I posted a new podcast episode today. Right here. And I don’t want to get carried away, but I’m starting to feel like I might eventually get the hang o’ this shit. Past episodes have only come about after multiple false-starts, and are filled with awkward moments. But this one was knocked out in one take and, while it’s still not good, it’s better than the other four, I think. Anyway, if you’re a “patron” please give it a listen and let me know what you think. Thank you guys!
Here’s the little description I wrote for it: In this episode I discuss snottin’ and snortin’, possibly the weirdest beer in the world, forcing people in NEPA to make eye contact, a specific kind of bad driver, and the TV show Alone.
As I mention in the podcast, allergies are kicking my ass right now. At the beginning of spring, when everybody else is hockin’, I have no problems whatsoever. But at the transition between spring and summer — which is right now — I become a physical and spiritual wreck. In addition to the sneezing and the drip, drip, drip… my contact lenses are also in a state of revolt. When I pop them in it feels like they’ve been soaking all night in Listerine. Just a powerful burning for about one minute, during which I howl and jump around the room. Freakin’ hurts… After the first minute, it goes away, but it feels like I’ve got sand in my eyes all the time, so there’s a slight annoyance, all day long.
Eventually, all this will fade away, and it’ll be smooth sailing for a few months. Then it’ll kick up again during early fall. Oh, it’s nothing if not predictable. And it sucks, my friends.
Also, the heat is returning. The past week or so has been almost fall-like here, and I’ve been loving it. But starting today we’re going back into the devil’s peehole. But all the humboxes are installed — including two brand new units — and we’re prepared. I guess. The new one in the living room, by the way, has a remote control. So, now I won’t even have to peel my sweaty hams off the chair to make adjustments. Now I just need a beerbot to fetch Yuenglings for me. Or I can just say fukkit, like some people I know, and keep a giant cooler right in the living room. Heh. We’ll have to see how it goes.
Did I tell you guys I won a contest? I’m going to have trouble remembering if I wrote about certain subjects, or ranted about them on the podcast. Anyway, I entered a Rhino Records contest, trying to win a Replacements “promo pack.” The Replacements are one of my favorite bands, and Rhino recently released a fantastic live album by them, recorded in 1986. And they created a lot of super-cool promotional items surrounding the release that are hard for civilian shitkickers like me to get their hands on. The most sought-after piece is a sheet of punch-out standees, featuring each member of the band. Here’s one on eBay. And this promo-pack reportedly featured the standees and “other items.” So, I entered and promptly forgot about it. I mean, I win nothing.
But I won this one! Somebody at Rhino contacted me and asked for my address. Then a few days later I was notified by UPS that there’s a package out there from Warner Music Group, heading my way. I watched the tracking, and last Friday it was out for delivery. Oh yeah! But it never showed up. The next day I received another email saying the delivery date was now changed to Tuesday (grrr…). But on Monday I received yet another email saying it would be delivered on Monday. But it never showed up. What in the scrotum-scratching hell?? I was becoming convinced I’d never see the stuff. Right? It felt like something was terribly wrong.
But it finally showed up on Tuesday, beat all to hell. The standees are not totally destroyed, but a couple of them are coming loose from the sheet. Especially Bob, over on the right. It’s not ideal, my friends. But whatever. They also included a reprint of the ticket for the show at which the live album was recorded: Maxwell’s in New Jersey. Admission was $6. Crazy. Also there was a sticker in there that reads Rock Like Murder: The Replacements. Pretty cool. I just wish UPS hadn’t let me down. Ya know?
Have you ever won any contests like that? I’m not talking about awards at work (Key Person of the Quarter, or whatever), I mean random drawings by a company or a store or something? Back when I was 19 or 20 I won a “record run” at a local record store. It was sponsored by FM105, a radio station, and I was allowed to run around the store for 105 seconds and get as many albums over to a table as I could. And after all the restrictions and limitations were activated, I ended up with 96 albums I could take home. There were lots and lots of limitations that slowed me down.
But what about you? Have you ever won any contests? Please tell us about it in the comments.
And I need to get ready for work. Wednesday felt like Friday to me, so I don’t know what’s going on. It’s going to be a rough Thursday and Friday, I think. I’m struggling…
But I’ll see you guys again on Monday.
Have great weekend!
Now playing in the bunker
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I won a rock trivia book from some Oldies AM station back in the early 1990s.
First? Ive never won shit, but when I was 16 and my brother was 13 he won a Wonder Bread racecar go kart in one of those displays in the grocery store. I was sooo gealous . When he and my Dad got it home and started it, literally, maiden voyage, he drove it straight down the driveway and into a curb. Bent it all to hell.
My daughter (who was 8 at the time) and I were in the Jetblue terminal at JFK on Halloween day and the airline was having a “dance party” to celebrate. They had a DJ and everything. I was actively trying to avoid the spectacle, but she was at the age and disposition to go right in and start dancing. She began to do “the robot” and several people started cheering her on in that dance party “whoop whoop” kind of holler. A few minutes later someone from Jetblue came up and handed us an envelope with 2 free tickets anywhere Jetblue flew. They said she won the “kids” prize for the “dance contest”! Who knew? The next year we all flew out to Arizona to see the Grand Canyon.
I won 5 grand at the local Eagles lodge in the Sunday night drawing. Would have been 10 if I was present.
When I was about 9, I won an honorable mention from our local newspaper for a story we had to write “If I Could Run My Own School” I still have the newspaper article with my name in it. A lot of schools were involved so this was some pretty big shit. My theme was a one room school house. Most kids went with a look towards the future, so I’m thinking my old fashioned slant made it different.
Like others here, I’ve won no contests as far as I can remember.
However, like others here, my little brother is one of those “lucky winner” types.
In 1994 while a college student, my brother and two of his buddies entered a table top football contest sponsored by Ocean Spray. They flicked little triangle shaped cardboard “footballs” up and down a laminated “field” and answered football trivia questions for extra points.
They won the contest at their school, and then won a regional tournament, and eventually, became the Ocean Spray National Tabletop Football Champions. The championship game was broadcast very late at night on ESPN 2.
They were awarded cases of Ocean Spray products, shirts, hats, and an all expense paid trip and tickets to Super Bowl XXIX. He met some players, had a blast, and came down with Chicken Pox while on the trip. Karma and such, I suppose.
When I was in high school, I won a couple of albums from radio stations for being the 9th caller, or whatever. As an adult in the 1990s, I won a ski bag in a drawing of NASTAR numbers at Hunter Mountain. Yes, it’s pretty much the baccarat tables of Monte Carlo around here.
About 10 years ago some scumbag broke in to my truck one night while it sat innocently in my driveway. I always lock it because, well, this is New Jersey. But the determined shits jimmied open the back sliding window in my pickup and helped themselves to my golf clubs. Not any of the money in the truck, just my 35 year old clubs that were were my late dad’s. So the value was mostly sentimental. But I digress…as a result I had to go out a couple months later and invest in a new bag and some cheapo clubs. Around the same time I was in the local Spirits store for my weekly re-load and they were having a raffle for a new Nike Grand Marnier golf bag. I entered just because I was already there and lo and behold, I got a call, about two weeks after I had bought the other bag, letting me know that I won. So now I had gone from no bag, to two! I probably could have returned the first, cheaper one, if I had the receipt, but my good friend needed a new bag so I just gave it to him. So ultimately I got a better bag and the opportunity to do a solid for a friend. Pretty good turn of events.
P.S. I got a call from a detective a few years later to tell me they actually caught the a-hole who stole my clubs (they had a detective brush my truck for prints at the time) and as luck would have it, at the time of the crime he was one month shy of his 18th birthday, so they had to charge him as a juvenile. So, virtually no punishment. Ahh, such is the way of life…
Back in 1995 I entered a Schick/Gillette hockey contest of sorts. I did not win the Grand Prize (don’t even remember what the Grand Prize was) but I won a prize – an authentic Toronto Maple Leafs jersey (fight strap and all). Nice!
Won a radio contest based on my knowledge of 311. Got to go on the “PARTY BUS” with other winners and eat before the concert, bbq at that, with 311. They were really cool and we got backstage passes. The trip back, a lot of visibly obvious lesbian activity was going on in the back of the PARTY BUS. That was cool too. Lots of alcohol involved. Thought 311 might share some recreational stuff, but didn’t happen.
I want to hear more about the FM105 contest you won – the 96 albums. What store (Budget?) and what were the restrictions? Do you remember your strategy for getting what/as much you wanted? What sought after albums were high priority at that time?
I won a lawnmower from the John Boy & Billy radio show one time. It was one of those things, they took all the daily winners of some kind of trivia contest and did a drawing at the end of the week. They called me and asked for my address and shipped that bad boy to me pronto. I ended up giving it away because I was single and didn’t have anywhere to store it.