Anne Levine Show
Funny, weekly, sugar free: Starring "Michael-over-there."
Anne Levine Show
Brisket, Brie, And The $800 Backpack
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
A favorite song spins up memories of the Cape Cod Coliseum and a first concert that still rings in the ears, then we slide into a sharp, funny look at holiday gifting: luxe leather backpacks, money clips no one uses, and the difference between spending to impress and giving to delight. Our own Hanukkah looks simpler—silk scrunchies, tongs, socks—and then very not simple: a three-day brisket marathon with onions, garlic, thyme, lemon, and nerves of steel. The verdict from the table is worth every hour, even as latkes, baked brie, and bacon-wrapped scallops blow past any semblance of kosher. It’s messy, generous, and real.
From the solstice’s first returning light to the odd trend of “quiet vacations,” we explore why so many of us hide escapes while broadcasting them online. Fake jet sets, AI-impossible apartments, and the pressure to look like we’re winning turn into a bigger question: what actually feels good? That leads us to restaurants ditching sprawling menus for a single, confident offering. Fewer choices can be freeing—for chefs who want to focus and for diners who want dinner to feel like a story. We share strategies for diner menus and a playful take on soup blends that make comfort food new again.
Finally, we talk attention. Flip phones and minimalist devices are surging because people want peace from pings and doomscrolls. Could you give up your most-used app? Would you trade convenience for calm? We don’t preach purity—we practice intention. Cook the long meal when it matters. Order the fixed menu and trust the kitchen. Blend your soup and surprise yourself. And as the days get a little brighter, put a light on for the people you love. If this conversation made you smile, nod, or argue with your speaker, tap follow, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. What would you give up for more peace?
Find our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/447251562357065/
Will I never been to Spain? But I can't like the music. See the ladies all insane there and they show how to use it. They don't abuse it. They're gonna lose it.
SPEAKER_01:Hello. Welcome to the Anne Levine Show. It's Tuesday, December twenty-third, two thousand and twenty-five.
SPEAKER_02:Wow.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. A week away from next year. From next year. I am coming to you with Michael over there.
SPEAKER_02:Hello.
SPEAKER_01:From W O M R. 92.1 FM in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
SPEAKER_02:That's right, a 91.3 FM Orleans. WFMR. And we're streaming worldwide at W O M R dot O R G. And this is Three Dog Night singing in the background. Singing one of my very favorite songs. I believe at one time was also your favorite song. Am I not correct?
SPEAKER_01:It could have been, I mean, certainly among my favorite songs. Um, Three Dog Night is the first concert I ever went to.
SPEAKER_02:How about that?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. And it was at the Cape Cod Coliseum.
SPEAKER_02:Wow.
SPEAKER_01:Which which you young people out there won't know ever existed.
SPEAKER_02:Right, yeah, because uh there's no I mean, how long has it been?
SPEAKER_01:You know, I'm thinking it might have been over in the 70s, maybe, or late 70s? I don't know. I definitely have to look that up because I am in no way certain. I do miss it.
SPEAKER_02:Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_01:Um, I mean, it gave us I can't imagine how many seats were there. Maybe 10,000? I don't know. But uh, you know, we had an opportunity for some.
SPEAKER_02:It had like uh the most 6,500 people. Oh, really? Yeah, 5,000 to 6,500.
SPEAKER_01:And what were the years?
SPEAKER_02:Do you have it opened in 1972. Uh-huh. And its final event was in 1984, which was a uh World Wrestling Federation event.
SPEAKER_01:Well, I think part of what happened to it is that it had a flat roof. And there were so it was 6,500 people, say 6,000 people.
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_01:Well, that's a pretty big group for Cape Cod. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Well, you know what? And they took advantage of it too because, I mean, who played there? I'll tell you.
SPEAKER_01:Aerosmith? Yep, I was there.
SPEAKER_02:Right? Yep. The Clash wasn't there.
SPEAKER_01:Yep.
SPEAKER_02:Elvis Costello.
SPEAKER_01:Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_02:The Jay Giles band played there ten times. Uh-huh. Um, Van Halen. Uh-huh. Santana. The Grateful Dead were the was there twice. Yep. In 1979. It just, yeah. No, that's true. Jim Croce, Black Sabbath, the Doobie Brothers. It's just crazy.
SPEAKER_01:Yep.
SPEAKER_02:That is some, you know, that's some top-tier entertainment right there.
SPEAKER_01:Well, that was definitely my world. God, I loved it there. Todd Rundgren.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Well, there you go.
SPEAKER_01:Uh, I'll never forget that concert. I was with Mary Bowen, who was also a Todd Rundgren fanatic. And to this day, I'm envious because she ran up to the front after the show, and one of the roadies tossed a guitar pick to her.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, nice.
SPEAKER_01:That Todd had been using.
SPEAKER_02:Very nice.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and she took it to Eden to a local jeweler here.
SPEAKER_02:Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_01:And they made a little silver bezel all the way around it. Oh, how fun. And she had the Todd Rundgren pick necklace. How I love that idea. Well, I'm still frothing. Yeah. Because I wanted that.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you didn't you didn't have one of those.
SPEAKER_01:I didn't. I still don't.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Um, put that on next year's Hanukkah list.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, hey, good idea.
SPEAKER_01:We had the last night of Hanukkah on Sunday. And um, I have several Hanukkah moments to tell you about. But I'm gonna start with a friend of mine and Michael's who she's young. She's young, and she's got a young boyfriend, and they're both like oh, they look like the cover of the Ralph Lauren catalog.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah. They're both little hard bodies, they're both and gorgeous by themselves and together. It's like stopping. Ridiculous.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So truly two of the most attractive humans I've ever seen. Yeah. So um, and so this friend of ours, the woman, she was sitting here and telling me what she got her boyfriend for Christmas.
SPEAKER_02:Right, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So she's got a it's all polo, Ralph Lauren. It's a leather backpack.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Wow.
SPEAKER_01:Right. I mean, just holy smokes.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. And it's I can't even imagine. It's eight hundred dollars. Oh my god. And see, what good is a backpack you don't want to use because it was eight hundred dollars, right?
SPEAKER_01:Oh no, see, she'll make him she bought him the duffel bag, I think, last year.
SPEAKER_02:Oh wow.
SPEAKER_01:And she wants him to match when they travel.
SPEAKER_02:Uh huh.
SPEAKER_01:She wants him to have the matching backpack and duffel bag.
SPEAKER_02:I see.
SPEAKER_01:Now, none of these things, right? None of these things have practical use. There are no wheels on anything. So this guy has to slap, you know, over his shoulder. This like, you know.
SPEAKER_02:Leather duffel bag and the backpack.
SPEAKER_01:And the leather backpack.
SPEAKER_02:Yep.
SPEAKER_01:Yep. How fun. Also, I just starting, she also got him the polo leather money clip.
SPEAKER_02:Wow, okay.
SPEAKER_01:And she was showing it to me and how gorgeous it is, and it was like$150 for a money clip.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_01:And I said, Is I now I haven't seen a money clip in use in, I don't know, 40 years.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I don't really I I mean I never would have used one.
SPEAKER_01:And I said, Is he gonna use this? Does he walk around with that much cash? I mean, people don't even walk around with any cash anymore.
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_01:And she said, Oh, well, we'll get to that. Then she got him.
SPEAKER_02:Um just right now, just now looking at a picture of it. Now it is very cool, though. It is really nice, but uh right.
SPEAKER_01:And then she got him two pairs of trousers from Polo.
SPEAKER_02:Polo, okay. And some of my favorite trousers. Yeah. They're great. No doubt.
SPEAKER_01:But I mean, here's this list.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And then suede boots. Polo.
SPEAKER_02:Okay. Oh, you know, I got some suede boots too, though.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, you did. So that's pretty nice. But different. Yeah. A little different. Yeah. Anyway, these suede boots had to be what two, three hundred bucks. Anyway, it's not about the. And then she's sitting here talking to me and telling me all this stuff. And she said, I'm worried that I don't have enough. Should I buy him more? And I said, Sweetheart, you're out of your mind. Get him more. And I said, and what's he getting you? And are you gonna like it?
SPEAKER_02:Okay, tell me about the boots again. What kind what c what do they look like?
SPEAKER_01:Suede, I think they're step boots.
SPEAKER_02:Like a Chelsea boot? Okay, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, probably.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, yeah. Okay. I'm I'm looking at him now.
SPEAKER_01:So uh and what do you got?
SPEAKER_02:You know, they're a couple hundred bucks.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and until you go up to the next level, that's uh five and a half.
SPEAKER_01:So well, you never know. Right. Um and then so she's uh saying, what else can I get about? Yeah, what else? And I just said, I don't know what you're talking about. I have no concept. Now, these are not people who are married, these are people who've been dating for a little over a year.
SPEAKER_02:Right, about a year and a half.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And so, and anyhow, I I was just like, oh God, you know, let it give it a rest. Should be enough, folks. And then I know there's something I'm forgetting, but whatever. Then um she says to me, look, and she shows me a picture on her phone of a of a Christmas tree with a bunch of presents under it. And she said, This is Chatham's Christmas tree. Chatham is her dog. The golden retriever, yep. And I mean, there had to be 15 presents under this little tree. This separate tree from him. I absolutely believe it, yeah. And so a friend of the family came into that their house. This is all at her boyfriend's house, and saw this tree and said, What, are you guys Jewish? Now she's telling me this story. Yes. And I'm looking at her like, what? Are we famous for uh Christmas trees for our pets for dozens of toys on it?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I don't know.
SPEAKER_01:So she says to me, Well, you guys get eight presents each.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And I said, Whoa, slow your roll there. And um, I said, It's nothing like what you're talking about. Right.
SPEAKER_02:They're not, it's not leather backpacks.
SPEAKER_01:Nothing.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And this was sort of halfway through Hanukkah. Right. And she said, tell me what you got so far. And she's thinking I'm gonna say, Well, I got a new diamond ring. Right, yeah. And whatever.
SPEAKER_02:Michael bought me that ruby necklace. Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, what? What?
SPEAKER_02:Huh?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So um she said, What did you get so far? I said, Well, I got blissy scrunchies.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, some really finish hair ties.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. I got scrunchies, you know, that won't pull my hair out because they've they're coated in that silky material.
SPEAKER_02:Yep. And uh you got some candy.
SPEAKER_01:And I got some sugar-free treats. Yeah. Delicious. Um, what else? Socks. I got some. I got socks. And I got socks tw I got double socks. I got a pair of cashmere.
SPEAKER_02:Because it's cute socks and then some.
SPEAKER_01:And then I got socks that look like animal paws. Yeah. Um, and I was like, yeah, so those are my first four nights. She was like, Well, what did you get more impressed? And I said, tongs. Yeah. She said, Tongs. I said, Yeah. He broke the tongs in the kitchen, so I got him new tongues. And he broke the spatula, so I got him a new spatula. And socks. Yeah. And and she was just like.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, and a and uh and a couple t-shirts. Yeah. Yeah. She was gobsmashed. I know, it's very funny what people think is going on. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And I said, so yeah, so I'm gonna set you a price limit of you've got, oh, I got a new Dutch oven, a smaller one than what I've been using. Right, yeah. Um, you know, so like little things.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, and and you got your Hanukkah present from last year.
SPEAKER_01:What what are you what?
SPEAKER_02:The the mugs. We finally got them. Oh, right. Got those. I bought those last year, which finally got them.
SPEAKER_01:There were these mugs that a friend of ours made. Yeah. Um, she's a potter. And I wanted a different color anyway. I they we finally got them a year later, eight mugs. So m Michael was ingenious, and he got me one for each night. Um, so that was a great gift, although ended up having to wait a long time for the colors I wanted anyway.
SPEAKER_02:Um well it's become you know, it's because they're they're they uh fell apart physically.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, yes, yes, the potter fell apart, not the mugs. Anyhow, um it it was just she was looking at me like, are you people kidding? You give each other like tongs and hair ties. Yeah, you know, that's ridiculous. And I said, Yep, that's Hanukkah for you. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Um make sure there's gonna be some latkas around and you know, stuff like that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Or some amazing brisket. Well, I have to get to that. I know, I know. So just teasing it. Teasing the brisket. Yeah, teasing the brisket.
SPEAKER_01:Oh my god. So we have our there are six of us. This year there were seven, um, but there are six of us who do most Jewish holidays together. Right. And so this year, same group, Hanukkah, and we're planning the menu, and different people bring different things, and I, like a yutz, said I'll bring the brisket this year. So the first thing is find a brisket. Now that may sound like an easy peasy move, but I could not find any brisket at any right, much less brisket for like seven or eight people. Right.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So I call this fantastic loc local butcher and I order a six-pound brisket flat.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And if you know what that is, you know. If you know, you know. Um, anyway, I get it going in my huge pot, my huge stew pot, soup pot, and it's not even fitting, it's not all fitting in the bottle to brown it. So we start I start with that, and that was on Friday. Then I put it in for like a five-hour cook. Then it has to sit and rest in the oven with the heat turned off. Right. Then it goes in the refrigerator. Then on Saturday, you take it out of the refrigerator and you skim all the fat which has risen to the top and solidified off of it, and then you test whether it's um too tough still.
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_01:Which it was. Yeah, so you so it had to go back in the oven.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. You didn't mention, by the way, it's in there with a whole bag of onions and oh, there's tons, yeah. Yeah, and a bunch of other amazing stuff.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, there's garlic, there's a little red wine, there's um spices and all kinds of spices and beef broth and it's yeah, the whole thing is nuts. Um, so back in the oven, a long cook. Anyway, finally on Sunday, right? Sunday morning, I take it out of the pot, and it's the perfect duneness, the perfect everything. Yeah. And I start slicing it up to finally put it in, what we're gonna serve it in, and put all the onions and everything on top and the sauce. I just want to say that it was absolutely a three day cook. Yeah. And it was brutal.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And I was panicking the whole way through thinking, this isn't gonna come out right, this isn't gonna be good. Oh my God, this has to be amazing.
SPEAKER_02:Wow.
SPEAKER_01:It was so well it actually was.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I mean people I've people were complimenting me on the darn brisket. Yeah. And thank the Lord because after three days of making brisket for the group, I was a mess. How much did we bring any home?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, we brought uh we brought a little bit back. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And some stayed there, right?
SPEAKER_02:No, nothing stayed. Because there wasn't much left. No.
SPEAKER_01:You're kidding me? Because that was a lot.
SPEAKER_02:I know, but there no, there's not that much left.
SPEAKER_01:Wow. Well, anyhow, um, and we of course had latkas. Oh. We had three vegetables, which was really nice. Um, uh, and then the worst th the worst thing, the best thing, the worst thing is that our friend put out, now there's zero um, you know, attention paid to kosher anything at this household. And um, even though very Jewish, both of them, um, but so as the appetizers, they put out an apple-baked brie. Yeah. And rumaki, which is scallops wrapped in bacon.
SPEAKER_02:Now, if you want to talk about or chicken livers, because that's the original way to do it.
SPEAKER_01:If you want to talk about the most anti-kosher thing in the world, yeah. It's scallops wrapped wrapped in bacon bacon. Anyway, I sat down next to this damn baked bray and I ate like half of it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, well, not quite, but it's smelt that way.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. It was a lot.
SPEAKER_02:But it's uh but it was so good. It was so good. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And so then we got to sit down at the table. I'm already so full.
SPEAKER_02:Basically, all done by the time we get there. Have a few vegetables for dessert.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly, which is what I did. Yeah. And it was funny because on the way home, I was like, oh, I don't remember eating this much. And Michael sort of looks at me like, meh. Um, because my plate looked empty in a way. There were only like three lockas on it, you know, and a couple of no, there were two. Oh two lockas on it. And yeah, and not even very big ones. Right.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Um, and so our hostess was like, is aren't you getting more? And I said, No, I'm good. I'm gonna have a few vegetables. Anyway, so I said to Michael, oh my god, I haven't eaten that much in so long. And he kind of looks at me like, and I said, You're forgetting that I ate this entire baked.
SPEAKER_02:I forgot about the brie, yeah. Because I was just thinking about what you had on your plate, right?
SPEAKER_01:Which was a whole thing and two lakes.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so broccoli and some asparagus and then a carrot. Exactly. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:It's all all very good. Yeah. Um it just didn't look like she's never eaten this much. Right. Well, exactly. Given what I eat these days, it was a lot. It felt like a very, very lot. Oh, and I should mention that I made this six-pound brisket, and I don't eat red meat.
SPEAKER_02:Right. So Well, neither does another one of the participants there. That's right.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Um that's why I was so surprised that there was not, I thought there would be tons of leftovers. We'd leave plenty for them. They'd be eating brisket sandwiches today.
SPEAKER_02:Oh no, no, didn't work out like that.
SPEAKER_01:Wow. Okay. Well, anyway, um, I have sworn off brisket cook. Let's put it this way.
SPEAKER_02:If I ever that was a deal. Yeah, I agree.
SPEAKER_01:If I ever do a brisket again, it's gonna be like a three-pounder. Okay. And I know exactly what to do. And I'm not doing it. So, you know.
SPEAKER_02:Well, I mean, you don't have to do it the way that you did it. That's a very traditional way, you know, to do it. You could just you could just slow cook it one time, you know, and be good.
SPEAKER_01:Oh no, oh, you mean put it in a slow cooker. Yeah. Or, you know, yeah. As opposed to a Dutch oven. Right. Well, I had to, you know, yeah, do the traditional.
SPEAKER_02:And you did, and it and it's great, and it's absolutely fantastic.
SPEAKER_01:So and there was Ceylon in there, right? There was lemon. I'm forgetting some of the there was thyme. It was a major stuff deal. It was very good, so oh, and we took Sulk. Right. Did that stay there? It did. Oh, good, good. Because there was one participant that was crazy for that. Yeah.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I left it there for him. So anyway. Because we still we still have some here anyway. Yeah. No, I was happy to leave all of it there. Um, at any rate. Then, of course, there's like apple pie a la mode for dessert.
SPEAKER_02:Oh boy, that was good too.
SPEAKER_01:Which which just cracks me up. Um, some of the food that we end up eating at some of these gatherings. At any rate, and then Well, come on, brisket and ice cream. Let's go. Exactly. Exactly. So there we were, all of us um eating our crazy Hanukkah meal. Um we were told no gifts over$2.50.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Which is ridiculous.
SPEAKER_02:Which is like impossible, really. I mean, what are you gonna do? Bring here, here's your Snickers bar.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02:Here's your pack of gum and a Snickers bar. Oh no, oh no, not both of them. No, no, just one. I guess so. For$250, that's all you're getting is one of those. Wow. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Well, there was tons of candy also. Yeah. Um, they had tons of gelt. And then um the hostess made that bark, like a caramel bark.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And um it's very good. But I mean, the amount of sugary, sweet treats was insane.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, there was an aw an awful lot of that going on.
SPEAKER_01:And of course, I bought solid chocolate draidles from Dylan's candy bar. Anyway, whatever. It was um, it was quite a night.
SPEAKER_02:It was fun. It was and that's a great group. It really is.
SPEAKER_01:It is, yeah, it's kind of hilarious, this group. Um, ranging in age from 40 to 80. Yeah. Yeah. No, it w it was terrific. Um so anyway, like that. Yeah. If you want a recipe for a back breaking Right, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:If you want to commit to three days worth of uh nonsense for a great brisket, uh send in an email.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I'll tell you exactly what to do.
SPEAKER_02:Number one, don't. Yeah, exactly. Find another way. Although although it is so good, but and it's it's so much, it's so good for me, but I didn't have to do any of the work. Right. You know, so it's very different if you've got to do all of the work.
SPEAKER_01:I am physically and emotionally exhausted because in addition to doing all the work, I was panicking. Yeah. That it this isn't gonna come out well. This is not this is gonna be a disaster. Anyway, came out well, yeah. Um, so happy Hanukkah. That's another Hanukkah.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, another one in the books. That's right. And um, and oh the sun. Oh yes. We have more sun today.
SPEAKER_01:That's right.
SPEAKER_02:Or than yesterday. Yeah, oh. So nice.
SPEAKER_01:It's starting to get lighter.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it's uh it's one of my favorite times of year, my fave very favorite days. It's still really dark out, but I know that it's now gonna start getting lighter.
SPEAKER_01:Well, this is that conundrum where the sun is the closest it ever is to Earth on the 21st, on the solstice. And it just doesn't feel like that.
SPEAKER_02:No, because we're tipped away from it.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. We're way far away. Yeah, but our friends. Yeah, yeah. They have Christmas on the beach, which um is a bunch of people running around like in bikinis and Santa hats.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Um, because they're Aussies.
SPEAKER_02:Uh there's a um I don't know if Christmas Island is a real place, but there's a song called Christmas Island. Do you know that song? Is that Jimmy Buffett?
SPEAKER_01:Jimmy Buffett's one of the people that did that song, yeah. Um well, I've never heard it, but it sounded like a Jimmy Buffett joint. Yep. Very good, by the way. There's a thing that's happening called the Quiet Vacation Trend. Now, see, I find this absolutely hilarious.
SPEAKER_02:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:And just okay, so this is people Quiet Vacation. People in their twenties and thirties are taking vacations and not telling their boss. So they kind of slip out for a quiet vacation, like take a couple of personal days and blah blah blah. Okay. But then, of course, what are they doing? What are they doing? They're putting up videos and selfies from hotel rooms, from cruise ships, national parks. Right. Now, some companies are tolerating this and others are cracking down hard. Yeah, okay. Well, that makes sense. I mean, I don't think my boss has to know, you know, what I'm doing with my personal days.
SPEAKER_02:Exactly.
SPEAKER_01:But I think that But these aren't personal, these are days you're supposed to be working. Right. Except something's wrong or whatever. Right. Yeah. Or something needs attention.
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_01:You gotta go to court. Whatever. Yeah. Right. You know. Um, so anyhow, I just find this the whole thing of people needing to put their lives on Instagram, on TikTok, on whatever.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I just mind blowing.
SPEAKER_02:I don't know. I don't I don't get it either. And the and the fact that they're so desperate to look uh a certain way. Uh you know there is an industry, right, that uh is fake jet interiors. Yes. For these people to rent and go and sit in and pretend that they're in a private jet so they can take pictures and post it on social media and look like they're living the life.
SPEAKER_01:It's crazy. Uh uh there's fake everything.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I one of my favorites.
SPEAKER_02:It costs you anywhere from 50 to 300 bucks an hour, by the way, to sit in one of these fake airplanes. It's so stupid.
SPEAKER_01:One of one of my favorite AI deals where they create things are listings for apartments and houses online of places that are created by AI. So people put in, like, okay, I want a huge two-story loft with, you know, this and that, and you know, push button shades and all this stuff. And then if you look carefully, you see insane things that can't exist. Like, you know, you get to the second floor and there's uh whatchamacallit, stairs heading to nowhere.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, okay. Well that's sound now there is a real place like uh a couple of real places like that, but anyway.
SPEAKER_01:What do you mean?
SPEAKER_02:Um uh Hearst Mansion has stairs that go nowhere.
SPEAKER_01:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Uh and so does uh the Winchester mansion. That's a very weird place. It's got hallways and and doors and stairs that go absolutely nowhere and stop in the middle of nothing. It's just it's really very weird, but obviously that's those are outliers. That's that's not normal.
SPEAKER_01:Well, uh, but see, that's a different thing. You know, you've got billionaires who are like, oh uh uh whatever. And and in this wing of this wing, right, you know, wings that have wings. Um, but these are apartments in New York City that um I'll have to show you a couple of them. They're incredible. Um because you have stair like suspended stairs. Okay, yeah. You know what I mean? Where well, and these have no railings on them.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and this is in a you know, 18 foot ceilings.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And you're supposed to go up and down to the bedroom.
SPEAKER_02:Right, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:See, I wouldn't go up and down on those ever.
SPEAKER_02:No, I'd have to w go up 'em like a ladder.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, I'd have to be in a yeah, I'd have to be strapped in like I was, you know, base jumping. Absolutely. I'd need a suit, I'd need a helmet, I'd need carabiners hooked up to Oh yeah. Whatever.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Pythons.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. Yep. Crampons. The whole situation to go up and down. Exactly. Anyway.
SPEAKER_02:Um so Look at that. So someone said carabiners on the show. I don't know if I've ever remembered anyone saying that word on this show since I've been here.
SPEAKER_01:Well.
SPEAKER_02:So that's pretty good. It is? Yeah. Congratulations.
SPEAKER_01:Well, thank you. I didn't realize that you were waiting for me to come up with words.
SPEAKER_02:Well, I I wasn't, but when you said it, I'm like, that is so awesome.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Oh, yes, the applause. I live for the applause. Yeah. Um, so that's the old quiet. Now, do you think that it's a resourceful thing in some way to do or dishonest, the quiet vacations in quotes?
SPEAKER_02:Oh no, I uh I think I think it's dishonest. Yeah. I mean, if you're hiding it, if you're hiding the whole thing from your boss, it's obviously dishonest. If you're hiding it from anybody, there's something you feel guilty about. There's you know, there's something you as as a you're trying to explain it to somebody there you have a problem with it internally. So yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Well, anyway, um, here's another current thing that the youngins are doing. Okay. Whew, good thing. More restaurants are offering, and by offering, I mean only giving no choice fixed menus.
SPEAKER_02:Ah.
SPEAKER_01:And there's these are not tasting menus. This is like this is dinner, trust us.
SPEAKER_02:Ah.
SPEAKER_01:And chefs say it cuts tons of waste and anxiety. Yep. Like you don't have to make brisket. Um, three days brisket.
SPEAKER_02:Unless it's on the menu. Right. Three days from now. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Now, I find this, this sounds delightful to me.
SPEAKER_02:I think it uh I think it sounds amazing.
SPEAKER_01:Yep. Um, I'm sure that if you have an a food allergy or or whatever it is, you know, you could say if you have it, whatever.
SPEAKER_02:Well, you know what it sounds to me a little bit like is uh um as as we got on um moved on a a little bit in the bear when he just said, Okay, screw that old menu. This is what we're doing.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_02:Right, and and we're doing it every night. Right, exactly. I I don't know. It's just there's is there's a similarity there that it just rang in my head.
SPEAKER_01:Well, I love the idea of okay, this place is fantastic, yeah. And let's just go and Let them make dinner for us or make lunch for us or whatever it is.
SPEAKER_02:I n I know I've heard of some really exclusive restaurant that that's that's always been their deal. It's like this is this is what is on the menu for this night, and you may have made your reservation three months ago, you know, expecting something different, but this is what we're having on the night you're coming, you know, kind of thing. So yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:No, I'm all for this.
SPEAKER_02:I I like the idea, I really do, because then you get to really the the people in the kitchen also get to really concentrate on this this dish, yeah. Right. As an experience for everybody. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think that's wonderful. I do too. Um and there are there are a couple places, there's a restaurant very near here, um that sir has a very spare menu, and it changes periodically, but you have your choice of kind of five appetizers, five main courses, and two desserts. And so you get locked in pretty quick when your choices are narrowed down like that. Yeah. When you get handed a huge menu, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I don't I don't want a menu with endless items. I really don't, because I don't think anybody's paying any attention to anyone in particular.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and you get hung up on should I have this or that?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Or, well, let's see, how many carbs are in this or that?
SPEAKER_02:Or okay, I'm honey, I'm gonna get this one, you get that one, and then you can have some mine. I'll have some of yours. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, yeah, just to try no.
SPEAKER_01:No.
SPEAKER_02:And you know, it's like I'm very ha I would be very happy with like uh five options. I think four is probably enough. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Well, do you know what I'm talking about?
SPEAKER_02:I'm not sure. I I don't know.
SPEAKER_01:The pheasant. Oh, okay, yeah. Just superb. Um and it's it's just particular. You know, it's like if you go to a friend's house, right, for a meal. They're not calling you with a menu. Right, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:What would you like to have when you come over?
SPEAKER_01:Exactly. You're going over there knowing that you're gonna have what they're serving, right? Like, come on, people, let's grow up. I really like this.
SPEAKER_02:I do too. I I think it's a good idea.
SPEAKER_01:I really do like this, and uh I I want more places to do to do that. Yeah, yeah, me too. You know, a long, long, long time ago, there was a very famous and very fabulous restaurant in New York City called La Grenouille. Oh yeah. And uh it oh yeah, you're thinking of it because of Matthew, right? Exactly, yeah. Um anyway, uh when it was really in its heyday. Obviously, I've never been there, but yeah, I in its heyday in the 80s, the early 80s, late 70s to mid eighties, I'm gonna say, were the best times for this place. You would go in if you they did have a menu, but you could also just go in and tell them what you want for dinner. And they would go and they would have to go okay, and then come back with it 15 minutes later.
SPEAKER_02:How about that? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:It was just the first time I was there for an event like that, and I was a kid, it blew my mind that such a thing was even possible.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Now you paid a king's ransom for that.
SPEAKER_02:Uh-huh. Uh, but hey, if you had it well, it's a price of convenience, right?
SPEAKER_01:Well, yeah. Um, I had a I had a boyfriend that was obsessed with that place. And that was fine with me. I took I got to go there all the time. And also the palm, where you could go and sort of say, This is what I want. You know, and they would say, Well, we can do this or we can do that. But anyhow, yeah, um, certainly not now. There's a there's a flip side to this, which is a good old-fashioned diner in New York City. Oh, yeah, where you get like a 10-page laminated, you know, like full presentation folder of a menu.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And there's everything on it from two tablespoons of cottage cheese with some cantaloupe, yeah, to lobster. Like a whole lobster.
SPEAKER_02:Right, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And everything you can imagine is on this menu. Now, what you do, I'm gonna tell you when you go somewhere like this, is there's really one option, which is a sandwich, and keep it as kind of quotidian as you have. I said quotidium before?
SPEAKER_02:I don't believe so. No.
SPEAKER_01:Keep it as quotidium as you can. Oh no. But I mean, my order in that place, in one of these places, is a grilled cheese and fries.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01:And a Dye Coke. All right. Yeah, I mean, and I'm talking, of course, a long, long time ago when I'd be in one of these places in New York.
SPEAKER_02:Um, there was one on 72nd Street that I was I'd have to I'd have to uh try the soup at whatever you know these places. Uh-huh. Yeah. That would be my thing.
SPEAKER_01:You would have your choice of one of six or seven kinds, probably. Yeah. Um, have you heard about this thing now, which I think is genius, um, and others have a problem with it, where you do soup blends. So soup blends. So say you're going somewhere that has um buffet, you know, okay, like steam tables, yeah. Stuff to take home.
SPEAKER_02:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:You know, say you go to Whole Foods.
SPEAKER_02:Right. I understand. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And you want soup.
SPEAKER_02:Well Or the there's the fresh whatever the in New York, they're all over the place. You can just go in and get all kinds of salad y things.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Tons of places like that. Um anyhow, what people are doing now is going to the soup section and getting out their quart container or their pine container, whatever it is. Right. And they put in two or three different kinds.
SPEAKER_02:I see.
SPEAKER_01:Which I think sounds pretty fabulous.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, it I would try it. Um I would I would have to try it just to see, you know, what the combinations would be like. Well, I but I never would have thought of it on my own. Right. It's not something I I would go up, you know, as a kid, I'd go up to the soda machine and I'd be mixing all the different kinds of things. Exactly. But I never would have thought of doing that with soup.
SPEAKER_01:Well, it's exactly the same thing. Right. And but I and at first when I heard about this, I was like, ugh, that doesn't sound right to me. But then I thought about it, wait a second. If you get like, say, a turkey barley soup, and you put in a little tomato soup in there.
SPEAKER_02:I was thinking some um some kind uh butternut squash or something like that. Uh-huh. Yeah, something like that. And oh. And then something more savor. I think you've I think, yeah, I think you've just elevated your soup, probably. Exactly. Yeah. I think you probably have.
SPEAKER_01:And I think it could be virtually anything except you'd want to keep the clam chowder separate.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I would think so. Yeah. Yeah. Um unless you had some like consomme or something like that that was, you know.
SPEAKER_01:But you put some split pea in with the you know, it if you think about it, it can make some really delicious soups.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I just I just never in my life ever would have thought of doing that.
SPEAKER_01:I wouldn't either if I hadn't heard about it. Yeah. So, and you if you think about it in terms of a meal, like I want some meat, I want some vegetables, I want some starch. Right. Okay, now I'm gonna go create that in my soup container.
SPEAKER_02:Exactly.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_01:I like it.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, yeah, and it's now if I ever end up in that situation, I'm gonna have to do this.
SPEAKER_01:Well, I think so too. Yeah. I was thinking of you when I heard about it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I will have to, yeah, I'm very you're a soup fanatic. Yeah, I'm a soup centric person.
SPEAKER_01:You are soup centric.
SPEAKER_02:And I have the t-shirt.
SPEAKER_01:Which well, you've got a couple of soup t-shirts now.
SPEAKER_02:That's right.
SPEAKER_01:What's the second one you have?
SPEAKER_02:Hanukkah, the Hanukkah one.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, the Hanukkah one is easily distracted by soup.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I think that's what it is. Yeah. Yep.
SPEAKER_01:And that is true. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And then the other one that just actually says soup centric. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I'm sitting here like having little fantasies. I'm thinking, okay, chicken noodle with the tomato. For some reason, now I'm not a person who has ever wanted to sit down with tomato soup unless there was a huge grilled cheese.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, see, that's right. Oh, oh yeah. But otherwise, those two things really should always have to go together.
SPEAKER_01:Right. But when you when I think of tomato soup as like, okay, let's let's jazz this up, you know, like this chicken noodle soup. Right. I like the idea of wait, let's put a splash of tomato in here. Yep. I like it. It would make a big difference. It would, it would be huge. Yeah. All right.
SPEAKER_02:So no arguments for me. I l I I'm I'm all for this trend. So I am too.
SPEAKER_01:And I think that um it's something we should try.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. They should have soup bars where you could go up and you know and just dispense, you know, with spigots, right? And you can just go in and dispense.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, that's crossing me out. Certain amount of spigot situation. Yeah. I'm not loving it.
SPEAKER_02:No.
SPEAKER_01:But hey. Sounds I mean, they'd have to be huge spigots.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, they they would have to be pretty.
SPEAKER_01:For the stuff to get through. Ugh. I don't know.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it actually sounds kind of problematic when you think about it.
SPEAKER_01:Now, there's another thing, there's another trend. I know you've heard about this, but I want to talk about this a little bit. And that's the the great return of the dumb phone as opposed to the smartphone. And that's flip phones and minimalist phones are surging with people under 35. So you got no apps, no doom scrolling, just calls, texts, peace. Got no problem with that. Uh the only problem with it is if you do want to send even the most brief of texts, it's a nightmare.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, well, you gotta do the A the A. Right. Yeah, I know. You gotta do the one, three times to get a C.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. It's it is ridiculous. And that's how we used to have to do it when it you know when it first started, but thankfully, uh it's gotten a little easier since.
SPEAKER_01:Well, now, would you survive without your smartphone?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:All right, now I'm gonna ask you a couple of questions, and they apply to me too. Okay. So you're waiting for something somewhere. Uh-huh. At a doctor's office, you're waiting for your car to get repaired, you're wait- whatever. Right. What do you do? Uh I don't know, watch the TV in the lobby. There you go. Watch the TV in the lobby. Yeah. That's kind of the option.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Or you could read a book, which no one knows how to do anything.
SPEAKER_02:Right, or re Right. They uh if they they may have magazines or so, you know, something you can read in there. That's that's cool, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:But you can't listen to a book, you can't play your game, you can't do the New York Times spelling beat. You can't do anything.
SPEAKER_02:Right, uh, I right, I I agreed. But you know, I've I've lived through that and it wasn't that awful.
SPEAKER_01:No, I mean when you see, it's a lot different being on this side of it, yeah, as opposed to before you knew such a thing existed. Yeah, yeah. Um, you know, and you felt like, whoa, I've got a cell phone. I mean, my first cell phone was a was a Nokia flip phone. Oh. And it was so early in the game. When did cell phones was like the mid-90s, really? Yeah, when they got really popular. Ubiquitous. Yeah. Did I ever say ubiquitous before?
SPEAKER_02:Uh you may have. And if you haven't, I I might have.
SPEAKER_01:All right, so we can let that one. We can let that lay where Jesus flying it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Um Frankie Ramage, wherever you are. I'm still saying your crazy little phrases.
SPEAKER_02:Um first uh mobile phone, first commercial mobile phone was 1984. Right. Text messaging didn't start until 1991.
SPEAKER_01:All right. Well, that's about when I got my phone. Or it could have been a couple years after that. Whatever. But here's what's hilarious. It was so early in the game that if I got in a cab and I wanted to talk to someone, I wanted to, I would apologize to the driver.
SPEAKER_02:Right, yeah. And say, hey, I've got to make this call.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. For talking on the phone.
SPEAKER_02:Can you imagine anyone doing that now? No, absolutely not.
unknown:Oh God.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. That is not the way people work these days. No.
SPEAKER_01:Um, what's the one app that you couldn't give up? Or that would be the hardest for you to give up? Um What would you say is your most used app?
SPEAKER_02:Uh uh, one of my music Well, actually, the robot lady. Uh-huh. That's what I use the most on my phone. But I and my meta glasses and my smart glasses. Yeah, I tell them to play music.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_02:Well through the phone.
SPEAKER_01:I would have a problem. That's what I do, but getting rid of chat GPT. But are you kidding me?
SPEAKER_02:No.
SPEAKER_01:Wow. I was not expecting Todd Rundgren yet. Yes, it's Todd Rundgren. The dream goes on forever.
SPEAKER_02:Well, unless unless, of course, you were dreaming that this show was gonna continue after the next couple minutes.
SPEAKER_01:Well, it is a dream.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Uh, Todd Rungren was just talking about him and that that pick. Uh for those who celebrate, have a wonderful, extremely expensive leather polo Christmas.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And for everyone else, we'll speak to you next week when we do a little New Year situation. And for every there are so many people to mention, uh who need some lights put on. So for all of them, and for all of us, please put a light on.
