50 Chards Darker - Show Notes

Get your floggers out – we're going into the Red Room of Pain! This week on The Lettuce Podcast, Charlotte and Laura are getting sexy while they talk about 50 Shades Darker, the second book in the 50 Shades of Grey series. In honor of the release of the film adaptation, the hosts explore the continuing relationship of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, trying to determine if the two main characters really are meant to be. They chat about a much expanded cast of secondary characters including Elena (“Mrs. Robinson”), Christian's siblings, and more. The representation of the BDSM lifestyle, various plot points, and a topic simply called “WHAT??????” are also in the discussion. Charlotte points out the plot devices of the novel she felt weren't useful to the story. Laura points out some dramatic character personality differences from the first to second books. Both girls explore the reasons why Christian Grey's childhood life affected his adult life, why Anastasia's character is just so frustrating, and take time to compare the book to the film adaptation. Can Ana and Christian come to understand each other after 500+ pages? Are Ana's annoying roommate and Christian's annoying brother a match made in heaven? Are Ana and Christian really going to get married after only knowing each other for a few weeks? Listen to this week's episode of The Lettuce Podcast to find out about all of these things and more!

Charlotte and Laura had an extra special Fun & Games segment. First, they took a Buzzfeed quiz to find out exactly What Shade of Grey they are. The second game was a homemade quiz called How Holy Is it!? Ana Steele's favorite expression in 50 Shades Darker is “Holy ______!” Laura puts Charlotte to the test with 10 scenarios from the book. Charlotte must determine what the second part of Ana's favorite two-word phrase is for each scenario. Play along and tell us how you did!

Both Charlotte and Laura enjoyed podtails for this weeks episode. Charlotte sipped on the ultimate enjoyement: Chocolate Wine. Laura was inspired by the Ana/Mrs Robinson show down at the end of the book and enjoyed a Lemon Drop Martini.


The Lettuce Podcast is available on iTunes, Stitcher, Satchel, and Podcast Addict. If you like what you hear and want to be part of the conversation, feel free to leave a comment on this or any blog post. You can also help us reach a wider audience by rating and reviewing The Lettuce Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks for listening and for your support!
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Don't forget to join us next week for The Lettuce Beets. On the next topic episode of The Lettuce Podcast, Laura and Charlotte will be workig together on a music topic called Dynamic Duos. They'll be chatting about their favorite two-person bands!
Until then,
Arugulater!
Listen to this episode now!

Lettuce Assume the Position (Secretary) - Show Notes

It's time to correct some bad behavior on this week's episode of The Lettuce Podcast. Charlotte and Laura discuss the film Secretary and all of the elements of this sexy-strange film. In addition to character study, the hosts chat about the portrayal of the BDSM community in the film, what makes the film controversial, and compare Secretary to its modern sibling 50 Shades of Grey. Charlotte expresses her sadness over the tragic character Peter and the sad treatment he receives from Lee. Laura confesses her thoughts about the film's connections between BDSM and mental illness. The hosts both inspect the controversial subject matter and wonder if the film would have been considered scandalous in current times. They also praise the acting performances of Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader. What makes Secretary both a good and bad movie? Where exactly did Lee and Peter go on their first date? And shouldn't workplace romances be avoided at all costs? All these questions and more are answered on this week's episode of The Lettuce Podcast!

The ratings segment delivers the lowest rating for a topic in TLP history – listen to find out the fate of Secretary. For Fun & Games, Charlotte and Laura discover their potential as secretaries by taking a quiz from the 1950's. They also play the dirtiest game of Alphabet Sentence to date! 

This week's podtail was a glass of red wine - inspired by Lee and Peter's date at the laundromat-arcade-restaurant.

The Lettuce Podcast is available on iTunes, Stitcher, Satchel, and Podcast Addict. If you like what you hear and want to be part of the conversation, feel free to leave a comment on this or any blog post. You can also help us reach a wider audience by rating and reviewing The Lettuce Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks for listening and for your support!

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Don't forget to join us next week for The Lettuce Beets. On the next topic episode of The Lettuce Podcast, Laura and Charlotte go on another mission with 007 in The Spy Who Loved Me! 

Until then,
Arugulater!
Listen to this episode now!

50 Shades of Lettuce - Show Notes

Get your contracts in order; you'll need to commit to this episode in writing! Things get sexy on The Lettuce Podcast as the controversial book 50 Shades of Grey steps into the spotlight. Charlotte moderates this episode and guides Laura and Tori through a world of plot holes, inconsistent characters, and lots of crap. The "Source Ma-Tori-al" segment returns as Tori shares the relationship between 50 Shades of Grey and Twilight fan-fiction. She also explains her views on the book's attitude toward touch-aversion. Laura shares her feelings on why the book is "so bad it's good" and her frustrations with the character Kate. Charlotte discusses the commercial reception of the book and how she feels some have uninformed opinions about the series. All three hosts share their feelings about the portrayal of women and how it affected their ability to feel connected to Ana Steele's character. Is Christian Grey's interest in the BDSM lifestyle a result of psychological damage? Is his character an insulting representation of the BDSM community(Spoiler Alert - YES!)? Are Ana's subconscious and "inner goddess" cover-ups for a critical case of Multiple Personality Disorder? All these subjects and more are up for discussion on The Lettuce Podcast. 

After the Discussion Topics segment, the girls each give their rating of 50 Shades of Grey. The average score between Charlotte, Tori, and Laura was 2.33 out of 5 Chards! The Fun & Games section allows some discussion on the use of "crap" throughout the novel. Laura administered a homemade quiz called "How Much Crap?". Many times in the story, Ana was met with situations which caused the reaction of "crap", "double crap", or "triple crap." Ten of these situations were read to Tori and Charlotte, who both had to guess which amount of crap was assigned to the event by Ana. The second and final game was a Lettuce Podcast favorite: the Alphabet Sentence! Charlotte, Laura, and Tori worked together to build a story one-word-at-a-time while also following the order of the alphabet.

 

This episode's Podtail was Indulgent, a chocolate-red wine made by a local winery. Indulgent was delicious and was wholly representative of both the indulgence of 50 Shades' subject matter and the indulgence of reading a sexy romance novel! The Podsnack continued the theme of indulgence - chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate croissants! 

The Lettuce Podcast can be found on iTunes, Podcast Addict for Android devices, or Stitcher. If you like what you hear, feel free to leave a comment on this or any blog post. You can also help us reach a wider audience by rating and reviewing The Lettuce Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks for listening and for your support!

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The next episode of The Lettuce Podcast will conclude our journey through the Harry Potter series. Tori, Laura, and Charlotte will rotate moderator duties to conclude the Harry Potter saga in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! There will be a lot of ground to cover and this episode may be a little longer than others. Not only will the hosts discuss the 7th Harry Potter installment (book and both movies), but also the series as a whole. You don't want to miss the extra special episode of The Lettuce Podcast!