Tag Archives: The Man Who Ate the Town

Let The Madness Begin or: Piggybackin’ and Patchin’

04 Monday Nov 2019

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Salutations™!!20190819_114143

Tomorrow, the renovation of my house after the Great Flood of 2019 will begin. The kitchen will get a few new walls and a new paint color. The laundry room will get new walls, new floors and a new color. The bathroom will get new walls, new floors, new paint color and if The BCPF and I have any say, a new vanity, basin and lighting. We will see how all that goes.

But, today, I also published two podcast episodes. One for The Man Who Ate the Town and one for The Beer Dads. Click on the links to hear the episodes.

Until tomorrow (with dust and stuff)…
Scorp out!

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“I tell people marriage is a compromise, and so are renovations.” – Candice Olson

1827 or: How I’ve Still Gotten Myself Into This

01 Friday Nov 2019

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Salutations™!!

Deep sigh…

That’s what I just let out when I realized that today is the 1,827th blog post I’ve written since November 1, 2014. Perhaps more because I think there was at least one day, perhaps two, that I wrote more than one for a day.

On November 1, 2014, Kristen Daukas and Nick Badgio and I agreed to write a blog post every day for 30 days. All of November. I liked it and kept on doing it. I figured I’d go to the end of the year. I went a bit further than the end of that year. I’m going to repost the first post of the NaBloPoMo posts that happened on 1 November that year.

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©wiseGEEK

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So we know that I’m a bit erratic or even sporadic when it comes to writing these blog posts.  Some of you may think that it’s good that you don’t hear from my blabbing self that often, some complain that I don’t do it enough.  Sometimes I have things to say, sometimes I don’t.

So, I’ve recently agreed to, along with Kristen Daukas and Nick Badgio, thus far, to participate in this thing called NaBloPoMo which is some fangdangled way to say National Blog Posting Month.  The idea behind this insanity is that bloggers post every day for the month of November.

A-Blog-Post-A-Day-For-A-Month. Sheesh, the things I get myself into.

Eugene sometimes says that I get too into lists, like the Rolling Stone Top 500 (see my many posts about that lunacy); that’s a commitment. Then I get the honeymoon stories, which I have gotten good reviews for, and will continue to do those. So, the trick will be to do what I need to do in bulk. Kind of get ahead, if you will and keep them in the pipeline. Maybe, something in my life will be interesting enough to create a post here and there.

So, you, dear reader, will be either the beneficiary or the target of turmoil for my month-long ramblings. Of course, I could just let everyone down and “not find the time” or just forget. So, today, November 1 is nombre de jour (day #1) and let the madness begin!

That was 1826 days ago. I have thought about giving up the “daily” aspect of it. I think somewhere along the line I wrote about that dilemma. But, I can’t stand the thought of not having a post. My writing would go all the poop. It’s hard to fill each day. It’s hard to keep up the pace that I do. Some days it doesn’t happen. I’ll be honest. I go and backfill the spaces sometimes. I’ve gotten much busier so I’ve had less time to write but somehow, I pull through.

I’ve written a lot about music – things and albums that were celebrating some kind of anniversary or that I find interesting. I’ve written about lists. I’ve written about movies. I’ve written about food. I’ve written a lot about the podcasts that I do. I’ve written about my family. I’ve written a good bit about my son. I’ve written a great bit about my wife. I’ve written mostly about me. Or have I?

Again, this was never meant to be taken as 100% gospel or to denote that I knew what I was talking about or was even telling what really happened. I set out to do this blog written from a character’s perspective and in many ways I have done that. However, I feel I let that line blur a bit and it’s more real-life than character-driven and I don’t know how I feel about that. I want to be honest or at least be convincing. Sometimes those don’t go hand-in-hand. I want to try and bring the character back out a bit. That’s why I sign everything on here as “Scorp” and not Tim. I never try to actually hide that I’m Tim, nor that The BCPF is Stephanie or 3B is Trey. I just enjoy the code names. But, it started as an outlet for me to be creative and not necessarily straight-shooting.

Kristen told me once when I struggled to describe my blog, that it was a “lifestyle” blog. I can see that. I talk about randomness but cohesively sorted topics sometimes. But, it’s about all the things I mentioned earlier and it’s not just a music blog, a food blog (I have The Man Who Ate the Town for that), a self-help blog (Beer Dads), alcohol blog (Sipping NC then and maybe its return is imminent). It’s my life. It’s my lifestyle. So, in that, it is a lifestyle blog.

To you, Dear Reader, thank you for reading and putting up with this mess every day for the past 1,826 days. I mean, if I didn’t have comments/”likes”/follows on my blog, what would be the point of me doing it? Just to read myself talking? I appreciate your time. Here’s to the next 5 years.

Heck, I don’t even know if National Blog Posting Month is still a thing. I went back and looked at the Twitter account for BlogHer and it hasn’t moved since 2016. The website for it has events but doesn’t mention NaBloPoMo. So, I don’t know. It doesn’t matter because I don’t do it for them. I do it for me.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp (Tim) out!

—
““A writer — and, I believe, generally all persons — must think that whatever happens to him or her is a resource.” – Jorge Luis Borges, Twenty Conversations with Borges, Including a Selection of Poems : Interviews by Roberto Alifano, 1981–1983

A Rebuttal or: The Piggyback

28 Monday Oct 2019

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Salutations™!!Food Freaks

Today we recorded The Man Who Ate the Town and published The Beer Dads. The Beer Dads podcast was about what happens when a surprise comes from your college-aged son (and no, not a preggers scare).  You can hear that HERE.

On TMWATT I had to do a rebuttal to an email/comment that someone left on the Burger list. I think I was nice about it. You can judge that HERE.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“I found your burger review interesting but very biased.” – Robert

The Piggyback Back or: Have Beer Will Travel

14 Monday Oct 2019

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Salutations™!!a0_asx8X

So far this week, meaning today, we published two podcasts on The Less Desirables Network. First, on The Man Who Ate the Town, Ray and I talked about some stuff going on at Carrabba’s, King’s Classic Bakery coming to Trade Street and Five Loaves Catering finally opening a retail store. Hear that HERE.

Then, on The Beer Dads, we talk about traveling and where we’d want to go, where we have been or where we actually haven’t been. You can hear that HERE.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“Travel is a new experience that can transport you out of your everyday routine to create memories with the ones you love.” – Brian Chesky

What Does That Mean? or: Lapbanding

09 Wednesday Oct 2019

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Salutations™!!

My mother had bariatric bypass surgery today. I didn’t know what that was until this. Now, I knew about the surgery, I just didn’t know it was called bariatric surgery. “Weight Loss Surgery” is another name for it. Gastroesophageal_Reflux_Disease_Homeopathic_Treatment

I’m not going into all the reasons why she did it, but the main one was because of GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease or acid reflux disease). This should fix that. So, because of that, I was thrown behind a bit for The Less Desirables. That’s okay, this was more important. But, because I was at the hospital, Danielle was off prepping for Heap Festival and Bethany informed me that she will have to miss seven weeks because she’s part of the “launch challenge,” I canceled the guest we had scheduled. But, we will reschedule them. I did a short episode of TLD and went about my business. We also did The Man Who Ate the Town and The Beer Dads this week, too.

Listen to TLD here. TMWATT here and TBD here.

Thanks! And, my mom is okay.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“Gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, is a digestive disorder that affects the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), the ring of muscle between the esophagus and stomach.” – WebMD

The Most Magical Place on Earth or: The List

01 Tuesday Oct 2019

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Salutations™!!

First, let me say the “list” is now published. I am talking about The Man Who Ate the Town’s Top 10 Burgers in WSNC (ish). I talked about it on the podcast yesterday but the actual list was published today. You can read all about that here. You can listen to the podcast episode here.

Magic-kingdom

Magic Kingdom, October 1, 1971. @not assumed

So, now, I want to talk about something else. Today is October 1st.

On October 1, 1971, Walt Disney World opened. “The World” consisted of Magic Kingdom (no article “the”), The Polynesian Resort and Contemporary Resort. Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground opened in November of that year. Shades of Green (formerly known as The Golf Resort), a golf course and resort that is exclusive to US military past and present opened in 1973 and is now owned by the Department of Defense. In 1974, Discovery Island opened and until 1999, it was open to guests as an attraction, where they could observe its many species of animals and birds. You can still see that if you’re on any boat in Bay Lake. In 1975, Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village opens. They changed the name to Walt Disney World Village in 1977, Disney Village Marketplace in 1989, and Downtown Disney in 1997. In 2015, it became Disney Springs. In 1976, Disney’s first water park (a freshwater park, which to me sounds totally gross), Disney’s River Country opened and closed in November 2001. That was “The World” until 1982.

Then, on October 1, 1982, my official “favorite place in “the world” (and “The World”), EPCOT Center, opened. EPCOT (an acronym for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) Center was a concept of Walt’s in the 1960s to be an urban city center, residential areas, and a series of mass transportation systems that would connect the community. Once Walt died in 1966, this concept was abandoned. Spanning 305 acres  and more than twice the size of the Magic Kingdom Park, Epcot (as it became known as in 1994) is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely technological innovation and international culture, and is often referred to as a “permanent world’s fair.”

There are two parts of Epcot: Future World and World Showcase.

Future World is highlighted by Spaceship Earth, a geodesic dome that houses a dark ride that goes through the span of time and showing globalization and communication. Future World also addresses space travel, innovation and conservation.

World Showcase opened with 9 countries represented: Mexico, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, United States, France, the UK and Canada in 1982. In 1984, Morocco opened and in 1988, Norway opened.

A lot of things have changed since the park opened on that day 37 years ago. New resorts, two more theme parks, new restaurants, and more.

On July 31, 2011, I asked The BCPF to marry me on the World Showcase Lagoon, on a boat, under the fireworks show, “Illuminations: Reflections of Earth.” That fireworks show started on October 1, 1999. Last night, September 30, 2019, was that show’s last ever performance. Tonight at 9pm “Epcot Forever” started its tenure as the nightly firework show. I have fond memories of “Illuminations” and it will always have a place in both The BCPF’s and my hearts.

So, happy 48th birthday Magic Kingdom and happy 37th birthday Epcot. I love you both.

Until tomorrow, keep the magic going…
Scorp out!

—
“To all who come to this place of joy, hope and friendship, welcome.

Epcot is inspired by Walt Disney’s creative vision. Here, human achievements are celebrated through imagination, wonders of enterprise and concepts of a future that promises new and exciting benefits for all.

May EPCOT Center entertain, inform and inspire and above all, may it instill a new sense of belief and pride in man’s ability to shape a world that offers hope to people everywhere.” — E. Cardon Walker

Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now or: Sip On!

30 Monday Sep 2019

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Salutations™!!

Today on The Man Who Ate the Town podcast, I announced my Top 10 Burgers in WSNC (ish). You can listen to that list on the podcast HERE.burger

You can wait to read the list if you prefer. That post comes out tomorrow at noon.

Now, what you may want to listen to the podcast for is to get the answer to the “question.” The answer to this “question” could give you a pair of free tickets to The Big Sip, which happens this Saturday.

So, the question is this: Where does Tim say is his “favorite place in the world” in the podcast? No matter what you may have read in the past, you’ll need to know what I say in this podcast episode.

So, if you get the answer, send me an email at tim@themanwhoatethetown.com and use the Subject: The Big Sip. The first two people who follow the directions and get the answer correct get two tickets each. These are the $30 tix and you can upgrade to the full ticket for 1p for only $15. Or you can just go and have some beverages at 3p. Your choice.

So, there you have it. The contest has begun.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“But hey, enough of my yakkin’; whaddya say? Let’s boogie!” – Marty DiBergi

Mmmmm Burgers or: As What Turns?

25 Wednesday Sep 2019

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Salutations™!!

I finished my “Top 10 Burgers of Winston-Salem (ish)” for The Man Who Ate the Town this week. I have contacted all the burger spots that are on the top 10 list and most of them have responded to me. I know what you’re saying, “so, let’s see this list!”

Well, you’ll have to wait a little bit longer. I will announce the placements on TMWATT podcast on Monday and the post will happen on Tuesday afternoon on the TMWATT website. Food Freaks

Speaking of podcasts, on The Less Desirables this evening, we had Dale Cole and Rick Gustaitis from Camel City Revelators to talk about their Sunday afternoon charity events. In the podcast, Bethany, Danielle and I did a nod to the “As Ardmore Turns” segment we used to do on TLD with a little ditty called “As Downtown Turns” as we talked about the recent Bartsy activity that they’ve been talking about on the Downtown WSNC Facebook page. You can listen to that episode HERE.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of one or more cooked patties of ground meat, usually beef, placed inside a sliced bread roll or bun. The patty may be pan-fried, grilled, or flame-broiled.” –  Wikipedia

Late But Not Out or: For the Records

23 Monday Sep 2019

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Salutations™!!

This weekend, as I said was a little bit weird, timing-wise and we didn’t get to do our normal listening. That also threw our posting off a little on Beeswax Vinyl and in the Underdog Records “Now Spinning” page. So, I’ll leave a little posting about them here. Hah’bah’dah?

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©Enigma Records

This is from Saturday, Sunday and one today.

First up is a great record from The Smithereens. It’s their debut album from 1986, titled Especially For You. I say debut, but I really mean their first full-length album. They had some EPs and stuff prior. This had “Blood and Roses” and “Behind the Walls of Sleep” on it.

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©A&M

Then came the debut album from one of my favorite bands, The Police. It’s Outlandos D’Amour. They were extra punk/ska at this time and the album is just full of awesome tunes. “Next to You,” “So Lonely,” “Roxanne,” “Hole in My Life,” “Can’t Stand Losing You,” “Truth Hits Everybody” and “Born in the ’50s” just to name a few. I love this album. It’s not my favorite Police album but it’s tied for second with the other three that aren’t Synchronicity.

 

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©Sire Records

Next, was The Replacements’ Pleased to Meet Me. It wasn’t Tim or Let It Be (not to be confused with the Beatles album of the same name), which were both on the RS list, but it does have the song “Alex Chilton,” named after the singer of The Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton actually plays on this album, too, but not on that song. It’s punk, it’s rock, it’s alternative. It’s great. I enjoyed listening to it, a lot.

 

Those were Saturday’s listens. Sunday, we only got one in and that was Walking Across Egypt, which is basically author and musician Clyde Edgerton doing songs based on two of his books, Walking Across Egypt and Raney. This album is a lot of banjo and not-quite-bluegrass-Americana. Edgerton is a native of North Carolina, being born in Bethesda, close to Durham. He is a professor at UNC-Wilmington and has a street named for him in Kernersville. This is signed by Edgerton. The last bit is kind of an audiobook with a couple of passages read by the author. A good listen.

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©Flying Fish

 

 

Today, I listened to Pink Floyd’s Animals. This was the transition between Wish You Were Here and The Wall. It’s not my favorite, by any means. It’s a little more proggy than I’d like and less about compact songs. I like compact songs. Heck, read any of my RS list reviews. It’s a concept album that is based on socio-political issues in the late 1970s UK. That was a tumultuous time, for sure. There was turmoil within the band at that time, too. It led to Richard Wright leaving or being fired. Either way, he was no longer in the band. He was just a “hired hand” on The Wall, even though I felt he was a very important part of both of those albums. This was a decent listen. I dug it.

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©Columbia

That’s what I got for our playing the last few days. One day, we’ll get back to recording Beeswax Vinyl & More podcast. We’ll talk about more records soon. Hey, speaking of podcasts, we recorded both Fan Interference and The Man Who Ate the Town today. Listen to TMWATT here and FI here.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“If you didn’t care what happened to me and I didn’t care for you, we would zigzag our way through the boredom and pain. Occasionally glancing up through the rain, wondering which of the buggers to blame. And, watching for pigs on the wing.” – “Pigs on the Wing (Part 1)” (Waters)

The TLD 500 or: Breaking at the Speed of…

12 Thursday Sep 2019

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Salutations™!!

There are milestones and there are milestones!!! Last night, I recorded the 500th episode of The Less Desirables. Of those 500, I have been on 497 of them. I’ll explain. In 2012, on April 18, a Wednesday, I had my heart surgery. That was the first show I missed. In 2013, I was in Europe for two weeks. Brian and Eugene handled the recording for those. Also, in 2013, I was in Costa Rica and Brian had to be at a school function (he was in the MBA program at Wake Forest) and Eugene had a problem with the studio equipment so he went home. That was the only week in 501 weeks that we missed a show. I don’t blame Eug for that. My setup isn’t the easiest to operate. TLD

Last night, Danielle had a family function to attend so she couldn’t be there. Our friend Tracy Bush was there to fill in. Of course, Bethany was with us, because that’s her spot! Eugene was there to celebrate with us. Our guest for the night was Chad Nance, who hosted a podcast on the network at one time. He was instrumental in the whole John Lawson story, or as the press wants to call it (and how Lawson would want it), “Pazuzu.” We really talked just a little about story and more about the production. It was a fun show. A bit long, sure, but still great.

501 weeks. That’s almost 10 years. That happens in February. I’m planning on a big deal for the 10th-anniversary show. So, keep an eye on that. It was good to have my pals on the show with me. I did talk a little bit about doing all I feel I’ve accomplished doing the podcast.

If it weren’t for TLD, we may not have ever done the Camel City Dispatch (now defunct) or Fan Interference, the first two podcasts that made The Less Desirables Network an actual “network.” There wouldn’t have been a Tart & Tangy Triad which eventually led to The Man Who Ate the Town. There wouldn’t have been The Beer Dads, Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking, Apartment 5B, or Beeswax Vinyl & More. Without doing those podcasts, I wouldn’t have gone on to produce the TVA vaping podcast, the Thrive podcast, Rule One podcast, Open the Blue Door podcast, The Owner’s Manual podcast, Wine About Real Estate podcast, Dr. Shawn Ricks’ podcast, a few new ones that I can’t talk about, yet and more. I would never have gotten the local nickname “the Podfather.”

With all these shows (and other things that either is in the works or never materialized), I estimate that I have produced around 1300-1400 podcast episodes. I really need to go back and do a full count because I’d really like to know. I have every episode of every podcast I’ve ever recorded, published or not, save one episode, or so I think. I may have found it on the server and downloaded it but if I did lose it, it was from 2011, I think. Jerry Chapman was our guest. But, other than that, I have every single one. Perhaps I’ll put that number together someday.

But, 500 episodes. To toot my own horn. That’s really something. And, it’s really impressive, for any show. Especially one that is weekly. Some podcasts do several a week and may have bigger numbers but I don’t know what those are. After all, The Less Desirables is the longest, continuously-running pop culture podcast in North Carolina. Some may have been there before me but didn’t keep it up or they showed up just after me, but I have been at it longer. Toot! Toot!

Here’s to the next 500 and I appreciate every listen you may have ever given us, Dear Reader. Thank you so very much. Thank you, Brian, for starting this with me. Thank you, Eugene, for bringing us into prominence. Thank you, Caitlin, for keeping us all in line and taking those shots at Eug and me. Thank you, Bruce, for teaching us how to be more professional in our “radio selves” and being there for us. Thank you, Danielle, for coming in and teaching us humility and how a badass woman can run a business with authority (and taking over as the “shot-taker” from Caitlin). Thank you, Bethany, for always having my back and being my other badass “work wife.” I love you all for what you have meant to this “little project.”

So, I’ve rambled enough. Until the next 500,
Scorp out!

—
“Better than tuna fish on cinnamon swirl raisin bread…” – TLD Announcer