the slack daily

(Friends of) Friends of Tom.

Following up on my last blog post.

While we didn't reach 100 reviews, I still chose to make a $100 donation to The Best Show on WFMU last night (on behalf of Will, myself, and Daisy J Dog.)

With a few minutes left in the broadcast, Tom Scharpling announced (and John Hodgman tweeted!) that they were $500 away from $80,0000. Knowing that we were going to end up pledging the cash anyway, I picked up the phone. It's like being a cheaterpants. But in a good way.

We appreciate EVERYONE who left a review on our podcast.

As we will have two Premiums from The Best Show (Will's pledge nets us three premiums, mine a single one) we will still give away the Premium* to one of our reviewers. If you want in, you have until Saturday at 4pm PST to leave a review of our podcast on iTunes. We will announce the winners on our show BetheMarriage on Saturday night.

(If we pick a winner who already has a Best Show premium, please let us know so we can select someone else and share The Best Show love.)

I have to say that when Will and I met, I didn't understand why he was so into this show. On Tuesday nights I left him to his computer while I did something else. I thought it was funny, but it was a guy on a microphone over a thousand miles away.

What I learned over the course of the past three years is that that guy on the microphone has built an  amazing community around him. It started when Lisa Jane Persky took Will's picture for her "Friends of Tom" photo project, and later that night I met her and her husband Andy Zax. From there it was a cavalcade of artists and weirdos and funny people.

(You can see why I felt like I fit right in.)

It was being a friend of Friends of Tom that I ended up a fan of the show. And of their cranky ringleader, who is a little bit mad, a little bit brilliant, and a whole lot funny. Having him out there DOING IT is a reminder that we can DO IT TOO. 

You can check out The Best Show which streams live every Tuesday from 8pm-11pm EST on WFMU.org, or check out their various podcasts.

Thanks again to all who participated, and we'll announce our winner on Saturday night!

*Please note: It'll take some time for the Premium to get to you, as we have to get our pledge cards and pay before the Premiums are sent. Just a heads-up!

Help Us, Help (WFM)U

There's one week left in the WFMU pledge drive and they're barely halfway to their goal. Unless you've been hiding under a rock - a BIG rock - you know that WFMU is near and dear to our hearts. Tom Scharpling, Jon Wurster, Evan Funk Davies, Terre T, Mike and Therese make our Internet World a happier place.

While Will has already made a pledge on behalf of our household (including Daisy J. Dog) but I got a magic WGA envelope this week (thank you, Italy, for continuing to air Lizzie McGuire!)

So help us, and you help WFMU.

Last Saturday BetheMarriage podcast is available for download on iTunes.

What does this have to do with the WFMU marathon? you ask.

For each review you leave on the BetheMarriage podcast I will donate $1 to the WFMU marathon...up to $100.

CLICK HERE & IT WILL OPEN iTUNES AND TAKE YOU TO THE SHOW PAGE. SCROLL DOWN TO CUSTOMER REVIEWS AND CLICK ON "WRITE A REVIEW."

But wait! There's MORE!

If we receive over 75 reviews before The Best Show on WFMU airs tomorrow (at 5pm PST/8pm EST) I will make my donation then, which will qualify me for Scharpling's DJ Premium. Since Will has already donated, we have a Best Show DJ Premium.

So I will give the second premium away to one of our lucky reviewers!

If we do not receive 75 reviews by tomorrow, we will be making our pledge on Terre T's Cherry Blossom Clinic on Saturday, March 13, the day before the marathon officially ends.

Of course, if you want to make a donation to WFMU on your own (and thank you to those dear friends of ours who already have!), there's a handy web form right here. 

The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling
The Evan Funk Davies Show
The Cherry Blossom Clinic with Terre T
The Therese Show

In Which the Slackmistress Helps You Spend Your Money. You're Welcome.

It's Friday, which means for some of us, we're on a crash course heading toward the weekend. (Some of us are unemployed, so we only know it's a weekend because we saw our husband was wearing jeans to work today.)

Now if I was you - I'm not, but I'm pretty good at getting inside your head. Not my entire self inside your head, mind you, because my entire body inside your head would probably break a few laws of physics, even though any part of me being inside your head would break other laws of physics. But we're ignoring those last laws.

So here I am, inside your head, ignoring a specific amount of physics to do so and you're WELCOME, by the way, because I think I could be arrested by the Physics Police, not that there are Physics Police but if there were they probably dress like Albert Einstein. Also, I think I could outrun them, but there's not a lot of room to hide inside your head, so I gotta get this out, like quick.

I'm inside your head and you are thinking to yourself (because we can't think to other people yet. Some say this is a pity and to those people I say it's probably a very good thing you cannot see my thoughts) you are thinking,

SELF, I WOULD LIKE TO SPEND MONEY THIS WEEKEND, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT I SHOULD SPEND IT ON.

And here comes the Slackmistress to the rescue, because I have not one not two, but THREE THINGS worthy of your cash this weekend. (And subsequent weekends hereafter, should you not be available to spend money this weekend.)

1. The Book of Right and Wrong by award-winning author Matt Debenham

The Book of Right and Wrong is currently available for pre-order for $24.95, but it's actually $19.95. So you've ALREADY saved five dollars. And you have to spend money to save money. Not only is Mr. Debenham an award-winning author, but if you follow him on Twitter, you know he's an incredibly funny, smart guy. So imagine an ENTIRE BOOK of this. It's a bargain at any price. And if you pre-order, he'll not only throw in a signed bookplate but a picture drawn by one of his kids. (I personally would charge extra for this, but Matt's a nicer guy than I am.) Imagine how smart you're going to look with The Book of Right and Wrong in your house. Right? RIGHT.

2. The Brutalist Bricks by Ted Leo & the Pharmacists

It's no secret that the Mister and I are huge fans of Ted Leo. And even though I hit on him by accident on Twitter last year, he seems to have forgiven me. Or completely forgotten who I am. Either way, it's a win-win. The Shorty Award Winner and genuinely nice human being not only has his new album available for pre-order on Matador, but he's playing an all-ages show at the Troubadour on March 27th. This is not a show to be missed. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists will rock your faces off. So if you're in the mood for some of the best rock-n-roll on the planet PLUS a new face, you'd better jump on those tickets NOW.

3. The Thrilling Adventure Hour at the Largo.

Written by the funny, charming, and soon-to-be-incredibly-famous-so-you-can-know-them-when duo of Ben Acker and Ben Blacker, this take on the radio play is a sincere delight. It premieres in its new location at the Largo this evening, and tickets may still be available. So come! Enjoy! See us and buy us drinks! Everyone wins!

Let's face it: you're going to spend money this weekend. And the things you're going to spend it on - like Kit Kats, your electric bill, and that gym membership that you never use - are dumb! (Okay, Kit Kats aren't dumb. I APOLOGIZE, KIT KATS!) So why not spend your money on stuff that's awesome?

And because I love you (except the ones who aren't wearing pants. Please put some pants on! Then I will love you!), I will provide you with something free. That's right, entertainment at no additional charge.

Tomorrow night's BetheMarriage LIVE! (On Ice!) comes to you over the InterTubes at 5pm for the cost of ZERO DOLLARS. Just tune in at 5pm tomorrow at Ustream. Can make it? Don't want to look at our ugly mugs? Then you can subscribe and download the podcast on iTunes.

YOU. ARE. WELCOME.

(Wo)Man About Town.

Where will I be this week when I'm not here?

Saturday nights at 5pm PST you can find me (with my delightful husband) sharing a cocktail and story on our weekly show BetheMarriage LIVE! (On Ice.)

Can't make it Saturday? Then by the following Monday (or Tuesday) you can find the BetheMarriage podcast on iTunes. Go on. Subscribe. Leave a comment. You know you want to. (Don't have iTunes? Then you can check it out here.)

Tuesday night I can be found somewhere tethered to the computer, listening to The Best Show on WFMU. (You can even follow its host, Tom Scharpling, on Twitter.) If you're still up for some auditory stimulation, check out Evan "Funk" Davies Show. (Or even follow him on Twitter.)

Thursday night at 7:30pm PST, I'll be joining some friends while we watch Acker & Blacker's Thrilling Adventure Hour, which streams live on The Room Live. Check it out! It's FREE. 

Friday night there's Paul F. Tompkins Show at Largo at the Coronet.

Saturday morning at 11am PST I'll be tethered to the computer again to listen to LAGenX (and possibly call in) followed by Terre T's Cherry Blossom Clinic on WFMU from 12-3pm PST.

The rest of the week I'm hopefully writing.

Which means you'll have to be content with following me in 140-character spurts on Twitter. (And while you're at it, follow Will's newest project, 3 Tweet Stories. No, really, it's good.)

You're welcome, stalkers. YOU'RE WELCOME.

Famous People & the Novelty Keychain Market.

I discovered this in my Internet travels the other day:

Now other famous people want to link to me:

To thank our fans for their support, we're giving away one of our paparazzi photos:

 

The fan who will receive this slice of elegant novelty keychain history will be one of the callers from our February 13th episode of BetheMarriage. Because we love you, we've given you two ways to check out the show:

1. You can watch the full episode (we're not wearing pants)
2. You can download the edited audio-only podcast on iTunes (why don't you subscribe while you're at it?) here.

Then vote for your favorite! This poll closes on Saturday, February 20 at 4:30pm PST.

BetheMarriage - The Podcast!

Busy on Saturday nights?

Hate being chained to the computer for your BetheMarriage fix?

Have you always imagined a world where you can get Will & Nina on the go?

We've made your dream a reality!

The BetheMarriage podcast is here for you! Subscribe on iTunes or through Feedburner with your favorite feed thingamajig.