Tag Archives: Superfan Damien

A Decade of Decadence or: The Most Desirables?

03 Monday Feb 2020

Posted by in Life as We Know It, Podcasting, The Less Desirables Network

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Salutations™!!

Today is the 10th anniversary of The Less Desirables’ first-ever episode, both recording and airing. February 3, 2010, was a Wednesday and I went to the area between Reynolda Road, Silas Creek Parkway and Wake Forest Road and picked up Brian from work as his car was in the shop.

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10 Years Old Today (the podcast, not the logo)

I took him to my house only to realize that I didn’t have the right mic or mic cable in my house for more than one person to talk. So, we had to run over to where the bands that I had been in had practiced and grabbed the right mic and cable and headed back to my house.

We sat in the “media room” (what is now 3B’s room) and looked at each other. “What are we going to talk about?” I asked. “I don’t know,” he said. I replied, “I tell you what… I’ll hit the record button and we’ll just see what happens. If we don’t like it, we can try again.”

The point was to have a 20-minute podcast, this newfangled kind of “radio-on-demand” or recorded audio thingy because 20 minutes is about the length of an average commute here in the Triad. Some are longer, some are shorter, but it’s about average at 20. How we were going to come up with something to talk about for 20 minutes was wracking our brains.

I hit the button. 38 minutes later, the first one was recorded. An hour later it was on a web server and I had half-arsed written an RSS feed, the best I could figure, and was ready for people to listen to. I don’t know that anyone did. I still don’t know if they hear them now. I just know that there are plenty of downloads. That first one was a bit rough and I think neither Brian nor myself would argue that.

It wasn’t fascinating stuff. But, you know what? Few people were doing it. We essentially had our own radio program, a morning-type show, and we were proud of that. And, here we are 10 years later and I am still proud of what we did that first day and all 520 episodes since. I am pretty sure Brian would agree with that.

This Wednesday will be the 10th-anniversary recording, number 521. I know that Eugene, Caitlin, Beer Guru Jay Platt, Danielle and Bethany will be there. There is a slim chance that Brian and Bruce will come but I’m not really sure. I’d love to have all of us in a room at once. Heck, it would be great if Superfan Damien could be here, too. But, he’s all the way out in Super Bowl Champion World (that’s Kansas City). It would be great, though. That first show even predates The BCPF by a few months.

Without that first show, there probably wouldn’t be any Fan Interference, any Camel City Dispatch News Hour, Tart & Tangy Triad, The Beer Dads, The Man Who Ate the Town, Apartment 5B, Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking, or Beeswax Vinyl & More. No The Less Desirables Network. No, Rule 1 Podcast, Owner’s Manual, No Mask No Cape Podcast, Forsyth Mags Podcast, Open the Blue Door Podcast, Wine About Real Estate Podcast, Margaret’s SpeakEasy Podcast, Transformative Conversations Podcast, Lunch Link Podcast, Thrive with Dara and Garth, or any of the ones that I should be starting in the next few weeks.

I’m not saying that none of these last group of podcasts wouldn’t be there, I’m just saying that I wouldn’t be the one making them happen if it weren’t for the first-ever recording of The Less Desirables 10 years ago today. I wouldn’t be called “the Podfather.”

When I started this journey in 2010, no one knew what a podcast was. I had to explain around seven times a day what it was. Now, I only have to explain it once every seven days. Now, almost literally everyone has a podcast and when people around here want to start one, they at least come to me first. That makes me feel good. It makes me feel important. It makes me feel like I truly am the “father” of the podcast culture around this area.

All this because Brian and I sat in a room in my house and made stuff up for about 40 minutes. Since that first day, there is only one thing that has stayed constant since the very first show. Not me, I haven’t been on every show. Not Brian, he left in 2014. Most would think it is the theme song (which I wrote, by the way). Nope to all of that. The only thing constant since the first-ever show (which was recorded on that day) is the disclaimer at the very end. It still has Brian’s voice on it, here, five and a half years since his leaving. So, even though he’s not here, he’s here every week.

If you’d like to hear this (very rough) first episode, you can do so here. Listen to that one and then listen to the one this week and hear the difference.

Well, here’s to another 10 years (at least) of The Less Desirables and The Less Desirables Podcast Network. Thank you for listening and reading…

Until tomorrow, same pod channel at some pod time (your choice)…
Scorp out!

—
“The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the contributors and not necessarily those of our distributors or hosting company. This podcast is copyrighted and any use of this product cannot be reproduced without the expressed written consent of Such-N-Such Limited, Inc. So don’t do it…” – The Less Desirables

The Next One or: Not So Bad

10 Wednesday Oct 2018

Posted by in Movie Review

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Salutations™!!

So, whilst doing the social media for The Less Desirables, and on the recommendation of Superfan Damien, I decided to watch Heavy Metal 2000. He was right to a point, The storyline is more linear and makes a little more sense, but it’s really just one story and not pieces. It’s not about the Loc Nar as the first one was. I mean, the Loc Nar is insinuated but, it’s not the focus.

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© CinéGroupe, Artisan Filmworks and The Montecito Picture Company

Another thing that’s missing is the cool soundtrack. Yeah, there are songs and yeah, they’re more actual “metal,” but it’s just not got the same feel. Instead of Cheap Trick, Journey, Grand Funk, BOC, Black Sabbath, Sammy Hagar, Devo and Stevie Nicks, we get less memorable songs from Pantera, System of a Down, Voivod, Monster Magnet, Bauhaus, Queens of the Stone Age and Billy Idol, who actually lends his voice to Odin, the guardian of the ancient fountain that gives the bad guy his powers and such. The fountain guardians aren’t the bad guys, by the way. But, is Odin one of them, really? Hmmm… I’m not getting into the plot and all that. The saddest part, though, is that Percy Rodrigues isn’t voiced in this film (he was alive then, couldn’t he have done something?).

The whole thing is kind of disjointed and like I said makes a little more sense, it just isn’t any better. It also is not and was never the cult classic the first one was. The movie rating site, Rotten Tomatoes rates the first one at 61% Fresh (67% Audience Score). This one, however, is a dismal 10% Rotten (36% Audience). Yeah, the more I think about it, it really did suck, pretty much.

The main female character, Julie, is actually modeled after, drawn in the likeness of and voiced by softcore porn actress and 1993 Penthouse Pet of the Year, Julie Strain. Michael Ironside plays the main villain, Tyler.

It’s really a crappy film, but it’s somewhat entertaining when you have to have something going on while you’re doing social media, you know?  Yeah… I guess so.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“What does it take to get laid around here?” – Tyler

Not Goodbye, Just See You Later or: A Fond Farewell

23 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by in Life as We Know It, Podcasting

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Salutations™!!

It was a bittersweet episode of The Less Desirables last night. On one hand, I got to see my buddy, “Superfan” Damien. On the other hand, it will probably be his last appearance for a while and most likely a long while at that.

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(left to right) “Superfan” Damien, me, David Stanley, Tammy Padgett (Bethany had left 😦 )

Damien has been with the show (and friends with the hosts) almost since the beginning. We met in January 2011 when Brian, The Beer Guru and myself went on a little beer excursion to the Triangle area. The show started in February 2010, so we had just started picking up some momentum. We went to Durham and Raleigh that day, on the schedule that Jay (The Beer Guru) had laid out for us. We started in Durham and it was an early morning jaunt to get to this non-descript little brewery called Triangle Brewing Company as they opened because we had a long journey ahead.

We got in and did a little brewery tour. Afterwards, as we were all in lines doing the tastings and purchasing stuff, Brian and I walked over to the management and asked if we could put our TLD sticker on the cooler door with the other stickers that adorned the heavy aluminum slab. As Damien puts it, “I heard Tim’s big, booming voice saying ‘we do a podcast.'” He walked over and said to me, “a podcast you say?” And, Brian and I proceeded to give him the pitch: “pop culture, blah blah blah, this, that, blah blah, Beer!” We all shined a large grin and uttered a chuckle on that.

He said he’d give it a listen and he did. He even wrote to us to tell us that he enjoyed it and that he listened whilst he was working out or mowing his lawn or other various chores. He wrote in regularly after that. He has been the constant at most of our “Post-Holiday/Anniversary” parties (they weren’t all called that, then) and other than The BCPF, has been to more than anyone else, including all the co-hosts past and present. He made several appearances on the show itself, which was always a fun time for us. He has been with us, really, longer than when Eugene was part of the show. Eugene didn’t come until mid-2011. He’s been with us through Brian leaving, Caitlin coming, Eugene leaving, Bruce coming, Bruce leaving, Danielle coming, Caitlin leaving, Bethany coming. He’s been here the whole time. He’s even been on The Beer Dads with us.

He gives me tips on “out there” films that I either haven’t seen, haven’t heard of or hadn’t cared to watch. I would say other than beer, his movie expertise has been the most helpful to me. He’s always on the lookout for beers that he hasn’t tried and he’s not afraid to voice his opinion of my admitted ignorance of things.

Why am I waxing poetic on the dude? Because I don’t know when I’ll get to see him again. His lovely wife, his beautiful daughter and he are packing (well they have already) up and moving to Kansas City, Missouri on Saturday. Bad for us, but really good for them. His wife couldn’t pass up the job opportunity that was given to her. She is going to work for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. As Damien said, they “checked off all their boxes” on conditions of the job. It must be nice to get the “job of your dreams.” Wait… I already have that. But, for others, it must be nice.

The good news for us is The Less Desirables is available globally, so no matter where Damien goes and if he chooses, he can listen to our crap-spewing. He can still email and still be part of it. If we teach him how to Skype, we could have him on the show in that capacity. Also, he says he plans on making somewhat-frequent trips back and will definitely come back on when he is in. So, as he said last night, “this is only goodbye for now.”

Damien, you have been so important to the rise and success of The Less Desirables and you are a great friend to the show. More importantly, to me anyway, you are a great friend to me. I love you, brother. Safe travels and happy life to you and yours from all of us: the Beemans, The Less Desirables past and present and The Beer Dads.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“We may not know what each day has in store for us. We could be gone tomorrow. Any minute could truly be our goodbye. But we do have this moment. This time. Today. Right now.” – Grace Gealey

It Happened or: the Party That Was

12 Monday Feb 2018

Posted by in Life as We Know It, The Less Desirables Network

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Salutations™!!

This past Saturday, after we did our “Saturday Thang,” we had a little party, a get together if you will, at The Less Desirables Official Emerald Isle, Finnigan’s Wake. There was a decent crowd. I would have liked it to be bigger, but there were several factors involved.

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The Original The Less Desirables (l-r) Brian, Tim, Eugene

 

One, it was the Saturday before Valentine’s Day, which is this Wednesday. So, I figure there were a lot of folks that went out to eat at that time; that was their date time.

Two, the weather was atrocious. It was snotty and wet. Some people just don’t go out in that. If we didn’t have this party, we’d have gone to dinner and gone home. I get it.

Third, I was a little late getting the invites out. However, I really enjoyed the folk that came out.

Let’s throw this down first. The BCPF was with me. She is so supportive of me and TLD. She has always been. I love when she’s by my side.

Superfan Damien made his way out here from Durham. He was the first in and the last one out. That’s awesome. My new pal, Tim and his wife, Amy (whom I have known since she was 14), were there. Past TLD guest, Tracy Bush, the Nutrimom, was there and she had an entourage. Friends Michael and Karen Hoch were there. Also, a past guest, Jordan Googe, was there. A childhood friend, Shonna came and brought her friend Misty. Bethany from The Less Desirables was there for her first TLD party. My new friend Jeff (whom I’ll be doing a podcast with soon) brought a pal of his.

I loved having all those folks there with me. But, I was in for a very unexpected surprise. Two very special guests showed up, surprising me. Eugene was across the street doing work at the local radio station. He came over and sat with us for a bit.

But, the big one was Brian. Brian, the ORIGINAL co-host of TLD. He what started the show with me over eight years ago. He came down from Virginia to celebrate with us. I had chills and was so excited. Both him and Eug being there was amazing.

I thank each and every one of the attendees for being there and their support. Thank you, too, to Opie and the folks at Finnigan’s Wake for their support of us over the years. Thank you to Laura and Brittany for taking care of all of us.

Thank you, Dear Reader, for your support of us over the years, as well.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“So don’t do it…” – Brian Attridge

Bonus Record Day or: Just Because

28 Tuesday Nov 2017

Posted by in Life as We Know It, Records

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Salutations™!!

I didn’t record The Man Who Ate the Town podcast today because it was a slow day and I would have just talked about Thanksgiving food. I don’t think forcing topics is good for the podcast, so I didn’t. I mean, if you want to read about what I made, check out the upcoming blog post over there about what I did. It should be interesting. R-6033566-1409343720-3911.jpeg

No, Dear Reader, today, I want to talk about records. GASP! I know, right? It seemed like I had a lot of discussion on Facebook today about it and wanted to talk about what I listened to for a sec. First, I was doing some cooking today and usually, I listen to Amazon Prime when I cook (again… GASP…) but I’m trying to get through some of the piled up “to be listened to” stack that is amassing at an alarming rate.

We purchased a new four-cubed shelf for those as to separate them from the main collection. They’re not in any real order and some of them are The BCPF’s and some are mine. So, I did the random grab method with a little prejudice. If it was something that was The BCPF’s, then I put it back and tried again.

The first one up was Tales From Topographic Oceans from Yes. It’s a 2xLP that has four songs on it. Yes, one per side. I really enjoyed listening to 90125 last night and figured I’d go for the older, more proggy Yes for a bit. I can say that it was well done. It was a bit too deep for me, I think. As you may recall from my RS Top 500 list, I am not always a fan of long, drawn-out, tunes. I think that’s why I like pop music so much, four minutes and next. My ADD gets in my way. I didn’t really care for it.

A few weeks ago, I had to admit that I knew nothing from King Crimson. In my “bonus-stack-I-didn’t-know-I-had,” there was the greatest hits comp, The Young Persons’ Guide To King Crimson. So, okay, let’s do that one next. I don’t know if the production was wonky or what, but it was extra quiet in spots and, yes, I know with that kind of music dynamics are important and the breadth is vast, but I don’t know that this is what that was. Anywhat! It was basically “more of the same” as it was with Yes. It was good. Well done, even. I just didn’t get into it. I will admit that I didn’t listen to the second disc. Why? It wasn’t because I was ditching it. A package arrived at my door and it was one that I’ve waited a long time for. Which brings me to the next:

All That Jazz from Breathe. Yes, it’s some very sugary pop music but it’s well written and it’s from my junior-senior years in high school. I sang the songs to an ex-girlfriend. It has eluded me since I started my vinyl journey and was one of my most coveted. I found it in VG+ condition on the Discogs Marketplace (where, like the name suggests, you buy and sell albums to and from all over the world). That and another album showed up together. I sang several of the songs quite disjointedly as I don’t hear them often. I love that album and was so excited to have it.

The next was Hi Infidelity from REO Speedwagon. I had never given it a fair shake and it was cheap from the same seller on Discogs and shipping was free. I sang a good bit of those tunes whilst cooking, as well.

Next was a twofer that is unusual I found out. It’s Nursery Cryme and Foxtrot in the same 2xLP set from Genesis. I love me some Peter Gabriel and I really like Genesis but I don’t like them together, mostly. Nursery Cryme was their third studio album and it was pretty good. I didn’t know what to expect, but I did know I was going to get long songs like the Yes and King Crimson. I wasn’t wrong about that, but I did actually enjoy listening to it. Foxtrot, its follow-up, was good but I didn’t like it as well as I did Nursery Cryme.

I finished off the listening (to this point) with Midnight Madness from Night Ranger. Yes, “Sister Christian.” I love a lot of stuff on this album and that song, in particular, has a special place in my heart. I probably wouldn’t be either the musician I am today or at all if it weren’t for that song. I performed that as an audition to get into this “contemporary music class” in ninth grade. That’s where I was pushed to learn bass guitar and piano. It pushed me to be a good musician. Whether or not I ever accomplished that? I can’t say, but I wouldn’t be anything musical without that, at least not until much later.

That’s my day’s playlist so far, but the reason I wanted to talk about them was the fact that they garnered a lot of talk on Facebook and Instagram. See, I post every album I listen to, twice. Once in the #nowspinning Facebook group from Underdog Records that The BCPF and I, along with many of our friends are part of and then on Instagram copying to Facebook and Twitter. The group is private so only members see that and I’m not necessarily Facebook friends with all the members, but we get good conversations from it. The IG post carries to anyone who is friends with me and follows me.

I know I’m in a good spot when I get Doug Davis, Ed Bumgardner, Lee Wallace, Clay Howard and others in the music community, all of whom I respect as far as their tastes and opinions, to comment and start an hours-long thread about what is “good” or not, or what is a better album or why this may be overrated or this may be underrated. I love musical conversations and when my playlist is at the core of it, I feel all gooey. Okay, that’s probably pushing it, but I really enjoy it. I enjoyed my listening today for all those reasons.

Do you have any comments on any of those albums, or any albums, Dear Reader? Surely, Superfan Damien has some to recommend. I want to hear from any of you, your thoughts or recommendations for albums to listen to. They don’t have to be on vinyl but I prefer them to be. That’s what we’re doing right now. Thanks for indulging me in this long-winded post!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“So raise your hands to heaven and pray that we’ll be back together someday. Tonight, I need your sweet caress. Hold me in the darkness. Tonight, you calm my restlessness. You relieve my sadness.” – “Hands to Heaven” (Glasper/Spice/Delahunty/Lillington)

Act of the Apostle or: Which One is Sebastian?

02 Wednesday Aug 2017

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Salutations™!!

My apologies again for yesterday’s short post. We had a heck of a “weekend plus.” I was exhausted. But, I’m here to tell you why. On Monday, our Engagementversary, we drove to Raliegh to see a band that The BCPF would consider “a fave.” They rarely tour and this was special, so how could we pass on it?

The band is Belle & Sebastian. They’re from Scotland; Glasgow. We heard some of their stuff whilst we were over there gettin’ hitched. I didn’t know what I thought about them when I first heard them a few years back when The BCPF put them on a mixtape for me. The more I listened over time the more and more I got to like them. They’re tongue-in-cheek, clever and very good musicians. 20170802_141746

To me, they have a very retro feel. Definitely an “indie” sound. It’s also a very full sound. That’s not too difficult to pull off when there are seven members actually in the band. Their singers, primarily Stuart Murdoch, have unique voices that I won’t say are great, but they are, well, unique… as I just said. The members are all around my age which is pretty cool. I can relate to life, if not the Scottish aspect, even though I do get some of that, too.

So, The BCPF and I stayed at the Hyatt Place North Raleigh-Midtown and ate dinner at a decent chain restaurant that was on the same property as the hotel before Ubering over to the North Carolina Museum of Art, where the show was being held. We had purchased general admission tix which would have gotten us closer to the stage but would have also required us to stand and I’m just not about that. Luckily, the lovely and awesome wife of Superfan Damien of The Less Desirables works at the NCMA and was able to get us an upgrade to reserved seating. And she really came through. 20170731_213822

The concert’s venue was outside. Not quite the size of one of the “sheds” (Amphitheaters) but still a pretty good venue with plenty of grass seating and bench seats with assigned numbers. We ended up with awesome seats due to our gracious upgrade. We were 8 rows past the general admission folk (row H) and smack-dab in the middle of the row. So we were eye-to-eye with Stuart throughout the show. I think these were better than the GA tix because 1) we had actual seats, 2) we didn’t have to fight anyone for a spot, 3) we didn’t have to get there early, 4) we were looking straight ahead and not “up” like most of them were. Plus, we had the benefit of being out in front of the speakers, not between them. We won the awesome lottery for sure.

Opening the show was Andrew Bird who was the violinist for Squirrel Nut Zippers and is quite the talent. I really enjoyed his stuff, but I have to admit it started to get old after about half way through. I don’t know that it was anything he was doing wrong or I was just ready to see Belle & Sebastian. I think it was the latter. He did good, though.

B&S at one time had 9 people on the stage at the same time, playing instruments or singing. They even had a young trumpet player named Alex that played on about five or six songs. He wasn’t part of the band. He was from Raleigh and hadn’t played with them before. I think I heard Stuart say he hadn’t played with anyone before. He was pretty good, though. I have to admit that I didn’t recognize most of the songs but I’m not the fan that The BCPF is. They did play several of my faves by them, though, including “Sukie in the Graveyard,” “I’m a Cuckoo,” “I Didn’t See It Coming” and “The Blues Are Still Blue.” The latter was the last encore that they did by request from someone they described as “someone with a bullhorn of a voice.”

It was a great show and I’m so glad we got to see them and we thank Mrs. Superfan Damien for the upgrade. We owe you guys some beer. Thanks to The BCPF for introducing me to Belle & Sebastian and wanting to go see them. I think it’s my favorite of “your music.” If you’re not familiar with the band, Dear Reader, you should give them a shot and you should keep an open mind because they’re certainly an acquired taste. But, you’ll see the talent, I’m sure. Enjoy!

Oh, and I didn’t do beer today because I don’t know what it will be. Danielle is surprising us. But, you should still go to City Beverage and say The Less Desirables sent you!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Sukie was the kid, she liked to hang out in the graveyard. She did brass rubbings, she learned you never had to press hard. When she finished hanging out she was all alone. She decided that she better check in at home. There was an awful row between her mum and dad. They said she hadn’t done this, she hadn’t done that. If she wanted to remain inside the family home, she’d have to tow the line, she’d have to give it a go. It didn’t suit Sukie so she took her things and left.” – “Sukie in the Graveyard” (Belle & Sebastian)

For a Great Cause or: Mike’s Week

20 Wednesday Apr 2016

Posted by in Food, Life as We Know It

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Salutations™!!

I am aware that today is Wednesday and that usually means a beer post. Well, tonight, on The Less Desirables, our guests are from New Sarum Brewing Company and we’re very stoked. But, because I don’t know what they’re going to bring, we’re going to have to wait and see, eh? Regardless, you should run by City Beverage and grab a sixer of something, especially something New Sarum brews. Tell Spencer it’s our beer of the week and get 5% off your order.

So, today, I’m piggybacking today on The Man Who Ate the Town because there’s good stuff happening in this town. Only one part of the article is new news but that’s okay. The part that is new is about a brewery in Durham that holds a lot of meaning to the lore of The Less Desirables. It’s where we met Superfan Damien. Also, check out the first part about Skippy’s and the awesome folks in this town that is coming to Mike’s aid. Read the post here.

skippys

Photo ©Skippy’s Facebook

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
““It’s going to be chaotic and it’s going to be fun. And we hope a lot of people will come out and support it.” – Will Kingery in a quote to the Winston-Salem Journal

Silent Sunday or: The Post Party Post

20 Sunday Mar 2016

Posted by in Life as We Know It, Podcasting, Silent Sunday

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Salutations™!!

Last night, at The Less Desirables Official Emerald Isle, Finnigan’s Wake Irish Pub & Kitchen, The Less Desirables Network had their post-post-post holiday party. Members of The Less Desirables (all three of us throughout the evening at one point or another), The Beer Dads (two of the three) and Chad & Carissa of the former Electric Camel Pod (Camel City Dispatch) were all there. TC of Fan Interference had a prior engagement or the whole network would have been represented. I hold down The Man Who Ate the Town so that was already represented. We had around 30 people in and out all night. Not quite the crowd I was expecting but, it was a great night and I’m glad we have the support and listeners from everyone who was there and those who couldn’t make it. Next year, I’ll put more effort into promotion and try to get a real crowd there. Special thanks to Superfan Damien for coming from Durham and my childhood friend, author Shonna Whitley and her buddy Misty for coming from Greensboro. I appreciate all of you and to my partners in crime, thank you all so much for what we do.

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Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp

—
“I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade… And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka, and have a party.” – Ron White

The Less Desirables or: Six Years Passed

04 Thursday Feb 2016

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Salutations™!!

Yesterday was February 3, in case you forgot. And because Wednesdays are generally reserved for the beer of the week, so that I can get proper recognition for the Official Beer Sponsor of The Less Desirables, City Beverage, I had to delay this post a day.

Anyway, on February 3, 2010, that’s six years ago, the very first episode of The Less Desirables was recorded and distributed. I had picked up Brian Attridge from his job as his car was in the shop. We sat down in my music room (what ended up being 3B’s bedroom), which had a recording setup and two microphones set up for this startup idea we had. We wondered how in the world we could fill twenty minutes with just us talking. We decided to just hit record and see what happened. Thirty-eight minutes later we had our first podcast. The next week we sat behind those same microphones and wondered if we could do it again. Forty-three minutes later the second was finished. That continued every 08c6c-tldweek.

Brian went on to school and got his MBA from Wake Forest and got hired right out by a bank in Virginia where he went to help them with their student loans division. Much thanks to him for helping me start this crazy train and being its heart. It’s not been the same since he left, but it’s not been bad. Just different. Also, much thanks to the Most Desirable (Kaylin, his wife) for supporting our crazy idea from the beginning. If you notice, we still use Brian’s name in the theme song and Sports intro. That will change soon, though.

We’ve had a lot of “gurus” and special guests come through in the last six years. Many “characters” and great friends, such as: C. Jay Platt, the Beer Guru and his Barley Babe, Dori, from 2010 until 2013. The Least Desirable (yes I know who it was) from 2010 to 2011. The Less Impressed (yes, I know who it was, too) from 2013-2015. The Left Click, Jordan Paruscio and The Right Click, Jennifer Paruscio, still active if not sporadically so. Kelley O’Brien, the Social Media Guru, still active. Brad Houchins, our fishing guru (yes, we had one of those). Jay Nail, former College Sports Guru and Ty Collins, our current Sports Guru and host of Fan Interference. Nikki Miller-Ka, our Food Guru and former co-host of the former food podcast of The Less Desirables Network, Tart & Tangy Triad. Amy Foster for being the voice that brings you the podcast.

In September of 2011, we added Eugene Sims to our fold as the TV Guru (and my best friend) and he didn’t leave. He was a driving and creative force with us until November, 2015, when life and work took over and he had to take care of it. Thanks to Chigger (Jamie), his girlfriend, for being part of it, too.

In May of 2015, Eugene and I welcomed a new co-host to the fold, frequent guest, Caitlin Weaver and she added a younger, female perspective to our lair of loonies. She is always good with a jab and is our resident IPA Queen. She reports on our sponsors and gives reports for the Winston-Salem Jaycees wing of the podcast. She’s on loan from the government and we can’t say any more. We’ll have her until the end of this year, we think. That’s still classified.

In late November, 2015, after the departure of Eugene, we welcomed The Right Reverend Bruce Cole as a new co-host and purveyor of divinity to our corner of the universe. His many years in radio just makes us sound better and he offers up the Top 5 Things You May Have Missed this past week. He’s a great addition and he and Caitlin seem to have just the right amount of spunk to take cool jabs at each other. It’s fun to watch the exchange. Both he and Caitlin know a lot about what’s going on in this town thanks to their connections. I am thankful to all my TLD Family through out these years and glad that it’s Bruce and Caitlin with me, now.

There’s one guy who doesn’t even live here in our area that will drive a few hours from Durham to be a guest host, a guest audience member, a Superfan, if you will. We call him “Superfan Damien” Paris and we thank him and his wife, Tiara and daughter, Audry for letting him be with us as much as he is. Here’s to you, buddy, *clink*!

Of course, I have to thank The BCPF (Stephanie), my wife, my biggest fan, and my biggest supporter. I met her about two months after I started this thing. She came in and accepted her role as my Beautiful Close Personal Friend. She has been the rock that keeps me going. She was there through my heart surgery (which happened on a Wednesday but Brian and Eugene stayed up late recording and producing anyway) and my recovery. Any of the subsequent podcasts that I’ve gone on to produce for the network, part of them was by the ideas or encouragement of her. There would not still be a The Less Desirables, either. I can almost guarantee that. Thanks to 3B just because.

To all of our nearly 275 guests over the years, thanks for providing us with great content, laughs and fun. You’re welcome for the beer, by the way.

Lastly, but leastly (I know that’s not a word), I have to thank our sponsors: City Beverage (again), they were our first; a/perture cinema (if you’re wondering, it’s all lowercase); Finnigan’s Wake Irish Pub & Kitchen; King’s Crab Shack & Oyster Bar; The Garage; and our newest, Washington Perk & Provision Company. Without all of you, we’d have nothing to show for our efforts. We love our relationships with you.

Last night was the three hundred twelfth episode of The Less Desirables. If you take fifty-two weeks times six you’ll come up with three hundred twelve. The truth is, however, that we did miss a week. Only one, though. One out of three hundred and thirteen. Wait, what’s that? You see, we keep track of which episode each is and last night was indeed written on the board as: “312.” Doesn’t make sense? You see, even though there are fifty-two weeks in a year, 2014 had fifty-three Wednesdays so that’s where the missing one comes in. The show we missed, however was June 26, 2013. I was out of town, out of the country, actually, and Brian had a paper to study for, which left Eugene, who hates and really knows little about Apple products, had a weird thing happen with the studio Mac. No one could explain it, even with Doug Davis, an expert with Apple recording equipment, there was no fixing it. I was annoyed, yes, but there was nothing I could do about it and it was okay in the end. One thing that we did do from that point on was implement a “greatest hits” policy for when I go out of town. Or, we record ahead of time, but you’re not to know anything about that.

Ok, one more last… to you, the listeners of all the shows, the readers of this blog. I thank you all for your support and participation. We do plan on getting back to the remote shows and changing up a lot of stuff that happens in the podcast and your input and encouragement has always been greatly appreciated. And, I look forward to the continued inclusion of it. So, here’s to the next six years of lunacy, pop culture and beer. And, yes, you’ll probably get this story again next year, with whatever updates have happened.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“Weeding through the pop culture wasteland so you can get the good stuff.” – The Less Desirables

For Pete’s Sake! or: The Less Desirables Beer of the Week

06 Wednesday Jan 2016

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Salutations™!!

City Beverage, the Official Beer Sponsor of The Less Desirables presents For Pete’s Sake! Imperial Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter by DuClaw Brewing Company, The Less Desirables Beer of the Week.

This came as a recommendation from “Superfan” Damien just this past weekend. He said I needed to try it and that’s what we’re going to do tonight! From what I can tell this is the big, more potent and stronger brother of what I’d call DuClaw’s flagship brew: Sweet Baby Jesus. For Pete’s Sake! is an Imperial (which means it’s a whopper) 06a97244-a6a0-4bd4-915d-144e57cbee17 (1)Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter. Like a really potent peanut butter cup. It comes in at a whopping 9% ABV. That tickles the cockles of my heart in and of itself.

This beer is so new that there not only is no rating on BeerAdvocate, but there’s no entry for it either. Untappd, however, does have an entry and it’s rated at 3.88 caps out of 5. The website states: “For Pete’s Sake! An Imperial version of Sweet Baby Jesus, a Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter, raises the bar again with its silky, full body, big roasted malt flavor and aroma dominated by rich notes of peanut butter and chocolate, subtle fruit and coffee notes…” I mean, that sounds awesome, right? Right-o Daddio!

One of the cool things about this beer is what’s on the underside of the carton. I’m going to copy it here:

“Dear Person with Awesome Taste,

Thank you for sampling our beer. With this one simple, insightful act, you’ve proven yourself both wise and incredibly physically attractive.”

It concludes with: “Thanks again, intelligent, beautiful stranger, cheers!”

What more can you say than that? Well, what I will say is that if you’ve not tried it, you should go down to 915 Burke Street and get your own sixer of this brew and tell Spencer or Sonny that this is the Beer of the Week and get 5% off your order. That way you can sample it whilst listening to this week’s episode of The Less Desirables. There you can see hear what Caitlin, Bruce, Joey and Terry from Twin City Hive and I all think about it. Let us know what you think when you do (if you haven’t already).

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“For Pete’s Sake!: It ’s a whole new level of Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter!” – DuClaw Brewing website.