Afternoon Drive with Jeff & Carly

As a kid, I used to love carving the pumpkin at Halloween.  The smell of the black marker as you sketched a face on your future masterpiece, scooping out the guts with your bare hands, roasting the seeds for a snack later on… My pumpkins never looked like this, though.  Thanks to Harold for forwarding these photos.

For 100 Jack Nation points, don’t forget to log on to your account at 925jackfm.com and enter the bonus code PUMPKIN.  It’s valid until November 5th.

If you’re a fan of The Police (Sting and company, not law enforcement), then this is your week!  Jack is giving away tickets to the November shows all week long.  Members of the Jack Nation can participate in ticket draws on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, a point auction for tickets on Friday, and a ticket blowout today (Tuesday)!  All you have to do is sign into your account and enter the hourly bonus codes you’ve collected throughout the day.  Each one you enter before midnight gets you entered in a separate draw for a pair of tickets - sweet!  After midnight, they’re worth nuthin’, so be like Cinderella and keep your eye on the clock.

Just ‘cuz we’re cool chicks, Samantha Stevens and I have posted all the codes on our blogs in case you missed any.  Sam has 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. covered.  Here are the codes from the afternoon:

3 p.m. - LONELY

4 p.m. - BACKAGAIN (one word)

5 p.m. - ROXANNE

In honour of The Police, here are a few of my favourite TV cops:

Lieutenant Theo Kojak - Who loves ‘ya, Baby?

Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane - I’m gonna cuff ‘em and stuff ‘em!

Officer Francis “Ponch” Poncherello…

Now that’s one arresting officer!

More favourite TV cops later this week…

A CBC investigation has revealed that Canada’s military exports have tripled over the past seven years, making our country the sixth-largest supplier of military goods to the planet.  Oh, I get it - we’re trying to fake everyone out, to ensure they’re as outdated as we are.  Maybe we should focus on supplying our own military first, so we don’t turn up in the desert wearing woodland camouflage or end up piloting leaky, hand-me-down submarines (thanks, Britain!).  I’m not a warmonger, but I do think we owe it to our military to outfit them with the requisite paraphernalia when we send them on a mission.  There’s nothing like being the kid who shows up to school on the first day with a Hilroy notebook when everyone else has a ThinkPad.  I do miss those Laurentian pencil crayons, though…

Your bonus code for reading today’s posting is MILITARY.  It’s worth 100 Jack Nation points and it’s valid until November 5th.  Don’t forget to check out the Your Opinion section of your Jack Nation account.  You’ll score points just for telling us what you think, then you can use those points for stuff like this Thursday’s Rocker’s Locker.  It belongs to Eric Clapton and it contains an autographed guitar!

They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but what many guys don’t realize is that it cuts both ways.  A recent Men’s Health survey revealed that only 1 in 20 guys cook to seduce women.  A little slow on the uptake, are we?  Men who know their way around the kitchen are simply delicious.  It demonstrates that you’re a confident, equal partner who pays attention to detail.  In turn, your grateful woman has more energy for other activities… like a trip to Canadian Tire.

The bonus code KITCHEN is worth 100 points to members of the Jack Nation.  The code is valid until November 2nd.  Don’t forget to check out Samantha Stevens’ blog for Friday’s Led Zeppelin codes from 6 a.m. until 2 p.m.  They’re good until midnight on Sunday.  Here are the remainder of the codes:

3 p.m. - DANCING

4 p.m. - HILLS

5 p.m. - IMMIGRANT

Good luck!  If you win the trip to London to check out the concert, I’ll be living vicariously through you.

I don’t mean to laugh at the misery of others, but I’m going to anyway.  If you’ve had a bad day, just think life could be worse, you could be this guy:

This Aussie spent a year and $1200 having Dumbledore tattooed on his back!  Bahahahaha!  In case you missed it, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling recently revealed that the character is gay.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but buddy works in a factory and is now the “butt” of quite a few jokes.

For 100 points, “plug” DUMBLEDORE in the bonus code section of your Jack Nation account.  It’s good until Nov. 1, the day after Halloween.  Oh, you so know there are going to be some interesting Dumbledore costumes on the 31st…

It looks like the recorder is being replaced by the ukulele in primary school music programs.  Kids are more interested in learning to play the difficult to spell instrument made famous by Tiny Tim because of the cool factor…

… not that Tiny Tim was cool - he was kind of scary - but the ukulele is cool because it resembles a guitar.  It’s more rock’ n roll - woo hoo!

Music teachers like the ukulele because it means young students can sing at the same time as they’re playing, teaching harmony and rhythm.  It’s kind of sad, though, that today’s parents won’t be exposed to the screeching cacophony of Au Clair de la Lune or Mary Had a Little Lamb on the recorder.  A parental right of passage has been lost.  And a whole generation won’t know what it’s like to have to clean the saliva off their instrument.  Wait a minute, that didn’t sound right…

For 100 Jack Nation points, make sure you enter the word UKULELE in the bonus code section of your account.  I know it’s hard to spell, so write it down carefully.  You have until Oct. 31 to get that done.  For other points opportunities, don’t forget to check Samantha Stevens’ blog and the Your Opinion section under Earn Jack Nation Points every time you sign into your account. 

Work-Creep.  That’s the new term being used to describe taking your work home with you instead of leaving it at the office.  Your work life is creeping into your personal life, hence “work-creep”.

Hearing this new buzzword got me thinking about the other “work creep” - the office nuisance.  Sometimes he’s the guy who talks to your chest, not your face.  Sometimes he’s the clod who asks inappropriate questions, whether it’s about religion or salary.  Often he’s the fool who constantly leaves dirty dishes in the sink, pounces on work freebies or surfs for porn at work.  Basically, he’s that guy Cooper from the Expedia commercial.

Like with the “work creep”, you need to set personal boundaries to avoid “work-creep”.  Out of sight, out of mind.  Only respond to non-emergency work emails during work hours.  Pay attention in meetings instead of attempting to multi-task.  Don’t keep your Blackberry on your bedside table. 

As for the creep at the office, you really can’t avoid him indefinitely.  There’s one at every workplace, so changing jobs doesn’t help.  But if you only respond to him in emergency situations and keep him off your bedside table, it’s a start.

Here are the afternoon drive bonus codes for the Neil Young Ticket Blowout:

3 p.m. - ALABAMA

4 p.m. - WALKON (ONE WORD)

5 p.m. - CINNAMON

You have until midnight on Tuesday, Oct. 23 to enter them at 925jackfm.com.  For 100 points, enter WORKCREEP in the bonus code section of your Jack Nation account.  It’s valid until Oct. 30.  Samantha Stevens also has bonus codes on her blog page, so check it out!

Kid Rock was recently arrested for fighting at a Waffle House restaurant in Atlanta.  What is it about waffle eateries that inspires altercations?  A boyfriend and I were accosted outside a pancake place at Yonge and Davisville a number of years ago.  That restaurant’s long gone - kind of like the state of most patrons at breakfast hangouts apparently.  There’s just something about Texas toast, three eggs, baked beans, home fries, sausage and a bottomless cup of coffee that seems like a good idea when you’re hammered at 4 o’clock in the morning.  After you get through making all those decisions - white or brown or multi-grain, bacon or ham or sausage, scrambled or over easy or poached, orange or grapefruit or V8 - it’s no wonder some guys snap!  Or maybe it’s the indigestion that causes them to make faces that are then perceived as looking at someone funny and thus instigating a fight.  So in order to avoid future troubles, Kid Rock, don’t party to excess (yeah, right) or just make sure you pack some Tums if you do.

Jack FM is playing the latest Kid Rock tune.  It’s called So Hott and it rocks!  For 100 Jack Nation points, enter SOHOTT in the bonus code section of your account.  It’s valid until October 29.  And don’t forget to check Samantha Stevens’ blog for other points opportunities.

Steven Tyler has one of the “screamingest” voices in rock.  If you were at the Aerosmith show at the Amphitheatre last month, you’ll know exactly what I mean.  How the guy can put his vocal cords through such rigorous punishment night after night remains a mystery… until 9 o’clock this Sunday night.  That’s when we’ll get a look inside his throat courtesy of Incredible Human Machine, a show on the National Geographic Channel.  Steven’s recent throat surgery was captured on camera, so you can check out first hand how it all works and whether or not his vocal cords are in fact connected to his epididymis, which would explain how he’s able to hit those high notes.

Just because I’m nice, the bonus code VOCALCORDS is worth 100 points to members of the Jack Nation.  You have until Oct. 27th to enter it.

Another guy with superhuman vocal cords is Burton Cummings.  Robert Plant called him the best voice in rock.  This weekend we’re having a Bachman/Cummings one day ticket draw on both Saturday and Sunday, so don’t forget to log into your Jack Nation account in between household chores to get in on the action.

Finally, your Friday Afternoon Drive Zeppelin bonus codes are as follows:

3 p.m. - BAD

4 p.m. - BREAKDOWN

5 p.m. - RAMBLE

Make sure you enter them before midnight on Sunday.  And check out Sam Stevens’ blog for other codes you missed.  They might just be your ticket to London and your ticket the most popular concert on the planet!

No, I’m not referring to yesterday’s poll about preferred hair colour - brunette, blonde, redhead or shaved - I’m talking about the Canadian Opera Company’s appeal for bald extras to appear in From the House of the Dead, an opera scheduled for 8 performances in February.  The COC needs bald men between the ages of 20 and 55 for crowd scenes.  You don’t have to sing and you won’t get paid, but how cool would it be to brag about appearing in an opera?  Okay, maybe not so cool to your guy friends, but it would be popular with the ladies… or at least with your mom.  Auditions will be held November 7 at the Imperial Oil Opera Theatre.

For 100 Jack Nation points, make sure you enter the bonus code BALDISBEAUTIFUL once you’ve signed into your Jack Nation account.  It’s good until October 26.  And while you’re signed into your account, don’t forget to check out the “Events” section under “Earn Jack Nation Points”.  Lots of points up for grabs there, including 100 points just for clicking on the Media Job Search Canada web site!

P.S.  Bald is beautiful.  I’ve always had a bit of a crush on Mr. Clean.  What’s not to like about a guy in a sexy white t-shirt who enjoys household chores?