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Microphone and boat

Cutting Squid, Praising White Paint {format} {format} 2:41 Viki Merrick & Chelsea Merz

Hazardous seafod and hardware store white.

Broadcast: Oct 3 2003 on NPR Day to DaySeries: WCAI/WNAN Sonic IDs Subjects: Food, Environment, Art

Two Profiles: Hazards of exotic seafood and a poetic tribute to an overlooked color

October 3, 2003 from Day to Day

ALEX CHADWICK, host: As part of DAY TO DAY's efforts to bring you the latest flavors of radio, here are two quick sonic dishes. First, the story of an exotic seafood dinner that goes horribly wrong.

Mr. DAVE MASH: One time we were chasing blue sharks down south of Cuttyhunk for a tagging program and also for some other physiological studies. And we also were towing a plankton net to collect some samples for somebody back in Woods Hole. And in the catch was a whole bunch of squid about, oh, two, two and a half inches long, beautiful little guys. And I'd never cooked squid that small before and I thought, `Oh, this is a great opportunity. I'm going to just saute some of these up and we'll have a little snack.'

So I heated up some olive oil and garlic in a pan. It was a hot summer day, so all I was wearing was shorts. I threw in a double handful of these beautiful little squid, and all of a--they started to swell up. It looked kind of dangerous. And all of a sudden the little buggers started to explode. Kapow! One leapt off and stuck right to my left shoulder, and this is hot oil with the tentacles spread out, there it is. And bang, they were hitting the overhead and the walls. It was the damnedest thing you ever saw.

If you ever cook little squid, make a hole in every one of them or you won't be happy.

CHADWICK: "Squid" was read by Dave Mash and the story was produced by Viki Merrick.

Now for a soothing change of pace, a colorful meditation on an underappreciated hue.

Mr. LARRY KENNEDY: Vanilla custard, beach basket, sugar beet, soap bubbles, sonata pink. Sun shadow, lullaby, baby's smile, hushed orchids, crisp morn, sandy oasis, peach froth, young blush, satin peach. These are names for various shades of white paint. Sandbar white, lamb's wool white, sweetened white.

CHADWICK: "White Paint" was read by Larry Kennedy and produced by Chelsea Merz. These two pieces come to us from WCAI and WNAN in Massachusetts through the good graces of the project Hearing Voices.

I'm Alex Chadwick. This is DAY TO DAY.