Priority Mail Clutch Purse

I shouldn't even have to say anything about this idea. I should be able to just post a picture and let you love it to pieces without any help from me.

But here's the skinny:  Alyssa at Shamdoogle! remixed instructables from U-handblog and Purl Bee to transform a used Tyvec envelope into a clutch.

Quick. Somebody mail me something.

The Yeti of promotional giveaways.

My zombie friend Robin mentioned on Saturday night that she really, really wants to get her hands on a Weekend Edition Lapel Pin. After thinking about it, I realized that, while I've heard it promised to puzzle winners legion, I've never actually seen one.

So I set about finding an image of one on the Internet.  I googled and I searched the photostreams on flickr. Nothing. Nobody is trying to unload one on ebay. You can't buy your own in the NPR shop. I'm a little embarrassed, really, at how much time I spent looking for this item on line. I've concluded now that it may very well be that the most precious of all cheap-ass trinkets doesn't even exist.

And now that I know this, I WANT ONE TOO.

Fortunately, all one has to do to get one of these pins is answer a qualifying question, have his or her correct entry selected from alllll the other correct entries, and then play the puzzle on the radio.  On-air, the challenges are pretty easy--and even if the player gets stumped, Liane Hansen can usually figure out the answer.

The problem for me is going to be the qualifying challenge. 

Think of a six-letter word in which the third letter is 'S.' Remove the 'S' and you'll be left with a five-letter word that means the opposite of the six-letter one. What is it? Clue: The six-letter word has two syllables. The five-letter one has one.

I worked for a guy once who had some synapse connectivity issues and most of his instructions sounded like this. Fortunately, I found that if I stood there and nodded my head long enough, he would eventually say something that made sense. But I don't see these challenges getting any easier for me, no matter how long I stand and nod my head. 

NPR challenge quote courtesy Theresa Novak.  

You're wanted on the phone, Mr. Glass.

You know, when you listen to this, it almost sounds like Ira understands all about iPhones and connectivity and Qwerty keyboards. This idea goes directly against my vision of him as a retro, non-techie sort of guy.  I find it quite titillating, really--the idea of Ira Glass welding anything more complicated than an Underwood typewriter.

I think I might be a little scandalized.