Bango Impersonator in Dub-C

Apparently someone who is NOT Bango is running around West Chester pretending to be the famed Gorilla. Don't be fooled! This is not the real thing.

If you see this impostor, do not approach or ask for autographs.

If the real Bango makes a public appearance, you will hear about it on Hometown Hangover first. Your place for all things Bango.

There's a New Fugee in Town

Check out This to see who was the next victim!

Brimfield - The End

So to conclude the Brimfield saga: I returned home with my bag of goodies (I bought a bunch of little glass birds for my window sill), and I proceed to open the bag to show Beeps my finds, when I feel something strange wrapped in newspaper inside the bag. I pick it up and it doesn't feel like glass. It's much lighter and a strange shape. I open the paper and to my surprise...

Move over GW, there's a new Fug in town!

Behold, The Bard:



Apparently my Dad had seen this and could not resist its purchase. I think he heckled the guy from $5 down to $3. What a steal! I was not expecting to be fugged since I knew that Smoochies still had GW.

All I can say is look out world, there are now two fugs, and you may one day be on the receiving end.

First Bango ©™® now Marley & Me ©™®

The buzz around Dub-C is that Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson are in town filming "Marley & Me". The director and producers must have heard that "Bango" was also filmed here and thus they made their trip out.

Here, Jen and Owen are standing right outside my favorite restaurant Kooma. They are also right across the street from Jitters Sports Bar where the infamous drunken bar scene and chase sequence from Bango were filmed.



I heard that in order to prepare for this scene, the director told Jen and Owen to channel their inner Bango.




For those of you unfamiliar with the magic that is "Bango", it's a love story between a cowboy (with bad teeth and a penchant for ripping off his shirt) and a gorilla named Bango. The film follows them through a typical day on the town that quickly turns dramatic when they pick up a local waitress who is being stalked by the town's drunken yet lovable tramp.

I don't think that Bango is available online, however I know the director and the staff at High Five Productions so I think I can pull some strings. Stay tuned.

Until then, enjoy this teaser trailer for "Bango Two":

Brimfield - Part 2 (Mystic really)

Time for part 2 Townies. This leg of the trip had no where near the amount of weird objects, but it did make for a pretty interesting day. After our stint in Brimfield, M&D decided to drive down to Mystic Seaport to spend the day touring ships and eating lobster. I love lobster, so if I had to do some learning about the workings of an 18th century shipyard, so be it.

We pull into Mystic and the first thing we see is of course this:


All the gift shops sold the movie. I really don't remember seeing it but I'm pretty sure I did. Something about Julia Roberts and some other ladies and a pizza shop. Who knows.

The seaport was really lovely tho. It was a beautiful day so we walked around and looked at the old buildings, took a 1/2 hour sailing trip around the river (best $5 we ever spent), toured the whaling and other sailing ships, and had a beer at the tavern.


I found the mastheads to be creepy as well as interesting and beautiful. This was a room filled with a variety of different versions. From Native Americans to Turks, to ornate ladies. Click on the pic to take it all in.


But this leg of the trip was becoming far too serious and it was only a matter of time before it got silly. In the kids' workshop they had some pretty cool activities. Kids could play on a boat, or dress up like pirates, or draw pictures. Of course we stepped inside to see what it was all about. We were immediately drawn to the crazy camera machine in the corner. It had a miniature ocean scene inside this box with a velvet beanbag for water. To the side was a wall of miniature boats, people, and sea life. You could make a miniature oceanic moment and then capture it on the TV that hung above it with the camera mounted on the front of the box. Needless to say that Dad and I spent quite a long time on that machine as seen by the pics below:


You have to blow up the pic to get a good look, but in addition to the giant whale, causing the capsizing wave, there are a variety of poor suckers trapped in the surf.

Luckily the hand of God was there to help out. OH NO! SHARK!


Then it just got silly...
After the seaport we headed to Abbotts to chow down on some delish lobster and mussels. Just like promised. I kept up my end of the bargain.

So that was the end of day two. We stayed the night in Mystic and left early the next morning for home. Little did I know that a surprise await me at home...

Brimfield MA - Part 1

Hi Townies, As I mentioned last week, I headed out of town for a mini vacation with my parents. Beeps did not go and stayed home to hold down the fort. My parents are big antique fans as seen in this post, and so it was appropriate that I tag along on their annual trip to Brimfield Massachusetts for their massive antiques show. If you haven't heard of Brimfield, it's this small town that has this crazy antiques show a couple times a year. The spring show is apparently the best one with dealers coming from all over the world to buy and sell their crap goods. M&D told me a lot about this trip, they have been going for like 10 years now, and I was intrigued. I was promised to see taxidermy animals, mummies, weapons and just a mess of crazy hard-to-find items. I was excited to go. M&D picked me up Thursday afternoon and we made the 4+ hour trip up to Brimfield. We arrived a bit too late to see vendors the first day, but we spent the night at a local motel and woke up at 5am to be one of the first in line on the second day.

I wasn't sure what I was looking for, but knew that the event would prove to be a treasure trove of blog images if nothing else. So in the first installment of our trip, I bring you some of the more memorable items. Be sure to click on them to see the blown up pictures. That way you get all the details. Enjoy:

Your eyes do not deceive you. These are indeed stuffed, real chickens. I'm not sure what the purpose is or why someone would buy one. But the market must exist or else this guy wouldn't come back year after year. As I was taking pictures, I overheard the owner talking to another man about the nuances of his stuffed pheasant that was a "champion". I'm wondering at what point in his reign they decided to tell the bird that his life would have to end so that his title would remain forever immortalized.

If you click on the picture. You will see that the bird in the front is being sold for $90! Dear God.

I love this image of the birds in the back of this guy's car. As if they are patiently waiting to go somewhere. And this guy seems to be a Phillies Phan. Oh, the humanity...


I don't really know what this is. I just liked that this mannequin was sitting in what appears to be some type of glass-doored cabinet or phone booth, which were both on the back of a truck. He at first caught my eye as a real person which freaked me out a little. It's still kinda creepy.

Here's my pa being very silly.
This is a giant metal, painted chicken. Why?

This is some type of tin man/ robot thingy. He's holding a basket as if to say that he was somehow connected to Dorthy or the Wizard or something. Believe it or not, he was not there at the end of the day.

If you look in the background you'll see a giant picture of Captain Kangaroo. I forgot how amazing that guy's haircut was.

And I've saved the best for last. I saw this little fella and simply had to take a picture to remind myself that seeing him was not a dream. If you look close, it's a black-face baby with a lamp coming out of his ass. I was blown away. I had to ask the seller where she got it. Her reply "It's been in my family for years. I just think he's so cute." WOW! I'm not sure what's more shocking: that she thinks it's cute or that someone in her family, at one point, actually spent money to buy that.


So that's the summary of day one. Stay tuned for Brimfield Part 2.

You Suck Blanco!

Last night me, Beeps, Smoochies and Brent went to the Phillies game. They lost to the Braves but we didn't care since our seats were totally kick-a$$. We enjoyed many beers and of course peanuts and Crackerjacks. We also were witness to some funny heckling by a group of plastered meatheads seated behind us. We sat front row left field and were only feet from the left fielder. Poor Gregor Blanco was told he sucked over, and over. At one point he just looked into the crowd, smiled and shook his head.

And Pat Burrell didn't have it much better. Beeps called to him trying to find out which was harder "sitting or standing?" I don't think Pat found it amusing. But he did scratch himself more than I ever thought possible. And so we ended up making it into a drinking game. "When Pat scratches himself, drink!" Needless to say, we consumed many ice cold miller lites, which were in reality, just kinda cold.

Regardless, we had a blast and nothing beats seeing a baseball game at beautiful Citizens Bank Park. Go Phills!

Saltines From The Caff.

Beeps just sent me this email. Beeps is a teacher at a local high school. The email is from their cafeteria chef. Enjoy:

From: Name Withheld
Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 9:01 AM
To: All Staff
Subject: SALTINES FROM THE CAFF.

Hey guys, just wanted to clear up something with the saltine crackers as we are using way more than we should. Crackers go with soup ONLY! Other than that they must be purchased at 10cents a pack.(in robo cop voice) Thank you for your cooperation.CHEERS!

In case teachers didn't make enough money as it is. Now they can't even enjoy a simple pack of saltines.

UPDATE: Beeps just sent this:

This was the subject heading for another email from our “chef”:

Crackers , correction. 25cents for two packs CHEERS!

Cheers, indeed.

I Can Finally Breathe!

Hi Townies, I am finally well enough to go a whole minute without having to make disgusting snorting noises. So woo hoo for me. I hope you all had a fun weekend. Beeps and I actually had three parties to go to: Friday night Flyers at Marc & Krista's (good time except for the loss), Saturday near Everhart park to celebrate the kitchen and patio opening of a fellow townie. That was good times. I had many, many sangrias. I also got to meet up with WC Jim. He was my history professor in college and a real know-it-all history guy around town. Beeps and I got a lot of dirt about the town. One salacious bit is how the mental hospital/ adoption (abortion) clinic was, at one time, across the street from our now house. And how the crazies used to hang in Marshall Square park. (Actually, this still happens) Jim's got tons of info so be sure to check out his web site to get your fill of Dub-C data. Sunday Smoochies had my parents, Beeps and me, and my nieces and nephew over for a picnic. We grubbed and had some beers.

So the weekend went well and now it's back to the grind. I have a short week because I'm taking a mini vacation which I hope to have details to you early next week. So stay tuned.

A Case of the Sniffles

Hi Townies. Sorry about my lack of posts this week. I've been battling quite a nasty cold. I actually haven't been sick since I left my last job back in the fall of 2006. (That doesn't say much for that crap hole.) So I forgot how awful a nasty cold could be especially at night. I have tried every medication in an effort to reduce my symptoms. So far my saving grace has been Nyquil. Oh, and the most fabulous new advance in tissue technology: Puffs Plus with Vicks! They are the bomb! It's like a shot of smelling salts everytime you blow your nose, plus lotion to sooth that cracked skin. You should get those the next time you are sick.

Anyway, so I was out of work for a day and then spent the last few nights catching up on things at the office. Right now my head is pounding and my nose just continues to run. So you probably won't hear from me again until Monday. So until then, have a great weekend, stay out of trouble, and Go Flyers!

MPW Aftermath

Hi Townies, I hope you all had fab weekends. I myself have been suffering through a terrible cold/ sickness. This morning is the worst so far. I slept about 3 hours last night in between coughing, sniffling, and aching. I usually don't take any medication before I sleep because 9 out of 10 times it keeps me awake. But at about 2 am last night I had had enough and I downed some Alka Seltzer Cold Plus. It actually helped and I eventually caught some zzzzs. This morning I sucked it up, and took some Sudafed before work. Anyway, hopefully I will be feeling better soon.

My weekend was pretty nice regardless. Friday was the MPW show. Here are some pictures taken by my good friend Babs. She's a wiz with the camera. It was so nice that she and her hubs Greg came out for the show. We also saw a ton of other familiar faces: family, friends, coworkers, etc. It was overall a nice night. Beeps had the same cold I have now so he was struggling a bit with the vocals. But overall, everything went swimmingly.



Saturday I headed over to The Whip Tavern with Smoochies and Cory & Jenny to watch the Kentucky Derby. I was feeling pretty sick but powered through it with some Carlsburgs, rarebit and fish & chips. mmmmm. Too bad about that horse Eight Bells. What is the deal with all the horse racing injuries and why do people still do it if there's a chance your million dollar horse will fall? I don't get it. It's a shame for everyone involved. Now it looks like PETA is going to have a field day with this one. We'll have to see what unfolds here. I don't think any amount of alleged cruelty will ever end horse racing. God, I'm such a Debbie Downer right now. It's the meds talking.

Well Townies, I have to get going, but hopefully I feel better to post again soon. Until then. Have a great week.

Woofday Girls

Guess who both had birthdays yesterday May 1st?
Little Leia and Joe-Joe. That's who!
Joey Potter turned six and Leia Darth Maul turned one. Too cute!

Mission Accomplished

Today marks the 5th anniversary of the day our beloved president stood upon an aircraft carrier and declared "Mission Accomplished" on the war against terror. When in reality the terror was about to take the form of higher gas prices, ensuring profits for GWB and all his good buddies at the expense of the American people. Today gas prices are at a record high and Exxon Mobile just announced that in the past THREE (yes 3) months, it made a profit of 10.9 BILLION dollars. That means that in the past minute it took you to read this post Exxon Mobile made over $84,ooo. EIGHTY FOUR THOUSAND FREAKING DOLLARS! Are you kidding me?

Meanwhile, we've wasted the last 8 years and billions of dollars on a war that means NOTHING. When we could have taken money out of the pockets of terrorists by developing and implementing alternative forms of energy thus ensuring our independence from oil rich nations in the middle east.

Anyway, so on this May Day, let's not forget how this administration used fear tactics to scare the American people into willingly giving up their hard earned cash to GWB and his cronies.

So to this I say, Mission Accomplished.