I’m telling this story backwards…have I gone MAD?!
As you’ve gathered, the things I do are not very traditional. It’s not like I venture off to golf getaways, weekend wine tastings, or to the batting cages and for beers with the guys (as I pretend to sucker punch you in the stomach like guys do). None of that would ever happen in my life. Even though I’m an actual adult, I do things that bear the ever so slight possibility of being misconstrued as juvenile, but what the hell do I care? One of my recent posts documented my trip to an NXT wrestling event in Asbury Park. If you’ve read that, you know what a blast it was, but I haven’t yet told you about what happened before we got there! Put it this way, it wasn’t your average Friday afternoon. Continue reading Into The Junk Shop, Flyboy!
Have you experienced feelings of dread in your basement or attic? No, seriously, because I have. But sometimes, shit happens and who are you going to call? The Purple Stuff Podcast, of course!
Ghostbusters has been a gigantic part of my life. If you’re reading this, I’m sure you can relate. I saw the original in the theater when it first came out and I don’t think any movie has had more impact on me. It helped mold my taste in movies. Comedy and horror are my favorites, but mix them together and it doesn’t get any better for me. That combo isn’t for everyone, but I don’t think it’s ever worked better than in the original Ghostbusters film. I am an apologist for the sequel as well. In fact, I have them both memorized, which is pretty sick considering that I probably should’ve used that brain power to do better in math growing up. I considered math knowing the line “But at 19%, you didn’t even bargain with the guy!” Turns out, the Ghostbusters were shit at math too.
Math bad, talking good.
Matt and I are back with a Purple Stuff that will conjure up all kinds of Ghostbusters nostalgia for you. With the trailer for the new Ghostbusters movie, the cans of Ecto Cooler on eBay, and those Key Lime Slime Twinkies all hitting the web, it’s a perfect time to switch on your proton packs and turn up the volume on the stereo in the Ecto-1! In this episode we discuss the movies, the Kenner toy line, and our own personal memories revolving around everything Ghostbusters.
For me, Ghostbusters never faded away. In one form or another, I’ve consistently kept Ghostbusters in my life, and to experience it finally making a huge comeback splatters me with a jolt of positive mood slime. During the times when the boys in gray were having some down time, we Ghostbusters fanatics were still celebrating every little piece of psychokinetic activity that we could. Whether it was the latest video game, comic book, or Krispy Kreme donut, they were all little triumphs that brought us to this big moment.
You can see all kinds of Ghostbusters content here at The Sexy Armpit. Going back many years into the archives, there’s some awesome stuff and some embarrassing stuff. I’ve come a long way with this site, and Ghostbusters has been there with me since the beginning. I’ve managed to throw numerous Ghostbusters references in all of my Halloween Specials as well. It’s a passion of mine. One that I share with Dinosaur Dracula. His obsession with all things Ghostbusters has been well documented since the beginning, especially his love affair with Ecto-Cooler. So, getting to relish in this moment where we can all celebrate our love of Ghostbusters is nothing short of amazing.
This Purple Stuff Podcast is going to bury the needle on your PKE Meter! Unfortunately, we aren’t offering hot beverage thermal mugs and free balloons for the kids, but our show is FREE on iTunes, Stitcher, and Podbean. Thanks for listening! Now, if you’ll excuse me, my girlfriend just called, she said her tub tried to eat her.
Let me catch you up on some of the cool shit that’s been going down in The Armpit of the Universe.
A couple of months back, I scored tickets to see NXT Live on February 19th, and I basically forced Dinosaur Dracula to come with me. I didn’t give him much of a choice at all – it was like, “Dude, I got tickets to NXT, don’t make plans that day.” Matt was on board for it and I was extra pumped. It wasn’t only momentous for the fact that I’d be seeing an NXT house show virtually in my backyard, but there was a little more to it. Continue reading NXT: Con. Hall Brawl in Asbury Park!
Teela, Toys, and Trapjaw. Those are three of my favorite T’s, but for those who know me, talking is probably my fourth. What if all those concepts were combined? This week, it actually happens on The Purple Stuff Podcast, as Matt and I present our aural appreciation for one of the greatest action figure toy lines and cartoons of our childhood: Masters of the Universe.
Who wouldn’t want to listen to two grown men wax poetic about He-Man for 63 minutes? If that doesn’t seduce all the hot ladies out there I don’t know what will. We discuss everything from Slime Pits to Silver Screen Skeletor. From a behind the scenes standpoint, I’d been throwing out the idea for a Masters of the Unvierse themed show for a while and Matt was 100% on board with it, but we knew we didn’t want to half-ass it. We had to give it the proper time and attention. That time is NOW.
The stage has truly been set for HE-MANIA. I submit that even though the Masters of the Universe is a property so intertwined into ’80s culture, I feel like the forthcoming big screen adaptation will be huge. If they do it in the style of Game of Thrones, we could be on the verge of the second coming of MOTU! A guy can dream, can’t he? With director McG attached to the film AND the new Filmation style Club Grayskull figures in the midst of being released by Matty Collector, there’s no better time than now to celebrate our love of all things He-Man (and I never miss a chance to talk about She-Ra as well.) So, put your Power Sword into your sheath, hop onto your Sky-Sled, and join Matt and I for a mammoth MOTU podcast the size of Granamyr himself!
In your life, I’m sure certain years are more special than others. For me, the best ones were just about any year in the ’80s. Hell, finally getting bestowed with a show like The Goldbergs really hit home for me. Although, I must admit that I was one of the 12 people that actually enjoyed That ’80s Show, but that’s a whole other topic. Tonight, it’s time for THE 20TH episode of The Purple Stuff Podcast! The last show featured Matt and I discussing recent geek news, but now we’re going back in time…to 1986!
It pains me to type this, but 1986 was 30 years ago. F*ck! Instead of letting that sentiment creep into my brain and make me feel like a crotchety old skeleton, let me tell you more about tonight’s episode. The rationale here is that 1985 and 1987 pretty much rule thanks to the immense amount of cool crap associated with those years, yet ’86 seems to be living in their shadow. We figured, why not give ’86 it’s due? It definitely had its share of awesome stuff whether it was a toy line, movie and TV release, or an amazing food gimmick. You may even be surprised at some of our choices!
Matt and I each bring a bunch of our favorite aspects of 1986 to the table. We discuss everything from My Pet Monster and Lazer Tag to Samantha Fox and Nerds Cereal. We had a blast conjuring up these memories and even call for a couple of items to make big comebacks. I’m sure you’ll dig this one, so hop into your imaginary DeLorean, punch in 1986, and turn the volume up to 88! (Actually, don’t do that, you’ll blow out your friggin’ speakers! 11 is fine!) Thank you for listening! Spread the word!
For some people, pop culture mascots are as close to us as family members. Think about it. You may have sat at your kitchen table next to a cardboard box with that Cheerios honeybee on it half the mornings of your life. You sure as hell remember watching about a thousand commercials where the Kool-Aid Man crashed through some wall and made you want to submerge yourself in that delicious beverage. Maybe you had a special place in your heart for the Hamburgular? No matter what product or food item it was, you likely have memories and attachments for some of their brand mascots.
Some of those mascot memories that you have might be buried. Matt from Dinosaur Dracula and I are here this week on the Purple Stuff Podcast to bring those memories to the surface as we discuss a select group of mascots that we fondly remember. These choices are all ones that we feel positive about, but you may recall when Matt shared his irrational fear of the Scrubbing Bubbles characters. That is a perfect example of how these brands plant little seeds in our heads. From my perspective, it’s fairly easy to get me to buy your product. As long as the mascot is female with neon colored hair or on the other end of the spectrum, something that is haunting or creepy looking, I’m way more apt to buy in to the product. Either way, they all conjure up varying opinions and anecdotes, which is definitely the case in Episode 18 of the PSP.
The mascots we bring to the table on tonight’s Purple Stuff may not be your favorites, but they are just as notable for various reasons. For instance, why bring up the Trix Rabbit when we could discuss a friendly Dinosaur made of artificial cheese? Or a cute, pink-haired spy who was “fired” for appearing in too many sexual situations in Google Image Searches? These are the ones that needed to be discussed, and we did just that! In the comments, let us know some of your favorite mascots of pop culture.
If you haven’t checked out the Purple Stuff yet, what are you waiting for? The episodes are all available via iTunes, Podbean, and Stitcher!
This year it seemed like Christmas didn’t pack the wallop that the immense holiday usually does. Collectively, many of my friends on social media have confessed to not being into the holiday spirit this year. At least for me, it’s hard to come close to the highs of our Halloween celebration, but, just because it was an off year doesn’t mean we can’t at least wing it! I still listened to Christmas tunes all month long, ate several indulgent meals, and got a bunch of cool gifts. Since you probably don’t need to hear about my ingestion of 14 pounds of eggplant parmigiana and the scraps from my mother’s ridiculously good rainbow cookies, I’ll tell you all about some of the kickass stuff that magically appeared under my Christmas tree this year. Continue reading Christmas 2015
Has it been as much of a challenge for you to get into the Christmas spirit this year as it has been for me? Personally, I hadn’t been feeling very festive this season, but I did have a few surges of Christmas cheer so far this month. You may have already read about our trip to Holiday in the Park at Six Flags Great Adventure, but the other night my heart may have grew three sizes when Matt and I recorded our latest Christmas episode of The Purple Stuff Podcast! We couldn’t go the whole month of December without doing a Christmas special. If you’ve already been immersed in multiple viewings of Christmas Vacation, submerged in spiked egg nog, and dragging ass to stores shopping for gifts, then it’s obvious you don’t need a lot of coercion getting into the Christmas spirit, but you’ll enjoy this nonetheless!
Episode 17 features us discussing some of our favorite Christmas tunes. Since music is one of the big things that conjures up memories and helps to create the ambiance in everyday life during the holidays, we’re hoping this podcast can be a companion to your lead up to the big day. Holiday music in general is a very divisive genre, but it’s something that, as many of you know, Matt and I are heavily into. We had fun with the Halloween music episodes we recorded this year, and the same goes for this one. In fact, we’re going to send the podcast file to the North Pole so Santa can listen to it through his earbuds while dropping off gifts around the Tri-State Area.
If you’ve already seen The Force Awakens and you’re at home this evening looking to relax, let us invade your speakers for a short exploration of old Christmas songs. You’re all set if you’re home smells like a Christmas tree and you have a plate full of sugar cookies on your coffee table. The only thing better would be if you broke out your red footed pajamas. Come to think of it, I may have to run out to the store right now and get some egg nog of my own to enjoy.
Some of our picks may not be crowd pleasers, but these are the ones that are some highlights from our personal playlists. We can probably do 7 more episodes just on this subject, but we had to rein it in to keep within a reasonable time frame. It’s not a surprise that we concentrated on the late ’70s and ’80s era, but there were so many good Christmas songs to come out then! If you happen to have some favorite Christmas songs of your own, let us know in the comments! I am always adding to my playlist, so the more obscure the suggestion, the better!
Thank you for listening and reading and Happy Holidays!
Matt and I will be back with more Purple Stuff soon enough, but in the meantime, check out The Atomic Geeks Podcast. This geeky Canadian crew is the real deal. They’ve been podcasting for a long time and they have their own TAG Network that also features Nerd Lunch. I’d always been hoping for an invite to be a guest! It finally happened and the topic was Celebrity Encounters! Since this is a subject I’m quite familiar with, I was able to share several stories. I had a great time on the show and many thanks to the Atomic Geeks for having me on! You can also listen to them on Stitcher and follow them on Twitter.
Does it get any geekier than parodying an early ’70s soft rock hit from the band Chicago to use as a title for a blog post? I think not. The 4th may not have been the specific date we visited Six Flags Great Adventure for their Holiday in the Park extravaganza, but I kept singing “Holiday in the Park” as if it were a real Chicago song that night. At first, the thought of going to an amusement park in December sounds preposterous, falling short of maybe only the Polar Bear Plunge, where clearly crazy people VOLUNTARILY choose to dive into the ocean, which happens to be filled with ridiculously freezing cold water. Fortunately, on the night that we headed to Jackson, NJ, it was unseasonably mild…but raining. On our drive down, the weather was indeed “frightful,” and I told Miss Sexy Armpit that we were nuts for even thinking of riding roller coasters in the rain. Wait, hold up, note to self, remember to write a mid-80s style, smooth R&B song called “Riding Roller Coasters in the Rain” because that title f*cking rocks. Anyway, we justified it as such: “But they have Christmas lights!!” so we wooden-soldiered on.
To my knowledge, Great Adventure has never done a Holiday celebration, and if they did, it was never anywhere close to this extreme scale. It all felt like Six Flags on Candy Cane flavored Crack. It was like Great Adventure submitted themselves to compete in The Great Christmas Light Flight. Once we arrived and heard the Christmas tunes echoing into the parking lot and saw the soft glow of the festive lights pouring into the misty night sky, it was obvious this was the Christmas version of Fright Fest and we were in for a real treat.
Upon entering the park we were immediately transported into the North Pole with snow machines blowing snow everywhere! Talk about eye candy, every inch of the entire park was decked out in Christmas decor. The attention to detail was incredible, it felt like every tree had lights and every window had animatronic elves preparing gifts. It was a sight to behold. Miss Sexy Armpit even said she liked it better than Fright Fest. For me, as a G.A regular since 1985, it felt much different than anything they’ve done before. The park transformed into its own little Christmas island.
As we made our way through the park, I kept thinking how my Christmas spirit this year wasn’t anywhere near the levels it had been in the past. I couldn’t pinpoint why that’s been the case, but experiencing Holiday in the Park was like a shot of Christmas spirit right in the heart. With the Christmas tunes playing and visitor’s of the park in a more laid back, jolly mood, it was just what I needed. It actually felt like more of an escape from reality than any other time I’ve been to Great Adventure.
The rain and drizzle was intermittent, but it was actually exactly what we needed to be able to hop on all the rides with almost no lines. Turns out that most people don’t like to go on rides in the rain. What a shocker. The longest we waited to get on a ride was about 10 or 15 minutes, which was great. Miss Sexy Armpit and I hit a couple of our favorites including, Nitro and Superman. We even took a ride on the indoor Skull Mountain, which is tame compared to the other insane thrill rides they have there, but it’s still old school, simple fun. The closest comparison to it would be Space Mountain in Disney, although it’s always been a few steps behind. Looking back since it opened, the ride had the potential to be amazing. Consider this: it could’ve been a Goonies ride! Even if they couldn’t secure rights to the Goonies, they could’ve easily picked a licensed property that would’ve worked, or even created their own original generic pirate or ghost theme. The story and the characters associated with the rides always enhance the ride experience for me. They should’ve also incorporated spooky music into the ride as well. But, here’s why I won’t complain this time around: For Holiday in the Park, Skull Mountain transformed into Poinsettia Peak and it was completely draped in red Christmas lights. The whole rocky facade of the ride was bathed in red, like Tootsie’s dress, so all was forgiven. Good old Skull Mountain has never looked this glamorous….or RED!
After the rides I had my imperative browsing session in the Justice League store. This place is a MUST every time I go to Great Adventure. With wall to wall DC Super Hero stuff, it’s the closest thing I’ll get to the old WB store in the mall. I want to buy everything. Hint: check out the video above to see the cool, customized white Christmas tree adorned with all kinds of DC characters! I didn’t buy anything this time around, but I was sure tempted. I’m just glad this store is still open and as awesome as it ever was.
Aside from the obvious Christmas theme, there was an element to the whole experience that made it stand out. The fact that we were riding coasters in December, the temp was in the mid ’50s, and the foggy night sky had an ominous, purple hue, made those high points on the coasters feel fifty times more awesome than usual. In addition to the coasters which are predominantly a warm weather pastime, we also partook in G.A’s Boardwalk games to briefly recapture that summer magic. For a minute I’d thought I hit the jackpot since that tricky milk can toss game with the softballs was chock full of Star Wars: Force Awakens stuff. Kylo Ren plush toys gave Miss Sexy Armpit a reason to blow copious amounts of money to try to win one for me. What a girl! She bought us both chances and we both failed miserably, but we had fun so that’s what matters, right? Come to think of it, maybe we would’ve nabbed Kylo Ren if we actually completed our Jedi training on Dagobah.
To ease the pain of our simultaneous double loss, there were holiday themed treats for sale everywhere. For example, Hot Chocolate with Snowman Peeps was served and sipped at several of the fire pit stations. Yes, you read that correctly, they had fire pits set up strategically by the food and snack kiosks which was a hit. People with mittens holding hot drinks were hanging out by fires as if they were at some super expensive ski lodge. Carollers sang holiday songs while flashy Christmas tree light shows burned green cones into my retinas. That was all good, but what’s a holiday celebration without the big man himself? That’s right, Santa Claus appears to hear all the kiddies tell him they want hover-boards, and so does Mrs. Claus with her special story time show. They covered all bases except Mrs. Claus’ late night lingerie striptease – that, for some reason, was not on the docket.
With trees wearing Candy Cane disguises, holiday photo-op stations erected (they affectionately nicknamed them Mistletoe Moments for all you lovers out there), and reindeer crooning Christmas songs, Six Flags did a bang up job creating a Winter Wonderland at Great Adventure. Trust me, experience Holiday in the Park if you can, but do it before it comes to an end on January 3rd! The key is to go at night once it gets dark to soak in the optimum amount of Christmas cheer. That, and the fact that “kids are scared of the dark” according to Marv from Home Alone.
