Shaggin' Flies is joined this week by Scott Chu (@ifthechufits), Pitcher List writer and manager and czar of the phenomenon knows as Fantasy Curling. Scott was such a horrid, difficult, uncompelling guest that we just HAD to talk with him for three whole hours, so I'll let the notes do the rest of the talking:
0:01 – The show is thrown for a loop from second number one as we are confronted by the visage of a non-mustachioed Scott Chu0:03 – Naturally, the first all-cis-male-identified episode of Shaggin’ Flies in three weeks spends the first six minutes talking about facial hair0:08 – Scott and Ben on deriving just the slightest pleasure from playfully annoying their spouses (to Zach’s befuddlement)0:10 – Oh yeah, the introduction. #GingerBalance0:12 – The joys of Southwest Michigan, and giving out Moderna at the Pfizer factory0:14 – Freud would have something to say about how close we all are to our parents0:16 – The regional accents of the Upper Midwest, some of which are close but not quite to Canadian.0:20 – The teenage Michigander tradition of trekking to (and ruining) Windsor, Ontario gets Scott into trouble with immigration officials0:23 – How the federal government got Wisconsin to raise their drinking age0:26 – How to properly order a burger at a 24-hour diner (hint: not medium-rare)0:29 – Scott dives deep into the fascinating minutiae of American Sign Language0:33 – Turns out ASL also has TONS of problematic language (or, “if it was invented by white people in the 1800s, it’s probably racist”)0:37 – The surprising degree to which our cognition and modes of thinking and being are directed by the ability to hear.0:43 – Sign language has no tenses and minimal grammar, and Zach gets way overly optimistic about language learning as a route to increasing empathy0:48 – Pidgin sign and a way cooler way to refer to Kalamazoo, Michigan0:53 – Ben dubs us (accurately) the Seinfeld of baseball podcasts0:54 – One of us has graced the cover of the Wall Street Journal and it’s not Ben or Zach0:55 – What is Fantasy Curling and how did it get Scott Chu in the WSJ?1:02 – Fantasy Congress and Fantasy Supreme Court are (or were) a thing, apparently.1:06 – Curling as Canadian Golf1:09 – The idea of Fantasy Congress is complicated by the dysfunctional-at-best nature of the American government1:12 – Oberon and Leinenkugels, legends of the Midwest1:13-1:20 – How Eno Put Zach Onto Hazy IPAs Which Are Kind Of Like Sours But Not Really (Either Way Ben Hates Both Of Them And It’s All Because Of Warheads) (As In Candy, Not A Nuclear Device)1:21 – Two things that are close to water1:22 – Pregaming a Motion City Soundtrack show1:24 – Malört and other wraths of Chicago1:29 – Jesus getting sponge-fed wine while up on the cross is an objectively funny image1:32 – BRING ME TWO HUNDRED PHILISTINE FORESKINS1:37 – Why baseball? Sunburn!1:41 – The fun of writing the Batter’s Box segment, and Ben’s request for information about Philip Evans is denied, because we’re not a baseball podcast or anything.1:43 – “You’re a hack!” “Duh!”1:46 – Scott spends two minutes giving a well-reasoned analysis of Pavin Smith, because it is a baseball podcast.1:51 – The official position of Shaggin’ Flies: Baseball Is Good!1:53 – Scott details his time working for the Fair Housing Association, all the terrible acts of racism, ableism, and discrimination one encounters in that line of work, and therefore being perfectly okay with bringing politics into sports.2:00 – Being buried in the news? Not great for mental health!2:02 – Tiger Stadium and the ~plethora~ of Memorial Stadia2:05 – The GM building flips the bird to Canada, in true ‘Murican fashion2:05 – Scott and Zach bond over hatreds of Indiana drivers2:08 – Gigantic burgers at Fifth Third Park make Zach and Ben lose their math for a sec2:11 – Order of Operations Trifecta2:15 – Scott and Ben on arguing with their kids about personal hygiene2:20 – Ben Palmer resembles Matt Stafford (and Zach’s cat makes her appearance)2:24 – Even in Scotland they hate gingers2:27 – Homer at the Bat2:31 – Bob Costas in Baseketball2:36 – Just some white guy BS, huh2:40 – Almost made it to the end before the weekly Michael Ajeto mention!2:44 – Shoutout to Ben’s brother Greg, with reference to the boiling hot dog water incident2:50 – The Full CountScott’s Book Recommendation: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas AdamsScott’s Food Recommendation: Bulgogi or BibimbapScott’s Movies/TV Recommendation: Bob’s BurgersScott’s Music Recommendation: Linkin Park (Hybrid Theory)Scott’s Miscellaneous Recommendation: Dove Hand SanitizerGet PL+ and join our community!: https://pitcherlist.com/plus