Culture Surfing - LaLa Cochran in Lalaland

Having shown a flair for playing floozies and funny gals at local playhouses such as Horizon Theatre, Atlanta actress LaLa Cochran portrays a Hollywood agent in the showbiz satire The Little Dog Laughed at Theatre in the Square’s Alley Stage. When asked to contribute to Culture Surfing, Cochran remarked, “I feel like such a boring ol’ lady compared to these young hipsters with their knowing of blogs and things. Lately, I mainly read cookbooks, and then I get up and make the stuff that has the prettiest picture, and then I eat the stuff I’ve made — if, by chance, it looks like the picture.” She managed to come up with some other picks, too:

“The Sarah Silverman Program”: “And/or anything else that the comedienne has acted in, produced or farted on, from the hilarious “I’m Fucking Matt Damon” video, to her guitar songettes in Jesus Is Magic. Is there anyone who challenges our frickin’-frackin’ pea-pickin’ social norms with such Jewy adorableness? (BTW, I am Jewishy.)”

The Darjeeling Limited: “A great movie. It’s about these miserable, alienated brothers with all this expensive luggage (baggage?) and how they figure out what to do with all their, you know, baggage. This film has a typically fascinating soundtrack (thank you, Wes Anderson), which has been on my car CD player for a month — and dovetails perfectly with my current mania for Indian cuisine. Yes, I said, ‘cuisine.’ It’s called ‘cuisine’ because it tastes better than ‘food.’”

“This American Life” on NPR: “Ira Glass’ incredible ability to find, interpret and produce American stories from every damn street in America draws me to the radio every Sunday evening. You can listen to hundreds of these mostly hypnotic and often hilarious stories on their website: ThisAmericanLife.org.”

The Smithsonian Handbook of Birds of North America (Eastern Region): “OK, I use it, particularly after watching what I identified as a Cooper’s hawk eating the neighbor’s dachshund one day on the back porch.”

Manuel’s Tavern: “This isn’t about the beer or the Braves. In an election season, politics pours out of the place from its own spigot. Vote for whoever you want but here’s a place to talk about why you did.”