Mark the Dates!

The comedy troupe that I'm involved with, Winter Radio Theater, is gearing up for a new season of spoofs. Here are the dates of our Halloween shows, in case you're planning ahead:

Attack of the Giant Boll Weevils (and other abominations) - a collection of short skits, and War of the Wackos.

Sunday, October 19th, 6:30 p.m. – Appalachian Brewing Company, Harrisburg
Sunday, October 26th, 6:30 p.m. - Appalachian Brewing Company, Harrisburg
Friday, October 31st, 8 p.m. – Bube’s Brewery (3rd floor, above Alois’ Restaurant)

Chuckles: Be Afraid!

Rick was so happy that Jason finally took off the Frankenstein mask that he had won from the Trashbag of Deelite. And then I had to ask him to pose with it. Tonight was a welcoming night, as we welcomed back Lori to the Sunday show. She had been our bartender for a long time before going on maternity leave. Tonight she was on the other side of the bar, subbing for Sasha. We also welcomed the Zombies, refugees from the VFW show (they're in a shuffleboard league and cannot make the Lititz show.) The shuffling Zombies fell to seventh in the last round and are going with Friends as next week's theme. Dumbledore's Army, Hefeweisen (AKA Clowns McNutty) and Skirtland were sixth, fifth and fourth. The Twin Roses continued their winning ways and took the bronze. Of Pixie Stix and Whirlygigs mounted a last round charge, but fell short of Ubersmack by one point.

It's Time to Face the Hole!

My newest guilty pleasure is the incredibly goofy Hole in the Wall on Fox (of course). I recommend that you tape it, since you can get through the one hour show in about 10 minutes. Last week's show had three jockeys vs. three sumo wrestlers. Last night they changed it up a bit and had three female bodybuilders take on three little people (who had brought along a pit bull in silver spandex). Say no more.

VFW: Beware of the Cross Out!

Chris, formerly of Team BBC, recruited a new team called Ram Rod and they almost tied for first place, if not for the Cross Out Scandal of 2008. That cost them five points and put them in fourth place, behind third-place D&M and Room Two and Mixed Company. There was a Captain Jack-off™ between Matt and Dave, with Dave quickly crumbling. Tuaca Meister came in seventh and they are going with "Heavy Metal/Medal" for their theme for next week.

Dennis and Mel were the proportionately biggest winners of the evening. Not only did they win third place, but every single team member won prizes from the Trashbag of Deelite.

The hot-rodding B52s got all the classic car questions right.

Here's a nice pic of We're Here for the Beer, who swapped tables with Room Two.

Chicks and Dicks added a new member to their team, Lech "The Pole" Kowalski. They quickly blamed him for their defeat, since he had nothing to contribute (he's the strong, silent type).

It's Gimpy and Kevin of If Trivia Started at 8 P.M., We Would Have Won First Place And We Wouldn't Have Had To Chug Our Beers Making Us Look Like This.

Bert is not pleased.

Bube's: Couples Night

Marilyn and Harry of Roadrunner are a relatively new team at Bube's that is on the move. They only missed the money round by one question. But they didn't miss out on tonight's Early Bird prize of marshmallow french fries with candy ketchup. Yum!

That's Josiah of Deric...Nutsacks predicted a bad last round, but they ended up in a tie for first with Linuscratchitt. Josiah's experience with Jacking-off™ made quick work of Kirk.

Kirk looks none the worse for wear after he was twice-bitten as Kristen, Bonnie and Phil try to console him.

Proving that good things come in small packages (and that an English degree is good for something), Tom and Laura of TDC placed third.

Craig and Kumiko represented the Toxic Olives and scored the coveted theme choice. They are going with American presidents.

One more reason to like Puff N Suds: they're big fans of Lost.

Puppy Butt was a formidable new team, who caught on quickly how to play.

Quietly Making Noise did one of their patented last round crash-and-burns.

Welcome back to Nanette, Jane and Lynley, AKA The Earth Girls.

The post-trivia stampede: Bube's at 11 P.M.

Ryan asks "Where did everybody go?"

Chuckles: New Camera!

I finally got a new camera, so there are a ton of pix to go through. Leading off are tonight's victors, Bill and Marge, who had a stunning upset on a very, very close scoring night. They went from eighth to first in the last round, narrowly squeaking by the Twin Roses by one point and Team C.H.U.D. by two.

Here's an action shot of the Twin Roses, who had their highest placing ever.

Team C.H.U.D. temporarily took over the Talent Scouts table, and the change of scenery did them good, as they took the bronze.

Ubersmack, who had been leading all night, had their Worst Fourth Round Ever.

We Just Can't Agree on a Team Name got to pick next week and they are going with Harry Potter. (Theme choice bolded for the visually impaired.)

The guilty members of the Tidy Bowlers fled the scene after shocking me with their trick camera.

Jen and Bob of the Dead-Eyed Susans cornered the end of the bar with the Intox Intell.

Clowns McNutty was the team that chose the Dune theme, "the greatest movie of all time."

The Lapcats started their own colony in outer Siberia.

The Dropkick Mollys were determined to get seventh, but success got to them and they too high.

KC continued their kwest to make friends with everyone whose name begins with a K or a C, this week bringing along Kim.

See if you can find notorious photobomber Alan in this pic of Skirtland.

Of Pixie Stix and Whirlygigs thought it was B.Y.O.P. night (bring your own pixie stix).

Nick and Jason raise their glasses and vow vengeance.

VFW: Shuffling Zombies

The Zombies brought along their lucky pen, which actually worked for once. They placed second, behind the Chicks and Dicks. Unfortunately, the Zombies are in a shuffleboard league that will begin on Wednesday nights, so we won't be seeing them again until December. They did promise, however to make an appearance at Cafe Chuckles.

We're Here for Trivia, But We'd Settle for 7:30 P.M. were third, followed by Room Two and the B52s. The Foreplayers, featuring Woman of Leisure Bert got to pick next week's theme: classic cars.

The Newlyweds stopped by for some trivia before heading to the Outer Banks to celebrate their anniversary.

The B52s were thankful that they brought their own Crows, since they won bupkus the entire evening.

Bubes: Lobbying for Silver

Okay, this isn't the best picture ever of Is That an Oil Lobbyist In Your Pocket, or Are You Just Happy to See Me?, but my camera is dying. And it beats the old cell phone (see below). The Lobbyists had their best placing ever, only a couple of questions behind the tee-totalling Nutsacks. Brent and Keith of the returning Wise Men also did well, placing third despite botching a hockey question. I left my notes at home, so I forget the other rankings (other than You Can't Fix Stupid, who were either sixth or eighth).

And this is the quality of my cell phone camera.

Lorraine of the Lethal Amoebas (or Amoebae, as Deric likes to say) expresses her displeasure at finishing seventh. But at least she gets to pick a theme: cribbage! (That is the first and only time that I will put an exclamation point after the word "cribbage.")

Tom Brady Is a Sperm Princess promised they'd come back once a month, and I'm going to hold them to that promise!

Puff N Suds had a strong last round to finish fourth (and Alan won the thematically correct Bare Naked Ladies T-shirt from the Trashbag of Deelite).

Ed of You Can't Fix Stupid (AKA As the Bottle Drains) wants me to find the caricature of myself for some unknown purpose. Unfortunately, I think it's in a large pile of papers underneath the bed in my guest room and that's a scary place to go.

Chuckles: Roses Creeping Up!

If you squint your eyes really hard, you can see the Twin Roses, celebrating their third-place showing (fret not, I'm getting a new camera very soon). They also celebrated their Trashbag of Deelite prize "101 Things You Always Wanted to Ask Hanson." It was a short celebration, however, as they quickly traded it away to Erika in exchange for some cherry kisses. Erika's team came in second after she failed her first Captain Jack-off™ with Trisha of Ubersmack. Brenda's Intoxicated Intellectuals came in fourth, followed by Team C.H.U.D. and Skirtland. That gave theme choice to Mike and Amanda of Clowns McNutty: "the Dune series of books and shows." I had seen the original movie back in the day and I knew I was in trouble when the usher handed me a dictionary flier for the film.

Hurricane? What Hurricane?

Hurricane Hannah failed to stop the annual Newcomm Tech employees' picnic. Dave and Jackie simply rented a huge tent and huddled inside. The sun eventually peeked through, and we got down to business of trivia. The Lititz Annihilators lived up to their name and leaped from second to third in the last round. Ryshelligan, Paline's People, Zo-EZ (featuring Zoe the Explorer) and FaShel all fell before the Annihilators. Thanks again to the Newcomm folks for having me for the fifth year in a row!

VFW: Take the Money and Run

For the second time in one week, board games was the theme, as chosen by the Highsteppers. It didn't help them too much, however, as they tied for seventh with the reunion tour of We're Here for the Beer. The 'steppers are going with "sitcoms after the year 2000," while WHFTB is going with "AC/DC" (the band, not the sexual preference). The dynamic duos of D&M and Prius were sixth and fifth, while Alice in Wonderland charged into fourth. Chicks and Dicks did much better than last week, placing third, while the Charlie-fortified B52s were second. Betaing them by only one question was Room Two.

Bube's: Darn Those Dirty Hippies!

Don't Cry for Me Dirty Hippie, My Oil Lobbyist Brings All the Boys to the Yard celebrate winning both a bag of Twistos and the theme choice for next week: Canadian indie rock (say what?). The teams, in reverse order were Quietly Making Noise, TDC and Lisa Is Sooooo Gay (tied), The Tony Danza Slap (bronze), O Canada Our Home and Native Nutsack (silver) and Puff N Suds (gold). Thanks again to Zane for providing tonight's soundtrack!

Marie is having a hard time adjusting to the thicker Pennsylvania air since she's returned from Vermont. Alas, she has gone off the deep end.

As the Bottle Drains brought along their anti-gremlin good luck sign (see inset), but still missed the coveted seventh-place spot, this week falling to eighth.