Hola, Sneakers! Welcome to Episode 576 of the podcast that doesn’t mince pies!
This week: technically speaking; baffling; earwig defense system; negative negative results; secret cafeteria; the rub-it-in building; joke annotation; yolk annotation; double turkey; paying friends; the salad controversy returns; solid salads; disappointing meal; the great Cardini; competitive food; too much news; home movies; Harold heralds; comedy is serious business; banjo forewarning; miss management; the man with the black moustache; aggressively passive aggressive; dualling citizenships; submarine parents; out-out-out-outfielders; fucking up fuck ups; pain management; love connections; invisible man; excitable boy; secret life; hapless wonder; the avid listener; grumpy adulting; Harvey shit; Top 5 Songs – Bad Christmas; a Carol-ling we go again; Question of the Week – Sneakers respond; interrejections; emotional touchstones; Ian bumbles; and, finally, a sound blanket of snow.
Top 5 Songs (as suggested by Louise) – Bad Christmas
- The Youngsters – “Christmas in Jail” – Empire Records single b//w “Dreamy Eyes”, 1956 – 2:29:45
- The Emotions – “What Do the Lonely Do at Christmas?” – Volt Records single, 1978 – 2:34:42
- Sufjan Stevens – “That Was the Worst Christmas Ever” – Ding! Dong! Songs for Christmas, Vol. 3, 2006 – 2:41:05
- No Fun – “No Fun at Christmas” – No Fun at Christmas, 1985 – 2:48:41
- The Sonics – “Don’t Believe in Christmas” – Etiquette Records single b/w The Wailers “Christmas Spirit?”, 1965 – 2:52:52
Question of the Week: What do you plan to do between Christmas and New Year’s?
Sub-question of the Week: Who helped you along in your life?
Thanks for listening.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
For a definition of salad dressing, my sister referred me to her “Food Lover’s Companion” culinary dictionary which says that dressing is “a sauce – usually cold – used to top salad and some cold vegetable, fish and meat dishes.” She thinks it needs to be a liquid. I’d include creamy dressings like mayonnaise and Miracle Whip. We both think that Cheez Whiz doesn’t cut it! She says you need at least two ingredients for a salad, otherwise you’d just call it an appetizer or a side dish.
From Christmas to New Year’s, we’ll be making a list…and checking it twice…were gonna find out which movies now available on our streaming services aren’t naughty but nice, especially ones with award buzz like “The Banshees of Ed Sheeran.” No, wait! That’s “Inisherin!”
I’m so glad someone else picked up the Saladgate baton!
My inner pedant Was triggered by the assertion that Caesar Cardini invented his eponymous salad in California – I remember reading that it started out in Mexico and spread to America later.
My Iranian in-laws make a mean ‘Salad Olovieh’ – an Iranian staple with its origins in Russia: cue another classic salad tale, care of Wikipedia:
“The classic Russian Salad was invented in the 1860s by a cook of Belgian origin, Lucien Olivier, the chef of the Hermitage, one of Moscow’s most celebrated restaurants. Olivier’s salad quickly became immensely popular with Hermitage regulars, and became the restaurant’s signature dish.
At the turn of the 20th century, one of Olivier’s sous-chefs, Ivan Ivanov, attempted to steal the recipe. While preparing the dressing one evening in solitude, as was his custom, Olivier was suddenly called away. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ivanov sneaked into Olivier’s private kitchen and observed his mise en place, which allowed him to make reasonable assumptions about the recipe of Olivier’s famed dressing. Ivanov then left Olivier’s employ and went to work as a chef for Moskva, a somewhat inferior restaurant, where he began to serve a suspiciously similar salad…
… One of the first printed recipes for Olivier salad called for half a hazel grouse, two potatoes, one small cucumber (or a large cornichon), 3–4 lettuce leaves, 3 large crayfish tails, 1/4 cup cubed aspic, 1 teaspoon of capers, 3–5 olives, and 11⁄2 tablespoon Provençal dressing (mayonnaise).”
Mmm – now I’m hungry!
1. What do I plan to do between Christmas and New Years? Why, watch Dave finish up our bathroom project, of course!
2. Who helped me along in my life? I was fortunate to have a lot of people – my mom in particular. She was a wise, smart, nurturing and caring person who read people well. My brother and I are polar opposites in our approach to things and yet my mom dealt with us both in a seamless way. My uncle Earle was very helpful to my in a very different way; I attended a seminar through work where a psychologist was talking about what is important to a young person growing up, and he said it was a person not in the immediate family takes an interest in the child. My Uncle Earle was that for me – he was supportive, and proud of my accomplishments, and believed in me. I think you need someone like that in your life, and also outside of your immediate family (my Uncle Earle was my great uncle, my late grandmother’s older brother). I was fortunate to have a couple of other people like that as well – our old vet Dr. John Gilray and my old riding coach Jacquie Oldham. All have since passed but I think of them all regularly.
Hello all,
I have the same work holidays as David, we are off until after New Year’s Day, so I have some time on my hands. Unfortunately, the time will be spent resting and patiently achieving some wellness. Susan and I both tested positive for COVID two days ago and we’re just riding this thing out for now. Christmas plans are all cancelled or postponed until next week or when we finally test negative. The arrival of an arctic blast is blowing through as I write this with temperatures plummeting into the single digits and wind chills even lower. I have to say that my symptoms are rather mild, poor Susan is having a worse time with all this so I’m pleased that I’m feeling well enough to care for her, these things always work out somehow, huh?
The one thing I’ve never heard mentioned about experiencing COVID are the wild dreams one has! Realistic, vivid dreams about all sorts of stuff! I met Leonard Nimoy in one dream last night and he looked like he did back in 1966 as Spock, that was cool. I won’t bore you with the surrealistic nature of any of the other dreams but they’re taking up space in my head every night.
If I feel better after Christmas, I will find the time to see my kids and folks since I have gifts for them…everyone is around so that’s comforting at least. Then I have to put all this Christmas stuff away at some point. So there, the time is available and I must use it wisely before 2023 starts up.
I’ve had mentors, teachers and counselors all help me at the many stages in my life and in most cases they were just doing what they were paid to do by helping me. If I can think of one friend who gave me any amount of free guidance, it would be my fellow artist Phil Boatwright. Phil is the older brother of Todd, one of my closest friends I grew up with, I was always at their house. Sometimes Todd would get annoyed that when I was at their house, I spent much of my time watching older brother Phil draw and illustrate. I learned so much from watching Phil and later when I had questions about following him into the illustration and advertising industry, Phil offered me all the free advice he had. Phil knew all the pesky, drilled-down and between the cracks stuff to do, how to promote oneself, get your work photographed and how to present it properly to the right people. Phil didn’t keep any of it to himself. I went to him because Phil was very successful at what he did and I even though I didn’t want to do exactly what he did, he set me on a path that I could trust.
Phil is still a working illustrator but changed the focus of his career about ten years ago. I think Phil got a little tired of dealing with reps and clients as he did most of his work for publishing, so he took a turn and now is a self-promoted portraiture artist, probably one of the best working today. Phil’s price for a portrait starts at $7500 and then goes up for a series of portraits done privately, all by Phil himself. You won’t believe these are paintings when you see them but this is the same guy I used to bug and watch draw when I was a kid.
Thanks for the help Phil!
https://www.philboatwright.com
Stay warm and healthy everyone! Bundle up and keep each other cozy, Happy Holidays to Dave, Ian and all my Sneakers worldwide!!
PS. Dave, we expect a full report on the bathroom when I get back.
I hope you both get better soon, Edward! The partner of my sister’s friend is in hospital with pneumonia after three weeks of fighting Covid so it is still hitting some people hard.
I checked out Phil’s paintings and those portraits. So photorealistic. That ability always amazes me! I wonder about those girls in their diaphanous white dresses though. Is that a southern style thing? They look like they could easily destroy us with their psychic abilities.