Monday, October 02, 2006

Costingo!!

[note: I am using a dinosaur machine running on Windows ME OS right now and have been trying to load pictures all day without success. I'll post pictures of Costingo in my Heartland Wrap Up in a couple weeks. Until then, let your imaginations run wild.]

Week one of Western Michigan is in the books and it's been a Heartland Hoot. Gun Lake Jake and Bonus Mom Annie have been more than gracious out here in Middleville. You gotta love having the laundry and cooking facilities of a home environment in the middle of a month long voyage into the Heartland. Most of the week was spent hanging out, visiting with the step-fam (including the 6 adorable step-nieces/nephews), cursing out the cable guy, working on an art project, hitting the race track with step-bro, and watching football. Thursday night brought special guests: lil bro, longtime VTK reader lc, and lc's cousin, mac. The new NYC blood immediately dialed it up a notch - beers on Thursday, gallery hopping and wine tasting on Friday, mangotini's, high balls, dinner party, cards, uno, and parlor game on Friday night, blah blah blah, but that's not why you're here. You're here to hear the much anticipated review of ... Costingo!! [trademarked].

It goes without saying that Costingo kicked ass; the question is just how much ass did Costingo really kick. For those readers who are not in the know, "Costingo" is a type of costumed bingo dance party that you throw with much gusto for the locals lucky enough to receive a ticket. Only 20 tickets were printed and hand marked, and I'm quite sure each one will be a collector's item by the end of the year. We began preparations on Saturday at noon: VTK designed the graphics, mac and Annie made the cupcakes for the cupcake frosting competition, lc pumped up the jams with a mixed cd for the dance party (Madonna and Kelly Clarkson were both well represented), lil bro set up the 8 foot inflatable ghost, and the whole gang put up the characteristic hodge podge decorations that set Costingo apart from your run-of-the-mill costumed bingo dance party. It's not Halloween; it's Costingo (which is also distinguished by the excessive use of the word "Costingo"). When the kids first showed up in their cheerleader, rockstar, "Incredibles", pirate, football player, and ... stylish beach girl rockstar (?) outfits, they seemed a little confused by the random decorations, the apparent overhyping of "Costingo!!", and the poindexter, gypsy fortune teller, stripe man, spot lady, phantom of the opera, and hippie outfits of their hosts. But once the dance party and the cupcake frosting competition got underway, they put the go in Costingo. Champagne and Costingo High Balls got the adults (the aforementioned hosts, princess leia, fisherman, and clown) in the groove and Costingo was officially ragin like a cajun. A rousing game of bingo, hot dogs and mac and cheese, more dancing, and paper plate pumpkin drawing competition later and it was time for the awards ceremony. Luckily, all the Costingitos/as won prizes and the only tears shed were a brief fuss by the 2 year old and a well managed cry by the 7 year old who smacked her teeth into the top of my head while bouncing around on one of my patented Worm Rides. We capped it off with one more dance session and in the end, in the words of one of the Costingitas, it was the "best party ever". Naturally. A party is one thing. Costingo is quite another thing.

And then, as all great party weekends should end, we all drank too much, played "flip cup" and the parlor game, everyone got competitive and pissed off at eachother and went to bed mad. ah, family. Fortunately, we had a nice sunny day on Sunday after 3 days of rain and we got to go on the boat on the lake and play with the kids (including facepainting where the requests I got were for a butterfly on the cheek, a basketball on the cheek, and a black and white portrait of their late great grandmother on the calf (she settled for a bumblebee on the cheek)). See you next Costingo, lil bro, lc, and mac. As for the VTK, I escaped Boston to enjoy my Yankees in the playoffs in neutral territory and ended up in Michigan, home of the Detroit Tigers, who made the playoffs for the first time in 19 years and will be starting the Division Series tomorrow against ... the Yankees. At least I won't feel homesick for that enemy feeling.

14 comments:

Dearest Cupcake said...

I want to play Costingo!!!! I want a mangotini! I love dance parties! Damn, who knew the heartland was so fun?

Dan Nolan said...

I think Binghamton is Heartland. If you can steal some kids, you can probably get a pretty good Costingo going.

Dewy24 said...

It must be comforting to know that wherever you go everyone hates them Yankees bastards. Kid Rock, Eminem and Ted Nugent will jack you up if the Yanks sweep.

Anonymous said...

Shall we Costingo at Norfolk Street when you are back? I think I speak for you entire readership when I say that not having photos is killing me.

Dan Nolan said...

I'll tell you what's comforting, dewy24, and I think you know what's coming: enjoying the knowledge that the Yankees are in the playoffs and the Red Sox are not. I am awash in prattle-free comfort.

Dan Nolan said...

I know, nationalcarpetman. This pc is killing me. I've convinced Gun Lake Jake that he needs to upgrade to XP if not go with a laptop and wireless router. If we can get that done this week, I'll post some pics, otherwise I'll whip up an iMovie montage of photos, set to "Since You've Been Gone" and post it when I get back to my Mac. That's not for another 2 weeks though. Sorry.

Dewy24 said...

The Nug will find you and he's bringing his crosswbow.

Anonymous said...

1. Excellent recap of Costingo, its history and precedents (none) and current cultural implications 2. Another thing that distinguishes Costingo is that someone has to sacrifice their body which you did with his hairdo (curse the pc that prevents it from being shown here) and with the tooth to the head, which, as the nurse told us is the worst kind of contaminant 3. In retrospect, I think we should have made the kids yell Costingo when they won the bingo game.
4. For some reason the whole thing seemed a lot less wholesome toward the end, but maybe that's the Vernor's and Whiskey talking...
See you next Costingo

Dan Nolan said...

The Nuge ain't getting past Jake's chipmunk traps. This place is like a minefield.

Dan Nolan said...

I've been applying Neosporin to my head on a daily basis so I think the infection is settling down.

It may have been the introduction (invention?) of the phrase "sex in the face" that sent us off the path of wholesomeness. but that's the price you pay to have a great phrase like "sex in the face" out in the public record.

On a much more wholesome note, 6 year old S____ drew a couple portraits of me today and 2 year old F____ looked at them and said "happy". I'm getting choked up here. gotta go.

shayne said...

technically, it's 'since U been gone'... kelly clarkson's version or ted leo's? i mean, they're both fabulous.

Dan Nolan said...

whoa. didno know that Ted Leo did a version. must hear that. love me some Ted Leo. but Costingo is more of a Kelly Clarkson affair, so I'll have to go with that for the montage.

and bt dubs, scoutie, congrats on your most recent aunthood. and congrats of course to the ginger snap and the prankster principal.

Dan Nolan said...

and of course, congrats to Derek Jeter on a so so game 1 that just went final. Just the 2 singles, but he did supplement that with the 2 doubles and the home run.

shayne said...

thanks! she's a cute little peanut.

does losing to the tigers hurt more or less than not making the playoffs at all? i mean, they are good this year. but still.