Hola, Sneakers. Welcome to Episode 448 – the countdown continues! Only one more show until Episode 450!!!
This week: white talk; literal-mindedness; original Disneyland rides; Fairy Tale Theater; Dave recommends Kiss Me, Stupid; Mr. Mixerfixer; the United American Way; quarantine brain effects; Ian recommends The Floor Is Lava; at the alien zoo; Dave the softie; scary pools; replaceable; spolied shoppers; unstructured; 80s duos; various Dexys; Listening Party taster; suffering for your art; party baby; millennial math; metric mayhem; party like it’s 1983; Question of the Week – Sneakers respond; Sneaky slogans; too much hot dog; big books; fantasticking the Four; masterkitsch; blow job for the family; things go better with morphine; how many cigars; Dave has lost his mind; and, finally, a couple of jingle cats.
Thanks for listening.
Question of the Week: What was your never miss TV show?
Sub-question: What is your favourite year? (Excepting 2020)
Sub-sub-question: What was a lie you told as a kid? And did you get caught?
And don’t forget!!!
Don’t miss out on your chance to WIN WIN WIN!!!
That’s right! Our 450th episode is only one more episode away and then we will be hosting our traditional Listeners’ Questions Episode! Every question gives you a chance in our GRAND PRIZE DRAW. The more questions you ask, the better your chances to win! So get to asking!
Send your list of questions by email to sneakyd@sneakydragon.com. If you’d like, record your questions, send us an audio file, and we’ll play it during the show. Fun, right???
An actual image of actual prizes from our last Listeners’s Questions episode!!!
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My never miss TV show: as a kid, I always made sure to watch Mystery Science Theater 3000 whenever I could. It always seemed to air either early in the morning or late at night, which meant I usually fell asleep before the end (each episode being two hours, after all). But this also meant I never minded watching reruns, because I usually picked up on stuff I missed the first time around.
Hey Ian and David,
My never-miss show as a kid was The Goodies. It was screened here in Australia on the ABC (our public broadcaster) back to back with Doctor Who – Tom Baker era – on weekday afternoons. That hour was the highlight of many long school days and was a shared, formative experience for a large generation of now middle aged ‘kids.’
Favourite year is hard to say as our memories are so selective. So many good memories get mushed in with bad ones that any year can seem to be a highlight or lowlight depending on your mood. Best to look to the future and all the good things that might be ahead.
Though I have no memory of it, 1973 was a good year for Paul McCartney solo albums. Band on the Run is a favourite.
Finally, a childhood lie… My mum was a nurse and so our house was full of medical supplies. One day when I was probably 10, I took a bandage to school. Before class, I wrapped it around my leg just for the sheer stupid thrill of getting attention. When my teacher saw it, she immediately asked me what had happened. I hadn’t thought about any backstory. At all. I quickly explained that I had badly scraped my leg while riding my bike. She didn’t seem convinced. I realise in hindsight that teachers are naturally concerned any time a student comes to school with an injury.
I had to keep taking the bandage to school every day so I could secretly wrap it around my leg before class, until it was reasonably likely that no signs of the injury would be visible on my skin. The only plus out of the whole stupid experience was that I got pretty good at applying a bandage.
Hi guys –
Thank you for your kind words. I shall endeavor to persevere.
Questions… I got questions … from Ian.
I first heard about Cigar box Guitars from my older brother – as one does about so many things in life. Jim hosts the Annual Pennsylvania Cigar Box Guitar Festival at his York Emporium and Bookstore in downtown York, PA. This year’s festival will be held next year’s August.
The best place in my experience for information about CBGs is cigarboxnation.com.
There is a documented history of cigar box stringed instruments dating back to the 1860’s. Many Blues artists began to play using a self made CBG, often with simple tools.
On cigarboxnation, You will also find easy plans and how- to’s. The heart of the site is the community in blogs, pictures and homemade Videos by members playing and showing their handmade instruments… everyone shares what they have learned.
If you want to make your own cigar box guitar, All- in- one Kits – including the cigar box – can be found at http://www.cbgitty.com. – along with many other parts you might not know you need, but you will want.
In the past year, I have made several using tin metal lunch boxes in place of the cigar box. Many comic characters are available in this format.
My favorite year was 1996. That summer I went fishing in Northern Ontario – at Gogama Lodge – we used small float planes – Derry Air – to visit isolated lakes. Once in a lifetime memories.
You asked about what was the jingle/slogan from my time at Dr Pepper. I missed the “I’m a Pepper!” David Naughton campaign by about five years, he cashed out around 1985. The headquarters was wall to wall memorabilia back when I started in 1990 and he was still quite notable as a Dr Pepper spokesman. Sometime around the early 2000’s Naughton was a guest at a local ComicCon, primarily because of his role in “An American Werewolf in London.” One of our P.R. guys, a big tall nerdy fellow, was tasked with bringing a huge stack of Dr Pepper memorabilia to Naughton who was only too happy to sign it all. I remember the dumbfounded look on Linda Blair’s face, seated next to him, wondering why this guy had brought all this Dr Pepper crap to him and nothing from “An American Werewolf in London.” It was a funny scene because I knew what would become of it all. Sure enough, Naughton’s signatures were squeezed onto the already crowded walls at Dr Pepper about a week later. The slogan I remember most from my time there, all 17 years, was “Just What the Dr Ordered”, Lord knows I put that on enough of my work I designed. There were a few other slogans but they kept going back to “Just What the Dr Ordered”, I guess it sold better with that. By that time I was flooded with designing for 38 other brands, so I kind of didn’t give a shit.
I think the first never-miss show that comes to mind was “LOST”. I was so into that show and so let down by the last season. I didn’t get into it until the second season but after that I got caught up only to find myself hopelessly hooked then shamelessly let down. Other never-miss shows I recall were “Cheers”, “Moonlighting”, “Game of Thrones” and more up to date…”The Mandolorian”. I wanted to avoid spoilers so badly for “The Mandolorian” that I’d actually stay up until 3:00 am to watch it when Disney+ released the new episode weekly. The one time I didn’t do this and waited to watch it the next evening was the first Baby Yoda episode. I saw him online before I saw the episode and his reveal was completely spoiled! That is NOT the way.
I think I really enjoyed my time in the mid-80’s the best. I had a great group of friends who I’m still close with, I was attending Junior College and working at Lone Star Comics. I’ll set the date on my Way-Back machine to the latter half of 1986 up until the first half of 1987. I just wish the music was better.
I was raised as a Catholic, so I got accused and punished for lies I never made. My Mother would see me bust my head on a window awning or fall off my bike. She’d point at me and say, “Ah-HA! God’s punishing you for all the lies I don’t know about!” So I feel like I lied and was unfairly punished by the Almighty Catholic God…I just don’t remember any of them. I probably should have questioned my Priest about this in confession.
My never-miss show when I was in elementary school was The Partridge Family. Sure, I also watched its lead-in, The Brady Bunch, but The Partridge Family was like its cooler older cousin. It was hip about the entertainment industry and guest-starred both old-timey comic actors and up-and-comers like Richard Pryor, Rob Reiner and Jodie Foster. We had some of the albums and I enjoyed the songs even after I realized that the back-up vocals couldn’t possibly come from that group of kid actors.
I enjoyed Chris Roberts’ jingle. His gritty vocal performance really sold the message that “A Sneaky Dragon Never Lets You Down.” It brought to mind Bob Seger singing “Like A Rock” in those Chevy Truck commercials or those longer ad songs from the 70s like the ones that let you know that weekends were made for Michelob.
And here’s me thinking I was channeling my inner Manilow! Thanks, Louise! 🙂
More discussion of Mike the Chicken from The Dollop Pod https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CXIEPG7ZMs&app=desktop
Lookin forward to 450 & more Ed Dragonski writings !
I’ve been stuck in my shell lately, so I’m prying myself out to answer a bunch of questions at once (and ask a few for episode 450).
I watched House religiously when it ran. I discovered it in the middle of season 4, and proceeded to restrict my employer from scheduling me to work the night it aired. Tuesday nights, and later Monday nights, were House Night, and nothing would get between me and my TV. In high school (late 90s), I used to watch Taxi and The Dick Van Dyke Show on Nick At Nite. They aired at 1:30am and 2am, so they were the reason I frequently fell asleep in class.
My favorite year… honestly, 2019 was pretty amazing. I was in multiple bands playing all kinds of gigs, big(ish) and small. The Heretics, a cover band I’m in with my dad, played six shows at the Sawdust Festival in Laguna, including Beatles Day, which was maybe the best gig of my life so far – that was in addition to our regular monthly gig at a gorgeous outdoor restaurant on the beach and a few private parties. My original/cover band played several good shows, I played with at least two or three other bands and artists around Ventura, and my weekly open mic that I co-hosted was thriving. Then 2020 happened and it all came to a screeching halt, and I really don’t know what to do with myself at this point. Talk about the higher you fly, the harder you crash. Wow.