msicism

Patreon Extra: The Ballad of Liv and Laurie

Added 2021-01-10 21:17:33 +0000 UTC

When Matt was a kid, around the ages of 4 and 5, he had his favorite YouTube channels. Most kids are like this today, and Matt had a few common interest points with others of his generation. He loved watching videos of toy "experts" opening blind bags to see what sort of mini-action-figures they'd acquired. He was way into Peppa Pig before it caught on in the States. (He also liked the Peppa "spin-off" Ben and Holly, which doesn't seem to have cracked the Nick Jr. market.) You know, random stuff.

But for some reason, he was obsessed with a series of Howdini clips devoted to cake decoration. The cakes themselves are, you know, fine. Standard stuff, not the behemoths you see on Food Network. But what was particularly interesting (both to me and to him) was the tense dynamic between the series' two presenters.

One, Laurie Gelman, was a second-rate Hota Kotb, the sort of perky-with-an-edge-of-snark TV host you can find on most local morning shows. The other, Liv Hansen, was the professional cake designer, someone who had worked for Betty Crocker for many years. If you watch these videos (which I am not recommending), you will discover over time that these women hate each other. It mostly comes through in subtle ways: a side-eye here, a suppressed sigh there.

But this episode -- the Pony Cake -- is where they don't even try to disguise their mutual disgust. Matt and I watched this one a lot. Enjoy.