0:12 who are you and where are you going what do you want [Music] that was a little awkward wasn't it hello and welcome to [ __ ] place I'm your host Kevin bamel and we are here every other Thursday at 5:00 pm Pacific
0:48 time to talk about all the things that don't get discussed on my other three shows so the things that make life worth uh living uh and uh cocktails books um relationships all those kind of things it it hearkens back to the first couple of seasons of the way to wow shows when we dealt with all three pillars of attainment on a regular basis and dealt with all the different Realms and and so this is a chance uh as as the week is is ending to relax have have a cocktail and
1:27 and talk about these things so um today I'm going to be talking about Earl uh uh dig uh Big Earl dig Biggers he is the author of the um Charlie Chan detective books and um actually I meant to grab my uh my copy I I I will um in between making the cocktail and uh and sitting down to talk about it but um um Charlie Chan one of the greatest uh fictional detectives of
2:03 of all times and there are some uh I think interesting um issues for us to talk about based on that um and so in in honor of the great Charlie Chan uh with the help this time with the help of chat GPT I didn't have chat GPT do all the work um I created something called a Charlie Chan Martini so the um ingredient are first of all Jin and I'm using this is Bombay Sapphire East this is different than the regular Bombay
2:39 Sapphire because in addition to all the regular Botanicals it also has Thai lemon and black pepper corns in it and um I I I um uh I'm sorry tie lemongrass not tie not Tha lemons Tha lemongrass and um and Vietnamese black pepper corn corns and so it brings a little bit more um of the flavors of of um Eastern Asia um to to the cocktail and then I'll be mixing that with some lime juice so you
3:14 might argue this is really more of a a riff on a gimlet than a martini but everybody thinks of these things as martinis but but in fact it is really more of a gimlet and um I think I used this two weeks ago um the ginger lure uh I don't know about you but one of my favorite parts of sushi is the Pickled ginger and it it's just a such such a wonderful flavor and then some orange bitters so I think last time I used um stirrings blood orange bitters I do love this a lot but um this time I'm going to use bitterman's orange uh cream citrate
3:52 bitters um well actually no you know now that I see this it's a it's like a soda pop style maybe maybe I'm not I don't think that goes well with this um let's see what else do I have here something just just bumped um I think what I will do is I will use um angura orange bitters and uh and and that rounds out the ingredients so um I already have my cocktail shaker there's actually already ice in it um I did that because I was getting a bit of a late start um today
4:27 and let's see we're going to start out with um with 2 oz of of gin little trouble getting that open we go okay so 2 O of gin and a half oun of lime juice now of course fresh lime juice is is is always the best um but um I'm I'm just going to use uh I'm I'm using this uh It's Italia
5:05 lime juice it's it's it's a very nice um lime juice um for something that's you know essentially pre-made half o of that and a half oz of the ginger lure getting stuck there we go I just noticed I only put A4 oce of um
5:40 lime juice in so I'm going to put another put another qu oce of lime juice in to make sure it balances out okay there and and then uh just uh two dashes of orange bitters all righty and as we always do we're going to shake for a good while you can see it's already starting to FR up on the outside
6:17 but we want to make sure everything mixes well as well as has a little bit of an opportunity for the uh for some of the ice to melt and the water opens up the flavors as I say a little bit more a little B more and then unlike previous cocktails I've made in this case um chat GPT had an interesting idea for a garnish which I didn't have I don't remember it was so I looked up things that were that were like it and
6:55 came up with goby berries so I'm going to garnish this cocktail with goby berries okay so these these come from Dragon herbs um Ron tea Garten SCB Dragon herbs this is a shop actually just up the street from me um in U I'm not sure if it's I think it's in West Hollywood and they have all kinds of herbs and things my daughter really loved this shop so going to
7:31 put two three kind of four goby berries in that and going to give this a little bit of a taste here well that's delicious okay I'll be back in just a moment
8:28 e e
9:04 okay so here we are uh relaxing and um so uh this this is a a book I found it in the you used bookstore many many many years ago for all of a whopp and dollar and it's it's a it's five of the six um Charly Chan novels and um again they were written by Earl Biggers so you can see the the face page there um and it starts with his the first one the house without a key and then the Chinese parro behind that curtain the black camel and Keeper of
9:40 the keys um and um um the first one was written in 1925 so almost a hundred years ago in fact it what was published in 1925 so it was it was likely written the year before uh so a hundred years ago and then um the most recent one was written in um 19 uh and that was when it was renewed 1932 so these were all written um you know in the in the the first
10:17 third of the 20th century and um so uh Charlie Chan uh is is a a man originally from China who pardon me he moves to Hawaii um and and by the way if for those of you who know your history Hawaii was not a state at this time so it was an American territory um and it had a very um um diverse population um there were a lot of white Americans there um but there
10:53 were also native Hawaiians there Japanese Chinese Filipinos so a lot of of of you know different Asian people um came to Hawaii although most of them were were Japanese and Chinese and Charlie Chan is a detective for the Honolulu police department and at the so one of the things I think it's it's it's important to know about um Biggers is well if if if one looks so the the the
11:31 the novels were eventually turned into movies um they they were made many times um but initially in the 30s um and um when when some people watch them today um they they really bristle at the way um Charlie Chan um is is portrayed now um the original actors who portrayed them portrayed him were white white men um
12:07 who who were made up to look uh Chinese um and and so you know by today's standards of course that's that's somewhat uh controversial um but also um Charlie Chan excuse me speaks in what what is uh excuse
12:47 me so uh Charlie Chan even in the in the books and the movies he speaks in an idiom that again by today's ERS seems uh almost like a self put down so for example he often times refer refers to himself as this unworthy one uh so he's portrayed with a a lot of um humility even self-deprecation at times
13:25 but what's interesting is uh Biggers was very aware of the prejudice against uh Asians uh in in the United States and that's one of the reasons it appears that he wrote the Charle Chan uh novels because in many portrayals of Asians especially during that time they they you know they they pulled Rick Shaw they operated laundries you know these sort
14:02 of um you know what were considered at the time and maybe still are today sort of lowly types of jobs and to portray him as a detective at a major Metropolitan Police Department and in fact the best detective in Hawaii by doing that uh Biggers wasy trying to show that Asians were the equals of of whites of all of all people really and
14:40 and and yet um because of how I think most Americans interacted most non- asian-americans interacted with Asians so there was a a way that Asians behaved now obviously I'm not Asian um I'm not steeped in Asian culture so one of the questions I thought about is did when when Asians behaved with this sense of humility um were they doing it while they're kind of winking at themselves um
15:17 they were sort of having it over on people or and and that's not to say by the way that they they weren't genuinely humble but the the the sort of way they did it right one can be humble and one can be humble in one can be Express humility in different ways so what was you know what was the motivation behind that and and that I don't know um but I think that when people see especially the older Charlie Chan movies today they look at them and and and they and in
15:52 many cases they're offended and yet in their time they portraying Asians in a very um profoundly good light in the sense that they weren't subservient and they weren't obsequious and all these things they were you know doing jobs that a lot of Americans thought you know only only whites could do now keep in mind by the way this this predates um for example um um oh shoot
16:31 the great Sydney potier uh In the Heat of the Night um where he plays um uh I think it's Sergeant tibs so Sydney poier goes down to the South to visit his mother and gets caught up in a what what I think it's I believe it's a murder and the the the sheriff in this little southern town you know at first arrests him and then he finds out he's he's a police officer and I believe it's Philadelphia and not only that but he's one of the top detectives in that police department and so then he he
17:07 engages uh tibs to help solve the mystery and it's a journey for this Sheriff from being sort of the um stereotypical bigoted Southern small town southern Sheriff to understanding that you know a black man uh can you know is the equal of of a white man it's it's an absolutely brilliant movie and of course Sydney portier one of the greatest actors of all times he he plays the the the role just superbly so but that was already I believe that movie is
17:43 from the 1960s right so we're talking 30 30 to 40 years earlier and and here's Charlie Chan uh obviously you know fictional of course just like just like Detective tibs um but nonetheless being portrayed in a very especially for its time dignified way so I have to have another sip of [Laughter] cocktail so why do I bring this up uh I think
18:21 there's a question about how do we perceive things from the past in the context of today another in other words do we judge whether it's it's artwork U popular cultural things people by the standards of today or do we judge them by the standards of their time and I think this is an important
18:58 issue for us to think about in dealing with relationships so whether you're whether we're reading the Bible where you know the biblical code for example if if someone kills a relative of mine okay I'm entitled I'm not kills sorry let me let me be precise if someone murders a relative of mine
19:34 okay I'm permitted as that person's relative to be what's called in Hebrew the goel hadam the Redeemer of the blood meaning I'm permitted to kill the murderer in order to um in order to avenge it's not really done in Vengeance it's done in Justice for the murder of of my relative right now today in contemporary America if I were to do that I'd be guilty of murder
20:09 myself because we don't permit murder in response to the murder of our relative so there are people who will say well the biblical principle is barbaric but in the context of its time where there were no police forces we didn't have jails and the idea of murder even being wrong was an innovation so the idea that someone who murders has to pay for that crime with
20:46 their own life was a a supremely moral position to hold right so do you know should biblical law biblical practiced be condemned because we handle these things differently now or should it be understood in the context of its time and those of you who watch the show you know often enough you you can probably guess which which side I come down on I I think we have to
21:21 judge laws behaviors people in the context generally speaking in the context of their times okay now we have to be careful with that because when we judge it in the context of the times that doesn't mean that we take an outlaw an outlying opinion from history and use that to um to support a heinous act that was done at that time okay so we have to look at the
21:59 entire historical context of the time uh the the the intent of the action I.E was it meant to correct a moral wrong or was it meant to uh um to allow exploitation to continue okay you you might be you might be thinking this this sounds like I'm leading somewhere I am right so so for example let's take uh slavery uh in the
22:36 context of colonial America right so some people would say well slavery was widespread at that time and so therefore in its time slavery was not wrong the problem with that argument is even in its time there was a recognition that human beings should not enslave fellow human beings and indeed uh in in the debate over the uh Declaration of Independence right there was there was
23:12 the the debate over slavery was one of the reasons why it it it became it was so difficult to get the Declaration of Independence uh you know agreed to because was a profound difference and perspective on slavery between uh the the uh Northern and and middle American colonies and the southern colonies and and um John Adams for example um wanted to
23:48 declare that all Americans including black Americans should be considered free and that and that slavery was evil and and um uh I'm trying to think of one of the the um one of the most prominent Southern delegates uh Edgar rutage uh who was I think from South Carolina he would not support the Declaration of Independence if it condemned slavery right so so that's what I'm saying we have to be careful about how we look at the context of the
24:25 time uh when we we judge practices people Etc right and so when when I look at how um Biggers portrayed Charlie Chan while by the standards of today his his his you know overly humble obsequious carry kitched Behavior wrinkles a little bit in the context of the time for for Charlie Chan to to be the you know to top detective
25:02 on the Honolulu police force and and and widely acknowledged as such by everyone in the Honolulu police department and indeed by by you know uh Hawaiians in general uh was was really a statement of uh an anti-discrimination statement and indeed um it's not one of the five here the the six Charlie Chan novel uh takes place in in England or it starts in England anyway and uh a a detective from Scotland Yard
25:40 is investigating a murder and he finds out that uh Charlie Chan is I think is in England and he's really Overjoyed because he had the the he he had the opportunity to work with Charlie Chan previously and the the case he's working on he realizes is so baffling he needs someone of Charlie Chan's skill and ability in order to solve this case right so you know again it's it's it's a it's a fascinating inversion of how
26:18 Asians and in this case in particular Chinese people and Western Society were Pro portrayed and looked at and so uh you know I I I I I applaud um Earl dig Biggers um for for you know writing the Charlie Chan detective novels for creating this portrayal of a a an an honorable uh intelligent highly successful um you know Chinese man at a
26:56 time when you know that just wasn't really the way Americans uh at least some Americans looked at the Chinese and so uh you know as we as we work in our relationships and especially as we deal with people who are different than we are I think one of the one of the challenges is to understand these differing types of perspectives and look I can I can certainly understand how a Chinese American today might be offended by the
27:31 the the way Charlie Chan is portrayed and hopefully despite our different interpretation of that we can agree to disagree and still build a solid meaningful relationship and and that in the end is the key and that's why I raise this issue so I have to have another cocktail H goby berries infused with the Jin and
28:08 lime and yum kind of like interesting flavored raisins um so this is why I think it's important to examine these issues devoid of their political over tones so two people getting along and being able to build a relationship I I think that should be able to happen no matter what political beliefs they have
28:44 and the ability to understand these kinds of issues in the context of their time how people might view them today and understanding them that's what important that someone has a view different than me don't care don't care uh but but hopefully we can come to an understanding of our differences and agree that despite our differences you know having
29:20 collegial uh even building a close relationship is far more mutually beneficial than you know arguing and and holding a grudge over over these kinds of of things so that that's that's the message of of again the the great detective uh Charlie Chan and and Earl dig Biggers I'm I I if you are a detective fiction fan the way I am I have a library of I don't I think of couple hundred um detective fiction um
29:56 novels um both the the the sort of more classic style like Charlie Chan like um Rex Stout who does um uh oh shoot I went up on the detective Rex writes about um in he has the Brownstone in lower Manhattan um you know the Sam Spade detective novels all of those to the real hard boil detective novels like the um Steven Marlo and Richard pra um I read them all although these days I do prefer the more sort of uh Charlie Chan
30:34 and and uh um and Agatha Christie and and and and all of those they're um the they're they're not so hardboiled but if if you're a a detective fiction fan like I am I encourage you if you haven't read uh the Charlie Chan novels to to do so um they they are wonderful to read they they are intricate and and Incredibly engaging so anyway that's that's our our visit for this uh Thursday evening or I think on
31:12 the East Coast it's already about 8:30 at night so I I I I thank you for tuning in especially those of you who have t tuned in live uh always a pleasure to um have you have you on board and this is my last broadcast for this week we'll pick things up next week on Monday at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time with trust and Estates weekly my guest is Hillary Cooper and we're doing a replay of um of prepare for downsizing we did we we promoted this show a few weeks ago and
31:48 because of technical problems it it didn't come off so uh Hillary and I are going to uh get together and and and and talk about that on Monday and I really invite you uh to join us Hillary is a a brilliant woman and will really give you some G really solid Grist uh to to to mentally chew on um as you contemplate all the stuff that we we have around us and and what's going to happen with that um and what's going to happen with our maybe our parents stuff that sort of
32:23 thing and then on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. is my show um uh business lessons from the military and I'm going to be talking about how you succeed a failed leader and uh I'm going to be doing that by talking about how um Allen be uh uh succeeded in the uh battle in Gaza after um archabald Murray had failed twice and Allen be um was put in charge of the Egyptian expeditionary force and had to come in and and how how
33:00 did he how did he succeed where his predecessor had failed and failed so dramatically uh and then on Wednesday normally at 10: a.m. Pacific time um normally I I broadcast my show people making money uh but I'll be uh doing a special show for Thanksgiving which is of course the following day and thought you know originally I thought I'll broadcast on Thanksgiving but you know what I think it's better we spend the time with our families and loved ones friends whatever and so I thought it would be better to to do my
33:35 Thanksgiving broadcast the day before and I'm going to be of course talking about the holiday as I always do on these special editions and then reading you the proclamation that George Washington issued when he was president in 1789 so uh other than that um one last thing um you you'll start to not uh next week that on the promotions for my show you'll see not just the YouTube logo but the Spotify and apple podcast logos and that's because actually
34:10 starting um with my show yesterday or I'm sorry with my show on Monday um I'm I'm um posting my shows on Spotify now uh and and my understanding is because of the Spotify service I'm using they're being automatically um uploaded to Apple podcast as well as video casts and so if um if you're not able to catch a show live um and and Spotify or apple podcast is your preferred way of of watching video podcasts so check me out there and
34:45 love love to have you as a viewer there as well what whatever trying to make it more convenient for for you my viewers so and if you have not subscribed to my YouTube channel um really appreciate it if you consider doing that um I'm working toward getting to the point where uh I I'm in the monetization program on YouTube not that I'm looking to make a lot of money off this quite to the contrary I'm not um but if I make a few dollars that helps to free the costs of of uh things like restream and and that sort of thing that you know allow me to do this podcast so would really
35:22 appreciate your support in that way so thank you so much for joining me uh this this this evening wishing you a wonderful night sleep well if you've had your cocktail that that hopefully will help and have a wonderful wonderful rest of the week and look forward to seeing you next week signing off as I always do Marie darling you are my bell courage at all times my friends