July 2019 – Page 5 – Voenix Rising

July 4, 2019July 5, 2019

Blue or Gold?

Just a bit of a rant…

Does this record look blue to you?

This is the "blue" vinyl pressing of Madonna's True Blue I mentioned a while back that finally arrived.

Disappointed does not begin to describe it.

I immediately contacted the buyer who agreed to a return:

"If you wish. I did not manufacture the record so I am not sure what you expected."

Excuse me? Then, in an attempt to make me the bad guy in this transaction, sent several followup emails, including one from someone not even involved in the transaction, dated September 2016!:

"Does anyone know why there were such variations in the colour of the Vinyl in the Aust edition? I have one that when not held against the light almost looks black and has a marble effect, and another that is perfect blue. Happy to post a pic if someone could help."

The seller followed that up with, "Did you look at the photos?"

You mean the one you just sent with that two-and-a-half year old email?

And the final email received:

"A buyer asked me to send photos so I did. If you ask for photos of the item I can sedn them. Please remember that I DID NOT MANUFACTURE THE ALBUM"

If that weren't enough, the vinyl grade of VG+ he assigned to the record itself was more than a bit overstated. The surface noise was horrific.

Even though he agreed to cover the cost of the disk itself, I was out on shipping. Considering it cost me an additional $25 to send the record back to Australia, honey, that ain't happening. I lodged a complaint with Paypal, so I'm hoping to get the initial shipping fee refunded as well.

In the meantime, I discovered that True Blue had been reissued in 2016 by Sainsbury's in the UK:

As you can see, the vinyl is truly blue.

It was a couple dollars more than I paid for the 1986 pressing, but this one is brand new and unplayed. Fingers crossed. It's somewhere over the Atlantic as we speak…

July 4, 2019June 5, 2019

365 Days of UNF: Day 185

July 3, 2019July 3, 2019

Shower Thoughts

Someday your children and grandchildren are going to walk into your outdated "grandparent" house, with its 4K flat screen, hardwood floors, and stainless steel appliances, and think you're a loser.

July 3, 2019

Relaxing

July 3, 2019June 5, 2019

365 Days of UNF: Day 184 (NSFW)

July 2, 2019July 2, 2019

Not a Fashionista

I am not a fashionista.

My uniform for the last forty years has been some brand of pique polo shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Back in the 80s—when I still had a relatively flat stomach, and was able to get into size 31 jeans—this combo was the gay uniform. (At least in the clubs I frequented at the time.)

I was relieved when it finally became standard casual Friday office fare and later pretty much acceptable office dress any day of the week no matter where I worked.

While I've worn polo shirts since 1980, I've never really been able to justify the cost of what I viewed as the ultimate polo, a Lacoste, opting instead for the much more affordable Brittania brand back in the day. I did, however, own one red Lacoste in 1983 after splurging on the purchase ($25 as I remember).

I was finally a member of the Alligator Club, even if the fit (medium) was a little snug back then.

Flash forward 40 years and Target discontinues Merona—my go-to polo brand for at least a decade—leaving me in a lurch. I tried their new Goodfellow shirts, but the fabric was cheap and the shirts just didn't fit the same way as Merona. I tried St. John's Bay from JC Penney, but they didn't fit the same way as Merona either.

So this sent me to eBay to see if I could snatch up a few "gently used" Meronas. But then I got to thinking…if Merona, why not Lacoste?

Jackpot!

(I knew they were still being made; I happened across a table full in a Macy's a few years ago, but was aghast that they were still as unaffordable as they were in the 80s. But I'd never thought about buying them used.)

Times and priorities change, y'know?

So anyway, after 40 years, I'm now close to having a week's worth of those little alligators to wear to work, knowing full well that they're probably viewed as an anachronism, a throwback to ages long past (when our country seemed relatively sane), but I don't care. They make me smile, and that's what's important—especially with the world being in its current state.

July 2, 2019