Episode 124: Sunday, February 15, 2009

The Paunch Stevenson Show episode 124

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Ooooh…That Smell!

Read all about it.

No, we’re not talking about Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 1976 song, which was covered nicely by Three Doors Down a few years ago, by the way. It’s the infamous maple syrup smell that has wafted throughout Greater New York City at random times over the last 4 years. I’ve caught a whiff of it many times. Usually when I am walking into work. Sometimes, like just last week, the syrup smell was very pungent, in my house in the middle of the night, with all of the windows closed!

Well, apparently, after hundreds of complaints from city residents over the years, Mayor Michael Bloomberg finally got to the bottom of it. The city and NJ environmental departments tracked the scent (I don’t know how they do that) to a small factory in North Bergen, NJ. The factory was making something with the herb fenugreek, which are seeds that contain an aromatic compound, sotolone, that is also found in maple syrup, so they are sometimes used to produce imitation syrup flavoring.

One might think it is nice to smell maple syrup in the air, that this should mask out the foul odors which have become a punchline for New Jersey. No I say. No. If I wanted to smell maple syrup, I want to be eating a flap jack!

Episode 123: Sunday, February 1, 2009

The Paunch Stevenson Show episode 123

Don’t forget: nominate your Lame Idiot of 2008!

In this episode:

  • Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009) starring Kevin James,
  • the upcoming movie Not Another Not Another Movie (2009) starring Chevy Chase and Vinnie Jones,
  • Funny Money (2006) starring Chevy Chase,
  • the A&E TV show The Beast starring Patrick Swayze (official site),
  • Jeremy Piven’s mercury poisoning,
  • Taken (2008) starring Liam Neeson,
  • The Dark Knight (2008) starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger,
  • Shatner’s Raw Nerve on BIO Channel (official site),
  • William Shatner (audio) and Casey Kasem (audio) going crazy in the studio,
  • Darryl McCauley stealing $1 million from Dane Cook,
  • WormyT‘s impressive ThunderCats movie trailer,
  • Tom Cruise’s desire to star on Broadway,
  • Elvis Presley’s deceptive songwriting credits,
  • and Ricky Gervais’s HBO comedy special Out of England.

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