PopCult

The PopCult Toybox

Before I get into this figure review I have a confession to make.

I never watched Voltron. I was a 22 year-old newlywed (married to someone who did not like for me to have toys) when the show premiered in 1984, and while I was aware of it because the toys looked cool, I was not allowed to have such things in my life at that time. All I know about the show was that it was adapted from a Japanese cartoon, which like many others, featured a group of kids in vehicles that joined together to form a giant robot.

Despite that undeniably cool premise, I had other things going on at the time.

The timing was off for me to really get into the show. After I was freed from that marriage and able to collect toys and enjoy life, other classic toys took priority.  So I hardly know anything about Voltron that I didn’t mention above.1980s TV animation, at least up until Ralph Bakshi’s New Adventures of Mighty Mouse, is pretty much what I consider to be the low point of the art form. Voltron was just not something even remotely near my wheelhouse.

So it was a bit of a shock late last year when the 40th Anniversary Voltron Robeast Dieklops showed up on my porch. I had totally forgotten that I’d ordered it, more than a year earlier, and had to wrack my brain (and go through old PayPal statements) to remember what had happened.

Basically, I got an email with an insane pre-orderdiscount on this very expensive figure, and had just been paid quite a bit from a client who had been late with their payments, so I pre-ordered it before they had even decided on the production run and final retail price. I was only mildly acquainted with Voltron, but I thought the figure looked pretty cool, and would fit in with my giant Outer Space Men, and could make a good alien adversary for my monster-fighting Adventure Team GI Joe diorama that I’m sure I will finally build once I have all the time, space and money in the world.

He arrived early in the Christmas rush, and sat on a pile of stuff in my living room until I finally had time to open and examine him this week. Since mine arrived, he’s pretty much sold out everywhere but from the company that made him.  He’s $150 plus shipping from Panosh Place.  They only made 500 of these, and on eBay and other third-party sites he’s selling for twice that price and more. I noticed that Panosh Place says he has five points of articulation, but when shooting the photos I discovered that he actually has seven. His arms swivel at the shoulder, but also at the elbow. This is in addition to his neck and his legs (at the hip).

Keep in minid that this is a limited-production designer toy, meant to be displayed. It’s not a cheap toy for a kid. It’s an expensive toy for an overgrown kid.

For a large designer toy, the price is pretty much fair market value. My massive discount was quite a bargain. The year-plus wait for him to arrive allowed me to completely forget that I’d ordered him, so it actually made it even more of a cool thing for me. It’s not often I get to surprise myself with a toy purchase.

Let’s look at the photos and see how he checks out…

The back of the box is very informative for those of us who are largely ignorant of the show.

Fresh out of the box, still in his tray, and I’m struck at how much he looks like somebody asked Alex Toth to redesign GWAR for animation.

Continue reading

Your PopCulteer has wrapped up this week’s medical obligations and is heading out to GI Joe Winterfest in Louisville this weekend, but if you aren’t going there, here’s PopCult‘s weekly guide to things you can get into in and around Charleston, West Virginia.

As always, you should remember that THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST OF EVENTS.  It’s just a starting point, so don’t expect anything comprehensive, and if you feel strongly about me leaving anything out, feel free to mention it in the comments. Also, if you have a show that you’d like to plug in the future, contact me via Social Media at Facebook, BlueSky or Twitter. I dont charge for this, so you might as well send me something if you have an event to promote.

You can find live music in and around town every night of the week. You just have to know where to look.

Most Fridays and Saturdays you can find live music at Taylor Books. There is no cover charge, and shows start at 7:30 PM.

You can find live music every night at The World Famous Empty Glass Cafe. Mondays feature open mic night. The first Tuesday of every month sees the legendary Spurgie Hankins Band perform. There’s both Happy Hour music and local or touring bands on Thursday and Friday, and live bands Saturday nights. On Sundays when there’s a new Mountain Stage, musicians from the legendary WV Public Radio show migrate to The Glass for the Post-Mountain Stage jam.

Live at The Shop in Dunbar hosts local and touring bands on most weekends, and is a nice break away from the downtown bar scene.

Louie’s, at Mardi Gras Casino & Resort, regularly brings in local bands on weekends.

In Huntington, local institution, The Loud (formerly The V Club), brings in great touring and local acts three or four nights a week.

The Wandering Wind Meadery holds several events each week, from live piano karaoke to bands to burlesque.

The multitude of breweries and distilleries that have popped up in Charleston of late tend to bring in live musical acts as well.

Roger Rablais hosts Songwriter’s stage at different venues around the area, often at 813 Penn, next door to Fret ‘n’ Fiddle in Saint Albans. You might also find cool musical events at Route 60 Music in Barboursville and Folklore Music Exchange in Charleston.

To hear music in an alcohol-free enviroment, see what’s happening at Pumzi’s, on Charleston’s West Side.  This Saturday at 7 PM, Pumzi’s plays host to Minor Swing and The Jordan Dyer Trio. You can also visit Coal River Coffee in Saint Albans for live music in an alcohol-free environment. I am looking to expand this list, so please contact me through the social media sites above if you know about more alcohol-free performance venues.

For cutting-edge indepent art films, downstairs from Taylor Books you’ll find the Floralee Hark Cohen Cinema by WVIFF. Each week they program several amazing movies in their intimate viewing room that you aren’t likely to see anywhere else.

Please remember that viral illlnesses are still a going concern and many people who have very good reasons are still wearing masks, and many of us, understandably, are still nervous about being in crowds, masked or not. Be kind and understanding  while you’re out. And if you’re at an outdoor event, please remember that it’s awfully inconsiderate to smoke or vape around people who become ill when exposed to that stuff.

Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.

Here we go, roughly in order, it’s graphics for local events that I was able to scrounge up online…

Continue reading

I had my annual dilated eye exam Monday (about three hours before I’m writing this), and looking at the computer monitor feels like staring into the sun.

That means that today you get this brief reminder that all day Tuesday on The AIR, running until Wednesday morning at 7 AM, we are bringing you a marathon of some of the best episodes of Radio Free Charleston from the last half of 2024.

The main reason is, I usually record the show on Monday, but at the moment doing so would feel like smacking my eyes with a ballpeen hammer for a few hours.

Since we are in a marathon-y mood, Wednesday will bring you two more Air Music Specialty show marathons of the best of 2024. From 7 AM to 7 PM, you can hear yours truly host Beatles Blast, devoted to the fabbest of four, The Beatles.  Then at 7 PM, and running overnight until 9 AM Thursday, it’s Curtain Call, hosted by my lovely wife and chauffeur for Monday, Mel Larch. This is, of course, Mel’s long-running survey of the best musical theatre on the planet.

With any luck, we’ll be able to return to form here in the blog tomorrow with a new edition of STUFF TO DO.

BTW, our above-the-headline feature image today is what it looks like to me glancing out the front door right now.

This week we are not doing art based on Chicago. In fact, we’re bringing you an abstract acrylic painting, a tiny one in fact, inspired by a series of digital paintings I did around fifteen years ago.

To be honest, the piece you see above, which was done on a six-by-six inch piece of illustration board, started out as a scrap I was using to test paint mixes. Once it was too filled to be of use for that, I realized that the splotches could be doctored a bit to look sort of like some of the digital artworks that I posted in this feature back in the early days of PopCult.

So it just took a little more paint and the judicious use of some straight-edges and my new flexible curves, and then you get the deep, introspective and highly intellectual abstract that you see above.

Really it’s just a doodle. Part of the reason you’re seeing it is that a week of clearing snow left me with fairly useless fingers, so this was all I could muster. it’s sorta purty, though, doncha think?

To see it bigger try clicking HERE. If you look at this one on a computer screen, you’redefinitely seeing it larger than it was painted.

Over in radioland, Monday beginning at 2 PM on The AIR, we bring you a recent episode of Psychedelic Shack, and then at 3 PM an also recent edition of Herman Linte’s weekly showcase of the Progressive Rock of the past half-century, Prognosis.  You can listen to The AIR at the website, or on the embedded radio player elsewhere on this page.

Psychedelic Shack can be heard every Monday at 2 PM, with replays Tuesday at 9 AM, Wednesday at 10 PM, Friday at 1 PM,  and Saturday at 9 AM. You can hear Prognosis on The AIR Monday at 3 PM, with replays Tuesday at 7 AM, Wednesday at 8 PM, Thursday at Noon, and Saturday at 10 AM.

Starting Monday night at 7 PM and running until Wednesday morning at 7 AM, we are bringing you a marathon of some of the best episodes of Radio Free Charleston from the last half of 2024. We’re taking the week off from doing a new episode because of some medical appointments we have clustered in the beginning of the week, so I figured going full-tilt RFC for a day and a half might take some of the sting out of that.

GI Joe Winterfest, the January show put on by the folks who do The Kentuckiana GI Joe Toy Expo, happens next weekend, and above you see a fun preview video they have this year.

Weather permitting, your PopCulteer and his lovely wife will be heading West (it’s really a pleasant drive) to just South of Louisville, Kentucky for the GI Joe Winterfest, a toy show produced by the fine folks being The Kentuckiana GI Joe Toy Expo (which happens at the end of July). Check out the Facebook Event Page for full details and preview photos. Reportedly, the snow will be gone by the time we head down there, so it should be pleasant all around.

This will be our third Winterfest, and it’s back at the new home of The Kentuckiana show.  GI Joe Winterfest happens at the Paroquet Springs Conference Centre, at 395 Paroquet Springs Drive, in Shepherdsville, KY.  It’s not far at all from the South Louisville Antique Toy Mall, so most toy collectors ought to have an easy time finding it. Check out how cool it looks…

Kick off the new year with a a celebration of over 60 years of GI Joe. Find old and new 12 inch and 3 3/4 inch GI Joes, plus Star Wars, Super Hero figures, Marx, TMNT, Transformers and much more. In addition, There will be dozens of vendors  and the show promises lots of old and new Megos, Big Jim, Pop Culture items and much more.

GI Joe Winterfest is Saturday, with a Friday preview. Here’s the hours and details:

Saturday 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Admission Just $8.00
Early Bird Admission at 9:00 AM for $15.00

Friday Night Preview (5:00 PM-8:00 PM) for $30.00
(Preview includes Early Bird admission on Saturday)

All admissions payable at the doors.

Below we have music videos for the previous two years…

This week we jump back to February, 2011, for an episode of Radio Free Charleston that runs the gamut from musical theater to travelling troubadours to Heavy Metal.

“Not Kool Shirt,” featured music from Fox Elipsus and White Chapel District, plus a preview of a classic Scarpelli/Kehde show from The Contemporary Youth Arts Company.

“Norman Rockwell’s An American Love Story” was a then-new original work with words by Dan Kehde and music by the late Mark Scarpelli. This was Dan and Mark’s second musical based on the works of Rockwell, and we featured a solo performance by Sarah Schleiss, accompanied on piano by Mark Scarpelli. We’ll bring you another song from this show in this space next week.

Next up we had Fox Elipsus, a travelling musician who had a pretty interesting gig going that I still can’t really talk about here.  He networked his way around the country playing in spots like Taylor Books (where we recorded him) and he never had to pay for lodging…again for reasons I can’t really talk about here. He seems to have fallen off the face of the Earth a dozen or more years ago.

We also offered up a wild New Year’s Even performance of the song “Revolution” by White Chapel District. This was an incredibly fun shoot and one of the most high-energy performances we’ve had on RFC. You can find the full production notes for this show HERE.

The PopCulteer
January 17, 2025

Most folks who read PopCult know that I collect action figures. Just look at yesterday’s post if you don’t believe me. I’ve been a published “expert” on action figures since 1996, when I began writing the “Facts on Figures” column for Toy Trader Magazine.

A lesser-known fact is that, after I was at Toy Trader for about a year, I also began writing the “Die Cast News” column.

I’ve always loved collecting Die Cast cars. I still have a few that I’ve had almost sixty years.

As far back as I can remember (in the days before Hot Wheels, even), the two major brands of die cast were Matchbox and Corgi (There was Tootsie Toy, too, but those were primitive and cheap). Both Corgi and Matchbox were UK-based, but they had a presence at retail in America.

Matchbox was sold everywhere, and I had a bunch of ’em, but Corgi was more of a rarity, at least in the Charleston area, and when one turned up, it was a thing of wonder.

Joining the club gets you a reproduction of the 1966 catalog

Corgi’s cars were larger. Most were 1:43 scale, as opposed to Matchbox (and Hot Wheels) which were smaller at 1:64 scale. Corgi introduced innovations such as plastic windows and opening doors, trunks and hood. Some even steered and had other working features. From their introduction in 1956, Corgi was always at the forefront of the die-cast hobby.

Recently, Corgi, now a brand owned by Hornby Ltd started a collector’s club that sold reproductions of their classic cars, and last year they offered a car that caught my attention and caused me to join.

How could you NOT join a club to get this?

Of course, that car was the one true original Batmobile, the 1966 George Barris creation.

So I joined a few months early, just to make sure I got one. Anybody who knows me know that I like to show up anywhere early, and this gave me a chance to get a feel for the club.

My original plan was to join, buy a couple of cars so I could get the Batmobile, then leave.

The Corgi Model Club USA had other plans. They hooked me. They hooked me good.

The problem is that their cars are exquistely designed little works of art. The special features from their original issue are all replicated perfectly. They come in close replicas of the original packaging, and the authenticity and dedication to their craft is mind-blowing.

When you join the club, you choose a starter car (at a discounted price with a couple of nice bonuses), and then you get one car per month for thirty bucks, plus about eight bucks postage. It’s not cheap, but given the level of artistry involved, it’s worth every penny. You can find cars that are roughly the same size at most places that sell toys for less, but compared to these Corgi reissues, those are junk.

Your PopCulteer’s modest collection…so far

The cars are offered sequentially, but you have the option to switch out your car every month and jump around on the list of models they offer. If you don’t swap out your choice the following month, you get the next one on the list from the one you switched to.

You could join for a few months and cherry-pick just the cars you want, then leave the club, or you could just skip the few that don’t appeal to you and enjoy discovering some of the cool new models you never knew existed.

I got my Batmobile a couple of months ago, and considered leaving the club, even though I am enjoying the hell out of it. Then they released their list of upcoming models for the new year…and I’m in for at least another 12 months.

Coming in 2025

The club model for March is The Yellow Submarine. Two months later they’re doing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. In August, they’re doing to offer the Batboat and trailer (famously sold in the 1960s as a two-pack with the Batmobile, which rumor has it, will be a non-club offering at some point), and then in November, they’re releasing the sliver version of James Bond’s Aston Martin D.B.S.

In the months between those, I’ll likely go back and pick up some of the more interesting models that I don’t have yet.

They had me at the rhinocerous. The working steering was a bonus.

I’ve already got the Safari Volkswagon with steering wheels and a rhinocerous, and the Wall’s Ice Cream van with figures. Plus I’ve got the Gold Bond car, and the Batmobile in Glossy and Matte finish.

Some of the models I have my eye on are the Loudspeaker truck, The Land Rover Breakdown truck and the Studebaker Golden Hawk.

The price may seem a little steep, but the quality and attention to detail makes it worth every penny. These are faithful reproductions of cars that, if you sought out the vintage versions, would cost you hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of dollars. Each car comes in reproduction packaging with a certificate of authenticity.

You can join the club HERE, for a discounted price on one of the three starter models. As a bonus you’ll get a nice tin to store your certificates of authenticity that come with each model, and they also throw in a reproduction of their 1966 catalog.

Here’s the updated sequential list of models…

And that is this week’s PopCulteer. Check back every day for fresh content and all our regular features, including our internet radio station, The AIR.

The PopCult Toybox

It’s been a while since your humble blogger took some time to pretend that he was working when he was really just playing with action figures.

With the Kentuckiana GI Joe Toy Expo WinterFest coming up next week (and I’ll tell you much more about that on Sunday), I thought it might be fun to grab a figure I’ve wanted to do something with, and combine it with some 1/6 scale stuff I just happened to have sitting around the office (since last July’s Kentuckiana, to be honest).

As my base figure, I chose something that, just a few years ago, would be considered blasphemy in GI Joe collector circles.  I’m using Barbie’s male companion, Ken.

But, Ken has changed lately.  Mattel created the “Barbie Looks” line a few years ago, and the dolls…uh, figures in that line have some unusual characteristics for the Barbie series. First of all, they are not smiling. They have neutral, some even hostile, expressions on their faces. I’m sure that the idea was that they are scowling like professional models do much of the time, but it’s a welcome change from the “Up With People” Stepford expressions that most Barbie and Ken dolls have.

The second major change is that these figures tend to be super-articulated, with double-ganged joints in the knees and elbows. The newer muscular Ken dolls in the series even have torso articulation and gripping hands.

You read that correctly. They have gripping hands. That and the fact that they have lifelike hair makes them prime candidates for membership in The Adventure Team!

Before I get into the actual kitbashing, let me stress that this is “quick and sloppy.” I did not put a lot of thought into this. Basically, I wanted to try out the very excellent camera in my new phone, and I wanted to do a fun photo essay for today’s post because I just finished a magazine article yesterday and wanted to do something a little less stressful today.

So let’s start out by showing you the key ingredients…

The Fodder

The dolls in this line work great as serious action figures. The females may need new hands, but the muscular males are fine as-is.

Here’s a better view of “Ken.”

Continue reading

The weather outside is not quite as frightful as it was last week, so if you don’t mind heading out into a Winter Wonderland, here’s PopCult‘s weekly guide to things you can get into in and around Charleston, West Virginia.

As always, you should remember that THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST OF EVENTS.  It’s just a starting point, so don’t expect anything comprehensive, and if you feel strongly about me leaving anything out, feel free to mention it in the comments. Also, if you have a show that you’d like to plug in the future, contact me via Social Media at Facebook, BlueSky or Twitter. I dont charge for this, so you might as well send me something if you have an event to promote.

You can find live music in and around town every night of the week. You just have to know where to look.

Most Fridays and Saturdays you can find live music at Taylor Books. There is no cover charge, and shows start at 7:30 PM.

You can find live music every night at The World Famous Empty Glass Cafe. Mondays feature open mic night. The first Tuesday of every month sees the legendary Spurgie Hankins Band perform. There’s both Happy Hour music and local or touring bands on Thursday and Friday, and live bands Saturday nights. On Sundays when there’s a new Mountain Stage, musicians from the legendary WV Public Radio show migrate to The Glass for the Post-Mountain Stage jam.

Live at The Shop in Dunbar hosts local and touring bands on most weekends, and is a nice break away from the downtown bar scene.

Louie’s, at Mardi Gras Casino & Resort, regularly brings in local bands on weekends.

In Huntington, local institution, The Loud (formerly The V Club), brings in great touring and local acts three or four nights a week.

The Wandering Wind Meadery holds several events each week, from live piano karaoke to bands to burlesque.

The multitude of breweries and distilleries that have popped up in Charleston of late tend to bring in live musical acts as well.

Roger Rablais hosts Songwriter’s stage at different venues around the area, often at 813 Penn, next door to Fret ‘n’ Fiddle in Saint Albans. You might also find cool musical events at Route 60 Music in Barboursville and Folklore Music Exchange in Charleston.

To hear music in an alcohol-free enviroment, see what’s happening at Pumzi’s, on Charleston’s West Side. You can also visit Coal River Coffee in Saint Albans for live music in an alcohol-free environment. I am looking to expand this list, so please contact me through the social media sites above if you know about more alcohol-free performance venues.

For cutting-edge indepent art films, downstairs from Taylor Books you’ll find the Floralee Hark Cohen Cinema by WVIFF. Each week they program several amazing movies in their intimate viewing room that you aren’t likely to see anywhere else.

Please remember that viral illlnesses are still a going concern and many people who have very good reasons are still wearing masks, and many of us, understandably, are still nervous about being in crowds, masked or not. Be kind and understanding  while you’re out. And if you’re at an outdoor event, please remember that it’s awfully inconsiderate to smoke or vape around people who become ill when exposed to that stuff.

Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.

Here we go, roughly in order, it’s graphics for local events that I was able to scrounge up online…

Continue reading

We are two weeks into 2025 and we have a new three hour show for you!  Tuesday is once again “New Show Day” on The AIR.  As such, we have a new episode of  Radio Free Charleston for you. To listen to The AIR, you simply have to point your cursor over and tune in at the website, or you could just stay here, and  listen to the cool embedded player found elsewhere on this page.  

You can hear Radio Free Charleston Tuesdays at 10 AM and 10 PM, with boatloads of replays throughout the week.

This week RFC brings you three hours of cool stuff, starting with the latest single by Matt Berry. It’s the title track of his new album, filled with early-70s-style California funkiness, and it’s due out next week.  After that we have new stuff from Todd Burge, Shining Glass, The Polkamaniacs, Franz Ferdinand, Ringo Starr, SPACE FREQ, and more,

I also dive into the archives for a lot of local tracks, plus some of my patented programming non-sequitors. It’s a fun show.

And speaking of diving into the archives, I actually had a longtime listener contact me and ask if I could play the 1973 Columia Records sampler, The Guitars That Destroyed The World.

I didn’t have the album. I really didn’t get into music heavily until the late 70s, but I remember seeing the ads for this in The National Lampoon. The Underground Comix art style used on the sleeve really caught my attention.

It turns out not to be too hard to track down. Columbia/SONY kept this in print, and it eventually made it out on CD.  It’s a pretty killer collection of guitar virtuosos who were signed to Columbia at the time. I don’t have links for these artists in the playlist below, but they aren’t too hard to track down using a Google machine. It was fun to reassemble this, and hear the compilation in full after more than half a century of wondering what was behind this cover.

It’s not a long album, so I filled up the rest of our third hour with the work of three of our local guitar gods.

The links in the playlist will take you to the pages for the artists in this week’s show except for the compilation recreation…

RFC V5 210

hour one
Matt Berry  “Wedding Photo Stranger”
Todd Burge “Snow”
Shining Glass “Drawing Fire”
The Polkamaniacs “Stealing From Work (Death Deluxe Remix)”
Eurythmics “Caveman Head”
SPACE FREQ “Submerge”
Dinosaur Burps “Perversions of Nature”
Franz Ferdinand “Hooked”
Red Audio “Robotomy”
DEVO “Monsterman”
Ultravox “All Stood Still”
Clownhole “Get A Grip”
David Synn “Poseidon”
Fabulous Head  “C U Move”
Tonto’s Expanding Headband “Timewhys”

hour two
Kate Fagan “Go Faster”
Ringo Starr “Rosetta”
Blue Million “No Man’s Land”
Deni Bonet  “Red Dog”
Raymond Scott “Powerhouse”
The Bible Beaters “Can’t Get To Heaven”
Ghoulbox “Rats In The Morgue”
Bad Keys of the Mountain “I’ll Get By”
Brian Diller“Sooner or Later”
Matt Deal “Our Front Porch”
Emmalea Deal & The Hot Mess “Kira”
The Boatmen “Heartbreak Hangover”
The Settlement “Bertha”
The Cure “Warsong”

hour three
Dr. Curmudgeon “My Deamon Math Metal Tune Just Ate Your Artsy-Folksy Americana Song…Sorry!”

The Guitars That Destroyed The World
Carlos Santana and Buddy Miles “Marbles”
Jhnny Winter and Rick Derringer “Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo”
Mahavishnu Orchestra with John McLaughlin “The Dance of Maya”
West, Bruce and Laing “Pleasure”
Blue Oyster Cult “Buck’s Boogie”
Mountain “Don’t Look Around”
Santana “Waves Within”
Edgar Winter’s White Trash “Keep Playin’ That Rock ‘N’ Roll”
Spirit “Dark Eyed Woman”

Byzantine  “Vile Maxim”
4 OHM MONO ‘The Death and Resurrection of a Salesman”

You can hear this episode of Radio Free Charleston Tuesday at 10 AM and 10 PM on The AIR, with replays Wednesday at 9 AM,  Thursday at 2 PM, Friday at 9 AM, Saturday at Noon and Midnight, Sunday at 8 PM and  Monday at 11 AM, exclusively on The AIR. Now you can also hear a different classic episode of RFC every weekday at 5 PM, and we bring you a marathon all night long Saturday night/Sunday morning.

I’m also going to  embed a low-fi, mono version of this show right in this post, right here so you can listen on demand.

After RFC, stick around for encores of last week’s episodes of  MIRRORBALL at 1 PM and Curtain Call at 2 PM.

At 3 PM we give you an encore of two classic episodes of The Swing Shift.

 You can hear The Swing Shift Tuesday at 3 PM, with replays Wednesday at 8 AM, Friday at 10 AM and 8 PM and Saturday afternoon, only on The AIR . You can also hear all-night marathons, seven hours each, starting at Midnight Thursday and Sunday evenings.