Whatta bash

As you can see, our Funions Halloween bash was a huge success.

That might have been as much fun as the band has ever had playing a show. Ever. In 10 years of doing this.

The crowd was into it from the start and danced to every song, even the originals.

Costume contest was huge - give it up to QPD CSI for the Funyons costume!

The American Gothic couple pictured above won the $100 Elks gift certificate and there were some awesome costumes.

Yes. It's true. The Funions were renamed Dirk & The Perp Walks, for one night only. The prison warden was, ahem, hot!

Thanks for coming out. The Funions will be taking a little break but hopefully we'll play soon.

Elks Halloween

Getting ready for our HUGE Elks Halloween show Friday night, 7:30 until whenever.

Costumes encouraged, of course. You won't believe what the band is donning, and it is appropriate .... 

This is for members and guests of the Elks. Funions fans are welcome! 

Hot tubs and rain UPDATED

Gonna go shuffle with the old guys and then melt in the hot tub.

Cold rain? What cold rain?

UPDATE: Went and hobbled full court, 4 on 4, shot 2 of 39 from the field, went home, had beverage, melted away ..... bad basketball is no match for a hot tub!

Mr. and Mrs. Cornwell

HOLY CRAP did we have fun at the Cornwell wedding.

The Cheeseburgers are the best, Floating Otis made an appearance and the place was jumping all night long. There were even Funions with Cheeseburgers and it was HUGE.

All you Facebook fans can click here for more pics.

I'm getting too old to have this much fun. I will blame it on the evil eye doctor and his basement bar of doom for leading me down the path of destruction.

Also today Bulldog and son came over to wire the hot tub, and it is awesome.

The only bad thing? Back to work tomorrow. Bleeeccchhhhh.

Expensive lumber

One thing I forgot to mention about the failed hockey skate experience in the Loo was the price of sticks. $200, for a piece of lumber? Or graphite or aluminum or whatever they are made out of these days. GEESH.

I will have to settle for a "cheap" $40 stick, in all likelihood. 

QHS did not play well last night at Glenwood, but we'll see where the playoff road takes the Blue Devils next week. Shey Fey and I did have a lot of fun with the Farkas family and a Springfield road trip is never a bad thing. We ate at an Italian place not far from the school and it was HUGE.

We celebrate tonight with Chris and Jessica Cornwell. Congrats! The Cheeseburgers are playing at the reception and it will be a blast.

HOLY CRAP - my vacation is almost over. 

There are rumors about chainsaws being used this weekend in The Hood, and of a hot tub getting hooked up ....

Keep on tailing at the gate

—  Now this makes me proud to be a Chippewa .... FIRE UP CMU!

— Ghostly stories on ghostly roads, Q-town style, click here.

— No luck in finding hockey skates in the Loo. Even blundered into a store called Total Hockey, which had totally lame service. No better online, which might mean a lot of duck tape and super glue for the old blades this winter.

— On tap: QHS football at Springfield Chatham, wedding reception for a Funions guitarist and drummer.

— The best thing about vacation is waking up and not caring what time it is.

— Apparently something got spilled on the remote yesterday, causing widespread panic and National Guard deployment, but Shey Fey (as she always does) came to the rescue.

— Best quote from Dr. Brei during Loo road trip yesterday, on why he can't play pickup hoops: "I'm afraid something would break - or fall off."

Staying Local

I could get used to this not working bidness really easily ....

Excellent Funions practice last night at Club Vegas. "Back in the USSR ...." Getting ready for our huge Halloween show a week from Friday at The Elks. No cover charge, costume contest, cheap and cold beverages .... NO EXCUSES for not showing up. Members and guests only, if you are a Funions fan, you can be our guest!

Buying local is a big topic. I am all for helping out our Quincy retailers, but there are certain times when it just won't work.

For instance, if I need something for my bike, I'm going to Greg Davis' shop at Eighth and State. Why? He's a good guy, he has great service and he knows his product, and I feel good giving him my business.

For most of my music needs, I'll go to Vegas Music or Smith Music in Quincy. I've dropped more than just a dime or two in both places, and will continue to do so.

However ....

I need new skates, and there simply isn't a place in Quincy to buy them. So I'm making a road trip today. May also stop at a large music outlet to try and find an item or two not available in Quincy.

Buy local if you can. If not .... do what you gotta do.

Stay The Vacation Day 2

HOLY CRAP. I have a hot tub in the backyard.

I have a friend, let's just call him Dave The Bulldog, who gave us his hot tub because he got a new one. It's an incredibly generous gift and I can't thank him enough. We have been in this hot tub a time or two and it's very nice.

He loaded it up, Shey Fey took down the fence, and we rolled it off the trailer right to the spot by the rear porch steps. The the rear porch never gets used. It will now.

If you want to make an afternoon disappear, record your own songs. For the first time in months I put together a demo and it sounds like crap but hey .... it's done, which is saying something.

Gonna run my out of shape butt with the boys in the Slow Pickup Basketball League and hopefully live to tell about it.

Staycation

A very happy birthday to Bob Mays, just 88 years young! Had a great time hanging out with my Quincy mom and brothers.

Off this week and for the first time I can remember, I am doing nothing. Well, not totally true .... yard work beckons today plus some other goals. I have a feeling it will go by quickly.

First order of bidness ... a greasy breakfast in Taylor, Mo. HUGE ....

Holy Football Playoffs, Batman

Check it out — YOUR Quincy Blue Devils are 7-1 and heading to the playoffs. That's right — the freaking PLAYOFFS!

What I love about this time is the determination and rising up in the face of adversity. D.J. Powell was unstoppable last night simply because he refused to go down. Alex McNay had a costly fumble early in the second half and ran like a man possessed in the fourth quarter, including a huge third-down run on the final scoring drive of the game. 

But the strength of this team is the defense, especially the line. Jimmy Ely is a man and the linebackers fly to the ball.

Rick Little and his coaches are to be commended for turning it around in a basketball town. If QHS can pull off another win in Chatham next Friday, we could have playoff football in Quincy at both Notre Dame and at 46th and Maine.

Huge!

Being Tall

At least I am good for something .... "I need you to be tall for me." This involves hanging curtains, so chill ....

The 6-2 freshman HAS A BOYFRIEND. I am trying not to freak out.

It appears I am unable to hang curtains correctly. So maybe I am not good for something.

Too Much Miley

I'm glad at least one major news outlet has realized the significance of this issue. Fox, CNBC, CNN ... forget it. They are clueless.

Halloween recording

Much fun as always at the Sammy Fund event. At least we didn't have to worry about the beer staying cold. And we had excuses for some bad golf.

Dr. Brei burned a CD of our Elks Halloween show from last year. I hate the sound my own voice, always the singer's curse, but it is very interesting to hear almost a year later. The band seemed really on during this show and Jack in particular was on fire.

So we are doing it again Oct. 30 and it's going to be HUGE. We've already got the band costumes lined up and there could be some rioting at Second and Hampshire on Halloween's Eve.

I have been assured Elvis will again be making an appearance.

The Chant, The Walk, GO BLUE

OK, repeat after me, nice and loud so everybody can hear ....

I WILL NOT MAKE FUN OF RUSH AGAIN I WILL NOT MAKE FUN OF RUSH AGAIN I WILL NOT MAKE FUN OF RUSH AGAIN ...

Great fun walking for Sammy this morning. Let's see if the creaky wheels hold up on the golf course.

Michigan at Iowa tonight in the Man Cave of Calftown Doom!

Thursday Rain Blues

As you can see, Lucy The Queen of Calftown and Bella The Destroyer are patiently trying to wait out the rain ....

— Cole Hamels can blow it out his year. What a dweeb .... play ball, moron!

— Rush Limbaugh, Rams owner? Check out this column, one of the funniest and best I've read in a long time. I am now officially a fan of this columnist.

— Sorry to hear about Jean Redington stepping down, I think she did a good job as Adams County treasurer. Her brother is a pretty good sax player, too ....

— No Funions practice this week, but the good eye doctor and I are getting together to do some jamming tonight.

— Shey Fey has Citizens Police Academy on Thursday nights and she says it's been a blast so far. One of these years ....

— Sammy Fund this weekend, hope to see you there!

Bloggers, blacklists

Sen. Dick Durbin's decision to blacklist a Quincy radio station is about the dumbest thing he could ever do.

Of course, the indignation from our local blogging community is, as ever, entertaining. You should really charge admission or get anger management before letting people read this stuff.

Go to this blog, then follow his link for the only rational thoughts out there on the whole deal.

I am putting All The News back on the links. I've kept him off because he doesn't blog enough.

It's pretty obvious who he is, but I'll keep my speculation to myself, and his hidden identity doesn't take away from his sharp views. 

The Old Church

The Crossing is planning to buy the old German church in the 900 block of Monroe and use the annex for a substance abuse rehabilitation home.

Many of us in The Hood have an opinion.

Make yours count.

Here is the contact info for the Ward 7 aldermen. Please contact them and let them know what you think. Click here.

Curtis Creek

Did something this afternoon on a glorious fall Sunday I haven't done in a long, long time.

I walked down Curtis Creek from South Park to the Stone Arch Bridge along Eighth Street. This used to be a regular adventure with the now 6-2 college freshman, but it's been a long time.

Joining me were Brant Boyer, who had never been for a creek walk, and Bella The Destroyer and Lucy The Queen of Calftown, who both love water and suddenly found themselves in canine H2O paradise.

The creek looks the same, with the high towering walls to the south and the spring water dripping from the north walls.

The bridge was built 110 years ago for horses and buggies and has stood the test of time.

Simple thing, isn't it? A walk down a creek on a sunny Sunday afternoon. 

Brant gave it the thumbs up and pronounced it "cool."

Doesn't get much better than that.

Sanity Restored

Playing tonight at a wedding reception in the country. Supposedly outdoors, we'll see if the weather holds.

Practiced Thursday night with Trent Vogel on the drums and the band is ready to have a blast. I'm ready to bust loose and have some fun.

Covering two murder trials in two weeks is exhausting, though it pales to what families of victims, the attorneys and key witnesses have to endure. 

I'm just glad it over and the families from from both sides are picking up the pieces. 

I was supposed to do the PA at the QHS football game last night but I had nothing left in the tank, thanks to David Adam for helping me out. How 'bout them Devils!

So - Mutt Strut this morning in South Park, college football this afternoon, lawn mowing and picking up Bella poop at some point, and rocking out tonight.

Sounds like the cure to me!