The Last Hurrah is Such a Crock! Crockcasters discuss Mardi Gras, timeshares, and the TV show Lost to show why. Welcome to our forty-first episode of the Such a Crock podcast!
This week we are focused on “the last hurrah” … That feeling of wanting to slide in on an opportunity before a big “something” happens. Whether it’s a shopping spree before moving to a less cosmopolitan area or an untamed bachelor party, the last hurrah is SUCH A CROCK.
To get you in the mood for this week’s topic, why not give Bebe Rexha a listen? Her music video is appropriately titled!
Cinco de Mayo – Opposite of Ramadan
We recorded this episode on the fifth of May; so one day after Star Wars Day.
Katherine noted that this was a kind of happy accident, with the Mexican holiday of feasting, parades, and music bumping up against the famous month of Muslim fasting. She wondered if Muslims do a kind of “last hurrah” before the big month, and explored various religious traditions and how they approach fasting.
Mixing some stories of her own childhood or college-aged excess in with the sometimes complicated cultures of self-denial across many world religions, she leaves the topic with a kind of beautiful thought.
We don’t normally like rain, but if you aren’t allowed to drink water all day, mightn’t you love a little sun shower?
If you’d like to learn more about fasting itself, check out this article at Britannica.
What Makes Mardi Gras a Crock?
Riffing on Katherine’s idea, Michael talks about Fat Tuesday — better known as Mardi Gras — the famous “last hurrah” for Catholics before the start of Lent.
Lent is a forty-day period in preparation for Easter. Starting on the fasting day Ash Wednesday, Catholics are supposed to not eat meat on Fridays for about forty days… Which is way less hardcore than some of the religions Katherine talked about in her section.
What makes Mardi Gras a crock is around some of our perception of it, and the culture of New Orleans.
Like… If I say “Mardi Gras” what comes to mind?
For many, it’s wild and drunken parties; or girls flashing their breasts for colorful beads.
It turns out that you don’t necessarily have to flash to get beads! That rumor is SUCH A CROCK!
In fact, it’s only one part of New Orleans that’s super wild at Mardi Gras. Other parts might offer beads if you just ask for them. Who knew?
But most insidious?
At a New Orleans blog, he learned these tidbits:
“A lot of those guys who look like drunken frat boys on Bourbon Street are really carrying badges,”
and
“… flashing in the family-oriented Garden District, for example, is likely to get you free room and board at Orleans Parish Prison. And dropping one’s trousers in the street is ill-advised in any area.”
Can we rely on anything any more?
What about timeshare salesmen?
Vacation Mindset is SUCH A CROCK
Katherine shares with the world her crazy mindset shift when going on vacation.
Michael talks about entering a parallel universe where he doesn’t care about prices the second he enters the airport.
And then there was the time with the timeshares. Okay, two times.
In order to get favorable pricing on Hawaiian vacations, our intrepid duo may have, on a couple of occasions, agreed to sit in on timeshare sales pitches. We won’t ruin Katherine’s story here, but just know she had previously thought Michael the more rational one.
What about timeshares themselves? Are they SUCH A CROCK, too?
Let’s ask the experts!
The Finn Law Group, which specializes in timeshares, posted some eye-opening statistics on their website. What do you think?
- The average rescission rate is 15% – essentially identical to the daily average percentage of people who buy a timeshare following a sales presentation
- 85% of all buyers regret their purchase, citing reasons including money, fear, confusion, intimidation, and distrust
- 41% of buyers never thought they would regret their purchase, but ended up doing so; 30% were neutral prior to buying, but came to regret their decision
- 95% of all buyers go back to their resort and sales team for more information after the sale, usually within one to three days, seeking more information about maintenance fees, resale options, and pricing alternatives
So… confusion, regret, buyer’s remorse, and good old intimidation.
If you think timeshares are SUCH A CROCK, though, wait until you get a load of Michael’s story about people who lived in Hawaii for six years.
That’s right!
It’s about Lost.
The Finale of Lost was SUCH A CROCK. Literally.
Lost was the definition of the big budget, widely watched, appointment television show. The pilot alone cost 14 million dollars, and even the White House pressed pause when the show came on each week.
Unfolding for six seasons, Lost was a unique combination of science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and other dramatic genres. At its best it was beautifully constructed, and half the fun was watching the secrets of the show — so carefully hidden for those six years — unfold.
So when the series finale didn’t answer every question, some fans were understandably miffed. The Lost finale as it aired on ABC was polarizing. Some critics thought it was the best episode of the season; others, like Salon.com, put it in the worst finales of all time category.
Like it, don’t like it… Doesn’t matter. Our whole concept of this last visit to the island was SUCH A CROCK!
Why? It wasn’t actually the end.
I mean, the episode was called “The End” but it wasn’t the actual end. Another episode, twelve minutes of question-answering long, is featured on the DVD set alone.
So Michael gets all excited that maybe it’s on Hulu, as there is an extended length version of “The End” up there; just long enough to be it.
He leaves the podcast ready to find out if it is true.
It isn’t
BUT!
We tracked down the final twelve minutes on YouTube. We hope it’s everything you ever dreamed of (or will at least answer a question or two about polar bears or Walt):
Thanks as always for supporting us! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or just give this episode a listen:
