9: ColdChef goes six feet under

May 25, 2007 6:46 PM

An amazing interview with ColdChef about what life is like running a funeral home and what the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina taught him about MetaFilter. Also, a recap of the last two weeks, recorded on May 25, 2007. It runs long at 1 hour, 9 minutes total (about 35minutes with ColdChef, but totally worth it). [direct mp3 link]


posted by mathowie to MeFi Podcast at 6:46 PM (69 comments total)

Show notes:

Some Flickr illustrations DC koolaid pickles, ColdChef at home, ColdChef at Mardi Gras, ColdChef, ColdChef's daughter, ColdChef: "bring it bitch"

MetaTalk threads about Katrina fundraising: 1, 2

Civil War in four minutes and Kirkarcha's AskMe about maps

Alaska Fishing thread & photos

Public.resource.org

cool stuff from libraries and Free books online

A Fair(y) Use Tale

Trash and recycling essays - freganism

Can you get satellite tv from space

What can you buy for $30?

Jeremy's $30 contest: 2000, 2001

Cool Yard!!.

Thou Shalt Always Filter: chrismear's recording of robocop is bleeding's parody of the proscriptive Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip ditty that ikkyu2 posted.
posted by mathowie at 6:48 PM on May 25, 2007

Truman Capote. Richard Ford. Coldchef.
posted by four panels at 7:15 PM on May 25, 2007

Yet another reason why I have absolutely no regrets at all over my now-verging-on-five-year man-crush on ColdChef. Great stuff.
posted by yhbc at 8:05 PM on May 25, 2007

ColdChef rules.
posted by baphomet at 8:13 PM on May 25, 2007

We need a thread on what everybody wants for their custom funeral ceremonies.
posted by bukvich at 8:17 PM on May 25, 2007

That was great.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 8:21 PM on May 25, 2007

ColdChef sounds like a stand-up guy.
posted by Aloysius Bear at 8:28 PM on May 25, 2007

We need a thread on what everybody wants for their custom funeral ceremonies.

What we need is a MetaFilter Honor Guard to attend the funerals of fallen MeFites and give a 21-Nerd Salute.
posted by wendell at 8:34 PM on May 25, 2007

Matt can you please continue to include a link to the actual mp3 file?
posted by Rhomboid at 9:52 PM on May 25, 2007

I added in the direct link to this one.
posted by jessamyn at 9:53 PM on May 25, 2007

CC's accent isn't heavy enough. Could you please edit it? TIA
posted by mr_crash_davis at 10:03 PM on May 25, 2007

Please make ColdChef a recurring character. As in, "This week with ColdChef, we discuss pickles and the men who love them," or "This week, ColdChef reveals your exact manner of death if you really do eat that week-old egg salad at the urging of AskMe," or "Screw it: this week ColdChef reads from the short fiction of Flannery O'Connor." Thank you for your consideration.
posted by melissa may at 11:28 PM on May 25, 2007 [5 favorites]

That's a really good interview. Best episode yet. Keep it up, guys!
posted by sveskemus at 2:50 AM on May 26, 2007

This is the podcast that will finally get me to listen to a podcast. I mean, I haven't yet. But I will.
posted by amro at 5:22 AM on May 26, 2007

Jeepers, ColdChef's first funeral home anecdote is pretty fucking bleak!
posted by jack_mo at 6:55 AM on May 26, 2007

Great podcast, as usual. Who's the jackass who sounds like Foghorn Leghorn with an impacted colon? Oh, wait.

Thanks again to Matt and Jess. I'm impressed with how quickly this went up. I'm also thankful to Matt for editing out all the times I asked Jessamyn to "hush her mouth because the men were talking." That was just rude of me, and I blame it on the bright red pickle juice I've been mainlining.

Actually, the truth is, I was tittering like a schoolgirl the whole time and trying hard not to say "cocksucker" because my mom wants to listen to the show. It was all very fun in a "trying-not-to-shit-your-pants-at-the-spelling-bee" way.
posted by ColdChef at 7:25 AM on May 26, 2007

Dammit, ColdChef.

Always. Be. Cocksuckering.

Hi, Mom!
posted by cortex at 7:29 AM on May 26, 2007 [2 favorites]

"13 years of websurfing" link referenced in the podcast.
posted by Tuwa at 7:48 AM on May 26, 2007

Very nice. Well worth the hour.

Coldchef, you may want to think about collecting your Katrina stories into a book of some sort. That's some pretty intense stuff.

I do recall some of your posts from that period; it was great to read a voice I knew and trusted from the gulf coast at that time.
posted by mmahaffie at 7:52 AM on May 26, 2007

Awesome interview - I second the lovely miss melissa may's suggestion - can't get too much of that ColdChef!

Also fabulous - chrismear's rendition of robocop is bleeding's great mefi commandments thing - neither of which I had seen/heard. I need to quit my job so I stop missing all this great stuff.

Fun podcast, mathowie, jessamyn - nice work! And the cortex intro is such a keeper.
posted by madamjujujive at 8:49 AM on May 26, 2007

Thanks. Nice interview with ColdChef!
posted by dobbs at 9:11 AM on May 26, 2007

never listened to a mefi podcast before, but i'll be goddamned if i'm gonna miss coldchef.



yeah, well worth it.
posted by fishfucker at 10:17 AM on May 26, 2007

ColdChef's gunch. Sorry brother...but I have to keep your fans grounded.
posted by lsusd2003 at 10:48 AM on May 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

At least now we know what to get Matt for his funeral: drunken clowns on unicycles.
posted by Eideteker at 10:51 AM on May 26, 2007

Excellent podcast.

And yes, I'd so buy a ColdChef-written book of Katrina stories.
posted by grabbingsand at 10:59 AM on May 26, 2007

I can't find a feed for use in subscribing to the podcast via iTunes. Am I stupid, is it well hidden or is there not one (yet)? I am aware that these alternatives are not mutually exclusive.
posted by nowonmai at 11:55 AM on May 26, 2007

Here, nowonmai.
posted by Aloysius Bear at 12:00 PM on May 26, 2007

Cheers!
posted by nowonmai at 12:21 PM on May 26, 2007

I'd like to second ColdChef on thanking MetaFilter. Thanks to you guys I have clothes!
posted by brundlefly at 12:37 PM on May 26, 2007

Oh, and great interview.
posted by brundlefly at 12:38 PM on May 26, 2007

IMO, ColdChef's is another 'secret weapon' in the MeFi arsenal; so consistently cool, yet by no means ostentatious or showy. Great show, thanks to all!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 1:10 PM on May 26, 2007

Yay for ColdChef -- great interview.
posted by me3dia at 1:21 PM on May 26, 2007

I am honored to just be allowed to hang out in the same web community with somebody like ColdChef. I'm the drunken clown on the unicycle.
posted by wendell at 1:47 PM on May 26, 2007

Definitely the best one yet. ColdChef was a fantastic choice for the interview.
posted by micayetoca at 6:11 PM on May 26, 2007

Great interview and great podcast. I really look forward to each week's podcast. You guys have a great rapport that really does come across on audio.
posted by gen at 7:17 PM on May 26, 2007

freegans. LOL.
posted by delmoi at 10:03 PM on May 26, 2007

What are you guys talking about at 54:00? I can't find a link.
posted by delmoi at 10:09 PM on May 26, 2007

delmoi: I think it is this thread
posted by Rumple at 11:05 PM on May 26, 2007

Oh, thank you, Rumple. And thank you, delmoi, for asking.
posted by brundlefly at 1:36 AM on May 27, 2007

I love this man. I've always loved this man.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 12:19 PM on May 27, 2007 [1 favorite]

*swoon*
posted by ColdChef at 12:22 PM on May 27, 2007

Get a room, you two.

(a room adjoining mine, so I can watch through the peephole)
posted by jonmc at 12:35 PM on May 27, 2007

great coldchef interview! thanks all.
posted by serazin at 1:42 PM on May 27, 2007

Migs!
posted by languagehat at 2:27 PM on May 27, 2007

ColdChef! Awesome!
posted by eyeballkid at 3:41 PM on May 27, 2007

He should have told the one about the convict who almost forgot to sign the funeral book.

No, wait - that was terrific, CC, and not just because you said my name (although that was the best part, heh).

And Jessamyn, Terry Gross is looking over her shoulder, because you are right on her heels.
posted by tizzie at 4:09 PM on May 27, 2007

Blackberry tunnels! That brings me back, I carved tunnels into every blackberry patch near where I lived as a kid. (Well, only one was big enough for a real network of rooms and tunnels, the other patches could just support a tunnel and maybe let you climb a tree in the middle of the thicket. Still fun.)
posted by hattifattener at 6:27 PM on May 27, 2007

This is my favorite story about blackberry tunnels: Blackberry Motorist.
posted by jessamyn at 7:38 PM on May 27, 2007

That was the bestest podcast yet. It's going to be damned hard to top.
posted by deborah at 7:41 PM on May 27, 2007

Fabulous podcast, great interview with ColdChef; thank you, guys!
posted by andraste at 1:09 AM on May 28, 2007

That was neat. More interviews please.
posted by adamvasco at 12:03 PM on May 28, 2007

That was cool. ColdChef is a cool dude, no doubt about it.
posted by dg at 3:53 PM on May 28, 2007

Awesome. ColdChef, you sound like you've jumped straight out of a Wild West movie.
posted by Lucie at 9:22 PM on May 28, 2007

Paved, reconfigurable go-kart track

A parking lot with cones is okay..., but it's just not the same.
posted by LordSludge at 1:03 PM on May 29, 2007

More podcasts please! This is great!
posted by beandip at 4:15 PM on May 29, 2007

Wonderful podcast.
posted by safetyfork at 6:54 PM on May 29, 2007

First podcast I've listened to and it's fabulous! Then again, a little biased. Been a big fan of ColdChef for years! Even got to spend the night in the famous bedroom in the funeral home....
posted by freakinloon at 7:13 PM on May 29, 2007

Heh. Only four people on MetaFilter can claim to have slept in my bedroom at the funeral home. And only two ever got to sleep on the waterbed.
posted by ColdChef at 8:16 PM on May 29, 2007

only two ever got to sleep on the waterbed.

I am so making this my New Year's resolution.
posted by jessamyn at 8:20 PM on May 29, 2007

ColdChef, I teared up a bit when you talked about the day you got the check in the mail. No kidding. And by the way, I think every parent has done that poke the baby thing.

Great podcast. Keep 'em coming.
posted by Otis at 4:19 PM on May 30, 2007

I loved this podcast. Also, is it me or is Cortex's opening music getting better? Anyway, ColdChef is teh awesome and made a great interview subject, Jessamyn has got the wonderful radio/podcast pipes and Cortex is our captive songbird.
posted by Lynsey at 4:37 PM on May 31, 2007

And of course, #1 is our fearless leader.
posted by Lynsey at 4:39 PM on May 31, 2007

Which means, of course, this (left to right, cortex, jessamyn and mathowie).
posted by Lynsey at 4:47 PM on May 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

I got to catch up on the podcasts today, listening to the last three, yea, in a row! Great stuff.

My faves are; the TAL spoof (awesome) Librarian Mafia (too damn cool) and this interview with coldchef.

Yea, that interview was REALLY good. Somebody mentioned Teri Gross. And this did reminded me of her show, not only because she is cool and good, but also because sometimes her subjects are just incredible. Ergo, coldchef as National treasure.

jessamyn trips me out though. For some reason I keep thinking of her as the "traditional" librarian, but she keeps saying "shit" and "fuck" all the time.

Finally, I know this will never happen, but if this was a daily show, I would throw my radio away. Bye bye NPR!
posted by snsranch at 5:33 PM on May 31, 2007

"Daddy's on the computer, honey. Talking to his imaginary friends." is maybe the best description of MetaFilter ever.

Actually, Ignatius J. Reilly was imaginary, but fortunately for us, ColdChef is not. Not only a fantastic guest for the podcast, but also an real Native American! I note from his profile that I have been here at MetaFilter one day longer than him, but in the real world he's so far beyond me it's ridiculous. Not once have I ever slid a large three-or-four-day-dead guy off a couch into a body bag.
posted by LeLiLo at 7:55 PM on May 31, 2007

Question for mathowie - Somewhere during the podcast, you mentiont that only "about 300 people" listen to the podcast - was that accurate (!?!?)

50000+ folks registered.. probably 10 times that many who lurk on the site.. and we can only drum up 300 listeners for our favorite site's podcast??? for shame people!
posted by your mildly obsessive average geek at 12:22 AM on June 6, 2007

and we can only drum up 300 listeners for our favorite site's podcast???

They don't know what they're missing. I would not have expected recaps of the previous week's posts to be nearly as interesting as it is, and most likely people are making the same mistake I was. I'm glad I gave it a chance though - it's quite good, quite varied, and my favorite part? Recaps of the previous week's posts.

Funny how that works.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 2:50 PM on June 6, 2007

Catching up on podcasts: I love me some ColdChef. Come over here and let me hug the burps out of you, man.

Was that a little weird, given the body pickup story? Ah well, so be it.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:17 AM on June 20, 2007

I love the Metafilter podcast. I downloaded this one and listened to it in the car driving to Toronto.
posted by niccolo at 3:56 PM on June 23, 2007