That Was the Week That Was

Quick apologies for being a bad blogger this week. It's been a little more hectic than usual, so I'm going to combine the week into one long post. (If you're here looking for themes, you can read through this or skip this post and look at the one below). Here's how the week went:

Saturday: went to a Leukemia and Lymphoma fundraiser Damion Wolfe concert held by Melissa. She's trying to raise funds to attend a hike in the Rockies. I'll have to get you her site, if you want to help her out.

Sunday: At Chuckles, Ubersmack had a great last round for a come-from-behind victory. The Lethal Amoebas were only one question behind, followed by the Price Is Right, Skirtland and the Talent Scouts. A little farther back were Out of the Vortex (welcome back Bill and Marge) and the Tidy Bowlers. The Bowlers were inspired by their prize from the Trashbag of Deelite (an Aunt Bee cookbook) and chose Andy Griffith as their theme.

Monday: I took time off from the day job and went car-shopping since Stan the Stanza was being put out to pasture. The new MrSnrubmobile is a Toyota Echo. Then it was off to the Barnstormers game (many pix below).

Tuesday: I normally write questions Monday night, so I was running behind. I took an extended lunch at home, churning out some questions. Then my home computer died! It's currently on life support in the shop here at work. Managed to write a show for Bube's, which was won by the Jelly Roll Mortons (this was their first win in a while). Out of the Vortex improved their Sunday night showing by taking second, followed by a tie between The Tesla Death Rays and Team Discovery Channel for third. In fifth were The Nutsacks, followed by the John Shober Gang and the seventh place Stone Cutters, who chose Michael jackson as their theme. You can see the Shobers' pix below. Also: does anyone know where Partial Disagreement disappeared to?

Wednesday: Matt joined his friends Josh and Amy to once again become the Drunken Stepfathers. They tied for second with Shitz and Giggles. Shitz sent Captain Jack first-timer Tom up and he had what had to be the quickest ever loss. We're Here for the Beer took seventh, which gave Don the opportunity to choose the International Radio code as their theme. The story of the night, however, was Clyde and Jerry's kickass last round, as the two-man team Room Two took first place.

Thursday: ran home from the day job and quickly made the house presentable for a Pampered Chef party. This annual event is to help out my friend and soon-to-be-trivia host Justin Shiffer. Then off to see Damion for the second time in one week at his last Symposium show.

Friday: fell asleep on the couch, getting ready to start all over again...

Themes, Themes, Who's Got Themes?

Lots of pix and blogging to come, but my home computer fried its brain (must have been trying to answer the trivia questions), so they won't appear until later this weekend. In the meantime, here are next week's themes:

Cafe Chuckles: the Andy Griffith Show.
Bube's: Michael Jackson
Lititz VFW: the International Radio Code

Thanks to the Jon Shober Gang for these pix!

Barnstormers Pix!

Following are some pix taken from Monday night's Barnstormers/Bears game, which I attended with the winners of the Take Me Out to the Ballgame mini-tourneys (along with some friends who bought tix to help the Relay for Life). It was a wonderful night for baseball, even though the 'stormers tanked in a 9-3 loss.

Thanks to Frank for taking this early on pic. I was afraid that the Biscuits and the B52s were the only teams that were going to show, but Skirtland and the Nutsacks arrived shortly after this was taken. An APB is out on the Chubby Stubbies and Poor Charlie, since they were no-shows.

Ben's family had a great time, and even got to see Cylo up close and personal.

This was the first game for some of the VFW teams.

The newest Toxic Olive, Kumiko.

Cylo and I have a long-running feud, since he strangled me at a Relay for Life meeting that was held before the 'stormers first game.

Hey, Dee, down in front!

Marie took this pic of former Barnstormers employee Nathan and Josiah.

I think this pic of Bob and his wife was taken by Frank.

Craig says you are getting sleeeeepy, sleeepy!

Marie's distraught at the 'stormers' loss.

Kirk was just happy to be there.

Nate stayed til the bitter end, but enjoyed his first game.

And the Winners Are!

Congrats to all six teams who won the Take Me Out to the Ballgame Mini-Tourneys:

Cafe Chuckles: Poor Charlie and Skirtland
Bube's: Nutsacks and Chubby Stubbies
Lititz VFW: The B52s and We're No Biscuits

See you all Monday night at the game! (Or 5 p.M. at the Brickyard for informal pre-game festivities.)

VFW: Coming Soon to Video...

Wilbur Girls Gone Wild obliterated their previous record by getting more than one question right! They had to bolt before the announcing of the scores, so they never heard that they made sixth place. Right behind them were the seventh-place Room Two, who chose "spelling" as their theme (We're just going to do one theme for a while, and it goes to the "Lucky 7th" place team). We're Here for the Beer was fifth, Chicks and Dicks were fourth and the returning Foreplayers started their spring season off well, placing third. The biggest comeback of the night was The B52s, who got 9 out of 10 right in the last round. That was good enough for second, but they failed to catch Shitz and Giggles and Friends, the Hindenberg team of the VFW. They managed to avoid their traditional last round flame-out and took home the gold!

The B52s were also one of the winners of the Barnstormers tickets. John has been on my case to say something nice about his team, so . . . they have nice hair!

"We're No Biscuits" were the other Barnstormers winners. John is a volunteer usher at Clipper Stadium, so I'm sure the guys will enjoy having him wait on them.

Bube's: Bye Bye Boogie Jeff

Jeff of the Boognishers (third from left) is heading east, so he rounded up some of his buds for his last night at Bube's. They all got to see a fine night of competition, as we had ties for both first and third. Ben of the Jelly Roll Mortons took on Charles of the Full Monkey, with Ben victoriously claiming third. Then it was Meredith of the Exploding Ovaries vs. Bill of the Chubby Stubbies for first place, with Meredith the winner. The Chubbies also won the coveted Barnstormers tickets, along with the Nutsacks. And the 'sacks also claimed our newly created "Lucky Seven" spot, earning them the theme choice for next week: "calculus."

2 Man Cru

Congrats to nephew Alex (he's the one in the center), his rowing teammate Alex (he's the one on the left) and some beardy guy (he's the one that looks like a coach). Alex and Alex are the Virginia high-school state champions for 2-man sculling. Next week it's on to nationals!

Reminder: No Trivia Tonight at Chuckles

Mom's bummed.

Me-Gaaaaan!

The Holy Hand Grenades have been in semi-retirement, since they are busy training their secret weapon.

VFW: The Comeback Kids

In this file photo from December 2005, we see tonight's champions, Mel and Dennis hard at work. Tonight they were joined by Don "Mr Hacker" to become D & M + 1. They spectacularly leaped from fifth to first by getting 9 out of 10 right in the last round (a rare feat for any team), beating the second place Room Two. Also in the winner's circle for the first time in a while was We're Here for the Beer, who placed third. In fourth were Chicks and Dicks, who chose Dancing with the Stars as their theme. Fifth place Shitz and Giggles chose Willie's favorite computer, the Mac. (This here website you're looking at was created on a Mac, by the way.)

Our top 7 teams, so far, for the Take Me Out to the Ballgame mini-tourney are, in no particular order:
D and M
Chicks and Dicks
We're No Biscuits
The B52s
Shitz and Giggles and Friends
We're Here for the Beer
Room Two.

See you next week for the conclusion of the tourney!

Also, best wishes for healthy recoveries to Nick's (of Nix Lix) daughter and Steve's (of We're Here for the Beer) granddaughter. Our prayers go out to both ladies.

Bubes: Obtuse, Arcane, Yet Fun!

That was Smashing Squash's assessment of tonight's show. Part of the fun was the return, ever so briefly, of Helen and Dale of the Crabby Dicks. Geography and education have prevented the C.D.s from attending, and Dale wanted to play the show one more time before moving to Fort Lauderdale. Helen of Ship has vowed to return once her Tuesday classes are over.

Tonight was round two of our Take Me Out to the Ballgame Tourney. Our new top seven teams eligible for the drawing are (once again, in no particular order):

El Rey del Helado Frito
The Jon Shober Gang (new to top 7)
Team Discovery Channel (new to top 7)
The Nutsacks
The Jelly Roll Mortons
The Chubby Stubbies
The Tesla Death Rays

Two of the above seven teams (4 tickets per team) will be joining me at the Barnstormers game on May 21st, as long as they all show up next week.

Tonight's action saw a rousing come-from-behind victory for the Is It Against the Law for a Nutsack to Be Seen In Public team. Both the Nutsacks and the Chubby Stubbies surged ahead of the faltering Toxic Olives in the last round, but the 'sacks bested the Chubs by two points to take the crown. The Olives had to settle with a tie for third with the Tesla Death Rays, and then were defeated by Captain Jack. So they chose skateboarding as their theme. In fifth was team Discovery Channel, who combined two of their favorite topics into one theme choice: Star Trek Tribonds.

Welcome to The Beers! (Now there's an appropriate name for a Bube's Brewery team).

Chuckles: No Longer Skirting with Disaster

It was a grand night for Skirtland, as they tied for first AND won the Chuckles edition of Take Me Out to the Ballgame mini-mini tourney! And they did it all without Lee. Our other tourney winner was Poor Charlie, so congrats to them, too. We'll be seeing both those teams at the Barnstormers game on Monday night, May 21st.

The other five teams rounding out our Elite Seven in the tourney were (in no particular order):
The Lethal Amoebas
KCC
Ubersmack
Laffy Taffy
The Talent Scouts

Early on, it looked like it was going to be a Price Is Right night, but they combusted in the last round. The Talent Scouts came back from a disastrous loss last week and took third. Beating them by one point were Skirtland and Ubersmack. Unfortunatley for Allan, Captain Jack was not kind and bit him twice, giving the victory to Deric's team.

Starting this week, we're going to have only one team-chosen theme, and it goes to the seventh-place team (I'm going to call it the Lucky 7 prize). KCC won the honors and chose "mahjong."

And, please don't forget that there will be no Chuckles trivia on Mother's Day. See you in two weeks!

Michelle and Ray, AKA The Browncos, are looking for a nice place near Lancaster to hold their wedding reception in November (most places are already booked). Does anyone know of a place to recommend?
Update: (in case Ray and Michelle read this blog:) Mulberry Art Studio, 295-1949 and Pheasant Run Farm, 872-0991 were both recommended.

Dancing with the Stars - Barbados Edition!

See if you Sunday night trivia people can find the Tidy Bowler in this video. (You have to click on the link, which will take you to YouTube).

An Artist to Watch

Up and coming artist Imogene Gross did this quick, impressionistic sketch of Oscar (AKA SUPRCAT). He just got his annual grooming and now weighs 10 pounds less. I think I should donate all the shorn hair clumps to Wigs of Love.

VFW: Damn Yankees

Keeping in the spirit of the Barnstormers mini-Tourney that kicked off tonight at the VFW, the Hackers chose The Yankees as one of their themes. And Shitz and Giggles, who came in fourth tonight, chose the St. Louis Cardinals as their theme for next week. Fifth place Chicks and Dicks, who imploded on the last round, chose Johnny Cash. The B52s had an excellent last round, getting 8 out of 10 right. But they could not catch up to Room Two, who barely won by two points. We're No Biscuits took the bronze. Our other two qualifying teams (so far) were D and M and Boot, Scoot and Annie.

Bube's: World's Best/Worst Pun

It was a night devoted to condiments and would-be assassins, as we began the first round of the three week Take Me Out to the Ballgame Mini-Tourney. Here are the top seven teams eligible for the grand prize drawing so far:

1. The Fool Monkey
2. The Nutsacks
3. The Jelly Roll Mortons
4. El Rey del Helado Frito
5. The Tesla Death Rays
6. The Chubby Stubbies
7. Eat It Raw

El rey del Helado Frito chose "stupid laws" as their theme and the Rays went with "Belgian Beers." Sample question: "True or false: it is illegal in Idaho to drink a Belgian Beer while mowing your lawn in a tutu?"

Nate is in awe of Jon's stripclub shirt from the Trashbag of Deelite.

Brian and Chris, AKA Eat It Raw, returned from their hiatus just in time for the first round of the mini-tourney. Welcome back!

Sisters Kira and Amber hung out after the show with Josh and Sarah.

It's All About Beer

If anyone was wondering why I wasn't at Cafe Chuckles on Sunday, it was because I was on a four-day mini-vacation. My friends Jay and Lorraine are fellow lovers of dark beers who like to travel. Lorraine had read about the pretentious-sounding World Beer Festival in Raleigh, NC and decided to go on a road trip. And, since we were in the neighborhood, we decided to visit Rocky Mount, Richmond and Fredericksburg (along with a brief side-trip to Wilmington). We got back Monday night, so if I'm dragging a little this week, that's why (of course, sampling 160 beers in four hours might have something to do with that!)

Following are some crappy cell phone pix that I took.

Also, thanks to Chris for filling in at Chuckles. I haven't checked in with him yet, so I'll post his scores and themes later.

Our trip took us first to Wilmington, Delaware. We did not eat here.

We spent Sunday and half of Monday in Richmond, Virginia, which was a beautiful city. We visited the Museum of the Confederacy and the Confederate "White House," along with the city's Shockhoe Slip area and the Jefferson Hotel. Above is one of the many statues on Monument Avenue (It's of Matthew Fontaine Maury, architect of the Confederate Navy).

We went for the V.I.P. tickets, which gave us a nice meal, a nice pint glass, and. most importantly, nice bathrooms. Yes, segregations lives on, as the V.I.P.s got their own luxurious bathroom trailer with minimal waiting, while everyone else stood in lines 12 people deep.

The biggest nut in Raleigh.

Raleigh is a city on the move! There was a whole block of eleven houses near the festival that were up on rollers. It looked like they were making room for yet another government building, of which there are a gazillion downtown. Most of the stores there were closed on Saturday, which was kind of odd.