We’re on Summer Vacation

If you hadn’t already noticed we’re taking the Summer off.  We’ll be back in the Fall with some fresh ideas and a tweak or two.

Be well gang, enjoy yourselves, wear sunscreen and behave (within moderation of course).

PG & VL

Episode 11: A Wedding and a Funeral

This podcast is long overdue and I have many excuses for the delay.  I primarily blame the weather, it was just so nice over the weekend that I had to spend time outside.  And then the news about Osama sucked me into a news vortex.  I also felt that the news made the idea of talking about the Royal Wedding outdated. But something struck me, as both events made interesting bookends in my life, and that is probably true for a number of people.

Val and I grew up in the age of Diana, as a six year old, and a girly girl at that, I ate up the idea that her wedding was a fairytale.  And when the bubble burst on the fantasy we found out she had problems like a lot of girls my age, primarily bulimia, and it made her accessible.   Her death came a few months after I graduated from college and I had this expectation that I would be a grownup.  I moved to New York, got married and on September 11th I was sitting at one of a string of dead end jobs in Lower Manhattan.  I know everyone has a story about that day, and mine is like many others who worked and lived in downtown Manhattan.  I thankfully did not lose anyone on that day, but it is perhaps one of the most significant periods of my life.  I can’t really convey the fear that I felt during that time.  I stopped taking the subway as much as possible because I was scared of either another attack or someone confronting me because I looked like a potential terrorist.  But slowly things changed, New Yorkers adapted, and our new normal made work IDs on lanyards a fashion accessory.

So on Friday, after the wedding I realized that a chapter had ended in a very strange way, Diana’s death was now evenly balanced with William’s marriage.  And on Sunday another chapter closed.  As Val and I state in the podcast, we live in such visual times, and we are often over saturated with certain images, the Royal Wedding was a moment when the media provided us with something happy and frivolous.   And besides if the Secretary of State can sit at home with her mother and daughter to watch the wedding, so can I.  And Hillary had far more important things to do over the weekend!  Do you think Osama watched the wedding?

So Episode 11 consists of 4 phone/skype conversations I held with Val and our two guests, Lorraine Lapinski (Val’s mother) and Francesca Levoir (my childhood best friend).

Enjoy!

PG

Episode 10: Counting Sheep

It’s Easter Sunday and Val made a butter lamb, a Polish Catholic tradition, which also happens to be super cute.  If I were at my grandmother’s house in India I would be full from lots of appam and stew, after enduring a seriously long Mass.

To celebrate the holiday we have an interview with a very close friend of mine, Katrina Hajagos, who now lives in Vermont as a homestead farmer.  However this is only part of her life as she is also a professional photographer, who primarily captures political campaigns and the occasional wedding.  It might seem odd that this suburban Long Island girl would leave the Metro area to chase after chickens, but she is also the daughter of Hungarian immigrants who have instilled a love for nature in all of their children, in addition to a ‘can do’ attitude.

Kat called me on my birthday to let me know that one of her ewes gave birth that morning to twins, and she was letting me name them.  I’m a sucker for baby animals and I got myself on a bus heading north to visit the little ones and interview her.  Oh, by the way, I named the twins Biriyani (girl) and Vindaloo (boy).

Warning: in the interview Katrina does describe helping one of the ewes with the birthing process, while it is not graphic, it might not be appropriate for younger listeners.  In addition the animals raised on the farm are there for human consumption, if you are a vegetarian or vegan you have been hereby informed.

–Priya

Lamb and Hay

Episode 9: Birthdays and Bucket Lists

Greetings from Brooklyn!  Val and I have been busy little bees and have a number of George Lapinski projects on the go, which means there will be lots to listen for in the near future.

But for now, here’s Episode 9 for your aural enjoyment.

Episode 8: Reading with Your Guts

It’s the first week of April, and we thought we should celebrate it with some poetry.  Episode 8 is slightly longer than our usual podcasts, but we hope it is worth your while.  There are five poems in this podcast, one read in English and Spanish and another read by Tom Waits.

Our guest Lacy Simons is a close friend of Valerie’s and she is a manager of an independent bookstore in Maine.  Recently she was asked to take over the ownership of the store, a lifelong dream of hers, but she needs all of our help to do that.  So please follow this link to help Lacy keep her independent bookstore alive.

Lacy also spoke about three specific poets in our interview with her, here are their names and some links to their work:

Dean Young, poet and author of Skid.

Mary Ruefle, wrote this amazing essay.

Amy Gerstler, poet and author of Medicine.

Blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Episode 7: Remembering Liz and the Triangle Shirtwaist Workers

Welcome to Episode 7, in which we pay our respects to Elizabeth Taylor, and the victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, which happened 100 years ago. We talk about how hot Liz and Dick were, hear excerpts from a street performance by The Fabulous Lulu Lolo, and talk about how the Triangle Factory Fire led to labor reform with Liza Featherstone, journalist and author of “Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Workers’ Rights at Wal-Mart.”

Please comment and let us know what you think!

VL&PG

P.S. We’re still working on our technical setup – please forgive the buzz.

Lulu Lolo performs at the site of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Episode 6: The Endangered Species Summit in 15 Minutes

…or, “Val and Priya go to a body image conference so you don’t have to!”

If you’re sad you missed this conference, cheer up! We attended, recorded sound, and bring you the greatest hits in one-quarter of an hour. Hear from a “feminist theologian“! A cool comedienne! And a couple of dudes! But most importantly, our deep thoughts from our secret perch on a (it must be said, quite phallic-shaped) bench in a courtyard at the New School.

We hope you enjoy.

VL & PG

Our Bodies, Ourselves

Val and I are attending the Endangered Species Summit, this weekend, which is a conference focusing on the topic of body image, emphasizing a healthy relationship with women and the bodies they are living in.  This evening I attended the opening panel.  The first discussion I felt was lacking but as it opened up for audience questions sparks flew, thankfully.

I think the problem lay in the placement of Glamour Magazine‘s U.S. Executive Editor, Wendy Naugle on the panel.  While it was laudable to have someone there from a major fashion magazine, the fault lay in that none of the other panelists, or the moderator really questioned Glamour as a major participant in this body trade.

Wendy did show the audience two examples of the magazine’s efforts to show a variety of female figures, one of which is the infamous “woman on page 194.”  And I do give Glamour credit for publishing this photo and making an effort.  But at some point someone on the panel, and I think it may have been Wendy herself, said there is a conflict between what is plus size in reality and what is plus size in fashion.  Therefore a size six and up is considered PLUS sized in fashion, but nothing is done about it, hello?  So someone has to call them out on this, Wendy, come on you dealt it, we smell it!

PG

Episode 5: Taxing Matters

Welcome to Episode 5, in which we muse about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Lent, and our woeful lack of financial savvy as we tackle our taxes. Joining us via Skype is Stephanie Berenbaum from Fabulous and Frugal, who tells us that saving receipts is key (even if we use them to dispose gum in sometimes), and that personal finance is really like an Indiana Jones movie.

We’d love your feedback! Don’t hesitate to comment or email us at lapinskigeorge@gmail.com.

-VL & PG

Val made lunch for Priya.

Episode 4: Fat – the Scare Tactic

Here is podcast number 4!  This week we tackle Charlie Sheen and what the media and public are not focusing on.  It is probably the first and last time we will use this space to discuss ‘big hot messes.’

And we interview Golda Poretsky, a Health and Nutrition Counselor about the New York City Department of Health ad campaign against sugary drinks and Michelle Obama’s nutrition campaign.