Amazing Beatbox Performance!

This street performer wowed me 100x over so here is just a sample of his performance in Prague... I tipped him 60 MangoUnits because I hadn't exchanged my money for Czech Korunas yet...

Guster & Brett Dennen Concert

With 6 bags holding 79 items of food we are fully prepared to win the food drive contest and meet the members of Guster. For bringing this donation we are allowed on the "special" line which lets us beat out the people who are stuck standing on the opposite side of the street of the entrance. The clock hits 7PM and the ushers begin scanning tickets. We sprint inside and rush for the front row in the general admission standing section of the Wellmont Theater. We make it to the front row and wait around for the next hour until the lights dim and the 6'5" Brett Dennen (and band) come out for their 45 minute set! He gets angry that the mic keeps shocking him and there is a section of the crowd which cheers. Brett humorously mocks them, but it's pretty clear he's pissed off. I remember singing in a band and having that issue a few times... not fun.... After the first act the stage hands setup for the main attraction--Guster! I get a text during this down time. "Congrats! You've won 2 aftershow passes from tonight's food drive. Meet me in the lobby..." I don't even read the last part of the text because I am too excited! The entire time they are performing I am taken in by some of my favorites while constantly imaginating what it will be like meeting my favorite band of all time! They perform all the classics along with a double encore to end the show. As a bonus, they do "Jesus On The Radio" (Unplugged) and with special guest Brett Dennen! (Watch below!) The wait after the show is only 15 minutes but it feels like 15 hours! I can't contain myself! We are led backstage and the guys are everything I pictured--and more! Brian keeps joking around by trying to cough and get his voice back. Ryan and I talk about the Lost and Gone Forever 10th Anniversary Shirt I am wearing (he designed it). Adam hears me yack on and on about how monumental the music has been in my life and Luke tells me about his "lucky beanie." At the after-after show I also re-meet the percussionist Matthew Frankel, of the upcoming band Lady Danville (who had toured with Guster on a previous tour). I get a picture and autograph from each and every celebrity I meet. Even though I paid 90 MangoUnits for the donated goods, there is no price I wouldn't pay to meet them all over again.

 

"Jesus On The Radio" by Guster with Brett Dennen

Steve with new member Luke Reynolds

Steve with Matthew Frankel*

Steve with Ryan outside a stage door

Steve with Adam Gardner

Brian and Luke pigging out
on some popcorn

Adam after a sick trumpet solo

Ryan with a giant sphere over his
head with a built in mic

*Just to clarify, Matthew Frankel is a member of Lady Danville

Mango Product of the Month: Chimes Mango Ginger Chews

Each individual chew is wrapped by itself

*Chomp Chommmp Chommp* This sweet and spicy treat is like no other! Other ginger chews are either fake or too strong for my taste. Chives Mango Ginger Chews perfectly combines the sweet and juicy mango flavors with some small subatomic spiciness and adds in a chew that might get stuck in your teeth if you enjoy this treat too fast! This chewy pleasure also has a bonus medicinal property of aiding digestion (from the ginger). Grab it quickly because they are on sale for only 70 MangoUnits!
 

Fuck the police (polizei)!

I totally agree with Saul when he screams this iconic phrase from Pineapple Express: "Fuck the po-lice...." I saw three tickets given out in under 30 minutes in Prague, Czech Republic. The phrase really hit home in that moment has had a very profound effect on me. I will probably be arrested and fined 45 MangoUnits for posting this when I return to this country but I thank goodness live in the U.S.... Go 1st Amendment Rights!

An awesome beatboxer fined after finishing a performance

Looks like you can't park your car here...

.....Or here

Mango Product of The Month: McDonalds Mango Pineapple Real Fruit Smoothie

This delicious fruity blend is a must have for any mango lover! A blend of real mango, ice, and a low-fat yogurt makes me feel good when I decide to treat myself to this! It is a pretty cheap item as well (as are most things at fast food restaurants) but this drink is fully worth its value plus more. One thing to note however, McDonalds forgot to mention one very special ingredient--75 MangoUnits to make this drink the perfect concoction!

Picture below: An artist's representation of the mistreatment of MangoUnits

Mushy Tales Cartoons!

 Although he may predominantly be an actor, David Shuker also has a secret artistic passion! He is the creator of a website you may or may not have seen called Mushy Tales. It consists of some hilarious cartoons which poke fun at London life and other simple, yet thought provoking ideas. Last we spoke to David, he said he was planning on getting some of the drawings on t-shirts and other merchandise so keep your eye out! Below are some of our favorites!! The artist has signed a 5 year contract for 75 MangoUnits!

(Images reproduced with permission. All images copyright (r) David Shuker)

A new look at the classics...

There are no words that come to mind to even begin describing the moral issues with this picture but I'm gonna show it anyway... The original composer is currently earning 55 MangoUnits in royalties.

I would love to attend this opera!

Mango Product of The Month: Naked Mighty Mango Smoothie

This sweet and satisfying drink from Naked has been on the waiting list of for the Mango Product of the Month for a while now. The drink combines mango, orange, banana, apple and lemon and gives you a full day's serving of Vitamin A and C. The fruit puree is such a treat that we have graciously blended in an additional 70 MangoUnits to the already extensive list of delicious ingredients in this smoothie.

Oy gevalt! Your such a putz!

These are two signs I saw in Vienna, Austria... I could have sworn there were no Jews there but I guess I was wrong... 40 MangoUnits to anybody who appreciates the Yiddish humor.

Antiques for schmucks! Get the worst deal here!

In case you didn't feel ripped off at the antique shop you can be a schmuck at this jewelry store!

Mango Product of the Month: Trader Joe's Soft & Juicy Mango

This dried mango has been a favorite since first seen on the shelves in a near by Trader Joe's a year ago or so. This sweet treat has a sibling which has a light coating of sugar on it, but in order to try and go down the healthier route, we ended up with this (still) savory treat! At the on sale price of 65 MangoUnits, who could let this offer down!

Bizzare Budapest Art

Here are some odd artistic works I found on the walls of buildings and billboards in Budapest, Hungary. Spray-painted 55 MangoUnits and almost got arrested.

Posters for music festivals

"This is no place for street art"

Hungarian version of Popeye

Monkeys spray-painting some bananas

Fruit Ninja's Evil Twin

Rip Off the iPhone game. And yes it is--a complete ripoff the classic app Fruit Ninja. "The game sounds like you're raping someone!" shouts one who's watching. "It's your game!" the other one replies (who is now doing rather well considering he has never played before). The game however is a lot harder than Fruit Ninja but your task is relatively the same--slash things with a swipe of your finger and get points for it.

Original Fruit Ninja <--Game Link!

Fruit Ninja with Birds, a.k.a. Rip Off <--Game Link!

Fourth of July!

Happy (Belated) Fourth! Below is a recreation of one moment from my night when walking back to my friend's car after fireworks.

A father had his kids chained to him with glowstick rings so they wouldn't get lost...



I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be in awe at the artistic nature of this safety enclosure or call Child Support Services. Still nonetheless a creepy 50 MangoUnits oozed out and it was slimy.

Mango Product of the Month: Arizona Mucho Mango

Welcome to the first Mango Product of the Month! With the heat we've experienced so far this July, this product is sure to quench your thirst--and for a great price. This 99cent item is a bargain for what you're getting--a cool refreshing drink, a consistent mango flavor, and LOTS of it! That's a whole 23 fl oz of delicious mangotastic drink! For these reasons, we've crowned this product with a whole 65 MangoUnits!

Concert Round-Up For June: The Decemberists & Dispatch

It was a dark and stormy night on Tuesday June 14th until The Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy demanded the rain g-ds stop the storms (even if they wanted to take a couple of minutes to do so) and low and behold the storms ceased and the show played on. It was a great evening filled with violin solos, glockenspiels, and of course, mass mind-controlled crowd manipulation. Both here and at the Dispatch concert on the 18th the lead singers went into the audience for some intimate crowdsurfing and guitar picking. We met a whole slew of mangotastic friends along the way, starting at the Rocks Off Party Bus, all the way down to the random seats we sat in. Dispatch was also advocating for an excellent cause Amplifying Education which aims to restock decimated libraries all across New Orleans. Each concert brought in a total of 75 MangoUnits, equaling a total of 150 MangoUnits across the 2-day mango spectrum!


 Go 30 seconds in to witness why this video zipped across our consciousness.

Also: This ^ happened at The Decemberists concert. When approached with the question of how they were able to control this many people at once, The Decemberists responded with, "ALL GLORY TO THE DECEMBERISTS. KNEEL BEFORE US!"

(It Was Not) Raining On Prom Night

 It was a bloody hot day but with a little extra deodorant I got through it. The Glen Island Harbour Club was great (good food, nice location [on the water], and attentive staff considering the large group we were). All was good until the extensively planned part ended.

Our party bus was pretty cool and had everything you could imagine, seating for 30, drinks, crazy disco lights--even a stripper pole--and trust me, we milked our money's worth out of it. Sadly, I cannot say that about the club we ended up at. Initially we were supposed to go to a place called the Copacabana (yes, as in the Rod Stewart song). However, the club was not open so we were told our tickets were good for this crappy club called the Playhouse where the bouncer gave me a rougher rubdown than airport security. (Seriously, I'm gonna need therapy cause that guy touched me in places that should not be explored by strangers.) We went in, stayed 10 minutes, left and went to our next stop. Chelsea Piers was our final destination that we planned on going to around 4-something AM and staying at until the sunrise (around 6ish). However, about 5 minutes after putting down my bag, an undercover cop puts on his flashing lights and gets on the bullhorn and tells our group of 20-something to leave the premises. Back on the bus we go back home--defeated--but after hearing about fails from other groups (like being kicked out of other clubs for excessive puking) we felt slightly better to hear that we weren't the only ones to not have everything go according to plan... Partied with 60 MangoUnits and even got one of their numbers!

The Luxurious Copacabana

The Pitiful Playhouse

Senior Prank

Past senior pranks at our school (while I've been in this school) have not been the greatest... In fact, they've only gone downhill since my freshman year. From water guns and talcum powder filled balloons 3 years ago all the way to the 5 ft stuffed animal gorilla on the roof and fox urine in the vents last year. They caused either discomfort or boredom and nothing in between and unfortunately, ours went bad too. Here's why...


Planned: Hundreds of Dixie Cups each filled with water lining the stairwells, forming a maze with desks in a hallway, blocking off the Juniors' parking lot, placing hundreds of pictures of a particular student on everything and anything around the school, spelling out "Seniors 11" with forks in the courtyard and Saran wrapping trees together, "Out of Order" signs on ALL the bathroom doors and LOTS OF OF OTHER LITTLE HILARIOUS ANECDOTES

Achieved: The maze (part of it--the cops showed up), the pictures strangely obsessed over kid, forked courtyard, towed over bleachers place in the middle of the Junior parking lot, "Out of Order" signs (until the principal and assistant principal saw me putting them up and took them down at the same rate...)

Still there when students arrived at 9 AM: Forked courtyard

Thoughts: Damn you cops; damn you janitors. You rue me again!

MangoUnits: Tricked 65 MangoUnits into getting caught for me so I could escape the cops

Out Of Order
Come Back Next Year

These bleachers were towed from a playing field all the way to the middle of the Juniors' parking lot

Six Flags (Great) Adventure!

What a (great) adventure indeed! Our chorus won first place in the Music in the Parks Competition (along with best soloist and best accompanist)! Even with arriving at 10AM, (when the park opens) there were a ridiculous amount of people, all trying to go on every ride. You can see the dilemma this causes. So despite the 11:326 ratio of minutes on a ride:minutes waiting for a ride, we got on most of the exciting attractions. However, I needed a way to occupy myself on these lines (both ride and food)  for the 326 minutes, so I made new friends....

Can you tell which is the guy and which is the girl? (A majority of my friends either got it wrong or had no clue.) I figured it would be funny to ask who's ponytail was longer, but the girl takes out her whiplash and begins to sarcastically laugh--and then rant for 3 minutes in (what appeared to be) a completely thought out monologue she was reading off of a notecard. I played along to hear the entire thing because it amused me and then walked away to go on the Batman roller coaster. Many more pictures and funny stories below! I walked miles of amusement park and rode on 70 MangoUnits (then puked them up on Kingda Ka).

It appears Six Flags is opening up to new markets!

Indeed it is.

There were tons of these face-eating squid hats!

Money saver: use your map as a hat

 

His real name: Chris--average name. His name tag: Neico--some curse word in Arabic.

Hello! My name is New.

For some odd reason, Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman seem to be much better suited for a movie called "Black Swan"...

This mohawk/dreadlocks hair style is redonkulous!

Saw Rasta hats with this hair style but this looked oddly real...

(Half-) Day at the Beach!

What a day to go to Jones Beach! Cloudy, cool, yet mostly solitary and serene. The day warmed up and many more (familiar) people showed up and added a Jersey Shore aspect to the originally peaceful atmosphere. We left around 1 PM but had a great time nonetheless. Water was waaaay too cold though! Drowned in a total of 75 MangoUnits.

Didn't know these still existed... The guy had a sand scooper, rock sifting tool and all!

This woman is going to have the strangest tan line with a giant towel draped over her face...

*Insert screeching seagulls sounds here* This is sweet ol' nature's revenge for these girls not only being obnoxiously loud, but also feeding the birds before... Feel more sympathy for the birds though. They should get tested.