Episode 75: Christian Lander, See No Weevil, and Stealth Miso
Christian Lander/Jess Lander
This week: Author/blogger Christian Lander (Stuff White People Like) breaks habit and talks about other races… A town goes nuts after a boll weevil blight… And Brendan looks into the future of food, but can’t see the stealth miso. Plus, a joke from Los Lobos and a tune from Toro y Moi.
Icebreaker: Los Lobos David Hidalgo, vocalist and founding member of Grammy-nominated roots-rock stalwarts Los Lobos, bugs out about visiting the doctor. (SoCal Listeners can catch the band this Sunday at the L.A. House of Blues.)
Small Talk: Underwear Codes, Dogs in De-stress, & A Computer in Jeopardy The staff from Marketplace dig up some some lesser-known headlines… like the Swiss Bank that gave its employees a 44 page dress code that mandates underwear color.
Radio listeners heard LA Times columnist and KPCC-FM talk show host Patt Morrison tell us why the California prison system thinks Festivus isn’t kosher.
A History Lesson With Booze: Monument to a Pest & The “See No Weevil”Back in 1915, the insidious boll weevil decimated the cotton crops of Enterprise, Alabama… and paradoxically paved the way for a stronger local economy. Hear about the monument they erected in thanks, then take a cotton to a drink that celebrates Enterprise’s alternate crop:
“See No Weevil” - a philosophy and a custom cocktail courtesy of Wes Fraser, bartender at Bottletree in Birmingham, AL.
In a shaker add:
- 4 parts Stoli vanilla
- 2 1/2 parts count Creme de Cacao
- Splash of vanilla coconut simple syrup (to taste)
- 1 part Half & Half
Shake and pour over ice. Sprinkle with cottonesque toasted coconut and dust with cinnamon. Raise it high, like Lady Enterprise with her weevil. Go nuts.
Guest of Honor: Christian Lander Christian Lander’s satirical blog “Stuff White People Like” - a devilishly perceptive catalog of the desires of a certain class of Caucasians — is an internet phenomenon that’s generated two books, the latest being Whiter Shades Of Pale. Lander explains why he’s not racist, how badly he botched the GRE, and why Toronto isn’t as white as you think.
Main Course: Trend Tracker Brendan dissects emerging food trends with Paula Forbes, associate editor at Eater.com, and finds he’s already ahead of the times.
One For The Road: Toro Y Moi - “Leave Everywhere” One man electro-pop band Chazwick Bundick goes by the moniker Toro y Moi. He’s releasing advance tracks off his forthcoming album, but we’re still grooving to his summer single “Leave Everywhere.” It’s perfect for traveling home for the holidays…or Festivus…or really, for any reason.
Music On This Week’s Show:
Sea & Cake - “The Argument”
The Wedding Present - “Signal”
Link Wray - “Jack The Ripper”
Tipsy - “Liquordelic”
Eubie Blake - “Boll Weevil Blues”
Frank Fairfield - “Boll Weevil”
Snow - “Informer”
Toro y Moi - “Leave Everywhere”
I am a proud African-Ameri…(hell) BLACK female living in the south. I just finished listening to Christian Lander talk about his blog, “Stuff White People Like”. I must say after hearing about all the things that are liked by White People, I have to asked myself, am I having an identity crisis? Am I a white person trapped in a black body? OR does Christian Lander not know enough black people to know that black people watched the World Cup with our choice drink and listen to NPR (will except Juan Williams, who doesn’t count; his ethnicity I’ve always questioned). I’m sure you’ve probably heard this all before, so I won’t belabor the issue, but GEESH, I’m BLACK, I like NPR, watched The World Cup, like diversity and Obama too (well at least today I like him). IJS
Hands down, Apple’s app store wins by a mile. It’s a huge selection of all sorts of apps vs a rather sad selection of a handful for Zune. Microsoft has plans, especially in the realm of games, but I’m not sure I’d want to bet on the future if this aspect is important to you. The iPod is a much better choice in that case.