Happy Halloween

This morning, I took in the fall foliage as I drove to work through the backroads of Princeton. Along the way, I saw a beautiful buck that was wearing the number 44 in fluorescent orange on his antlers. He was on Quaker Bridge Road in the midst of rush hour, and confused. After driving by the majestic animal, I looked in my rearview mirror and was relieved to see him escape from the path of an oncoming FEDEX truck into the safety of the woods which lead to Mercer County Park.

On a talk radio show this lunch, I listened to a guest named Walt Bauer who was certifiably dead for 30 minutes after being struck on the head in a construction accident. The injury caused him to develop an ability to see the spirit world. He has never profiteered off this ability. One caller phoned in and wanted closure regarding his dead brother. Bauer, without any apparent knowledge, correctly stated that the caller’s brother had died of a drug overdose. Very spooky.

I hope that these Halloween tales add some spookiness to your day, and night.

Saturday night's sojourn to the Stone Pony was a fun outing, albeit short. Sponsored by Weird NJ, there were plenty of freaks in the house. We enjoyed the High School Sweethearts rocking out. MEZMIYAMI, send me some photos for this blog!

On the music side, I have been enjoying Paul van Dyk's "The Politics of Dancing 2" and Steve Lawler's "Lights Out 3". This weekend's two DJ events were pretty standard fare - both pleasant events with easy load-ins, reasonable guests, and positive feedback. The Saturday wedding in New Hope, PA had a bluegrass/country/classic rock vibe, while Sunday's 60th birthday party for identical twins was a fun, Italian style event with outgoing guests.

Trinidad in Effect

This past Sunday I played a christening party in Cafe Tivoli in Ridgefield. Sunday afternoon parties can be pretty low key. I had worked for this family on another occasion in 2004. They are huge fans of soca and calypso music, and also enjoy hip hop and reggae. True to form, they partied up a storm. Surprisingly, the most voracious dancers were the men. The family is from Trinidad. In addition to having a great time, they checked up on me numerous times to see if I needed anything to eat and drink.

The only blemish on the afternoon was that some dwarf (literally a dwarf) started mouthing off to the mother of the christened boy at the end of the party. Some of the men diffused the situation. I think that he was a drunk. Bad break.

Overall a great party, and I enjoy the opportunity to immerse myself in different cultures. Props to Trinidad!

Exuberance in the Club

 

Host Jeff J, at the Top of His Game

 

Prizes Such as Mix CDs Rained down from the Sky

 

Club 2606 - A State of Mind

 

DJ Struggler and Fan

Dark Deviants

 

Cross Cultural Understanding, w Adam the Glossy Sheik and a Nun

 

Pirates of Penzance

 

Dogg the Bounty Hunter and his Staff

 

DJ Matt C (middle) and his Entourage

 

Dr. Mike Hunt on the Prowl

 

DJ Jagged and the Ghost of Hunter S.

 

Sneak Preview - Vignette

Here is a sneak preview of a vignette that I wrote for the holiday 2005 reader:

Searching for Todd Constantino

Where are you Todd?

You moved out to Hawaii immediately after graduating culinary school back in 1992. You didn’t leave a forwarding address. Your parents were your roots to our hometown. Then they suddenly moved to New Mexico. From Bayonne to New Mexico?

How I long for our high school days! Those carefree times, with our abundant idealism and tomfoolery. Nobody could ever match your exaggerated gestures while bodyboarding, bowling or driving. You were a model student, yet displayed a love of living on the edge. The lapses of judgment, such as the tryst with a waitress seven years your senior. That nickname “Casanova” that you wore like a custom-tailored garment. The pungent Vanillaroma trees in your eclectic Jeep AMC. You balanced your complex parents as best as you could, yet they still laid a major guilt trip on you. Someday, please explain to us why your mother was keeping 15 cats caged up in her basement.

We started searching for you five years ago. We thought that we could trap you in the worldwide web, like a spider traps his prey in a cobweb. We learned that you had been an executive sous chef at the Diamond Head Grill on Oahu. We learned that you prepared culinary delights for an Asian beauty pageant. We learned that you were a member of a local Mustang auto owners’ club. Delighted to have profiled you and to know that your blood continued to run as hot as ever, we were eager to move in for the kill. We planned to surprise you with a telephone call. Or to schedule a spontaneous class reunion in Hawaii.

We reached out through your contact at the Mustang club – and he passed on our message to you, along with the intelligence that you had moved yet again to the big island of Hawaii. We know you got the message, but you chose not to contact us. I personally spoke with your Aunt Luann from New Jersey. Sadly, she has no idea where you or your parents are either.

Earlier this year, I stumbled into some money through an inheritance. I decided to use a small portion of the money to hire the best private investigator that money could buy. I settled on Woon Chan, a gentleman who I’d worked with on another case. What he learned was shocking..................................

(to be continued in the Holiday 2005 Reader)

Updated Schedule

October 15th - 13th Birthday Party in Historic Barn, Bernardsville, NJ

October 16th - Wedding in Middlesex, NJ

October 21st - The Exorcism of Jeff J. Party, Halloween House Party (VIP Event)

October 22nd - Wedding in South River, labelled by bride as "wedding of the century"

October 23rd - Christening Party, Ridgefield, NJ

October 29th - Wedding in New Hope, PA

October 30th - Birthday Party in Swedesboro, NJ

November 5th - 40th Birthday Party, Garwood, NJ

November 6th - Children's Birthday Disco Party, Fairlawn, NJ

November 11th - High School Dance, Eatontown, NJ

November 12th - Anniversary Party, Edison, NJ

November 25th - 10 Year High School Reunion Party, Hackettstown, NJ

October Update

October started off strong, with a wedding in Saddle Brook, NJ. The venue was called the Excelsior - they had a Louis XIV theme going in there. In addition to doing the reception, I played the wedding ceremony. The bride and groom had been easy to deal with - they both were tattoo afficionados - their tattooless families were nice also. The dance floor started slow, but picked up. Popular songs included Drowning Pool's "Bodies" (hit the floor) and Chris LeDoux's "Life is a Highway". I was pleasantly surprised to receive a $200 tip!

I cannot attend Whistle 3 this evening, due to the fact that I have a wedding reception tomorrow. Oh well.... the lineup is very good as usual.

The Club 2606 Halloween party is moving along through the planning stages. Prizes have been purchased, 40+ confirmed guests are in, and a mix compilation recorded. Struggler and I fiddled around with the video on Monday - this show has great potential. Can't wait!!!

Meeting with a prospect couple in New Hope, PA this morning.... tomorrow is the Ric & Clarisse wedding in NE Philly.

Club 2606 Halloween Flyer - Don't Take it Too Literally!