The hardest butt-n to butt-n. (White Stripes vocal fry) Apologize for the blur, don't know what happened on these pictures, but we'll go with it. I'm going to point out the ones with no other pictures to show. The checker board in the corner is a McPin. They gave us a lot of pins. Collect them all. Like the little thumbs up. I imagine I'd have 30 of those had I continued my career trajectory with McDonalds.  They don't give pins for 4 weeks, or 2 weeks or 6 weeks. They should. I'd have a chest of pins.

There are also pins given by electronics manufacturers for promotion of their product. You know that's a little douchey. I was never told to not wear a pin but none of us ever did. "Yes, you want this fine set of what pays me the money, not what is better but pays me nothing." I actually own HK electronics and Panasonic stuff as well. Of course, the worst VCR made, the Gold Star GVH-55 gave them such a reputation with me, but my LG computer monitor is 5 years young. I'd never own a Hyundai either, if it was still the late 80's :) The Dipsney pin was likely one I got as a promotion with purchase of some videos when I worked someplace at sometime. Likely Citrus Methosky. 

Dial America provided the dial-olympics pin. Phone solicitor. Just a step away from living in a box. Feel the pride. Plus, well, I loved the Rodger Rabbit movie. You just say "Walt Sent Me" and you get into the "Ink And Paint Club" for all the Betty Boop you can handle.  Moving on...

So pink! So penis! What's going on? Yes, we'll get a little bawdy when wearing this fine joke pin. You know, if I was hung well enough, I'd wear that pin everywhere I'd go. Judging by the music pins here in PINK you could imagine how happy my fellow dancers would be to see if my pin is true. Remember, at Pins "R" Us, I just bought some for whomever I worked with and if it fit them I gave it to them. Those pins I didn't give, I kept.

Total Devo was a pin I got when they came to Cleveland in 1988. The live album "Now It Can Be Told" was recorded on this tour. Devo did a few new songs and lots of old tunes. Of course they sold florescent pink and green stuff. I bought a pink tee and that button. It was so I could DANCE! *Cue Techno Music*  Of course, don't know how I got the button for the SECOND Sigue Sigue Sputnuk album "Success". The album was not that much of a success, more of a SUCK-CESS. Best was, at the station where we couldn't say "hell" or "damn", I was so jazzed to play the first song on the album that I played the fist song and heard the sample voice say "What the hell is going on here?"  because even though I listened to it a few times, it stood out like a sore thumb when I played it. Nothing happened. Nobody listened. Ahh, but Ny-Tizzer Ebb with "Control.... I'm HERE!" was a great stuff. Sort of minimal repetitive industrial puke. I loved 'em.

I didn't win many awards. I think I have a few ribbons for the 100m dash (2nd and 3rd place) and not much else. When I was in high school, I guess I could sing. I couldn't read a note of music and I hated singing all the "God" and "Jesus" songs, but they won us medals. Actually, I just took two choir classes because they were "A's" . It helped bring me to a middling "D-" average. The best time I had is when we sang in a men's quartet. When there are 4 idiots singing barbershop, we were unbeatable. The rest of the regular choir was everywhere from great to "I'm just here to raise my GPA with a course I can sleep through..."

There's a red one as well. A ribbon. I feel so military. Nothing more military that Alfred E. Neuman in "Up The Academy." It was the Mad Magazine presents... movie. I guess Mad wanted to be like National Lampoon. Trouble was, "Up The Academy" was no Animal House. I should be forced to watch 24 hours straight of "UTA" for even thinking that thought. Even Mad disowned themselves from the final cut. Truth be told, for 10 years or so, Mad and I were inseparable. I have from issue 200 to 312 or so. At some point I had moved along in my entertainment needs and started reading the articles rather than just looking at the three page fold out.

I did like the Mad fold-ins though. Al Jaffee is my all time favorite artist with Mad. In my early days of stick figure drawing, I signed my name with a "sort of" Al Jaffee character from the cover of "Al Jaffee Gags Again". When it got to be that I was collecting Mad to just keep collecting Mad and not reading them, that's when I said bye. It was funny that they had advertisements for "UTA" as well as the Mad board game and Mad card game. Never any other. Now, the latest video games and bubble gum...

There are two more buttons from those noise makers nobody knows and few love, the kings of the avante-garde, The Residents. I have no idea about "Ranking Rodger." I think it was a reggae outfit. Kraftwerk. Negativland. Scroll to the past. 

..and well, another pin at the cheap flea market.... actually two. Bitch Bitch Bitch. Know anyone for that pin? Of course the flash caused the auto focus on my camera to go kablooey, but I tell you who really dug the dope? Either a gloved hand or a bad case of yellow fever.  Dah dun dun dun done. I'm smokin' it.

-Ric