Hometown Tales

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

The Sky King

Recently, on Show 300, I mentioned one of Time's magazine's top inventions of 2009. The Sky King Paper Airplane. You should give it a try. Here's how to make it.

We have 300 Shows

Wow, we've recorded 300 Hometown Tales Radio programs ! No pomp and circumstance just a basic show with some celebratory Cheerwine Soda and Poundcake. Enjoy.

MP3 Here

VIDEO STREAM HERE

Saturday, November 28, 2009

While it's certainly been a hectic month or so for Bryan and I. However, we have managed to get out two really great shows. We've done 2 parts of demons. I really enjoyed discussing these. It was one of the more intellectual shows (if that's possible) that we've done. I think mostly because we talked a lot about how the different way cultures look at things. And how connotations have changed over many years.

But of course we had a couple of scary tales as well as some great listener mail on the subject.

Enjoy Tales of Demons, Part 1 & Part 2

PART 1

PART 2

or check out the live video stream from USTREAM

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Where Have We Been

Well, sometime life really gets in the way. Both Bryan and I had a couple of really busy weeks. I was running for Town Council in my local town. An awesome experience but unbelievably time consuming. It all paid off, I won. However, it was tough to fit in some new shows along the way.

And Bryan, well he was on a diet. He said it's been tough. We finally managed to get a new show out and have some great ones coming up. Enjoy.

MP3 HERE.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Chupacabra? Aliens? What did this in Denville

Mike from Denville, NJ woke up to an interesting event this week. Magically a deer carcass appeared on his lawn, completely skinned to the bone. Aliens? the Chupacabra? or just some kids pulling something from the woods.

No signs of struggle, no drag marks. Animal Control on it's way.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

KISS the Religion?

As you may or may not know, I am a closet KISS fan. Just something that brings back my childhood. Although, don't worry I do recognize that KISS is not exactly the upper echelon of musicianship. They are just easy, mindless and entertaining.

So today they have a new album coming out with new music. There is a big get up at WalMarts for this release. I happened to be at a WalMart in Linden, NJ and caught a glimpse.

Well, truthfully it wasn't all that impressive. There were KISS M&Ms, KISS Potato Heads, t-shirt, halloween masks, blankets, etc..
But it was kind of a mess and still being put on display. However, the best of all was what the new KISS album was labelled under. Either they've changed their musical style or Gene Simmons has succeeded in creating a religion out of KISS.

-Gene

Monday, October 05, 2009

Ft. Riley, Kansas - Beginning of the End of the World (Almost)

Fort Riley has been home to General George Custer, the Buffalo Soldiers of the 9^th and 10^th Cavalry Regiments, Blackjack Pershing’s 1st Infantry Division (“The Big Red One”) as well as the one of the greatest natural disasters to cast a shadow over all of humanity: the Spanish Flu of 1918. Similar to the more recent 2009 Novel H1N1 (“Swine”) Flu, this pandemic strain of influenza quickly evolved and spread from a pig farm in Haskell County to Ft. Riley. Soldiers quickly became infected by this virulent and deadly strain of flu. It could have easily been discovered and contained in this small Kansas town.

However…

· One can be infected with influenza and spread the virus days before feeling ill

· World War 1 was going on in Europe

Hundreds of soldiers—dozens of them infected—were being shipped out of Ft. Riley to the green fields of France by the day. Within weeks, the flu had spread across France, Europe and on towards Asia and Africa. It didn’t actually cause significant mortality to the United States until it came back to Boston, Massachusetts in its second wave (but that’s a tale for another day).

By the middle of 1919, the Spanish flu had killed over 100,000,000 people.

Why then will it always be called the “Spanish Flu”? Historically, epidemics had been named after the region around Ground Zero. Lyme disease is from Old Lyme, Connecticut. The Hong Kong flu was from the Pearl River delta near Honk Kong. Syphilis has been called the French Disease by the British and the British Disease by the French (but that’s a tale for another day). When the great influenza of 1918 first hit the front pages of newspapers, it ran as a story of European tourists in Spain first contracting the disease. Nowadays it’s bad for tourism and the pork industry to announce “Swine Flu” or “Texas Flu” so we have a sanitized moniker like 2009 Novel H1N1 Influenza A.

So what about Kansas? After the initial wave of infections and deaths—with most of the original infected shipped out to France—the Kansas state government took action to shut down public gatherings: schools, church, movies. All together about 30,000 people were infected. Thousands died. Considering this was ground zero, Kansas was very lucky.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

HT Stock Ticker 09/16/2009

HT Related
What the heck is that?!
Cerro Azul

Glowing bananas help researchers track cell death
Austria

Giraffe in Toys R Us ads, films dies at Boston zoo
Boston, MA, United States

GUINNESS IS 250 YEARS OLD
Dublin, Ireland

Potpourri, Human Oddities
REPORTERS NOTEBOOK: Name it Spud -- kitten's a little couch potato
Huron, OH, United States

Cheerleader Hunts, Kills 10 Foot Long Gator
Pelion, SC, United States

Universal's Harry Potter park to include Hogwarts
Orlando, FL, United States

Friend fulfils funeral dress death pact
United Kingdom

Meat-flavoured chocs hit with men
New Zealand

Student hacks intruder with Samurai Sword
Baltimore, MD, United States

Stories that are intolerable
Cockroach surprise for Swedish property mogul
Malmö’s Rosengård, Sweden

Banana Thief in Gorilla Suit Not Charged
Fon Du Luc, WI, United States

Official: Satan-Loving Teen Lights Church Fire
Orangeville, CA, United States

Lafayette urban chicken ban will stand
Lafayette, IN, United States

Brunswick County teen charged after driving dead friend around for hours
Leland, Brunswick County, United States

Manure dispute leads to gun-wielding Huron Township man being Tasered, deputies say
Huron Township, MI, United States

Scaffolders come to aid of woman impaled on railings after fall in Brighton's Old Steine
Brighton, England

Thursday, September 10, 2009

The Mongolian Death Worm

In our latest Radio Show & Podcast, we discussed the Mongolian Death Worm. At first you'd think the idea of a large sand-burrowing worm that spews venom and electricity seem absurd but you'd be surprised at the strange worm-like creatures that really do exist in our world. Hear & learn more about the tales and reality of this mysterious beast.

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