs Park,

which is this spectacular new venue right there on San Diego Bay.

And thanks to the Shell's design and the state-of-the-art acoustic system,

the sound was also just stunning.

In fact, Grant, the acoustics were so good that at intermission, we sought out the sound engineers to check out their board.

And the Symphony's audio director was sitting there and he had a score that he follows during the whole performance.

And that's because he's responsible for creating what he called the cocktail effect.

And so, of course, I got all excited to learn a new term because when you're in a crowded setting and everybody's talking,

you can still tune in to what somebody near you is saying because your brain lets you focus on the sound of that one person

and you filter out all the rest.

...