Having a great time in Eastern Washington. Bluebird day. Chilly enough. Good junkin’ weather. Had an incredible day roaming Spokane’s boulevards and backstreets.

As the sun was setting, from the captain’s chair, Dale looked back and announced, “We hit 12 spots today.” Awesome.

And one of those spots held bounty only dreamed about. I’ll share:

So we go into this little record store called, “4,000 Holes.” Interesting name. We tear into the “A” section and after 30 minutes or so, just as I’m losing my focus in the “W” section or something, I just throw the towel in and walk up to the register to settle up on an old Buffalo Tom record I unearthed. And as I walk up to the counter, I look down, and there’s a lone record just kinda laying on the counter, at an odd angle. The first thing I notice is the “sealed” stripe of shrinkwrapped bliss catching some light from above. And then I recognize the type on the back: The handwriting of Wayne Coyne, and, holy fuck, it can’t be…

It is…

A sealed copy of “Transmissions from the Satellite Heart” by the goddamn Flaming Lips.

Sealed. Mint. Unopened. As it was when it hit the shelves in 1993. In my “All Time Top Ten records” lifetime list.

I about shit. And I asked the guy what and the hell it was doing there? “Well, make me an offer! Ha ha,” he says, “I just dug it up out of my back room!”

Needless to say, that record is sitting next to me right now as these words go to press, and, it’ll be forever known as “backup” to the copy I currently play.

This is why we are out here. This is why we go junkin’. I mean, if there is any magic in the goddamn world, I got a little taste of it today in Spokane, Washington. Still high on this one. What a world.

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NIGHT OWL UPDATE: Dale and Jess are behind me, snoring in unison as I burn the midnight oil on—we’ll just say—”matters of National Security.”

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AN AMERICAN MASTER OF GRAPHIC DESIGN: The “Identity Section” from Paul-Rand.com. Incredible.

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SOME PRESS TO STOP THE PRESSES: Colin Whyte came down to the shop and interviewed me for ESPN.com. Pretty fun.

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I NEED MORE ILLUSTRATION IN MY LIFE, AND I JUST MIGHT HAVE FOUND IT: The “Stages of Transformation” by the incomparable Ray Frenden.