Episode 92: Vera Farmiga, Going Dutch, and the Birth of Spam
Vera Farmiga/Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images
This week: Actress Vera Farmiga has a productive year… We learn who’s to blame for email spam…And Rico goes Dutch at new NYC eatery… Plus a joke from author T.C. Boyle and a new tune from ace songsmith Cass McCombs.
Icebreaker: T.C. Boyle Author T.C. Boyle — T.C. Boyle - author of the new novel “When the Killing’s Done” - doesn’t write self-help books, but he jokes about them.
Small Talk: Richard Lawson Gawker.com staff writer Richard Lawson tells us the sad tale of a commercial actor caught by a catch phrase.
A History Lesson with Booze: Spam 0.0 & the “You’ve Got Nail(ed)” Way back in 1994, lawyers Laurence Canter and Martha Siegel hit upon a new way to advertise their legal services: auto-send thousands of emails to chat groups. Hear about their recipe for SPAM, and then check your inbox for this custom cocktail:
“You’ve Got Nail(ed),” as foisted upon the world by Rich Moe of Citizen Public House in Scottsdale, AZ - the birthplace of spam:
In a large punch bowl, add ice (thick-cubed if possible) and pour in:
- 4 oz. Drambuie
- 8 oz. white whiskey
- 1 bottle sparkling wine
- 18 oz. fresh squeezed lemonade
Share with everyone at the table, repeatedly and against their will, until they begin to ignore/delete/prosecute you.
Guests of Honor: Vera Farmiga Last year, Vera Farmiga was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in Up in the Air. Since then she’s made a baby and three more films: the blockbuster Source Code, indie caper Henry’s Crime (out this Friday), and her Sundance directorial debut. She tells Brendan about 100 million dollar inspiration, generational chutzpah, and the lactating brain.
Main Course: Rico Goes Dutch America’s chock-full of European cuisine, but few people ever talk about - let alone eat - Dutch food. And even in The Netherlands itself, you might guess the national cuisine is Indonesian. Dutchophile Rico travels to New Amsterdam to visit the Northern Europe-inspired bakery/pub/restaurant Vandaag, and ask general manager Brendan Spiro why Dutch grub gets lost in the shuffle.
One For The Road: Cass McCombs - “County Line” California folk-rock songsmith Cass McCombs releases his fifth album, Wit’s End, later this month. He’s known for poetic imagery and his plaintive delivery, but he pares things down on the stellar opener “County Line” - best listened to ‘round sundown on a road trip between here and there.
Music On This Week’s Show:
Sea & Cake - “The Argument”
Aphex Twin - “Boy/Girl Song”
Tipsy - “Liquordelic”
Andy Capp - “The Law”
Beatles - “It’s All Too Much”
The Laundry Shop - “Kiss and Tell”
Harry Merry - “The Appetite”
Cass McCombs - “County Line”
