Purple Stuff Podcast: 1989 Thanksgiving Parade!

Posted on by Jay

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After a year that has flown by, it’s time to kick back and enjoy ourselves. There’s only one way to celebrate Thanksgiving, aside from stuffing yourselves, is listening to Matt and I reflect on the more nuanced aspects of the 1989 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on the lastest Purple Stuff Podcast! We’ve covered several of these parades in previous years, but we agree that this one may be the best yet.

If you are into pure ridiculousness, this broadcast is right up your alley. Highlights include ALF, Chip and Dale’s Rescue Rangers, the Marvel Superheroes, and the New Kids on the Block. As if that wasn’t enough, we’ve got even more surprises for you, including a couple of commercial break spotlights.

Whether you are an occassional listener of the podcast or a die-hard, this is a must-listen to episode. I hope you enjoy the show and thank you for all of your support and kind words throughout the year. Happy Thanksgiving!

Purple Stuff Podcast: 2001 Thanksgiving Day Parade!

Posted on by Jay

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It’s so hard to believe that the holidays are here are already. This year has obviously been abysmal for so many reasons, so The Purple Stuff Podcast is here to at least give you some good holiday feels. We’ve covered Thanksgiving Parades of the past on the show before, but this time we opted to go a little more modern. 2001 seemed like a perfect choice. The Tri State area was still in mourning after 9/11, NYC especially. What made this parade significant, was not only that it marked the 75th anniversary of the parade itself, but also the fact that the show went on despite the devastation that occurred in September. The idea was to come together with the American spirit at a difficult time and try to enjoy this annual tradition.

I watch the parade every year. As a person who isn’t the most hardcore Thanksgiving fan, the parade is a must for me, in fact, it’s not Thanksgiving without it. I could easily do without Turkey and Sweet Potatoes, but not without the parade. In the long lineage of the Macy’s Parade, this is one of the standouts, a show filled with a ton of uplifting, positive vibes.

In this episode, Matt from Dino Drac and I feast on a few of our favorite moments from the parade. It’s a given that these choices are probably not what you’d expect, well, aside from WWE, that’s an obvious selection. We’re also discussing Usher, Kenny G, Tim Curry and Pikachu!

Listen on your favorite podcast app, or click the link above. Thanks so much for all of your support throughout the years, it’s very much appreciated. We wouldn’t be able to do the show without you!

If you would like to be a part of our Patreon, please visit us at Patreon.com/PurpleStuff

Purple Stuff Podcast: 1990 Thanksgiving Parade!

Posted on by Jay

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN!

It’s really unbelievable that every year it feels like the holidays just sneak up on us out of nowhere. I think it’s that we’re all so wrapped up in the daily grind that we forget what’s coming! It just hit me now that in a few short days I’ll be able to eat all kinds of pies that I wouldn’t ordinarily come within 5 feet of! Thanksgiving is the ultimate cheat day. To help you pause and take it all in, The Purple Stuff Podcast is here and is zero calories. You can even go back for seconds, guilt-free! Join us for our Thanksgiving show where Matt and I discuss some of the highlights from the 1990 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

As we have discussed on the podcast many times, these parades are a super important aspect of the holidays to us. Some consider the tree lightning in Rockefeller Center the kickoff of the holidays, but for me, Santa’s entrance in the parade signals the official start of Christmas. And let me say that 1990 might sound like a totally random choice, but it’s so not. I still feel like I’m 20 so it’s easy to forget that’s before a lot of you were born so I’m going to ask you to trust us on this one, it’s quite a memorable parade broadcast. Most of these parades usually have a few “special” moments, but this one seemed to have way more than we expected.

We had a blast recording this one and we hope you enjoy it as well. I also want to take this time for an extra jumbo sized sentiment of appreciation to you as we approach THANKSGIVING! We couldn’t do it without you. I am very grateful to those of you who come back here to read my infrequent posts, watch my annual videos, and of course listen to the podcast, it means the world to me. Enjoy Thanksgiving and try to savor all the details, like how amazing Mom’s stuffing is (let her know) and sip the Cranberry Ginger Ale SLOWLY and notice how its fine subtle yet tart tones bounce around in your mouth.

 

Purple Stuff Podcast: 1994 Thanksgiving Day Parade!

Posted on by Jay

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Relinquishing my death grip on Halloween just ain’t gonna happen.  It never does. Even when the holidays start creeping up on us, I’m still bummed that WINTER IS COMING. I spend the rest of the year trying to engineer my life so it seems like it’s Halloween. That’s not to say that I don’t mildly enjoy the holidays! They deserve some love too. For example, Thanksgiving has always been a holiday that gets tossed aside by many in favor of focusing on Christmas. This is unfair and even I need to take the time to celebrate Thanksgiving and all the stuff…or stuffing that it represents. Let’s get to it.

On the latest Purple Stuff Podcast, me and Matt from Dinosaur Dracula are providing a feast for the ears. Join us as we go back to 1994 and watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and discuss all the most notable moments from it. From Richard Simmons tossing his cookies to the Superstars of the WWF, this parade has a little bit of everything and much of it is totally whacked out. Enjoy the show and we hope it’s a nice appetizer for your big Thanksgiving dinner!

*We’ve also started a Patreon page for The Purple Stuff Podcast. If you would like to support the show please click this link to read all about it! We’re interested in creating an exclusive episode just for our most avid listeners! Check it out if you would like to be in on it. Thank you reading and listening!

The Neighbors Nerdfest Number 1: Thanksgiving is for The Bird-Kersees

Posted on by sexyarmpit
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One of the themes of Thanksgiving is sharing your leafed-out dining room table full of intricately prepared foods and adorned with crafty centerpieces the kids made at school with all of your family and friends, and the occasional drunk uncle or nomadic cousin who tends to show up randomly, but only if it’s a leap year. I’m not much of a cook, so this year I’m serving up some nerdery as a gesture of thanks to a show that’s been cancelled by ABC, The Neighbors. Unfortunately, if that nomadic cousin does stop by, the chair you usually leave open for him will be occupied this year, so he’s S.O.L.

It’s only been a few months since it’s cancellation was announced, but The Neighbors deserves much more reverence than it received initially. I’ve been meaning to come up with a way to properly memorialize this wonderful show, one of my favorites of the past few years, and I’ve finally figured it out.

This post marks the first installment of a recurring column dedicated to random episodes where I’ll point out some of my favorite stuff from each episode. This could include favorite quotes, gags, jokes, scenes, and basically anything I found amusing.

And now a very brief explanation on why I was inspired to start this column. The sharp writing and likable cast on The Neighbors had a lot to do with how I got so wrapped up in it. After the first couple of episodes aired, I wasn’t hooked, but that’s so typical of me. It wasn’t until I continued watching my buildup of DVR’d episodes that I really got where they were going with it. The creator and writer, Dan Fogelman, is a Jersey guy and he’s damn proud of it, hence the alien neighbors in New Jersey plotline. What’s not to like? Originally I thought that this theme had been done before, but this show is influenced by tropes from all kinds of classic shows with a nice hefty dose of sarcasm and relevant pop culture references that impressed the hell out of me.
Would I have been as in love with this show if it weren’t for the New Jersey setting? I can’t say the Jersey aspect makes a huge impact on the show, save for a few license plates and mall mentions, and it’s not like the kids from Jersey Shore live next door, they’re actual aliens. What really makes a huge impression is the cast whose chemistry is a dream come true for the production. The casting director has to be commended. It sounds preposterous, but all the main cast members make me laugh. No exaggeration, Jami Gertz is brilliant in this role and she’s never been properly complimented for her versatility. Plus, she’s still a hottie. I had such a crush on her when I was a kid. F*ckin’ STAR!
There’s a lot more I could say about the show, but this is supposed to be a recurring column, so I won’t blow my load of commentary prematurely.
The Weavers upgrade from an apartment in Bayonne, NJ to a town house elsewhere in New Jersey. They come to find out their neighbors are aliens who have inhabited their gated community and taken on human bodies until they can get back to their planet. The alien family, The Bird-Kersees, are all named after famous American sports figures. With that out of the way, HERE WE GO!
Here’s my favorite stuff from EPISODE 8 
“THANKSGIVING IS FOR THE BIRD-KERSEES”
Originally aired: November 14th 2012
The Weavers are trying to weasel their way out of having Marty’s parents over for Thanksgiving because they always ridicule him and disparage his wife Debbie for making shitty Turkey. Marty tells his parents that “The oven is broken” and they want to cancel.

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After Marty gets offended that his dad is insulting him and calling his new place a “condo,” he feels the need to prove to his parents that he has a nice new town home. Ultimately, he reneges and re-invites them only to find out that Debbie has invited their neighbors, the Bird-Kersees, over as well so they can experience their first Thanksgiving.

This episode solves mystery of the crop circles:

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“We live in New Jersey I drive a mini van, I’m built for fine.” – Debbie Weaver (Jami Gertz)
Marty asks his Dad if he’d like to have a tour of the town house and his father looks around and replies, “I just took it, maybe a nice cold beer can take a tour of my mouth” – Marty’s Dad, Dominick is played superbly bitter by Stacy Keach.
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“AWESOME, I always wanted to wear genocide!” – Amber Weaver in reply to receiving the nifty homemade Thanksgiving sweater that her grandmother knitted for her

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Abby, The Weavers poor daughter astonished and disgusted expression upon seeing the turkey sweater her grandma gave her:

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The kids then take kitchen utensils and beat the hell out of the evil sweater: “We have to kill the sweater!”
“She’s in the car pouting and you’re eating Meersh-mal-ow out of a bag.” – Reggie Jackson’s pronouncing Marshmallows in the most awesomely wrong way possible.
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“Thanksgiving is HELL. The only good parts are the day before when everything is possible and the day after when everyone goes home. In between it’s just a feast of self loathing and gluttony with a side of shame and all you can do is just hunker down and accept it.” – Debbie Weaver

“Better crack a window Theresa it’s a long way home and that turkey’s going right through me” – Marty’s Dad as he and his wife depart another disastrous Thanksgiving.
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Peculiar Food Habits

Posted on by sexyarmpit
Most of us have our little food quirks. What better a day to discuss these eccentricities than on Thanksgiving? After you’re finished jamming the various courses into your stomach, please share with us some of your favorite weird, wacky food combos!
Some people I know can’t eat a meal if the food on their plate touches the other food. For instance if the broccoli hits the mashed potatoes in even the slightest way, or the potatoes got onto the steak they’ll freak the F out. Might as well throw the entire plate of food out! C’MON! I don’t mind if the food on my plate gets intermingled because of that old cliche “It all goes to the same place.” 
There’s also the folks that are obsessed with certain combinations of food. It’s not like they are just throwing different food or drinks together for the hell of it either. These are the type of people who have been creating these specific concoctions for their entire lives. Look at how popular Iced Tea & Lemonade has become! Shit, my Dad even created his own drink in the ’80s called Pep-Tea. Of course it sounded like some sort of gastric medication but I laughed my ass off after he purposely poured the remaining liquid at the bottom of a Pepsi bottle into his half full glass of iced tea. “Hey Jay, It’s Pep-Tea!” It was a one of a kind moment because he was genuinely proud of his comical creation. If it wasn’t violating tons of copyrights and infringing on trademarks, he would’ve marketed that shit. When I was a kid, while eating lunch at his house, my friend Greg dipped pretzels into strawberry ice cream. He asked if I wanted to try it and I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it, it just came completely out of left field to me. That reminds me of the outrageous practice of dipping french fries into a Wendy’s Frosty. That just seems like the work of Satan to me. Have you ever done that? As gross as I can get, I still won’t cross that line.
I have an abundant amount of food habits as well, but most of them consist of combining my food into a sort of witches brew. If I happen to be eating meatloaf and mashed potatoes I usually just mash the meat and some ketchup into the mashed potatoes into something similar to what KFC now sells as a “Famous Bowl.” In this instance, I feel like they’re pulling the old “let’s put water in bottles and sell it!” scheme. If someone ever told me that my cauldron of ketchup infused meaty mashed potatoes actually looked good, then I may have had a great idea on my hands. Of course, not one person ever said “Hey, that looks good!” or “I do that with meatloaf too!” I do the same thing if I’m eating Oreos which is super rare. I think it just seems more efficient rather than twisting the Oreo open and wasting time licking the creme. After that I’d have to dunk and wait until the cookie gets mushy, so I bypass all that and go for the gusto.  I’ll get a glass or a bowl of milk and just let the Oreos chill in there for a bit and then just eat them all soggy with a spoon as if it’s Oreo soup. Uh-oh…Oreo soup, get on it Nabisco!
There are also people that eat stuff that I just think is totally weird. Recently at work, I overheard a guy talking about how he enjoys eating pigs feet. He claims they taste “just like a juicy piece of steak.” The same guy says pickled eggs are great also. To me, these are fairly disgusting things to be putting in or around my mouth. Today especially, you’ll notice some of your friends or relatives eating the actual bones of turkey or chicken, and eating the marrow. Total barbarians!
Another whacked out concoction I’ve dabbled in occasionally when I was younger is Milk and Pepsi. At the time I had no idea that it was a favorite of Laverne’s from Laverne & Shirley. I used to watch reruns of it when I was very young but I never made the connection. My mother pointed it out one day and she got a kick out of it. Years later this lead me to try making a creamsicle type drink by mixing orange soda with milk. It may sound disgusting to some, but it’s actually pretty good. I’m actually not a straight milk drinker unless there’s some sort of dessert involved. I’ll never understand the Milk with Dinner abomination. Forget about coffee with lunch or dinner, that’s out of the question. Coffee is for breakfast or after a meal only!
It’s possible that I’m just lazy when it comes to food or I actually like tasting all the leftovers together at the same time. Sometimes I’ll take 3 different leftovers and throw them into one bowl, mix it all up, microwave it, and then throw some sauce on it (BBQ, ketchup, honey mustard etc). The less work I have to do to eat the better. I’m not passed throwing everything into a blender and drinking my meal either. My friend Steve used to make fun of my odd blending obsession by asking me “What are you drinking…a Meat smoothie?” I would never take part in ingesting something that disgusting, but if we can get closer to becoming the Jetsons in this world I’d be happy. I’d like to pop a “lunch” pill with all the important nutrients, vitamins, and protein my body needs to be operating at an optimum level. Think of how easy food shopping would become! We could probably just have a few bottles of tablets shipped to us.
Happy Thanksgiving! Let us know some of your weird food habits:
www.SexyArmpit.com

Black Friday Parking Lot Brawl

Posted on by sexyarmpit

Black Friday was completely insane. If you never gone out to shop on Black Friday, everything you’ve ever heard about the shopping blitz is true. There’s the sales, the lines forming at 2am, and the crowds rushing into the stores at 5am, but you rarely hear about the battles for parking spaces. I walked over to Woodbridge Center just for shits and giggles and I made my way through the parking lot of Dick’s Sporting Goods. As I weaved through the cars, I overheard what could have become an all out parking lot brawl just a few feet to my left.

GUY #1: “I can’t believe you just cut right in front of me!”
GUY #2: “Oh go fuck yourself!”

No joke, I started to laugh at these two guys because of the preposterous situation that they were in. The Woodbridge Center Mall has about 3,500 EXTRA parking spaces that never get used unless it’s Black Friday. Any other day these two guys would have had their choice but because everyone decides to rush out all at once so they could get their hands on a heavily discounted cutlery set at Macy’s they get into a fight because of a parking spot. This is so lame. I am the first guy to admit that I have a short fuse but America has to check itself into this new 12-step program called CALM THE FUCK DOWN. Really, I attribute my short temper to the fact that we all need one as a defense mechanism nowadays. You never know when someone around you will snap and go ballistic. These two guys need to take a deep breath, step out of the situation and realize that they’ll probably be in the ground in no time if they keep getting so up in arms about stupid shit like shopping. But nothing ever changes during the Holidays, which is the exact time of year that people are supposed to be nice to one another. Isn’t that ironic? I’m going to make it a point to start calming down so I don’t contribute to the ticking time bomb that is our country. It is interesting to note that they both were in their cars. The way I see it, cars and driving give this world a lot of unnecessary stress.

On the stress free side of this Thanksgiving weekend, I managed to make a couple of purchases that were worth noting. More on that next time…

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Bringin’ Barbarian Back…

Posted on by sexyarmpit

I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving was awesome.

Usually I’m not a big fan of the types of food that Thanksgiving offers. This year though I was really overwhelmed by how great the food was. This is nothing against any of the cooks of the households, it’s due to my lack of love for the typical fare such as turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, etc. I wound up eating a whole lot of food this year unlike previous years. Eating Thanksgiving dinner at 2 different places is definitely challenging. If you don’t pace yourself properly you can wind up on the floor with mashed potatoes drooling out of your mouth. I didn’t even have room for much dessert save for the excellent cream cheese squares. The highlight of the day was watching my girlfriend’s brother-in-law eat about 37 lbs. of turkey and the bones to go with it. I guess he likes to bring back the barbarian times.

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